Crash “Castrato”

1996-crash-castratoThis is the last of Crash’s funded videos and it’s a strange video to go out with. It’s shot in a continuous take, and seems to also have been shot at a faster speed and slowed down a little, which is all perfectly fine for a music video.

The trouble is, the camera operator doesn’t seem to be able to guide the camera to where the action is. Lowlights including an extreme close-up of a comedy sticker on the drum kit, and a lingering upside-down, out-of-focus shot of random band action.

The lead singer, who has a perfect music video pale face and power bob – spends most of the time lurking in the corner, either as a blurry blob, or with her face blown out by the bright lights in close up. The camera operator seems to be more comfortable shooting musical instruments, walls and floors. People are hard.

I feel like maybe I’m missing something. Maybe it’s meant to be this messy confusing world. Maybe the floor is deliberately given as much screen time as the band members. Maybe it’s all a trick to distract the viewer from thinking of the titular castrated male.

Either way, even though this is a great mid-’90s pop-rock song, the video doesn’t sell it as well as it should.

Best bit: The “Alien Detection Unit” stick. El oh el.

Director: Greg Page
Ngā Taonga Sound & Vision

Next… buzzy bee indie pop a go-go!

10 thoughts on “Crash “Castrato””

  1. Wow – I’ve been going through old VHS tapes today, and found this song – except I didn’t know what it was. Thought hmmm, I wonder if it’s on that music videos website… and sure enough, here it is! I was going to upload it otherwise, I just didn’t know what it was! Excellent. Great song.

      1. Ok, it looks like Failsafe weren’t actually involved with Crash, I’d recommend saving a search on Trade Me in case the CD comes up for sale.

  2. Not signed with me at all. I applied for one video on their behalf and when I was overseas they applied direct using my name without actually telling or asking me. No one at NZ on Air seemed to notice the cheque was going to someone else. I notice ‘I’ also got further Cicada video grants that I didn’t know anything about either. A little slack on the paperwork at NZOA to say the least.

    1. Hey, thanks for clearing that up. Failsafe is indeed listed as Crash’s record company in NZOA’s database, so it’s good to know there was actually no formal connection there.

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