Dupieux is most famous for his electro track "Flat Beat", which became a hit all across Europe in 1999 for being featured in a series of Levi's jeans TV advertisements. Dupieux also directed the ad, which featured a yellow puppet named Flat Eric nodding his head to the sound of the track while riding in a pickup truck. Flat Eric later appeared in the music video for "Flat Beat".
Dupieux released his first EP's "#1" and "M-Seq" on F Communications in 1997. After "Flat Beat", Oizo released his first album in 1999, Analog Worms Attack, featuring a single of the same name.
In 2005, Oizo released his second album entitled Moustache (Half a Scissor).
In 2006 and 2007, Oizo produced remixes for Kavinsky, Jamelia, Cassius, Scissor Sisters and, most recently, Calvin Harris.
Dupieux's first feature film, Steak, was released in France on June 20th, 2007. He also made the soundtrack in cooperation with Gaspard Augé from Justice.
In 2007, Mr. Oizo's Transexual EP was released on Ed Banger Records. The EP features a re-working of the 1979 disco track "Do It At The Disco" by Gary's Gang. The track appeared on Oizo's MySpace page in 2006 under the title Patrick122.
In 2008 Mr. Oizo released his third album, Lambs Anger, containing solid, hard, over-compressed, in-your-face dance tracks. The Positif EP was released in November, which featured remixes from Mr. Flash and LFO (Low Frequency Oscillation)
In March of 2009 Mr. Oizo released the Pourriture EP, featuring a remix of Erreur Jean by Arveene and Misk as well as some "radical reworks" by Oizo himself. A remix of the track "Z" was released as a Beatport exclusive. Also included in the download was a short film by Oizo, titled "Making Lamb's Anger".
In November of 2011, Mr. Oizo followed up Lambs Anger with Stade 2, a new release for Ed Banger Records. Slowly releasing the album through club nights and Twitter, Stade 2 further refines the style that he displayed on Lambs Anger, providing tracks for headphones and the dance floor.
In January of 2012 he started a music project with Boys Noize called Handbraekes.
In April of 2012 Mr. Oizo released an EP called Stade 3, which is available for free on the Internet. He also directed the Stade 3 Teaser where Flat Eric is starring again.
While in his time in America in November 2014, he produced a new album under the Brainfeeder Records called The Church.
He would return with Ed Banger Records in September of 2016 to make his sixth studio album All Wet featuring a pixelated Flat Eric as the cover art. This album features with artists like Tetanos, Peaches, Boys Noize, Phra, Skrillex, Siriusmo, Mocky, and Charli XCX.
Bobby Can't Dance
Mr. Oizo Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I can’t take another defeat
My head has taken charge of me
I can’t give up on my body
They say dancing is a relief
But I can’t bring myself to this
Every move feels like a torture
None of them leads me to rapture
Can’t dance the pain
Can’t dance the pain
Can’t dance the pain
You see nowadays
I’m just a crying face
I cannot reach a place
Where I can be okay
Let me skip the dance
‘Til I’m out of that mess
Won’t get better unless
I dance the pain away
But I can’t dance the pain away
Every laugh getting off my lips
Is sending me on a guilt trip
Your life’s a mess but you’re jiving
I take one step, find it draining
Not a day where I haven’t been
Out of my mind, like a machine
Wheeling my gears in a habit
Just want to forget about it
Can’t dance the pain
Can’t dance the pain
Can’t dance the pain
You see nowadays
I’m just a crying face
I cannot reach a place
Where I can be okay
Let me skip the dance
‘Til I’m out of that mess
Won’t get better unless
I dance the pain away
But I can’t dance the pain away
I can’t dance the pain
I can’t dance the pain
I can’t dance the pain away
I can’t dance the pain
I can’t dance the pain
I can’t dance the pain away
I can only be a white swan tonight
I can only be a white swan tonight
I can only be a white swan tonight
I can only be a white swan tonight
The lyrics to Mr. Oizo's song, Bobby Can't Dance, express the singer's inability to dance despite the belief that dancing is supposed to bring relief from pain. The singer is struggling to follow the beat and feels defeated, with their head taking control of their body. They describe every move feeling like torture, none of them leading to rapture. The concept here speaks to how dancing has been known to be a form of self-expression and release from stress, depression, or anxiety, but the singer just can't seem to find solace in it.
The lyrics further highlight the internal turmoil the singer is experiencing. They feel like every laugh is sending them on a guilt trip and describe how even when they take one step, it is draining. They talk about how they feel like their life is a mess that they just want to forget about. The conclusion is that they can only be a white swan tonight, alluding to the idea that they feel like they can only be seen as perfect, as the black swan is often a representation of chaos and imperfection.
Overall, the song portrays feelings of defeat, guilt, and pain that are hard to shake. The lyrics express the struggle of wanting to dance the pain away but not being able to find the energy or the mental capacity to do so.
Line by Line Meaning
I’m trying to follow the beat
The singer is attempting to move to the rhythm
I can’t take another defeat
The singer is tired of failing at dancing
My head has taken charge of me
The singer can't get out of their own head and enjoy the dancing
I can’t give up on my body
The artist wants to continue trying to dance even though it's difficult for them
They say dancing is a relief
Dancing is often thought of as a stress-relieving activity
But I can’t bring myself to this
The singer can't seem to enjoy dancing even though they want to
Every move feels like a torture
The singer's attempts at dancing are not enjoyable
None of them leads me to rapture
The artist has not found any dance moves that bring them joy or fulfillment
Can’t dance the pain
The artist is unable to dance away their emotional pain
Can’t dance the pain
Repeating the inability to dance away pain
Can’t dance the pain
Final repetition of the inability to dance away pain
You see nowadays
The artist is explaining their current state of mind
I’m just a crying face
The singer is frequently feeling sad and emotional
I cannot reach a place
The singer is having trouble finding happiness
Where I can be okay
The singer wants to feel emotionally and mentally stable
Let me skip the dance
The artist does not want to participate in dancing
‘Til I’m out of that mess
The artist wants to wait until they are in a better state of mind before dancing again
Won’t get better unless
The singer believes that they can't feel better until they deal with their emotional pain
I dance the pain away
The singer believes that dancing can be cathartic, but they are struggling to experience that benefit
But I can’t dance the pain away
Reiterating the inability to dance away pain
Every laugh getting off my lips
The artist is struggling to find joy in life
Is sending me on a guilt trip
The artist feels guilty for experiencing any kind of joy while they are in emotional pain
Your life’s a mess but you’re jiving
The singer is envious of people who are able to enjoy themselves despite their problems
I take one step, find it draining
The artist is exhausted by dancing even after a small effort
Not a day where I haven’t been
The singer's emotional pain is persistent and constant
Out of my mind, like a machine
The singer feels like they are not in control of their own thoughts and emotions
Wheeling my gears in a habit
The singer feels like they are just going through the motions of their daily routine, without real enjoyment or engagement
Just want to forget about it
The artist wishes they could erase their emotional pain and move on
I can only be a white swan tonight
The artist is unable or unwilling to let loose and enjoy themselves, and can only be reserved and serious like a white swan
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Written by: Mrs Bubbles, Tarek Zarroug
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind