1989 was the year Laura Ballance and Mac McCaughan started a band(Superchunk) AND a record label(Merge) in Chapel Hill, North Carolina . Merge Records started with cassette releases followed by a few years of 7" vinyl releases, and now CDs an LPs. In 2007, Merge is well on it's way to becoming one of, if not the, most important record label of the year.
For today's 5 On a Friday here's 5 reasons why.

1: Arcade Fire - Neon Bible
MP3: Antichrist Television Blues
2: The Broken West - I Can't Go On, I'll Go On
MP3: So It Goes
3: The Clientele - God Save the Clientele
MP3: Here Comes The Phantom
4: The Ladybug Transistor - Can't Wait Another Day
MP3: Always On The Telephone(via Cause=Time)
5: Spoon - Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga
MP3: Don't You Evah(via Cause=Time)

[Merge Website]