WHY AM I WRITING THIS PORTASTATIC BIO?
By Tom Scharpling (written for the release of the 2006 album Be Still Please)
Why? Because in the bio for BRIGHT IDEAS, Portastatic's amazing 2005 full-length, my name was mis-spelled. Here's the offending passage:
"Portastatic first achieved delicacy in 1992, when Tom Sharpling, proprietor of the fanzine 18 Wheeler, persuaded McCaughan to release a 7" of the recordings he had been making for kicks in his kitchen."
Sharpling? It's S-C-H, guys. What happened? Was Google broken that day? Who's in charge of quality control at Merge? You'd think with all that Arcade Fire money, shit like this wouldn't slip through the cracks. But it did, and as a component of the eventual ugly lawsuit (mental anguish!) I have been granted permission to write the new Portastatic bio.
But seeing the statement above lends some perspective to things back in the early 90's, I was lucky enough to be a part of the early early days of Portastatic, when the name was a catch-all for Mac McCaughan's low-fi side pocket recordings, stuff he was knocking out while being the propulsive songwriting force behind the legendary Superchunk.
Fourteen years later, and it's a different ballgame. (Mac would prefer I say it's a different hockey game, because he's still in Stanley Cup afterglow with the Carolina Hurricanes winning it all.) Superchunk is on ice for the foreseeable future, and Portastatic is where McCaughan gets it done. And get it done he does; it's shocking to see how the band has grown from such humble beginnings. With a rotating cast of supporting players, the band has conquered a dizzying variety of styles and tones, from the nimble tropicalia of DE MEL, DE MELȘȘO, a pair of surprisingly expansive film scores, to the epic post-Boss uber rock of last year's amazingly amazing BRIGHT IDEAS.
Don't get me wrong, McCaughan's not some piker keeping score as he burns through genres. He's a legitimately adventurous musician, driven to use his talents to explore and answer whatever's speaking to him at any given time, willing to take some actual risks along the way.
And Be Still Please just might be the crowning achievement. The first thing that hits you is the jaw dropping beauty of the album-the string arrangements are lush and swollen with emotion; the songs feel ready to pop, like a tick filled with awesomeness instead of blood. Just listen to the opening "Sour Shores" and let those changes wash over you; THIS is what the Left Banke was supposed to sound like! Those Left Banke records suck shit, by the way. At best three good songs! (And I'm throwing in ?Pretty Ballerina,' even though I hate that song, because a fair amount of people seem to think it's passable.) Fuck that noise, Jack!
Be Still Please also features some of the best straight out pop Mac has ever whipped up; "I'm In Love (With Arthur Dove)" bounces around like "Born To Run" by way of the Go-Betweens, and "You Blanks" is his most radio-ready number since "San Andreas" (or maybe even "Slack Motherfucker," with which it shares a liberal use of the F-Bomb).
If I were clever, I'd tell you to think of Be Still Please as the introverted sister to BRIGHT IDEAS. But I'm not. So I'll just tell you that Mac McCaughan is better than he's ever been-the guy is on a hot streak right now that I'd chart somewhere between Mascis '87, Coppola '74 and Dwyane Wade '06.
By the way, I made sure to spell Wade's first name correctly, mainly because I don't know how interested he'll be in writing the bio for the next Portastatic record.
So why am I writing this Portastatic bio? Because they started off great and have been getting progressively greater with each passing year. It's been thrilling to watch. I love and admire what Mac has built, and so should you.
Thank you for your time.
Tom Scharpling
www.portastatic.com
portastatic.blogspot.com
By Tom Scharpling (written for the release of the 2006 album Be Still Please)
Why? Because in the bio for BRIGHT IDEAS, Portastatic's amazing 2005 full-length, my name was mis-spelled. Here's the offending passage:
"Portastatic first achieved delicacy in 1992, when Tom Sharpling, proprietor of the fanzine 18 Wheeler, persuaded McCaughan to release a 7" of the recordings he had been making for kicks in his kitchen."
Sharpling? It's S-C-H, guys. What happened? Was Google broken that day? Who's in charge of quality control at Merge? You'd think with all that Arcade Fire money, shit like this wouldn't slip through the cracks. But it did, and as a component of the eventual ugly lawsuit (mental anguish!) I have been granted permission to write the new Portastatic bio.
But seeing the statement above lends some perspective to things back in the early 90's, I was lucky enough to be a part of the early early days of Portastatic, when the name was a catch-all for Mac McCaughan's low-fi side pocket recordings, stuff he was knocking out while being the propulsive songwriting force behind the legendary Superchunk.
Fourteen years later, and it's a different ballgame. (Mac would prefer I say it's a different hockey game, because he's still in Stanley Cup afterglow with the Carolina Hurricanes winning it all.) Superchunk is on ice for the foreseeable future, and Portastatic is where McCaughan gets it done. And get it done he does; it's shocking to see how the band has grown from such humble beginnings. With a rotating cast of supporting players, the band has conquered a dizzying variety of styles and tones, from the nimble tropicalia of DE MEL, DE MELȘȘO, a pair of surprisingly expansive film scores, to the epic post-Boss uber rock of last year's amazingly amazing BRIGHT IDEAS.
Don't get me wrong, McCaughan's not some piker keeping score as he burns through genres. He's a legitimately adventurous musician, driven to use his talents to explore and answer whatever's speaking to him at any given time, willing to take some actual risks along the way.
And Be Still Please just might be the crowning achievement. The first thing that hits you is the jaw dropping beauty of the album-the string arrangements are lush and swollen with emotion; the songs feel ready to pop, like a tick filled with awesomeness instead of blood. Just listen to the opening "Sour Shores" and let those changes wash over you; THIS is what the Left Banke was supposed to sound like! Those Left Banke records suck shit, by the way. At best three good songs! (And I'm throwing in ?Pretty Ballerina,' even though I hate that song, because a fair amount of people seem to think it's passable.) Fuck that noise, Jack!
Be Still Please also features some of the best straight out pop Mac has ever whipped up; "I'm In Love (With Arthur Dove)" bounces around like "Born To Run" by way of the Go-Betweens, and "You Blanks" is his most radio-ready number since "San Andreas" (or maybe even "Slack Motherfucker," with which it shares a liberal use of the F-Bomb).
If I were clever, I'd tell you to think of Be Still Please as the introverted sister to BRIGHT IDEAS. But I'm not. So I'll just tell you that Mac McCaughan is better than he's ever been-the guy is on a hot streak right now that I'd chart somewhere between Mascis '87, Coppola '74 and Dwyane Wade '06.
By the way, I made sure to spell Wade's first name correctly, mainly because I don't know how interested he'll be in writing the bio for the next Portastatic record.
So why am I writing this Portastatic bio? Because they started off great and have been getting progressively greater with each passing year. It's been thrilling to watch. I love and admire what Mac has built, and so should you.
Thank you for your time.
Tom Scharpling
www.portastatic.com
portastatic.blogspot.com
10/23/12
Early voting has begun in North Carolina, and to help spread the word, Mac McCaughan of Superchunk, Portastatic & Merge will perform solo at a concert to raise awareness for Early Voting Friday, October 26 at Durham Central Park with Chapel Hill’s Spider Bags and New Jersey band Titus Andronicus.
Lantern Restaurant of Chapel Hill and Toast of Durham will also be serving soup at the event.
Read Mac’s entry to the 90 Days, 90 Reasons project about the importance of turning North Carolina “blue.” Follow @superchunk on twitter for more information on other events happening in North Carolina this week as details are confirmed. Spread the word!
And, no matter which state you live in, please vote!
Friday, October 26 @ Durham Central Park
11 AM – 1:30 PM
Noon – Mac McCaughan solo
12:30 – Spider Bags
1:15 – Titus Andronicus
Lantern Restaurant of Chapel Hill and Toast of Durham will also be serving soup at the event.
Read Mac’s entry to the 90 Days, 90 Reasons project about the importance of turning North Carolina “blue.” Follow @superchunk on twitter for more information on other events happening in North Carolina this week as details are confirmed. Spread the word!
And, no matter which state you live in, please vote!
Friday, October 26 @ Durham Central Park
11 AM – 1:30 PM
Noon – Mac McCaughan solo
12:30 – Spider Bags
1:15 – Titus Andronicus
04/28/12
Merge Records is teaming up with the Haw River Ballroom, Cat’s Cradle and others in opposition to North Carolina’s Amendment One including the Coalition to Protect ALL North Carolina Families – to throw a Benefit Concert with Bob Mould, David Cross, Stuart McLamb of The Love Language, Tig Notaro, Amber Tamblyn and Superchunk (Acoustic Duo.) The concert will be held on May 6 at the Haw River Ballroom in Saxapahaw, NC. Limited tickets are available to this special seated event for a donation of $80 and a limited edition silk-screened poster of the event designed by Matthew Klimas is included in the ticket price.
Click to buy tickets for a donation which includes a limited edition silk-screened poster
On September 13th, the North Carolina Legislature proposed an amendment to the Constitution that would ban legal recognition for all unmarried couples, strip protections and benefits from families across our state, hurt our business climate and economic development and put our children in danger. We are proud to be a member of a coalition of groups, individuals and families dedicated to defeating this amendment at the polls on May 8 and protecting North Carolina from the harms it represents. For more information about the Coalition to Protect NC Families, visit their website.
Click to buy tickets for a donation which includes a limited edition silk-screened poster
On September 13th, the North Carolina Legislature proposed an amendment to the Constitution that would ban legal recognition for all unmarried couples, strip protections and benefits from families across our state, hurt our business climate and economic development and put our children in danger. We are proud to be a member of a coalition of groups, individuals and families dedicated to defeating this amendment at the polls on May 8 and protecting North Carolina from the harms it represents. For more information about the Coalition to Protect NC Families, visit their website.
10/07/11
This month marks the 10-year anniversary of Orange County Social Club, a neighborhood bar in Carrboro, North Carolina, founded by our dear friend and former Merge-intern-turned-employee Tricia Mesigian.
OCSC marks its first decade with a week-long celebration that begins this Sunday, October 9, at 4 p.m. in the bar’s parking lot. There will be free music by several local bands and food for purchase from Nealâs Deli, the proceeds from which will benefit MusiCares.
Then Monday through Thursday from 6â8 p.m., OCSC will host indoor semi-acoustic shows, with an additional solo set at 9 p.m. on Tuesday by Mac McCaughan. On Thursday evening, Shark Quest, who put out three lovely albums on Merge, will play an instrumental set. While all of these evening shows are free, donations will be collected and put towards a scholarship fund that Tricia has established with the Town of Carrboro to help send local aspiring entrepreneurs to a small-business training course.
And as if all that werenât enough, there will be two shows at the Catâs Cradle, both starting at 8 p.m., to cap off the week’s festivities. The show on Friday, October 14, includes an appearance by The Ghost of Rock, which features members of Pipe. On Saturday the 15th, Crooked Fingers will play some songs off of their soon-to-be-released album, Breaks in the Armor. Saturday also sees the return of Seven Brides for the Meatwagon, a covers supergroup that includes Jim Wilbur and Jon Wurster (on guitar!) of Superchunk. Jon reveals, âWe will deliver unto you the best and worst of the ’90s, the 2000s, and the OCSC jukebox. We havenât played in ten years, so cut us some slack.â
Tickets for Friday and Saturday are on sale now at Cat’s Cradle, OCSC, CD Alley, and Schoolkids Records. Proceeds from the Cradle shows will also go to MusiCares. Visit and “like” OCSC on Facebook for full details and updates on next week’s events.
Congratulations, Trish, on your much-deserved success!
OCSC marks its first decade with a week-long celebration that begins this Sunday, October 9, at 4 p.m. in the bar’s parking lot. There will be free music by several local bands and food for purchase from Nealâs Deli, the proceeds from which will benefit MusiCares.
Then Monday through Thursday from 6â8 p.m., OCSC will host indoor semi-acoustic shows, with an additional solo set at 9 p.m. on Tuesday by Mac McCaughan. On Thursday evening, Shark Quest, who put out three lovely albums on Merge, will play an instrumental set. While all of these evening shows are free, donations will be collected and put towards a scholarship fund that Tricia has established with the Town of Carrboro to help send local aspiring entrepreneurs to a small-business training course.
And as if all that werenât enough, there will be two shows at the Catâs Cradle, both starting at 8 p.m., to cap off the week’s festivities. The show on Friday, October 14, includes an appearance by The Ghost of Rock, which features members of Pipe. On Saturday the 15th, Crooked Fingers will play some songs off of their soon-to-be-released album, Breaks in the Armor. Saturday also sees the return of Seven Brides for the Meatwagon, a covers supergroup that includes Jim Wilbur and Jon Wurster (on guitar!) of Superchunk. Jon reveals, âWe will deliver unto you the best and worst of the ’90s, the 2000s, and the OCSC jukebox. We havenât played in ten years, so cut us some slack.â
Tickets for Friday and Saturday are on sale now at Cat’s Cradle, OCSC, CD Alley, and Schoolkids Records. Proceeds from the Cradle shows will also go to MusiCares. Visit and “like” OCSC on Facebook for full details and updates on next week’s events.
Congratulations, Trish, on your much-deserved success!
09/28/11
Mac McCaughan of Superchunk and Portastatic has composed original scores for four films by noted experimental filmmaker Maya Deren, and he will perform them live on Thursday, September 29, at the world premiere of Transfigured Time: Music for the Films of Maya Deren, which opens the Westobou Festival in Augusta, Georgia.
Maya Deren (1917â1961) is often referred to as âthe mother of the American underground cinema.â Her films are known for their startling and surrealistic imagery in which time and space are altered to create a world somewhere between dreams and reality. In 1946, Ms. Deren became the first filmmaker to receive a Guggenheim Foundation Fellowship, and later that year she was the recipient of the Cannes Film Festival Grand Prix Internationale. From photographer Cindy Sherman to artist Matthew Barney to filmmaker David Lynch, Maya Derenâs profound influence as a filmmaker and theorist resonates to this very day.
McCaughanâs compositional accomplishments include original scores for Who Loves the Sun and Looking for Leonard. His live scores for silent films include the Seattle International Film Festivalâs presentation of Tod Browningâs The Unknown and Teinosuke Kinugasaâs A Page of Madness with Superchunk at the San Francisco Film Festival.
The evening will begin at 6 p.m. with a social hour in the lovely gardens of Sacred Heart Cultural Center. DJs will set the eveningâs tone, and unique food and beverages will be available from The Beeâs Knees. The premiere of Transfigured Time: Music for the Films of Maya Deren will begin at sunset in the architectural splendor of Sacred Heart Cultural Center with McCaughan leading a small ensemble.
A co-production of Semi-Precious Productions and Sacred Heart Cultural Center, Transfigured Time will build upon the success of their presentation of 13 Most Beautiful: Songs for Andy Warholâs Screen Tests at the 2010 Westobou Festival.
For tickets and more information, visit www.westoboufestival.com.
Maya Deren (1917â1961) is often referred to as âthe mother of the American underground cinema.â Her films are known for their startling and surrealistic imagery in which time and space are altered to create a world somewhere between dreams and reality. In 1946, Ms. Deren became the first filmmaker to receive a Guggenheim Foundation Fellowship, and later that year she was the recipient of the Cannes Film Festival Grand Prix Internationale. From photographer Cindy Sherman to artist Matthew Barney to filmmaker David Lynch, Maya Derenâs profound influence as a filmmaker and theorist resonates to this very day.
McCaughanâs compositional accomplishments include original scores for Who Loves the Sun and Looking for Leonard. His live scores for silent films include the Seattle International Film Festivalâs presentation of Tod Browningâs The Unknown and Teinosuke Kinugasaâs A Page of Madness with Superchunk at the San Francisco Film Festival.
The evening will begin at 6 p.m. with a social hour in the lovely gardens of Sacred Heart Cultural Center. DJs will set the eveningâs tone, and unique food and beverages will be available from The Beeâs Knees. The premiere of Transfigured Time: Music for the Films of Maya Deren will begin at sunset in the architectural splendor of Sacred Heart Cultural Center with McCaughan leading a small ensemble.
A co-production of Semi-Precious Productions and Sacred Heart Cultural Center, Transfigured Time will build upon the success of their presentation of 13 Most Beautiful: Songs for Andy Warholâs Screen Tests at the 2010 Westobou Festival.
For tickets and more information, visit www.westoboufestival.com.
12/02/10
Itâs easy to miss out on some of the digital-only releases we throw your wayâthe Internet is a pretty crowded place these days! Hereâs a quick summary of what you may have missed:
The limited-edition Destroyer 12-inch âArcher on the Beachâ is out-of-print in the Merge store, but you can now buy the songs via digital download!
Donât miss out on Swim RemixesâCaribouâs answer to what happens when you put one of the yearâs hottest dance records in the hands of some of the worldâs best DJs! With reworks of some of Swimâs hottest cuts by Junior Boys, Fuck Buttons, Nite Jewel, DJ Koze, Walls, Gold Panda, Gavin Russom, and more, Swim Remixes contains over an hour-and-a-half of new, fresh takes on Caribouâs latest opus.
Letâs Wrestle bring us a tasty piece of next yearâs sophomore record with the âGetting Restâ/âWhen I Was In Hospitalâ digital single. Be warned: these young Londoners are not to be missed.
Shout Out Loudsâ Fall Hard EP expands upon Workâs catchy first single with non-album cuts âFall Hard Pt. 2â and âCanât Explain.â
Lou Barlow + the missingmenâs = Sentridoh III is Louâs first recorded output with new backing band the missingmen. Described by the band as âan almost live representation of the Lou Barlow + the missingmen live show,â this mini-album breathes new, rocking life into Sebadoh and Sentridoh classics, Louâs solo material, and even a haunting cover of the timeless Skip James song âIâm So Glad.â
Tracey Thorn followed up this yearâs gorgeous Love and Its Opposite with a pair of digital EPs, Why Does the Wind? and Opposites, that offer up wildly creative remixes of some of the albumâs most-loved songs. Why Does the Wind? pairs the album track of the same name with remixes by Morgan Geist, Michel Clies, and AndrĂ© Lodemann, along with a radio edit and dub version. As for the Opposites EP, Tracey herself probably says it best: âIf the remixes for the last single âWhy Does the Wind?â were aimed at the dancefloor, these are perhaps aimed more at the head.â Visionquest (âSwimmingâ), Walls (âKentish Townâ), and Blue Daisy (âLate in the Afternoonâ) provide penetrating new takes presented alongside the originals.
Letâs also revisit Lambchopâs magnetic Live at XX Merge performance; Portastaticâs Make It Sound In Tune EP; digital reissues of Richard Bucknerâs landmark albums Impasse, The Hill, and Bloomed; and The Ladybug Transistorâs fantastic Here Comes the Rain covers EP.
Our Holiday Coupon applies to digital releases, too, so download away!
ï»ż
The limited-edition Destroyer 12-inch âArcher on the Beachâ is out-of-print in the Merge store, but you can now buy the songs via digital download!
Donât miss out on Swim RemixesâCaribouâs answer to what happens when you put one of the yearâs hottest dance records in the hands of some of the worldâs best DJs! With reworks of some of Swimâs hottest cuts by Junior Boys, Fuck Buttons, Nite Jewel, DJ Koze, Walls, Gold Panda, Gavin Russom, and more, Swim Remixes contains over an hour-and-a-half of new, fresh takes on Caribouâs latest opus.
Letâs Wrestle bring us a tasty piece of next yearâs sophomore record with the âGetting Restâ/âWhen I Was In Hospitalâ digital single. Be warned: these young Londoners are not to be missed.
Shout Out Loudsâ Fall Hard EP expands upon Workâs catchy first single with non-album cuts âFall Hard Pt. 2â and âCanât Explain.â
Lou Barlow + the missingmenâs = Sentridoh III is Louâs first recorded output with new backing band the missingmen. Described by the band as âan almost live representation of the Lou Barlow + the missingmen live show,â this mini-album breathes new, rocking life into Sebadoh and Sentridoh classics, Louâs solo material, and even a haunting cover of the timeless Skip James song âIâm So Glad.â
Tracey Thorn followed up this yearâs gorgeous Love and Its Opposite with a pair of digital EPs, Why Does the Wind? and Opposites, that offer up wildly creative remixes of some of the albumâs most-loved songs. Why Does the Wind? pairs the album track of the same name with remixes by Morgan Geist, Michel Clies, and AndrĂ© Lodemann, along with a radio edit and dub version. As for the Opposites EP, Tracey herself probably says it best: âIf the remixes for the last single âWhy Does the Wind?â were aimed at the dancefloor, these are perhaps aimed more at the head.â Visionquest (âSwimmingâ), Walls (âKentish Townâ), and Blue Daisy (âLate in the Afternoonâ) provide penetrating new takes presented alongside the originals.
Letâs also revisit Lambchopâs magnetic Live at XX Merge performance; Portastaticâs Make It Sound In Tune EP; digital reissues of Richard Bucknerâs landmark albums Impasse, The Hill, and Bloomed; and The Ladybug Transistorâs fantastic Here Comes the Rain covers EP.
Our Holiday Coupon applies to digital releases, too, so download away!
ï»ż
04/01/10
On April 7, Mac & Jim from Superchunk and Portastatic will be at Royal Cinema in Toronto for the premiere of the film Passenger Side, written and directed by Matt Bissonnette (Looking for Leonard, Who Loves the Sun). The LA Weekly describes Passenger Side as “A thinking man’s Judd Apatow flick … literate, amusing, and unexpectedly moving.” Read a synopsis of the film and watch the trailer at passengersidemovie.com.
Mac and Matt Bissonnette did music supervision and Mac contributed an original song as well as a Superchunk song for the film. After the screening, Mac and Matt Bissonnette will participate in a panel and Q & A session about the film. Mac and Jim will follow the panel with an acoustic set of Superchunk and Portastatic songs.
Tickets are available now in Toronto at Soundscapes (572 College St.), Rotate This (801 Queen St. West), and online at passengersidemovie.com. Check out Mac’s interview in Signal Magazine, too!
Mac and Matt Bissonnette did music supervision and Mac contributed an original song as well as a Superchunk song for the film. After the screening, Mac and Matt Bissonnette will participate in a panel and Q & A session about the film. Mac and Jim will follow the panel with an acoustic set of Superchunk and Portastatic songs.
Tickets are available now in Toronto at Soundscapes (572 College St.), Rotate This (801 Queen St. West), and online at passengersidemovie.com. Check out Mac’s interview in Signal Magazine, too!
03/29/10
On Thursday, May 6, Jeff Mangum, The Clean, Portastatic, Yo La Tengo, Kyp Malone (of TV on the Radio), Claudia Gonson (of The Magnetic Fields), Sharon Van Etten, John Mulaney, Robert Scott, David Kilgour & Dimmer will unite in an evening of music at Le Poisson Rouge in New York City to benefit New Zealand musician Chris Knox, who suffered a series of life-altering strokes last year.
Hosted by Le Poisson Rouge, Wordless Music and WFMU, this show comes on the heels of the recent release of Stroke, a double album compilation of artists covering Knox songs with the proceeds going to benefit him and his family. All money raised for this event, save for circa $2,500 base costs to cover direct club expenses, is going straight to the Knox family.
This event is now sold out! Thank you very much!
Stroke is available now as a limited-edition 2-CD set and digital download in the Merge store.
Hosted by Le Poisson Rouge, Wordless Music and WFMU, this show comes on the heels of the recent release of Stroke, a double album compilation of artists covering Knox songs with the proceeds going to benefit him and his family. All money raised for this event, save for circa $2,500 base costs to cover direct club expenses, is going straight to the Knox family.
This event is now sold out! Thank you very much!
Stroke is available now as a limited-edition 2-CD set and digital download in the Merge store.
12/22/09
Portastatic’s new digital EP of Merge covers, Make It Sound In Tune, is available now exclusively in the Merge store! All of the proceeds for this release will benefit the charities chosen by the SCORE! curators.
Here are a few words from Mac on the EP:
1. Whereâs Your Patience, Dear? (Matt Suggs)
2. Anything You Want (Spoon)
3. Old Orchard Beach (The Magnetic Fields)
4. West (Spent)
5. The Saturday Option (Lambchop)
6. Foam Hands (Destroyer)
7. A Million Lights (The Renderers)
Here are a few words from Mac on the EP:
The idea for a whole EP of Merge covers stemmed from both listening to the SCORE! Merge covers compilation and from doing bookstore events to promote the Our Noise book, wherein weâd play some acoustic covers of songs that came out on Merge. Time permitting, this really could have been a much longer record, but in the spirit of quitting while I was ahead and also turning this in before the end of the year, I stopped at seven songs. Obviously, the Merge catalog is full of hundredsâthousands, actuallyâof songs I love, so I picked ones I either knew well or thought I could re-create without defiling too harshly. It wasnât easy to narrow down, so I just tried not to think about it too much, and then time constraints set inâŠMake It Sound In Tune EP:
1. Whereâs Your Patience, Dear? (Matt Suggs)
2. Anything You Want (Spoon)
3. Old Orchard Beach (The Magnetic Fields)
4. West (Spent)
5. The Saturday Option (Lambchop)
6. Foam Hands (Destroyer)
7. A Million Lights (The Renderers)
12/08/09
On June 11, 2009, musician Chris Knox suffered a life-altering stroke at his home in Grey Lynn, New Zealand. Stroke: Songs for Chris Knox is a celebration of Chris and his music. He was instrumental in bringing New Zealand punk and alternative music to international audiences with Tall Dwarfs, Toy Love, and his solo work. Artists from the U.S. (Jeff Mangum, Yo La Tengo, The Mountain Goats, Bonnie âPrinceâ Billy, Lambchop, Stephin Merritt, Portastatic, Bill Callahan, Lou Barlow, Jay Reatard), New Zealand (The Bats, The Verlaines, The Chills), and the world over have donated their time and talent covering songs from Knox’s extensive catalog so that all proceeds can go towards assisting Chris with his recovery.
Stroke: Songs for Chris Knox is available for download now from the Merge store and our usual digital outlets. The 2-CD limited-edition release will be available in stores on February 23, but you can pre-order it today and receive the digital download via email after your order is complete!
Visit the fantastic Stroke website for updates on Chris Knox, information on all of the artists who contributed their versions of Knox’s songs, and for previews of many of the tracksâoriginals and covers.
Tracklisting:
*Tracks are arranged chronologically
Disc 1:
1. Jay Reatard – Pull Down The Shades
2. The Checks – Rebel
3. The Bleeding Allstars – Ain’t It Nice
4. Peter Gutteridge – Don’t Catch Fire
5. The Chills – Luck Or Loveliness
6. David Kilgour – Nothing’s Going To Happen
7. The Crying Wolfs – All My Hollowness To You
8. Stephin Merritt – Beauty
9. Portastatic – Nostalgia’s No Excuse
10. The Mint Chicks – Crush
11. Jay & Sam Clarkson – I’ve Left Memories Behind
12. Sky Green Leopards – Burning Blue
13. Shayne Carter – The Slide
14. Pumice – Grand Mal
15. Hamish Kilgour – Knoxed Out
Disc 2:
1. Boh Runga – Not Given Lightly
2. Red & Zeke (Feat. Bill Doss and Neil Cleary) – Bodies
3. Jeff Mangum – Sign The Dotted Line
4. Bill Callahan – Lapse
5. Genghis Smith – Growth Spurt
6. Yo La Tengo – Coloured
7. AC Newman – Dunno Much About Life But I Know How To Breathe
8. Alec Bathgate – Glide
9. Don McGlashan – Inside Story
10. Sean Donnelly – The Outer Skin
11. Lambchop – What Goes Up
12. The Mountain Goats – Brave
13. The Tokey Tones (and friends) – Round These Walls
14. The Bats – Just Do It
15. Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy – My Only Friend
16. The Finn Family – It’s Love
17. Jordan Luck – Becoming Something Other
18. The Verlaines – Driftwood
19. Lou Barlow – Song Of The Tall Poppy
20. The Nothing – Napping In Lapland
21. Tall Dwarfs – Sunday Son
Stroke: Songs for Chris Knox is available for download now from the Merge store and our usual digital outlets. The 2-CD limited-edition release will be available in stores on February 23, but you can pre-order it today and receive the digital download via email after your order is complete!
Visit the fantastic Stroke website for updates on Chris Knox, information on all of the artists who contributed their versions of Knox’s songs, and for previews of many of the tracksâoriginals and covers.
Tracklisting:
*Tracks are arranged chronologically
Disc 1:
1. Jay Reatard – Pull Down The Shades
2. The Checks – Rebel
3. The Bleeding Allstars – Ain’t It Nice
4. Peter Gutteridge – Don’t Catch Fire
5. The Chills – Luck Or Loveliness
6. David Kilgour – Nothing’s Going To Happen
7. The Crying Wolfs – All My Hollowness To You
8. Stephin Merritt – Beauty
9. Portastatic – Nostalgia’s No Excuse
10. The Mint Chicks – Crush
11. Jay & Sam Clarkson – I’ve Left Memories Behind
12. Sky Green Leopards – Burning Blue
13. Shayne Carter – The Slide
14. Pumice – Grand Mal
15. Hamish Kilgour – Knoxed Out
Disc 2:
1. Boh Runga – Not Given Lightly
2. Red & Zeke (Feat. Bill Doss and Neil Cleary) – Bodies
3. Jeff Mangum – Sign The Dotted Line
4. Bill Callahan – Lapse
5. Genghis Smith – Growth Spurt
6. Yo La Tengo – Coloured
7. AC Newman – Dunno Much About Life But I Know How To Breathe
8. Alec Bathgate – Glide
9. Don McGlashan – Inside Story
10. Sean Donnelly – The Outer Skin
11. Lambchop – What Goes Up
12. The Mountain Goats – Brave
13. The Tokey Tones (and friends) – Round These Walls
14. The Bats – Just Do It
15. Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy – My Only Friend
16. The Finn Family – It’s Love
17. Jordan Luck – Becoming Something Other
18. The Verlaines – Driftwood
19. Lou Barlow – Song Of The Tall Poppy
20. The Nothing – Napping In Lapland
21. Tall Dwarfs – Sunday Son
Starter :: 7" (18 Wheeler) 1993
Naked Pilseners :: 7"/CD5 (Matador) 1993
"San Andreas Crouch" b/w "Candy Cigarettes" & "Race You Home" :: 7" (Esther) 1994
I Hope Your Heart Is Not Brittle :: LP/CD/CS (Merge) 1994
Scrapbook X's :: 7" (18 Wheeler) 1994
4 song subscription-only ep :: CDEP (HELLO) 1994
Guessing :: 7" (18 Wheeler) 1995
Scrapbook :: CDEP/Dbl-7" (Merge) 1995
Slow Note From a Sinking Ship :: CD/LP (Merge) 1995
"Spying on the Spys" b/w "Do You Want to Buy a Bridge?" :: 7" (Merge) 1996
The Nature of Sap :: CD/LP (Merge) 1997
"Too Close to the Screen" on split w/ Ida :: 7" (Trash Heap) 1997
"Secret Session" on split w/ The Landing :: 7" (Sarang Bang) 1997
"You Love To Fail" on split w/ The Ladybug Transistor & Land of the Loops :: 7" (After Hours) 1997
De Mel, De Melao :: CDEP (Merge) 2000
Looking For Leonard :: CD (Merge) 2001
The Perfect Little Door :: CDEP (Merge) 2002
Summer of the Shark :: CD (Merge) 2003
Autumn Was a Lark :: CDEP (Merge) 2003
Bright Ideas :: CD (Merge) 2005
Looking for a Power Supply :: CDEP (Houston Party) 2005
Sour Shores :: digital EP (Merge) 2006
Who Loves the Sun :: CD (Merge) 2006
Be Still Please :: CD (Merge) 2006
Some Small History :: dbl CD (Merge) 2008
Make It Sound In Tune :: digital EP (Merge) 2009
Naked Pilseners :: 7"/CD5 (Matador) 1993
"San Andreas Crouch" b/w "Candy Cigarettes" & "Race You Home" :: 7" (Esther) 1994
I Hope Your Heart Is Not Brittle :: LP/CD/CS (Merge) 1994
Scrapbook X's :: 7" (18 Wheeler) 1994
4 song subscription-only ep :: CDEP (HELLO) 1994
Guessing :: 7" (18 Wheeler) 1995
Scrapbook :: CDEP/Dbl-7" (Merge) 1995
Slow Note From a Sinking Ship :: CD/LP (Merge) 1995
"Spying on the Spys" b/w "Do You Want to Buy a Bridge?" :: 7" (Merge) 1996
The Nature of Sap :: CD/LP (Merge) 1997
"Too Close to the Screen" on split w/ Ida :: 7" (Trash Heap) 1997
"Secret Session" on split w/ The Landing :: 7" (Sarang Bang) 1997
"You Love To Fail" on split w/ The Ladybug Transistor & Land of the Loops :: 7" (After Hours) 1997
De Mel, De Melao :: CDEP (Merge) 2000
Looking For Leonard :: CD (Merge) 2001
The Perfect Little Door :: CDEP (Merge) 2002
Summer of the Shark :: CD (Merge) 2003
Autumn Was a Lark :: CDEP (Merge) 2003
Bright Ideas :: CD (Merge) 2005
Looking for a Power Supply :: CDEP (Houston Party) 2005
Sour Shores :: digital EP (Merge) 2006
Who Loves the Sun :: CD (Merge) 2006
Be Still Please :: CD (Merge) 2006
Some Small History :: dbl CD (Merge) 2008
Make It Sound In Tune :: digital EP (Merge) 2009
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