VA - SCORE! 20 Years of Merge Records [2009] (17 x CD's)

MERGE RECORDS

VA - SCORE! 20 Years of Merge Records [2009] (17 x CD's)

Merge Records is an independent record label based in Durham, North Carolina. It was founded in 1989 by Laura Ballance and Mac McCaughan. It began as a way to release music from their band Superchunk and music created by friends, and has expanded to include artists from around the world and records reaching the top of the Billboard music charts.

Merge celebrates its 20th anniversary festivities with a compilation of non-label artists, Bright Eyes, Shins, New Pornos, covering songs from its catalog. Merge Records doesn't look its age. Originally formed as an outlet for Superchunk material, the Durham, N.C. based label has grown into an indie institution, but only gradually, year by year, release by release. It never allied itself with a scene or a sound, so the mind doesn't automatically tether it to a specific place or time, the way Sub Pop, despite its strong roster this decade, will be most closely associated with Seattle in the late 1980's and early 1990's. So it's hard to believe Merge is already 20 years old, an occasion the label is marking with a big birthday bash, the five-day XX Merge fest in July, and a subscription, only series of commemorative retrospectives and remixes. Perhaps the most intriguing party favor is Score! Twenty Years of Merge Records, The Covers, a choppy but oddly endearing compilation that enlists 20 non-Merge acts to cover Merge songs.

SCORE! 20 Years of Merge Records doesn't resemble a traditional label sampler as much as one of those carefully curated compilations like this year's Dark Was the Night. Both releases benefit charities, both feature the National at their most subdued, and both serve as a useful state-of-indie report. But where Dark emphasized "primarily folkie tunefulness, baroque lines in which the guitar is subservient to other instruments" (as Scott Plagenhoef wrote in his review), Score! allows and even encourages these artists to indulge every idiosyncrasy, no matter how potentially off-putting or digressive. The result is a weirder, less polite album, one that showcases a diversity of musical styles and seems much more representative of 2000's indie.  (Amazon)

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Track lists

CD01

01 American Music Club Patriot’s Heart 5:59

02 Cornershop England’s Dreaming 3:33

03 Superchunk Slack Motherfucker 2:53

04 Dinosaur Jr. Freak Scene 3:38

05 Lambchop The Book I Haven’t Read 5:46

06 M. Ward Requiem 2:49

07 Magnetic Fields Come Back From San Francisco 2:48

08 Matt Elliott The Dog Beneath the Skin 7:52

09 Robert Pollard Love is Stronger Than Witchcraft 4:13

10 Rock*a*teens Misty Took a Holiday 2:40

11 Rocket From the Crypt Ufo>ufo>ufo 2:15

12 Spinanes Suffice 3:50

13 Lou Barlow Confused 3:45

14 Teenage Fanclub Born Under a Good Sign 3:01

15 Velocity Girl You’re So Good to Me 2:30

16 Portastatic Sour Shores 4:39

17 Neutral Milk Hotel You’ve Passed 3:05

18 Minus 5 Hate Me More 4:40

CD02

01 Guv’ner Break a Promise 3:24

02 Imperial Teen Everything 3:19

03 Rosebuds Drunkard’s Worst Nightmare 3:42

04 Spoon Decora 3:14

05 Annie Hayden Wait for Returns 3:37

06 David Kilgour Gold in Sound 3:57

07 Lambchop Your Fucking Sunny Day 3:47

08 Oakley Hall Angela 4:16

09 Paul Burch & the Wpa Ballclub Forever Yours 3:06

10 East River Pipe Prettiest Whore 3:33

11 Portastatic Spying on the Spys 3:53

12 She & Him This is Not a Test 3:31

13 Big Dipper She’s Fetching 2:38

14 Pipe Spring Training 1:31

15 Erectus Monotone The Day the Sharks Flew 1:41

16 Ashley Stove Amen Grasshopper 3:11

17 Superchunk Honey Bee 3:43

18 Lambchop I Wanna Know Girls 6:31

CD03

01 Essex Green The Late Great Cassiopia 3:31

02 Paul Burch & the Wpa Ballclub Oh My Darlin’ 3:10

03 Magnetic Fields A Chicken With Its Head Cut Off 2:42

04 Camera Obscura Alaska 3:10

05 Spoon The Fitted Shirt 3:13

06 Clientele My Own Face Inside the Trees 3:08

07 Clean On Again/Off Again 1:48

08 Butterglory When Her Brow Curls 2:20

09 Mad Scene I Met You in My Dreams 4:28

10 Broken West Hale Sunrise 4:39

11 Imperial Teen Sugar 3:26

12 Portastatic One for the Road 4:56

13 Ganger Capo (South of Caspian) 9:35

14 Crooked Fingers Sweet Marie 4:55

15 Dinosaur Jr. In a Jar 3:31

CD04

01 Annie Hayden Start a Little Late 2:52

02 Clean Slug Song 3:17

03 Camera Obscura If Looks Could Kill 3:29

04 Lambchop Low Ambition 4:42

05 Rosebuds Blue Bird 4:28

06 Spaceheads Magic in the Space Age 5:22

07 Teenage Fanclub Only With You 4:23

08 3ds The Golden Grove 2:44

09 Dinosaur Jr. Repulsion 3:04

10 Cakekitchen This Questionnaire 6:19

11 Pram Sirocco 4:27

12 Mad Scene The Greatest Time 4:20

13 Renderers A Million Lights 4:13

14 Superchunk Seed Toss 3:02

15 M. Ward Beautiful Car 2:36

16 Versus Shangri‐la 3:32

17 Matt Elliott Also Ran 6:27

18 David Kilgour Bbc World 2:59

19 Annie Hayden The Lie and How We Told It 3:34

CD05

01 Robert Pollard I’m a Strong Lion 1:10

02 Neutral Milk Hotel Song Against Sex 3:41

03 Magnetic Fields The Saddest Story Ever Told 2:11

04 East River Pipe Absolutely Nothing 2:12

05 Destroyer It’s Gonna Take an Airplane 3:41

06 Oakley Hall No Dreams 4:01

07 Portastatic St. Elmo’s Fire 3:26

08 Clean Point That Thing Somewhere Else 5:27

09 Teenage Fanclub It’s All in My Mind 3:40

10 Music Tapes Song for the Death of Parents 4:03

11 Spoon Believing is Art 4:19

12 Clientele Joseph Cornell 2:23

13 M. Ward To Go Home 3:49

14 Caribou She’s the One 3:56

15 Big Dipper A Song to Be Beautiful 4:05

16 Spinanes Hawaiian Baby 5:36

17 Third Eye Foundation Lions Writing the Bible 1:56

18 Walter Salas-Humara and Winterpills She’s Fetching 4:02

CD06

01 Magnetic Fields Washington, D.C. 1:54

02 Dinosaur Jr. Polado 5:42

03 Clean Anything Could Happen 2:37

04 Imperial Teen Million $ Man 4:25

05 Cakekitchen Everything Turned Orange 4:50

06 David Kilgour Today is Gonna Be Mine 3:16

07 3ds Hey Seuss 2:20

08 Rock*a*teens Hwy R 4:02

09 Camera Obscura Let’s Get Out of This Country 3:20

10 Superchunk Kicked In 4:24

11 Magnetic Fields I Have the Moon 2:37

12 East River Pipe Helmet On 4:04

13 Third Eye Foundation Semtex 5:12

14 Lou Barlow The Ballad of Daykitty 4:03

15 Miss Teen Schnauzer Yeah Woo 1:09

16 Lou Barlow I’m So Glad 3:12

CD07

01 Camera Obscura Lloyd, I’m Ready to Be Heartbroken 3:48

02 M. Ward Paul’s Song 3:14

03 Arcade Fire No Cars Go 5:40

04 Paul Burch Sun Don’t Shine 2:45

05 Honor Role Listening to Sally 3:06

06 She & Him Sentimental Heart 2:36

07 Wye Oak Please Concrete 3:13

08 Shark Quest Lunch at Sara’s 4:08

09 Gothic Archies City of the Damned 1:33

10 Tenement Halls Starless Night 4:32

11 Neutral Milk Hotel Communist Daughter 2:01

12 Lou Barlow Caterpillar Girl 3:41

CD08

01 Arcade Fire Broken Window 6:19

02 Destroyer Your Blood 4:15

03 East River Pipe Kill the Action 2:36

04 M. Ward Magic Trick 1:44

05 Paul Burch & the Wpa Ballclub Willpower 4:30

06 Portastatic Hey Salty 4:58

07 Pram Track of the Cat 4:13

08 Spoon I Summon You 3:57

09 Bats North By North 4:02

10 Clean Tally Ho 2:40

11 Lambchop The Man Who Loved Beer 2:46

12 Magnetic Fields I Think I Need a New Heart 2:33

13 Albatross Note Winnipeg 4:05

14 Wye Oak Baltimore 3:18

CD09

01 Neutral Milk Hotel King of Carrot Flowers, Part 1 2:03

02 Arcade Fire My Body is a Cage 4:43

03 Calexico Ocean of Noise 4:51

04 Camera Obscura Pen and Notebook 3:25

05 Cornershop Breaking Every Rule Language English 1:33

06 East River Pipe Stare the Graveyard Down 5:03

07 Lambchop A Day Without Glasses 4:09

08 Pram The Pawnbroker 3:17

09 Rosebuds Shake Our Tree 2:42

10 Shout Out Louds Tonight I Have to Leave it (Kleerup Remix) 5:06

11 Spoon Don’t You Evah 3:38

12 Superchunk Florida’s on Fire (Acoustic Demo) 2:54

13 6ths With Momus As You Turn to Go 1:56

14 David Byrne Girls on the Freeway 2:41

CD10

01 Arcade Fire Crown of Love 4:40

02 Magnetic Fields Meaningless 2:11

03 Neutral Milk Hotel Two‐headed Boy 4:27

04 Camera Obscura Tears for Affairs 4:02

05 Spoon Take a Walk 2:26

06 3ds Beautiful Things 3:29

07 Broken West Brass Ring 3:42

08 Magnetic Fields 100,000 Fireflies 3:20

09 Telekinesis Look to the East 3:13

10 Clean Drawing to a Whole 2:07

CD11

01 Camera Obscura Hands Up Baby 3:21

02 Magnetic Fields Love in the Shadows 2:59

03 Beatnik Filmstars Hypo‐boxing 5:31

04 Matt Elliott The Mess We Made 5:28

05 Lambchop Breathe Deep 5:49

06 …and You Will Know Us By the Trail of Dead Mistakes and Regrets 3:48

07 Erectus Monotone I Am in the World 2:22

08 Spoon Don’t You Evah (Dj Amaze and Alan Astor Mix) 5:27

09 She & Him Why Do You Let Me Stay Here? 2:30

10 Destroyer European Oils 4:54

11 Coral Boxtruck 2:57

12 East River Pipe When Will Your Friends All Disappear? 2:54

13 Radar Bros. Show Yourself 3:18

14 Destroyer Suicide Demo for Kara Walker (Demo) 6:05

CD12

01 M. Ward I’ll Be Yr Bird 2:58

02 Oakley Hall All the Way Down 5:17

03 Destroyer An Actor’s Revenge 2:57

04 Magnetic Fields I Don’t Want to Get Over You 2:23

05 Rosebuds I’d Feel Better 2:28

06 Portastatic Clareana 3:56

07 Essex Green Don’t Know Why (You Stay) 3:26

08 Spoon Lines in the Suit 3:48

09 Superchunk Pink Clouds 3:23

10 Radar Bros. Pomona 3:57

11 Neutral Milk Hotel Engine 3:14

12 Imperial Teen Baby 2:45

13 Dinosaur Jr. Just Like Heaven 2:53

14 Pipe Ashtray 2:24

15 Portastatic Nyc, Raining, 5 Am 0:54

16 Radar Bros. We Got the Beat 3:08

17 Amy Poehler & Fred Armisen Actors Acting: How an Actor Crafts: a Dialogue Between Two Actors as They Discuss Crafting Their Craft 15:31

CD13

01 Spoon The Way We Get By 2:43

02 Imperial Teen Shim Sham 3:00

03 Arcade Fire Neighborhood #1 (Tunnels) 4:51

04 Guv’ner Jealous Girl 3:55

05 Annie Hayden Money Trouble 2:49

06 Matt Suggs Where’s Your Patience, Dear? 2:31

07 Superchunk Phone Sex 4:52

08 East River Pipe I Am a Small Mistake 1:50

09 Oakley Hall Rue the Blues 3:08

10 M. Ward Fool Says 1:50

11 Broken West So it Goes 3:14

12 Clientele Since K Got Over Me 3:50

13 Portastatic Little Fern 3:16

14 Butterglory She Can’t Hide From Radios 3:09

15 Magnetic Fields The Luckiest Guy on the Lower East Side 3:43

16 Brian Whelan & Ross Flournoy Uptown Girl 3:55

CD14

01 Ladybug Transistor This Old Chase 3:25

02 Crooked Fingers Solitary Man 3:24

03 Arcade Fire Haiti 4:08

04 Essex Green Snakes in the Grass 3:32

05 Magnetic Fields I’m Sorry I Love You 3:08

06 Rosebuds Life Like 3:16

07 Portastatic Bright Ideas 5:19

08 Future Bible Heroes I’m Lonely (And I Love It) 4:46

09 Richard Buckner A Chance Counsel 4:50

10 Lou Barlow Round‐n‐round 2:36

11 Paul Burch & the Wpa Ballclub How Do I Know? 4:49

12 Broken West You Can Build an Island 3:14

13 Shout Out Louds Impossible 6:49

14 Imperial Teen Ivanka 3:17

15 Beatnik Filmstars Leisure 2:47

16 Conor Oberst I Don’t Want to Die (In the Hospital) 3:34

17 Teenage Fanclub Cells 3:19

CD15

01 Scharpling & Wurster A Vampire Or A Dogman 43:13

CD16

01 Quasi Beautiful Things 3:42

02 Les Savy Fav Precision Auto 2:52

03 Shins Plenty is Never Enough 3:07

04 St. Vincent and the National Sleep All Summer 4:33

05 Broken Social Scene Complications 4:45

06 Ryan Adams Like a Fool 3:59

07 Bright Eyes Papa Was a Rodeo 4:45

08 Lavender Diamond New Ways of Living 5:44

09 Apples in Stereo King of Carrot Flowers Pt. 3 1:57

10 Laura Cantrell Cowboy on the Moon 3:52

11 Bill Callahan Santa Maria 3:43

12 Barbara Manning Through With People 3:04

13 Mountain Goats Drug Life 2:34

14 New Pornographers Don’t Destroy This Night 3:32

15 Tracey Thorn & Jens Lekman Yeah! Oh, Yeah! 3:06

16 Hive Dwellers My Noise 3:12

17 Ted Leo and the Pharmacists The Numbered Head 4:34

18 Okkervil River All You Little Suckers 4:26

19 Death Cab for Cutie Kicked In 4:20

20 New Viking Neighborhood #1 (Tunnels) 3:37

CD17

01 Polvo Kalgon (Caribou Remix) 8:43

02 Pram Mother of Pearl (Barbara Morgenstern Remix) 4:15

03 Guv’ner Baby's Way Cruel (Four Tet Remix) 4:44

04 Portastatic Drill Me (I Was So There Remix) 2:21

05 Spoon The Ghost of You Lingers (John McEntire Remix) 3:48

06 Arcade Fire No Cars Go (Jason Forrest Remix) 6:41

07 6ths Volcana! (I Hope Your Train Crashes Remix) 3:29

08 Rosebuds Bow to the Middle (+/- Remix) 2:47

09 Caribou Irene (Hands Off Cuba Remix) 4:21

10 Magnetic Fields Washington, D.C. (Mark Robinson Remix) 2:02

11 Lambchop Nashville Parent (Junior Boys Remix) 7:50

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