As 2010 has come to an end, we are taking a look back at some of our favorite posts of the year by our guest editors.
Don’t call it a comeback, Superchunk‘s been here for years. The band members just haven’t been doing anything since the release of 2001’s stellar Here’s To Shutting Up. Well, not much together, anyway, apart from a few one-off gigs and the occasional single. Singer/guitarist Mac McCaughan and bassist Laura Ballance have their hands full running Merge Records and raising families (plus McCaughan has released a number of fine Portastatic records); drummer Jon Wurster has toured and/or hit the studio with the likes of Robert Pollard, the New Pornographers, Bob Mould and the Mountain Goats in between hilarious Facebook postings and Best Show On WFMU appearances; and while we’re not sure what guitarist Jim Wilbur has been up to, other than gigging with Portastatic, he probably has a lot on his plate, too. It’s a wonder the busy quartet was able to reconvene for the fine Majesty Shredding (Merge), a more-than-welcome return that’s accompanied by the band’s first full-on, albeit relatively brief, tour since 2001. Superchunk will be guest editing magnetmagazine.com all week. Read our Q&A with McCaughan and Ballance.
Jon: While I try to keep it as positive as possible, there are times I need to blow off a little steam. And when I do, I make additions to WordHate™, a list of words I dislike and have been compiling since my early teens. Many of the early WordHate™ words were ones I heard at church or school that still make me bristle for reasons I don’t fully understand. I don’t dislike their meanings; it’s the sound of these words that causes me distress. “Crafts,” “meal,” “nourishment,” “bounty,” “fellowship,” “loaf,” “reap,” “panties” and “belly” are all high-ranking WordHate™ words. I could list more, but why don’t I just turn the microphone over to Dr. Barry Black, who somehow managed to drop almost the entire WordHate™ top 20 into his prayer (#17) at President Obama’s inaugural luncheon (#2). Enjoy (#12). Also, I’m very pleased to introduce PhraseHate™. First entry: “I loves me some _____.”
