MERGE - Best Of 2006 - The Lists (entry 6)

TRACYANNE CAMPBELL (Camera Obscura)

The Sleepy Jackson - Personality
Midlake - The Trials Of Van Occupanther
The Elected - Sun, Sun, Sun
Destroyer - Destroyer's Rubies
Le Perro Del Mar - look It's El Perro Del Mar
M Ward - Post-War
Neko Case - Fox Confessor Brings The Flood
Cat Power - The Greatest
The Tiny - Starring;Someone Like You
The Concretes - In Colour


CAREY LANDER (Camera Obscura)

The Innocence Mission - Birds of My Neighbourhood
M. Ward - Post-War
Jim Noir - The Key of C
El Perro Del Mar - Look! It’s El Perro Del Mar
Midlake - The Trials of Van Occupanther
Belle and Sebastian - The Life Pursuit
Cat Power - The Greatest
The Trashcan Sinatras - Fez Check This
Jens Lekman - When I Said I Wanted To Be Your Dog
Neko Case - Fox Confessor Brings The Flood

A good year for the ladies.

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MERGE - Best Of 2006 - The Lists (entry 5)

JEREMY GARA (Arcade Fire)

well, here are ten things that i enjoyed a lot this 2006.

Young Bride - Midlake
Final Fantasy playing live
No Heroes - Converge (& live)
Korean Cinema
Project Runway / Lost
Harmony In Ultraviolet - Tim Hecker
Shadow Of The Colossus - (PS2) / Nintendo DS
The Letting Go - Bonnie "Prince" Billy
Super Extra Gravity - The Cardigans
The Eraser - Thom Yorke

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MERGE - Best Of 2006 - The Lists (entry 4)

JACK BALL (Merge - Production Manager)

My Top 11:

11. Buying the 'tape shark' for the office

10. Listening to Criteria When We Break

9. Listening to Clutch Robot Hive / Exodus

8. Watching and listening to Tenacious D The Pick of Destiny, CD and film

7. Watching Borat film

6. Watching The Office TV show

5. Watching My Name Is Earl TV show

4. Watching The Simpsons TV show

3. Watching South Park TV show

2. Watching on TV as Zinedine Zidane headbutted Marco Materazzi in the World
Cup Final

1. Being at the World Cup.

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MERGE - Best Of 2006 - The Lists (entry 3)

F.M. CORNOG (aka East River Pipe)

Pet Shop Boys - Fundamental
Tom Verlaine - Around
The Killers - "When You Were Young"
Beyonce' - "Irreplaceable"
Gnarls Barkley - "Crazy"
Christina Aguilera - "Ain't No Other Man"
Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan
Frank Rich - "The Greatest Story Ever Sold" (book)
Mary J. Blige / U2 - "One"
Nelly Furtado - "Promiscuous"

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This Just In - Arcade Fire Announce NYC Shows

THE BOWERY PRESENTS:

The Arcade Fire @ Judson Memorial Church
55 Washington Square South
New York, NY

Performing five nights in a special intimate setting.

February 13th-17th, 2007

All Ages

Tickets On Sale - January 5th, 2007 - 9am

Online Sales Only - www.tickets.com

Tickets are non-transferable - limited to 2 tickets per customer.


-martin

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MERGE - Best Of 2006 - The Lists (entry 2)

BRITT DANIEL (Spoon)


Eric Bachman - To the Races
Peter Bjorn & John - Writer's Block
Lily Allen - Alright, Still
Black Nasty - Aids Can't Stop Me
Dr. Octagon - The Return of Dr. Octagon
The Drones - Wait Long by the River and the Bodies of Your Enemies Will Float By
Ray LaMontagne - Til the Sun Turns Black
Yo La Tengo - I Am Not Afraid of You and I Will Beat Your Ass
...And You Will Know Us By the Trail of Dead - So Divided
Sound Team - Movie Monster
Julian Cope - Jehovahkill - Deluxe Edition

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MERGE - BEST OF 2006 - The Lists (entry 1)

(It's that time of year again. Seemingly a music industry tradition/obsession - the annual year-end-best-of-whatever list! This year marks the debut of the Merge Blog's participation in this obsessive rite of passage. Stay tuned for (perhaps) daily updates throughout the holidays from your favorite Merge artists and staffers. You know you want to see what we have been obsessing over for the last 12 months. Contestant #1 - our fearless leader...)


MAC MCCAUGHAN (Merge Records/Portastatic/Superchunk)


THE LADIES THE LADIES - dominating the year-end list, playing major
roles in all these except Hot Chip...also, my lists are obviously all
non-Merge.

Yo La Tengo - I Am Not Afraid Of You And I Will Beat Your Ass
Joanna Newsom - YS
Neko Case - Fox Confessor Brings the Flood
Boris - Pink and LIVE!
Hot Chip - The Warning
Oakley Hall - Second Guessing/ Gypsum Strings (tie)
Magik Markers - live @ Tanned Tin Festival, Castellon, Spain
Jenny Lewis & The Watson Twins - Rabbit Fur Coat
Sonic Youth - Rather Ripped
Barbara Morgenstern - The Grass is Always Greener
Bonnie Prince Billy - The Letting Go

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Ho Ho Hockey!

In lieu of a Christmas party, Merge Employees descended on the RBC Center en masse Friday night to watch the Carolina Hurricanes take on the Toronto Maple Leafs. Alas, our team was unsuccessful (boo, refs!), but lots of tailgating and Ric Flair screams made it somewhat more bearable!

I didn't get pictures of everyone, the action on the ice grabbed my attention, but here are my photos!

Christina

Spott, Robin, Paul & Rachel looking for the butter cookies I smuggled in my purse.



Maggie & Kyle wondering, "Who is that really tan guy with the white hair?"



Mac & Andrea wishing I would be quiet so we could hear "Punch Me Harder" over the PA. Very cool little surprise for us via our new intern Rusty 2!



Lindsey aka The Kronic, Me & Lalitree showing off our 'Caniac gear!



Martin - the cutest 'Caniac of all!

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The Camera Likes The Essex Green

As you can see, The Essex Green are a pretty photogenic bunch and they've recently added a bunch of awesome photos to
their website. Either that, or I've just found them.

We're all stoked for their upcoming tour this spring with another of our favorites, Camera Obscura. Be careful to avoid Almond-Man at their shows. He is one bad mo-fo.

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Tracy Maurice Print Auctioned for Charity!

Tracy Maurice, artist for all things Arcade Fire, made this print for Tiny Showcase a few years back. I am donating my copy to the Merge Charity Auctions to benefit TROSA and Oxfam America. The print is entitled "Dionysis and Bacchus learn to Navigate." Check it out!



Also, just added! Signed 2006 Robert Pollard Merge Releases! Bid here!



Thanks!
Christina

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The Ballad of New Love

From The Independent Weekly's Music Quarterly:

The New York rock band Oakley Hall was nearing the end of another long-ass tour. They had reached the left coast and returned, via some stops in Canada, and were playing to a smallish crowd at Local 506, rousing those in attendance with swooning harmonies, a throttling guitar sound and a fiddle. But their eyes said that they were tired.

Still, Merge Records staffers made up nearly half the crowd that night, having already become friendly with the Oakleys when they toured with Merge artist M. Ward. Merge owners Mac McCaughan and Laura Ballance both come out on a Wednesday, not a light gesture. When I invited the band to have supper at Mama Dip's, they politely declined, saying, "Believe it or not, we have dinner plans." I told them to have fun with the Merge folks, only half joking.

Post-show, things got serious: talk between the band and Mergees of radio promotion, looks of deep concentration furrowing the brow of long-locked Pat Sullivan as he listened (when he and I weren't discussing Gulf Coast oysters). Another inkling: CMJ was days away, so maybe Merge was buttonholing them before the label rush at the music conference.... The rest is elementary, really, as Merge officially announced its new love the first week of November.

—Chris Toenes

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Merge Charity Auction Update!

Thanks for making our charity auction successful thus far! There is still a bit more time left on our Merge Mega-Bundle, and we just added a signed poster to our series of Ebay auctions to benefit TROSA and Oxfam America. Remember to check our Ebay seller's page often, as we have many more goodies to auction in the next few weeks!

Thanks again for helping us spread Holiday Cheer!
Christina

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Welcome to world, Cypress Giacomo Williams!

Senon, beloved bass player for the Radar Bros., and his lovely wife Beth Ann welcomed their son, Cypress Giacomo Williams into the world on Friday, November 24th! We can't wait to meet him!

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