Free Cat Butt Joke with Option for Timely Godheadsilo Reference
Please pardon all the nostalgia I've been posting here this week. I know I'm supposed to be the guy who hates that sort of thing, but since I just had a birthday, you might say that the lure of rear-view mirror cultural detritus is seasonably appropriate...
The Sub Pop Records 20th Anniversary show is coming up in a couple weeks at which a bunch of their old flagship bands are reuniting for live sets over the course of two days. Among the now-confirmed participants are Green River, the Vaselines, Eric's Trip, Kinski, Pissed Jeans, and Red Red Meat, as well as two terminal favorites of mine from the label's early 90s roster: Les Thugs and the Fluid. The label's historical relevance is hard to deny for anyone my age, but many of us will also admit that it's not too often that we delve back into their more peripheral releases. (Whether this attitude is deserved or not is up to the individual. In my case, however, I can definitely say that it's been a long time since I stretched out on the futon, cracked open a Genny Cream Ale, and robustly enjoyed the sounds of my Big Chief, Combustible Edison, or Scud Mountain Boys records.)
All of this begs the question of the day: WHICH RANDOM-ASS SUB POP RECORDS BAND DO YOU WISH WAS REUNITING TO PLAY THE FESTIVAL BUT DOES NOT THUSFAR APPEAR TO BE DOING SO?
Confirmed acts here. Full list of all bands ever on Sub Pop here. Go.
I'm not going to the show because it's on the other side of the country and, well... I couldn't even be bothered to stand up and walk downstairs to watch the Saints when they played at WFMU, so that tells you most of what you need to know about me. But if I was going, the two bands I'd be most hot and bothered about are definitely the Fluid and Les Thugs. (The latter of which -- if you don't know -- is French for "The Thugs".) I've rapped at length about the Fluid on this blog in the past, and both bands have earned plenty of airtime on WFMU by my hand. A quick search of YouTube yields these two killer vids for what I consider to be signature songs (of sorts) for both. Enjoy.
Many belated thanks to WFMU Uber-Listener Susan who years ago sent me a totally smokin' VHS comp of Fluid goodies that I badly need to transfer to DVD. No foolin', if you're a fan and were too young to see them, let me assure you that they were far and away the best live band of my generation (that I witnessed, anyway.) Trust me, you're in for a memorable night in the deathbox. Pathetically, I blew my one chance to see Les Thugs in New York (Coney Island High, circa 1994) because it was some jerk's birthday. Figures.
Also.
The Dwarves.
Posted by: arratik | June 16, 2008 at 09:09 PM
Steven Jesse Bernstein
Posted by: lo-fi jr. | June 16, 2008 at 09:29 PM
Six Finger Satellite, the Spinanes or the Grifters (who, if that recent oral history of the label in Blender is correct, lost the label a bundle of money).
Posted by: James | June 16, 2008 at 09:36 PM
Yes to the Girfters, Codiene, Pond, Billy Childish, The Supersuckers and just to bless it all the Rev. Horton Heat
Posted by: PoWeR sHeRlOcK | June 17, 2008 at 05:48 AM
I agree 1st 2 subpop Dwarves lps, Derelicts 45s!
The mighty Fluid just played their first reunion show on Sunday at a secret afternoon show, still crowded though:
(http://blogs.westword.com/backbeat/2008/06/over_the_weekendthe_fluid_lari.php)
with two new videos filmed that night, on the same link, as well! Check out how the skull crushing MC5-ish-ness of it all!
Posted by: fred | June 17, 2008 at 07:45 AM
5ive Style, Red House Painters, Kelley Stoltz for SP20
Posted by: Texas Prairie Chicken | June 17, 2008 at 10:21 AM
The two I'd like to see would be the extremes of uppercase masculinity and lowercase femininity, TAD and jale.
I'm actually surprised jale isn't at this shindig. They were part of the Eric's Trip scene. And they were around for a good while.
Posted by: Cryptic Ned | June 17, 2008 at 11:25 PM
yeah, what i wouldn't give to see the fluid reunion. this footage is great, but john curley from the afghan whigs has footage from the greatest RnR show i ever saw. the fluid played at Sudsy's in cincinatti just before the last record came out...numerous attempts at contacting him for a copy have proved fruitless. anybody know him?
Posted by: mdm | June 19, 2008 at 07:30 PM
C'mon Sub Pop, "put on some Cat Butt 'n' do it up right"!
Posted by: Nicole | June 19, 2008 at 09:32 PM
Codiene, Grifters and Afghan Whigs playing "Congregation" in it's entirety.
Posted by: Suge White | June 23, 2008 at 05:08 PM
I think it would be best if the Dwarves got back together to play the show, then sent someone the day of the show to say that the whole band had died in a fiery blimp accident.
Posted by: Morgan | July 02, 2008 at 02:04 PM
About the Fluid show at Sudsy's...Affirmative. It was tremendous. MDM, contact John Curley's UltraSuede Studios. I'm sure there's a web presence. And speaking of the Whigs...why don't they get together? Is the Gutter Twins thing really that happenin'? No...not really.
Posted by: j.sterling.ellison | July 09, 2008 at 10:44 PM
I wish that old band Nirvana was playing. They still together?
Posted by: Andrew | July 17, 2008 at 12:03 PM