Delivery & Return:Free shipping on all orders over $50
Estimated Delivery:7-15 days international
People:10 people viewing this product right now!
Easy Returns:Enjoy hassle-free returns within 30 days!
Payment:Secure checkout
SKU:29852220
For twenty years, Merge Records has remained true to their belief that you can sign bands because you love their music and respect what they're trying to do. As giant corporate labels struggle for survival, Merge has, in the unlikeliest of times, garnered a loyal group of artists and a secure and growing fan base and, most important, has brought us some of the best music of our time.Our Noise tells the story of how Merge did it and continues to do it, through the eyes of cofounders Mac McCaughan and Laura Ballance, their fellow band members, friends, and the bands who signed on with them. It includes interviews with and profiles of Superchunk, Butterglory, Neutral Milk Hotel, Lambchop, Spoon, the Magnetic Fields, and Arcade Fire.
An absolutely fascinating account of the life of independent label Merge Records and the band (Superchunk) that gave it life, over the past 20 years. What was started by Mac and Laura of Superchunk fame to put out 7" records of their bands and their friends' bands in Chapel Hill, NC, in the late '80s has become one of the most influential and successful independent labels in the music business. While other labels and major labels are imploding with massive sales declines in recent years, Merge soldiers on during its most successful era ever, with only one guiding principle - they put out the music of bands that they like, regardless of commercial viability, and will stay with the band as long as the band wants, regardless of sales. Profits are split 50-50 with the artist (major labels are more like 85-15) and there is never any thought of interference or suggestion of what the artist should do. As a result, some of the most successful albums in indie rock history have been released on Merge, including Neutral Milk Hotel's immortal "In the Aeroplane Over the Sea", The Magnetic Fields' 3-CD "69 Love Songs", Spoon's "Girls Can Tell" and The Arcade Fire's "Funeral".The book consists largely of interviews with those involved over the last 20 years (the bands, the Superchunk members, friends, family, roadies, etc.), told in an impressive narrative form that reads as a fascinating story of a group of music outsiders who learned how to make the music they loved outside the corporate system, and make enough money to survive for 20 years and counting. The history of Superchunk is intertwined with the history of Merge (it's about a 50/50 split in the book), so for any even casual fan of this classic band, this is a must-read. But the story of Merge is equally fascinating, as are the in-depth chapter-long discussions of several Merge artists, including The Arcade Fire, Spoon, The Magnetic Fields, Matt Suggs, Lambchop, and Neutral Milk Hotel. I can't recommend this enough.
