Charlotte’s Fetchin’ Bones almost made it nationally, toured a lot and even got to do a big-deal record with a big-deal producer (Monster, with Ed Stasium, on Capitol), but they eventually fizzled out. Then there was an amazing band from Asheville, Pure—I saw them and Polvo on a bill one time that was mind-blowing—but they disappeared.
Pure, right! Merge did a seven-inch with them. They were amazing, and then—pffft! Who knows what happened. Another band that we did a few seven-inches and an EP with was Erectus Monotone. They had a real unique chemistry and songwriting, a unique combination of people; Jennifer Barwick went on to be in Ashley Stove, who also made some great records. You know, one thing I sometimes think about is some of the regional compilations. There was Tobacco A Go Go (‘60s garage bands from NC), which never ended up on CD.

Any good up-and-coming Tarheel bands we should know about from your point of view? You can plug one of your own Merge groups, of course.
Well, it will definitely sound like a plug, but the Rosebuds, from Raleigh. Once you hear them, their songs just have this timeless quality—pop songs, just good songs, and with an amazing amount of energy. The band is incredibly infectious. There’s a band called Work Clothes from Chapel Hill, although they seem to do things at a snail’s pace as far as making records. They’ve been working on an album for a long time but they did put out an EP. Real quiet, a guy and a girl with pretty, catchy, cool songs. There’s a band called Shallow Be Thy Name, a larger ensemble. The name makes you think they’d sound like Sisters Of Mercy or something but it’s pop music. Kingsbury Manx has made some great records; they record out at Duck Kee studios where we recorded our first record and we still do some Superchunk stuff.

I also wanted to talk about you and your current tastes. What are some of the bands or records you’ve been listening to lately?
Well, I still buy so many CDs it’s unhealthy. Especially when you say to yourself, “Oh, I can write this off on my taxes.” Too many ways to justify it. And there’s a really good store in Chapel Hill called CD Alley that’s very close to my house. And of course whatever you find online, too. So I think I’ve almost developed some sort of attention-deficit disorder from having too many CDs.

I feel your pain.
[Laughs] Nothing stays in the CD player for too long, but I’ve really been into the Ethiopiques series (of world music) recently. The most recent one I’ve gotten is Volume 13 titled Ethiopian Groove. It’s just not like anything else I have or that I’ve heard; the music’s not wholly unfamiliar, because a lot of it is rock, and it’s electric. But the singing, the words, I don’t understand. And there are always good liner notes. It’s just great-sounding music. It has an atmosphere to it that implies a certain time, sounding old—I don’t mean “crappy”—and from another place, and it’s not so easily absorbed.

I wonder if a similar thing didn’t go down with you previously that led Portastatic to record Brazilian music?
Yeah, definitely. To me, the Brazilian thing is more about how those are just indelible songs. Those songwriters transcend just about any place. But the Ethiopiques and the Orchestra Baobob (Senegal orchestra) records that have come out over the past few years—like Baobob’s Pirate’s Choice reissue, from 1982, and their Specialist In All Styles album (2002), those are things I can listen to over and over again, but as I say, it’s not so easily absorbed like a lot of other stuff. There are plenty of new things that come out that I like, but a lot of times, rock music and new CDs I buy, even if I enjoy them I still feel like I absorb them pretty fast.

You’re not as compelled to listen to it over and over again like you might have as a teenager when your ears were, as I like to put it, “innocent.”
Yeah, and I’ve had a lot of conversations about this with friends. I’ve been trying to place whether it’s me, or the music that’s coming out, or the format, or ...

Part of it is getting older. We become so familiar with the language, compared to when we were younger and everything seemed fresh and unique and crazy.
I remember when a new Hüsker Dü record, or a new R.E.M. record, or a new Fall record would come out, first of all it required some effort to get the record; you couldn’t just sit down at your computer and order it. I was living in New York at the time, so I had to take a train downtown and stuff. Anyway, when you’d get the record you’d listen to it over and over. It would stay on your turntable. I rarely have that experience anymore where something demands that kind of attention from me. And in some ways it’s the amount of stuff that’s available now. I was thinking about what I’d been listening to before this interview. There’s the Ethiopiques records. I like the new Stereolab album. There were a couple of their records in the middle that didn’t really float my boat but the last couple I’ve really enjoyed. And I think the Franz Ferdinand record is really good. Then there are so many reissues! I could buy nothing but soul reissues.

Some of the funk and soul compilations open a Pandora’s box: Start with a Motown collection, move on to a Stax box, and then pretty soon it’s into the obscure artists whose rare 45s have been collected on some label like Soul Jazz or Tuff City.
I’ve been listening to a Joe Simon CD called Monument Of Soul. Just amazing. And there’s a Bobby Patterson CD, Soul Is My Music. And a P.P. Arnold best of that I got. And I hadn’t heard of these people until not that long ago, so that makes me wonder who else out there that I haven’t heard of is this good. It gets mind-boggling. So much of this stuff wasn’t on my radar years ago, and even if it had been, where would I have found it? Now I can sit down at the Dusty Groove Web site and go insane.
I also like this electronic label called Morr Music, from Berlin. I’ve been disappointed a couple of times, but I’ll still buy almost anything on that label and check it out. This group called Isan [has a recent album], Meet Next Life. And a guy called B. Fleischmann has an album called Welcome Tourists that’s a pretty cool combination of electronic music and real instrumentation and orchestration. Forced Exposure or Other Music would have stuff on Morr. A label like that is really cool because it’s electronic music but “pop,” as in “songs,” and pretty compelling songwriting for the most part.

Since you bring up songwriting: One thing is that with Portastatic you’ve put more emphasis on your lyrics than you do in Superchunk, and you also seem to have gotten more introspective and impressionistic in your songwriting as well. Does this suggest that you’re a voracious reader, or perhaps have a long-simmering desire to be a writer?
Well, I love reading, but I find it hard to read it home. We have a nine-month old daughter, and I was busy before that, so now you can imagine! I always have a few books going at once it seems. Lately I’ve been reading that Phil Spector biography He’s A Rebel. Parts are just insane. And for someone who’s not only fascinated by that girl-group sound but who makes records, too, I love reading about that production and stuff. There’s also a great book by Greg Palast called The Best Democracy That Money Can Buy. It’s pretty frightening how the world works and all your worst suspicions confirmed, and it doesn’t bode well for the future.

Film?
Having a daughter makes it hard to go to movies, so I’ve really gotten into DVDs of The Office and the first season of Curb Your Enthusiasm. Both of those shows are amazing. There’s another great British show called I’m Alan Partridge. It’s the actor who was in 24 Hour Party People, Steve Coogan, and he has this series of comedy shows on the BBC. A couple of those shows are on DVD in the U.K. That’s some of the funniest shit I’ve ever seen. So I try to balance out the political talk shows I’m addicted to with some comedy.

You have to give yourself a break from all the bad news that is so relentless. I have a three-year-old and I just want to shelter him until he’s 21 from all the crap. I get so angry at times…
That’s right. It’s one thing when you’re 25 and you figure, “How is this really affecting me?” You’re abstractly angry. But then when you look at the world that’s being created and you realize that your kids are gonna grow up in this world it’s not so abstract anymore.

How has having a kid changed your life beyond the obvious time constraints? I remember before we decided to have a kid I was reading a bio of Springsteen and he was talking about changing diapers. All of a sudden it made sense to me.
You look at people who have kids and do music at the same time, like Corin from Sleater-Kinney, or Kim and Thurston (from Sonic Youth), and you realize it can be done. But it can be a daunting task to carve out a few hours to write or record. Speaking of Springsteen, we saw him on the reunion tour when my wife was pregnant. And then one of the first big things we did after [the daughter] was born was to see him in Chapel Hill on The Rising tour.

And you covered “Bobby Jean” and “Growing Up” on your last Portastatic EP. That strikes a blow for my inner classic rocker.
For me, whether Portastatic or in Superchunk, at the heart of it it’s always been about trying to write great songs. And you can’t deny the guy’s songs.

Well, I’ve always been pretty up front that he, Neil Young and the Who are probably my all-time faves. So tell me—who is your favorite musician?
Aw, gosh ... I dunno! [Laughs, long pause, then mock-moan] C’mon, you can’t ask someone a question like that!

That’s OK. We’ll let you off the hook, Mac. You’ve already done your share by putting a lot of great tunes into the great mix tape of life.