Song of the Day: The Clean “Point That Thing Somewhere Else”

Here’s a song by New Zealand’s The Clean to get you going. Formed in 1978 in Dunedin (population 127,000), The Clean put out most of their music on the much lauded Kiwi record label Flying Nun Records.  Flying Nun also introduced the world to The Chills (who were also recently featured on the site), Straightjacket Fits, Tall Dwarfs, Bats, The Verlaines and more. In fact The Clean‘s debut single was release number two for the label. The group have existed intermittently from 1978 onward, periodically re-emerging to record a new record or tour, then going dormant again.

The Clean are composed of brothers David and Hamish Kilgour (on guitar and drums respectively) along with bassist Robert Scott (who replaced original bassist Peter Gutteridge). These three members are also occasionally joined by keyboard player, Doug Hood, who provided the memorable organ to their debut single, “Tally Ho!“.  All three members contribute songs to the group and have solo careers outside of the band. Most notably, David Kilgour has released a number of records under his own name.

The group were big fans of The Velvet Underground and it shows on this track. Released on the five song “Boodle Boodle Boodle” EP in 1981, “Point That Thing Somewhere Else” is a driving lo-fi beast of a song that doesn’t let up for five and a half minutes. Hope you like it as much as I do!