Category: October 1993

Strawpeople “Trick with a Knife”

When Fiona wasn’t being Fiona From The Headless Chickens, she was bringing the gift of songcraft to the Strawpeople. “Trick with a Knife” is a dark and moody song, and Fiona lets her voice get really high.

The video is a crazy noir, where a smoking man in a chair awaits the arrival of a woman who transforms her boyish looks with the help of a sequinned catsuit and a boofy blonde wig. There are many meaningful glances between them, including an incredible slow zoom into the man’s crotch.

Mark and Paul from the Strawpeople make cameos in flashes of grainy film, and I don’t think Fiona even appears in it, making things even more mysterious.

Best bit: a close up of a 50 cent coin (the old giant chunky one), with which the man nervously plays.

Directors: Mark Tierney, Paul Casserly
Ngā Taonga Sound & Vision

Next… exile in videoville

Shihad “Derail”

In the mid ’90s, I remember video maker Greg Page saying he’d made his own version of a video for “Derail”, which the band had declined in favour of this one with roller coasters in it that was not cut to the beat.

The “Derail” video is fairly arty. It’s black and white and features footage of: a horse racetrack and punters, cathedrals, a cow in a field, a man playing golf, amusements at Rainbow’s End, and various sights along State Highway One, particularly around Huntly.

It’s a bleak vision of Kiwiana, the sort of thing that would end up in an exhibition at the Dowse Art Museum. Is this video better than Mr Page’s more traditional video based on live footage? Maybe, but I while the visuals are great, I can’t help feeling there’s a disconnect between that and the song.

Best bit: the Rainbow’s End bird mascot shakes its tailfeather.




Ngā Taonga Sound & Vision

Next… flip of the coin, flick of the hair.

Missing videos from 1993

There are 17 videos missing from 1993, including two Hamilton bogan rock classics, early work from guys who’d go on to more success in Stellar and Splitter, and the return of Kiwi rock legend Larry Morris.
Continue reading Missing videos from 1993