Slack Motherfucker

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"Slack Motherfucker"
Single by Superchunk
from the album Superchunk
B-side
  • "Night Creatures"
ReleasedApril 1, 1990 (1990-04-01)
RecordedJanuary 18–19, 1990
StudioDuck Kee Studios (Raleigh, North Carolina)
Genre
Length2:52
LabelMerge
Songwriter(s)
  • Mac McCaughan
  • Laura Ballance
  • Chuck Garrison
  • Jack McCook
Superchunk singles chronology
"What Do I"
(1989) 		"Slack Motherfucker"
(1990) 		"Tower"
(1991)

"Slack Motherfucker" is a song by American rock band Superchunk. It was the first single released from the band's debut, self-titled album (1990). The song was penned by vocalist and guitarist Mac McCaughan in reference to an indolent co-worker he had at the time. Credited to all four band members, it was the band's second single and first to be released under the name Superchunk.

Issued as a 7-inch single in April 1990, "Slack Motherfucker" rapidly became one of the band's best-known songs. It has been credited with popularizing the "slacker" stereotype, and as a blueprint for future indie rock music.

Background

McCaughan wrote the song based on a lazy co-worker he worked with while on the night shift at the

Kinko's, now a FedEx Office, located on Franklin Street in downtown Chapel Hill, North Carolina.[1][2] Chuck Garrson, the band's first drummer, has claimed the song was written about him, though McCaughan has remained the song was based on a co-worker.[3] Alex Denney of The Guardian summarizes the song's content: "a disgruntled employee accuse his boss of slacking off on the job in the strongest possible terms."[4] Musically, the song has been described as indie rock,[5][6] power pop,[7] pop-punk,[8] lo-fi,[9] and noise pop.[10]

Peter Margasak, in the Chicago Reader, describes it as a "low-rent self-empowerment anthem."[11]

Reception

"Slack Motherfucker" was issued as a

minimum-wage angst and attitude."[17]

Timothy Bracy And Elizabeth Bracy, in a piece for Stereogum, write that the song later found a larger audience when included on Tossing Seeds (Singles 89–91), the band's 1991 album compiling a number of their earliest 7" singles and EPs.[7]

Legacy

Cam Lindsay for

Consequence of Sound, ranked it among the best debut singles ever by an artist, observing, "The song's wry energy was antithetical to the "slacker" generation that reigned in the '90s, even if they shared a title in common. This was a brilliant punch of furious determination that has never lost relevance in the years since."[19] Denney of The Guardian included it among his top five list of Generation X anthems.[4] "Slack Motherfucker" was named one of the best songs of the '90s by Rolling Stone,[16] the 19th best single of the 1990s by Spin, and the 81st best song of the 1990s by Pitchfork
.

For a brief time period in the 1990s, the band ceased live performances of the song, as they were tiring of it.[16] Ballance has said "if I never hear "Slack Motherfucker" again in my life I will be a happy camper. I am so over that song. It's so stupid and juvenile."[20] The band resumed playing the song later in their career. McCaughan spoke about the song's legacy in an interview with The A.V. Club:

It's always fun. I think if it wasn't fun to play, or if it was one of those songs that doesn't really work live, we wouldn't still be playing it. [Laughs] I think it so long ago transcended whatever it was about and it's more like a fun song to play and sing along to. People just enjoy swearing out loud—that's one thing. [Laughs] "Motherfucker" is a very satisfying word to say.

References

Footnotes

  1. ISSN 0886-3032
    .
  2. ^ Bevan, David (August 20, 2013). "Merge Country: How Superchunk's Label Turned Durham Into a Thriving Indie-Rock Company Town". Spin.
  3. ^ Cook, Ballance & McCaughan 2009, p. 33.
  4. ^ a b Denney, Alex (March 5, 2014). "Top five Generation X anthems". The Guardian. Retrieved August 8, 2019.
  5. ^ a b Hermes, Will (September 14, 2010). "Superchunk: An Indie-Rock Role Model". WBUR.com. Retrieved August 8, 2019.
  6. ^ Stegall, Tim (January 18, 2021). "These 15 albums from 1991 laid the foundation for punk as we know it". Alternative Press. Retrieved September 17, 2021.
  7. ^ a b Bracy, Timothy; Bracy, Elizabeth (November 20, 2012). "Superchunk Albums From Worst To Best". Stereogum. Retrieved August 8, 2019.
  8. ^ Martin, Kristy (November–December 2001). "Reviews". CMJ. Retrieved September 17, 2021.
  9. ^ Gormely, Ian (February 13, 2018). "An Essential Guide to Superchunk". Exclaim!. Retrieved September 17, 2021.
  10. ^ Kurland, Jordan. "The Mix: 100 Essential Noise Pop Songs". NPR.
  11. ^ Margasak, Peter (June 23, 1994). "Superchunk". Chicago Reader. Retrieved August 8, 2019.
  12. ^ a b Cook, Ballance & McCaughan 2009, p. 34.
  13. ^ Cook, Ballance & McCaughan 2009, Appendix.
  14. ISBN 978-0765800015
    .
  15. ^ a b Lindsay, Cam (February 18, 2018). "The Guide to Getting into Superchunk". Noisey. Vice Media. Retrieved August 8, 2019.
  16. ^ a b c Ryan, Kyle (August 19, 2013). "Superchunk's Mac McCaughan talks weird gaps, magical hawks, and slack motherfuckers". The A.V. Club. The Onion. Retrieved August 8, 2019.
  17. ISBN 978-0879306533
    .
  18. ISSN 0886-3032
    .
  19. Consequence of Sound
    . Retrieved August 8, 2019.
  20. ^ Lindsay, Cam (April 20, 2017). "Rank Your Records: Laura Ballance Ruthlessly Rates Superchunk's Ten Albums". Noisey. Vice Media. Retrieved August 8, 2019.

Sources

  • Cook, John; Ballance, Laura; McCaughan, Mac (2009). Our Noise: The Story of Merge Records, the Indie Label That Got Big and Stayed Small. Algonquin Books.
    ISBN 978-1565126244
    .

External links
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