My love for the Merge catalog (with the possible exception of She & Him) has already been documented on this site, so when the Sept. 8 ordering date for subscriptions to the SCORE! Merge Records: The First 20 Years limited-edition box set rolls around, I’ll be ready with credit card in hand. I’m still a little confused by what I’ll actually be purchasing; apparently there will be “14 custom-curated compilations” assembled by a strange collection of semi-celebs that includes including Amy Poehler, Peter Buck, the guy who directed Junebug, and Momofuku chef David Chang. You’ll have to be a subscriber to receive whatever they come up with, but the window to sign up lasts from the September opening until the end of the year. If only they could put together some sort of package tour that would come within driving distance of Phoenix, then the whole anniversary celebration would be even better. [Merge]
Merge To Release Nerd-Exploiting Anniversary Collection
August 26th, 2008 // 5 Comments
idolator
Ugh, She & Him. Aside from a couple underrated bands on the roster, the main comfort I take from the continued success of Merge is that Mac gets to live more comfortably than most aging indie guys who made their best music in the 90s.
@Al Shipley: fair enough, but i beg to differ. it’s kind of apples v. oranges, but i think the streak he’s been on with portastatic ever since “summer of the shark” but (really, since “bright ideas”) more than holds its own next to classic superchunk. and i say this as someone who rates “foolish” is her #1 favorite record ever. and i usually can never come up with #1 favorite anythings (at least when it comes to music).
@Al Shipley: wait…are you saying you don’t like She & Him?
@thearcanemodel: Nothing against Portastatic at all. In fact I got a little excited when I followed the link to the Merge site from this post and saw that they’re releasing a rarities compilation this month. I could have easily said “best-known music,” point is he inarguably ‘peaked’ in one sense or another in the Superchunk years, and would probably be as broke as most other 40-something indie rock lifers if he hadn’t happened to do a great job of running a label and helping its bands become more popular than his had ever been.
@DocStrange: I’m saying my ears bleed when the She & Him video comes on MTV Hits, and I watched a little of their set at a festival recently just to kind of confirm that they’re shit.
@Al Shipley: totally, i agree with the larger point.
wow, non-snarky discourse is so refreshing sometimes!