Outdated reference point or not, the anti-apathy sentiment on Superchunk‘s sophomore single “Slack Motherfucker” still seems characteristic of Mac McCaughan 20 years after he wrote it. The recently dormant Superchunk is moving again, and McCaughan also fills his time with Portastatic and co-ownership of Merge Records. As if that wasn’t enough to keep him busy, McCaughan is guest editing magnetmagazine.com this week.
McCaughan: Apparently, Finland had for years a reputation as a really horrible place to grab a bite to eat. They didn’t take kindly to this rep, and more than one restaurant in the nation’s lovely capital city of Helsinki has set about rectifying the situation. On a trip for a music conference recently, we had the occasion to dine in the cozy confines of Restaurant Juuri, which serves what it calls “Sapas” (as in the Finnish version of tapas). We deduced that Sapas must be a bogus word, but the dishes themselves were small and delicious takes on traditional and non-trad Finnish foods. What is not to like about “nettle marinated whitefish, blackcurrant—mustard sauce”? or “grilled salsify and rosehipjam”? I’ll tell you what’s not to like: nothing! My favorite was something called “eggcheese spiced with oregano, baked on top of straws,” and while I did not partake of “slightly smoked reindeer heart with gelée of rowanberry wine,” it was a hit at the table. Finland, who knew!?
