Let it rain 1995! There’s Supergroove on bikes, funk at the Civic, Lionel’s disappearing act, mean streets, tropical lolz, music with a message, wide lapels and an Auckland story.
Continue reading Found videos from 1995
Tag: Nixons
Found videos from 1993
Shona’s last video, the Nixons’ first, a cold day, and a hearty dose of Hamilton bogan rock.
Eye TV “Wish It All Away”
Serenading used to be so much simpler. The young man would stand outside the abode of his beloved and strum a song – or hold up a boombox – and win her over. When Eye TV try it, things don’t quite go as planned.
It starts out well, as they being to play the song outside a house. But where is the object of their affections? I say “they” because it really does seem to be a group effort, as if the entire band if trying to win someone over.
The first person to notice them is a woman taking out the washing. At night? It’ll never dry. Slowly people in the building become aware of the woo-ers. A light snaps on. An old man frowns. A group of young women cheer. Two dudes grin. An older couple find the situation romantic. But what sort of house is this? Why do all these different people live in the same house? Perhaps it’s a halfway house.
The locals are well into the group’s dreamy 1950s-tinged pop ballad (except the old man), but there’s no sign of the girl. But suddenly she comes walking down the road, wearing a waitress uniform and slouchy old sneakers. But rather than walking like someone who’s been on her feet all day long, she’s doing a sexy catwalk strut, which looks really weird.
Finally the girl is reunited with the band. Proving that this is some sort of bizarre love quadrangle, the video ends with the four of them going on a romantic countryside date in a convertible. Modern love.
Best bit: the youths who carry a couch outside to enjoy the entertainment.
Director: Jesse Warn
Ngā Taonga Sound & Vision
Next… dirty beatniks.
Eye TV “Dynamite”
This video is directed by Supergroove’s bass player Joe Lonie, who gained his directing chops through making all the videos for Supergroove. I’m not sure if this is his first video for another band, but it’s at least amongst his earliest. Joe’s music videos have a particular style – they all have a gimmick. This video can be summed up thusly: shot in one take, with sped-up footage, the band perform the song on the back of a truck at it drives around One Tree Hill. Kind of like Bjork’s “Big Time Sensuality” video, plus colour and a Kiwi location, minus the budget and Stephane Sednaoui’s artistic eye.
“Dynamite” is an energetic rock number, with the fierce, Nietzsche-quoting chorus “I am not a man! I am dynamite!” The video captures this energy, with the sped-up footage giving the video a crazy twitchy energy.
While the video has a gimmick behind it, the song and the general execution of the video don’t make it seem gimmicky. The idea of a “dynamite” person hooning up One Tree Hill and then coming down just as fast, fits well with the theme and tempo of the song.
But like other videos of this era shot at One Tree Hill, it now has a bittersweet flavour. Everytime there’s a glimpse of the now missing tree, a feel a little sadness. Poor tree.
Best bit: the two moments where Luke the drummer gets to come up to the front.
Director: Joe Lonie
Ngā Taonga Sound & Vision
Next… drawn and quartered.