Superchunk frontman Mac McCaughan has written about lots of things in his 20 years in music. But new song “Misfits & Mistakes” marks a first: He wrote the tune from the point of view of Meatwad, a character in Cartoon Network series Aqua Teen Hunger Force!
McCaughan originally penned the track in his Chapel Hill, NC, home for 2007’s feature film Aqua Teen Hunger Force Colon Movie Film for Theaters. “I rented a couple DVDs and watched some episodes,” he tells SPIN.com. “I laughed my ass off even though I don’t smoke pot. I was touched by Meatwad’s personality and wrote the song from his point of view, if he were more emo.”
The song was ultimately not chosen for the film (though it was included as hidden tune on the soundtrack with Meatwad singing), but it will release April 7 on Superchunk’s first new release since 2001, the Leaves in the Gutter EP, out on McCaughan’s label, Merge. And despite the lyrical first, musically the song is classic Superchunk with jittery, lo-fi guitars, turbulent rhythms, and the singer’s characteristic vocals.
“Those bright blue skies / I’m out here cooking all alone in the sun,” McCaughan sings, clearly referencing Meatwad, a formless hunk of meat who is teased by the show’s other characters, notably Master Shake, a mean-spirited milkshake. “Many shapes that you don’t recognize / Say you will / Put all the random pieces together,” he sings.
Oh, Master Shake, if you only knew the price of your torment!
Superchunk, “Misfits and Mistakes”(DOWNLOAD MP3)
