Could Superchunk have been as big as Nirvana?

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Had a debate about this last night. My friend says yes, if they had the major label support, Butch Vig, etc. I say no.

― Nigel (Nigel), Tuesday, 4 October 2005 20:01 (twenty years ago)

Also, he said that they were heavily courted by majors but resisted. Anyone know the details on this?

― Nigel (Nigel), Tuesday, 4 October 2005 20:02 (twenty years ago)

no fucking way

― Matos-Webster Dictionary (M Matos), Tuesday, 4 October 2005 20:04 (twenty years ago)

Not a chance in hell. On the other hand, they could have been as big as Superdrag. Best thing they ever did was start their own label (and I like their music)...

― Jacobo Rock (jacobo rock), Tuesday, 4 October 2005 20:08 (twenty years ago)

I wish they had been bigger than Nirvana.

― Roxymuzak, Mrs. Carbohydrate (roxymuzak), Tuesday, 4 October 2005 20:10 (twenty years ago)

wow, I thought that was gonna take at least ten posts

― Matos-Webster Dictionary (M Matos), Tuesday, 4 October 2005 20:12 (twenty years ago)

how much of nirvana's success was attributable to the hot video with the cheerleaders? (that's a separate question, not an answer to this one.)

― dan (dan), Tuesday, 4 October 2005 20:12 (twenty years ago)

Unfortunately their "Teen Spirit" moment had "Motherfucker" in the title and repeated it about 52 times during the song, killing any chance at commercial airplay.

― zaxxon25 (zaxxon25), Tuesday, 4 October 2005 20:16 (twenty years ago)

had here's where the strings come in come out in '91 or '92 instead of '95, then maybe. but still probably not, and also probably for the best.

― mookieproof (mookieproof), Tuesday, 4 October 2005 20:20 (twenty years ago)

Mac tends to write in major keys - I think the darker groove that Cobain worked was a big part of his appeal as a songwriter

― Banana Nutrament (ghostface), Tuesday, 4 October 2005 20:37 (twenty years ago)

long hair

― Old School (sexyDancer), Tuesday, 4 October 2005 20:41 (twenty years ago)

it also comes down to the voice. that's one of the ways kurt was able to crossover and appeal to the jocks who beat him up in high school or whatever. "driveway to driveway" could have probably made the soundtrack to "my so-called life" though.

― Aaron Grossman (aajjgg), Tuesday, 4 October 2005 20:46 (twenty years ago)

Superchunk was offered 3 major label contracts and declined, so I don't think that fame/fortune was their MO.

xpost wrt voice:
hey, mac could have taken professional vocal lessons too!

― gygax! (gygax!), Tuesday, 4 October 2005 20:52 (twenty years ago)

I'm working, but i'm not working for yoooooooou!

(nah, prolly not)

― latebloomer (latebloomer), Tuesday, 4 October 2005 21:37 (twenty years ago)

plus, no death cult prolonging the legend.

― latebloomer (latebloomer), Tuesday, 4 October 2005 21:38 (twenty years ago)

no. i dont know who this superchunk is, but i bet kurt was cuter.

― JD from CDepot, Tuesday, 4 October 2005 21:55 (twenty years ago)

Superchunk wrote annoying songs. Kurt didn't start to write annoyingly until In Utero.

― Zanadude, Tuesday, 4 October 2005 22:03 (twenty years ago)

kurt was not cuter than laura, not to mention jon wurst3r

― mookieproof (mookieproof), Tuesday, 4 October 2005 22:38 (twenty years ago)

Detroit Has a Skyline Too had a certain anthemic quality but I'm not sure if they ever could have been huge...great band I love SC, but I think the point about Mac's girly man voice is probably true....

― M@tt He1geson (Matt Helgeson), Tuesday, 4 October 2005 22:40 (twenty years ago)

Superchunk could've become The Get Up Kids....

― paulhw (paulhw), Tuesday, 4 October 2005 22:52 (twenty years ago)

Superwhat ?

― blunt (blunt), Tuesday, 4 October 2005 23:05 (twenty years ago)

Your friend is smoking crack. I like Superchunk, but with "Nevermind" Nirvana married catchy punk with a big rock sound that appealed across the spectrum--the hip hop fans in my freshman dorm were blasting this with the bass turned up way back in '91. Can't see them doing that with "On the Mouth."

― Matt Carlson (mattsoncarlhew), Tuesday, 4 October 2005 23:28 (twenty years ago)

well isn't weezer just trying to be superchunk trying to be nirvana?

― tremspeed, Wednesday, 5 October 2005 01:19 (twenty years ago)

didn't seattle start and end with mudhoney ?

― retroboy, Wednesday, 5 October 2005 01:33 (twenty years ago)

No way as big as Nirvana for several of the reasons mentioned above, but they deserve to be a lot more famous than they are. There's something to be said for keeping your indie street-cred intact (or at least I used to think so) , but sometimes I wish they'd taken the money and ran.

― J-rock (Julien Sandiford), Wednesday, 5 October 2005 01:39 (twenty years ago)

Duh, Superchunk weren't as "pliable" via drugs and insane girlfriends.

Plus "Slack Motherfucker" killed their other songs by 1000% and wasn't even a good early 90s song. Much more of a post-Green Day anthem, if you think about it.

Tall guy vs. chunky guy in the music business, tall guy usually wins.

― Ian Christe (Ian Christe), Wednesday, 5 October 2005 01:44 (twenty years ago)

well isn't weezer just trying to be superchunk trying to be nirvan

i'll take this one:
No.

― my name is john. i reside in chicago. (frankE), Wednesday, 5 October 2005 01:48 (twenty years ago)

wow, I thought that was gonna take at least ten posts

oooooooooooooh!

― Roxymuzak, Mrs. Carbohydrate (roxymuzak), Wednesday, 5 October 2005 01:59 (twenty years ago)

x-post

its cars trying to be pavement trying to be nirvana trying to be pixies trying to be beach boys trying to get into asian girls' pants.

"Tall guy vs. chunky guy in the music business, tall guy usually wins."

Kurt wasn't tall!

― latebloomer (latebloomer), Wednesday, 5 October 2005 02:00 (twenty years ago)

and Mac isn't chunky!

its cars trying to be pavement trying to be nirvana trying to be pixies trying to be beach boys trying to get into asian girls' pants

isn't this Weezer?

― Roxymuzak, Mrs. Carbohydrate (roxymuzak), Wednesday, 5 October 2005 02:03 (twenty years ago)

Kurt wasn't tall!

and Mac isn't chunky!

1 down 2 2 go X 2

― Ian Christe (Ian Christe), Wednesday, 5 October 2005 02:48 (twenty years ago)

isn't this Weezer?

-- Roxymuzak, Mrs. Carbohydrate (emilysu...), October 5th, 2005.

yeah, i was responding to this post:

well isn't weezer just trying to be superchunk trying to be nirvana?

-- tremspeed (tremspee...), October 5th, 2005.

― latebloomer (latebloomer), Wednesday, 5 October 2005 02:57 (twenty years ago)

Nirvana married catchy punk with a big rock sound that appealed across the spectrum.

Exactly, except not at all. In the 1991 age of Killdozer and Pussy Galore "catchy" punk remained a non-entity for years; the "big" rock sound still sounded shitworth to a lot of folks; and "appealed across the spectrum" is pure blather. GNR fans would kick you in the balls and Metallica and Caroliner fans would punch you hard. Nevermind was just a wonderful fluke. The fluke might have stopped sooner if Superchuck were loaded first. Now we have ipods. Another wonderful fluke. No reason to think of either of these bands again for a looong time...

― Ian Christe (Ian Christe), Wednesday, 5 October 2005 06:53 (twenty years ago)

"appealed across the spectrum" is pure blather. GNR fans would kick you in the balls and Metallica and Caroliner fans would punch you hard.

depends on which high school you went to, doesn't it? the GNR fans (and a lot of the Metallica fans) at mine loved Nirvana.

― Matos-Webster Dictionary (M Matos), Wednesday, 5 October 2005 07:17 (twenty years ago)

"On The Mouth" could have been a minor sensation, "Package Thief" was catchy, and the video with the marionettes was pretty neat. But Nirvana-level fame? I think not, not even with major-label support. Nirvana represented an emotion and aesthetic that kids wanted to replicate, Superchunk is a good band but they have and always will be nerds from Chapel Hill. I can't imagine a Superchunk-fronted movement.

― J. Alston, Wednesday, 5 October 2005 11:11 (twenty years ago)

Unfortunately their "Teen Spirit" moment had "Motherfucker" in the title and repeated it about 52 times during the song, killing any chance at commercial airplay.

Didn't hurt 'Rage Against The Machine'.

― Chewshabadoo (Chewshabadoo), Wednesday, 5 October 2005 12:29 (twenty years ago)

mmmmmmmm
http://bunnybass.com/e-zine/girls/04.girlpictures/lauraballance.jpg

― dan bunnybrain (dan bunnybrain), Wednesday, 5 October 2005 12:34 (twenty years ago)

Just to make sure, no one is actually saying "yes", right? The things that made Superchunk great, or at least interesting, were the same qualities that kept them off the charts. If Mac sang in key, the guitarists didn't play 'clashing' chords at the same time, and the band locked with the drummer (and if they'd had a Dave Grohl), old Superchunk wouldn't have been Superchunk anymore. Not to mention that their riffs, lyrics, and hooks just aren't as immediate.

I think "Cadmium" is as good as "Slack Motherfucker" BTW.

― Sundar (sundar), Wednesday, 5 October 2005 13:23 (twenty years ago)

I can clearly hear it playing No Pocky for Kitty back-to-back with Bleach, let alone Nevermind.

― Sundar (sundar), Wednesday, 5 October 2005 13:24 (twenty years ago)

And "Seed Toss" is better'n either, for my money. And no, they couldn't have been as big as Nirvana b/c they didn't have the same extramusical appeal, not as much of a narrative for people to lock into, as well as all the reasons listed about. I think they maybe could have had a "Cut Your Hair"-sized hit if the stars aligned correctly, but I sorta doubt that too actually. Whatever, still a cool band.

― Zack Richardson (teenagequiet), Wednesday, 5 October 2005 13:28 (twenty years ago)

listed above, rather

― Zack Richardson (teenagequiet), Wednesday, 5 October 2005 13:28 (twenty years ago)

Not to mention that their riffs, lyrics, and hooks just aren't as immediate.

how is a lyric like "im working but im not working for you" NOT something that most people can identify with? i mean, shit, it might as well be the tag line to this board.

i love superchunk with all my heart -- has been that way since the age of 14-15. but never once have i thought they could be bigger than nirvana, for exactly the reasons that sundar points out [their lack of a mass appeal was their mass appeal]. there were moments of cross over -- let's not forget their inclusion on the "jerky boys" soundtrack or that "hyper enough" was everywhere for a hot minute.

i wonder though if superchunk [im talking pre-indoor living chunk, that is] would be sucessful today in a landscape peppered with groups like fall out boy and whatnot.

― maria tessa sciarrino (theoreticalgirl), Wednesday, 5 October 2005 13:43 (twenty years ago)

I haven't understood one thing Ian Christe has said.

― Nigel (Nigel), Wednesday, 5 October 2005 13:44 (twenty years ago)

also, a whole 10-12 years later, the song "slack motherfucker" is still not allowed to be played in the sciarrino family household. RATS!

― maria tessa sciarrino (theoreticalgirl), Wednesday, 5 October 2005 13:50 (twenty years ago)

The new Portastatic album is better than the last two or three 'Chunk records

― meister, Wednesday, 5 October 2005 14:40 (twenty years ago)

i disagree, dude.

― maria tessa sciarrino (theoreticalgirl), Wednesday, 5 October 2005 14:41 (twenty years ago)

'hyper enough' is on NCAA '06. was nirvana ever on a video game?

but my opinion is no, they wouldn't be as big as nirvana. still a rad ass band though.

― peterl, Wednesday, 5 October 2005 15:55 (twenty years ago)

To oh so many folks they are bigger, better, and still fucking alive. Mac is a far superior songwriter. The coda of "Why Do Have to put a Date on Everything" is supreme. The melody of "Martinis on the Roof" is perfection. I could go on all day long.

― Mikey, Wednesday, 5 October 2005 18:43 (twenty years ago)

also, Superchunk was on the Jerky Boys soundtrack too I think!

― M@tt He1geson (Matt Helgeson), Wednesday, 5 October 2005 18:46 (twenty years ago)

No, I think Superchunk was bigger than Nirvana. Granted, the dude what played base was kinda tall, but on the other hand Curt was a spindley little heroin addict. And there were only ever three of them anyway, unless you count the guest musicians who filled out there sound. Superchunk? Well to start with, there were four of them to start with. And each one fatter than the last! I think their drummer weighs in at a scale crunching 349 lbs. Even heavier is singer Mack, who is so big his doctor sends him to a cattle farm to get weighed. He has his own tides! The only one even remotely svelt is the guitar player, Mr. Wilbur, but you have to recall that with his Nordic heritage, he is actually about 9 feet tall with a flowing blonde mane. All in all, a far bigger band. That's the tale of the tape, folks.

Remember, Nirvana's most autobiogaphical song was "I'm a nitwit dumbass little weasle who does a lot of heroin. But I got nice hair". Superchunk's was "1,000 pounds"

Draw your own conclusions.

― Fred McDonnell, Thursday, 6 October 2005 01:04 (twenty years ago)

two weeks pass...

nirvana was what we call "hype" in the industry-mtv, radio, the big production, the shootin' match. what superchunk has accomplished has been by ambition, sweat, incessant touring, and great songwriting.
nirvana would have been one hell of an indie band(see "bleach"), don't get me wrong, but lets not compare apples to, um, bicycles, or something that apples aren't at all...

― poo f. eater, Tuesday, 25 October 2005 03:41 (twenty years ago)

Wait. Superchunk weren't as big as Nirvana?

― martin m. (mushrush), Tuesday, 25 October 2005 05:17 (twenty years ago)

Superchunk have about 100 songs better than "Slack Motherfucker" (which I do still enjoy).

In the hierarchy of female bassists I used to have crushes on in high school, Laura was nearly tied with Kim Deal.

― J-rock (Julien Sandiford), Tuesday, 25 October 2005 05:48 (twenty years ago)

"In the 1991 age of Killdozer and Pussy Galore "catchy" punk remained a non-entity for years"

No offense, but this must have been written by a Brit. Killdozer and Pussy Galore were great, but they hardly typified anything... and didn't Goo and a couple of Pixies records come out around 1991? And All, The Descendents, Dag Nasty, The Replacements, The Circle Jerks, late Husker Du, Redd Kross, Guns N Roses, Metallica, Suicidal Tendencies etc. etc. etc. had all been doing catchy corn-fed American pop punk/metal for years by then - and it was all just part of the same pop punk continuum going back to Alice Cooper, Grand Funk, KISS, The Runaways, The Ramones, Stooges etc. etc. etc. Nirvana hit biggest, and were really really good, but it's not like they came out of nowhere.

― Fritz Wollner (Fritz), Tuesday, 25 October 2005 17:28 (twenty years ago)

one year passes...

Even heavier is singer Mack, who is so big his doctor sends him to a cattle farm to get weighed. He has his own tides!

good lord, you make mac sound like big pun! he isn't THAT fat, c'mon now.

― Eisbaer, Tuesday, 15 May 2007 11:38 (eighteen years ago)

Of course Superchunk could have been as big as Nirvan, why not? It's all a roll of the cosmic dice who becomes popular and who doesn't. How come Soul Asylum had the big MTV hit that their homeboys Husker Du and the Replacements never did? And "talent" is a nonissue. I personally thought Nirvana were much better than Superchunk, and that Mudhoney was far better than both of 'em.

― Myonga Vön Bontee, Tuesday, 15 May 2007 14:01 (eighteen years ago)

Most of them seem to be doing well through their non-SC projects. Jon Wurster's been moving into TV writing, and his S&W albums are comedic gold. Mac and Laura must have made some cash from releasing Aeroplane, 69 Love Songs, the two Arcade Fire albums, etc.

That leaves Jim Wilbur. Wonder what he's up to when not playing in Superchunk.

― mike a, Tuesday, 15 May 2007 14:04 (eighteen years ago)

i like superchunk, the archers of loaf and the songs of spiral stairs. where should i go next in my explorations of generic mid '90s alt. rock?

― acrobat, Tuesday, 15 May 2007 14:06 (eighteen years ago)

Nirvana was specifically groomed by DGC to be the Big Alt-Rock Breakthrough Band. Husker Du, the Replacements, and Sonic Youth were the guinea pigs in terms of majors figuring out how to market the stuff (and to whom). DGC brought in Vig, oversaw the recording/mixes, yadda yadda yadda. Which is not to take anything away from Nirvana, but it's not like they blew up by accident.

― Sara Sara Sara, Tuesday, 15 May 2007 14:36 (eighteen years ago)

mac looked kinda small when i saw him, has he gained weight or something?

i like superchunk, the archers of loaf and the songs of spiral stairs. where should i go next in my explorations of generic mid '90s alt. rock?

grifters!

― M@tt He1ges0n, Tuesday, 15 May 2007 15:04 (eighteen years ago)

GBV

― Mr. Que, Tuesday, 15 May 2007 15:05 (eighteen years ago)

i have heard GBV but not the grifters. thanks! stuff that's like hyper enough but not weezer. does this stuff spill into the late '90s emo stuff like jets to brazil or is it COMPLETELY DIFFERENT?

― acrobat, Tuesday, 15 May 2007 15:08 (eighteen years ago)

ugh stay away from jets to brazil

― Mr. Que, Tuesday, 15 May 2007 15:09 (eighteen years ago)

3D's are pretty awesome.

― Mr. Que, Tuesday, 15 May 2007 15:10 (eighteen years ago)

built to spill is more proper indie than emo, with a dose of old fashioned guitar heroics....i think they were amazing at their best (check maybe nothing wrong w/love or keep it like a secret)

― M@tt He1ges0n, Tuesday, 15 May 2007 15:20 (eighteen years ago)

i didn't mention built to spill but they don't remind me much of superchunk. too... twisty?

― acrobat, Tuesday, 15 May 2007 15:43 (eighteen years ago)

yeah less forward motion i guess. doug always had a certain classic rock sensibility about him.

― M@tt He1ges0n, Tuesday, 15 May 2007 15:45 (eighteen years ago)

3D's are pretty awesome.

Very awesome.

― Ned Raggett, Tuesday, 15 May 2007 15:45 (eighteen years ago)

this thread made me listen to "detroit has a skyline too" by superchunk which i love so so much.

― M@tt He1ges0n, Tuesday, 15 May 2007 15:45 (eighteen years ago)

i fucking love superchunk with the love of a thousand mothers to their newborns

― Mr. Que, Tuesday, 15 May 2007 15:45 (eighteen years ago)

y know who i think are similar to superchunk? the early stuff by ash. except they were irish britpop and a little less muscular. but jack names the planets fits.

― acrobat, Tuesday, 15 May 2007 15:48 (eighteen years ago)

i've never heard ash...i'm always scared of bands from the UK.

― M@tt He1ges0n, Tuesday, 15 May 2007 15:55 (eighteen years ago)

because they are less inclined to rock?

― acrobat, Tuesday, 15 May 2007 15:56 (eighteen years ago)

The only way Superchunk could have been as big as Nirvana would be if Nirvana hadn't have been so damn big. Duh!

― christoff, Tuesday, 15 May 2007 15:57 (eighteen years ago)

because they are less inclined to rock?

-- acrobat, Tuesday, May 15, 2007 10:56 AM (2 minutes ago)

kinda...i don't know you always hear so much about them, like when i heard about the libertines, and then i finally heard them and i was like this sounds like a sloppy clash cover band with a jones for mid-period kinks what's the big deal?

it's more the press, it's always impossible to tell what's *really* good or if it's just some band that no one would care about if they were from like milwaukee or something...

i love mclusky though...and clinic are cool, they were kinda hyped.

― M@tt He1ges0n, Tuesday, 15 May 2007 16:00 (eighteen years ago)

i think mclusky and 80s matchbox b line disaster are the best british rock bands this decade imo. busted were pretty good but i don't think they count. something like the libertines is so much about the baggage, the extra musical stuff that the tunes are kinda secondary. i liked them early on. i think a Rolling UK Indie Thread would be a good idea to round up all the decent bands which can't sustain a thread on their own. it'd probably be derailed by snark thou.

― acrobat, Tuesday, 15 May 2007 16:07 (eighteen years ago)

i'd actually be curiuos in that thread. i only hear about stuff that gets really big like arctic monkeys and libertines. i'm sure there's great stuff i don't have any idea about.

like for example i've never heard of 80s matchbox b line disaster.

― M@tt He1ges0n, Tuesday, 15 May 2007 16:17 (eighteen years ago)

it's always impossible to tell what's *really* good or if it's just some band that no one would care about if they were from like milwaukee or something...

I shed a silent tear for all the quality unheard U.S. bands that would be friggin' HUGE if they lived in the UK. Imagine Detroit's Metro Times having the impact of the NME on the record-publicity-industrial complex, and you see where I'm going with this...

― MC, Tuesday, 15 May 2007 16:24 (eighteen years ago)

yeah honestly we played with a band from madison WI the other day called sleeping in the aviary, like real spazzy indie played with almost punk velocity live, but super hooks and sort of kinksy songwriting...basically i was thinking "damn all the people that love the arctic monkeys would love these guys" but you know, they're from madison.

― M@tt He1ges0n, Tuesday, 15 May 2007 16:25 (eighteen years ago)

How come Soul Asylum had the big MTV hit that their homeboys Husker Du and the Replacements never did?

Maybe if Mould or Hart had written a song as platitudinous as "Runaway Train." Maybe if either one had shown up on MTV News with Winona on his arm.

― Alfred, Lord Sotosyn, Tuesday, 15 May 2007 16:29 (eighteen years ago)

....the songs of spiral stairs. where should i go next in my explorations of generic mid '90s alt. rock?
-- acrobat

What are you, some fucking masochist?

― Alfred, Lord Sotosyn, Tuesday, 15 May 2007 16:30 (eighteen years ago)

Maybe if Mould or Hart had written a song as platitudinous as "Runaway Train." Maybe if either one had shown up on MTV News with Winona on his arm

I suppose. But who's to say they wouldn't have done just that if they'd stayed together rather than breaking up years before the alt-revolution?

― Myonga Vön Bontee, Tuesday, 15 May 2007 17:50 (eighteen years ago)

yeah westerberg's done worse than runaway train plenty of times since the replacements quit.

sugar was pretty solid though, mould's been (mostly) okay.

grant is too much of a weirdo junkie to do anything in the music industry, even if his last solo album was pretty genius IMO.

― M@tt He1ges0n, Tuesday, 15 May 2007 18:00 (eighteen years ago)

The only "bigness" to which Superchunk could have reasonably aspired was Meat Puppets "Backfired" level.

― Alfred, Lord Sotosyn, Tuesday, 15 May 2007 18:15 (eighteen years ago)

[b]even if his last solo album was pretty genius IMO[b]

I always loved his debut record, Intolerance.

― kornrulez6969, Tuesday, 15 May 2007 18:24 (eighteen years ago)

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