"Merry" is a song by American power pop

Power pop

Power pop is a popular musical genre that draws its inspiration from 1960s British and American pop and rock music. It typically incorporates a combination of musical devices such as strong melodies, crisp vocal harmonies, economical arrangements, and prominent guitar riffs. Instrumental solos are...

 band Magnapop

Magnapop

Magnapop is an alternative rock band based in Atlanta, Georgia. Formed in 1989, the band has consistently included songwriting duo Linda Hopper as vocalist and Ruthie Morris on guitar. Magnapop first achieved recognition in the Benelux countries of Belgium, the Netherlands and Luxembourg through...

. It was initially released in 1990 as the B-side to a 7" through Safety Net Records (catalogue number NET 17) under the band's original name of Homemade Sister. The song was re-recorded and released again on the EP Sugarland

Sugarland (EP)

Sugarland is a 1992 EP by Magnapop released in Europe by Play It Again Sam Records on Compact Disc and 12" gramophone record The former two of these tracks are also featured on their debut album Magnapop and the latter two were added on to the 1997 re-release of the album.-Track listing:All songs...

as well as the band's self-titled debut album

Magnapop (album)

Magnapop is the debut album by Magnapop, released in 1992 and re-released with bonus tracks on July 29, 1997.-Recording and release:Four of the tracks—"Favorite Writer", "Chemical", "Complicated", and "Merry"—were recorded in John Keane Studio, Athens, Georgia in December 1990 with Linda Hopper's...

 in 1992 on Solid Records (527.9013.40.)

A live acoustic

Acoustic music

Acoustic music comprises music that solely or primarily uses instruments which produce sound through entirely acoustic means, as opposed to electric or electronic means...

 recording of the song from June 7, 1992, was released on the EP Big Bright Cherry

Big Bright Cherry

Big Bright Cherry is a 1994 EP by Magnapop released promotionally in the United States by Play It Again Sam Records on Compact Disc and 10" gramophone record red vinyl Several of these songs also appear on the studio album Hot Boxing.-Track listing:All songs written by Linda Hopper and Ruthie...

as well as the special edition of the studio album Hot Boxing

Hot Boxing

Hot Boxing is the second studio album by Magnapop, released in 1994. "Lay It Down" and "Slowly, Slowly" were released as singles. Music videos were created for "Lay It Down", "Slowly, Slowly", and "Texas"...

.

NME

NME

The New Musical Express is a popular music publication in the United Kingdom, published weekly since March 1952. It started as a music newspaper, and gradually moved toward a magazine format during the 1980s, changing from newsprint in 1998. It was the first British paper to include a singles...

described the second recording as "a sublime piece of pop

Pop music

Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...

 supremacy" and James Sullivan, writing for Addicted to Noise

Addicted to Noise

Addicted to Noise was an online music magazine in the early days of the World Wide Web. Founded by ex-Rolling Stone editor and writer Michael Goldberg and online music pioneer Jon Luini, it published its first issue in January 1995 and was the first online magazine to include audio samples along...

 in 1996 declared it one of the group's finest songs.

Track listing

All songs written by Linda Hopper

Linda Hopper

Linda Elizabeth Hopper is the vocalist for the Atlanta, Georgia-based rock group Magnapop. Her pop punk/power pop vocal style helped to define the band's sound and she has co-written their minor hit singles "Slowly, Slowly" and "Open the Door"...

 and Ruthie Morris

Ruthie Morris

Ruth Mary "Ruthie" Morris is the guitarist for the Atlanta, Georgia-based rock group Magnapop. Her pop punk/power pop guitar style helped to define the band's sound and she has co-written their minor hit singles "Slowly, Slowly" and "Open the Door".-History:Morris is originally from West Palm...

1990 release

1. "Rip the Wreck" – 2:45
2. "Merry" – 2:27

1992 release

1. "Merry" – 3:05
2. "Complicated" – 1:53

Personnel

Magnapop

• Linda Hopper
  Linda Hopper
  Linda Elizabeth Hopper is the vocalist for the Atlanta, Georgia-based rock group Magnapop. Her pop punk/power pop vocal style helped to define the band's sound and she has co-written their minor hit singles "Slowly, Slowly" and "Open the Door"...
  
   – lead
  Lead vocalist
  The lead vocalist is the member of a band who sings the main vocal portions of a song. They may also play one or more instruments. Lead vocalists are sometimes referred to as the frontman or frontwoman, and as such, are usually considered to be the "leader" of the groups they perform in, often the...
  
   vocals
  Singing
  Singing is the act of producing musical sounds with the voice, and augments regular speech by the use of both tonality and rhythm. One who sings is called a singer or vocalist. Singers perform music known as songs that can be sung either with or without accompaniment by musical instruments...
  
  
• David McNair – drums
  Drum kit
  A drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
  
  
• Ruthie Morris
  Ruthie Morris
  Ruth Mary "Ruthie" Morris is the guitarist for the Atlanta, Georgia-based rock group Magnapop. Her pop punk/power pop guitar style helped to define the band's sound and she has co-written their minor hit singles "Slowly, Slowly" and "Open the Door".-History:Morris is originally from West Palm...
  
   – lead
  Lead guitar
  Lead guitar is a guitar part which plays melody lines, instrumental fill passages, guitar solos, and occasionally, some riffs within a song structure...
  
   guitar
  Guitar
  The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
  
  
• Shannon Mulvaney – bass guitar
  Bass guitar
  The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
  
  

Production staff

• Bill Ashton – engineering
  Audio engineering
  An audio engineer, also called audio technician, audio technologist or sound technician, is a specialist in a skilled trade that deals with the use of machinery and equipment for the recording, mixing and reproduction of sounds. The field draws on many artistic and vocational areas, including...
  
   (original release)
• Ed Burdell – production
  Record producer
  A record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
  
   (original release)
• Cathy Carmichael – photography (original release)
• Michael Stipe
  Michael Stipe
  John Michael Stipe is an American singer and lyricist. He was the lead vocalist of the alternative rock band R.E.M.Stipe is noted and occasionally parodied for the "mumbling" style of his early career as well as his social and political activism. He was in charge of R.E.M.'s visual image; often...
  
   – production (later release)
• Gina Tackett – photography (original release)

External links

• "Merry" at Discogs
  Discogs
  Discogs, short for discographies, is a website and database of information about audio recordings, including commercial releases, promotional releases, and bootleg or off-label releases. The Discogs servers, currently hosted under the domain name discogs.com, are owned by Zink Media, Inc., and are...