Slack Motherfucker
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- "Night Creatures"
| "Slack Motherfucker" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
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| Single by Superchunk | ||||
| from the album Superchunk | ||||
| B-side |
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| Released | April 1, 1990 | |||
| Recorded | January 18–19, 1990 | |||
| Studio | Duck Kee Studios (Raleigh, North Carolina) | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 2:52 | |||
| Label | Merge | |||
| Songwriter(s) |
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| Superchunk singles chronology | ||||
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"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.
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 maintained 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 7-inch single in April 1990; it quickly sold out of its original pressing of 1,000 copies.[12] Then-guitarist Jack McCook painted the artwork for the sleeve.[12] The band's first single was credited under the name Chunk; "Slack Motherfucker" was the first to use the band's new name.[13] The song was a success on college radio, with programmers typically airing it past midnight to avoid obscenity laws.[14] The song has widely been considered among the band's best and most well-known songs.[15] Kyle Ryan at The A.V. Club called it "one of the most beloved Superchunk songs ever."[16] Jason Ankeny of AllMusic called it the band's "most celebrated moment," describing it as "a "note-perfect snapshot of 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]