5000 Ways to Love You – Page 48 – Exploring the world of NZ On Air music video funding

Elemeno P “Everyday’s a Saturday”

This really kicked off the Elemeno P that would soon become a beloved live band. Lani, previously in Foamy Ed, had joined the group on bass, with the bonus being that she could sing, adding extra dimension to their songs. Also – Lani has the best hair.

“Everyday’s a Saturday” is pretty much an optimistic take on the miserabilistic anthem “Everyday is like Sunday” – the feeling when every day feels really awesome. The lyrics are more about how being in love makes everything feel perfect, but the video takes a more literal interpretation.

Like the “Fast Times in Tahoe” video, the band are again to be found in luxury surroundings. But this time they’re playing themselves – regular Elemeno P who just happen to be larging it in a fancy St Mary’s house overlooking Waitemata Harbour. It’s good-time, nice-guys fun band Elemeno P – much more likeable than the country club toffs of “Tahoe”.

The video opens with the band lounging around the pool, before heading into the kitchen for a hearty breakfast of Elemeno P-branded food (even though Weet-bix gets a direct mention in the lyrics), while a newspaper headline proclaims “Elemeno P rise to stardom”.

Then it’s time for a party, with the house guests getting a wrist stamp at the door. The video really dwells on the wrist-stamping scene, as if they’d spent so much effort setting it all up, they didn’t want to waste any of the shots. Hey guys, the drummer is stamping the wrists of the partygoers. Like at a gig. Lol.

The day (and the video) ends with a poolside concert, with all the wrist-stamped punters rocking out and not falling in the pool. But the big question is what will the next day be like? Will it be a Groundhog Day existence, the band forever doomed to live every day in their party house of Weetbix and wrist stamps?

Best bit: Lani’s very glam return from the shops, assisted by two shirtless beefcake helpers.

Director: Rachel Davies
Ngā Taonga Sound & Vision

Next… a band’s very public breakdown.

D2S “Ride with Me”

You know on shows like the X Factor, sometimes at an audition a judge will say “You look like a pop star”? Well, D2S don’t look like popstars. They look like some lads from a rugby club who have got together and made a music video to raise money for their club’s upcoming tour of Canberra.

But as it happens D2S (which is short for Destined 2 Shyne, which is long for for Destined to Shine) were a real pop group and “Ride with Me” was their Neptunes-inspired single. It had a lot of airplay on Mai FM and reached 14 in the pop charts.

It’s a pretty generic piece of early 2000s R&B pop. The lyrics are like a grab bag of genre cliches, a world of ballers, players and shorties. And then there’s the bit where “trust me” is rhymed with “oooh weee”.

The video is set in the showroom of a car dealer on Great North Road. It seems like they’ve chosen that setting for a bling take on the “ride with me” theme, but given that no one touches the cars – they only dance around them – it literally seems like a band who’s been allowed into a car dealer to shoot their music video with the proviso that no one’s allowed to touch the cars.

There’s one bit of the video that is a little disturbing. One of the guys sings “you know I want to be in you, girl” and he has a really aggressive look on his face. It’s scary, not sexy. This is why R&B videos typically have girls in them – to stop things feeling like a bunch of guys who have been in prison too long. (Check out Ja Rule and Bobby Brown’s magnificent “Thug Lovin'” for bling and girls and music done extravagantly well.)

That’s the problem. D2S had a decent song and just wanted to make a cool music video, like the sort of R&B videos they saw on TV. Curiously enough, a couple of years later Dei Hamo came out with the similarly themed “We Gon Ride”, that actually managed a properly blinged-out music video. But it’s hard to make a $5000 video grant look that fancy, even more so when you surround the group with $50,000 cars.

Best bit: the walk along the Great North Road, glistening in the rain.

Next… everyday is noisy and bright.

Concord Dawn “Morning Light”

In a way “Morning Light” was a breakout track for Concord Dawn. I remember at the time people who’d never previously listened to drum and bass were in love with its atmospheric charms and the emotion brought into a drum n bass track.

The video takes its inspiration from the lyrical mention of morning light, but the video is primarily based around the tempo and dynamics of the music, as well as the city of Auckland.

The video opens with pretty dawn scenes of the Auckland skyline, an orange sun rising over the dark city silhouette. The sun brightens and clouds float across the sky and it’s all kind of abstract.

But as soon as the big drum and bass bit kicks in, we’re down on the ground – the corner of Queen Street and Victoria Street, to be precise. Supergroove paid a visit to the corner in 1994 for “Sitting Inside My Head”, but they took a chilled out, slow-mo walk across the road. Concord Dawn’s experience is sped-up, capturing the hectic pace of the city.

Then we move onto the roads, with more sped-up action along the North-Western motorway. But this isn’t just a random drive. This journey out west leads to Piha beach for a reflective pause as the sun sets.

Once night is there, we’re off to a live gig, full of people dancing like they just don’t care. With Concord Dawn not being the most visually interesting group to watch perform (two dudes hunched over equipment), it’s a way of capturing the magic of their live shows without requiring them to fake it as big video stars.

Things conclude with some footage of the night sky, dark clouds ominously parting to reveal a full moon.

Best bit: the hoon along the North-Western – the traffic is good.

Next… after hours at the car dealer’s.

Carly Binding “Love Will Save Me”

There’s quite a cool set-up to this video. We see Carly at home, at work and in the club, but it’s how she gets from place to place that is interesting. The three sets are built side by side, so Carly jumps on the camera trolly and travels across the sets – a perfect set-up for the modern lazy girl.

Carly wakes up in her bedroom that somehow looks most like a set, with walls that seem on the verge of wobbling. Scooting along to work, she ties on an apron and begins a shift at a greasy spoon diner. There’s another waitress wearing a traditional American diner waitress uniform and she seems a bit miffed that Carly gets to wear a tank top, jeans and sneakers. But it’s that simple outfit that takes her from home, to work, then to the club. And so it happens every day. Every top Carly wears – even the off-the-shoulder one – is suitable for all three places. It’s like a masterclass in smart-casual.

The song is a really sweet, radio-friendly pop tune. Carly works hard to overcome her bitchy resting face, but sometimes it just seems like she’s trying very hard to look happy and in love. But to be fair, that sort of pop video requires a demanding performance.

I feel a shoutout has to be given to Kylie Minogue’s “I Should be so Lucky” video, which also involved three rooms that were obviously a film set. It has a different feel to it than “Love Will Save Me”, with Kylie’s girl-nextdoor charms bringing cheer.

“Love Will Save Me” was directed by Greg Page. It’s remarkable that around the same time he was making videos for metallers 8ft Sativa and indie rock dudes PanAm, and pop-rock band Elemeno P. All different, all good.

Best bit: the sneer of the sassy waitress at the diner.

Note: The video is geoblocked for New Zealand (and Germany) on YouTube, but ok for everywhere else. Alternatively you can watch a good quality version over at Greg Page’s profile at Fish ‘n’ Clips.

Director: Greg Page
Ngā Taonga Sound & Vision

Next… a hoon down the north-western.

Bic Runga “Something Good”

First, two comments from YouTube –

The uploader’s description: “Enjoyable video from 2002 which should be seen more often.”
The top-rated comment: “She comes from the lil country that could…NEW ZEALAND!”

And they both say it all, ready. It is indeed an enjoyable video, and its full of feelgood New Zealandness that goes down a treat with whatever sports-related national pride is setting the country on fire.

The video sees Bic on Cuba Street in Wellington, which had been dressed to make it look even more groovy and boho than it normally does. When the Bucket Fountain goes, it’s not a wet, messy splashstravaganza, but a joyful, light-catching water display. The video was directed by Chris Graham and was nominated for Best Video at the 2003 New Zealand Music Awards. It has a really sweet, warm Wellington-on-a-good-day feel to it, and Bic looks lovely.

But in this pleasant setting, Bic makes an alarming discovery: she’s invisible. For a professional performer, this must be an absolute nightmare. The nicely dressed businessman ignores her. The elegantly dressed kuia ignores her. The hipsters on bikes ignore her. All the stylish people of Wellington are ignoring Bic. Not even her NOM*D belt will render her visible.

What does it is the innocence of a child. A little girl happily accepts Bic’s offer of flowers that she apparently steals from a street vendor. This awesome moment inspires Bic to lift off into the air, causing all the people on the street to finally notice her. And it’s just as well that she’s wearing shorts under her dress.

But Bic’s not quite one of us. She can be seen, but is still semi-solid, as a taxi driver discovers. He seems quite upset by having driven his car through a pop singer, but Bic is on hand to comfort him. She then sets off on foot (best to stay off the road), and is followed by a group of smiling women. This leads her to being given a bunch of flowers by a young boy, at a weird pedestrian crossing where people queue in single file as they wait for the green man.

But we never find out if Bic becomes a solid, visible human, or if she just learns to live with her etherial state. Ah, such is the enchanting world of “Something Good”

Best bit: The Christophers for Crystals shop, a surely a case of nominative determinism.

More: This old-school Bic Runga fansite has a little bit about the video’s production.

Bonus: The single’s B-side was a remix of the song by Submariner, feat Tha Feelstyle. Peter McLennan has made a video for the track, using footage from the original video and clips of Tha Feelstyle from the “Hibiscus Milk” video.

Director: Chris Graham
Ngā Taonga Sound & Vision

Next… home, work and the third place.

Betchadupa “Life will be the Same”

This is a fun adventure. “Life will be the Same” is a dark, moody song and the video goes for a similar tone. As a single from their debut album “The Alphabetchadupa”, it continues to have a more serious, less fun feeling than the songs from their earlier EPs.

Things kick off with Betchadupa playing in a dark club. Initially the band are playing in shadows, with only a backlight illuminating Liam’s hair. The stage lights slowly grow brighter and we’re brought out of the uneasy darkness into a familiar rock scene.

After about a minute we meet the subplot, taking a leaf out of the big book of urban legends. There’s a lone hitch-hiker out thumbing a ride late at night. Eventually he’s picked up by Liam. He happily slings his bag in the backseat but soon he gets a little ticked off because Liam will not talk to him. Actually, I’ve never picked up a hitch-hiker because I’m terrified of having to make conversation with a stranger, so I feel him.

Later Liam stops the car in the middle of nowhere to have a wee… and then mysteriously disappears, leaving the hitch-hiker alone. The hitcher gives up waiting and drives off, but ends up being pulled over by a cop. He should have nothing to fear, right? Wrong. The cop (illegally!) searches the car and discovers what we assume to be Liam’s dismembered body in the hitch-hiker’s bag. Whoa! The hitcher is promptly arrested.

But then just to really mess with our minds, the hitch-hiker shows up in the audience of the shadowy Betchadupa show. Is he on parole already? No. This is some non-linear narrative for you. He leaves the club, goes out onto the street and thumbs a ride. And we know exactly what’s going to happen next.

Best bit: the clever fade between Liam’s dark face and a car’s headlights, briefly giving him a creepy “Total Eclipse of the Heart” appearance.

Note: The video is geoblocked to viewers in New Zealand and Germany, but everyone else should be able to view it. So if you can’t view the video, here’s a clip of the band performing the song live on “Space”.

Ngā Taonga Sound & Vision

Next… a stroll down Cuba Street.

Barry Saunders “Rescue Me”

It’s another solo release from Warratahs frontman Barry Saunders. He’s had two videos previously funded, popping up in 1995 and 1998, but this is the first that’s been online. “Rescue Me” is a pleasant country song, maybe heading more towards the alt-country side of things.

The video sees Barry go for a walk. And it’s a long walk. He starts off in Wellington, on Cuba Street. It’s down the south end, before it was chopped in two by the bypass, back when it was full of grotty old buildings (including a pre-reno Tonks Ave) full of interesting businesses taking advantage of the cheap rent.

But it’s not all boho Wellington. Through some clever cuts (like passing behind a tree), he seamlessly keeps on walking to other parts of Wellington, and then on to rural areas.

Wherever Barry walks, he keeps coming across musicians playing along with him. It’s not unbelievable to find a guitarist on Cuba Street, but things get surreal when there’s a string quartet in the middle of a field. Scenes with the musicians are shot in black and white (which is borderline cheesy), but as the picture turns to colour, the musicians disappear, suggesting it’s all in Barry’s head.

The video is shot in a slowed-down style, giving it a dreamy feel. Even when Barry is doing something as mundane as strolling around Wellington’s waterfront, the video takes on an epic tone. Good result.

Best bit: the trampoline on the grass verge outside a house, pedestrians be dammed.

http://youtu.be/8najMEz3gNk

Director: James Barr
Ngā Taonga Sound & Vision

Next… the perils of hitch-hiking.

Salmonella Dub “Problems”

I like a good animated video and this one works really well. It’s a good looking video and it tells a story.

We meet the hero of the story waking up in the desert. He’s just survived a plane crash and discovers a briefcase full of money. Not that it will do him much good when he’s alone in a hot, barren landscape.

He thinks he spies a lush, wet oasis, but, yes, it turns out to be a mirage, complete with an ominous skeleton hanging from a dead tree. This sparks off a hallucination where he plays skulls like a glockenspiel, but he comes back to reality and trudges on. It reminds me a bit of the Sola Rosa video for “Don’t Leave Home”, another slightly surreal desert adventure, only it’s from the skeleton’s perspective.

Eventually the traveller comes across a detention camp, so he carefully removes his fake moustache and replaces it with a “summer moustache” which looks exactly the same as the previous one (a winter moustache?).

A tank rumbles past, but there doesn’t seem to be any sign of the detention camp. Instead he ends up in a place with giant Easter Island-like statues, where upon it rains. The waters rise fast and high, sweeping him away and scattering his money to the tides. Is this the end of our antihero? No, he wakes up on a pleasant beach, being pecked by a pukeko.

The video was directed by James Littlemore and Steve Scott and it looks so good. Many of Salmonella Dub’s videos had a low-budget look to them, like the sort of thing that was quickly filmed in the middle of a tour. But this one feels like a lot of time and effort has gone into it. And as a result, it’s simple, clear and very stylish video.

Best bit: the hallucinated skull solo, where the higher floating skulls make higher notes.

Directors: James Littlemore, Steve Scott
Ngā Taonga Sound & Vision

Next… f’n oats.

Rubicon “Drive”

We’re jumping forward in time to 2005 for this video, as it’s another case of funding being held over until a later time. Rubicon originally received funding in 2002 for their song “All or Nothing”, another track from their debut album. But that video wasn’t made and they ended up going with a couple of other tracks for their final two videos from “Primary”. In 2004 Gene and Jon left the band, and Paul moved to LA and reformed the band with some American musicians. They released the album “The Way It Was Meant To Be”, and their first single “Drive” was allocated the funding previously given to “All or Nothing”.

Ok. So, Rubicon mark II is more of a serious punk-pop band with less of the crazy antics of “Primary” era Rubicon. And a result, the song is pretty generic, as is the video.

It sees Rubicon II playing in a cool warehouse apartment type space with a halfpipe in the background. Rad skater dudes skate back and forth as the band play. The skaters are just there as an accessory, something to make the band look cool. Contrast that with Spike Jonze’s “100%” video for Sonic Youth.

But the video doesn’t get too caught up in trying to be cool. There’s a subplot of sorts involving sock puppets. Hanging out in front of graffiti-strewn school lockers, the puppets seem to be having a cotton-lycra “90210” experience.

I’m not sure why, but the sock puppets seem more likeable than the band. The band seem very serious and full of tension, but the sock puppets are just regular teens, trying to figure out the fraught world of love.

By the way, look out for the appearance of the graffiti-style version of the NZ On Air logo.

Best bit: the badboy sock puppet’s cigarette, which is a fire hazard.

Director: Casey Anderson
Ngā Taonga Sound & Vision

Next… mo’ money, mo’ problems.

Nesian Mystik “For the People”

It’s all very well for a new technology to exist, but before it can become commonplace, ordinary people have to know what to do with it. The “For the People” music video uses the Silver Scroll-winning song as a primer to the exciting new world of sending photos via mobile phone. From memory, this was done via sponsorship with Vodafone, who recognised Nesian Mystik’s youth appeal.

The concept of the video sees Nesian Mystik preparing for a big party. In getting ready for the party, they keep coming across a whole lot of interesting things around Auckland to take photos of, to then send to their friends. There’s Awa stocking up on corned beef and bread, getting a pixt outside the dairy of a cute kid singing.

It becomes like a game of tag. Someone receives a pixt, they take another one and sent it on to someone else. And it’s not just cellphones – the pixts can come in on a home computer too. Most importantly, whenever one of the group gets a pixt, he looks at it and smiles. See, pixts bring joy. Regular reader Vicki remembers these early days of pixts. She says they cost 40 cents to send and the process was very fiddly – it even looks like the band are having to muck around a bit before the pixt is sent.

It’s interesting to compare the pixts of 2002 with the sort of things people photograph today. While the camera pans across the delicious spread of barbecued party food, no one takes pixts of it. It’s all cute little kids or band members. They’re using their camera phones the way people used to use film camera – with great economy. On the other hand, the song is “For the People” not “For the Corned Beef”.

And there are no selfies. All the things that curmudgeons complain about with digital photography today are absent in this video. Instead it’s nice little fuzzy snaps of people smiling, photos that don’t interfere with real life. Everyone’s at the party, having a good time. No one’s slumped in a corner, deep in a FOMO check of their Twitter or Facebook feeds. No hilarious Snapchat annotations. And no one’s figured out yet that in the future, an entire music video will be able to be shot on a phone camera.

Best bit: the surprise spycam pixt.

Ngā Taonga Sound & Vision