Greg is dropped off at a bold turquoise-painted house, where he sings his song of friendship and drinking to a cat on the doorstep. Nearby three young women (including Jodie Rimmer) read wrestling mags, while a paperboy (Marcus Lush) tries to cram the thick ’90s paper into the tiny ’50s paper tube on the letterbox.

Meanwhile a stressed-out businessman (Graeme Hill) suffers a car breakdown outside Greg’s house, while the paperboy is bothered by a pesky kid and her waterpistol.

Jodie Rimmer, meanwhile, has truly alarming hair – short, bleached, spiked. Total ’90s raver kid. Is this the part of the ’90s we’ll remember?

The song is all about the fun of getting a bit munted, but judging from all the action in this neighbourhood, these people should stay away from the booze.

Best bit: the cat – chilling on the front steps in a world of crazy.

Next… a muttonchopped, drunk, sweaty Elvis wannabe.

Andrew Brough is back wearing his giant round sunglasses. As he is a bespectacled man, I suspect his frequent sunglasses wearing is done for the same reason that Kirk Pengally of INXS often wore sunnies – because they’re more rock than clear glasses.

Cut with the band, we also see actual circus kids. A girl walks a tightrope and a guy slowly rides a bike along the tightrope (oh, a bike – clever).

We also see a boy in 1940s clothing wander about the circus, and he is terrified by a sinister clown who gives him a sinister clown look. The kid flees, but ends up being lured into a trunk by the tightrope girl. “Hooray! The circus has come to town!” sings Andrew Brough. This, guys, is irony.

Best bit: the magnificently flared nostrils of the scary clown man.

Next… Marcus the paperboy.

The Andrew Moore-directed video takes Jordan down to Queen Street, outside the picturesque facade of the old BNZ building, back to Albert Street for the lit-up trees outside the Stamford Plaza, down to the wharves for some pretty reflections, then finally up to K Road to be amongst the punks and Christians.

I appreciate this video more on a personal level. It was shot in the very first year I moved up to Auckland, when I spent a lot of time mooching around these very streets. I like that it exists as a record of Auckland in 1997, just one man and the city streets.

Best bit: the reminder that in the ’90s, sometimes downtown Auckland was really quiet and empty at night.

Next… fear of the carnies.

Russell Harrison tries his best seduction techniques

AKA Brown was Sam Feo of the Semi MCs teamed with the mighty Chong-Nee. “Tonight is Yours”is an ultra smooth R&B jam that sounds about five years ahead of its time.

Annie Crummer has “I Come Alive”, another single off her “Seventh Wave” album.

Bailter Space returned with the album “Capsul” and the single “Pass It Up”, boldly breaking from Bailter Space’s tradition of mono-word song titles.

My theory is any band who writes a song called “Rock Star” is deeply conflicted by their role in the entertainment industry. Future Stupid have this concern, and there’s a live video of their performance of this song at the 1997 Summer Series.

Moana & The Moahunters cover Stevie Wonder’s “You Haven’t Done Nothin’”. The original descriptions on Kiwi Hits looked forwards to its inclusion on the group’s second album “Rua”, but it’s not on the track list.

Splitter have “Bad For Me”, a Britpop-influenced song about a bad friend.

The video for Thorazine Shuffle‘s third single “Secret You Hide” isn’t available, which is a great pity given the epic qualities of both previous videos.

Lotto presenter Russell Harrison has a song called “The Best”. Instead here’s a non-NZOA-funded, low-budget video of his from 2006 for the smooth R&B jam “Why You Wanna”. Russell plays three guys auditioning for a role by doing an improv seduction scene in a bar. The video starts at 0:20, but it’s worth watching the introduction, where he genuinely seems embarrassed by the whole pop-star thing.

Next… Jordan has a wander around town.

The video has also been shot at a slower speed and sped up, giving it a manic energy. This condensing of time allows several Polaroid photos to be taken and develop in front of our eyes.

Most of the action takes place on or around a blue couch. There are also a number of different backdrops hung in the background, a wheeled-in TV for a glimpse of off-set action and a drum kit which various band members have turns on.

The image is slightly altered by different fliters and frames being clipped to the camera, but really the star of the video is the fish tank. For about 40 seconds, some goldfish are wheeled in, where they happily swim around, oblivious to the rock dudes running and jumping around them.

In a way, what happens (or doesn’t happen) in the video doesn’t even matter. It’s such a good song that the video is almost like a screensaver, just some images to watch while you listen to a great song.

Best bit: the goldfish, just chillin’.

Next… Russell’s seduction techniques.

The video sees the band playing in front of an audience of freaky friends. Again, this has the potential for something really visually exciting, but comes across a little dull.

But I’m wondering if this is just the effect of age. In the late ’90s, this sort of kitschy ’60s and ’70s style was cool. But now the video doesn’t have the buoyancy of fashion to hold it all together, it ends up looking like a really boring fancy dress party. Oh look, you’ve dyed your hair green and your friend is wearing a pink wig. Outrageous!

I’ve seen this idea done so much better in other videos of the same era, both with the freaky friends idea and the outrageous party idea. It seems like everyone had fun making it, but there’s not much of that spirit has come through to the video.

Best bit: the guy in the green head-to-toe bodysuit. Outrageous.

Next… four guys and a fish.

The song is a moody track with a disco funk bass and some fab 1960s guitar tremolo, while Pauly raps and sings about being on the run, a simultaenous blend of pop star and badass.

After an introduction with a Betty Draper-ish, we meet Pauly, hiding out in a dark motel room, his face cast with shadows from venetian blinds. We also see him in a colourful room, sometimes playing his guitar, wearing a silver jacket at a press conference, and wearing a 1960s leisure suit as he is spun around on a rotating wall.

Betty also makes an appearance in these locations, but never at the same time as Pauly. She’s in the company of a sinister looking man who seems to be keeping her prisoner. If she knows anything about Pauly’s whereabouts, she’s not snitching.

There’s no conclusion, not hint that this drama will be resolved. The video ends with a pause on Pauly and then a fade to black.

Best bit: Pauly banging out some instro guitar – a perfect way to pass the time when laying low.

It would be nice if the OMC videography ended here, but there was also “I Love LA”, an irony-free cover of the heavily ironic Randy Newman song, recorded for the “Mr Bean” movie soundtrack. Simon Grigg notes: “The embarrassing video, in a Hollywood pool, cost more than every video and recording made by Pauly to date, combined. An almighty flop, a terrible record, and a career killer. Its on my label but I disowned it before release.” View with caution.

Next… outrageous sexy ’90s party.

“Husky Vooms” was the first of their three NZOA-funded music videos. Starting with some plinky-plunky piano, the song explodes into a repeated question: “Wouldn’t you like to see me?” The video takes its cue from this line, making the star of the video a blind man, using a cane to navigate around central Auckland. Impressively and/or suspiciously, the blind man confidently walks down the steep steps at the top of Myers Park.

The sepiatone adventures of this guy then make way for some grainy black and white footage of the band performing. But these two worlds don’t remain seperate. A guitar (sometimes seen with its human) is let loose in the blind man’s world, captured by a camera strapped to the guitar head.

Finally, the previously monochrome world of the video erupts into a colourful animation, as the blind man finds himself in a crazy lurid world of excitement.

I like that this video doesn’t focus on any rock star antics from the band. The lowkey adventures of the blind man lets the song stand out. It’s not a big sexy hard-sell music video, but it works just fine.

On cue, a big old convertible rolls into the Skateland car park, and out jumps the band in fancy dress. There’s a ’70s Afro man, a priest, an Elvis and a bee. They enter the building, the emcee cheers and the band launches into their furious 90-second song.

Muckhole are set up in the middle of the rink and while they play, roller hockey kids skate around them.

Some of the video seems to have been shot with a crane, but given that the YouTube description notes the video was made for $4000, I actually wouldn’t be surprised if it was a guy dangling in the rafters.

The song ends the band suddenly vanishes. Serenity returns to Skateland, while the waitress forlornly skates around, with no customers to receive her tray of milkshakes.

It’s a simple video with a cute concept at its core. It looks as low budget as it is, but that fits right in with the song’s angry lyrics.

Best bit: the Elvis lead singer, taking full advantage of his costume’s mana.

Next… the coolest way to lay low.

The video has a similar light, happy feeling as the song. Directed by Mark Tierney, the video starts with sepia tone footage, with a faux border looking like an Instagram filter. Jan lounges about her actual house, playing the guitar, looking content. But who is the fellow that’s causing all this joy? Why, it’s only a man in a bear costume.

Bungle – I have decided to call him that because he looks like Bungle off “Rainbow” – hangs out the washing and lies around in bed with Jan. A picture of perfect domestic bliss.

We also see Jan happily lying in a grassy meadow, enjoying some sunshine and is later joined by Bungle. How cool is he? Jan sings, “He says, ‘Don’t you worry about a thing, girl. You don’t have to face the world alone.’” Aww….

But just in case there was any confusion about Bungle, at the very end of the video he pulls off the bear head revealing a cute guy with a goatee. Because it would be a bit weird if Jan was actually going out with a bear.

Best bit: the very first shot of – OMG – Jan in bed with the bear.

Next… an Elvis, a bee, priest and a ’70s dude walk into a skating rink.