Synopsis

The Juliana Hatfield Three perform "My Sister" in a stark, theatrical studio setting that shifts between a shadowy red room and a brightly lit silver space. Hatfield sings and plays guitar while bassist Dean Fisher and drummer Todd Philips join her in energetic, sometimes exaggerated movements. The video alternates between full-band shots, quick cuts, flashing lights, and close-ups. During the final moments, Hatfield lies motionless on the floor with her guitar, giving the performance a sudden, darkly comic finish.

Factoids & Trivia

• Juliana Hatfield conceived the video as an homage to the Police's "Roxanne." The most direct reference is the shot of Hatfield seated with the microphone cable extending toward the camera.

• The song's "sister" was not a literal sibling. Hatfield has two brothers and used the idea of an imaginary sister as a way to explore identity, longing, family relationships, and the feeling that something was missing.

• Part of the song was inspired by Meg Rafferty, an older woman who lived with Hatfield's family for a time and became a big-sister figure. Rafferty did not realize the song was partly about her until reading Hatfield's 2008 memoir.

• The lyric about being taken to a first all-ages show refers to a concert by the Del Fuegos and Violent Femmes that Hatfield attended in Boston with Rafferty in the early 1980s.

• The band members' roughhousing was partly spontaneous. Hatfield's kick toward Fisher came close, although it did not make contact.

• The video became an MTV Buzz clip during the song's 1993 breakthrough. Todd Philips later recalled seeing the track used in the network's promotional bumpers leading into commercial breaks during the Video Music Awards.

• "My Sister" became the Juliana Hatfield Three's biggest hit, reaching No. 1 on Billboard's Modern Rock chart.