Tuesday, February 14, 2006

Superchunk - Slack Motherfucker - 1990
from the S/T Matador release

from cmj.com

Perhaps no band was more emblematic of the true spirit of American indie rock during the 1990s than Superchunk, the pride of Chapel Hill, NC. Following the D.I.Y. ethic to the letter, the group operated solely by their own rules, ignoring all passing trends by sticking to their trademark sound -- typified by the buzzing guitars and high, impassioned vocals of frontman Mac McCaughan -- and rejecting all major-label advances in favor of the unlimited freedom afforded by owning their own company, the highly successful Merge Records. Although Superchunk's resistance to the overtures of the music industry may have deprived them of the wider audience their work clearly deserved, perhaps their greatest legacy remains their unwavering dedication to the indie tradition, a model which all up-and-coming bands should strive to emulate.

Superchunk was formed in the college town of Chapel Hill in 1989 by singer/guitarist McCaughan, bassist Laura Ballance, drummer Chuck Garrison, and guitarist Jack McCook. Initially dubbed merely Chunk -- the "Super" prefix was later added to avoid confusion with a similarly named New York City avant-jazz band -- the group's debut single, What Do I, was soon issued on Merge, a label jointly run by McCaughan and Ballance. The follow-up was 1990's epochal Slack Motherfucker, MacCaughan's blistering tirade against a lazy Kinko's co-worker; the single was immediately hailed on both sides of the Atlantic as one of the definitive indie anthems of the era; and with the subsequent release of their self-titled debut LP, Superchunk was widely celebrated among the most promising young bands in America.

Band Members:
Mac McCaughan - Vocals, Guitar
Laura Ballance - Bass
Chuck Garrison - Drums
Jack McCook - Guitar

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Never got into The Inn, but this tune has always been magical to me, as Flying Nun as it is Haight Asbury...