Matador Records turns 21, orders three Long Island iced teas, pukes, releases a six-CD box set

Matador Records turns 21, orders three Long Island iced teas, pukes, releases a six-CD box set

Wow. Matador Records is turning 21? 21 years old? That’s old. It seems just like yesterday that no one but the coolest dudes around knew who Matador was, just before it released Liz Phair’s Exile in Guyville. Regardless of how long it’s been (or how long it feels like it’s been), Matador is now of official drinking age, and it’s going to Vegas to celebrate.

During the weekend of October 1-3, the respected indie label has scheduled a massive celebration concert that includes sets by classic and contemporary Matador artists like Pavement, Sonic Youth, Fucked Up, Chavez, Cold Cave, Guitar Wolf, Belle & Sebastian, Spoon, Superchunk, Cat Power, Perfume Genius, The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion, Come, Girls, Esben and the Witch, Harlem, The Clean, Times New Viking, Kurt Vile, Guided By Voices, Yo La Tengo, Liz Phair, The New Pornographers, Ted Leo & the Pharmacists, and Shearwater (TMT News). The only problem is that the show is mega-expensive and you have to go to the geriatic-paradise and asshole-breeding-ground that is Satan’s sphincter, Las Vegas.

As an alternative to the show, Matador has announced that it will be releasing a six-CD box set and a two-record LP on September 28 as a means to include all its fans in the celebration. Matador at 21 will be a limited-edition set that includes five CDs documenting the vast history of the label, with remastered songs from 1989 to 2010 as well as a disc of unreleased live recordings from the Matador 10th Anniversary concerts from 1999. The box set also includes an 85-page booklet with essays, photos, ephemera, emails, and poker chips. Yep, cuz every Matador fan is just waiting and hoping for Matador poker chips.

As mentioned above, Matador will also release a two-record LP that includes disc five of the box set, “Matador Today.” Because vinyl fans are only interested in modern music. The LP will be available the same day as the box set and, fortunately, doesn’t include poker chips.

Finally, all proceeds from the set will be donated to charities selected by the label owners, and even the artists featured on the box set have agreed to donate their royalties. Way to go, Matador!

Matador at 21 tracklist:

Disc 1 – The Pre-Dawn (1989-1992):

01. Teenage Fanclub – Everything Flows
02. H.P. Zinker – Dancing Days
03. Superchunk – Slack Motherfucker
04. Dustdevils – Throw the Bottle Full
05. Railroad Jerk – These Streets
06. Come – Fast Piss Blues
07. Bettie Serveert – Kid’s Alright
08. Chain Gang – Cut Off The Drug Czar’s Head
09. Thinking Fellers Union Local 282 – More Glee
10. Unsane – This Town
11. Circle X – Compression of the Species
12. Toiling Midgets – Mr. Foster’s Shoes
13. Bailter Space – The Today Song
14. Pavement – Perfume-V

Disc 2 – The Years of Milk And Honey (1993-1995):

01. The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion – Afro
02. Yo La Tengo – Big Day Coming
03. Railroad Jerk – The Ballad of Railroad Jerk
04. Helium – Superball
05. Pizzicato Five – Baby Love Child
06. Liz Phair – Mesmerizing
07. Pavement – Silence Kit
08. Guided By Voices – Game Of Pricks
09. 18th Dye – Whole Wide World
10. Chavez – Peeled Out Too Late
11. Come – String
12. Moonshake – Secondhand Clothes
13. Guitar Wolf – Midnight Violence Rock’n Roll
14. San Francisco Seals – Back Again
15. Bardo Pond – Rumination

Disc 3 – Days of Whiskey and Tears (1996-2001):

01. Boards of Canada – Telephasic Workshop
02. Spoon – Waiting For The Kid To Come Out
03. Yo La Tengo – Autumn Sweater
04. Chavez – You Must Be Stopped
05. Silkworm – Tarnished Angel
06. The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion – Flavor Part 1 (Beck)
07. The Jon Spencer Blues Explosion – Flavor Part 2 (Mike D)
08. Pole – Fliegen
09. Cat Power – American Flag
10. Belle & Sebastian – We Rule The School
11. Mogwai – Helps Both Ways
12. Arsonists – Backdraft
13. Large Professor – ‘Bout That Time
14. Cornelius – Tone Twilight Zone
15. burger/ink – Flesh & Blood
16. Pavement – You Are A Light
17. Arab Strap – Blood
18. Matmos – L.A.S.I.K

Disc 4 – Don’t Call It a Comeback (2002-2007):

01. Interpol – Hands Away
02. Cat Power – He War
03. Yo La Tengo – Today Is The Day
04. The New Pornographers – From Blown Speakers
05. Dizzee Rascal – Fix Up, Look Sharp
06. Dead Meadow – Good Moanin’
07. Mogwai – Kids Will Be Skeletons
08. Mission Of Burma – The Setup
09. Early Man – Death Is The Answer
10. Belle & Sebastian – Dress Up In You
11. Pretty Girls Make Graves – All Medicated Geniuses
12. Cat Power – Love & Communication
13. Shearwater - Johnny Viola
14. Brightblack Morning Light – Everybody Daylight
15. Lavender Diamond – You Broke My Heart
16. Jennifer O’Connor – Tonight We Ride
16. Earles & Jensen – Just Farr A Laugh: The Yogurt Machine
17. Stephen Malkmus – Discretion Grove

Disc 5 – Matador Today (2008 – present):

01. Fucked Up – Son The Father
02. Sonic Youth – Sacred Trickster
03. Kurt Vile – Amplifier
04. Yo La Tengo – Nothing to Hide
05. Jay Reatard – There Is No Sun
06. Times New Viking – Move To California
07. Harlem – Friendly Ghost
08. Ted Leo & The Pharmacists - Bottled In Cork
09. The New Pornographers – My Shepherd
10. Cold Cave - Youth and Lust
11. Interpol – Summer Well
12. Shearwater - Castaways
13. Esben and the Witch – Marching Song
14. Girls – Lust For Life
15. Magic Kids – Superball
16. Delorean – Stay Close
17. Cat Power – Metal Heart
18. Perfume Genius – Learning
19. Stephen Malkmus & the Jicks – Real Emotional Trash

Disc 6 – Unreleased Live Recordings from the 10th Anniversary Concerts, New York City, September 1999:

01. Pavement – Here (Live 1999)
02. Pavement – Trigger Cut (Live 1999)
03. Pavement – The Hexx (Live 1999)
04. Pavement – She Believes (Live 1999)
05. Pavement – Unfair (Live 1999)
06. Pavement – Zurich Is Stained (Live 1999)
07. Pavement – Debris Slide (Live 1999)
08. Pavement – Spit On A Stranger (Live 1999)
09. Come – New Coats (Live 1999)
10. Bardo Pond – Walking Stick Man (Live 1999)
11. Bardo Pond – Tommy Gun Angel (Live 1999)
12. Cat Power – Good Woman (Live 1999)
13. Cat Power – Naked, If I Want To (Live 1999)
14. Cat Power – You May Know Him / Sea Of Love (Live 1999)
15. Mogwai – Ex-Cowboy (Live 1999)

• Matador Records: http://www.matadorrecords.com

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