Sub Pop Records: 30 Years, 30 Tracks

Flight of the Conchords – “The Most Beautiful Girl (in the Room)”

from Flight of the Conchords (2008)

When HBO introduced and only produced two seasons of Flight Of The Conchords, it was unusual for the time, considering the small following and success the duo had here in the U.S. Sure enough, the show was great, as well as the music that accompanied it. “The Most Beautiful Girl (In The Room)” isn’t just a hilarious song filled with backhanded compliments and absurdities, it’s a love song that is honest in its approach. Someone so madly in love, complimenting their looks but only good enough to be a part-time model. It’s since become a staple in their catalog. The Conchords were skilled at taking simple subjects and transforming them into catchy and often hilarious tracks. Portlandia surely picked up where The Conchords left off, but it was the New Zealand Duo that planted the seeds first. – Giovanni Martinez

No Age – “Eraser”

from Nouns (2008)

No Age had already built their reputation as a ripping noise band in the burgeoning L.A. punk revival scene. Weirdo Rippers showcased what the band could already do, but it was Nouns that presented their true potential. “Eraser,” though short, packs a powerful punch. Beginning with a simple guitar arrangement, “Eraser” slowly builds up with the noise and the thumping background of the drums. From then on, it transforms into another ripper from the duo. While the recent work of Dean Spunt and Randy Randall continues along the path they laid out early on, Nouns and more particularly “Eraser” proved that the duo were an unstoppable force. Nouns is a landmark achievement in blending noise and punk to create one loud, powerful record. – Giovanni Martinez

Beach House – “Norway”

from Teen Dream (2010)

Victoria Legrand and Alex Scally’s first two albums on Carpark were sparse, dimly-lit late-night affairs that evoked a hell of a lot of emotion in relatively bare-bones arrangements. The duo’s move to Sub Pop brought about a change of production approach, however, and on “Norway,” a standout single from their third album and Sub Pop debut Teen Dream, the group momentarily traded Galaxie 500-like slowcore in favor of a more lushly presented style of dream-pop. It’s a gorgeously shimmering piece of guitar work, creating an atmosphere of druggy bliss over half-drunk melancholy. It’s heavenly. – Jeff Terich

Fleet Foxes – “Helplessness Blues”

from Helplessness Blues (2011)

A two-part folk-rock ode to the art of getting lost. Robin Peckhold sings of the relief depersonalization brings, and the tranquility of being “a functioning cog in some great machinery serving something beyond me.” “Helplessness Blues” paints a healthy Protestant work ethic as being both a positive force and a path to sure anonymity. I can’t help hearing this song as the anthem of Fleet Foxes’ hometown Seattle during the 2010’s: a time of hyper-development at the hands of Amazon tech bros, doubling as delayed punishment for the town’s leftover creatives. (Full disclosure: this ex-Seattleite might be projecting.) – Paul Pearson

Low – “Try to Sleep”

from C’mon (2011)

The Duluth band regularly bounces off sweet dreams and nightmares as a matter of course, and “Try to Sleep” is the rare track where they traffic in both. Nursery-song glockenspiel and Alan Sparhawk’s calming vocals aim straight for the same psychological terrain as Metallica’s “Enter Sandman,” only with much better candy. But the buried, implied horror is adult in nature—slumber provides all the necessary escape and invisibility one could want, with the caveat that it could turn into a permanent condition. It’s unfairly seductive, and no doubt helped by the noir-influenced music video starring a wisely-cast John Stamos. – Paul Pearson

Shabazz Palaces – “Swerve…the Reeping of All That Is Worthwhile”

from Black Up (2011)

It’s only natural that the first hip-hop act signed to Sub Pop be one that was based in Seattle. But it’s also not a shock that this particular hip-hop group is one that essentially rewrote the rules of what makes a compelling hip-hop song. Ishmael Butler, originally of Digable Planets, and Tendai Maraire took apart song structures, artfully employed space and turned sampling upside-down on their Sub Pop debut Black Up. It’s the album’s final track that reveals some of its greatest peaks, with a heavy dose of funk flowing through its peculiarly psychedelic drum-machine snap, complete with guest verses from fellow Sub Pop alums THEESatisfaction. As if this contribution wasn’t enough, Butler ended up being a great asset to Sub Pop in the long run, acting in an A&R role over the past couple years and bringing in acts like Porter Ray and Yuno. – Jeff Terich

clipping. – “Body and Blood”

from CLPPNG (2014)

clipping., the great L.A.-based noise-rap outfit, are my favorite of their genre mostly because they understand that noise-rap requires both halves and because they’re smart enough to use each half to distort the other. “Body and Blood” is all subversion, an exploding-amps reproduction of Yeezus-era industrial-rap. Jonathan Snipes and William Hutson lace a Deathpile sample into a convulsing, walls-closing-in soundscape, where hi-hats are made of feedback and kick drums hit hard enough to cave in your chest cavity. “Blood” is anchored by Daveed Diggs’ razor-sharp, acrobatic flip of “you go, girl!” into “KILL KILL KILL,” his woodcut-precise imagery splattering on the walls as he slices his way through the chasm. An utter bone-bruise of a song. – Ben Dickerson

Dum Dum Girls – “Trouble Is My Name”

from Too True (2014)

A nearly perfect callback of ‘60s teenage melodrama through Jesus & Mary Chain’s ears, the final track on Dum Dum Girls’ third album achieves elevation through mutually assured despair. Fifty freaking years after he worked on the Angels’ “My Boyfriend’s Back,” co-producer Richard Gottehrer teamed up with the Raveonettes’ Sune Rose Wagner to give this track an edgy grace, complete with what sounds like drunken bees in the background. Frontwoman Dee Dee’s vocals dissolve into the reverb, her detached monotone not raised one step even in the crashing chorus. It’s an account of alliance through gothic dysfunction that’s perhaps more moving than originally intended. – Paul Pearson

Father John Misty – “Chateau Lobby #4 (In C for Two Virgins)”

from I Love You Honeybear (2015)

Father John Misty’s critiqued the madness of Americans (and humans) and given himself a good-humored dressing down, but his greatest moment was an album full of love songs. I Love You Honeybear is Josh Tillman’s masterpiece because of its vulnerability, a moment when a sarcastic misanthrope found himself on the business end of some Real Human Feelings, and yeah, that can be scary, but it can also be a pretty fucking beautiful thing. That’s why “Chateau Lobby” is such a perfect song from an atypical songwriter, a moment of genuine romance undercut with the snark and weirdness that one would expect from him. Not to mention the gorgeously orchestrated, Mariachi-influenced arrangement. If any young couple should happen to put this on their wedding playlist (six years too late for us, but it still tugs at those same heartstrings), I have a good feeling about where their future’s headed. Ostrich and cobra wine will be served. – Jeff Terich

Hot Snakes – “Six Wave Hold Down”

from Jericho Sirens (2018)

Natural a fit as it might seem, Hot Snakes and Sub Pop didn’t really begin their partnership until just the last year or so. Frontman Rick Froberg had been releasing records by his band Obits since as far back as 2009, but the San Diego post-hardcore powerhouse officially made their Sub Pop debut with Jericho Sirens, ushering in a new era of California badassery for the Seattle label. And though just about any track will do here, “Six Wave Hold-Down” is, remarkably, one of the catchiest and most muscular tracks in their catalog, the rare track that sounds like a hit from a band that couldn’t give less of a shit about hits. – Jeff Terich