Why is cute without the e (cut from the team) my favourite music video form?
By Sam
Taking Back Sunday’s music video for “Cute Without the E” is without a doubt one of my favourite music videos, alongside the fight club themed story, the aesthetic and relation to the song, the video provides an insight as to how this song was fundamental to the long island, and more broadly, pop-punk music scene. With this in mind, you can see the correlation between how the band and music were perceived in the 2000s, and how the framing, camera and references to pop-culture, cultivated the band’s image.
Genre and history
The opening scene begins with a low angle shot of a section of (guitarist) John Nolan’s face, with a gun to his mouth. Bleak typography, with the words “I am Jack’s recut” resides on our screens, allowing the audience to immediately draw connections to the opening scene of fight club. The similar effect of dark colouring with a greenish hue, the character’s face engulfed in sweat, ensures that the video immediately evokes a sense of tension within the viewer. As we consume the video we are thrown headfirst into a suspenseful scene, setting the standard and foreshadowing the rest of the video.
The video moves on the a big close up shot of (singer) Adam’s face and we see only a silhouette initially, as light grows and we begin to be able to make out his features. This encapsulates tension yet again as we are unaware of who the figure singing is, it is this coupled with the second half of the opening line that plays a part in perpetuating the mystery of the music video. The direct pronouns of the song, the call-out nature and subtext of it, cultivates a sense of mystery yet again. The visuals and lyrics work in harmony to invoke a sense of curiosity.
The following scenes are a medley of flickering jump cuts of long shots showing full bodies and costume. The costumes are replicas of the costumes from Fight Club. This shows that the video is sticking to the exact plot of the film, depicting to the reader both scenes from the film and in terms of editing, quick frames and jump cuts displayed throughout the film. In both film and music video, the jump cuts are to disorientate the viewer, relaying to us the narrator’s, or John’s, in this case, inability to distinguish reality from his own figments of imagination. The unsettling flashing scene is symptomatic of the musical nature of the song; the time signature and tempo of the song is rapid and each bass track follows, cutting on the beat.
The contrast of the band playing their instruments and then assuming the role of Fight Club characters illustrates the division between the two realities almost. It maintains the image that there is still an ongoing performance reiterating their image and their intentions. The full body shots emphasise the need to separate them as a band and them playing a role. Their facial expressions on the other hand, shown through big close ups and close ups, signify that they are serious in performing. It also matches with the general raw emotion of the video; this is not a smooth-sailing song and the camera, editing and mise-en-scene enhances notion that greatly.
