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World Domination: The Sub Pop Records Story
Founded in the late 1980s by Bruce Pavitt and Jonathan Poneman, Seattle-based Sub Pop Records released early recordings by then-upstart regional bands such as Green River, Soundgarden, Mudhoney, Tad, Nirvana, Flaming Lips, Afghan Whigs, and Screaming Trees. When the world went grunge crazy in the 1990s, Sub Pop was suddenly the epicenter of Seattle cool. Emerging organically from Bruce Pavitt’s Subterranean Pop fanzine, the story of Sub Pop Records is the story of a couple of irreverent music lovers who stumbled into the record business because they simply loved working with bands they wanted to listen to themselves. From barely paying the bills to the trappings of major music industry success to the inevitable fallout, this is the inside story of the musicians, producers, staffers, and stars who built Sub Pop into an independent powerhouse. World Domination takes you deep inside the chaotic early days of the label’s founding, all the way to the present. It’s a fascinating snapshot of a label that has promoted Death Cab for Cutie, the White Stripes, the Shins, Iron & Wine, the Postal Service, Sleater-Kinney, Band of Horses, Flight of the Conchords, Fleet Foxes, Sunny Day Real Estate, Shabazz Palaces, the Head and the Heart, Father John Misty, and many others. Author Gillian G. Gaar, a longtime Seattle-based writer, draws on firsthand interviews, deep research, and her years of covering the Seattle scene as a local music journalist to bring together the first in-depth historical narrative of one of America’s more influential independent record labels.
- GenresMusicNonfiction
176 pages, Paperback
Published November 20, 2018
About the author
Gillian G. Gaar
59 books50 followersI write regularly about music, entertainment, and travel. I enjoy taking pictures for my articles and books as well. My very first book was "She's A Rebel: The History of Women in Rock & Roll," first published in 1992, and updated in 2002; Yoko Ono wrote the book's preface, and it still gives me a thrill to see her name on the cover. Other areas of expertise include Nirvana, the Beatles, and Elvis, all of whom I've written books about. I've also written for a variety of publications around the world, including Mojo, Rolling Stone, Goldmine (where I had regular Beatles and Elvis columns), and many others. I was also a senior editor at legendary Seattle music publication "The Rocket."
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
January 29, 2021
Gillian’s history of SubPop is one of those rare rock books that gets everything right. She was there--She knows the people, and she knows the history. I found this a fascinating and well-written overview of the label that put Seattle on the map. I remember the days of the label's bounced checks (I got a few), casually running into members of Soundgarden while hanging out in the SubPop Terminal Sales Building’s “penthouse,” and the hoards of Japanese and European tourists waiting in line to get into clubs like The Off Ramp to see local bands that SubPop were promoting. I highly recommend this to anyone who loves that era of music and wants to know the skinny on how it all came about.
February 17, 2020
I admire writers who cover the music scene because it's not my area of expertise. `World Domination' highlights the nuts-and-bolts of a fledgling record companies rise to success and author Gillian Gaar is an ideal wordsmith for this chronicle having followed the industry in both the Pacific Northwest and the national level. `World Domination' recounts the history of Seattle-based Sub Pop records and the label's founders - Bruce Pavitt and Jonathan Poneman. The company released early records of Nirvana, Mudhoney and Soundgarden in the 1980's. Sub Pop's financial and creative success (not without some peaks and valleys along the way) coincided with the growth of the region's iconic grunge movement. Recommended for those interested in local recording labels and groups such as Green River, Sleater-Kinney, Death Cab for Cutie and the Shins.
April 23, 2022
Probably the closest thing we'll ever get to a business profile of Sub Pop records and the label's founders - Bruce Pavitt and Jonathan Poneman. We get a view of what it takes to build a label from nothing in a town that barely existed, and its bumpy ascent to "world domination." This is a quick but thorough history of Sub Pop from Green River to Nirvana to The Shins - and beyond. Highly readable and very insightful. If you're an 80s/90s indie geek like me, you will love this.
August 10, 2023
This book is remarkably succinct - and I mean that as a total compliment. I’ve read loads of popular music history books and they often run long-winded. This is not that. Learning about such an influential entity is incredible and uncovered so much context for my favorite groups, adjacent scenes, and the larger industry in the 90s and after. Highly recommend.
July 6, 2019
This is really informative look at Sub Pop records. I was a late 80's early 90's fan and enjoyed revisiting the history of the label.
March 3, 2024
An awesome account of Sub Pop and their journey in the industry. Very inspiring and gave me great ideas for creative projects!
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews