Language Analysis:
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The article:
The biography magazine I have chosen to analyze is Q-MAVERICK. The date it was released/ published was September of 2017. Then, the name of the person the biography is written about is James Lavelle. For the journalist/ author, they remain anonymous and unknown. I have chosen this biography because I think it will be insightful for when I create my own music magazine article. Biographies are particularly compelling since they tell us a true-life story, that most people can relate to, in some way. Similarly, most artists don’t produce their work anonymously, because that could make them lose their connection with their audience. Or it could make the audience question the artist’s work.
The evidence of the journalistic technique 5 Ws & an H is present in this biography. The text is based on James Lavelle and his journey, throughout rehab/ recovery, to where he is now. He is from Camden, North London. The story is set from 2003 (when he became bankrupt), through 2017 (where he’s making his comeback). This article was shared to ask the readers what mistakes they’ve made, learned from, and how they affected them.
Structure:
I know this is a biography because the article is based on James Lavelle’s life stories, what he went through, and how he’s overcoming it. The layout of the page has the title taking up half the space, with an introductory paragraph in bold, and then three smaller columns of the information below that.
Presence of journalists:
We can tell there’s a journalist’s presence because they address James by his name, and it’s written in the third person. However, this journalist does not address or relate to any of the problems James faced throughout this biography- which keeps the focus solely on him. By doing this it gives the text a personal, more meaningful and effective format. Furthermore, deepening the reader’s connection and empathy they feel towards James. Since it’s written in the third person, the journalist uses quotes to support the article’s stories. There’s a clear introduction in bold, that summarizes his life and what happened to him. Before it goes into more detail. Then at the end, it isn’t a typical conclusion, but they do leave the text with a question addressed to the audience- and a short sentence answer from James.
Language and aim:
The technical techniques used in biographies are adjectives, quotes, name drops, metaphors, personification, and hyperbole. This article uses strong adjectives like; long, intense, powerful, extreme, beautiful, and amazing, to create a bigger sense of importance within its stories. The tone is informal, with words that the typical audience buyers would use (like “fucking”). This fits the article since it creates a realistic impression of what James Lavelle’s own hand-written biography would be like. The similes and metaphors used were to describe his failed attempt at fame, for example; “his star had plunged”, “Everest of cocaine”, and “He proved himself to be a visionary lightning rod”. The audience will gain a deeper understanding of the effects drugs can have on people after reading this article. They will most likely experience a sense of repulsion towards drugs based on the horrible, life-changing problems they can cause. They might also gain a bigger sense of empathy for James Lavelle.
Quotes in the article:
This biography includes quotes from Lavelle. One of the quotes they added in was; “Noel Gallagher, Richard Ashcroft, Ian Brown, Carl Craig, Alexander McQueen and an Everest of cocaine”. Name dropping these bigger names means that the fans of this magazine will know the featured celebrities. This will tempt the audience to read on. He references cocaine to highlight his addiction/ old habit. This generates a sense of excitement that makes the audience want to read on and understand more.
Another quote is “Lavelle was the boy wonder of British music”. This is referring to the fall of his career, and how he was a talented young man that had a successful career lined up for him- but he ended up taking drugs and ruining it all. So now that he’s back, he’s trying to stay on the right path. This quote is basically a conscientious tale for the readers.
Some other interesting quotes in this article are; “The last 13 years have been fucking tough financially”, “It was beautiful,” he says wistfully, ”while I had it”, “In one way I’m probably insane to keep doing what I do. Anybody rational would have stopped trying to do UNKLE years ago”, and “I’ve put myself through quite extreme situations, both financially and emotionally. But then I got used to that very young”.
Representation of the artist/ star:
Overall, the journalist represents the artist by embodying his and his fans’ slang/ typical vocabulary. They add quotes from James to support the story and show his true feelings of what was happening at the time.