Words by Rick Moslen OK—I know the Billboard charts are pointless these days (at least to me), but when Merge Records hit #1 with Arcade Fire 's The Suburbs album—I don't know—I felt like a dad whose skinny unpopular son kicked the asses of the high school bullies…I was proud. The label was intended as a means to help local bands by releasing 7"s. Over twenty years later, after changing all your friends' music taste with albums by The Magnetic Fields , Neutral Milk Hotel , Mountain Goats , [...]
she clicks the sticks off are you building a temple in heaven?
TOMORROW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Oh man oh man oh man! This is it! I'm a nervous wreck between getting everything ready, dealing with some bike issues - really? bike issues the week of my ride ???? - and what I'm hoping is just congestion from pollen?? Canadian Ma-Ma was in town last night on their way back up Toronto from Florida, then we have a rider driving up from Colorado to participate tomorrow, etc, etc, etc...... yeah, I'm [...]
Another year and another absolutely pristine reunion album from a seemingly left for dead 90's alt-rock casualty. The band reborn this time is math-rock vets, Polvo.
Our Noise: The Story of Merge Records is a worthy document about the colorful history of the label, but it may be an even more useful tool when it comes to examining why indies like Merge are doing so well while the majors are reeling.
The World's Finest Indie Rock Record Label Gives Us Something to Believe In My history with Merge Records is virtually as long as the the lifespan of the label itself. There was a time when there were a few labels out there such as Merge and Matador that could be counted on for every single release. If you loved three of the label's releases, it would usually reason you would like 99.9% of what they would offer. Today, Merge still holds that impossibly high batting average. Even if I have [...]
Photography by Tsuru Okay, I begged and bugged you, over and over again, you guys really came through, as you know, but little did I know you'd get your money's worth this much on Saturday! Before we begin though, I want you to get "in the mood", the bicycle mood. So, first I need you to push play (while you download, of course) a lil' mixtape we put together... A bare-bones affair of bicycle themed songs to get your legs a-twitchin', your heart a-pumpin', and your [...]
A band like Butterglory never really stood a chance. Hailing from Kansas in the mid-90's sounding like Pavement they were dwarfed by the bands that sounded like Nirvana or opted to go for pop-punk or emo or something of that nature. Instead Butterglory made really good indie pop tunes, signed with Merge and somehow managed to put out 4-solid records before vanishing into relative obscurity. I'm sure there's a few folks out there that remember the heyday of Butterglory, but if it weren't for Merge's 20th anniversary I probably never would have discovered this little band from Lawrence, Kansas. [...]
Right after their first single on the fledgling Merge label (back when you could mailorder 7 inches and get handwritten notes from John & Laura from Superchunk), Butterglory began a tradition of playing epic shows at a friends house (long time rock house, home of Tiger Trap's first show, now called the DAM Haus) in Davis California (where I lived) right around Christmas time. Their first two 7 inches were a huge eye-opener to me, and became a pretty important reference point of the early 90's low-fi movement. Two beers and I'll say this about a lot of stuff, but [...]
I first heard Butterglory in 1996. The radio station I did a show at had an excellent policy of only being able to play the same band twice in a quarter (or was it a semester?) so you were definitely forced into discovering music new to you. One day I was going through new arrivals and came across the record Are You Building A Temple In Heaven and decided to give it a listen. I immediately fell in love with this song: Sit In The Car What's not to like? Pure mid 90s [...]
Folks, what can I tell you about my next post? Most of Butterglory's butterglorious early material was collected on the Downed CD released on Merge Records in 1995. Here's one song that wasn't compiled but shoulda been. The I Like Walt! compilation this comes from was featured on YSKOD last round (see: Mountain Goats). Excellent indie pop that will take 2 minutes off your life but will make you so happy you'll live 3 minutes longer when you need it most. Side B mp3: Butterglory - The Drummer Goes
Pretty much just an exercise in lazy writing, the November 60 Songs in 30 Days finds its closure this evening, just minutes under the deadline. Soon, it will be December, and I'll have to go back to writing semi-cohesive posts again. Soak up the brevity while it lasts, kids. "Strawberry Fields Forever (LOVE Version)" "Lady Madonna (LOVE Version)" by THE BEATLES: I'm pretty sure I've made it a point to mention on Pimps that I love a good remix or a creative mash-up. Famed Beatles producer George Martin worked with his [...]
Draw Us Lines
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Pop Tarts Suck Toasted
Unpiano
Logical Logic
you shall know our discography
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Sound of Summer (v. 3.1)
