kings of leon:Use Somebody

This song was the fourth song on the band’s 4th album ‘Only by the Night’ released through Columbia Records on 23rd September 2008. According to the Use Somebody Song-facts, Caleb Followill wrote this song about longing for somebody to have a cuddle with while feeling lonely on the road. He wrote on the band’s website: “It’s about being far from home.”

The first shot is a long, inside looking out shot. Bringing us in to the diegetic world through the living-room of what seem like ordinary people watching television. Through the windows you see the New York skyline which has several connotations such as night life, fun, excitement etc. This could be to signify the contrast between lifestyles; the kicked back lifestyle that they are believed to have and the busy, non-stop lifestyle that they do have.
There is a combination of ELS, Aerial shots tracking and swooping into and over the busy, illuminated, vibrant city of New York by night, also known as ‘the city that never sleeps’, something which can be related to the famous lifestyle, as they are always busy and on the go. The lighting is very important in this video, setting up the film noir and is predominant in the first 33 seconds of where the camera goes in and out of differently coloured lights from different sources, such as buildings, vehicles, stages etc

The fast paced editing represents their fast pace lifestyle, movement and always on the go. Along with the sped up footage of the road, cars and shot of the aeroplane taking off, this may also indicate that they are on some kind of journey, as they are a new band are still finding their feet. There are numerous intercuts between that and footages of them playing live performances with live audiences, bright lights, live bands, this complements the other locations that we establish their 'rock star' lifestyle. The low-key lighting acts as a tool for mystery, the band are wearing sunglasses at night and get out a chauffer driven car, this relates them to 'stars'. The band appears alive, enthused and excited on stage which reflects upon the location.

A rock video wouldn’t be the same without including elements that represent and illustrate the stereotypical outlook of the rock genre; sex, drugs, rebellion, a carefree lifestyle/attitude. These are reinforced by scenes such as a band member blowing smoke at the camera, reflects rebellion and attitude, he has long black hair and tattoos are visible illustrating the stereotypical ‘look’. By controlling the mise-en-scene in this way the audience is likely to accept it more readily and therefore get more voyeuristic pleasure. The montage sequence of editing is achieved mainly by cuts but the first time we hear words being sung, is when we see an overlap, when a lit up New York building is faded out to be replaced slowly by an extreme close up of the lead singer, connecting the two key elements together; stars are a source of light, in respect he is a star, he is now the light. This is the first time where we see the editing, visuals and lyrics all intertwined.


The extreme close up is used to establish character and emotion, there is certain sadness in his eyes which the audience can relate to as his desperate plead is made obvious when he sings “you know that I could use somebody”. He is looking up to the sky as if looking for God to help him. The video cuts to a flash image of him on top of a girl in bed and we see a close up a cross necklace that is dangling down, this reflects religion and God and connotates as a savior. This puts the audience in a position to feel sorry for him. The straight cut back to him on his chair signifies his loneliness. He now sings at the camera as if singing to the audience, this brings them in further, making them believe him and feel part of valued member of an audience.

The video goes black and white for about 20 seconds as we see shots of the band rehearsing and hugging each other before a performance, laughing with one another. Having drinks in a bar. This signifies the normality in their lives; they are trying to convey to their audience that underneath all the bright lights they are just as normal as the next guy. This makes the band seem very down to earth and can help people relate to them, this is the boys, not the rock stars. The music at this point is very slow, this reflects on the mood and the audience are able to pick up on the tone as being far away from reality, but the tension along with the beat begins to pick up until we see them actually performing live and the colour comes back, bright and strong, this is the return of the pop stars.
It is known that within the rock genre they like to focus more upon the music than elements such as dancing. It would make it less authentic as you would not expect a rock band to do a dance solo. Instead their priorities lie with their dedication to the music; this is represented in the guitar solo which is performed. This is a conventional element of the rock genre and helps define it. This allows the audience to get more enjoyment out of it.

The single seems to try to withdraw a stereotypical viewpoint on pop-stars and people in the music industry whom are judged to fame obsessed and believe they are better than everyone else. It is in some way a message to let all the fans out there know that even though it may be hard to believe because in reality they are never left alone, but deep down they are lonely at times, just like everyone else. It tells the audience and their fan base that they are down to earth this is something we can all relate to. And something we are perhaps looking for in music artists.