We know it's hard to get back into the swing of things after the holidays, and we would hate for a little procrastinating to deprive you of a full year of Merge goodies. Therefore, we have extended the deadline for subscriptions to SCORE! Merge Records: The First 20 Years to January 11th.



Happy New Year!

xo,
Merge

NPR kicked off a week of Holiday music round-ups with Julian Koster's The Singing Saw at Christmastime this morning on Morning Edition. Listen to the review and hear a few tracks at npr.org.

Visit All Songs Considered for more music from The Singing Saw at Christmastime and other holiday tunes.

On Christmas day, listen to NPR's World Cafe for a live performance and interview with Julian and his singing saw friends. Listen live on your local NPR station or download the World Cafe podcast.

Order The Singing Saw at Christmastime as a gift or to add to your holiday music collection on CD, LP or digital in the Merge store.

On January 13, 2009, Superchunk will release the fourth volume in their Clambakes series:  Superchunk -- The Clambakes Vol 4 -- Sur La Bouche -- Live in Montreal 1993.

Recorded on a cold March night at the club Backstreet by Howard Bilerman (later of the Arcade Fire and current engineer and operator of Hotel 2 Tango Studios in Montreal),  Sur La Bouche captures Superchunk in the midst of touring for On the Mouth, out on Matador a few months previous.  The sound is not pristine -- guitars and drums are cranked and overload the tape occasionally -- but the energy of the night is definitely captured and after all, it's a bootleg!  Howard even dug up the flyer from the show from the depths of his archives.

Available for digital download exclusively from the Merge digital store, Clambakes Vol 4 will also be sent for free to all subscribers to the SCORE! Merge 20th Anniversary Box Set as the first of many archival downloads Merge will make available to SCORE! subscribers throughout 2009.

Superchunk -- The Clambakes Vol 4 -- Sur La Bouche -- Live in Montreal 1993 will be exclusively available as a digital download in the Merge store on January 13, 2009.

The Rosebuds have announced tour dates in January and tickets are on sale now!

The Rosebuds are touring in support of their new record, Life Like, available on CD, LP and Digital in the Merge store. Visit their blog for tour photos and other fun stuff from the road.

1/14 BALTIMORE, MD Ottobar
1/15 PHILADELPHIA, PA Johnny Brenda's
1/16 NEW YORK, NY Bowery Ballroom
1/17 CAMBRIDGE, MA Middle East
1/23 CHARLOTTE, NC Visulite Theatre
1/24 CARRBORO, NC Cat's Cradle

Lambchop will visit the Midwest in January in support of their critically acclaimed new album, OH (ohio). Order your copy of OH (ohio) and other Lambchop classics on CD and digital in the Merge store.

“OH (ohio) songs are mysterious and beautiful soundscapes; in lots of places, you don’t know if this is R&B, folk, country or something weirder and more rarefied.” – NEW YORK TIMES

“Beautifully abstract” – NEW YORKER

“Achingly pretty folk songs” – NEW YORK MAGAZINE

Lambchop Tour Dates:
1/22 LOUISVILLE, KY 930 Listening Room
1/23 ST. LOUIS, MO Off Broadway Nightclub
1/24 CHICAGO, IL Old Town School of Folk Music
1/25 COLUMBUS, OH Wexner Center for the Arts

CyTunes is a music download site that has been set up in memory of Cy Rawls, a friend of Merge who sadly lost a brief but valiant battle with cancer earlier this year. CyTunes is 100% staffed by volunteers, and all proceeds will go to the Tisch Brain Tumor Center at Duke University; the wonderful folks who treated Cy, in the hopes that the funds will help someone else in the same situation.

CyTunes features exclusive music (both studio and live recordings) from artists who have donated their talents in memory of Cy Rawls. At the moment, most of the artists available on CyTunes are from the Triangle area of North Carolina; however information on how to submit music is available at CyTunes.org and submissions are open to bands/musicians from anywhere in the world who would like to take part.

The Rosebuds and Superchunk played a benefit show for Cy in August 2008 at the Cat's Cradle. Audio from the show is exclusively available for download at CyTunes.

The CyTunes Launch Party is tonight – Friday, December 12th, 2008 – at Local 506. The party will feature the debut performance of the Flute Flies (Ivan Howard of The Rosebuds, Reid Johnson of Schooner, Zeno Gill of The Sames), karaoke, and trivia contests throughout. Admission is free so stop by if you are in town!

Arcade Fire will release the documentary film Miroir Noir online this Monday, December 15th.

The film follows Arcade Fire through the making and touring of their 2007 album Neon Bible, documenting the band at their Montreal studio, the making of promotional films and videos, along with live footage and a few short films made on the road.

Miroir Noir is directed by Arcade Fire friend and collaborator Vincent Morisset. Vincent was responsible for the interactive video for the song "Neon Bible" and for the Arcade Fire web design. The film was shot by Vincent Moon.

The digital download and standard edition DVD feature the 70 minute film, Miroir Noir. The deluxe edition DVD contains bonus material including Arcade Fire’s live performances on Jonathon Ross, Saturday Night Live and at Maida Vale.

The 70 minute film is available globally at www.Miroir-Noir.com as a one-off download in two sizes to suit preferred players. The physical standard and deluxe DVDs are planned for 2009 delivery (with digital versions to be delivered as early as next week) and are available in the Merge store.

MTV2's Subterranean Best of 2008 show will be programmed by you this year! Shout Out Louds' video for Impossible and She & Him - Why Do You Let Me Stay Here? are in the running! Vote at MTV2 through Thursday, 12/11 and then watch Subterranean's Year End Special on Thursday, 12/18 at 1am ET on MTV2!

Singer-songwriter and modern-day troubadour M. Ward announces plans to hit the road this winter and bring audiences on both sides of the Atlantic tracks from his highly-anticipated release, Hold Time (February 17th, Merge Records). Amidst producing and arranging Zooey Deschanel’s indie pop gems and being the “Him” of She & Him’s critically-acclaimed Volume One this past year, M. wrote and recorded Hold Time, the follow up to the internationally praised Post-War. It features guest performances by Lucinda Williams, Jason Lytle (ex Grandaddy) and Zooey Deschanel.

Fans will have the opportunity to purchase tickets in advance. Pre-sale for the US shows begins Tuesday, December 9 and ends Thursday, December 11. Tickets for all shows in the US, UK, and EU will go on-sale to the public beginning Friday, December 12.

password for pre-sale: holdtime

For more information and to purchase tickets, please visit www.mwardmusic.com

M. Ward Tour Dates:
2/18 BOSTON, MA Somerville Theater
2/19 NEW YORK, NY The Apollo Theatre
2/20 PHILADELPHIA, PA Trocadero Theatre
2/21 WASHINGTON, DC Sixth and I Synagogue
2/25 LONDON, UK Borderline
2/26 PARIS, FR Café de la Danse
2/27 AMSTERDAM, NL Paradiso
3/04 LOS ANGELES, CA Music Box at Fonda
3/05 SAN FRANCISCO, CA Palace of Fine Arts
3/06 SEATTLE, WA Showbox At The Market
3/07 PORTLAND, OR Aladdin Theater

Visit the M. Ward section of the Merge store for selections from the M. Ward catalog.

The Broken West will return to the road in February in support of 2008's Now or Heaven. Joining The French Kicks and AC Newman, The Broken West will slay you with, as The Onion AV Club describes, "sharp hooks that draw blood once they grab on."

Don't be afraid, it'll only hurt for a second!


SUPPORTING THE FRENCH KICKS:
2/23 SAN DIEGO, CA Casbah
2/24 LOS ANGELES, CA Troubadour
2/27 PORTLAND, OR Doug Fir (also with AA Bondy)

SUPPORTING AC NEWMAN:
3/17 PHILADELPHIA, PA Johnny Brenda's
3/18 WASHINGTON, DC The Black Cat
3/19 CHAPEL HILL, NC Cat's Cradle
3/20 ATLANTA, GA The Earl
3/21 NASHVILLE, TN Mercy Lounge
3/22 ST. LOUIS, MO Duck Room
3/24 MINNEAPOLIS, MN 400 Bar
3/25 CHICAGO, IL Logan Square
3/26 PONTIAC, MI The Pike Room
3/27 CLEVELAND, OH Grog Shop
3/28 PITTSBURGH, PA Andy Warhol Museum

Order your copy of Now or Heaven on CD or digital in the Merge store.