Merge Records

Merge @ SXSW 2010

March 3, 2010 – 1:09 pm

Merge will be well-represented at the SXSW Music Festival in Austin this year with eight bands and two special Our Noise events. Our bands will be playing all over the city during the festival, so if you will be in Austin, keep your eyes peeled for all of the cool daytime parties being announced daily.

Spoon are headlining the NPR show at Stubbs BBQ on Wednesday, March 17 (12:15 am) and She & Him are playing a free, open to the public show at Auditorium Shores on Saturday March 20 (8 pm). Superchunk are playing a free Village Voice day party at La Zona Rosa on March 19 (3 pm).

Merge Showcase @ Cedar Street Courtyard
208 West 4th St b/t Colorado & Lavaca
Thursday, March 18th
7:30 PM
(from first to last)
Special Guest
Let’s Wrestle
Radar Brothers
She & Him
Wye Oak
Lou Barlow + the missingmen
The Love Language

Merge @ Homeslice Pizza’s “Music by the Slice” Party
1415 Congress Ave.
Free & Open to the public

Thursday, March 18:
1:30 pm The Love Language
2:15 pm Radar Brothers

Friday, March 19:
Noon Let’s Wrestle
3:45 Wye Oak
6:45 Lou Barlow

Also, book events!

Our Noise event @ Book People (603 N. Lamar Blvd)
Wednesday, March 17 at 6PM
Free & Open to the Public
Mac & Laura will read selections from their book, Our Noise, and will perform covers of songs from selected bands mentioned in the book. They’ll be available to sign books afterwards, too.

Our Noise panel @ SXSW Convention Center
Thursday, March 18 at 2PM
Open to convention registrants only
Michael Azerrad will moderate a Q&A-style event with Mac & Laura about Our Noise and 20 years of Merge Records.

Also posted in Let's Wrestle, News, lou barlow, radar bros, she & him, spoon, sxsw, the love language, wye oak | Comments (0)

2009 Year End List: Laura Ballance

December 23, 2009 – 9:10 am

David Chang and Peter Meehan’s Momofuku book
The Whole Beast: Nose to Tail Eating – Fergus Henderson: so funny….
Jonathan Lethem: Motherless Brooklyn (I finally read it, it has renewed my fascination with Tourette’s)
Gourmet Magazine R.I.P., long live Saveur
Bill Buford’s Heat
Hillary Jordan’s Mudbound (almost as devastating as…. )
Arundhati Roy’s God of Small Things (I read this again, and it kills me…)

Also posted in 2009 Top 10s | Comments (1)

2009 Year End List: Mac McCaughan

December 23, 2009 – 9:00 am

XX Merge marathon
touring & eating in Japan
Bill Callahan – I Wish We Were An Eagle
Dirty Projectors – Bitte Orca
Phoenix – Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix
Amadou & Mariam – Welcome To Mali
Jim O’Rourke – The Visitor
Cass McCombs – Catacombs
St Vincent - Actor
Girls – Album
Pains of Being Pure at Heart – s/t
Monsters of Folk – Monsters of Folk
Mountain Goats – The Life of the World To Come
Wilco – Wilco (the Album)
Leonard Cohen live at Coachella and in Durham, NC
Yo La Tengo – Popular Songs
Jay Reatard - Watch Me Fall
Open Strings: Early Virtuoso Recordings, by Various LP Box Set
Yeah Yeah Yeahs – It’s Blitz!
Camera Obscura – My Maudlin Career
Obits – I Blame You
AC Newman – Get Guilty

Also posted in 2009 Top 10s, Merge HQ, Portastatic | Comments (0)

“Quest for Sleep” on Pitchfork.tv this week!

December 11, 2009 – 11:47 am

Pitchfork.tv’s One Week Only features the Superchunk documentary about their 2001 tour, “Quest for Sleep,” this week! Crowding Up Your Visual Field is available in the Merge Store now.

Also posted in videos | Comments (0)

Superchunk Live from Japan!

December 10, 2009 – 4:17 pm

Also posted in Live Video | Comments (1)

Videos from NYC “Our Noise reading on Spin.com

October 28, 2009 – 4:26 pm

In addition to the Spoon cover above, Spin.com has a review and more live videos of Mac’s performances at the Our Noise reading last week at Housing Works in New York City.

Order Our Noise now in the Merge store or from your local bookstore.

Also posted in Magnetic Fields, spoon Tagged Matt Suggs, Our Noise | | Comments (0)

Mac, Laura and John Cook host “Our Noise” event in NYC

October 14, 2009 – 11:26 am

On Friday, October 23rd, Mac, Laura and John Cook will read from Our Noise and Mac will perform a few songs beginning at 7pm at Housing Works in New York. Come get your book signed, and enjoy some stories from the book and maybe a few that were left out!

Visit the Merge blog for collected reviews of Our Noise and video from past events.

Friday, October 23rd @ 7p.m.
Housing Works – Bookstore Cafe
126 Crosby Street
New York, NY 10012
212-334-3324

Get your copy of Our Noise in the Merge store or at your favorite local independent bookstore.

Also posted in News | Comments (1)

“Our Noise” reviews and events

September 18, 2009 – 11:35 am

photo from Triangle Music

Mac & Laura did a reading/performance Tuesday at The Regulator Bookshop in Durham, NC. There was a great turnout, and Mac covered a Matt Suggs song and a Lambchop song in addition to the two Superchunk songs he and Laura performed.

Triangle Music has a review and video of the event as does the Duke Chronicle. More Our Noise events are happening this week, and in the near future, so stay tuned!

Triangle Music also has video from the Quail Ridge event last night. Mac & Laura played Superchunk’s “Foolish,” and Mac covered Arcade Fire and The Magnetic Fields.

Get your copy of Our Noise in the Merge store or at your favorite local independent bookstore.

Reviews for the book are pouring in daily:
The Onion AV Club
Newsweek
We’re An American Music Blog
Independent Weekly (interview with John Cook) & review
Eye Weekly
Agit Reader
New City Lit
Gawker
Pitch Weekly
Robert Christgau for Barnes and Noble
Salon.com (Skype chat with Mac)
LEO Weekly

If you see one we haven’t posted, leave a comment!

Tagged Our Noise | | Comments (1)

Superchunk plays for the dogs!

August 11, 2009 – 5:02 pm

On Saturday, August 29th, Superchunk will join Regina Hexaphone, The Kinksmen, and Rey Norteno to play Music for Fences, a show at Durham Central Park in downtown Durham, NC. The show will benefit the Coalition to Unchain Dogs, a non-profit, volunteer effort committed to improving the welfare of chained dogs in the Triangle area by building fences and promoting community awareness of animal welfare.

With the help of the Coalition, formerly chained dogs are given a chance to run free in their own safe spaces for the first time. All proceeds from the concert will go to building fences for chained dogs. Tickets are $8 in advance via the Music for Fences website and $10 at the door. In addition to the concert there will be booths, children’s activities, and activities for your dog. Doors open at 4:00 pm. Bring lawn chairs and blankets for comfy seating.

Visit the Merge store to fill the holes in your Superchunk collection including the new Leaves in the Gutter EP and Crossed Wires 7″. Also, if you need a furry friend of your own, visit the Independent Animal Rescue website for a great selection of adorable cats and dogs in need of a home.

photo by Brad Searles

Also posted in News | Comments (1)