The book was released late last
year, the year that saw the label’s thirtieth anniversary. But it begins with a
prologue giving some details of the twentieth anniversary celebration of the
label, which occurred in Seattle in 2008. It then goes back to the beginning,
or perhaps even before the beginning, when Sub Pop co-founder Bruce Pavitt heard
a new record by the Sex Pistols at a barbecue and noticed the immediate
reaction of those who had gathered, saw that “music really had the power to provoke” (p. 1). It is interesting
that Bruce began using the name Subterranean
Pop very early on, long before the label officially came into being, using
it as the name for his radio show, and then for his fanzine (the title of the
latter was soon shortened to Sub Pop, and compilation cassettes were released).
The evolution of Sub Pop and Bruce’s work is fascinating, especially to those
of us for whom music plays such an important role. Clearly Bruce Pavitt is
moved by music as much as the rest of us, and his journey is one that speaks to
that love of music in all of us.
But of course the story of Sub
Pop is not the story of just one man. Label co-founder Jonathan Poneman is also
someone who is truly moved by music. This book mentions the first time a song
thrilled him. He was ten years old, and the song was “Magic Carpet Ride.” These
are folks with a life-long passion for music, and that shows in the way they
handled the business, and in the people who were drawn to work for them and
with them. The book does include some information on the bands that were part
of that Seattle scene, groups like Soundgarden and Nirvana, but of course
focuses on their stories in relation to the story of the label. Author Gillian
G. Gaar also gets into the stories of several other important employees of the
label.
The book contains a lot of
information on the label’s financial woes, and how a Mudhoney release and
Nirvana’s Nevermind fixed all that. I
appreciate the label’s sense of humor, obvious in its motto, “Going out of
business since 1988” (a motto that has more than a bit of truth to it, as most
good humor does) and its “Loser” T-shirts. I also appreciate the material on
the Sub Pop Singles Club, which was aimed at those with the collector gene (I count
myself among them, and can’t help but love this marketing strategy – and can’t
help but wish I had subscribed, even though I honestly never cared much for the
so-called “grunge” music). Other interesting promotional strategies are
detailed here, such as having Mudhoney play on top of the Space Needle (a
record of that performance was released on vinyl as part of 2014’s Record Story
Day). What is also interesting is the way the internet has changed the music
industry and the way people approach music, with one of the label’s employees
contending that “organic regional scenes
can no longer occur” (p. 139). I don’t necessarily agree with that
assessment, for I’ve experienced at least one fantastic regional scene in the
days since the internet took hold. But certainly things have changed. Yet, Sub
Pop has remained and thrived, even branching out into comedy albums. By the
way, this book does include a section of photos, including covers of Subterranean Pop magazine and
compilations.
World Domination: The Sub Pop Records Story was released on
November 20, 2018 through BMG Books.
