Like the Fanatics’ earlier song “Models”, “TV” is another catchy electronic song with simple, repetitive lyrics. The video takes its inspiration from the titular home appliance and puts the Fanatics in a dark, shadowy world, surrounded by animated circuit diagrams and creepy stop-motion insects.
The band are found performing in an anechoic chamber, which I assume is the one at Auckland University. An anechoic chamber is basically a chamber of silence, used for acoustic testing. It’s a room with all surfaces covered with foam wedges. About a metre above the floor there’s a wire mesh to stand on. It’s so incredibly quiet in there that you can hear your own heart beat. And they say if you spend too long in there you start hallucinating and go crazy.
It also has a vaguely sinister look and feel to it, which perfectly suits the vibe of the video. And of course the only other organic creature is the super creepy spiders. If it’s not the enslaving technology, it’s the spiders that’ll come for you. Yeah, it’s a metaphor for television.
Best bit: the bouncy mesh floor of the chamber being put to good rock use.
Director: Mark Albiston
Nga Taonga Sound & Vision
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