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 MELO, 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 albumthe 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 beenthe 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 MELO, 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 albumthe 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 beenthe 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
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. Where’s 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 we’d 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 hundreds—thousands, actually—of songs I love, so I picked ones I either knew well or thought I could re-create without defiling too harshly. It wasn’t easy to narrow down, so I just tried not to think about it too much, and then time constraints set in…Make It Sound In Tune EP:
1. Where’s 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 “Prince” 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 tracks—originals 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 tracks—originals 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) 1994
"Weighted Raft" on Ow, Quit It! comp. [dbl-7"] (Volvolo) 1994
"Look, Honey, Peaches" on A Day in the Park comp. [cd] (The Now Sound) 1994
4 song subscription-only ep [cd-ep] (HELLO) 1994
San Andreas Crouch b/w Candy Cigarettes & Race You Home [7"] (Esther) 1994
"Codes, Runes, Dunes" on Rows of Teeth comp. [cd] (Merge) 1994
I Hope Your Heart Is Not Brittle [cd/cs/lp] (Merge) 1994
Scrapbook X's [7"] (18 Wheeler) 1994
Guessing [7"] (18 Wheeler) 1995
"Useless Switch" on Speed Kills #7 comp. [10"] (Speed Kills) 1995
Scrapbook [cdep/dbl-7"] (Merge) 1995
Slow Note From a Sinking Ship [cd/lp] (Merge) 1995
"Not the Same" on Extra Walt! comp. [7"] (Walt) 1996
"Spying on the Spys" b/w "Do You Want to Buy a Bridge?" [7"] (Merge) 1996
"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
The Nature of Sap [cd/lp] (Merge) 1997
"Easily Aroused" on Oh, Merge comp. [cd] (Merge) 1999
De Mel, De Melo [cd-ep] (Merge) 2000
Looking For Leonard [cd] (Merge) 2001
Summer of the Shark [cd] (Merge) 2003
Autumn Was a Lark [cd] (Merge) 2003
Looking For A Power Supply [cdep] (Houston Party) 2005
Bright Ideas [cd] (Merge) 2005
Who Loves the Sun [cd] (Merge) 2006
Be Still Please [cd] (Merge) 2006
Naked Pilseners [7"/cd5] (Matador) 1994
"Weighted Raft" on Ow, Quit It! comp. [dbl-7"] (Volvolo) 1994
"Look, Honey, Peaches" on A Day in the Park comp. [cd] (The Now Sound) 1994
4 song subscription-only ep [cd-ep] (HELLO) 1994
San Andreas Crouch b/w Candy Cigarettes & Race You Home [7"] (Esther) 1994
"Codes, Runes, Dunes" on Rows of Teeth comp. [cd] (Merge) 1994
I Hope Your Heart Is Not Brittle [cd/cs/lp] (Merge) 1994
Scrapbook X's [7"] (18 Wheeler) 1994
Guessing [7"] (18 Wheeler) 1995
"Useless Switch" on Speed Kills #7 comp. [10"] (Speed Kills) 1995
Scrapbook [cdep/dbl-7"] (Merge) 1995
Slow Note From a Sinking Ship [cd/lp] (Merge) 1995
"Not the Same" on Extra Walt! comp. [7"] (Walt) 1996
"Spying on the Spys" b/w "Do You Want to Buy a Bridge?" [7"] (Merge) 1996
"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
The Nature of Sap [cd/lp] (Merge) 1997
"Easily Aroused" on Oh, Merge comp. [cd] (Merge) 1999
De Mel, De Melo [cd-ep] (Merge) 2000
Looking For Leonard [cd] (Merge) 2001
Summer of the Shark [cd] (Merge) 2003
Autumn Was a Lark [cd] (Merge) 2003
Looking For A Power Supply [cdep] (Houston Party) 2005
Bright Ideas [cd] (Merge) 2005
Who Loves the Sun [cd] (Merge) 2006
Be Still Please [cd] (Merge) 2006
loading...
Caribou [+]
| April | ||
| 19 | Manchester | Deaf Institute |
| 20 | London | Corsica Studios |
| 21 | Amsterdam | Paradiso |
| 22 | Brussels | Beursschouwburg |
| 23 | Paris | Le Point Ephemere |
| [see all] | ||
The Clientele [+]
| March | ||
| 09 | San Francisco, CA | Great American Music Hall |
| 11 | Portland, OR | Doug Fir |
| 12 | Seattle, WA | Tractor Tavern |
| 15 | Minneapolis, MN | Cedar Cultural Center |
| 16 | Madison, WI | High Noon Saloon |
| [see all] | ||
The Ladybug Transistor [+]
| March | ||
| 19 | New York, NY | Bowery Electric |
Let's Wrestle [+]
| March | ||
| 15 | New York, NY | The Knitting Factory |
| 18 | Austin , TX | Cedar Street |
| 21 | El Paso, TX | Black Market |
| 22 | Scottsdale, AZ | Chyro Arts |
| 23 | Los Angeles, CA | Bootleg Theater |
| [see all] | ||
Oakley Hall [+]
| April | ||
| 02 | Brooklyn, NY | Knitting Factory |
Radar Bros. [+]
| March | ||
| 26 | Los Angeles, CA | Spaceland |
The Rosebuds [+]
| March | ||
| 19 | Asheville, NC | UNCA Alumni Hall in Highsmith |
| 20 | Carrboro, NC | Cat's Cradle |
| May | ||
| 08 | Beaufort, NC | Beaufort Music Festival |
She & Him [+]
| March | ||
| 15 | Los Angeles, CA | Largo at the Coronet |
| 25 | Los Angeles, CA | El Rey Theatre |
| 27 | Savannah, GA | Trustees Theatre (Savannah Music Festival) |
| 29 | New York, NY | Bowery Ballroom |
| 30 | New York, NY | Bowery Ballroom |
| [see all] | ||
Shout Out Louds [+]
| March | ||
| 23 | Rostock | MAU |
| 24 | Hamburg | Uebel & Gefahrlich |
| 25 | Berlin | Astra |
| 26 | Dresden | Reithalle |
| 27 | Munchen | Backstage Werk |
| [see all] | ||
Spoon [+]
| March | ||
| 18 | New Orleans, LA | Republic New Orleans |
| 19 | Birmingham, AL | Workplay Soundstage |
| 20 | Atlanta, GA | Tabernacle |
| 22 | Washington | 9:30 Club |
| 23 | Washington | 9:30 Club |
| [see all] | ||
Superchunk [+]
| March | ||
| 19 | Austin, TX | La Zona Rosa |
Telekinesis [+]
| May | ||
| 21 | Eugene, OR | Sam Bond's Garage |
| 24 | Solana Beach, CA | Belly Up Tavern |
| 25 | Los Angeles, CA | Troubadour |
| 27 | San Francisco, CA | Great American Music Hall |
| 29 | Portland, OR | Wonder Ballroom |
| [see all] | ||
Wye Oak [+]
| March | ||
| 12 | Frederick, MD | Cafe Nola |
| 13 | Pittsburgh, PA | Brillobox |
| 14 | Indianapolis, IN | Vollrath Tavern |
| 15 | Memphis, TN | Hi-Tone Cafe |
| 24 | Atlanta, GA | The Earl |
| [see all] | ||
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