Food & Drink

Sub Pop Employees Have Been Pulling Epic Pranks for 30 Years

Founded on April Fools’ Day, Sub Pop has taken the date to heart, pulling notorious pranks over the years. Here are a few classic examples

By Gwendolyn Elliott July 30, 2018

1-lead_50

This article originally appeared in the August 2018 issue of Seattle magazine.

This article appears in print in the August 2018 issue. Read more from the Seattle magazine feature story here and from the Seattle Business magazine cover story hereClick here to subscribe.

The Grunge Dictionary: In the prank that started it all, Jasper, then working for Sub Pop distributor Caroline Records, took the opportunity to pull the leg of an inquiring New York Times reporter who was seeking grunge’s insider slang. She made up expressions such as “swingin’ on the flippity-flop” (hanging out), “cob nobbler” (loser) and “wack slacks” (old ripped jeans) on the fly, which the reporter faithfully recounted in his story.

The Kurt Cobain Craigslist Stunt: Longtime Sub Pop receptionist Derek Erdman posed as Cobain’s former roommate when he listed a set of skis and an ’80s Swatch phone on the online classified site, claiming Cobain owed him rent and “never came back” to pick up his stuff. The stunt was outed by various music outlets as a prank within a few days.

The Business Card Giveaway: Sub Pop staffers know to hide their business cards before their colleagues go out of town. With a stack of pilfered cards, mischievous employees pose as their coworker and hand the cards out generously, or deposit them randomly for strangers to find. “Our publicist still gets emails from this trip I took to Poland years ago,” says Jasper, laughing. 

Free Chihuahua Puppies: A Sub Pop employee took out an ad in a newspaper advertising “Free Chihuahua Puppies” with Jasper’s cell phone number listed as the contact. After her phone blew up and she had the ad taken out the paper, she later visited The Crocodile Cafe, where hundreds of photocopies of the ad lined the walls.

The Fake Nirvana Reply: In 2013, a hopelessly clueless student from Virginia Tech wrote Sub Pop requesting Nirvana (Kurt Cobain’s band, which quickly disbanded after he committed suicide in 1994) make a video wishing the school’s football team good luck at its upcoming homecoming game. In good fun, the label assembled a handful of employees to pose as the band (including Mudhoney’s Mark Arm, who works in the Sub Pop warehouse) to fulfill the student’s wish.

 

Follow Us

Sir Mix-a-Lot at 60: What’s Next?

Sir Mix-a-Lot at 60: What’s Next?

Seattle artist looks for opportunities to spread his love of music

Seattle’s iconic MoPOP recently honored Sir Mix-a-Lot with its Hometown Hero award for his efforts to sustain the music industry during the pandemic through the initiative “Keep Music Live,” a Seattle-based music education nonprofit that encourages youth and adults to learn to play an instrument.

The song remains the same, only better

The song remains the same, only better

Seattle's friendliest music venue, Tim's Tavern, reopens in White Center

When Tim’s Tavern was forced to close because its landlord wouldn’t renew its lease, co-owners Mason Reed and Matthew O’Toole told their real estate agent they wanted their new location to be like the Drunky Two Shoes in White Center. They wanted somewhere with an outdoor stage, somewhere “pandemic-proof.” A year and a half later,…

Seattle’s Ruinous Media Brings City’s Weirdness to its Music Podcasts

Seattle’s Ruinous Media Brings City’s Weirdness to its Music Podcasts

Ruinous Media captures the Seattle experience, and then some

Podcasts are full of murder, mystery, mayhem and sports. Seattle’s Ruinous Media is focusing on another genre, music, with a veritable cast of well-known Seattle characters who tell stories in an engaging and compelling way. Along the way, Ruinous has exported Seattle’s unique brand of “weird” to audiences across the United States and around the…

The Music Man

The Music Man

Kevin Sur’s Artist Home creates a culture of trust by elevating musicians and connecting audiences

Kevin Sur slunk to town looking for a rock to slip under, but instead found his place in the sun.  In 2003, he was a down-on-his-luck guitarist and songwriter who had invested seven years building up the punk band Luckie Strike, so named as a bowling reference.  Bonded by social rejection and the compulsion to…