Symbolism is an important part of modern day communication as it has a direct impact on the recipient. And when it comes to films or music videos, its relevance increases exponentially. Although films and music videos depend heavily on star power, some of them feature objects that leave a lasting impact on audiences. It is often said that there are only a few things that make a music video more popular than a car. Over the years, many songs have been written and composed with a four-wheeler as the central theme. Musicians and lyricists have shown creativity to portray a car as something that is more aesthetic than material, sometimes defining a person's life. Notably, several famous music videos have been shot with the protagonist sitting on a car. It is really interesting to the obsession hip-hop artists all over the world, particularly USA, have with speedy sports cars, which feature in almost all their videos.
Iconic British rock band, Queen, is known for its cult status song 'We will rock you', which is still a rage among music lovers from all over the world. Another famous number by Queen, 'I'm in love with my car', is counted among the best produced by the band. Written by Roger Taylor, this song was released in 1975 in the album A Night at the Opera. It is believed that the inspiration for this song was Jonathan Harris, a roadie who claimed that he loved his Triumph T4 more than anything in life. Other famous songs that have been based on cars include 'Cars' by Gary Numan, 'Little Red Corvette' by Prince, Mercedes-Benz by Janis Joplin and 'Drive my car' by legendary band The Beatles.
Now, writing a song about a car is one thing and shooting one in a video is another. Some music videos, by the sheer presence of a particular car, have gone on to achieve an iconic status. Not only did the songs go on to be huge successes, the cars shown in them became symbols of coolness, class and style. Former American band Audioslave has recorded some amazing numbers but only a few match up to the popularity and class of 'Show me how to live'. The music video of this classic number has been shot using 1971 film Vanishing point as its base. Lead singer Chris Cornell can be seen driving the 1970 Dodge Challenger, which appeared in the popular 70s film.
Jamiroquai, another famous British band, earned a lot of recognition for its song 'White Knuckle Ride', which featured lead singer Jay Kay. This music video gave an unconventional touch to the usual car-helicopter chase sequence in which the protagonist, riding the former, manages to escape the latter, proving to be a hero. However, this video saw Jay Kay piloting a helicopter that is chasing a Porsche 911 Carrera driven by a man who hides under a bridge and performs breathtaking stunts.
'Still Dre' was a hit song released in 2001 that was recorded by Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg. Not only was the song loved, the video got rave reviews due to the amazing projection of low riding cars, especially a Chevrolet Impala from 1960s. American rapper Jay Z is known for his larger than life songs and the video of 'Show me what you got' just symbolises this fact. The video of this number struck a chord with audiences due to its superb filming in Monaco. Danica Patrick is seen chasing Jay Z and Dale Earnhardt in a Ferrari F430 Spyder and a Pagani Zonda.
