Merge Records celebrates first 20 years with box set

photo courtesy of Getty

[Above: Peter Buck]

Merge Records, home to many of indie rock's finest (such as Arcade Fire and Spoon) is celebrating its first 20 years with a special box-set project called SCORE! The North Carolina-based independent label was created in 1989 by Superchunk members Mac McCaughan and Laura Ballance to help release music for their band and to help out their musical friends.

The "deluxe subscription-only box set" will feature special artwork and packaging and is only available to subscribers who enroll on the Merge site before the Jan. 2009 release of the first two volumes. Twelve more volumes are set to follow, and perhaps most exciting about the whole thing is that each volume features Merge tunes handpicked by special guest curators. First up: Peter Buck of R.E.M. and Phil Morrison, director of Junebug. Proceeds will benefit causes picked by each of the curators.

Pre-orders begin Sept. 8.

Related links:
Review: Accelerate
MergeRecords.com
SCORE! Press Release

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