From the record label that brought you Superchunk, Spoon, Arcade Fire, the Magnetic Fields and She and Him, comes an anthology of Merge Records ‘ remarkable twenty-year history as an indie label, beginning, growing, and eventually thriving in a sea of corporate giants. But this is more than the story of an underdog. It’s a colorful chronology of the lives of founders Mac McCaughan and Laura Ballance, as they intersect with some of the best indie rockers of our time. Really, it’s more like a scrapbook than anything. Click on A Look Inside and you’ll find snapshots of Merge’s first invoices, handwritten memos, first concerts and an array of album covers. If you’re a music junkie, this is the next best thing to chatting stage-side with the founders themselves. Personal and vivacious, I invite you to take the ride from Merge’s unassuming start to the present with this amazing timeline .
And speaking of present, I was so stoked to find out that Merge is celebrating its anniversary right in my college town of Chapel Hill, NC with XX Merge starting today. For four days, the label is taking over historic Cat’s Cradle in Carrboro and finishing off with a show at Memorial Hall. Unfortunately, the tickets are sold out, but if you’re in town, 30 of the greatest bands from the label will be occupying the Chapel Hill and filling their days with FREE EVENTS . (Prime singer sighting guaranteed!)
Our Noise: The Story of Merge Records (Algonquin Books) is available in stores September 15. ~Hannah
