Let’s Wrestle explain it all — on tumblr!
April 27, 2011 – 2:52 pm
Let’s Wrestle are busy working on a video in their native London, and are documenting the shoot on their brand-new tumblr page! Follow them at tumblr and pre-order Nursing Home in the Merge Store, and download “Dear John” now!
Happy Release Day to David Kilgour and the Heavy Eights & Times New Viking!
April 26, 2011 – 2:38 pm
David Kilgour and the Heavy Eights‘ new album Left by Soft is available in the Merge store, your local record store and from your favorite digital provider today! David did an interview with BOMBLOG and made them a mixtape, read & listen here. Also, the Agit Reader posted a great review of the new album! We should have tour dates soon, so stay tuned!
Times New Viking‘s Merge debut Dancer Equired is also in stores today and on CD, LP and digital download in the Merge store. Read great reviews at The AV Club, Consequence of Sound and the Washington Post. See Times New Viking on tour beginning May 26, too!
Will & Marika of Arcade Fire sing “Take Me Out to the Ballgame” at Wrigley Field!
April 25, 2011 – 11:08 am
Alternative Press celebrates Superchunk’s ‘No Pocky for Kitty’
April 22, 2011 – 11:20 am
Alternative Press talked to Mac about the making of No Pocky for Kitty to celebrate the 20th anniversary of its recording.
But it was No Pocky For Kitty that’s survived as a touchstone for America’s early-’90s, indie-rock zeitgeist, where tough guitar noise cloaked great pop hooks. Recorded by underground icon Steve Albini and released by Matador Records in October 1991 (approximately one month after Nevermind), the album found the band flailing with greater clarity, with pop smarts and plenty of attitude in tow. From the charging opener “Skip Steps 1 & 3” to such career highs as “Seed Toss” and the monstrous “Throwing Things,” the album was a bona fide classic, distilling the needle-in-the-red proclivities of much of the underground at the time (read: Sonic Youth, Dinosaur Jr., Albini’s short-lived unit Rapeman) with simply great pop songs.
No Pocky for Kitty is available now in the Merge store remastered and reissued on 180 gm vinyl, CD and digital download. Don’t miss the other new reissues of Superchunk classics now bundled together for a great deal in the Merge store!
The story behind Arcade Fire “Coachella Balls”
April 18, 2011 – 4:20 pm
photo by Peter Sutherland
From TheCreatorsProject.com:
I never expected to be watching Arcade Fire play from backstage, but when the production team called for “all hands on deck,” no one could argue. There to assist with the grand finale—launching some 2,000 LED-enhanced blow-up beach balls into the crowd—we were all giddy at the prospect of taking part in their performance. The idea for the visual spectacle, developed by director Chris Milk (who the band previously worked with on “The Wilderness Downtown”), was to release these balls in time for Arcade Fire’s encore and use the embedded LEDs and IR transmitters to light paint all over the audience.
A crane positioned at the top of the stage was set up to let the balls drop during the band’s last song, “Wake Up,” and our job was to throw them into the crowd and make sure they stayed there. There was also a giant cage to the right of the stage filled with hundreds more that we were responsible for tossing into the audience, which proved to be no easy task given that they were an unwieldy two or three feet in diameter. When the the balls finally did drop, the entire place turned into an epic ball pit, with these giant balls flying all over the place, changing colors all the while from red to blue to orange to pink. (My apologies to the people in the front who may have been pummeled in the face with a beach ball or two—my bad!). Standing on stage and taking it all in, it certainly was a sight to behold.
The interactive visual performance, entitled Summer Into Dust continues online. Those lucky few who managed to catch a ball can log on to the accompanying website and continue the experience. Each ball comes with a URL where fans can locate a user manual online and connect their ball to a greater community
Wye Oak perform live for “Forest and Fish: a shadow puppet music performance”
April 18, 2011 – 4:12 pm
For the closing of the exhibit at Baltimore’s Metro Gallery about the making of Wye Oak’s “Fish” Video, Wye Oak will perform “Fish” as the artists perform the puppet show from the video live.
The closing performance will be Friday, April 22nd from 7-10 PM. Tickets are available at brownpapertickets.com.
Record Store Day is tomorrow!
April 15, 2011 – 11:22 am
Tomorrow – Saturday, April 16 – is Record Store Day!
Don’t forget the Merge titles added to the long list of exclusive releases and other fun events happening at your local independent record stores tomorrow! To find a participating store in your area, visit RecordsStoreDay.com!
WILD FLAG – “Future Crimes” b/w “Glass Tambourine” 7-inch
The hotly anticipated debut release from the new musical partnership between Carrie Brownstein, Mary Timony, Janet Weiss, and Rebecca Cole will be released exclusively in 7-inch form on Record Store Day! Produced by Spoon’s Britt Daniel, these tracks have already become viral hits through widely circulated videos taken during the band’s recent tour. Maybe this 7-inch will answer the question posed by WILD FLAG: What do you get when you cross a hamburger with a hot dog? Listen to “Glass Tambourine” now at NPR Music!
Superchunk – Here’s Where the Strings Come In CD/LP reissue
Out of print for years, Here’s Where the Strings Come In has been remastered by Jason Ward at Chicago Mastering Company from the original 1/2” reels and will be available for the first time on 180-gram vinyl (with download coupon) and on CD newly packaged in LP-style cardboard sleeves. The heavy-duty vinyl jackets were reprinted by Stoughton Printing Co., the same plant that produced them for the original 1995 release. Both formats will also come with bonus downloads of The Clambakes Vol. 5, a live Superchunk recording from 2003, and several exclusive demos of songs that appear on the album.
Caribou – Swim Remixes 12-inch
Originally released as a digital-only companion to Swim, Caribou’s acclaimed 2010 release, the Swim Remixes double A-side 12-inch features “Leave House (Motor City Drum Ensemble Remix)” b/w “Jamelia (Gold Panda Remix),” as well as a code to download the entire 14-track release. Limited to 1,000 and packaged in a European-style black sleeve, this 12-inch is a must for DJs and Caribou fans alike!
Polvo – Celebrate the New Dark Age 12-inch, autographed by original line-up!
Originally released in 2008, this re-issue of Polvo’s guitar-twisting seven-song EP on limited-edition 180-gram vinyl is a Merge hallmark. It comes complete with great sleeve design by Independent Project Press and a free download coupon. A limited number of this 12-inch EP have been autographed by the original 1994 Polvo line-up exclusively for Record Store Day!
Superchunk / Coliseum – “Horror Business” b/w “Bullet” split 7-inch
Merge Records and Temporary Residence Limited have partnered to co-release “Horror Business” b/w “Bullet,” a limited-edition 7-inch of Misfits covers by Superchunk and Coliseum for Record Store Day. Limited to 1,500 copies and available exclusively in record stores, the 7-inch cover was designed by Coliseum singer/guitarist Ryan Patterson, with a nod to the artwork from the Misfits’ Three Hits From Hell single. The 7-inch will be issued on three different colors of vinyl (500 copies of each): yellow w/ black splatter, magenta w/ black splatter, and standard black.
Song by song review of Jonny’s s/t debut!
April 14, 2011 – 1:19 pm
The Vinyl District assigned renowned Memphis engineer John Hampton the task of tackling the newly released album from Norman Blake & Euros Childs aka Jonny song by song! Read the whole review here.
Now THIS record is sideways. On this first and self titled record, Jonny comes across as everything – from over the top, commercial sounding “music they play for kitchen product ads on TV”, to true heartfelt songs and alluring, dreamy harmonies – only a tree would have a hard time singing along with most of Jonny. If you think about it, that’s a pretty wide river, but Jonny does make it across.
Hear Jonny & order your copy now in the Merge store, and don’t miss Norman & Euros on tour in June with Apex Manor!
Jonny on tour:
(all shows with Apex Manor)
Jun 03 Toronto, ON – The Drake Hotel
Jun 04 Toronto, ON – The Drake Hotel
Jun 07 Northampton, MA – Iron Horse Music Hall
Jun 08 Boston, MA – Brighton Music Hall
Jun 09 New York, NY – Le Poisson Rouge
Jun 10 Brooklyn, NY – The Bell House
Jun 11 Philadelphia, PA – World Cafe Live Upstairs
Jun 12 Vienna, VA – Jammin’ Java
Jun 14 Carrboro, NC – Cat’s Cradle
Jun 15 Decatur, GA – Eddie’s Attic
Jun 16 Nashville, TN – The Bluebird Cafe
Jun 17 Louisville, KY – Zanzabar
Jun 18 Chicago, IL – Old Town School of Folk Music @ Gary and Laura Maurer Concert Hall
Behind the Scenes photos from the making of Wye Oak’s “Fish” video
April 8, 2011 – 6:02 pm
photo by Neal Golden
photo by Neal Golden
photo by Neal Golden
photo by Neal Golden
photo by Neal Golden
photo by Neal Golden
Occupational Hazard: WILD FLAG edition!
April 8, 2011 – 3:58 pm
Adam & James hit the merch table when WILD FLAG came to see us last month! We can’t wait for Record Store Day so you can get their new 7-inch, too!
Telekinesis (feat. guest Chris Walla) in the Spin Loft at SXSW
April 8, 2011 – 11:15 am
Watch Telekinesis with special guest Chris Walla as they perform “You Turn Clear in the Sun” live from the Spin Loft at SXSW. Check out the interview, too!
Telekinesis’ 12 Desperate Straight Lines is available now on CD, LP and digital download.
Telekinesis on tour w/ Portugal. The Man:
Apr 29 Portland, OR Roseland Theater
Apr 30 Seattle, WA The Showbox
May 5 Sacramento, CA Harlow’s
May 6 San Francisco, CA The Fillmore
May 7 Anaheim, CA House of Blues
May 8 Scottsdale, AZ Martini Ranch
May 11 Colorado Springs, CO The Black Sheep
May 12 Fort Collins, CO Aggie Theatre
May 13 Denver, CO The Bluebird Theater
May 14 Denver, CO The Bluebird Theater
May 17 Kansas City, MO Record Bar
May 19 Little Rock, AR Revolution
May 20 Dallas, TX Granada Theater
May 21 Houston, TX Fitzgerald’s
May 25 Columbus, OH Outland on Liberty
May 26 Cleveland, OH House of Blues – Cambridge Room
May 27 Toronto, ON Lee’s Palace
May 28 Syracuse, NY The Westcott Theater
May 30 South Burlington, VT Higher Ground Ballroom
June 3 New York, NY Webster Hall
- Hospitality releases video for “Friends of Friends” and other release week excitement!
- M. Ward to release A Wasteland Companion in April; full North American Tour announced
- Stream Imperial Teen’s Feel the Sound now at Spin.com
- Crooked Fingers on WXPN World Cafe, Sirius XM The Loft & KUT Austin
- Lambchop releases “Gone Tomorrow” from Mr. M
- Arcade Fire appears on Austin City Limits this weekend on PBS
- The Mountain Goats to premiere new songs on tour
- Jeff Mangum announces west coast tour including Coachella
Stream full-length songs (at random) from our entire catalog.
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