Lost in space, in the studio, good hair in the city, youthful exuberance, and a virtual workout.
Luger Boa “Asteroids and Satellites”
“Asteroids and Satellites” is a jaunty rock tune, and the music video follows a black-clad figure wandering around a desert landscape, that’s either meant to be on another planet or just Earth. It’s very mysterious and sci-fi, and despite the slow pace of the video, it doesn’t drag down the song. But nothing much happens, and it feels like (yet another) wasted opportunity to capture Luger Boa’s rock energy. This was the group’s final funded music video.
Director: Johnny Lyon
Massad “Forget About Me”
This video cannot be embedded, so watch it over at Vimeo.
“Forget About Me” is a cheerful tune that was part of a Ministry of Health campaign to help teens to cope with depression. I’m not actually sure if this is the proper music video — it seems to show the actual studio recording, with Massad and a bunch of middle-aged session musicians.
An interview from the time suggests there was a second video. Massad describes it as being about “forgetting about your worries and to try and help people see what they have around them and appreciate it.” The video starred Massad’s nan, his dog, schoolmates and fans. It sounds like quite the extravaganza!
Director: Marc Swadel
Ria “Over You”
Ria has a bright sunny pop sound and her debut single “Over You” reached No.27 in the singles chart. The song is a slight contradiction — if she was really over her troublesome ex, she wouldn’t be singing and dancing about it; she wouldn’t even be thinking much about it at all. But regardless, Ria and her good hair star in the video. She struts around around a city at twilight, bringing some low-key luxe to the scene. It looks low-budget but never cheap. Ria’s charisma dominates and lets the video make an impact without needing any fancy tricks.
Director: Damien Shatford
Ruby Frost “Young”
There was that time when everyone was writing songs about being young. Maybe the world was feeling quite old before then. This song feels like a lighter version of a The Naked and Famous song — it’s has a fresh and breezy feel with underlying pop sophistication, but unlike TNAF, it’s not mired by feelings of having come from hipper-than-thou cool kids. And the video also feels inspired by TNAF, though mixing up the arty visual style with a more conventional pop style.
Director: Sam Kristofski
Savage featuring Devolo “This Is Me” – missing
I’m not sure if this video ever existed, but there’s a blog that has a dead link to some sort of video for “This Is Me”. So maybe. Otherwise, it’s Savage’s EDM phase, with lighter rap from Devolo mixing with Savage’s fierce mic skills. It feels painfully trendy, but only a couple of years away from the Australia remix of “Swing” which led to the glorious international trash hit “Freaks” with Timmy Trumpet that was so much better.
Scratch 22 “Medicine Man”
The “Medicine Man” video is a one-shot video involving a senior walking on a treadmill, while a number of assistants bring large backdrops towards the camera. There’s a slit in the middle of each backdrop so they are able to pass around the walker and the camera. The problem with the video is that it’s six minutes of an old man’s ass. As much variety as the backdrops deliver, there’s no escaping the unchanging image of the buttocks as they walk on the road to nowhere.
Director: Bob Van Der Wall
Nga Taonga Sound & Vision