Month: April 2009

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FREE MP3s GUEST EDITOR INTERVIEWS

Q&A With Mac McCaughan

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Outdated reference point or not, the anti-apathy sentiment on Superchunk‘s sophomore single “Slack Motherfucker” still seems characteristic of Mac McCaughan 20 years after he wrote it. The recently dormant Superchunk is moving again, with a new EP (Leaves In The Gutter), an appearance at Coachella and a possible album on the horizon. Of course, McCaughan also fills his time with solo project Portastatic and co-ownership (with Superchunk bassist Laura Ballance) of Merge Records, which might be responsible for more indie-rock classics than any other label in the past two decades. MAGNET spoke with McCaughan to ask about the status of Superchunk, the mysteries behind Merge and the appeal of North Carolina ice hockey. As if being in multiple bands and running a label weren’t enough to keep him busy, McCaughan will be guest editing magnetmagazine.com this week.

Portastatic covering Guided By Voices’ “Echoes Myron” (download):
https://magnetmagazine.com/audio/EchoesMyron.mp3

Continue reading “Q&A With Mac McCaughan”
Categories
WRENS WATCH

Wrens Watch, April 20, 2009

wrenswatch92111111We’ve been fans of New Jersey’s finest since even before their first album came out back in 1994, so let’s just say we’re used to sitting around waiting for them to take their sweet-ass time putting out new music. (Three albums in more than 14 years makes the Wrens about as prolific as Boston, which is kind of like being as tall as Verne Troyer.) As reported in a Wrens Watch Special Report, January 9 marked a huge milestone for the guys: guitarists Charles Bissell and Greg Whelan, bassist Kevin Whelan and drummer Jerry MacDonald. They issued “Pulled Fences,” their first new (well, sort of new) song since 2003’s The Meadowlands. Perhaps motivated by finally releasing something, the band convened—not in a real studio, but in Kevin’s basement—13 weeks ago to begin work on its new album. And not only that, the Wrens recorded an actual song (which you can download for free here). When we checked in with Bissell two months ago, he took exception with our good-natured sarcasm and quickly ended the interview. After ignoring us for a while, Bissell finally gave us a progress report; it seems that while other bands get together and record, the Wrens stay apart and talk to each other on the phone. Or they do nothing at all. Or they update their Facebook pages. Five weeks ago, Bissell informed us he was “too busy” to respond to our questions, but he did promise us some exclusive Wrens mp3s in the near future. A month ago, he didn’t even bother responding to our emails, prompting us to call him an unprolific Ryan Adams. That got Bissell’s attention, who three weeks ago apologized (profanely) and promised us an exclusive Wrens mp3 for the April 6 Wrens Watch. After not delivering, he said he’d come through the next week, but he didn’t. Bissell has again become completely unresponsive, so maybe the Wrens are actually recording and preparing for upcoming shows in George, Wash. (May 24) and Chicago (July 24 and 25). Or maybe he’s just a jerk.

Categories
LOST CLASSICS

Lost Classics: Arcwelder “Pull”

They’re nobody’s buzz bands anymore. But since 1993, MAGNET has discovered and documented more great music than memory will allow. The groups may have broken up or the albums may be out of print, but this time, history is written by the losers. Here are some of the finest albums that time forgot but we remembered in issue #75, plus all-new additions to our list of Lost Classics.

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:: ARCWELDER Pull // Touch And Go, 1993
“Sing a little pop song/Then everybody loves you,” sang Arcwelder on “Remember To Forget,” one of the many instant classics on Pull. If only it were that easy. Coming out of Minneapolis’ fertile ’80s scene, Arcwelder seemed like the logical successor to hometown heroes Hüsker Dü. Like the Hüskers, Arcwelder was a punk-leaning, pop-loving power trio whose vocal duties were shared by its guitarist and drummer and whose bassist had a moustache. But Arcwelder never really rose above cult status despite releasing six albums of catchy, noisy rock ’n’ roll. Pull, the band’s third LP and Touch And Go debut, was the best of the bunch, a 45-minute masterpiece that still holds its own against almost anything from indie rock’s glory years. So what if Arcwelder never achieved commercial success? Like the band sang at the beginning of Pull, “When it’s all done/This is just a song.”

Catching Up: Though the trio rarely plays live and has no plans for another proper record (an Internet-only release has been discussed), Arcwelder still practices once a week.

“Remember To Forget”:

Categories
GUEST EDITOR

From The Desk Of Peter Bjorn And John: Grandma’s New Apartment

pbjlogo113ee1Living Thing, the fifth album from Peter Bjorn And John, is a strong indication that the acute pop minds behind 2006 breakthrough record Writer’s Block have much more to give. Despite its spare arrangements and instrumentation, Living Thing incorporates fuller melodies and more intricate sounds, ranging from dub to a sort of Merseybeat gone electro. Peter Bjorn And John are guest editing magnetmagazine.com this week. Read our Q&A with them.

grandmacBjorn: My grandma, Berta Yttling, has got a new apartment, and it’s great. It is, of course, in Boden, where she lives, and is located on the seventh floor with a view over at least four or five nice mountains. You can also check out the Hotel Bodensia rebuild. And it’s a corner apartment! I like it.

This concludes “Peter Bjorn And John Week” here at magnetmagazine.com. Thanks to the boys for writing about some really cool stuff. Be sure to check out PB&J’s new album, Living Thing.

Categories
FREE MP3s

MP3 At 3PM: Rachel Goodrich

rachel_goodrich320Only  Donovan himself knows what he was actually singing about when he recorded the coyly catchy “Mellow Yellow” in 1966, but there are a few theories. Some believe the song is about smoking dried banana skins (thought to be a hallucinogenic drug), others believe it has something to do with a vibrator or a particular line in James Joyce’s Ulysses. Regardless, the song seems to have stood the test of time. Singer/songwriter Rachel Goodrich just put her own quirky spin on the classic using a ukulele, a xylophone and some hand clapping. Check out Goodrich when she performs alongside Bob Dylan at Michigan’s Rothbury Festival in July.

Rachel Goodrich covers Donovan’s “Mellow Yellow” (download):