News

Beach House I Tunes Free Single Of The Week

susanb@subpop.com (Susan Busch) — Tue, 12 Jan 2010 08:52:50 -0800

Norway, the excellent first single off the upcoming Beach House album Teen Dream, is this week’s I Tunes Free Single Of The Week! Just head on over to I Tunes and nab yourself a free download. You can also pre-order Teen Dream now and receive a very special scrap book from Beach House’s very own Victoria Legrand. So head on over to I Tunes, get Norway for free and then pre-order the album for even MORE freebies. Good stuff.

Fleet Foxes Nominated for Three (3!) Mojo Honours List Awards!

chrisj@subpop.com (Chris Jacobs) — Tue, 19 May 2009 16:45:51 -0700

The fine foulks over at MOJO Magazine recently announced the nominees for their 2009 MOJO Honours List and Fleet Foxes received three nominations! Were we to be keeping track, that would come out to… MORE THAN ANYONE ELSE.

As anyone with the good sense to read MOJO would be able to tell you, Fleet Foxes are in remarkably good company here. Further proof to be found in this bit of pudding from the MOJO Honours List announcement itself:

Now in its sixth year, the Honours List has seen the likes of James Brown, Arthur Lee, The Who, Noel Gallagher, Led Zeppelin, Lemmy, Morrissey, Marianne Faithfull, Judy Collins, The Clash and The Stooges (to name but a few) join forces to celebrate great music in all its grand forms.

WHOA!

Fleet Foxes have been nominated in the “Album of the Year,” “Best Live Act” and “Song of the Year” (for “White Winter Hymnal”) categories, alongside the likes of PJ Harvey and John Parish, Paul Weller, Leonard Cohen, Radiohead, and a whole raft of other amazing artists. And, though we did not put out the Fleet Foxes record in the UK (Bella Union did) we are just incredibly proud of these guys for all that they have accomplished.

Congratulations, Fleet Foxes, here’s hoping you sweep all three categories!

For an insightful (and funny) glimpse of (two of) the MEN OF FLEET FOXES, please refer yourself to this entertaining, freewheeling interview Robin and Josh did with the inimitable Nardwuar the Human Serviette a while back!

Sub Pop's Facebook Page

alissag@subpop.com (Alissa Gallivan) — Mon, 18 May 2009 11:28:34 -0700

Ok, we’ve finally decided to create an official Sub Pop Facebook page . We’ve noticed that there seems to be a lot of Sub Pop fan pages on that site, but this one is the only one that will be updated solely by us! And a page updated by us means that our lucky fans will not only get band news and label updates but also staff arm wrestling videos and random office photos! Any real fan of Sub Pop would be a fan of a page like that.

No Age to perform a Live Score at SIFF

laceys@subpop.com (Lacey Swain) — Fri, 15 May 2009 11:05:07 -0700

No Age will perform an original live score in accompaniment to Jean-Jacques Annaud’s Césár winning film, The Bear (France, 1988). The debut of this never before seen or heard work takes place on Friday, June 12, at the Triple Door at 7:00pm (all-ages) and 9:30pm (21+). Tickets are $20 in advance, $22 day of show. Tickets go on sale May 8 and will be available online here and here, and by phone at 206.324.9996.

No Age inspires its audience with live shows that are an exploration of possibilities: a guitar laid over a resonating drum head, effect loops woven together like beautiful harmonies, pop songs as performance art, a duo that sounds like the gale force of rock history delivered through a wind tunnel. Their original score to The Bear has been created and crafted specifically for this one-night only experience at SIFF.

Vetiver on NPR's World Cafe Tuesday, May 12th!

chrisj@subpop.com (Chris Jacobs) — Fri, 08 May 2009 10:44:42 -0700

Our pals in Vetiver recently recorded a performance and interview for NPR’s World Cafe and this session will be broadcast on Tuesday, May 12th! You should listen!

Here are the details as we know them…

National Public Radio’s World Cafe with host David Dye can be heard on nearly 200 stations nationwide. Fans can find their local station by scrolling to the bottom & choosing their state under “Find a Program Broadcast Time” at the following link:

www.npr.org/templates/stations/schedule/?prgId=39

…or worldwide they can listen online to the WXPN/Philadelphia stream Monday through Friday, 2pm to 4pm Eastern Standard Time by going to:

www.xpn.org/listen-live/listen-live

Late in the day of broadcast, the audio will be available on the National Public Radio website:

www.npr.org/templates/rundowns/rundown.php?prgId=39&agg=1

The following things are also worth mentioning!

*"Vetiver is currently on tour":http://www.subpop.com/tours/vetiver/, very possibly somewhere near you!
*We, your close, personal friends here at Sub Pop Records have managed to procure a stash of Vetiver’s Record Store Day 7" single, the really very excellent and also quite limited and collectible “Wishing Well” b/w “Pay No Mind” on magnificent, light-blue marble-y vinyl. Get one while they last!

Obits on FMU

chrisj@subpop.com (Chris Jacobs) — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 12:16:33 -0700

Obits played live on the Evan “Funk” Davies show on WFMU last night (Apr. 21st). And, because we live in the future now, you can listen to this performance by programming the internet for here.

They play nine songs off their fantastic debut record album I Blame You.

Go listen!

You can (and should) also listen to this performance, as well as Obits’ first show back in Jan. ‘08 at the Cake Shop in NYC, and in the near future (we’re guessing) more Obits live recordings in the Obits-curated section of the Free Music Archive. By the way, the Free Music Archive is totally worth checking out for all sorts of other cool stuff.

Blitzen Trapper A Capella

laceys@subpop.com (Lacey Swain) — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 11:12:27 -0700

Here is that thing Blitzen Trapper shot for mtvU. Check it out—it’s cool.
LOOK AT ME! LOOK AT ME!

GRUNGE IS DEAD? (Don't tell Sasha!)

laceys@subpop.com (Lacey Swain) — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 10:24:20 -0700

According to Greg Prato, grunge has officially died. You can read all about it in his new oral history, Grunge Is Dead. He spoke with a bunch of old grungey hipsters (some of them are famous rock stars and one of them is our boss) and put their stories together to create his new book.

Prato will sign copies of his new book at Easy Street Records & Cafe in West Seattle on Saturday, 25-April at 6pm (4559 California Ave SW). This event is free and open to public (for more information, visit Easy Street.

RECORD STORE DAY -- SUB POP STYLE

laceys@subpop.com (Lacey Swain) — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 16:50:12 -0700

It’s time again for Record Store Day (April 18), sometimes known as Record Store Day 2: The Reckoning. Last year we gave out free CD samplers of our astoundingly good bands, but this year we are doing something even better—SELLING stuff by our astoundingly good bands, but only in record stores, not even here on subpop.com.

We’re doing four limited-edition 7" singles with unreleased material by Flight of the Conchords (‘Pencils in the Wind’/‘Albi the Racist Dragon’), Obits (‘I Can’t Lose/‘Military Madness’), Vetiver (‘Wishing Well’/‘Pay No Mind’), and Blitzen Trapper (‘War is Placebo’/‘Booksmart Baby’). COLLECTOR NERD STATS: All of these are limited to 1500 copies, except Flight of the Conchords which is limited to 3000, but they’re on TV so….

We’re also releasing an 18-track live set from Iron & Wine’s Woman King tour in 2005, but this one’s on CD with extra cute packaging to make it look like a tiny 45. Adorable, and limited to 5000.
Learn more about Record Store Day here. See you in the vinyl bins, bro!

BABY TAKEOVER

laceys@subpop.com (Lacey Swain) — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 16:26:15 -0700

Yesterday we had a visit from our other new baby friend, Paloma Hernandez, daughter of Sophia and Dave Hernandez, of the Shins. She’s a real beaut and it was so fun having her in the office! Oh god, my eggs are drying up—someone get me a puppy STAT!

SXSW Day Parties

laceys@subpop.com (Lacey Swain) — Mon, 09 Mar 2009 11:34:33 -0700

And without further ado, and practically zero fanfare, here are the (mostly free!) SXSW parties with SUB POP bands! I was thinking about writing the addresses and all that jazz, but I thought that since these were free shows it’d be okay for you to do a small amount of work and figure out the location on your own. Plus, teach a man a fish and all that, you know? Anyway, enough with my constant ramblings…. HERE IS THE INFO YOU NEED!
AND…
AWAY…
WE…
GO…

See you in the pit, doodz.

WEDNESDAY 3/18

Vetiver : the Austinist.com Party at the Mohawk 4pm
Vetiver : Leafy Green Showcase at Emo’s Jr. 10pm

THURSDAY 3/19

Vetiver : Bay Bridged Party at Beauty Bar 2:30pm
Handsome Furs : Fader Fort Party 3:30pm
Blitzen Trapper : NPR Music Day Party at The Parish 4pm
No Age : Found Magazine Party at Red 7 4:30pm
Vetiver : Dog & Pony Party at Opal Divine’s 5pm

FRIDAY 3/20

Obits : Insound Party at Club Deville @ 12:30pm
Handsome Furs : Insound Party at Club Deville @ 1:20
Vetiver : Waterloo Records In-store 2pm
Vetiver : SFxSW Party at Wave on 6th Street 4pm
Handsome Furs : Waterloo Records In-store 6pm
Obits : WFMU/Aquarius Records Showcase at Spiro’s 11pm

SATURDAY 3/21

Vetiver : Mess With Texas Fest at 1:35pm
Obits : Filter Magazine Party at Cedar Street Courtyard 1:45pm
Tiny Vipers : End of an Ear In-Store 3pm
Obits : VICE Saves Texas party (311 E. 5th St., at Trinity) at 1:00 am

Sub Pop Showcase at SXSW 2009

laceys@subpop.com (Lacey Swain) — Wed, 04 Mar 2009 15:34:07 -0800

Hey, Hey! My coworkers and I are heading to Austin, TX in two short weeks so that we can wine and dine our contacts and show off the talents of our lovable and extremely talented bands. On Thursday March 19th, we’ll be at the Radio Room (508 E. 6th St – formerly Bourbon Rocks, formerly Fat Tuesdays, formerly some place with novelty shots and lots of tits). Most of these bands will be playing additional parties and what-not—we’ll post those soon!

For Your Scheduling Pleasure:
8:00 No Age (outside)
8:30 The Baptist Generals (inside)
9:00 Red Red Meat (outside)
9:30 Mark Sultan (inside)
10:00 Obits (outside)
10:30 Daniel Martin Moore (inside)
11:00 Vetiver (outside)
11:30 Tiny Vipers (inside)
12:00 Blitzen Trapper (outside)
12:30 Pretty & Nice (inside)
1:00 Handsome Furs (outside)

All photos courtesy Jay Cox

Please welcome Billie Atkins!

laceys@subpop.com (Lacey Swain) — Tue, 03 Mar 2009 15:41:18 -0800

Our very own online publicist, friend, and vending mogul Alissa Gallivan has, for over nine months now, been “the pregnant lady” here at Sub Pop, but we are excited to announce that we can now just call her mom. Alissa and her husband John Atkins are the proud parents of what may be the best baby girl in all the land. Congratulations to the cutest little family we know!

Daniel Martin Moore on NPR's World Cafe Tuesday, March 3

chrisj@subpop.com (Chris Jacobs) — Mon, 02 Mar 2009 11:37:49 -0800

The very talented, affable and strikingly tall Daniel Martin Moore recently recorded a performance and interview for NPR’s World Cafe and this session will be broadcast on Tuesday, March 3rd! You should listen!

Here are the details as we know them…

http://www.npr.org/templates/stations/schedule/?prgId=39

…or worldwide they can listen online to the WXPN/Philadelphia stream Monday through Friday, 2pm to 4pm Eastern Standard Time by going to:

http://www.xpn.org/listen-live/listen-live

Late in the day of broadcast, the audio will be available on the National Public Radio website:

http://www.npr.org/templates/rundowns/rundown.php?prgId=39&agg=1

Red Red Meat: Live!

chrisj@subpop.com (Chris Jacobs) — Wed, 25 Feb 2009 18:25:34 -0800

As we really hope you are already aware, we will be re-issuing Red Red Meat’s incredibly great 1995 album Bunny Gets Paid in a fancy, deluxed-up edition on March 24th. The original album has been re-mastered, there’s a 7-song 2nd disc of alternate, demo and single versions of album tracks, plus b-sides, covers and a previously unreleased song from the same era (“St. Anthony’s Jawbone”), all wrapped up in expanded and enhanced album art.

It’s pretty nice (and available for pre-order right now).

What you may not already be aware of, the thing that is providing me with an excuse to talk up the reissue here in a “news piece,” is that Red Red Meat is getting back together to play a handful of shows next month as well! They will be playing two shows at the Empty Bottle in Chicago, one on March 17th, the other on March 18th, AND they will be playing at the Sub Pop showcase at SxSW this year on March 19th! All of the confirmed Red Red Meat shows are, not at all coincidentally, up in our tour section right GD now.

If you’re able, you should really avail yourself of one of these rare opportunities to see Red Red Meat play. We convinced them to perform at our 20th anniversary festival last summer and can say with the somewhat smug confidence of recent, first-hand experience that it is highly likely you will have a very good time.

No Age + Nardwuar = Nard Wage?

chrisj@subpop.com (Chris Jacobs) — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 17:34:25 -0800

Ever wanted to know what No Age has in common with 2 Live Crew? (Not much!) Curious about what food both Lenny Kravitz and No Age enthusiastically endorse? (Parisian Falafel!) Still can’t figure out if No Age actually did perform a Nirvana cover at SP20? (They didn’t!) Dean’s the drummer, right? (Yes!)

Find out these things and so much more in Nardwuar the Human Serviette’s interview with No Age!

Nardwuar interviews No Age at Gorilla Food in Vancouver, BC, Canada!

Eugene Mirman Reading in Seattle, Tonight!

deanh@subpop.com (Harry Dean Hudson) — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 13:16:53 -0800

Our very own Eugene Mirman will be doing a reading from his new Harper Perennial book, The Will to Whatevs tonight at the University Bookstore at 7pm. Come out and see him wax literary on such topics as “The Entertainment Industry,” “Politics,” and “Ca-Motherfuckin’-Reer, Ca-Motherfuckin’-Job and Ca-Motherfuckin’-Business.”

Obits song on eMusic Selects compilation

chrisj@subpop.com (Chris Jacobs) — Fri, 13 Feb 2009 17:14:07 -0800

This week the good people at eMusic released a 16-track compilation of the music they’re most excited about right now, entitled Selected & Collected: An eMusic Selects Compilation. And one of the songs you’ll find here is “Light Sweet Crude” from the upcoming Obits album I Blame You! Not only is this an opportunity to get a song from the new Obits record a full month + before its release, but this is the first Sub Pop song to be available on eMusic.

Plus, the whole compilation is great. For further proof, you can d/l the liner notes here. If you’re an eMusic subscriber, you should go get this comp and if you’re not already a subscriber, maybe you should be.

In other news, I Blame You is available for pre-order right now here.

Flight of the Conchords "In the Studio"

chrisj@subpop.com (Chris Jacobs) — Fri, 06 Feb 2009 12:20:18 -0800

The folks at HBO just put together an “In the Studio” video with Flight of the Conchords. And, it is well worth your time not only because of its candid glimpse of Jemaine and Bret’s artistic process, but also because it is an entertaining, and often funny, piece of promotional flimflam for the show, our forthcoming Flight of the Conchords album, and this thing we’re doing where we’re selling a new song from the show ea. Monday on iTunes.

You can and should watch it here!

Daniel Martin Moore vs. Louisville, KY

richardl@subpop.com (Richard Laing) — Mon, 02 Feb 2009 12:45:22 -0800

Attention Kentuckians! On Friday, February 6th, Kentucky’s own Daniel Martin Moore will attempt to take Louisville by strategy. The aforementioned strategy is to play WFPK’s popular Live Lunch at 1pm program at 1pm and then perform at Louisville’s record shrine, Ear X-tacy at 6pm.

Here are some details:

WFPK 91.9FM in Louisville, worldwide at www.wfpk.org. Daniel plays Live Lunch at 1pm.

Ear X-tacy
1534 Bardstown Rd. Louisville, KY 40205 (502)452-1799
Daniel plays at 6pm.

Sonya and Tony got hitched!

chrisj@subpop.com (Chris Jacobs) — Thu, 29 Jan 2009 14:29:53 -0800

CONGRATULATIONS, TONY AND SONYA!

Yesterday our friends Tony Kiewel and Sonya Westcott got married! We’re incredibly happy for them and wish them every happiness. Here’s a photo from the ceremony (rumor has it that this guy caught the bouquet). Tomorrow we’ll post more photos and gossip from the party!

One new Flight of the Conchords song every week!

chrisj@subpop.com (Chris Jacobs) — Fri, 16 Jan 2009 16:09:16 -0800

Season 2 of the Flight of the Conchords HBO TV show begins this Sunday night, January 18th! And, in a radical, full-body, immodest embrace of modern technology, we will be releasing, through the iTunes music store, one song from each episode on the Monday morning after that episode airs!

So, for example, on Monday, January 19th, you will be able to purchase the Flight of the Conchords song [spoiler alert!] “Angels,” from the previous night’s Season 2 premiere.

It’s what we’re calling our “See It on Sunday, Buy It on Monday (Please)” promotional ploy. And, we really think it’s possible you might like it.

So, should you want new Flight of the Conchords songs (and who don’t?), please visit the Flight of the Conchords iTunes page right here.

Further info! The entire new Flight of the Conchords album will be released ~~on April 14th~~ just as soon as we’rw able after the conclusion of Season 2. It will include all ten of the songs released through iTunes, plus several more (probably 15 or so tracks total). It will also include an album title, some (we’re confident) very nice and very palpable artwork, and either a large shiny black disc, or a smallish silvery one, depending. On the album’s release date, if you’ve bought some or all of the songs throughout the season on iTunes, you’ll have the option to “Complete the Album” through iTunes, and won’t have to repurchase anything. You could also just buy the complete album from us on or after April 14th. We view that option favorably as well.

In other Flight of the Conchords news, we would still like to sell you their Grammy Award-winning EP The Distant Future and/or their self-titled and currently Grammy-nominated full-length debut Flight of the Conchords. There will also be a humongous Flight of the Conchords North American tour throughout most of April and May of this year.

AN ATTEMPT TO POLISH OUR TARNISHED HALOS

carlys@subpop.com (carly starr) — Mon, 12 Jan 2009 12:55:07 -0800

Carly and I are raising money for the Leukemia Lymphoma Society. We have decided to join the army to fight for a cure for cancer as well as honor a former co-worker and friend, Chris Takino. Chris was the mastermind behind Up Records and signed bands such as Modest Mouse, Built To Spill, 764-HERO, and so many other great bands. He worked at Sub Pop in the late 80’s and also worked as a part time employee in the mid to late 90’s. He did so much for so many artists on Up, Sub Pop, and even SST, where he worked before moving to Seattle. Carly and I are participating in a couple of upcoming triathlons that are fundraisers for this particular cause. If you’d like to make a donation, please click one of the links below. Jonathan’s cousin, Daniel, is participating as well! 100% of money raised goes straight to LLS.
-Megan

Carly’s Page
Megan’s Page
Daniel’s Page

Fleet Foxes Perform on SNL January 17th

laceys@subpop.com (Lacey Swain) — Fri, 09 Jan 2009 15:14:42 -0800

Fleet Foxes, everyone’s favorite of 2008, will be appearing on Saturday Night Live one week from tomorrow (that’s January 17th) and they’ll be playing “Mykonos” and “Blue Ridge Mountains”. This is HUGE! And we wish them the best of luck or to break a leg or whatever is appropriate in this situation. Rosario Dawson hosts, and hopefully Justin Timberlake will just show up like he’s been doing lately.

Instant "Tight Knit" Stream When You Pre-Order

deanh@subpop.com (Harry Dean Hudson) — Thu, 08 Jan 2009 16:03:32 -0800

That’s right! We’re offering immediate access to a stream of Vetiver’s 4th long player Tight Knit to folks who pre-order the record right here on subpop.com. You get unfettered access to the sweet sounds of Tight Knit as soon as you order, and then the format of your choice (which is, of course, vinyl right?) when it becomes more widely available.

You not only get to listen to the record early (and with none of that icky bulletin board nerdiness or guilt) but you get a shiny copy of the real artifact in the post by release date. All this while supporting an amazing independent artist and your favorite label. Pretty sweet, no? So sweet that it almost bears repeating.

Buy it here!

The Murder City Devils West Coast Tour: February 2009!

chrisj@subpop.com (Chris Jacobs) — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 09:11:26 -0800

Hey! Good news! Our old friends "The Murder City Devils ":http:www.subpop.com/artists/the_murder_city_devils are doing a string of west coast dates in February!

Those guys also just recently put together a fancy new website: themurdercitydevils.com. And, we’ll be reissuing all of The Murder City Devils’ full-lengths (plus Thelema) on vinyl in February, to coincide with the tour.

The Feb. dates are all up in the tour section of the Sub Pop site now!

The full press release on the tour can be found here

See you there!

Grammy nominations for No Age and Flight of the Conchords!

chrisj@subpop.com (Chris Jacobs) — Wed, 10 Dec 2008 17:46:30 -0800

Last week, the nominations for the 2009 Grammy Awards were announced and we were pleasantly confused to discover that once again TWO (2) artists recording for the Sub Pop label earned nominations!

We are, of course, talking about No Age and Flight of the Conchords.

In category 80 (aka Best Comedy Album), the self-titled debut long-player by Flight of the Conchords is up against albums by Lewis Black, Kathy Griffin, Harry Shearer, and… George Carlin.

And, in category 88, (the award for Best Recording Package) No Age and art director Brian Roettinger have been nominated for the really very amazing, and yes, also handsomely packaged Nouns album! How crazy and amazing would it be if No Age won a Grammy??? We have all available fingers crossed.

This is becoming almost a regular thing. Last year, you’ll remember/we’ll take this opportunity to remind you, not only were The Shins up for Best Alternative Album (for Wincing the Night Away), but Flight of the Conchords ACTUALLY WON A GRAMMY for their EP The Distant Future. Full details on all that are here

Congratulations to both No Age and Flight of the Conchords—we’re very proud of you guys and regularly attempt to impress people by claiming to know you.

Good luck!

[Entirely without permission, we helped ourselves to the No Age photo here from the No Age blog]

The Ruby Suns on your TV thanks to computers!?

tonyk@subpop.com (tony kiewel) — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 16:48:05 -0800

It’s true. The Ruby Suns song “Oh, Mojave” has been used by Microsoft in their commercial for somthing called Windows Vista. I asked our IT department what that was and apparently its what makes your computer go, but only if you’re using the John Hodgman kind of computer. So there you have it. Anyway, if for some reason you overhear your friend (or even someone else’s friend) mumbling to his or herself “My oh my that’s a catchy little ditty in that there Microsoft commercial… I wonder who that is!?” we’d really appreciate it if you could pass along the information. Thanks in advance.

Here’s a link to an article about the use that also happens to have a clip up.
http://adage.com/songsforsoap/post?article_id=132628&search_phrase=11%2F18%2F2008

Fleet Foxes win first-ever Uncut Music Award!

chrisj@subpop.com (Chris Jacobs) — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 12:33:17 -0800

The five mellifluous, industrious, and hirsute young men of Fleet Foxes have, it was announced earlier today, won the inaugural Uncut Music Award! The Fleet Foxes’ debut won out over some very stiff competition, including the likes ot Radiohead, The Raconteurs, Vampire Weekend, Drive-By Truckers, and Bon Iver. Much more about all of this, including comments from the judges, can, and really should, be read here. Congratulations Fleet Foxes! We’re awfully proud of you guys and happy to see you getting the recognition you deserve!

Use the Google to find your polling place

deanh@subpop.com (Harry Dean Hudson) — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 15:38:38 -0700

We’d hate to see you get lost trying to vote on this, the mostest important of election days. Fortunately for us, so would Google! Take a look at this fanciful tool they put together to help you find your polling place:

http://maps.google.com/vote

Just type your address into the form field on the left (that is, the address at which you’re registered to vote), click “search” and voila! You’ll be well on your way to becoming a high-information voter. Or at least a voter that knows where to find their polling place.

Oh, yeah. The election is on Tuesday. November 4th. That last part matters.

Daniel Martin Moore Live at CD Central

richardl@subpop.com (Richard Laing) — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 15:45:35 -0700

Daniel Martin Moore will perform tracks from his new record Stray Age at Lexington’s fine music emporium CD Central. We hope you can make it.

Sunday, October 26, 2008 at 3 p.m.
CD Central, Lexington KY

Blitzen Trapper Live @ Vintage Vinyl, St Louis

richardl@subpop.com (Richard Laing) — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 15:07:02 -0700

Portland, Oregon’s Blitzen Trapper are booked to play at St Louis’ Vintage Vinyl record store on Sunday November 2nd at 1pm. It’s free, it’s all ages, so bring your kids and your parents and support your local record store by picking up Blitzen Trapper’s cracking new record Furr.

Plus more Sub Pop at CMJ...

chrisj@subpop.com (Chris Jacobs) — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 17:26:33 -0700

In addition to the showcase we are hosting with our friends at Hardly Art and Suicide Squeeze at Piano’s on Friday, Oct. 24th (full details on the showcase here), there are a number of other events that bands on the label are playing during the festival. Specifically, these events!

Death Vessel
- Wed. Oct. 22—8:00pm—The Studio @ Webster Hall—free party
- Thurs. Oct. 23—7:35pm—169 Bowery at Delancey—Fader party

The Helio Sequence
- Fri. Oct. 24th—The Knitting Factory—PDX@CMJ show (doors at 11:00am)

Oxford Collapse
- Thurs. Oct. 23—10:00pm—Red Bull Space—Paste / KCRW party

The Ruby Suns
- Tues. Oct. 21—8:00pm—The Delancey—NZ Showcase
- Sat. Oct. 25—3:00pm—Music Hall of Williamsburg—AAM party
- Sat. Oct. 25—Doors at noon, The Ruby Suns play sometime around 7:00 or 8:00—The Market Hotel—After The Jump Party

Eugene Mirman is recording his new album at his shows in Chicago Nov. 7/8!

chrisj@subpop.com (Chris Jacobs) — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 16:27:25 -0700

Eugene Mirman is a busy guy. In addition to his recent foray into investigative journalist-like behavior during the Republican National Convention (where he was detained by the Secret Service for preparing some kind of MRE in his pants…), organizing, hosting and performing in the Eugene Mirman Comedy Festival (alongside a whole raft of other great comedians) in Brooklyn at the end of September, and writing his book The Will to Whatevs, which will be out in Feb. 2009 on Harper Collins Perennial, he is ALSO getting ready to record a new stand-up comedy record for us here at Sub Pop! On Friday and Saturday, November 7th and 8th, we’ll be recording Eugene’s performances at the Lakeshore Theater in Chicago! And, you should go! Here’s your chance to be edited out of Eugene’s new album!

(The photo we used here was taken from the griffinshot Flickr stream and was then inexpertly cropped to fit the space…)

In Memoriam: Jim Yunker

andyk@subpop.com (Andy Kotowicz) — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 16:47:55 -0700

It is with great sadness that we report the passing of Jim Yunker, Michael Yonkers’ brother and original drummer of the Michael Yonkers Band who played on Microminiature Love. Jim died yesterday following a long bout with leukemia. Our thoughts are with Michael and his family at this impossibly difficult time.

Sub Pop and Hardly Art and Suicide Squeeze: Together at CMJ 2008

chrisj@subpop.com (Chris Jacobs) — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 16:00:06 -0700

We’re teaming up with our friends at Hardly Art and Suicide Squeeze for our CMJ showcase this year! It will take place at Piano’s (158 Ludlow at Stanton, NYC) on Friday, October 24th. The show starts at 8:00 and is $12 at the door, or free with a CMJ badge. Here’s the full schedule:

Upstairs room:
8:00-8:30 Pretty & Nice
8:45-9:15 The Coathangers

Downstairs room:
8:30-9:00 Cotton Jones
9:15-9:45 Death Vessel
10:00-10:30 The Dutchess and the Duke
10:45-11:15 sBACH
11:30-12:00 Oxford Collapse
12:15-12:45 The Ruby Suns

You guys should totally come.

At Last! Vetiver Is Ours!

chrisj@subpop.com (Chris Jacobs) — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 16:35:56 -0700

We are thrilled to announce that Sub Pop is now the proud owner of Vetiver! In the parlance of our times, we simply issued some commercial paper to raise the requisite capital and now Vetiver is ours. Or, that’s how we “understand” these things to work anyway…

Anyway, because we assume you all to be discerning music fans (attractive ones at that!), we’re sure that you’re already familiar with Vetiver, the ever-evolving musical home-base of singer/songwriter Andy Cabic. We’ve been nurturing an increasingly devoted fondness for their work, both recorded and otherwise, since the release of their debut album in 2004. The new album, bearing the evocative and fairly badass title, Tight Knit is complete and will be released on February 3, 2009, giving it the distinctive honor of “first post-Bush release on Sub Pop!” I know. Weird, right? The album is easily their most varied yet and we can’t wait to let it off the leash to roam free.

We mentioned that we’re thrilled already, right? Well, we are.

Explore the Vetiverse here

No Age and CBS TV

chrisj@subpop.com (Chris Jacobs) — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 11:12:05 -0700

Late last week our friends in No Age taped a performance on The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson, to air later this month, on October 27th. Between the band’s rehearsal and when this taping was to take place, No Age’s guitarist Randy Randall was asked to wear something other than the Obama t-shirt he had on (-which you can see and admire in the associated photo here—he looks good, right??-)¹. The folks working at the show explained that due to the Equal Time Rule, allowing No Age to perform on TV in an Obama t-shirt would force them to allow similar, equal time for that other, elderly fellow who is running in the upcoming Presidential election. So, after a whole lot of wrestling with his conscience and conversation about the situation, Randy decided to go on with the show, and having hand-written the words “Free Health Care” on the inside of his t-shirt, performed wearing it inside-out.

We got an email from Randy last night and it’s clear that this experience is really not sitting well with him. You can and really should read his note below. And, below that, you can read a post from Arthur Magazine’s editor Jay Babcock about why it’s important for us all to pay attention to what the various artists in our lives have to say. Please take the time to do so!

As a brief side note, after reading through the info about this Equal Time Rule, it seems to cover actual appearances by political candidates (and has been broadened to include stuff like movies starring a political candidate – Reagan in Bedtime for Bonzo, for example). But, it’s tough to understand how that would apply to candidates’ likenesses on t-shirts as well. Had CBS allowed Randy to play a No Age song on TV in an Obama shirt, would they have then been obligated to book a band (or other guest?) who would agree to appear on national TV in a McCain shirt? If that’s the case, and while it’s totally fair and understandable for Randy to construe all of this as censorship, we can sympathize with CBS’s decision here. Think of the unbearably shitty bands they would be forced to book! And, Ted Nugent is SUPER BUSY these days.

More importantly, here’s Randy:

Hello All,

I apologize for mass email but I feel that it is important to get this out to as many people as possible. I have recently come under what can only be called extreme censorship. On Oct 2nd No Age was scheduled to perform on the Late Late show with Craig Ferguson, to be broadcast on CBS later this month. I felt it was important to voice my choice for presidential candidate, Barack Obama, seeing as the episode would air 8 days before election day. We rehearsed on the stage and were waiting to film our performance when I was told that I would not be able to wear my Barack Obama t shirt. I was shocked, it seemed like some kind of joke, especially coming from a show like the Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson, produced by David Letterman’s production company World Wide Pants. The representatives of CBS said that by wearing an Obama T-shirt I would be violating the FCC rule of equal time for all candidates. However there there is a doctrine of fairness that former President Ronald Reagan and current president George W Bush supported the repeal of in order to allow themselves more time in the media. Regardless, the Equal Time Rule clearly favors candidates with more financial support. Ralph Nader and Ron Paul are not seen nearly as much as Obama and McCain.

I had to look at what I was up against and with 5 minutes before we were supposed to shoot I had only a handful of options. I could either A) walk away from the show and decline from appearing on the show, or B) change my T-shirt. My first choice was A. However, after talking way past the 5 minute mark, Dean and I decided that it would be better to take advantage of the stage we had at our disposal. I decided to make an appeal for “Free Health Care” on my T-shirt seeing as I was unable to voice my support for Barack Obama. Access to affordable health care is an issue very near to my heart for many personal reasons and I am sure that many of you can relate. I have lost and stood by as many of my close family members have battled with terrible illnesses. I have myself gone through traumatic hospitalizations only to come out the other side alive but horribly in debt.

I encourage all of you to speak out about your political views and your feelings about the many issues that are up for discussion at this crucial time in American history. CBS and major media outlets DO NOT speak for me. I do not look to corporate media to inform my views on the issues. Together through our communities we can make a difference and make it a point to express our views in order to shape our world into a better place.

Thank you,
Randy Randall

And, here’s Arthur ed. Jay Babcock’s response:

Who Cares What Musicians Think About Politics? They’re Not Experts, They’re Artists—Which Is Exactly Why We Should Listen

¹ The photo that now accompanies this post was taken by Joshua Pressman, back when No Age played at the LA River. You can read more about that here.

A Drink for the Kids 2008!

chrisj@subpop.com (Chris Jacobs) — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 17:47:07 -0700

A Drink For The Kids, the Vera Project’s annual benefit event for the 21-and-over crowd, is happening October 8th through 11th in bars across Seattle, including a grand finale show at Neumo’s on the Oct. 11th. All proceeds from the show and from any Red Hook and Dewar’s drinks purchased at the venues will help keep music and art accessible to people of all ages. So pick a spot in your neighborhood every night, and save Saturday October 11th for the show! By simply ordering a Redhook or Dewars and coming to a great show you can lend your support for the Vera Project, Seattle’s all-ages, volunteer-run music and arts space.

Check out the schedule below, and get tickets to the concert here!

Wednesday October 8, 6-10 p.m., 21 and over

The Saint
Hazlewood
Shorty’s
Easy Street West Seattle –with a 7p.m. show with Abigail Washburn & The
Sparrow Quartet (featuring Bela Fleck)

Thursday October 9, 6-10 p.m., 21 and over

Cha Cha
Hattie’s Hat
Mission
Rendezvous

Friday October 10, 6-10 p.m., 21 and over

Linda’s Tavern
King’s Hardware
Spitfire
West 5

Saturday October 11—Neumo’s Presents A Drink for the Kids 2008 —Grand Finale Concert
BUY TICKETS NOW!

Very special super secret surprise guest headliner!
The Ruby Suns
Mt. St. Helens Vietnam Band
Hosted by People’s Republic of Komedy’s Kevin Hyder
DJ Righteous Trash

$15 adv.
8 p.m. doors

See you there!
xo
A DRINK FOR THE KIDS TEAM

Can’t make it? Donate to Vera anyway! You can make a tax-deductible donation
online here

Janeane Garofalo Loves Us

sasham@subpop.com (Sasha Morgan) — Fri, 03 Oct 2008 14:26:35 -0700

And we love her too!

FOALS PLAY KIMMEL TONIGHT

laceys@subpop.com (Lacey Swain) — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 15:36:53 -0700

Foals play “Red Sox Pugie” live on the Jimmy Kimmel show tonight. Don’t miss—one of them usually pukes when they play live. Plus, they’re British and he used to date Sarah Silverman!

Be sure to check them out on on Fuel TV’s “Daily Habit” on October 3rd, as well. Don’t worry, I’ll remind you again.

VOTE FOR NO AGE TO WIN A WOODIE!

laceys@subpop.com (Lacey Swain) — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 15:30:28 -0700

Take a break from the heated national elections and vote on what really matters—music videos. Dean and Randy from No Age have been nominated in the Left Field category of the mtvU Woodie Awards for their awesome video for “Eraser” and only you can make this happen. It’s like, democracy in action or something, almost. VOTE HERE, A LOT!

Register to Vote

deanh@subpop.com (Harry Dean Hudson) — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 12:45:56 -0700

We really shouldn’t have to be telling you this, right? Because you know that we live in a representative democracy and those representatives seem to go off the rail, crazy-train-style, when voters (that’s you) don’t hold them accountable. November 4th is your chance to hold ’em to it—we want to do our part to make sure you have the info that you need to make it happen.

So, first things first. If you’re 18 years of age make absolutely sure that you’re registered to vote. Even if you think that you’re already registered, you need to double check. The last few elections have seen political operatives employ all sorts of fishy tactics to purge voters from the rolls. This could include you.

Fortunately, the interweb has made registering to vote very easy. The Rock The Vote folks have reduced it to a web form:

Just fill out the form, print and mail it. Most states have a 30 day cut-off for voter registration, so do it now. If you are already registered to vote, re-registering shouldn’t screw it up. If you’re really worried, you can check your local voter guide (see below) for details.

If you are going to be away from your polling place on November 4th, you need to vote absentee. Longdistancevoter.org is a great resource for figuring out exactly how this works in your state:

Absentee voter information and state voter guides

They provide links to state voting guides at the bottom of the page. Make sure you’re registered to vote, then check your state’s voter guide for specific information on how get an absentee ballot and where to return it.

If you’re not registered and you want to vote, you need to take care of this right away. Do not procrastinate!

Blitzen Trapper Full Album Stream available now on Spinner

alissag@subpop.com (Alissa Gallivan) — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 10:58:17 -0700

Last chance to check out the full album stream of Blitzen Trapper’s upcoming album Furr!
The album will be featured this week on Spinner

Blitzen Trapper, Live In Record Stores

richardl@subpop.com (Richard Laing) — Thu, 18 Sep 2008 16:46:58 -0700

Next week, Blitzen Trapper will play live in two of the Pacific Northwest’s finest record stores; Easy Street (Queen Anne) in Seattle and Music Millennium in Portland. Their new record, Furr, comes out on Tuesday, September 23rd. You can check out the title track “Furr” here.

Here are the important details:

Tuesday, September 23, 2008
Music Millennium , Portland OR
in-store performance @ 7 p.m.

Friday, September 26, 2008
Easy Street (Queen Anne), Seattle WA
in-store performance @ 6 p.m.

The Blitzen Trapper Listening Party Starts Today

alissag@subpop.com (Alissa Gallivan) — Tue, 16 Sep 2008 16:27:50 -0700

Content: Starting today and running until Thursday, September 18th, Blitzen Trapper’s upcoming album Furr will be featured on My Old Kentucky Blog’s Listening Party – more fantastic album streaming, all for you!

Listen to it here! Blitzen Trapper Listening Party

Full Album Stream of Blitzen Trapper 's FURR

alissag@subpop.com (Alissa Gallivan) — Fri, 12 Sep 2008 14:50:46 -0700

Starting today and running until Monday, September 15th, Blitzen Trapper’s upcoming album Furr will be streaming in its entirety on the band’s MySpace page. Go check it out!
Blitzen Trapper MySpace

Eugene Mirman Covers the RNC

chrisj@subpop.com (Chris Jacobs) — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 16:16:22 -0700

Eugene Mirman has been in St. Paul, MN this past week covering the Republican National Convention. We’ve really enjoyed Eugene’s work and perhaps you will too!

RNC 08: Who Is Sarah Palin?

RNC 08: What’s a Republican?

Eugene’s pants catch on fire.

The Helio Sequence, Fleet Foxes and Arthur & Yu - all on Live at KEXP Vol. 4

chrisj@subpop.com (Chris Jacobs) — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 15:16:07 -0700

One of the ways our friends at KEXP raise money to keep on keepin’ on is through the sale of their series of Live at KEXP compilations. These CDs feature KEXP’s exclusive, live in-studio recordings and recordings from live remote broadcasts across the country. And, Volume 4 is coming out on September 16th! This new installment includes several artists whose recordings are generally available on the Sub Pop label. Specifically, these artists…

The Helio Sequence, who perform the song “Can’t Say No” from their album Keep Your Eyes Ahead
and
Fleet Foxes with the song “Oliver James” from their self-titled album.

Plus! This volume also includes the song “Lion’s Mouth” from Hardly Artists Arthur & Yu.

Live at KEXP – Volume 4 is evidently available exclusively through Insound and you can (and should) pre-order it now!

Fleet Foxes nominated for 2008 Q Awards!

chrisj@subpop.com (Chris Jacobs) — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 16:10:10 -0700

Today the folks at Q Magazine announced the nominees for their 2008 Q Awards and Fleet Foxes got TWO! So far as we know, Fleet Foxes are the first band on the label to be nominated since the Q Awards began in 1990! They were nominated in the “Best New Act” and “Best Album” categories and we are confident that they are deserving of both. If you are similarly bullish on Fleet Foxes and their super-fantastic self-titled debut full-length why not vote for them?!

Congratulations, fellas! You are already winners in our book (though such an “honor” should come as no surprise and comes with considerably less statuary/prizes…).

In the meantime, Fleet Foxes continue touring, and touring, and touring. Read all about that here.

Vote for Fleet Foxes in the 2008 Q Awards!