Robyn – Page 57 – 5000 Ways to Love You

Savant “Solitary”

Savant (who sometimes spell their name with a metal umlaut – Savänt) are here and they’re going to rock. I was delighted to discover that the “Solitary” video is shot in the same old warehouse location where Lucid 3’s “Shiver” video was filmed. I think it might be the since demolished old warehouses on Quay Street. While Lucid 3 were content to build a stage, add a bit of water and pose artfully, Savant have gone to the extreme for their Soundgraden-inspired track.

The band’s bio at Muzic.net.nz notes that the video was filmed using the fancy new world of digital cinematography “as used on Star Wars Episode 2.” It also reckons that this was the first time a digital video had been produced in Australasia. Well, that’s an important milestone.

The video starts with the band playing in the warehouse during the day. We know it’s daytime because of all the sunlight that’s flooding in through the many windows and skylights. The light has been digitally enhanced to resemble strong hazy sunbeams. It’s been manipulated to shine around the singer, like some sort of bad Christian film.

Then night falls and the lighting tricks get even tricksier. The warehouse is dark on the inside and the band are lit by areas of green, gold and brown light. And just in case this was not extreme enough, we then find the bass player floating in the air (i.e. hanging from a cable) because this is how hard Savant rock.

The thing is, this song has the lyrics “I’m a solitary man / Yes, I am”. Clearly a band who write big crunchy rock numbers like this do not care for subtlety. They’re going to go as extreme as they can manage. And I can’t help think that the band would have been really pleased with the finished product.

Best bit: the bass player’s extreme röck facïal exprëssions.

Next…pop-up pop.

Rubicon “Bruce”

This was Rubicon’s big hit. It peaked at #22 on the charts and I remember it being thrashed on Juice TV. It’s golden novelty pop-punk.

The song is based around the assumption that Bruce is an awful name, blaming parents for naming their innocent babies Bruce. But there’s nothing back up the claim, with the song’s message being little more than, “Hey Bruce, Rubicon says your name’s dumb.”

The video is set in the grand old Auckland railway station. Paul Rubicon walks in and finds the place swarming with people in funny costumes. In fact, I’m pretty sure the Village People could be formed out of the crowd.

After musing on how Bruce sucks as a name, the chorus comes along and everyone bursts into dance. I think this means I can official declare that big, ironic formation dancing was a thing in the early ’90s. It’s pretty basic steps (at one point, everyone stands still and twirls their arms around), but it’s just the sort of thing that could have been copied at home by eager fans.

During the instrumental, the band take a break from dancing to get behind their instruments, shot in colder light to demonstrate that they have a 4 real side to them.

As the video concludes, all the costumed dancers strip down to “Bruce” t-shirts and do a joyous can-can to celebrate the name. (All except Rubicon who are wearing their own band t-shirts). We also get a close-up of a young man, smiling appreciatively. His appearance seems odd if you don’t know that in 2001 he was a Juice TV presenter named Bruce. Hey, celebrity cameo!

Any New Zealand band that can reasonably pull off a moderate Busby Berkeley-style dance routine is ok with me. But it’s a bit weird having that with lyrics that cheerfully demand “Hang his head in shame! Hang his head in shame! Hang his head in shame!”

Best bit: the bass player’s bum dance that goes on for slightly too long.

Director: Paul Reid
Ngā Taonga Sound & Vision

Next… get your shed on.

Pluto “Stick With It”

If there’s one band that can do dress-ups without an awkward self-confidence, it’s Pluto. “Stick With It” sees the band as cabaret performers, dressed in dapper suits and hats, entertaining a small club. (Bang on trend for that “Great Gatsby” look, plus eyeliner.) And it all seems like a real performance in front of a real audience, so there’s a refreshing lack of the “Woo! I’m watching a live band!” style of music video audience acting.

As well as the band, we also see glamorous party girls, similarly dressed in that 1920s style. But given that that flapper style has long been a fancy dress cliche, their costumes aren’t as effective. It’s hard to buy into that world when I’m thinking “Oh, those satin gloves were $5 at Geoff’s Emporium, right?” This detail spoils it for me. Up until that point, it went from a cool Pluto cabaret gig to something on par with Napier’s Art Deco Weekend.

But the party girls are a small part of the video. Most it is dedicated to Pluto, who are properly into their fabulousness. Witness Milan pull out a cardboard heart from his suit for the “love!” lyric. He does it with flair and conviction, but there’s just the slightest hint of “OMG, check me out!”

This kind of dress-up is rare in New Zealand music videos – especially with a rock band. It’s nice to see some guys who aren’t afraid to make an effort with wardrobe.

Best bit: Milan breaks character and gives someone the finger.

Note: The audio on this version of the video is out of sync by quite a lot, so all the dramatic flourishes don’t match up.

Next… the name of the game.

KAOS “2000 Beyond”

KAOS were a hip hop group that was part of the Dawn Raid family. “2000 Beyond” was of two KAOS tracks that featured on Dawn Raid’s 2001 sampler album “Southside Story 2: International”. I’m going to assume that 1960s spy comedy “Get Smart” was the source of the group’s name, but I’m also hoping that the track title was inspired by the Australian futuristic technology TV series “Beyond 2000”.

The video begins with one minute of acting. The guys are hanging out at their place when a mysterious stranger delivers the “Southside Story 2” CD. They pop the CD in their five-disc changer and the fresh beats colour their previously black and white world. Just like in “The Wizard of Oz”.

This takes them through a wormhole into a world of so many gratuitous CGI effects that it makes Supergroove’s “Can’t Get Enough” look restrained and subtle by comparison.

There are different rooms of effects, including a room of flaming fiery flames and a room of booming speakers. There are cameos from label mates the Deceptikonz and bossman Brotha D himself. There’s also an awkward moment where the DJ finds himself with two party girls dancing either side. He seems kind of embarrassed and even a little annoyed, like, OMG, can’t you girls see he’s busy trying to DJ?

We also see the group in a more ordinary situation – partying amongst a large crowd. That footage looks and feels better than all the CGI stuff. Somehow a heaving crowd of people is more exciting than a room of CGI flames.

It’s a good song, but compared to the Deceptikonz, KAOS have something missing. They just seem like a group of four dudes who like to make hip hop tunes together, rather than the big stars that the Deceptikonz became.

Best bit: the persistence of the party girls.

Note: I found this video over at Yahoo, which seems to be another side effect of Warner’s weirdness with old videos. It’s since been removed from Yahoo and it doesn’t seem to be available anywhere else. But here’s the audio, at least.

Ngā Taonga Sound & Vision

Next: Willkommen, bienvenue, welcome!

Goodshirt “Sophie”

The “Sophie” video is one of those classic, beloved New Zealand music videos. It won Best Video at the New Zealand Music Awards in 2003 was on the Ngā Taonga Sound & Vision’s list of 100 iconic music videos.

It’s the third of Joe Lonie’s four Goodshirt videos, and probably the best known. In classic Lonie style, it’s all shot in one take and played for laughs, this time with a stationary camera.

The video centres on a young woman. Let’s call her Sophie. It’s her birthday and she’s just taken a shower. Wrapped in a towel, she sits on her couch and puts on headphones to listen to her favourite song, “Sophie” by Goodshirt.

And she really like the song. She’s so wrapped up its pop-rock charms that she doesn’t notice the four cat burglars who break into her flat and steal all her stuff. There’s obviously a strong demand on the black market for quirky vintage furniture.

The burglars are played by Goodshirt, only the singer Gareth wasn’t available for the video shoot so a stand-in was used. Gareth’s absence is why the concept of the black-masked burglars was created.

While enjoying a piece of birthday cake, Sophie turns around and discovers that all her stuff is gone. The bastards even took her toilet paper. She drops her cake in shock. Don’t sorry, Soph – you still have your stereo and Goodshirt CD. And that gift of music is the most precious taonga of all.

The video has nothing to do with the song lyrics (a yearning for an unrequited love), but it picks up on Goodshirt’s charms. “Sophie” is a strong song, but I reckon the video is what really helped get it to number one.

Best bit: Sophie versus the sticky piece of tape on her gift box.

Note: The below version of the video is a bit pixelly and the sound isn’t balanced. But over at Joe Lonie’s portfolio at Fish’n’Clips, there’s a really good quality version.

Director: Joe Lonie
Ngā Taonga Sound & Vision

Next… we’ve got a futuristic cyber realm and we aren’t afraid to use it.

Goldenhorse “Golden Dawn”

Goldenhorse had previously enjoyed some success with campus radio hit “American Wife”, but “Golden Dawn” was their first video and the track that started to get them noticed. With two members of the band coming from Bressa Creeting Cake (one of their videos featured a tale of the love between a lady and a weta), it’s not surprising that Goldenhorse have a bit of that art-weird.

The song is a fairly pleasant love song, which manages to have that instant coffee advertisement vibe. But the video takes things in a different, more complicated direction. There are vampires.

As anyone who’s watched “TrueBlood” or a “Twilight” film will know, human-vampire relationships are fraught with all sorts of complications. Lead singer Kirsten plays the vampire. She comes home, pets her dog and removes her robe to reveal all sorts of scratches and bit marks on her back. She snuggles down in bed and dreams of the cute guy she saw in a passing car.

Her fantasies are troubled. An attempt at a doorstep snog is messed up when her urge to bite takes over. Dreams of a romantic rose petal bath are similarly disrupted by her yearnings for his sweet tender neck.

But finally it happens. She manages to dream of having a good snog with the guy and doesn’t sink her teeth into his neck. She wakes up happy and gives her dog a scratch. Maybe now if she can dream it, she can be it.

It’s a fun video, and refreshingly removed from the winery-tour style that Goldenhorse would settle into.

Best bit: the splash war in the rose-petal bath.

Next: worst birthday ever.

Fur Patrol “Spinning a Line”

Up to this point, Fur Patrol’s videos have been a lot of fun, with the band trapped in a swimming pool, strapped to a truck, exploring a surreal world, shooting daggers at a clone and doing a dance-off. But with “Spinning a Line”, things go back to basics.

The band are to be found playing the song in an empty Hopetoun Alpha. They’re not even playing on stage, rather they’re set up on the floor in the middle of the hall. The lighting is dramatic, with the background space almost invisible with the shadows.

The camera slowly glides around the band, and it also looks like the footage has been slightly slowed down to give a dreamy feeling. The video lets the song take over, with the band being almost a secondary consideration.

“Spinning a Line” was the final single from the band’s hugely popular “Pet” album. And it feels like the “Pet” era Fur Patrol are wrapping up, about to grow into the next stage of their career – the adventurous move to Melbourne.

Best bit: the close-ups of the bass, long vibrating strings and all.

Ngā Taonga Sound & Vision

Next… fangtastic.

Che Fu “Misty Frequencies”

In the beginning there was Che Fu’s head. It pops up in a black void, before it’s suddenly revealed that Che and the nine members of his band are standing atop a strange brown platform. They discover that, oddly enough, they all have cables trailing from their backs and they can make musical sounds from their mouths. No one seems alarmed by this situation, and they excitedly plug their biocables into jacks.

Plugged in, the song starts with the sound graphing itself on the wall below the platform. Such is the power of the song that even unplugging it keeps the visual tricks going, with frequency graphics bouncing around the posse’s shirts.

The location is slowly revealing itself to be like a real-life video game, though with no apparent challenges, enemy to fight or princess to save. The gang throw Tetris blocks off the wall, then the wall turns into a Mario-inspired universe, with mushrooms and coins flying around. A flower pot appears and – obviously – Che plugs a cable into it. This transports the group to a real-life outdoor scene, some proper New Zealand bush.

The guys groove on, and are visited by one of the giant mushrooms from the earlier location. There’s no sign of Princess Peach. The video ends with the bush scene falling away in Tetris-like pieces, suggesting it’s no more real than the video game location.

The video feels like Che Fu, at the top of his game, making the music video he wants to make – and it was nominated for Best Video at the 2003 New Zealand Music Awards. It’s him and his mates reliving an ultimate childhood fantasy of exploring a video game for real. And maybe that’s the videos weakness – it feels a bit too much of “Hey, check out this cool shizz!” with little more to it. Unless I’ve overlooked a metaphorical commentary on the nature of the music industry.

Best bit: the pounamu piece smashing the Tetris blocks.

Director: Che Fu
Ngā Taonga Sound & Vision

Next… it’s great when you’re straight.

Eye TV “Worse For Wear”

It’s Eye TV’s final NZ On Air-funded video. They had 15 funded videos, which puts them on par with Garageland and Tadpole. It’s kind of nice that their final video was directed by Greg Page, whose music-video-directing career developed alongside Eye TV’s music career.

Greg previously directed “One Day Ahead” for the band, a stylish performance-based video. He takes a different tack with “Worse For Wear” going back to his roots in animation. He’d previously done claymation music videos (Shihad’s “Yr Head is a Rock”, Throw’s “Honeyblonde”), but those were done with a dash of humour.

“Worse For Wear” has the darker side of Greg’s creative vision, previously seen in the gothic mad-scientistic story in Throw’s “All Different Things”. It tells the story of a lowly cleaner (who works for the Worse For Wear cleaning company). In fact, with a title card reading “The Cleaner”, the narrative-heavy music video also effectively works as a short film.

It’s a scribbly grey world, with the animation done as simple black pen drawings on cardboard cut-outs, with slightly more detailed cityscapes and backgrounds. Wielding his mop like a paintbrush, Clive the cleaner gets to work on the murky grey walls, but they seem to dirty themselves almost as quickly as he can clean them.

Finally he gets the wall clean and it glistens with pristine whiteness. But now that everything is clean, what will Clive do for work? He cries dark grey tears and the teardrops plop on the floor and soon turn everything else grey. “All is well” appears on the wall. Clive leaves, content in the knowledge that there’ll be more work for him tomorrow.

“Worse For Wear” is a sweet, uplifting song but the lyrics are specifically a man addressing a messed-up woman. The video sticks with the same theme but moves it to the far more interesting scenario of Clive the cleaner and his tears of eternal employment.

Best bit: Clive’s work ID card – his ticket to happiness.

Next… bonus power round.

En Masse “Break My Heart”

The En Masse story goes a little something like this. A couple of Christchurch businessmen noticed the success of overseas boybands and their successful managers. They fancied themselves to be the Lou Perlmans of the South Pacific so they put together a boyband called En Masse.

There’s an amazing promo video of the group, that seems to have been created for potential investors, rather than music media. We meet Whaaka, Reuben, Howie, Rychalo and Matt (as well as managers Brynley and Peter) and hear of their big dreams for the future. “We truly believe that we’ve got something unique here,” enthuses Brynley. “Quincey Jones said the next big thing is going to be Polynesian music,” asserts Peter, seemingly oblivious to the existence and successes of Te Vaka and Moana and the Moahunters on the world music circuit and the need for such a group to have more than just Polynesian members.

The group also say they want to “portray high-class music with a high-class look.” And “we wanna wear suits and look real styley when we get up there and perform.” So, a classy New Zealand boyband aiming for global success. What could go wrong? Hey, it kind of worked for Purest Form.

The video begins with the boys dressed in nice suits (a quality product; not street) in the gardens of a palatial home. While they hang out with the topiary, a pretty blond woman arrives home. She doesn’t notice the boyband on her front porch, and after they suddenly disappear, I can only conclude that they are ghosts.

The boys spend a lot of time performing the song in the house’s living room. But they’re very stiff and awkward. They can’t really dance and they all have different performance styles – some are highly expressive and camp, others are understated.

For a group with ambitions of having a high-class look, the video actually looks really cheap, like they’ve just showed up at this house wearing fancy suits, set up a tripod and swayed around in front of the camera for a bit.

Even though the house appears to be very large and posh, its blandly decorated, so anything other than a wide shot looks like the band are just standing in front of a blank, anonymous wall.

The heartbreaking conclusion of the video sees their dream girl going off on a hot date with a middle-aged businessman in a fancy car. If that’s the kind of guy she’s into, how can these young guys possibly compete?

It’s like a metaphor for En Masse’s career. They showed up on the doorstep of the music industry with their fancy suits, but audiences weren’t having it. The New Zealand public wanted to drive off with cool dudes like Craig David, Afroman and Uncle Kracker.

En Masse had funding for a second video in February 2002, but the follow-up single and video “Crazy Baby” never eventuated. Boybands weren’t cool anymore. It wasn’t until 2012 that a manufactured New Zealand non-comedy boy band actually made it to the top of the charts, with Titanium’s #1 single “Come on Home”. And in the world of the X Factor, Moorhouse (also from Christchurch) are making the girls scream – something the ordinary boys of En Masse never quite managed.

Best bit: the creepy family portraits in the billiard room.

Director: Paul Sparkes

Next… a two dimensional farewell.