I must admit that I haven't fully understood Superchunk until the last few years. Yeah, they're nothing new, especially now, for someone who missed factions of the indie rock boat in the early 90's. One thing I'll give Superchunk is that in between the buzzsaw guitars, punk rock drums, and shrieked vocals is an incredible pop song that ocassionally gets lost under walls of distortion. And, if you've read anything other than this article, you'll probably notice that I'll claim over and over that there is nothing better than a great hook that gets stuck in your head.
The problem with Superchunk is that a cursory listen won't provide much. You will almost always miss the hidden melodies and songcraft buried beneath a pop-punk exterior. This means a casual listen will reap no benefits of a Superchunk song. The original, electrified version of "Throwing Things" (off of No Pocky for Kitty)is nowhere near as captivating as the acoustic version on Incidental Music 1991-95, their singles collection. The electric version practically chews up the song and spits it out, resulting in an average indie rock song with (seemingly) little emotional weight.
Once the electric guitars are removed, drums are simplified, and a leisurely pace is employed "Throwing Things" becomes a stripped down masterpiece. Mac McCaughan's lyrics about trying to prove his love are suprisingly great. He is at once whole-heartedly sincere yet unbelievable. Mac admits "I'm making a promise and that's a start", painting the girl as one who knows all his past failures in romance, obviously a difficult position for the protagonist to be in when trying to start over. We never find if he does win the girl over, but we can be sure that he's sure he needs her companionship or, in looser terms, lovin'.
While McCaughan does sound sure that he wants the girl, he still cannot escape his past, making him unsure of the courtship. Will he wind up with a "skinned back", will he win her over, or will he realize that mabye he's put this girl on a pedestal? After all, she's treating him like shit. She's putting herself above him, throwing shit at him, and making him grovel for her respect. Yet still, he has his "hand on [his] heart" as if he's pledging allegance to her. But mabye that's just love, eh?
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