''Some Small History'' is a collection of "rarities, collecting B-sides, compilation tracks, EPs, fanzine vinyl, and previously unreleased material recorded between 1990 and 2007" from the band

Portastatic Portastatic is an American indie rock band founded in the early 1990s as a solo project of Mac McCaughan, singer and guitarist of the indie rock band Superchunk. The project has since expanded into a full band, sometimes including Superchunk gui ...

. It was released on

Merge Records Merge Records is an independent record label based in Durham, North Carolina. It was founded in 1989 by Laura Ballance and Mac McCaughan. It began as an outlet for music from their band Superchunk and music created by friends, and has expande ...

on September 9, 2008. The album includes a number of cover songs including songs by

Ryan Adams David Ryan Adams (born November 5, 1974) is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, artist, and poet. He has released 23 albums, as well as three studio albums as a former member of alt-country band Whiskeytown. In 2000, Adams lef ...

The Undertones The Undertones are a rock band formed in Derry, Northern Ireland in 1974. From 1975 to 1983, the Undertones consisted of Feargal Sharkey (vocals), John O'Neill (rhythm guitar, vocals), Damian O'Neill (lead guitar, vocals), Michael Bradle ...

The Magnetic Fields The Magnetic Fields (named after the André Breton/Philippe Soupault novel '' Les Champs Magnétiques'') are an American band founded and led by Stephin Merritt. Merritt is the group's primary songwriter, producer, and vocalist, as well as fr ...

Prefab Sprout Prefab Sprout are an English pop band from Witton Gilbert, County Durham who rose to fame during the 1980s. Formed in 1978 by brothers Paddy and Martin McAloon and joined by vocalist, guitarist and keyboard player Wendy Smith in 1982, they re ...

Sandy Denny Alexandra Elene MacLean Denny (6 January 1947 – 21 April 1978) was an English singer who was lead singer of the British folk rock band Fairport Convention. She has been described as "the pre-eminent British folk rock singer". After briefly w ...

and

The Strawbs Strawbs (or The Strawbs) are an English rock band founded in 1964 as the Strawberry Hill Boys. The band started out as a bluegrass group, but eventually moved on to other styles such as folk rock and progressive rock. They are best known ...

, Hot Chip,

Galaxie 500 Galaxie 500 was an American alternative rock band that formed in 1987 and split up in 1991 after releasing three albums: ''Today'', '' On Fire'' and '' This Is Our Music''. The band was made up of guitarist/vocalist Dean Wareham, drummer Damon ...

American Music Club American Music Club was an American, San Francisco-based indie rock band, led by singer-songwriter Mark Eitzel. Formed in 1983, the band released seven albums before splitting up in 1995. They reformed in 2003 and released two further albums. ...

, and

Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan, born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Often regarded as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture during a career sp ...

. The release was a limited edition of 3000 copies. Merge Records also released a bonus download from their website with 11 rare tracks that did not make the album. One additional rare track, "Do You Want to Buy a Bridge?" from the "Spying On the Spys" 7" single was not included because Mac McCaughan found the song to be "embarrassing.""MergeRecords.com"
/ref>

Track listing

*disc one: # "Starter" # "Sandals with White Socks " # "Oh, My Sweet Carolina" (

) # "Lousy Penpal*" # "A Cunning Latch (acoustic)*" # "

Teenage Kicks "Teenage Kicks" is the debut single by Northern Irish punk rock band the Undertones. Written in the summer of 1977 by the band's principal songwriter, the song was recorded on 15 June 1978 and initially released that September on independent Be ...

" (

) # "Too Trashed to Smoke*" # "Skinny Glasses Girl" # "Trajectory" # "Power Supply" # "Josephine" (

) # "Race You Home" # "Make You Up*" # "Your Own Cloud" # "When Love Breaks Down*" (

) # "Portraits From Before The War" # "Gray Robbins" # "Easily Aroused" # "Guessing" # "Little Fern" # "All I Need Is You" (Sandy Denny and the Strawbs) # "You Love To Fail" (The Magnetic Fields) *disc two: # "Some Small History" # "San Andreas Crouch" # "Not The Same" # "And I Was a Boy from School" ( Hot Chip) # "Spying on the Spys" # "Too Close to the Screen" # "Weighted Raft" # "Dragging a Crow" # "Soft Fruit" # "I Wanna Know Girls" (acoustic demo) # "Feel Better" # "Useless Switch" # "Had" (full band)* # "Secret Session" # "Tugboat" (

) # "Codes, Runes, Dunes" # "Candy Cigarettes" # "Firefly" (

) # "La Pelicula" # "Look, Honey, Peaches" # "Replacement Parts*" # "

It's All Over Now, Baby Blue "It's All Over Now, Baby Blue" is a song written and performed by Bob Dylan and featured on his '' Bringing It All Back Home'' album, released on March 22, 1965, by Columbia Records. The song was recorded on January 15, 1965, with Dylan's acousti ...

" (

) Bonus Download: # "Slant Roof" # "Weedhopper" # "A Faithless Auld Lang Syne" # "Books For Any Occasion" # "Clean Barrel" # "Following Footprints" # "Echoes Myron" ( Guided By Voices) # "Duck 96" # " (What's So Funny 'Bout) Peace Love & Understanding" (

Nick Lowe Nicholas Drain Lowe (born 24 March 1949) is an English singer-songwriter, musician and producer. A noted figure in power pop and New wave music, new wave,

Notes

{{Authority control 2008 compilation albums Portastatic albums Merge Records compilation albums