In 1981, a fan of the Clean founded the Flying Nun label to release their first single, "Tally Ho." A follow-up track off one of their early EPs, "Beatnik", also achieved success, as did the second single, "Getting Older". The Flying Nun label went on to be New Zealand's biggest independent record company, championing the Dunedin Sound, a loosely-connected style of music largely produced by bands from this southern city. Others on the label included The Chills, The Verlaines, The Bats, and Sneaky Feelings.
During much of the 1980s, The Clean disbanded, and during this time the Kilgour brothers worked together on an experimental album and EP using the deliberately punning titles "The Great Unwashed" and "Clean Out of Our Minds". Reforming in the late 1980s, the band explored a slightly poppier vein of music while still retaining their experimental edge.
In June 2008 a live album recorded during the 2007 New Zealand tour was released in New Zealand on Arch Hill Records, entitled "Mashed". A new studio album, titled Mister Pop was released on September 7, 2009 on Arch Hill, and on September 8 in the United States on the Merge label.
In December 2009, The Clean announced their first European dates in more than 20 years, supporting the cult U.S band Pavement at Brixton Academy on the 10th of May. They also played at the Pavement curated ATP at Butlins Minehead on the 14th of May. Other dates on the tour included Amsterdam (May 22), Hamburg (May 23), Berlin (May 25) and Barcelona's Primavera Sound festival May 29).
Oddity
The Clean Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Yeah you're going okay
You're going all right you're going with him
Yeah yeah it's okay
It's all right, it's okay
It's all right, oh yeah
It's ok, it's all right
It's ok, it's all right, oh yeah
Yeah you're going out at night
Yeah you're going okay
Your love's going stronger tonight
Seems to be no way
It's okay
It's all right
It's okay
Oh yeah
It's okay, it's all right
It's okay, it's all right
It's okay, it's all right, oh yeah
'Cause it's an oddity, it's true oh
'Cause it's an oddity, it's true oh yeah
'Cause it's an oddity, it's true oh yeah
'Cause it's an oddity, it's true oh yeah
'Cause it's an oddity, it's true oh yeah
'Cause it's an oddity, it's true oh yeah
The Clean's song "Oddity" features repetitive lyrics that emphasize the all-rightness and okayness of a situation, despite the underlying sense of discomfort and unease. The song tells the story of a relationship that seems to be going well on the surface ("You say you're going all right / Yeah you're going okay"), but the repeated affirmations of "It's okay, it's all right" suggest a need to convince oneself that everything is fine. The line "Your love's going stronger tonight / Seems to be no way" adds to the sense of dissonance between the outward appearance of happiness and the internal struggle to maintain it.
The chorus's repetition of "It's an oddity, it's true oh yeah" further underscores the sense of something being off-kilter or abnormal about the situation. The song seems to be examining the illusion of happiness in a relationship and the difficulty of maintaining it when doubts and insecurities arise. The sparse instrumentation and monotone vocals add to the song's sense of detachment and emotional distance.
Line by Line Meaning
You say you're going all right
You claim that everything is good in your life
Yeah you're going okay
You think that your life is going well enough
You're going all right you're going with him
You're in a relationship and things seem to be going well with your partner
Yeah yeah it's okay
You're satisfied with how things are going in your relationship
It's all right, it's okay
You're content and things don't bother you too much
It's all right, oh yeah
You're completely fine with how things are
Yeah you're going out at night
You're socializing and having fun
Yeah you're going okay
You're still satisfied with how things are going
Your love's going stronger tonight
Your romantic feelings are intensifying
Seems to be no way
You don't feel like you can control these feelings
It's okay
You've accepted that these feelings are okay to have
It's all right
You're not fighting against these feelings and you're content with them
It's okay
You're not bothered by these feelings
Oh yeah
You're still completely fine with how things are going in your life
'Cause it's an oddity, it's true oh
Despite accepting these intense feelings as okay, you acknowledge that they're not typical or common
'Cause it's an oddity, it's true oh yeah
You're aware that these feelings make you different from what's considered normal
'Cause it's an oddity, it's true oh yeah
You understand that these intense feelings are not the norm but they're still acceptable to you
'Cause it's an oddity, it's true oh yeah
You embrace the fact that your current feelings are unique and different from what society deems as normal
Contributed by Katherine H. Suggest a correction in the comments below.