First Music Video Analysis- "A Little Less Sixteen Candles, A Little More Touch Me." - Fall Out Boy.

A little less Sixteen Candles, A little more Touch Me, features  the band members acting as a team of vampire hunters trying to fend off a gang of vampires attacking their town. It ends with a climactic showdown between the band and the vampires, resulting in Wentz being arrested and his subsequent realization that all the police officers are also vampires. It has been suggested that the video is a theatrical look on corruption around us in modern society, although the song is seemingly unrelated to that idea.

The music video, originally called "A little less Molly Ringwald, A little More Samantha Fox"
plays upon many 1940's and 50's horror films that the band enjoyed when they were teenagers.For instance the opening scene is a take-off from the cult-classic film, 'The Lost Boys'. Director Alan Ferguson was also influenced by the 'Blade' trilogy, 'The Blob' and 'Dracula'  when creating the video.There are also visual references to 'A Clockwork Orange' during the fight scene with the 'Dandies.' I believe that the 'retro' attributes of the video, such as the cadilac and "drive in movie font" in the opening scene, and the costumes of the dandy vampires act as a sharp contrast to the thoroughly modern research lab and the band's image, creating a fantasy world where nothing is quite as it should be. We can clearly see the bands horror influence at the start of the film, where Andy and his girlfriend are interrupted by vampires on the car. The screaming over the music may shock some viewers and force them to pay attention to what is happening on screen.

(examples of the diferent eras presented in the video)

The video uses quick cuts, especially in the fight scenes to emphasise the vampires 'powers'. This creates a tense atmosphere, which could be highlighting the animosity between Pete and the other vampires. The main camera angles used throughout are medium or long angle shots,

 in order for the viewer to see all the action happening at once. However, some less conventional shots are also used throughout. For instance, the car driving into the battle is filmed from above, in order to show the fall out boy symbol on the bonnet. The leader of the Dandies is also usually shot from below, in order to emphasise his power (despite his feminine appearance) and clearly show the viewer who is in charge.

The video also showcases lots of juxtaposition during the fight scenes. For instance, as the Dandies seduce their prey by dancing with them, the lead singer is fighting off Punk vampires in a seedy alley. The red lighting in the alley further enhances the idea that this place is dangerous, as we see when Patrick is fooled, and is bitten by the same women he tried to protect. Similarly, the almost cheerful guitar in the song is a stark contrast to the bloody battle scene going on in front of it.

As mentioned before, the lyrics seem to be unrelated to the video itself, something extremely unconventional in mainstream music videos, but more widely accepted in the alternative or rock genre. The lyrics paint a picture of unrequited love, and the singers efforts to get the object of his affections to notice him.

I confess, I messed up
dropping "I'm sorry" like you're still around
And I know you dressed up
"hey kid you'll never live this down"

'Cause you're just the girl all the boys want to dance with
And I'm just the boy who's had too many chances

I'm sleeping on your folk's porch again, dreaming
She said, she said, she said, "Why don't you just drop dead?"

I don't blame you for being you
But you can't blame me for hating it
So say, what are you waiting for?
Kiss her, kiss her
I set my clocks early 'cause I know I'm always late

Write me off, give up on me
Cause darling, what did you expect
I'm just off a lost cause
a long shot, don't even take this bet

You can make all the moves, you can aim all the spotlights
Get all the sighs and the moans just right

I'm sleeping on your folk's porch again, dreaming
She said, she said, she said, "Why don't you just drop dead?"

I don't blame you for being you
But you can't blame me for hating it
So say, what are you waiting for?
Kiss her, kiss her
I set my clocks early 'cause I know I'm always late

(always on, always on)
You said you'd keep me honest
(always on, always on)
But I won't call you on it
(always on, always on)

I don't blame you for being you
But you can't blame me for hating it
So say, what are you waiting for?
Kiss her, kiss her
I set my clocks early 'cause I know I'm always late

The one direct link between the video and lyrics is a scene where Pete is being goaded to bite a young woman, and the vampires around him are chanting 'kiss her, kiss her' (what are you waiting for/ kiss her kiss her). However, the nature of this 'kiss' has changed, going from a naieve attempt to win a females affection to an act that will inevitably kill her.