I saw some random music videos yesterday on PlutoTV:
Foo Fighters – “The Pretender”
System of a Down – “Toxicity”
Killswitch Engage – “Holy Diver”
And I thought, wow, look at all those dudes showing off their dance moves.
Wait, why can’t we call it that?
I can think of three reasons:
1 – The poses, the wide-leg stances, the hand gestures, the hair-swinging, the making of faces: non-musicians assume that’s just what making music looks like. Exaggerated bodily motions are now expected. (If a musician doesn’t do that stuff, it’s assumed they’re not good!)*
2 – Except in cases like GWAR, rock and metal musicians are assumed to behave as their raw, authentic selves, not a dancing character.
3 – Machismo: dudes in bands think dancing is… fff… fffff… feminine.†
But most “heavy” bands — while less choreographed but just as premeditated — are essentially in the same visual entertainment tradition as Spice Girls. (Yeah. I’m arguing that even bands like Meshuggah, Tool, and Slayer are dancers.)
It’s a different style of dancing (expressing dark things like anger, anxiety, or “insanity”), but it’s still dancing.‡
A popular argument: bro, the visuals are there to enhance the music! But by now, I think it’s safe to say the music is there to enhance the visuals.
*In reality, playing an instrument only requires small movements. Much smaller than civilians expect.
†Or another F adjective. (By the way, ChatGPT suggested this third reason.)
‡Maybe that’s the error Warrant made with their synchronized dancing in their Down Boys video — not being negative enough.
Extra Credit: In Episode 61, I announced Music Is Not A Visual Art. (I think it’s silly that musicians are expected to “entertain” — as if the music isn’t good enough on its own.)