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What’cha Readin’? Questions about Our Noise: The Story of Merge Records! + December Book News!

What’cha Readin’? Questions about Our Noise: The Story of Merge Records! + December Book News!

Posted by Vish Khanna on Nov 20, 2009

Good day. What's with you today blog people? Are you good? You seem like a nice crowd. Hey, welcome back to the What'cha Readin' Book Club. For today's discussion of Our Noise: The Story of Merge Records by John Cook, Laura Ballance, and Mac McCaughan, I'm primarily hoping to gather any questions you might have for the authors of this book.

I have a good feeling that we're more likely to hear from John Cook next week so, if you have a question about this book for John, please post it below.

And finally, I still need all of you to contribute to our December book discussion by actually picking books and being on the show! More info about how to do this can be found here. If you're not on Facebook, please e-mail me your submission.

Where are you at with Our Noise: The Story of Merge Records? What do you make of this book?

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  1. Benoit from Ottawa
    01

    Good morning

    Oooooooo, Spoon! A rare example of a non-Canadian band!

    I approve (which is a awfully big deal, right?).

  2. dawn.h
    02

    re: What’cha Readin’? Questions about Our Noise: The Story of Merge Records! + December Book News!

    I was just thinking about that, Benoit.

    Nice use of non-Canadian. And I remember Vish playing non-Canadian last Friday too. Did he finally get approval to do so? I thought that was still a no-go issue.

  3. ej
    03

    re: What’cha Readin’? Questions about Our Noise: The Story of Merge Records! + December Book News!

    Spoon is such a fantastic band...  what a nice treat for a Friday morning. 

     

    happy friday everyone!

  4. ej
    04

    re: What’cha Readin’? Questions about Our Noise: The Story of Merge Records! + December Book News!

    i think all the non-Canadian bands on the last few Friday's are all on Merge records.  a tie-in with the book... 

  5. dawn.h
    05

    re: What’cha Readin’? Questions about Our Noise: The Story of Merge Records! + December Book News!

    Yes. Of course. But I thought that was.. uh.. frowned upon. I was just wondering if Vish mentioned getting a special go-ahead or something.

  6. Benoit from Ottawa
    06

    @ dawn.h

    Nope, not quite. They did "reserve the right", in a manner of speaking, to play non-Canadian songs occasionally.

    Note The Magnetic Fields are coming up. No, I don't know them, but did notice they're from New York (said twice).

     

    @ ej: Ya, got and looooove Gimme Fiction as well as the preceding one (virtually as good), Kill the Moonlight. Less enamoured with Ga Ga Ga (etc.).

  7. ej
    07

    @Benoit

    yes, agreed.  i like Ga Ga Ga...  but not as much as Gimme Fiction.  that album is amazing start to finish...

  8. Benoit from Ottawa
    08

    @ ej

    I'd say, in that case: Get Kill the Moonlight.

  9. mynameismoe
    09

    good morning!

    gimmie fiction is such a solidly great album. hearing spoon sort of made my morning! (although, i am a bit tired of that song... that's my own doing, though!)

    i went to see rae spoon & wax mannequin last night (death avengers opened!!) and now i have a headache. it was a great show, though!

  10. mynameismoe
    10

    @ej

    yes, if you don't have kill the moonlight, go get it!! it's also great!

  11. Benoit from Ottawa
    11

    @ mynameismoe

    Naw, it's from hosting the show yesterday. The stress, the wear-and-tear, the demands of fame, the paparazzi.

    ;)

     

    Incidentally, any of you discovered Rosie Hardy's stumbleupon page? It was f00Dave who pointed me there some time ago.

  12. ej
    12

    @mynameismore, @Benoit

    point taken.  kill the moonlight is now near the top of my albums to get... 

  13. ej
    13

    hrmm, that ain't right...

    crap...  typo: shoulda been @mynameismoe...  stupid fingers still asleep this morning... sorry about that.

  14. Benoit from Ottawa
    14

    I like...

    ..."mynameismore"; it's one of those things of which the meaning is unclear, but that evokes stuff.

    Or, in other words, "it sounds like it means something brilliant."

    Congrats to sleepy fingers!

  15. mattyjames2001
    15

    re: What’cha Readin’? Questions about Our Noise: The Story of Merge Records! + December Book News!

    I'm just gonna throw this out there, but my favorite Spoon album is "Girls Can Tell".  Not that there's such a thing as a bad Spoon album, and I'm super stoked for the new one!!!!!!

    so yeah, check out "anything you want" from that album. Damn great pop song

  16. Vish Khanna
    16

    re: What’cha Readin’? Questions about Our Noise: The Story of Merge Records! + December Book News!

    Oh boy. Not one question guys...

  17. mynameismoe
    17

    "mynameismore"

    that amuses me!

    @benoit haha you know, to be honest i got a headache shortly after the show ended. considering the amount (as in 2) of beverages i consumed last night, you are likely onto something! i think i really need to take something for this, though.. ouch.

    @matty i have not heard that one yet! i need to get it!!

  18. Benoit from Ottawa
    18

    Thanks, mattyjames

    I've been wondering for a good long while whether I should get that one. My hesitation stems from having bought Moonlight, then Fiction, then the previous A Series of Sneaks (liked less), then Ga x 5 (liked less).

    So I was in a quandary.

    A blue and white 1957 quandary with fins.

    Thanks again. I think I saw it used at my friendly Compact Records store. I may give that copy a new life (I feel so godlike now).

  19. Benoit from Ottawa
    19

    Vish, apologies, but...

    ...complete ignorance (on my part) is not a good basis for questions. You'll have to come up with some yourself.

  20. sharmeen
    20

    re: What’cha Readin’? Questions about Our Noise: The Story of Merge Records! + December Book News!

    Ooh ooh, I have a few questions (raises hands frantically at the back of the room).

    - how has the economic crisis impacted Merge records as an independent label? Was it a blow to lose Touch and Go as a distributor?

    - in the nineties, we saw other independent record labels such as Sub Pop and Matador sell shares or create partnersehips with corporate labels. Why didn't merge records do the same?

    - what is Merge records' criteria when signing artists? is it a collective process with all the staff or do a few people have  a say?

    - which artist signed to Merge records surprised you the most and why?

    - how has changes in media conglomeration and rise of media corporations impacted smaller independent labels like Merge? Which media organizations do you most depend on for promotion give media ownership in this time?

    - for people wanting to start their own record labels now, what advice to you have for them? any do's or don'ts?

     

    Thanks for featuring this, Vish. I was listening to Superchunk ever since I was in high school in Regina, Saskatchewan in the early 90s. And the main way I heard about alternative, independent music was through the CBC (through the beloved Brave New Waves!). There was no internet and being in Regina, these bands rarely came through town. So I appreciate CBC and community radio continuing to feature Merge records (and other independent music).

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