Author: Robyn

The Mutton Birds “Dominion Road”

There’s a second “Dominion Road” video, the “UK version”. In it, the Mutton Birds play the song in a empty warehouse, filmed with blue filters, flash editing, random out-of-focusness, and Don McGlashan’s wearing sunglasses. It looks like a mid-’90s attempt at turning The Mutton Birds into an antipodean Oasis.

But thankfully we don’t need to concern ourselves with that video. The one we care about is the earlier version promoting what was their debut single.

The original video alternates between black and white footage of the band performing the song in a stark white studio, and the troubled subject of the song walking around Dominion Road.

Don McGlashan looks like Norman Cook with his short back and sides, possibly going for a cleaner look from his curly days with the Front Lawn. Oh, speaking of which – it’s nice to see Don back after his previous appearance with the very first funding round.

The scenes of a worn down inner Auckland suburb may not have the edge of an empty warehouse, but it’s those shots that give the song its context. This is not a love song, but it’s where This Is Not A Love Shop used to be.

The Dominion Road of 1992 feels different to the Dominion Road of today. It’s less multicultural and didn’t have as many posh bits. You’d probably have to get three-quarters of the way down Dominion Road to have the same effect today.

Best bit: Don’s scared-of-heights acting during the “up 10,000 feet” part.



Director: Fane Flaws
Ngā Taonga Sound & Vision

Next… wave your hair in the air, and wave it like you just don’t care.

Greg Johnson Set “Isabelle”

Inspired by the impact of the conflict from the Croatian War of Independence upon the ordinary people of Croatia, “Isabelle” was Greg Johnson’s attempt at connecting with the country on the other side of the world while he was “stuck on an island”.

The video does a good job of creating a landscape that might be New Zealand or might be Croatia. Though if, as Greg sings, Isabelle comes from the modern metropolis of Zagreb, what’s she doing living in a little Borat-style shack in the woods? And the more we see of the woods, they more they look like New Zealand. Perhaps Greg’s longing is starting to transform downtown Zagreb into a New Zealand national park.

Isabelle is played by Gina From Shortland Street, who wears black and looks mournful because all her people, they are dying. Greg, meanwhile, is wearing a waistcoat with a skivvie (for it is the ’90s) and occasionally pops up with his mandolin to make everything better.

Best bit: Isabelle’s numb reaction to seeing a crashed military vehicle with injured passengers.



Director: James Holt
Ngā Taonga Sound & Vision

Next: A suburban ode.

Maree Sheehan “Dare to be Different”

The second time around, Maree Sheehan’s video is to be found online. “Dare to be Different”, a sultry dance track on the theme of acceptance, seems to take more than a few cues from Madonna.

There’s Maree in a mansuit, but because it’s the early ’90s she’s wearing it with a peasant blouse (ok, that’s a drink). This is also the first video to bust out some serious dance moves. Sure, Moana had a few in “A E I O U”, but in “Dare to be Different”, Maree is getting down too.

Also in a Madonna style, Maree is seated with two gal pals in a convertible, a la “True Blue”. This is cut with posh ladies at a dinner party and some bros huddled and/or dancing around a fire in a barrel. Homelessness: just because it’s different don’t mean it’s wrong (?)

While the video has a lot of big ideas behind it, there’s one that feels the most dated – the fly girls. As soon as the MC Hammer-style dancers start doing their thing, it feels like the video ought to be given to a ’90s culture exhibition at Te Papa. That is, until this stuff becomes fashionable again, which won’t be long.

Best bit: a woman with a towering beehive chowing down on a banana.

Director: Josh Frizzell
Ngā Taonga Sound & Vision

Next… Greg is stuck on an island.

D-Faction “Babe I’m Not Original”

D-Faction were a perfect slice of South Auckland funk. Their specialty was originally funked-up covers, but the chilled-out soul track “Babe I’m Not Original” is actually an original single. While the video can’t resist a tiny bit of green-screenery, it mainly consists of a straight studio performance cut with footage around the Otara markets.

It’s a stark contrast – the smooth studio style cutting to scenes of raw fish, only to have the raw fish footage repeated later in the video. Whoa – there’s a glitch in the matrix.

I’m really happy that YouTube user slydogmania has taken it upon himself to upload heaps of D-Faction videos, including this absolute doozy: D-Faction on the TV3 kids show “Yahoo” in 1990, interviewed by Moana, talking about producing music for Ngaire, and then they perform a cover of “Stuck in the Middle” only two years before Quentin Tarantino was to recontextualise the song beyond redemption.

Best bit: the cool dude little boy hanging out by the rack of rugby league t-shirts.

Ngā Taonga Sound & Vision

Next… Maree gets superfly.

The 3Ds “Outer Space”

Cardboard sci-fi props, perfectly cheesy green screen use, Masonic symbology, scenic Dunedin, general malarky and an incredible pop song. I am so glad that this video exists.

Not only does the “Outer Space” video perfectly match the tone of The 3Ds’ first single of their first album “Hellzapoppin”, but it also lets the band’s deadpan non-rock-star vibe fit right into the crazy going-on. It’s like they’re all so bored with all the alien business that they can’t be bothered freaking out any more.

It’s also refreshing to see a New Zealand video that’s obviously set in a specific location, rather than in a studio or the nonspecific urban world of videolandia. The Dunedin Cathedral looks goth as well as gothic, and the countryside has that gorgeous Dunedin light. I can see why it would attract UFOs.

Best bit: Denise’s third eye. It blinks.



Director: Mairi Gunn
Ngā Taonga Sound & Vision

Next… peace, love and ecstasy.

Southside of Bombay “All Across the World”

Southside of Bombay’s follow-up single after “What’s the Time Mr Wolf” is the uplifting “All Across the World”. It’s a happy singalong good vibes experience, and the video includes a big group sing.

There is also scenes in a strange minimalist art gallery place, hands clutches rosary beads, hongiing, men in prison, live performance footage, little kids being cute, and close-ups of people looking very meaningful and/or mysterious. This is world of slow motion, where people move their heads in very meaningful ways.

And Mr Bob Marley also gets a mention, with a poster prominently placed in the background. Indeed, BobMarley.com notes the influence of Tuff Gong on “the Maoris of New Zealand”.

The song ends with the classic truck-driver gear-shift chord change, while the aforementioned little kids frolic with flags of the world. Hopefully this will cheer up the grim-faced men behind bars.

Best bit: the little girl who carefully hands a boy a ti rakau stick instead of throwing it like the other kids.

Director: Richard Bluck
Ngā Taonga Sound & Vision

Next… we dream of a time and place in outer space.

Push Push “What My Baby Likes”

Recently a friend expressed surprise that Push Push had more than one single. She was watching the video for their second single, “Song 27”. But there’s even more! “What My Baby Likes” was their third and final single.

Hey, why did we mock Push Push? This video is awesome. “What My Baby Likes” is an extravagant, energetic rock fest, complete with flaming flames of fire, and hair, glorious hair. Mikey Havoc is alive with pleasure, and he could teach the Hoi Polloi lady a few things about appearing energetic without hamming.

It’s so joyous, and Havo totally sells the cheesy lyrics – “We made love in the Himalayaaaaas!” The video has a small plot with the appearance of an actual baby, and the suggestion that he is responsible for all the fire.

Push Push had toned down from their teen glam metal days and were going for more of a grunge look, but the excesses of the grunge era were fast falling out of favour to the more stripped down and “authentic” grunge-era. The flaming flames of fire? They were burning the last strands of glam.

Best bit: Mikey’s shorts ‘n’ flannel shirt combo.

Director: Chris Mauger
Ngā Taonga Sound & Vision

Next… the south side extends worldwide.

Hoi Polloi “Rest Tonite”

Hoi Polloi were an “alternative gospel band”, and indeed “Rest Tonite” starts with a gospel choir. But then all that is swept to the side for some Christian pop, with a lead singer who sounds like an overexcited Margaret Urlich.

She’s even more excited in the music video, ripping out her hair band and shaking down her hair, vigorously strumming her guitar and singing so hard she bends over with the exertion.

Footage of the band’s performance (in a warehouse – edgy) is cut with literal depictions of the lyrics. “Fields on fire” is a burning newspaper, “breaking china” shows a coffee cup smash, “child cries” is a baby crying. This leads me to belief that the song isn’t metaphorically about someone wanting a break from the stress of the world, but someone who just wants a good night’s sleep without their cat coming in and walking on their face, meowing to be fed.

There’s also some outdoor footage of the singer at a beach, and she’s wearing a white peasant blouse. That’s the third one I’ve seen so far. Even I had ditched my peasant blouse by ’92. If I see a fourth one, I’m taking a drink.

Best bit: the lead singer gets so overcome with singing the song that she doubles over.

Ngā Taonga Sound & Vision

Next… Mikey is a twisted fire-starter.

Head Like a Hole “Fish Across Face”

“Fish Across Face” suddenly appeared out of the blue, settled in at number nine in the charts and left everyone wondering who exactly this Head Like a Hole musical group was.

From their early metal years, the “Fish Across Face” video features the band naked (but for body paint) in most scenes. But Wikipedia says the video was banned for a different reason – in one very brief shot, liquid flows from the mouth of one HLAH to another (and apparently it was orange juice). At the time there was a meningitis outbreak, so concerned authorities didn’t want kids to copy this thing. They might as well ban pashing.

As well as the body paint, there’s high jinks in the ocean, at a rubbish dump and on a bouncy castle. While it all looks like a fun low budget video, there’s a rather sophisticated crane shot right at the end (or is it just a guy standing on a ladder).

“Fish Across Face” seems like such a perfect NZ On Air music video – the band stretches the budget as far as it will go, has fun and generally creates a ruckus that keep them buoyant for years to come.

Best bit: bouncy castle fun times!

Director: Nigel Streeter
Ngā Taonga Sound & Vision

Next… really feeling the love of Jesus.

Headless Chickens “Donde Esta La Pollo”

“Donde Esta La Pollo” was to New Zealanders what “Sesame Street” was to Americans: a source of basic Spanish. Fortunately the video doesn’t linger on the Spanish factor, instead picking up on the carnival vibe of the song.

How cool were the Headless Chickens? While their compatriots were jigging about in front of green screens, the Chooks kept it real. They invited all their freaky friends into a circus tent and just filmed the decadent freakiness.

Ok, there was probably more to it than that, but no one in the video looks like they’re helping their mates make a music video; they all look like they regularly do freaky things in a circus tent and they probably all have more sex than you do. That’s how cool they were.

This video has a great tension between fun and unease, like they’re just one glass of absinthe away from terrible, terrible times. And I bet there would have been a few crazy religious parents who declared this video to be evil and forbade their kids from watching it.

Even though this is just one side of the Headless Chickens experience, this is how I like to remember them at their peak.

Best bit: the hairy guy with the egg in his mouth.

Directors: Bruce Sheridan, Rachael Churchward
Ngā Taonga Sound & Vision

Next… an inappropriate public health act.