There are ways, no doubt, to age respectfully in rock 'n' roll. Recent releases offer plenty of examples, be it the graceful folksiness of John Mellencamp or the still-ornery experimentation of Neil Young. Then there are the paths taken by Superchunk and the Vaselines, who have brought an end to years of relative dormancy with sarcasm.

It's there in the video for Superchunk's "Digging for Something," a sly, tongue-in-cheek mockery of artists who are on the cash-in reunion circuit. Conceived by former "Daily Show" scribe Scott Jacobson, the clip features an alternate-universe Superchunk, one containing just "one original member" and more interested in exploitation than new material.

Though not designed as such, it serves as an insta-buffer to potential critics. Superchunk's "Majesty Shredding," the act's first album since 2001, dispenses with the rock 'n' roll signs of maturity that permeated that year's "Here's to Shutting Up." This isn't an album for slowing things down and piling on strings; the layered guitars of "Majesty" are sleek, turning a no-nonsense riff on perseverance such as "Learned to Surf" into a celebratory anthem.