2001 – Page 4 – 5000 Ways to Love You

Nesian Mystik “Nesian Style”

“Nesian style is here / Ladies beware.” And with that declaration/threat, Nesian Mystik arrive on the scene, determined to change things.

New Zealand had attempted boy bands before, most successfully with Purest Form; least successfully with En Masse (and little in between), but Nesian Mystik did things differently. They wrote their own songs, they played instruments and did rapping as well as sweet harmonies. And – most importantly – they managed to create their own sound – a South Pacific pop-soul-hip-hop-R&B mash-up.

The group had come together at Western Springs College and were in the 2000 Smokefreerockquest finals along with Evermore and the guys of Die! Die! Die! And then there they were, a year later, with their first single.

The video is mostly set in downtown Auckland, in a canyon of skyscrapers and urbanity. The boys spend most of the video hanging out on top of a parking building, with cool cars and hot chicks. It might have just been a fantasy for the purposes of the music video, but they were laying down some pretty bold ground rules. These guys were ready for some next-level pop stardom.

We also see the six-piece group hanging out around a bonfire in a suburban/industrial part of Auckland. That’s a bit of a trope in New Zealand hip hop videos – the ordinary suburban Auckland street. And it’s interesting what they’re doing with the video – posing, cars, women – all standard cliches from hip hop videos. But because the song is so sweet and the group seem like really nice guys, they get away with it. I mean, who wouldn’t want to party with Nesian Mystik on top of a car park?

Best bit: the breakdancer who spins around then flops down flat.

Ngā Taonga Sound & Vision

Next… the importance of being glam.

Goldenhorse “Baby’s Been Bad”

“Baby’s Been Bad” is a cheerful ska number, but like the group’s previous video “Golden Dawn”, this one gets a bit weird. It’s like Goldenhorse are slightly afraid of the straight pop songs they’ve written and have to do something to warp them a little.

This time the video gets a bit sci-fi and a bit surreal. Starting with a dystopian, black and white world where Geoff Goldenhorse climbs into a giant drawer which starts to transport him somewhere. We also meet Kirsten Goldenhorse who’s in a colourful caravan in the desert, mixing up crazy potions, involving a human heart, paper dolls and pasta.

It seems Geoff is visiting the desert to put a mysterious canister down an equally mysterious metal tube. But is he going to go back to the dystopian world? No, he is drawn to the caravan atop the sand dune.

The video doesn’t quite work for me. The song feels a bit weak from all its repetition and so the video seems like an attempt to distract from that. I’d be much more impressed if Goldenhorse could just make a straight video for their pop songs.

Best bit: the most important ingredient – a house made of macaroni.

Director: Marek Sumich

Next… ladies, beware.

Anika Moa “Youthful”

So here’s Anika Moa. She’s had a lot of videos funded – at least 16, but possible more. “Youthful” was her first single of her poppy, New York-recorded debut album. Legend has it that her record company were trying to push her further down the pop route, but she went “nah” and took a step back to Aotearoa. It was a good move. “Youthful” was a hit for Anika, charting at #5 and getting the 2002 APRA award as the most performed work on New Zealand radio and television.

We meet the young Ms Moa (she was only 21) standing in the hallway of an ordinary looking house. She’s dressed very casually (denim jacket and bootled trousers) with scraggly Kim Deal-style hair and no noticeable make up. Hey, it’s Anika.

But from this ordinary scene she steps into a side room and is suddenly in a winter wonderland. It’s snowing and stands wearing an ice princess version of her streetwear casual style.

Off to the other side is an autumnal themed room, with the warm colours of deciduous leaves. And this time it’s dead leaves that are falling everywhere. A house with a tree in the middle of it seems a bit weird, until you consider that Korean restaurant on Queen Street that actually has a giant tree growing up in the middle of it.

But those seasonal rooms aren’t even the strangest. No, that belongs to the room with shelves full of mason jars with sheets of A4 flapping over each jar. With preserves being rather fashionable at the moment, it all looks like some sort of cool concept restaurant.

The song, with its themes of dominion and exploitation, has a sinister edge to it and the Paul Casserly-directed video goes with that uneasy vibe. I almost don’t want Anika to venture into the weird rooms, staying in the safety of the hallways, away from the mason jars and A4.

Best bit: the leaf that hits Anika on the side of the face.

Note: In one of C4’s Homegrown profiles from 2005, Anika talks about the making of this video. She chose the treatment out of several submitted, but felt that the lower budget of the video didn’t let it look as good as was originally intended. And people told her that she looked like Beth Heke. See more here, in part two.

Director: Paul Casserley
Ngā Taonga Sound & Vision

Next… the caravan of love.

Slim “Real World”

The video begins with Aaron from Slim dressed as yuppie scum. This is signified by him wearing a suit and talking on a cellphone. Yes, kids, once upon a time only wankers in suits had cellphones.

Aaron’s an important businessman having and important business call near the entrance of the Lyttelton Tunnel (Slim were from Christchurch, so good on them for using local locations) when two heavies kidnap him.

In their secret lair, Aaron is given a few off-camera kicks and dragged through the building. His previously neatly coiffed hair has taken the form of wild spikes. That’s the first step in brainwashing – they get the hair. One of the heavies then spraypaints an “S” on his shirt, with the downward slash of his tie making it a dollar sign. Yeah, how’d you like that, yuppie boy? Now you have a dollar sign painted on your shirt.

While all this has been going on, Slim have been playing as a three-piece. They seem to be coping, with a guitarist singing his middle-eight part, but they are obviously in need of a proper lead singer as suddenly a reprogrammed Aaron bursts in and starts rocking out. Obviously having that dollar sign painted on his shirt was all he needed to successfully front a punk band.

The song is all about conformity (or lack thereof), so the question is, are Slim conforming to the cliches of a punk-pop music video, or are they subverting the genre with irony? Also, some dry-cleaning fluid will get that paint off the shirt.

Ngā Taonga Sound & Vision

Next… shaken and stirred.

SJD “Tree People”

The “Tree People” video takes place within an actual pop-up book. It’s a handmade work, with scenes sketched out in watercolour paint. A pair of hands pushes and pulls the levers and opens the flaps, bringing movement and depth to the story.

The video opens with a large outside a nightclub (Club Sandwich), waiting to see the sold-out SJD gig. Inside, SJD takes to the stage and the audience wave their hands in the air like they just don’t care.

The next day SJD goes for a ride in his lowrider (which I’m sure is an accurate real-life detail) and head to the beach. The beach is full of hot chicks in bikinis, who wiggle their bottoms in appreciation. I feel a bit sorry for them. There they are at the beach, but for some reason there are no guys. Then along comes beardy musician in corduroy with a drive-through mic. Well, any port in a storm.

But this life of bitches and money isn’t for SJD. He relaxes on a hillside and sweetly watches the sunset with a bunny rabbit friend. Of course.

This is a very enjoyable video to watch. A lot of effort has gone into the pop-up book, but behind it is a solid narrative, so it’s real pleasure to see all the bits working together.

Best bit: the slowed down beachside bum wiggles – the male gaze on cartridge paper.

Director: Gerald Phillips

Next… reprogramming.

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.