Some time this year... not sure the actual date, but some time this year Sub Pop is turning 20 years old. They are throwing a huge party in the Northwest with tons of current bands playing, and some old favorites getting back together to perform for the celebration.Sup Pop was the label I was most obsessed with during my college years in the mid 90's. The bands they were putting out just never seemed to disappoint me. Many of these records I still own by bands like Seaweed, Codeine, Mudhoney, Eric's Trip, Pond, Hazel, Love Battery, and Velocity Girl. Oh those were the days. I spent more time listening to those tunes over and over, and trying to find all of the 7"s, than I did on my studies. It was what got me excited.
Sub Pop went through a few years in the late 90's and early 2000's which they were putting out lots of releases I could not give a hoot about. It looked like the good days were just about done for the label and then it all started to turn around. In the past couple of years they have been releasing great records once again. In the past few months they have released great albums by the Gutter Twins, Band of Horses, Kelley Stoltz, No Age, Fleet Foxes, Foals, and Helio Sequence.
Maybe I should of studied a little (or a lot) more in college. And maybe I should not of dumped all of my money into 7"s that were $3-$4 each that I listened to a few times and then filed away. But when I look back at my early twentysomething years I know that a big part of that great soundtrack came from Sub Pop.
