New Zealander Graeme Jefferies is noted for his work in the often terrific Cakekitchen, and his brother Peter has been rightfully praised for a handful of solo LPs, but in the early ’80s they were the main pillars in one of the finest if too seldom heard Kiwi outfits, the startlingly original This Kind of Punishment. To describe their self-titled 1983 debut and its ’84 follow-up A Beard of Bees as post-punk isn’t wrong, but it does feel more than a little reductive, and in the global underground of that era both albums’ contents rank high. And additionally, right now; fitfully available in the decades since initial release, they’ve just received their first-time vinyl reissue by Superior Viaduct.
I remain fond of classifying The Clean, The Chills, The Verlaines, and Tall Dwarfs as Flying Nun’s Big Four; this is in part due to persevering reputations, but it’s also because in the late ’80s, due to a licensing agreement between that crucial New Zealand label and Homestead Records, those acts were the easiest to hear in the US. And for a while, it wasn’t easy to hear much else, which only intensified the notion of the Flying Nun “sound” as melodic, catchy and guitar-based (with Tall Dwarfs only somewhat excepted, as that two-man unit, if psych-tinged and proto-lo-fi, also wielded a sharp pop sensibility).
However, time has reinforced that Flying Nun’s stylistic reach was much wider than many youthful Yanks once assumed. There was the moody post-punk of Pin Group, whose “Ambivalence” 45 was the label’s first release; there was the loud and heavy Gordons, who slowly morphed into Bailter Space; there was the artier pop-punk of Bill Direen and his group the Builders, whose Beatin Hearts was Flying Nun’s first LP; and of course, there was This Kind of Punishment.
Before Graeme and Peter emerged with TKP in 1983, they were part of Nocturnal Projections, a band formed in 1981 in the North Island municipality of Stratford. Today, their 7-inch and two 12-inch EPs go for major scratch, and even the out-of-print Nerve Ends in Power Lines comp CD from ’95 is rather pricey. This is a shame since the Joy Division-ish post-punk found in their grooves illuminates how the brothers Jefferies didn’t just conjure the excellence of TKP out of thin air.
Vintage record store sees uptick in sales due to vinyl resurgence: POCATELLO – Remember when it meant something to be first in line to pre-order a new album? Remember what it was like getting your hands on the shiny, new packaging for the first time, as you meticulously opened it up to read the liner notes? This is a foreign concept for today’s digital music consumers. But Vintage Vinyl and Antiques in Pocatello is bringing it back for a new generation. “With a record jacket, it’s almost like holding a book,” Quint Pimentel, Vintage Vinyl and Antiques Owner, tells EastIdahoNews.com. “You can learn so much about the artist. It’s more intimate (than listening on your phone).” Vintage Vinyl and Antiques offers a wide assortment of music, sound equipment and memorabilia for avid collectors. And with a resurgence in vinyl, Pimentel says he is 
With Best Buy dropping CDs, the format is down but not out: “Twenty-some years ago, I remember saying about Best Buy, ‘They’re gonna run everybody out of business and then quit selling CDs,’ ” said Stephen Judge, owner of the three Schoolkids Records stores in the Triangle. “And now that day has come. I’d be lying if I said it was not concerning.” Independent stores have continued closing, including Record Exchange and Offbeat Records in the Triangle. Then came Amazon and streaming, and larger chains started failing, too – including Tower Records, which went out of business in 2006. In recent years, many independent stores like Schoolkids, Sorry State and Bull City Records prospered by 
Vinyl revival: Truck Store record shop celebrates seventh birthday with music and cake: The last surviving independent music shop in Oxford has proved its pluckiness as it celebrated its seventh year in the city. The city was once awash with record racks boasting national and local musical acts. Now Truck store stands alone in Cowley Road – with the only other music retailer being newcomer Fopp, in Gloucester Green. Truck Store’s fortunes have been helped by the 
Vinyl fans dig for treasure at KUSF record swap: Aimee Myers said she was on a mission for Iggy Pop and the Cramps as she flipped through crate after crate of vinyl records on Sunday. And a few hours into digging at the Rock ’n’ Swap record fair at University of San Francisco’s McLaren Hall, she hit pay dirt: a $25 used copy of “Raw Power” by Iggy and the Stooges. “I’m really excited,” the 21-year-old media studies major said, clutching an older copy of the seminal 1973 pre-punk masterpiece in both arms. “I’ve been looking for this for a while, and 
The sun sets on 60-plus years for this Fort Worth record store fixture: Record Town, one of the nation’s oldest vinyl record stores and a survivor of 60 years of change in the music industry, is moving from its original South University Drive location. And it may be changing hands…TCU students in the 1950s and 60s frequented Record Town for the latest vinyl releases from Elvis, the Everly Brothers or the Beatles. Now the couple’s son, Sumter Bruton III manages the store. He graduated from TCU in 1968, according to TCU Magazine. The iconic Record Town sign with Nipper the RCA dog in the middle hasn’t lit up for six or seven years. Now it appears the 
Celebrity Handprints Surround Tulsa Store: TULSA, Oklahoma – 40 years ago, a Tulsa record store had visiting musicians create some lasting memories in the sidewalk around the store. The store is gone, but the handprints and autographs are still there. Now, a building rehab project has fans concerned about those celebrity handprints. Building owner Terry Palmer said a facelift is long overdue. It is now the home for Ehrles Party Supply, but forty years ago it was the home for Peaches Records and Tapes. “Recording artists would come by and put their hands in concrete just like they do in Hollywood,” said Palmer. Almost 40 years later, 
