On November 17, we will release SCORE! 20 Years of Merge Records: The Remixes! on limited edition CD and digital download. All proceeds will benefit charities chosen by the SCORE! curators.

Click the link below to download a free MP3 of the Xiu Xiu remix!

Track listing:
1. Caribou- Kalgon (Polvo)
2. Barbara Morgenstern- Mother of Pearl (Pram)
3. Four Tet- Baby’s Way Cruel (Guv’ner)
4. The Blow- Drill Me (I Was So There Remix) (Portastatic)
5. John McEntire- The Ghost of You Lingers (Spoon)
6. Jason Forrest- No Cars Go (Arcade Fire)
7. Xiu Xiu- Volcana! (I Hope Your Train Crashes Remix) (The 6ths)
8. +/- {Plus/Minus} – Bow to the Middle (The Rosebuds)
9. Hands Off Cuba- Irene (Caribou)
10. Mark Robinson- Washington DC (The Magnetic Fields)
11. Junior Boys- The Nashville Parent (Lambchop)

The Remixes! is one of three components of our 20th anniversary subscription box set that is available to non-subscribers. Proceeds for all SCORE!-related releases will benefit the charities chosen by the SCORE! subscribers.

SCORE! 20 Years of Merge Records: The Covers! was released in April and features covers of Merge songs by non-Merge artists such as: The Shins, The New Pornographers, The National, and more! The Covers! is now available in the Merge store.

The Merge Records Companion, a visual discography book featuring the first 20 years of Merge relesases is available in the Merge store now, too!

Thank you for your support of Merge Records and for helping us celebrate our 20th anniversary by raising money for those in need.

In celebration of the limited-edition release of the Merge Records Companion, we are holding a contest! To enter, visit the Merge message board and post a photograph of you and your favorite Merge album in the “Make Your Own Companion” forum for a chance to win an XX Merge prize pack. The winner will be announced in the December newsletter.

The CD-sized Merge Records Companion contains photographs of every 7-inch, album, EP, and DVD (plus two cassettes!) Merge put out during our first 20 years. All proceeds from this limited-edition book will benefit the charities chosen by the fourteen SCORE! curators.

We will release Spoon’s seventh LP, Transference, on January 26th!

Transference track listing:
1. Before Destruction
2. Is Love Forever?
3. The Mystery Zone
4. Who Makes Your Money
5. Written in Reverse
6. I Saw the Light
7. Trouble Comes Running
8. Goodnight Laura
9. Out Go the Lights
10. Got Nuffin
11. Nobody Gets Me But You

M. Ward will appear on PBS’s Austin City Limits on Saturday, October 31. Check your local listings for air times, and set the DV-R!

Since 1975, Austin City Limits has presented viewing audiences with live concerts from many of the world’s most acclaimed, accomplished, and pioneering talent. From living legends to pop stars to up-and-comers, musicians and songwriters representing nearly every genre of music have blessed the Austin City Limits stage at KLRU in Austin, TX, with their talent. The list is staggering: Ray Charles, B.B. King, Merle Haggard, Van Morrison, Elvis Costello, Fats Domino, Loretta Lynn, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Lucinda Williams, Tom Waits, Spoon, the Flaming Lips, Emmylou Harris, Arcade Fire, Leonard Cohen, Wilco…and now M. Ward!

Shout Out Louds just finished recording their third album, Work. The album was recorded at Bear Creek Studio in Seattle and was produced by Phil Ek (Fleet Foxes, Band of Horses, The Shins, Built To Spill, Modest Mouse).

Singer Adam Olenius explains their choice of the album title, Work:

I am fascinated by the process of creating something and almost working yourself to death, the relief that comes when it is over and the ability to just shut off a part of one’s life. Work also means that something “does work,” to reach a goal. A song from John Cale and Lou Reed’s “Songs For Drella” also inspired our album title choice.

Merge will release Work on February 23rd and will have tour dates to announce soon! Visit ShoutOutLouds.com for photos and a short video from the recording sessions.

XX Merge is over, but thanks to our friends at Converse and Babelgum, we can watch some great moments from the festival as well as bonus shows from Merge bands on demand!

Visit Babelgum’s XX Merge page for live performance and interview footage from the festival. Converse has stripped down performances of six Merge bands taken around Carrboro and Chapel Hill during XX Merge.

We still have XX Merge posters, t-shirts and tote bags available in the Merge store to further help commemorate the occasion. And, if you want to know the whole story of how Merge began pick up a copy of Our Noise: The Story of Merge Records in the Merge store and wherever books are sold.

Thanks to everyone whose attendance helped make XX Merge so much fun and to all who have supported Merge bands through the years!

On Friday, October 23rd, Mac, Laura and John Cook will read from Our Noise and Mac will perform a few songs beginning at 7pm at Housing Works in New York. Come get your book signed, and enjoy some stories from the book and maybe a few that were left out!

Visit the Merge blog for collected reviews of Our Noise and video from past events.

Friday, October 23rd @ 7p.m.
Housing Works – Bookstore Cafe
126 Crosby Street
New York, NY 10012
212-334-3324

Get your copy of Our Noise in the Merge store or at your favorite local independent bookstore.