“EMPEROR’S NEW CLOTHES” BY PANIC! AT THE DISCOBy Sam Glover

In a continuation of the music video ‘This Is Gospel’,

this video features the lead singer, Brendon Urie,

falling to the netherworld at the entrance to hell

and undergoing a transformation from man to

demon, until the doors to hell are opened and he is

ushered in, in what is edited to look like a single shot

sequence. The meaning behind the song is

theorised to be about Brendon’s struggle to get to

the top; in the music video, he creates a satirical

embodiment of how some may perceive his musical

journey - sinful and cutthroat.

Panic! at the Disco is an American rock band from Las Vegas, Nevada, formed in 2004 and featuring the current line-up of just vocalist and multi-instrumentalist, Bredon Urie. The music video of Emperor’s New Clothes (ENC) was directed by Daniel Cloud Campos, and produced by Doomsday Entertainment. The band’s announcement of their fifth studio album Death of a Bachelor, was paired with the release of this music video, on the 21st of October 2015.

The title of the song refers to a short tale by Hans

Christian Andersen, about two weavers who promise

an emperor a new suit of clothes that is invisible to

those who are unfit for their positions, stupid, or

incompetent. When the Emperor parades before his

subjects in his ‘new clothes’, no one dares to say that

he doesn't see any suit of clothes until a child cries

out, "But he isn't wearing anything at all!"

This is reflected through the lyrics “I'm taking back the

crown, I'm all dressed up and naked, I see what's mine

and take it”, as the satirical version of himself, which

Brendon Urie is writing as, has a likeness to the vain

emperor in the short tale - being self indulgent and

taking what he wants.

The screenshot to the left shows a website

which allegedly ‘proves’ that rock is the Devil’s

music, by taking quotes from various band’s

lyrics and explaining them in a satanic way. For

example:

“In the song "The Conjuring" by Megadeth, the

REAL mission of rock is clearly heard: "I AM THE

DEVIL'S ADVOCATE

A SALESMAN, if you will . . .

Come join me in my INFERNAL DEPTHS . . .

I've got your soul!”

At the end of the song — they chant “OBEY”!"

This song could be placed under the umbrella term ‘rock music’ (although obviously there are influences from a massive range of other genres). Rock music has long had religious conspirators raving about it’s association with satan, and I feel that this satiric portrayal also has links to that.

http://www.av1611.org/rock.html

This representation of a demon, reminds me a lot of Chernabog, from the 1940 animated Disney

feature film; Fantasia. Chernabog is based on the God of Night in Slavic mythology, and has been

praised as Disney’s best representation of pure evil.