Some Small History


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. It was released on Merge Records on September 9, 2008.
The album includes a number of cover songs including songs by Ryan Adams, The Undertones, The Magnetic Fields, Prefab Sprout, Sandy Denny and The Strawbs, Hot Chip, Galaxie 500, American Music Club, and Bob Dylan. 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."

Track listing

  1. "Starter"
  2. "Sandals with White Socks "
  3. "Oh, My Sweet Carolina"
  4. "Lousy Penpal*"
  5. "A Cunning Latch *"
  6. "Teenage Kicks"
  7. "Too Trashed to Smoke*"
  8. "Skinny Glasses Girl"
  9. "Trajectory"
  10. "Power Supply"
  11. "Josephine"
  12. "Race You Home"
  13. "Make You Up*"
  14. "Your Own Cloud"
  15. "When Love Breaks Down*"
  16. "Portraits From Before The War"
  17. "Gray Robbins"
  18. "Easily Aroused"
  19. "Guessing"
  20. "Little Fern"
  21. "All I Need Is You"
  22. "You Love To Fail"
  1. "Some Small History"
  2. "San Andreas Crouch"
  3. "Not The Same"
  4. "And I Was A Boy From School"
  5. "Spying on the Spys"
  6. "Too Close To The Screen"
  7. "Weighted Raft"
  8. "Dragging a Crow"
  9. "Soft Fruit"
  10. "I Wanna Know Girls "
  11. "Feel Better"
  12. "Useless Switch"
  13. "Had *"
  14. "Secret Session"
  15. "Tugboat"
  16. "Codes, Runes, Dunes"
  17. "Candy Cigarettes"
  18. "Firefly"
  19. "La Pelicula"
  20. "Look, Honey, Peaches"
  21. "Replacement Parts*"
  22. "It's All Over Now, Baby Blue"
Bonus Download:
  1. "Slant Roof"
  2. "Weedhopper"
  3. "A Faithless Auld Lang Syne"
  4. "Books For Any Occasion"
  5. "Clean Barrel"
  6. "Following Footprints"
  7. "Echoes Myron"
  8. "Duck 96"
  9. " Peace Love & Understanding"
  10. "Jetlag"
  11. "Flat Roof"