Lost Alternative 80s: The Clean

May is New Zealand Music Month. Celebrated by some, condemned by others, ignored by the vast majority.

A marketing ruse. A worshipping of false gods. Something akin to the heralding of the world’s tallest pygmy.

Harsh? … perhaps, but it’s fair to say that with each passing year, beyond the music industry itself, more than a smattering of cynicism has started to creep in.

But it’s also about acknowledging some good things too … some very good things. For all of its flaws (of default and design), it does at least present us with an excuse to reflect on a body of work that was, for the most part, denied a pre-internet “rest of the world”.

On that note, one of my favourite Enzed bands of the 80s (and beyond), The Clean, embracing the lo-fi DIY ethic that made Flying Nun the “go to” label of the era … here’s ‘Anything Could Happen’ (from 1981).

What better way to conclude the Lost Alternative 80s series of posts.