From PackageThf@aol.comSun Jul 14 13:29:13 1996 Date: Sat, 24 Feb 1996 21:03:32 -0500 From: PackageThf@aol.com Subject: Precision Auto Hey there, kids - it's time for more wacky fun with your faves, the Chunksters. (pardon my temporary oddity - I gave blood earlier today and I think most of it came out of my head...) Here's an update to the Merge Catalog (see the website for a full posting) MERGE RECORDS > P.O. Box 1235 Chapel Hill, NC 27514 >PRICES++ CD/Double LP: $10 +++ LP/CD Ep/CS: $8 +++ Double 7": $6 +++ 7": $3 >POSTAGE++ North America: $1.50 (for 1-3 items) or $3.00 (over 3 items) ++ outside of North America - Add $2.00 per item >List alternate choices or state if you want a refund NEW ADDITIONS >MRG097: Lambchop - How I Quit Smoking (CD/LP) >MRG098: Butterglory - Are You Building A Temple In Heaven (CD/LP) >MRG104: Butterglory - "She's Got Action" b/w "Haven't You Already Heard It," "Places In Mind" (CD5) COMING SOON >Feb. 27> MRG099: Odes - Me And My Big Mouth (CD Ep) MRG101: The Cakekitchen - Bald Old Bear (CD Ep) MRG102: Verbena - Pilot Park (CD Ep) >Mar. 12> MRG105: Spent - "Revenging" b/w "Foreign Like A Car" (7") MRG106: The Mad Scene - Chinese Honey (CD Ep) >Mar. 26> MRG103: Neutral Milk Hotel - On Avery Island (CD/LP) NOTES Watch for Butterglory on tour this march with The Wedding Present. There will also be new videos from The Magnetic Fields and Butterglory soon. Also, the new record (lp/cd) from the Karl Hendricks Trio and Lambchop's HANK Ep should be here come springtime. Take care... >>>THIEFNOTES: Under the cotton shirts, the Superchunk "Freed Seed" shirt is no longer listed - i don't know if that means it's out of print or if they're just out of it. No news on the mysterious MRG100 yet. Also, thanks to JARERO@PANAM1.PANAM.EDU for advanced word on this info. catching up on this month's mail: +brief news from bdn116@cs.usask.ca: I just e-mailed Matador, and they said that Superchunk's self-titled album will be re-issued in late spring. (THIEFNOTE: You too can email Matador - just websearch Superchunk, Yo La Tengo, Pavement, or any other matador band (or search "matador records") and you should be able to turn their (pretty cool) website up.) +a forward, courtesy of afn37647@afn.org: > Subject: Sebadoh and Superchunk tribute albums! Nate Helm - Box 222 - Founders Hall - Bowling Green, OH 43403 This is where to send tapes of you or your band to have them included in either tribute album. Record as many songs as you want, but due to space limitations probably only one or two will make it on each tape. Record any way you want, into your stereo or at a studio. Portastatic and Sentridoh are good to cover too. So far versions of Got It, Careful,Temporary Dream and Puffin have been recorded. Tapes cost $4 each and can be ordered through the same address. The tapes are scheduled for release in May. I'm doing this as a fan of these two bands to give a tribute to their music. This is essentially a non-profit effort. Hence, your money pays for a tape and shipping, and that's most of the money right there. Keep sending in those tapes, and listening to these bands. Good music will always have its place. + from Ultra21@aol.com: the set list for Take the Tube is precision auto, seed toss, tie a rope to the back of the bus, what do i, mower, slack motherfucker, punch me harder, throwing things, sick to move, cast iron, tower, cool, brand new love, fishing (also thanks to pavalos@mer.cioe.com and cpakinga@mail.sdsu.edu for sending the list in) +something of interest from FreedMan88@aol.com: this is kinda like the cartoon channel thing: theres a new tomato sauce by healthy choice, and its called SUPER CHUNKY. ok, thats it, it amused me +from jroren@village.ios.com: Hi gang...Pablo here. Anybody seen a copy of Freed Seed at their local record store for less than $12.00 before I pay such a jacked up price? Also, if you make me happy by responding to this, I may be able to get you something in return (besides the obvious cost of the 7" and tax)...sincerely yours, pablo (in dire need of Freed Seed) +from JARERO@PANAM1.PANAM.EDU: (Thiefnote: this fine gentleman get this issue's persistance award for working hard at dragging info, kicking and screaming, out of Merge. Thanks for all your time and frustration) Well I called Merge and found out that the mailroom guy, John, has not been in (that just means I still haven't gotten my mail order problems solved). But I did talk with someone who works at Merge; I asked him about Merge's 100th release. When I asked him he kind of laughed (I wonder if that means he gets that question a lot) and said that Mac and Laura had not yet decided what it was going to be. He said that when they got back from Superchunk's tour of Europe they would decied. As far as I've been able to figure out Merge has at least three mployees (not counting Mac and Laura) and they all sound really helpful and nice. >letter #2> Well I called Merge yesterday and found to my suprise that John, the mail order guy, had finally come in to work. It took only a few minutes for him to find my lost orderform and allakazam he told me my Merge order would be on its way. I had also written down some questions on my orderform and he took the time to answer them. As his answers were quite informative, I'm passing them along to you. I asked him when the next Superchunk single was going to be released, and he said he didn't think that there was going to be one. I was shocked and told him that I had heard that "Yeah, It's Beautiful Here Too" was included on some compilations; to this he said, it was only released for radio play and there were no plans to release it as a single yet. I asked when the re-release of the original Superchunk would happen and he told me that it seemed to him that Matador was draging its feet on the re-release (it seems that way to me too, when I e-mail them they tell me it will be released sometime in the spring) but that Matador had sent the corrected proofs of the coverart to Merge for approval. He also said that if the licensing of the album was up there was the possibility that Merge would re-release it. There are no written copies of Superchunk lyrics, that's what he says. The Superchunk video compilation will be released sometime within the late summer or early fall of 1996; also there will be a compilation of other Merge bands released at the sametime. Superchunk had just come back from there tour of Europe the night before (strangly enough that's when John finally showed up at work, I guess when the cats away the mice will play). But he said that Mac and Laura had been talking about releasing something really weird for the Mrg100 but nothing was definite. He said that as soon as it was definite he would send me the newsletter (I guess thats the catalog) with the information. So all in all John a nice guy but he just takes forever to get back to his job. Also Merge is temporarally out of Portastatic's first release but they are expecting more. +on another note, Spinanes album info from d023903c@dcfreenet.seflin.lib.fl.us: street date is february 27, its called "strand." 11 songs> madding. azure. lines and lines. meridian. punch line loser. valency. luminous. oceanwide. winter on ice. watch down. for no one else. its some of the same old stuff, but mostly a lot more mellow. they added some piano & organ (played by rebecca) and tympani ( courtesy of scott) its done very cool though, and doesn't sound overproduced. +a mini bio on chunk members (pre-chunk, that is) from mrozek@msn.com: Mac went to school at Columbia U. and graduated with a degree in history (supposedly with a 4.0) He's a Florida native but has lived in the triangle area most of his life. At some point during his college career he lived with Andrew from Tsunami. He moved back home after school to the Durham/Chapel Hill area started Merge, Superchunk, did some substitute teaching (at my High School actually, he substituted my French class once). Laura was going to UNC Chapel Hill, they met or something. Their old drummer Chuck Garrison was a staple around the Chapel Hill scene and still is. Mac pulled an old friend Jim from a teaching job in Connecticut when Jack left the band. John is from Pennsylvania. and that's all I know. +SOME CLOSING WORDS from PackageThief: First of all, I'd just like to remind you that Kallan is still offering the Superchunk rarities tape (see the 2/7 mailer, dated 2/13 on the website, for info.) You can write to him at mrozek@msn.com (yes, this is the correct address, not the one listed in the 2/7 mailer. - my mistake) Just to remind you, I don't print everything I get - if I don't print your letter, it may be because the topic has already been addressed or that the info was already given. I occasionally paraphrase or edit letters - for length and, sometimes, grammar and spelling. And, just in case you haven't done it for a while, you should check out the Superchunk Website (at http://www-personal.umich.edu/~mransfrd/superchunk if you forgot). There are now a PLETHORA of new icons, along with a new title logo. Some of the colors have also been changed. There are now more links to other Superchunk info. along with a QuikTime clip of the Hyper Enough video and new sound clips. Also, the lyrics for STRINGS (which many of you have asked me about) should be up by the end of the weekend. If you like what you see on the site or have any suggestions, please write to Matt (the Lord of the Site) - I'm sure he'd love to get some more feedback from all of you. (his address is mransfrd@umich.edu) Until next time....