Superunknown

Spoiler alert – this is my favourite album of the year. However, this is not a new record. This year Soundgarden's 4th full length, 'Superunknown', turned 30 years old and even though it is clearly old, it was new to me this year. Without a doubt I spent a more time listening to this than any other record in 2024.

I actually bought this record back when it was originally released in 1994. I had liked the previous album, ‘Badmotorfinger’, so was keen to check this one. It was released as a double LP, and there were about 4 different colour vinyl options. I think at the time I ended up with a clear orange copy. I don’t remember exactly. But what I do remember was that I found the whole thing boring. There are 16 songs on here and it goes on for an hour and 15 minutes, give or take. The 19 year old me just couldn’t get into this, and I ended up selling the record. And for the best part of 30 years, I had this filed under ‘boring’ and ‘overrated’.

So what changed? Well, back near the start of this year someone on Instagram posting something about the third song (‘Fell On Black Days’) and the post said something about how great the song was and since I wasn’t familiar with it, I decided to check it out. And instantly I agreed that yes, this is a great song. This then prompted me to download the album (yes, I still don’t use Spotify) so I could play this song. And then you know how it goes – you play one song, but at the end you just leave it playing, and then after a few plays you start enjoying the songs that follow it too. And in only a few days I found that I was really enjoying playing this from start to finish.

Of course, I then decided that I wanted a vinyl copy, but in 2024 these things are not cheap. Despite there being four different colour vinyl options, and two pressings of each colour (one pressed in the US, one pressed in the UK), meaning there are technically 8 different versions available, every single one costs a lot of money these days. I find this kinda surprising given that there were probably thousands of each version. But it is what it is. Nostalgia is big business. Anyway, I wanted a US version, but in the end I went for this clear vnyl UK version, purely based on price. This one was listed on eBay as an auction and for whatever reason, did not attract much attention. So I got it for a relatively low price.

I was really into this back in about April this year and on a trip to the US this was played in the car several times. And here I am, writing this in the States in December, and it was also played in the car on a couple of drives on this trip too. I generally find these days that I get bored of records pretty quickly, but this one has been on rotation for most of this year. I think this is a great reminder of the power of the album. Sometimes a long record is kinda off putting, but there are times when a long record is really great as it is something that you can get absorbed into. It feels like a long time since I enjoyed a record this much, and no doubt I will be playing it long into the future too.

Also, slightly annoyingly, I realised that when I saw Soundgarden play live back in 2014 (supporting Black Sabbath) their set was this record. Back then it was the 20 year anniversary. Of course, I had no idea that they were playing this record in its entirety that day, as I didn't know most of the songs. But even though I didn't fully appreciate it back then, I'm happy that I was there, as (obviously) it will never happen again.

Funny how things change over time I guess...

Sub Pop 7"s (6 of 6)

As the title suggests, this is post number 6 in my series of 6 in which I am trying to cover all of the early Sub Pop 7"s that I have picked up this year and haven't got around to posting about. I'm doing this in catalogue number order, and here we are at the back end of things, covering the end of the 150s to the late 180s. By this point in time, the label had moved on quite a bit from the early days, and the sound of the bands was no longer consistent or typical. I guess they didn't want to be pigeonholed as 'grunge' or whatever.

SP159 Monomen 'Skin & Bones' (September 1992). There were 2,746 copies, all on blue vinyl. I really like the cover art, and this record contains a good slab of garage, verging on grunge. An enjoyable 7".

SP172 Green Magnet School / Six Finger Satellite 'The Declaration of Techno-colonial Independence' released in October 1992. No idea on the pressing info, but there are no back copies of this, so it's probably not rare at all. God only knows what the title of this is suposed to mean, but the artwork is kinda funny, with one band dressed as fools from the past, and the other wearing future outfits... and they seem to be communicating via an old fashioned cell phone (which no doubt would have been the height of technology when this came out. Anyway this is ok. Green Magnet School are the more interesting of the two bands to me.

SP174 Antiseen 'We Got This Far (Without You) b/w (We Will Not) Remember You', released in November 1992. There were 2,205 copies, all on red vinyl. This a band I had heard of but never been interested in. They have been going forever, starting out in 1983 and still going. AT some point GG Allin did a record with them, and Flea from Red Hot Chilli Peppers was in them at some point too. This record is ok, but it kinda makes me think of the kind of punk that I am less interested in. I can kinda picture them playing a vanue in California full of bikers. Its ok, but I'm not really too fussed about checking anything else out.

SP181 Wolverton Brothers 'My Assassin b/w Max Gomez Love' released in January 1993. There were 2,015 copies all on white vinyl. ABout five seconds into the first song on here and organ kicks in, and I was reaching for the off button. The two songs on here were not offensive, and kinda reminded me of something that would have been on a skate video in the late 90s, but overall this is not really my thing.

SP187 The Legend 'Do Nuts b/w Rockaway Beach/Roses' released February 1993. I have seen this one many times over the years and always thought that the cover suggested it would be a litle odd. And yes, this is clearly some kind of inside joke. I guess the label was so popular at this point that they figured they could put out literally anything and it would sell. But here's the thing... this is so utterly terrible that it's actually somehow good. I challenge anyone to listen to the song 'Donuts' and not get it stuck in their head for at least an hour afterwards.

So this marks the end of my series of posts showcasing some of the Sub Pop 7"s I picked up this year. A lot of them are really cool, and have definitely opened my eyes to new (old) bands to check out. Some are also awful (generally the later ones), but I still enjoyed picking them up and giving them a chance all these years later, especially given how cheap they are these days.

Credit where credit's due: the pressing info in this post came from the Pette discographies site. Thanks to John Pette for developing and maintaining such a great resource for Sub Pop collectors.

Sub Pop 7"s (5 of 6)

As the title suggests, this is post number 5 in my series of 6 in which I am trying to cover all of the early Sub Pop 7"s that I have picked up this year and haven't got around to posting about. I'm doing this in catalogue number order, and here we are covering the 150s. By this point the label seemed to be just churning out any old shite, and most of these records are a reminder as to why I gave up on Sub Pop long ago.

SP148 Pain Teens 'Death Row Eyes b/w The Smell', released May 1992. There were 3,285 copies, pressed on at least three different colours of vinyl. The band was from Houston, Texas and active from the mid 80s to the mid 90s. This 7" is ok. I quite like it, but it's not hugely exciting me. ???

SP149 Mecca Normal / Kreviss 'You Heard It All/Broken Flowers b/w Going To Hell' released April 1992. There were 3,500 copies all on green marble vinyl. I'd never heard of this before nor either of these bands. Mecca Normal is real minimal sounding music, with a dude playing guitar and a lady doing a spot of singing. It's ok, but also sounds kinda amateurish to me. Kreviss was apparently a Riot Grrl band from Vancouver who were around for about two years and released two 7"s and an 8 track cartridge(!). Overall this looks kinda nice but is not one I really ever need to hear again.

SP151 Billy Childish 'The Ballad of Hollis Brown b/w Grizzerly Bear' released May 1992. Billy Childish was the singer of The Headcoats, whose 7" I posted in post number 1 in this series. This 7" is a solo record. The first song starts with a harmonica and the vocal sounds like it was recorded down the phone. The ssecond song has the same 'down the phone' vocals and, instead of instruments, a bunch of dickheads clapping and doing back vocals. If this were recorded in the 1930s then it would kinda make sense, but it was actually recorded in 1992. I am baffled as to how anyone could enjoy this. Total shite.

SP156 Sick & Wrong 'Wesson Oil b/w Sick Dog/The Ballad of Johnny Abortion' released July 1992. Apparently these were a punk rock band from Seattle. I've seen this record many times over the years. It feels like everyone who ever bought it sold it again. I can kinda see why. Just like the cover, the music on here feels low quality.

SP158 Crackerbash 'Nov. 1 b/w Halloween Candy' released August 1992. There were 2,752 copies, all on purple vinyl. This is probably the highlight of this post. Their profile on discogs describes them as punk-pop, but to me this is more just indie rock. The vinyl colour is rad, the cover art dull, and the music is just ok.

Credit where credit's due: the pressing info in this post came from the Pette discographies site. Thanks to John Pette for developing and maintaining such a great resource for Sub Pop collectors.

Sub Pop 7"s (4 of 6)

As the title suggests, this is post number 4 in my series of 6 in which I am trying to cover all of the early Sub Pop 7"s that I have picked up this year and haven't got around to posting about. I'm doing this in catalogue number order, and here we are covering the 120s and 130s.

SP127 Night Kings 'Night Kings Theme b/w Midnight', released November 1991. All copies on black vinyl. This one is part garage and part grunge. Reminds me of Mudhoney a bit. Apparently they were from Seattle, and if nothing else I can say that this absolutely sounds like early 90s Seattle band, but this is interesting enough to make me want to check out something else by them when I am in the mood.

SP128 Derelicts 'Don't Wanna Live EP' 2x7", released November 1991. All copies on black vinyl. This contains 5 short songs, and I'm not convinced that this really needed to be a double 7". I picked up an earlier Sub Pop 7" by this band earlier this year and enjoyed it as it was reminiscent of both The Dwarves and The Supersuckers, and this double 7" EP continues in the same vein.

SP134 Gories 'Give Me Some Money b/w You Don't Love Me' released in October 1991. There were 4,500 copies, most of which are red vinyl. This band is described as a 'blues punk band'. As fasr as I can tell, that seems to mean that some fool is tooting all over the place with a harmonica on here, which kinda ruins the vibe for me. But I guess some (deaf) people might dig it. I feel that I would be happy to never heard this again, but it seems more expensive than most of these old Sub Pop singles, so I'm sure there must be something here that people like that I am missing.

SP135 Love Battery 'Foot', released in November 1991. There were 4,500 copies on green vinyl. I think I once saw this band live, supporting Mudhoney on their European tour in 1992, but I could be wrong. These songs are great. Definitely has that early 90s grunge sound, but with a bit more melody.

SP136 Green Magnet School 'Singed b/w Slipper', released in December 1991. There were 4,000 copies, all on gold / yellow vinyl. Check the photo on the back cover - these dudes could be the stunt doubles for Pearl Jam circa 1992. To me this is another underrated record with a bad cover. They were from MA and are described as an 'experimental rock band', which is kind of a meaningless term in my view. What may have been experimental at a certain point in time becomes a defined genre in another. But hey. I've enjoyed this record and would definitely seek out more by this band. A real forgotten gem of the past.

Credit where credit's due: the pressing info in this post came from the Pette discographies site. Thanks to John Pette for developing and maintaining such a great resource for Sub Pop collectors.

Sub Pop 7"s (3 of 6)

As the title suggests, this is post number 3 in my series of 6 in which I am trying to cover all of the early Sub Pop 7"s that I have picked up this year and haven't got around to posting about. I'm doing this in catalogue number order, and here we are already into the post SP100 releases...

SP103 Unrest 'A Factory Record' released in March 1991. I didn't know about this band, but they were an indie rock band from Washington DC active from the mid 80s to the mid 90s. Usually I'd be interested in any band from Washington DC, but I'm not overly interested in checking out anything else by tihs band as this is possibly the worst Sub Pop 7" I have bought. The first song is just plain fucking annoying as shit.

SP104 Fastbacks 'The Answer is You' 2x7", released in July 1991. 2,500 on green and red vinyl. This band was going for pretty much forever. They formed in the late 70s and still seem to be cranking out records to this day. One of their biggest claims to fame is that Duff McKagen (from Guns 'n' Roses) was in the band at some point. They are referred to as 'punk rock' but sound more like indie rock to me. Overall I found this one a bit disappointing. It hasn't really excited me.

SP109 Urge Overkill 'Now That's the Barclords! b/w What's This Generation Coming To' released in May 1991. There were 5,000 copies, all on neon yellow vinyl, which looks pretty rad in real life. This one is a weird one. I'm not exactly sure what genre this is. But the band was from Chicago and had other releases on Touch & Go Records, so the weirdness kinda makes sense. I quite like this record, and I'd definitely be interested in checking out a little more, although I doubt these will end up becoming my new favourite band.

SP115 Come 'Car b/w Last Mistake', released in August 1991. There were 45500 copies, all on white vinyl. The band were from Boston and featured an ex member of Codeine, and sound very vaguely similar. A really great record and I love the cover and matching vinyl colour.

SP119 Gorilla 'Detox Man b/w Sober', released in September 1991. There were 4,500 copies and all came on grey vinyl. The cover looks pretty terrible, but this is a really catchy, fun, singalong record, even though some dickhead is playing an organ at some point. The song 'Detox Man' is so good. Another great example of 'don't judge a band by their record cover'. I would definitely listen to more of this band's output.

Credit where credit's due: the pressing info in this post came from the Pette discographies site. Thanks to John Pette for developing and maintaining such a great resource for Sub Pop collectors.

Sub Pop 7"s (2 of 6)

As the title suggests, this is post number 2 in my series of 6 in which I am trying to cover all of the early Sub Pop 7"s that I have picked up this year and haven't got around to posting about. I'm doing this in catalogue number order, so let's dive straight into the mid 70s...

SP75 Sister Ray 'The King' released in August 1990. There were 2,500 on green and 1,500 on black. The guitar slightly reminds me of the slower, less furious Dead Kennedys songs in places, but with singing over the top. It's ok, but I'm not in a hurry to listen to more of this.

SP77 Sister Double Happiness 'Don't Worry b/w Wheels a' Spinnin' released October 1990. Apparently the first 2,000 copies were on green, but other rarer colours also exist. The band was, according to discogs, an 'Alternative blues rock band' that existed from 1986 until 1995. Based on that description, I approached this one with caution, but goddamn, this is fucking awesome. I can see that they had an album on SST too. I will definitely be checking out more from this band. A good lesson in 'don't judge a band by their record cover'.

SP88 Poster Children 'Thinner, Stronger b/w Pointed Stick' released in October 1990. There were 3,000 on pink and 1,500 on black. The band are an indie rock band from Illinois who formed in 1987 and are surprisingly still going all these years later. This 7" has a really cool vibe going on and really reminds me of something that I can't quite put my finger on. I would definitely listen to more of this.

SP94 Thin White Rope 'Ants are Cavemen b/w Little Doll' released March 1991. The first 1,500 were on dark purple vinyl, and the rest black. My immediate thought was that I would not like this based on the cover art. I mean, look at it. Then the title of the first song 'Ants Are Cavemen'... what the hell are you talking about? I have to say though, when I put it on, there is something kinda interesting about the first song. The vocal sounds like a man eating gravel, and the whole thing plods along at a relatively slow pace. I kinda dig it. The second song, however, made me want to end my own life to escape it. It drones on for 8 minutes and at no point did I enjoy any aspect of it.

SP102 Velvet Monkeys 'Rock the Nation b/w Why Don't We Do It in the Road?' released in February 1991. There were 4,000 on clear, and 3,000 on black. This is ok, although no doubt the cover makes it look way better than it is. It kinda sounds like you would expect from the back cover photo. The first song kinda rocks, the second song is pretty stupid, but very early Sub Pop. It's ok, but isn't going to land anywhere near the top 50% of Sub Pop releases for me.

Credit where credit's due: the pressing info in this post came from the Pette discographies site. Thanks to John Pette for developing and maintaining such a great resource for Sub Pop collectors.