Search & Destroy: Flying Nun

judging a band on their fans is the lamest thing ever

HOWEVER i do know that when i used to go to their gigs at bodega (ahh bodega, how i miss you!) no one would dance except me. they were brillaint ambient rock attack when they were on. (and dullards elsewhere)

loudness is ones of those devices used to overcome listeners, give the impression there is 'something' /anything there -- maybe that 'anything' is what you mean when you say 'ambient', but hdu just use riffs that are loud, old, obvious, slow, vaguely retarded sounding yet h.d.u. try and hide the riffs under excruciatingly loud primitively melodic but excessively irrelevant noise -- the impression given is of a band of deaf drunk noisey mark pauline type industrial robots let loose on each other -- except you can't see robots, just bandmembers moving vaguely to their dopey riffs -- they look as if they're having as much fun as the night shift at some factory in siberia

h.d.u. are just one of a number of grunge-industrial slopover bands that shouldn't be allowed access to the sort of high power tools that allow them to permanently mess with peoples' hearing, as that noise of theirs speaks volumes about their respect for their own ears (so who cares about others, not them) -- (just my opinion, but) i think of them as a self-perpetuating cult industrial accident

Earplugs are important at any concert. Ears can be damaged with headphones too, so keep the level reasonable.

How seamlessly they were remixed into gentle tracks, and also the simple beauty, enjoyable at any volume level, of momento mori confirms them as ambient to me.

ambient and wall of sound are certainly not imcompatible as far as my understanding of the concepts go.

i completely disagree with this and yet i can't quite explain why..

&re: nz industrial uh I think HDU's moments of "beauty" etc don't fall into the eurotonic whatevah that industrial's moments of beauty do; I'd point more @ skeptics/foetusproductions/headlesschickens for that.

& uh this =>
f.nun is operating a bit differently to the south island based independent it used to be -- it belongs to a big multi-national now -- which seems to have produced a change of emphasis, or was it the change of emphasis that led to the need to up-size ?
=> is a straw man.

looking back at what i rather scathingly wrote about HDU, i think it's my way of addressing that serious pain consistent with their volume -- ok i'm biased or setting up a side complaint here, but since i can't get past the bodily reaction i have to their noise that's rock'n'roll

(oh, why do i have to get the earplugs ? protect myself, ensure that the environment i'm paying for is actually safe for humans ? if earplugs are mandatory at hdu, then there's a band seriousley out of touch with its audience, not listening)

and i haven't experienced the mixes you mention SK, and might eventually get around to their albums, but what volume and conditions should i set ? it would be nice to think they are a good band of course, but this high dependence thing is a serious credibility hike for some it would seem (i think that's their business, although i can see how pain threshold might be something the audience worries about, even if no-one else cares)

hmmn I always took the "High Dependency Unit" as (either) self-deflating or whatever re : taking their name from Shortland Street; didn't read anymore into it.

lately I've been using hdu as uh background music when reading janet frame etc in bed - at low volume it's ambient/new-age/dreamy/spacey etc; at high volumes it can be (insert-usual-descriptions-of-HDU-here) but that can be said of My Bloody Valentine or perhaps even Merzbow. There's actually a lot of SPACE (not-planetary-sense) in their music - i'd make connections with the uh nz dub consciousness, emptiness of the land, blah blah curnow 30s lit stuff & that - it's not as DENSE as perhaps portrayed. also their drummer is very moonman & interesting, like's he's drumming in zero-G or something. also i have not heard their early stuff.

my earlier comment about HDU not being wall-of-noise was when there were fairly stringent noise control restrictions => hdu's desire for MAX VOLUME are self-defeating sigh)

um & I haven't been to lots of rock gigs & stuff compared to say clubs (ie WHERE'S THE BASS?); & being young & (maybe) resilient the volume thing doesn't really affect me yet.

(uh apologies for incoherence)

earplugs = concerts are often loud = i believe i should protect my hearing

i completely disagree with this and yet i can't quite explain why..

although there are frequently associations of people and events when we think of music, and that helps make up our personal likes and dislikes. but if we're going to talk about the music, then that stuff is irrelevant.

ok, this sounds more difficult to back up the more i say anything. but, i could say something like... errr... i think that bob marley made some good records but i can't divorce his music from stoopid stoners so i don't like bob marley records.

01. The Clean - Anything Could Happen
02. Bored Games - Bridesmaid
03. Doublehappys - Needles And Plastic
04. Gordons - Adults And Children
05. Children's Hour - Carolines Dream
06. Verlaines - Death and the Maiden
07. The Great Unwashed - Neck Of The Woods
08. The Chills - Pink Frost
09. Sneaky Feelings - Husband House
10. Look Blue Go Purple - Cactus Cat
11. Bird Nest Roys - Alien
12. The Bats - North By North
13. Skeptics - Agitator
14. Snapper - Buddy
15. Tall Dwarfs - Nothing's Going To Happen
16. Straitjacket Fits - She Speeds
17. Able Tasmans - Hold Me 1
18. The Cakekitchen - Dave The Pimp
19. Headless Chickens - Gaskrankinstation
20. S.P.U.D. - Breakdown Town
21. David Kilgour - You Forget
22. Chris Knox - Not Given Lightly
23. The Renderers - Bigger Than Texas
24. J.P.S. Experience - Precious
25. 3Ds - Hey Seuss
26. Dribbling Darts Of Love - Hey Judith
27. Bailterspace - Splat
28. Bike - Save My Life
29. Garageland - Fingerpops
30. Solid Gold Hell - Bitter Nest
31. Superette - Touch Me
32. Loves Ugly Children - Voodoo Girl
33. Bressa Creeting Cake - Palm Singing
34. The Subliminals - The Crystal Chain
35. Betchadupa - Spill The Light
36. HDU - Schallblute
37. The D4 - Exit To The City
38. The Hasselhoff Experiment - Drag Racer
39. Stephen Malkmus - Death and the Maiden
40. PanAm - Interstate Boy
41. The Mint Chicks - Post No Bills

I'd be interested to read a complete videography for FN - I wonder if "Duane Eddy" had a video, &c&c&c.

haha thee Nun have been pursuing a few bands who would rather remain independent (& considering that's happened to the Munt Chux, I'm not surprised).

at least they're not the ch3cks, haha.

oh and according to reliable sources, the toy love double cd IS a reality, and will be out soon with pretty much everything you could ever wish for concerning the band..

1. The Clean - Beatnik
2. Bored Games - Happy Endings
3. Tall Dwarfs - Turning Brown & Torn In Two
4. Doublehappys - The Other's Way
5. Bill Direen - Alligator Song
6. Chris Knox - Half Man, Half Mole
7. Look Blue Go Purple - Circumspect Penelope
8. The Chills - I Love My Leather Jacket
9. The Bats - Made Up In Blue
10. Jean-Paul Sartre Experience - Flex
11. Scorched Earth Policy - Johnny Frog
12. This Kind Of Punishment - Immigration Song
13. Skeptics - AFFCO
14. Axemen - Wharf With No Name
15. Verlaines - Bird Dog
16. S.P.U.D. - Motorway (live at the Rising Sun)
17. The Terminals - Uncoffined
18. Drill - No Trouble
19. NRA - Glitch '90
20. Straitjacket Fits - Down In Splendour
21. Sneaky Feelings - Cry You Out Of My Eyes
22. 3Ds - Outer Space
23. Able Tasmans - Big Bang Theory
24. David Kilgour - No No No
25. Headless Chickens - George
26. Bailter Space - X
27. Pop Art Toasters - What Am I Going To Do?
28. Superette - Killer Clown
29. King Loser - '76 Come Back Special
30. Loves Ugly Children - Suck
31. Bressa Creeting Cake - Papa People
32. Bike - Welcome To My World
33. HDU - Lull dark restart (Soundproof remix)
34. The Hasselhoff Experiment - What's The Deal With The Man In Red?
35. Garageland - Feel Alright
36. Betchadupa - Bits
37. The Subliminals - United State
38. The D4 - Get Loose
39. PanAm - Japanese Girls
40. The Mint Chicks - Blue Team Go!

STILL the wrong JPSE video! tho "Flex" IS my favourite JPSE track*; hope the video's ok.

*the Straitjacket Fits cover of this (off Roger Sings The Hits is pretty great as well - anyone want me to gmail it to them?

It's great! And I'm very glad this is out because I was annoyed that the first DVD was missing a lot of tracks on it like, indeed, "Flex."

-- keith m (keythkeyt...), November 6th, 2004.

it was all paul reid's fault!

nah prolly not.. but simon's been making good music since though. i dug the subliminals and sleepers union, though i dunno what he's gonna do now.. last time i talked to him he mentioned the possibility of doing another band with brendan moran (the subliminals / hassellhoff experiment), and was performing with dale cotton (conray)

electrodribble tribute to flying nun

http://www.morrmusic.com/artist/Various%20Artists/release/118

that comp is pretty dire.

Flying Nun Founder Regains Control Of Label

This is pretty good news, yes?

Hopefully, yes! Apparently with full control just using Warners for distro, tho there have been other reports saying Warners have some sort of other stake in it. Should clear the way for a nice reissuing project too (hopefully we'll get some vinyl)

Ben Howe has taken over as 'General Manager' of Flying Nun - operations moved to AKL - sharing space or building with Arch Hill recordings - Roger Shephard still involved with label as 'consultant and shareholder' - whatever that means.

Info here: http://thecorner.co.nz/2012/09/19/changes-on-the-way-for-flying-nun-records/

Anyhow hopefully this means a smoother operation and more music. Sharpie Crows (on F Nun) and Street Chant (On Arch Hill) are pretty great. Popstrangers a bit of a rudux for my tastes but make pretty slick facsimilies of that 90's sound.

So.... they're not Flying Nun, but I thought this would be the best place to draw attention to the Popstrangers LP on Carpark. Plenty of NZers excited about this release.
Best NZ pop single since the Chills' Heavenly pop hit?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UQs6rGE_1cc

Given that Popmatters (yeah...) shit themselves with excitement over this, I thought there'd at least be some discussion:

http://www.popmatters.com/pm/review/167655-popstrangers-antipodes/

I say: really really really good.

Looks like both the Clean's Vehicle and a Bird Nest Roys comp are out this week! Especially glad about the former cos I played my old copy a couple of months back and it skipped all over the place. Great album too!

Vehicle is one of the all-time great strummy guitar albums, up there with Wedding Present and Unrest.

I disagree! I strongly believe it pisses all over those guys

It's truly great...and forthcoming review somewhere soon.

good news - vehicle might be my fave clean release, even moreso than the early stuff. amazing guitar sound.

listening to it now, oh man, it is so good. best band.

Oh come on, those strummy Wedding Present and Unrest albums are awesome, there's room for everyone here.

pl don't bespoil this thread
w/ the wedding pres

(people don't like prime Wedding Present? Bizarro.)

Oh don't worry, there are plenty of WP fans who love the Clean too.

Personally, I found Vehicle not as compelling as the early stuff and have a real soft spot for Modern Rock!

Yep - agree with Gerald M-B. I like Vehicle of course but it does not have the dark, anarchic kind of vibe that early Clean has - would like to see Compilation reissued with this kind of lavish treatment personally.

Isn't the first disc of Anthology a complete set of early Clean? That's my go-to over Compilation.

Modern Rock has "Secret Place," right? That's a nice song. "Vehicle" I always thought was where Robert's Bats-y writing started to be just as prominent as Kilgour's writing, imo.

I find Anthology unwieldy - I like the more concise and more coherent nature of Compilation - I think most of the tracks from the earlier volume are on the latter though. Anthology has too many of those goofy song experiments on it for me.

Cosign on preferring Compilation to Anthology ("Art School"!); was a Singles Going Steady kinda comp for lots of Kiwis.

Anyway, new & v.v.v.good on F.Nun is the new Sharpie Crows, though it's more in the line of the Skeptics/Gordons end of the label's history. Also: Skeptics documentary, Sheen of Gold at this year's film festival!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8PRHndjg2Fw

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BX2u7CQSQlU

Skeptics doco looks great. I didn't like that Sharpie Crows 'Spread' tune so much but the new one Bully 4 You is wicked amazingness.

http://www.undertheradar.co.nz/music/1084/Bully-4-U.utr

Also check new Chills - no longer with F Nun I think but always with them anyway.

https://soundcloud.com/#firerecords/the-chills-molten-gold

Promising signs I think - hopefully Martin can get his stuff togethor to actually release a proper album. Everyone else is doing it - why can't he?

Hinklepicker square otm here, only non Compilation Anthology track I really love is Platypus, but Art School/Hold Onto the Rail omissions are unforgivable.

Odditties version of Thums Off is p great imo though.

I love "Some Fantasy" by DoubleHappys.

So obviously not really Flying Nun, but there's no Toy Love specific thread so -- sad news to report about Jane Walker's passing:

https://www.facebook.com/AudioCultureNZ/photos/a.506398366094767/1934325256635397/?type=1&theater