Sub Pop: 001-100

This weekend is Sub Pop's big 20th anniversary celebration (and music festival,) and I've been trying to put together Rhapsody playlists of all the albums in the Seattle record label's catalogue, and it's quite an undertaking. So we're breaking it up... and we'll start with the first 100 releases (SP001-100).


Playlist: Sub Pop 001-100 (Link to launch client)
Tracklisting and corresponding catalogue #

The early years were very Northwest focused, with Denver's Fluid and France's Les Thugs taking SP out of their familiar confines. Both bands are reuniting for this weekend, along with the highly anticipated reunion of Sub Pop's first band, Green River. The other two acts playing this weekend who are part of the first 100 releases include the (still together and relevant) Mudhoney, and a reunited Love Battery (not billed as of yet, but I have it on good authority from the current bass player that they'll be there). It would've been nice to get either Tad or Afghan Whigs together for the show as well, but am I really going to complain about the lineup?

The first 100 releases have some fine album covers, thanks to a controlled look and feel that Poneman and Pavitt utilized for the label, but my favorite still has to be The Dwarves' Blood Guts and Pussy. It's disgusting, vile, degrading, sexy and sophomoric all at the same time -- which makes it all the more punk rock.

Here's some great recent pieces on Sub Pop relating to these first releases in relation to the anniversary:
Sub Pop 20 (Seattle Weekly)
Sub Pop turns 20: A brief history (Chicago Tribune)
Sub Pop Turns 20 (The Guardian UK)
What's this generation coming to? The Sub Pop Singles Club (Pitchfork)
Old Men River - Green River (Seattle Weekly)
Think Local, Sign Global - Les Thugs (Seattle Weekly)