January 21, 2009 – 5:56 pm
Oh my, it’s an exciting day at Merge HQ! The first 2 volumes of SCORE! are being lovingly packaged for shipment. It’s a knitting circle vibe, with a thrilling post-inaugural “USA! USA!” warmth* and Christina’s red[velvet]-white-and-blue cupcakes fueling our busy little fingers.
Stand by your mailboxes, you lucky subscribers. You’re in for a treat!
*In the spirit of service that is hopefully on everyone’s mind these days, remember that all of the proceeds of this project are being donated to charity. Now pat yourself on the back for your selfless purchase.
January 7, 2009 – 1:51 pm
The Shins have contributed a song to the Merge covers CD! They have joined the long list of great artists we have already announced. SCORE! subscriptions are only available until January 11th, and the first two curated compilations will be shipped this month! What are you waiting for?!
January 5, 2009 – 5:55 pm
We will be accepting subscriptions to SCORE! Merge Records: The First 20 Years until January 11th.
Time is running out! Tell your friends!
December 23, 2008 – 1:49 pm
Many of you have ordered SCORE! as a holiday gift for someone special. And we hope some of you are still considering doing so. If you are, we thought you might want to use this image (below) to let the lucky recipient know that they will be receiving the gift of SCORE! all year long. Please feel free to copy & print it for use as a stocking stuffer or send it in an email to the person receiving your special gift. Happy Holidays!
(save this image to your desktop!)
December 17, 2008 – 3:39 pm
On January 13, 2009, Superchunk will release the fourth volume in their Clambakes series: Superchunk — The Clambakes Vol 4 — Sur La Bouche — Live in Montreal 1993.
Recorded on a cold March night at the club Backstreet by Howard Bilerman (later of the Arcade Fire and current engineer and operator of Hotel 2 Tango Studios in Montreal), Sur La Bouche captures Superchunk in the midst of touring for On the Mouth, out on Matador a few months previous. The sound is not pristine — guitars and drums are cranked and overload the tape occasionally — but the energy of the night is definitely captured and after all, it’s a bootleg! Howard even dug up the flyer from the show from the depths of his archives.
Available for digital download exclusively from the Merge digital store, Clambakes Vol 4 will also be sent for free to all subscribers to the SCORE! Merge 20th Anniversary Box Set as the first of many archival downloads Merge will make available to SCORE! subscribers throughout 2009.
We will be taking subscriptions to SCORE! through January 1, 2009. Subscribers to SCORE! will receive Clambakes Vol 4 as a free download on January 13, 2009.
December 12, 2008 – 4:13 pm
NY Times graphic columnist and artist, Andrew Kuo will design a special edition SCORE! poster exclusively for SCORE! subscribers!
Andrew Kuo is an artist living and working in New York City. He lives and works in the same place where the TV stays on for at least 10 hours a day, during which the best work is made during Anthony Bourdain’s “No Reservations”.
Just a few weeks left to order your subscription before we deliver the first two compilations in January. And don’t forget our super-duper Holiday sales in the Merge store!
November 26, 2008 – 11:46 am
To give you an idea of the kind of treats that Merge has in mind for the year ahead, we are sharing Superchunk’s cover of Sebadoh’s “I Believe in Fate” with you!
This song has never been released on CD or digital download, but have a listen now, and read Mac’s thoughts on it below:
“We recorded three Sebadoh songs for our “Freed Seed” 7″ EP (with Seed Toss as the A-Side) back in 1991, but chose not to include all three on the Tossing Seeds singles comp, leaving off I Believe in Fate which was the least successful of the three…Superchunk always operates most effectively at mid- or high- but not top-speed and this came out sounding a bit like someone’s high school hardcore band doing the two-step, and doesn’t convey any of the darkness of the original Barlow version. But here it is digitally at last, good for a laugh at least…. Then go break out your Weed Forestin’ tape!” – Mac McCaughan, 2008
November 24, 2008 – 1:46 pm
Oxfam America is an international relief and development organization that creates lasting solutions to poverty, hunger, and injustice. Together with individuals and local groups in more than 120 countries, Oxfam saves lives, helps people overcome poverty, and fights for social justice.
November 21, 2008 – 12:49 pm
We are excited about & proud of the 14 artists who have generously agreed to curate compilations from the Merge catalog for the SCORE! box set. These artists represent a broad spectrum of creative disciplines, from visual to culinary arts, from novels & criticism to music & comedy.
Please take a minute to check out the short biography of each curator via the links on the left column of this page. And remember to subscribe to SCORE! before January 1st to hear the curators’ favorite selections from the first 20 years of Merge. All proceeds from SCORE! will benefit a list of charities chosen by our curators.
November 17, 2008 – 4:30 pm
The holiday shopping season is upon us. What better gift than a subscription to SCORE! Merge Records: The First 20 Years!
If you’d like to give a SCORE! subscription to that special someone, it’s a quick & easy process. Simply add a SCORE! subscription to your shopping cart at the Merge store (along with a new Merge t-shirt or two, perhaps?) and proceed to check out. Put your name & address in the billing section, and put the name, address, etc. of the lucky SCORE! recipient in the shipping section. It’s that easy!
The recipient will then receive amazing reminders of your generosity from Merge throughout 2009, and you will be supporting a diverse group of worthy charities in the process. Hooray!
