Use of media- Panic! at the Disco by James and Emilia

Audience

Expectation

As with all media forms, there is an expectation that the content be of a somewhat decent quality, and with a budget of more than £2. There is also the general expectation that the work consistently improve, with the newest work being better than the last work. Specifically for Panic! at the Disco, there is the expectation that Brendon Urie show up somewhere in the music video, either being sexualised or demonised.

Profile

Brendon Urie presents himself as classy, by constantly wearing suits in recent videos. When he is not in suits, he is usually half naked. This goes along with his star persona of being very sexual and open about it. He is also often presented as demonic. It begins in the music video "Emporer's knew clothes"when his character goes to hell. The satanic imagery then continues through to the music video for "LA devotee".

The fans are mostly made up of females between 18-24. Panic! at the Disco is also a popular band within the LGBT community, due to inclusive songs such as"Girls/Girls/Boys" and Brendon Urie's openness about his own identity as pansexual.

Feedback

Social media has allowed for better conversation between the fans and the artist. Fans can directly message their idols and hold a chance of getting a response. Panic! at the Disco benefit from being active online, as it means they can have a better relationship with their fans. Panic! at the disco have a fandom that make lots of fan fiction, fan art and other such ways that help promote the band. The fandom also make many memes, most of which revolve around the premise of the song "I write sins, not tragedies". 

Identification

The fans go by the name of "sinners, as Brendon Urie called them this once in an interview. It is very fitting considering how much satanic symbolism there often is in the music videos.

Social media

Panic! at the Disco have a strong online presence. Both the band's main twitter and Brendon Urie's personal twitter are fairly active, tweeting every couple of days. Many of the tweets on the band's account are tagging other accounts, which allows them to garner wider attention from the audiences of these other accounts.

Soundtrack

For the movie "Suicide Squad", various musicians were hired to do record different songs, some brand new songs and some covers. Panic! at the Disco played a cover of "Bohemian Rhapsody"by Queen. This song was used in advertising trailers and in the movie. DC, while its movies still fall flat is decent, has a large audience. This then let them reach the viewing audience of the movie, as well as fans of the band Queen.

I Write Sins Not Tragedies cover

Back In 2017, the chainsmokers, another band with a fair amount of popularity, did a cover of popular Panic! at the Disco song "I Write Sins Not Tragedies". This received mixed reactions, as some liked the cover better than the original, while others completely hated the cover. All of this only aided Panic! at the Disco, as many who hated the cover went back to the original, which got Panic! at the Disco even more listeners. Even those who preferred the cover aided the band, as they still got revenue from the cover. Overall, this caused old Panic! at the Disco fans to return to their old love, while also allowing another band's fan base to be introduced to them and also become fans.

Panic! at the Disco analysis by James and Emilia

I write sins not tragedies

It was released in 27 February 2006 and is the second single from Panic! At The Disco’s debut album, “A Fever You Can’t Sweat Out”.  The band’s reasoning behind the song was that at the time, all other bands sounded very similar. They decided to start the song with a cello, because rock songs rarely start in such a way and they wanted to let listeners know from the beginning that this is unlike any other song they’d heard.

The video begins in a church, and then cuts to Brendon Urie singing. It then makes multiple cuts between him and the church, and he then bursts into the church at the beginning of the chorus. The family in the stands all have face paint on and their eyes closed. This shows how they are choosing not to see the immediate issues between the soon to be married couple. Once Urie and his group of misfits enter the room, they blow powder into the guests’ faces, so they then get up and start dancing.

The church it is set in is an incredibly old, run down building which appears to be in the middle of nowhere. This could mean that it is set in the far south of the USA. Brendon’s star persona is a chaotic force, who is seemingly aware of all the details of the wedding arrangement. He is dressed half in a sort of wedding outfit and half in a circus ringmaster outfit. Only the groom’s side of the family are dressed as circus freaks, which could mean the groom thinks they are crazy for trying to ruin his wedding, when really they are aware of his bride’s misdeeds.

It is likely that Brendon’s character is the groom’s conscious, as he is torn between his family and his bride. At the end of the video, the groom becomes the ringmaster, showing that he has sided with his family.

This may also be the reason that, on multiple occasions, Brendon’s character covers his mouth to stop himself from saying something. This is because the groom is in denial and therefore, preventing himself from thinking such things.

Girls/Girls/Boys

It was released 8 October 2013 as the third single of Panic! At The Disco’s fourth album “Too Weird to Live, Too Rare to Die”. It peaked at number 31 on the Billboard Hot Rock Songs chart and was the final single released while drummer Spencer Smith was part of the band. The video was directed by DJay Brawner.

The video is one continuous shot, which changes between close ups and mid shots. It is a performance based music video, with Brendon Urie, the band’s singer, being the only person in the video. This puts the focus entirely on him, especially since the background is blacked out. He dances slightly, spinning around and swinging his arms about. He is completely naked and in multiple instances, the video teases panning below his hips, though it never does.

The video is highly sexualised, which fits with the lyrics. It explores the idea of casual sex and bisexuality. It emphasises the importance of holding a truthful sexual identity, as well as celebrating the courage to take it public. The song was originally written about Brendon’s first threesome experience and the music video is closely tied with the lyrics. Because he is naked, it shows that he is vulnerable, as he is opening up about his sexuality.

The song is evidently on the topic of a first experience, as shown by lines like  “And never did I think that I/ would be caught in the way you got me”. It is likely about a girl coming to terms with her sexuality, and the lyrics “I don’t want to hear you got a boyfriend” shows that the narrator is unconvinced by her attempts to hide it.

Death of a bachelor

It was released on 1 September 2015 as part of Panic! At the Disco’s fifth album, “The Death of a Bachelor”. It was a homage to Frank Sinatra, as Brendon Urie stated he had fond memories connected with his music.. He also stated in an interview with Upset magazine that he feels the song is “Very jazzy, very Sinatra esque… But then put it with this beat that sounds like Beyonce’s ‘Drunken in Love’”.

The music video is in grey scale, reminiscent of the era Frank Sinatra was from. It stars Brendon Urie in a suit, standing on a stage singing into a microphone. There are instances of panning away from Urie, close ups of parts of his face, and jump cuts in quick succession. During the song, Brendon Urie sings the line “I’m playing hooky”, which means to purposely avoid responsibility. This  shows that the narrator is avoiding his inevitable marriage, which will cause his ‘death’ as an available man. Lines like “I see the shadows on my face, People have told me I don't look the same, Maybe I lost weight” show that the narrator is now ready to mature as he takes his next step in life.

here is also a depressing undertone, with lines like “The lace in your dress tangles my neck” and “The death of a bachelor, seems so fitting for happily ever after. How could I ask for more?” seem to have sarcastic tones to them, as if the narrator is acknowledging how big an event marriage is, but honestly does not care much for it himself. It is as if he is mocking the concept that it is  an amazingly positive event in our lives.

Part of the song’s inspiration may have also been Brendon Urie’s marriage to Sarah Orzechowski . While the occasion was positive, it is likely the song was Brendon venting his insecurities and worries around getting married. It is also most likely tied in to Frank Sinatra, as he wrote many songs about love and romance, so perhaps this is a parody of that.