A Tuatara is a reptile that is exclusive to parts of New Zealand. This particular reptile is one of a kind and is the only surviving member of its species that became extinct over 200 million years ago. This particular reptile was also chosen as the name of the very first compilation released by the New Zealand independent record label Flying Nun Records. The label was founded and started by Roger Shepherd in 1981. It was started primarily to document the music of the local scene in New Zealand in places such as Christchurch, but quickly spread outward to cover other parts of New Zealand. The music of Flying Nun covered their punk and post-music scenes and also the Dunedin sound. This was a particular style of music that was strongly influenced by the jangly pop sounds of The Velvet Underground, lo-fi experimentation, industrial, elements of noise rock and rock/electronic sounds.
Tuatara starts off with an instrumental track by The Clean called “Fish”. This song swims with groove, from the jangly guitar sounds to the loud crashing drums and driving bass. The second track on this compilation is “Coalminers Song” by The Gordons, which verges into noise rock territory. Other tracks of note on this compilation are the jangly pop/post-punk sounds of The Verlaines “Death And The Maiden” a song that was inspired by a 19th century French poet and a painting of the same name by Egon Schiele, the haunting melancholy of “Pink Frost” by The Chills which features 80s indie rock and post-punk sounds and the Sneaky Feelings “Throwing Stones”. This track along with quite a few others share similarities in the above mentioned Dunedin sound, but at the same time sounds different from say The Clean or The Verlaines. The Great Unwashed is a band that was formed by The Kilgour brothers of The Clean. Their name is a punny reference to their earlier band, The Clean. “Neck Of The Woods” from The Singles EP is featured on this compilation album.
In addition to these above mentioned tracks Tuatara compiled tracks from other New Zealand bands such as The Bats and Tall Dwafs, which was a band featuring Chris Knox. Knox is a New Zealand musician, songwriter and producer. It is fitting that the last track on this album is by Tall Dwarfs. Although the song shares its name with a 1962 sci-fi horror movie, it was Knox, who used his 4-track recorder to record most of the early Flying Nun singles. He also provided artwork for the label. Since this release hit the US in 1986, Flying Nun has become more diverse and has expanded. Flying Nun has housed artists such as The D4, The Mint Chicks, Pavement, David Kilgour, Street Chat, Tiny Ruins and numerous others since their beginnings in 1981. Most recently in 2013, they joined forces with US label Captured Tracks and re-issued several classic Flying Nun albums. At first thought many people may have thought that the music from Flying Nun was like the lizard that is featured on the front cover of the Tuatara compilation. But, there wasn’t a lizard on the front cover. It was a different species, a different kind of reptile. Flying Nun set out to do something different and like the stoic reptile that is on the cover of the Tuatara compilation album, Flying Nun has survived and still walks proud today
Saturday Night Playlist:
1. Sneaky Feelings - Throwing Stones
2. The Great Unwashed - Neck Of The Woods
3. The Dandy Warhols - The Catcher In The Rye
4. The Last Shadow Puppets - Aviation
5. The Soles - Newest Revelation
6. Dead Broke - Miles Away
7. Electric Eels - Agitated
8. No Exit - Nothing New
9. Mo-Dettes - Norman (He’s No Rebel)
10. Sloan - Learn To Play Dead (One Chord To Another Outtake)
11. Marbles - Red Lights
12. Chris Stamey - The Summer Sun
13. Erasers - It Was So Funny (The Song They Sung)
14. Alice Cooper - Caught In A Dream
15. The Tonettes - I Gotta Know
16. The Commands - Must Be Alright
17. Deja Voodoo - Things With You
18. Jerry Jerry & The Sons Of Rhythm Orchestra - Color TV
19. The Locusts Have No King - Rye Whiskey (CJAM Session 2008)
20. James O-L & The Villains - The Other Side
21. The 427’s - Night Of The Living Surf
22. Kid Congo & The Pink Monkeybirds - Coyote Conundrum
23. John Doe & The Sadies - Detroit City
24. Trout - Spineless
25. TV Freaks - Don’t Read The News
26. The Famines - The State Of Music
27. The D4 - Exit To The City
28. The Vibrators - Petrol
29. The Adverts - One Chord Wonders
30. Parquet Courts - Two Dead Cops
To download this weeks program, visit CJAM's schedule page for Revolution Rock and download the file for April 30. Or subscribe to Revolution Rock as a Podcast.
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