''Cup of Sand'' is a two-CD collection of singles, B-sides and various rarities (including an Adam Ant cover and a David Bowie cover) released by

Superchunk Superchunk is an American indie rock band from Chapel Hill, North Carolina, consisting of singer-guitarist Mac McCaughan, guitarist Jim Wilbur, bassist Laura Ballance, and drummer Laura King. Formed in 1989, they were one of the bands that hel ...

in 2003. The accompanying booklet is particularly meaty, as band members

Mac McCaughan Ralph Lee "Mac" McCaughan (; born July 12, 1967) is an American musician and record label owner, based in North Carolina. His main musical projects have been Superchunk since 1989 and Portastatic since the early 1990s. In 1989 he founded the ind ...

, Jim Wilbur,

Laura Ballance Laura Jane Ballance (born February 22, 1968) is the bassist in the rock band Superchunk (also contributing occasional backing vocals) and co-founder of Merge Records along with Mac McCaughan. In 2013 she announced that she would no longer be touri ...

and

Jon Wurster Jonathan Patrick Wurster (born October 31, 1966) is an American drummer, percussionist, vocalist and comedy writer. As a musician, he is best known for his work with Superchunk, the Mountain Goats, and Bob Mould. He is also known for appearing on ...

weigh in with what they remember (or don't remember) about the songs.

Background

"Her Royal Fisticuffs" is the band's attempt at emulating the Mice. "The Mine Has Been Returned To Its Original Owner" features McCaughan on organ and a "

Breadwinner The breadwinner model is a paradigm of family centered on a breadwinner, "the member of a family who earns the money to support the others." Traditionally, the earner works outside the home to provide the family with income and benefits such as he ...

-inspired" bassline by Ballance. According to McCaughan, the song is "a fiction involving a gardener, illegitimate children, and some sort of

gothic Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, a Germanic people **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Gothic alphabet, an alphabet used to write the Gothic language ** Gothic ( ...

family murder mystery". "Dance Lessons", "Basement Life", and "Still Feed Myself" were recorded during the Foolish sessions at Pachyderm Studios. "Still Feed Myself" is, in McCaughan's words, an "anti-music biz invective". "Fader Rules" and "Never Too Young to Smoke" are outtakes from the

Here's Where the Strings Come In ''Here's Where the Strings Come In'' is the fifth studio album by American indie rock band Superchunk. It was recorded at Fort Apache Studios from May 25 to June 4, 1995. The album was released by Merge Records on September 19, 1995. "Green Flow ...

sessions. The opening chords of "Fader Rules" were taken from

Here Comes My Girl "Here Comes My Girl" is a song written by Tom Petty and Mike Campbell, and recorded by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, their third single from their breakthrough hit 1979 album, '' Damn the Torpedoes''. It peaked at number 59 on the U.S. ''Bi ...

, while the drum pattern was "completely lifted" from

the Afghan Whigs The Afghan Whigs are an American rock band from Cincinnati, Ohio. They were active from 1986 to 2001 and have since reformed as a band. The group – with core members Greg Dulli (vocals, rhythm guitar), Rick McCollum (lead guitar), and John ...

song Miles Iz Ded. "Does Your Hometown Care?" was on the soundtrack to the 1996 film ''

SubUrbia A suburb (more broadly suburban area) is an area within a metropolitan area. They are oftentimes where most of a metropolitan areas jobs are located with some being predominantly residential. They can either be denser or less densely populated ...

''. McCaughan describes the song as "our best

Versus Versus (Latin, 'against') may refer to: Film and television * ''Versus'' (2000 film), a Japanese zombie film * ''Versus'' (2016 film), a Russian sports drama film * ''Versus'' (2019 film), a French thriller film * Versus (TV channel), form ...

rip-off ever". "The Length of Las Ramblas" features Ballance on the

Moog synthesizer The Moog synthesizer ( ) is a modular synthesizer invented by the American engineer Robert Moog in 1964. Moog's company, R. A. Moog Co., produced numerous models from 1965 to 1981, and again from 2014. It was the first commercial synthesizer ...

. "Freaks in Charge" was written shortly before the

2004 United States presidential election Presidential elections were held in the United States on November 2, 2004. Incumbent Republican President George W. Bush and his running mate, incumbent Vice President Dick Cheney, were re-elected to a second term. They narrowly defeated ...

, and is about "raising kids in a world run by monsters". The cover of "Blending In" by

Government Issue Government Issue was an American hardcore punk band from Washington, D.C. active from 1980 to 1989. The band experienced many changes in membership during its nine-year existence, with singer John Stabb as the only consistent member in an eve ...

was recorded during the

On the Mouth ''On the Mouth'' is the third studio album by American indie rock band Superchunk. The album was recorded September 14–20, 1992, at West Beach Studios, engineered by Donnell Cameron, and produced by John Reis and Superchunk. It was released b ...

sessions and features Wilbur on lead vocals. Wurster describes it as "a tribute of sorts to our

hardcore Hardcore, hard core or hard-core may refer to: Arts and media Film * ''Hardcore'' (1977 film), a British comedy film * ''Hardcore'' (1979 film), an American crime drama film starring George C Scott * ''Hardcore'' (2001 film), a British documen ...

roots".

Track listing

Disc one

# "The Majestic" # "Reg" # "Her Royal Fisticuffs" # "The Mine Has Been Returned To Its Original Owner" # "A Small Definition" # "Dance Lessons" # "Basement Life" # "Still Feed Myself" # "Fader Rules" # "Never Too Young To Smoke" # "Detroit Has A Skyline (acoustic)" # "Does Your Hometown Care?"

Disc two

# "Beat My Guest" # "With Bells On" # "Clover" # "Sexy Ankles" # "White Noise" # "Thin Air" # "Scary Monsters (and Super Creeps)" # "1,000 Pounds (duck kee style)" # "The Length Of Las Ramblas" # "Becoming A Speck" # "The Hot Break" # "A Collection Of Accounts" # "Blending In" (

cover)

References

Superchunk compilation albums 2003 compilation albums {{2000s-indie-rock-album-stub