Birthday wishes are in order for the venerable indie label Sub Pop. Formed by Jonathan Poneman and Bruce Pavitt on July 11th, 1988 (duh), Sub Pop came to prominence with the rise of grunge in the early 90’s. And the ties to grunge run deep in the company: Soundgarden guitarist Kim Thayil was actually responsible for introducing Poneman and Pavitt, and the label released Nirvana’s first full length album, as well as Mudhoney’s debut.
And while it’s tempting to say “thanks for the grunge” and move on, a closer look at the label’s catalogue reveals an eclectic offering of fine bands. Here’s a gallery of a half dozen of our favorite Sub Pop releases (and by the way, thanks for the grunge!):
Nirvana | Bleach
Iron & Wine | The Shepherd’s Dog
Soundgarden | Screaming Life/Fopp
Flight Of The Conchords | Flight Of The Conchords
Radio Birdman | The Essential Radio Birdman (1974-1978)
Sleater-Kinney | The Woods
[The Fleet Foxes album - also on Sub Pop - is supposed to be amazing, but we haven't heard it yet. However, it's worth mentioning because it has received so many glowing recommendations]
Tags: Bruce Pavitt, Flight Of The Conchords, Happy 20th!, Iron & Wine, Jonathan Poneman, Mudhoney, Nirvana, Radio Birdman, Sleater-Kinney, Soundgarden, Sub Pop
12 July 2008 at 10:55 pm |
dk – thanks for the reminder of how fucking old I am. You’re a fossil too you bastard!
I’m also kind of pissed that you left the Vaselines, Screaming Trees, Pigeonhead and the Afghan Wigs off this list.
Years from now few will realize that Sub Pop played a big role in changing everything.
13 July 2008 at 6:23 am |
FYI, Screaming Trees didn’t actually release any albums on Sub Pop – a few eps, but no LPs. And I have to think that because the label is so closely tied to Nirvana and Soundgarden, it will be remembered for some time to come. Based on Sub Pop’s recent output, it doesn’t seem like they’re going away either…
13 July 2008 at 10:50 pm |
I think it was just the “change has come” EP. Their finest work. Epic signed them after this and they took off. Great band.
14 July 2008 at 4:55 am |
big ups, i spent a lot of time in my young man daze listening and doing other various things whilst sub-pop played in the background and foreground for that matter….
17 July 2008 at 1:35 pm |
I bought one of my favorite albums of all time… ZUMPANO, goin’ through changes on my only visit to the supop store in seattle. ‘90 something. Happy Birthday.
17 July 2008 at 1:40 pm |
Sebadoh!
1 August 2008 at 11:53 pm |
[...] Anyway, the message here is to check them out. Thanks Sub Pop! [...]