With 2008 coming to a close and 2009 quickly approaching, a few milestones should be noted as we approach what is sure to be another historic year.
First, the obvious; the United States will soon be welcoming its first black president as Barack Obama will see his inauguration on Jan. 29. Next, the second World Baseball Classic will begin March 5; giving real meaning to the term “World Series” as international teams compete for worldwide recognition. Third, Charles Darwin and Abraham Lincoln will share their 200th birthdays on Feb. 12; unfortunately, neither will make it to the festivities.
But for indie music fans, one of the biggest milestones we will face in 2009 will be the 20th anniversary of Merge Records.
Founded in 1989 by Superchunk’s Mac McCaughan and Laura Balance, the Durham-based label was originally formed as a vehicle for Superchunk to release its many singles. This eventually grew into a means for McCaughan to release Portastatic albums and the recordings of fellow Triangle artist Polvo.
Twenty years later, Merge is a label that bands like Arcade Fire, Spoon, The Rosebuds, Camera Obscura, M. Ward, She & Him and Dinosaur Jr. could and can call home.
To celebrate this landmark, Merge Records will release a subscription-only boxset called Score! Merge Records: The First Twenty Years. This set will include 14 curated compilation CDs, a remix album, a CD of Merge recording artists’ songs covered by some of indie rocks most well-known names, a comedy album, a 350+ page book of all of the album covers from Merge’s catalogue, and much more. The price may be high, but the value is staggering.
Also to mark this occasion, Prefix Magazine has counted down its picks for the 20 best albums of Merge’s first 20 years.
Prefix Magazine’s Top-20 Albums from Merge
| 20 | East River Pipe | The Gasoline Age | 1999 |
| 19 | The Rosebuds | Birds Make Good Neighbors | 2005 |
| 18 | Spaceheads | Low Pressure | 2002 |
| 17 | Caribou | Andorra | 2007 |
| 16 | Camera Obscura | Underachievers Please Try Harder | 2004 |
| 15 | American Music Club | Love Songs for Patriots | 2004 |
| 14 | Ladybug Transistor | The Albermarle Sound | 1999 |
| 13 | Pram | The Museum of Imaginary Animals | 2000 |
| 12 | Destroyer | Destroyer’s Rubies | 2006 |
| 11 | Crooked Fingers | Red Devil Dawn | 2003 |
| 10 | Portastatic | I Hope Your Heart’s Not Brittle | 1994 |
| 9 | Lambchop | How I Quit Smoking | 1996 |
| 8 | The Clientele | The Violet Hour | 2003 |
| 7 | Polvo | Today’s Active Lifestyles | 1993 |
| 6 | M. Ward | The Transfiguration of Vincent | 2003 |
| 5 | Superchunk | Foolish | 1994 |
| 4 | Spoon | Kill the Moonlight | 2002 |
| 3 | The Magnetic Fields | 69 Love Songs | 1999 |
| 2 | Arcade Fire | Funeral | 2004 |
| 1 | Neutral Milk Hotel | In the Aeroplane Over the Sea | 1998 |
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