Arcade Fire, Partners in Health, the NFL, Merge Records and Bank Robber Music have collectively agreed upon a unique 100% for charity Super Bowl licensing of “Wake Up” from Arcade Fire’s 2004 album Funeral. All proceeds from the use of the song on the live Superbowl broadcast and subsequent airings on the NFL Network will go directly to Partners In Health’s Stand With Haiti relief efforts.

For further information on Partners In Health’s efforts regarding the Haiti crisis, go to StandwithHaiti.org or visit ArcadeFire.com.

Last year marked the 20th anniversary of Merge Records, and in addition to a 5-day music festival, we celebrated with SCORE! 20 Years of Merge Records, a limited-edition subscription box set that was delivered to subscribers throughout 2009.

We now have a very limited number of complete SCORE! box sets available for purchase in the Merge store. All proceeds will benefit charities chosen by the 14 curators.

SCORE! 20 Years of Merge Records includes:

• Fourteen CDs with original cover art and bonus content from curators such as Kara Walker, David Byrne, Mindy Kaling, Amy Poehler, and more. Bonus content includes exclusive new recordings from The Minus 5, Lou Barlow, Destroyer, and others. Andrea Zittel, Zach Galifianakis, David Chang, Miranda July, and Phil Morrison provide exclusive videos for their compilations.
• The Covers! CD featuring Merge songs covered by non-Merge artists including Ryan Adams, The Mountain Goats, The Shins, The New Pornographers, and more
• The Remixes! CD featuring Merge songs remixed by non-Merge artists including Four Tet, Jason Forrest, Mark Robinson, and more
• The Merge Records Companion, a full-color, 350+ page softbound book featuring every single Merge record cover from the past 20 years
• A Scharpling & Wurster full-length CD featuring new and exclusive comedy from The Best Show on WFMU’s Tom Scharpling and Superchunk drummer Jon Wurster
• A special-edition Andrew Kuo poster
• And last, but not least, a specially designed box to display all of it in!

Only 200 SCORE! box sets remain, so order yours now in the Merge store. All proceeds benefit worthy charities chosen by the 14 SCORE! curators. Don’t miss this chance, because when they are gone, they are gone forever!

Shout Out Louds’ new digital EP Fall Hard is available now for purchase and preview in the Merge store and from your favorite digital music provider.

Fall Hard track listing:
1. Fall Hard (album version)
2. Fall Hard Pt. 2
3. Can’t Explain

Shout Out Louds are offering album track “Walls” as a free download at www.shoutoutlouds.com, along with a worldwide contest to win a trip to their sold out March 1^st performance at the Music Hall of Williamsburg in Brooklyn, NY. Pre-order their new full-length Work on CD and LP (with MP3 download coupon) in the Merge store.

Shout Out Louds on tour:
3/1 Brooklyn, NY Music Hall of Williamsburg SOLD OUT
5/2 Washington, DC 9:30 Club
5/3 Philadelphia, PA First Unitarian Church
5/5 New York, NY Webster Hall
5/6 Boston, MA Paradise
5/7 Montreal, QC Cabaret Music Hall
5/8 Toronto, ON Mod Club
5/10 Chicago, IL Lincoln Hall
5/11 Minneapolis, MN Varsity Theater
5/14 Vancouver, BC Commodore Ballroom
5/15 Seattle, WA Neumos
5/16 Portland, OR Doug Fir Lounge
5/18 San Francisco, CA Great American Music Hall
5/20 San Diego, CA House of Blues
5/21 Los Angeles, CA El Rey

Let’s Wrestle will release their debut album, In the Court of the Wrestling Let’s, on March 23. Wesley Patrick Gonzalez, Mike Lightning, and Darkus Bishop will come to our side of the pond for an appearance at our SXSW showcase at Cedar Street on March 18th and will join Quasi for several dates in April.

“. . . such exuberance is irresistible” ~ Pitchfork

Preview and pre-order In the Court of the Wrestling Let’s now in the Merge store.

Let’s Wrestle on tour with Quasi:
04.15.10     St. Paul, MN    Turf Club
04.16.10     Madison, WI    Annex
04.17.10     Detroit, MI    Magic Stick
04.18.10     Toronto, ON    Horseshoe Tavern
04.19.10     Montreal, QC    Il Motore
04.20.10     Cambridge, MA    Middle East Downstairs
04.22.10     New York, NY    Bowery Ballroom
04.23.10     Philadelphia, PA    Johnny Brenda’s
04.24.10     Washington, DC    Black Cat
04.26.10     Carrboro, NC    Cat’s Cradle
04.27.10     Atlanta, GA    529
04.28.10     Birmingham, AL    The Bottletree
04.29.10     Nashville, TN    Mercy Lounge
04.30.10     Newport, KY    The Southgate House
05.01.10     Chicago, IL    Lincoln Hall

As an early Valentine’s Day treat, we are announcing the release of The Magnetic Fields’ 69 Love Songs box set on limited-edition 10” vinyl (with MP3 download coupon) to be released in stores on April 20! Pre-order now at a special price in the Merge store and receive a printable e-valentine for your special friend or loved one in time for the holiday.

Orders will ship to arrive on or around the April 20 release date.

The story has it that Stephin Merritt came up with the idea for 69 Love Songs while sitting in an elegant midtown Manhattan gay piano bar. He originally planned for it to be a live musical revue, performed with a rotating cast of singers in the plush hotel bars and cabarets of New York City.

69 Love Songs was released in September of 1999. Fans and critics were ecstatic, and 69 Love Songs became one of the most talked-about records of 1999. It remains one of the most beloved albums in our catalog. As Spin magazine said, “Like the best cabaret, Stephin Merritt’s triple-CD monsterpiece charms on contact, and like the best indie-pop, you’ll want to unravel it endlessly.”

The limited-edition box set includes all 69 love songs re-mastered for vinyl on six 10” records and housed in a super-sized 69 Love Songs box, along with a 10” version of the original booklet featuring liner notes written by Lemony Snicket author Daniel Handler.

From now until April 20, pre-order the vinyl box set at the discounted price of $89.99 in the Merge store.

Today, Caribou announced the release of their new album, Swim on April 20th.

Caribou mastermind Dan Snaith’s latest recording sees him getting busy in the basement with some expertly constructed, rave-tinged sounds that sing with soul. But that’s not all. As a songwriter of considerable standing, Snaith has not subsumed his uniquely recognizable touch in an orgy of technical bliss – although, there is plenty of euphoria in the musical alchemy on offer. From Snaith’s perspective, he says, “The most important thing for me with this record was finding my own sonic vocabulary. That’s why I’m proud of this record.”

Visit Caribou.fm to download, “Odessa” the first MP3 from Swim!

Tracklisting:
1. Odessa
2. Sun
3. Kaili
4. Found Out
5. Bowls
6. Leave House
7. Hannibal
8. Lalibela
9. Jamelia

Spoon’s eagerly anticipated new album, Transference, is available in stores and at your favorite digital music outlet today!

You can order your copy of Transference on CD, 180-gram vinyl LP (with digital download coupon) and digital download in the Merge store now! And don’t forget to order the limited edition “Written in Reverse” 7-inch on pink vinyl featuring non-album B-side “Mean Red Spider,” too!

There are a multitude of release-week activities planned in Los Angeles, New York, and Austin. Visit spoontheband.com or follow Spoon on Twitter for updates and opportunities to celebrate the release of Transference with the band!

Also, Spoon has announced their spring North American tour. The dates kick off with a March 17th headlining appearance at Stubb’s in Austin as part of the annual South by Southwest conference, and include the band’s first-ever headline engagement at New York’s Radio City Music Hall.

Tonight!
Spoon on The Tonight Show with Conan O’Brien on NBC at 11:35 p.m. EST

Wednesday, Jan. 20
Spoon on KCRW’s Morning Becomes Eclectic—streaming live beginning at 11:15 a.m. PST / 2:15 p.m. EST

Thursday, Jan 21
Spoon play live at the Mercury Lounge in NYC. Password: Transference

Saturday, Jan. 23
Britt Daniel solo at Sound Fix in Brooklyn at 7 p.m. EST

Monday, Jan. 25
Spoon on KGSR 93.3 FM in Austin at 12 p.m. CST
Spoon performance at Waterloo Records in Austin at 4 p.m. CST