August 2008 was halfway over before I received my first single. (See Sub Pop Singles Club) I had purposefully not looked at any documentation that could have told me who was going to on that first record. After waiting impatiently waiting and posting on the Sub Pop website every day, the mailer arrived. I tore it open and my heart sank. It was “OM.”

For those uninitiated to the sub genre of metal that “OM” belongs to, it’s called “stoner doom metal.” Stoner Doom Metal is a variant of “Doom Metal,” (I swear I’m not making this up,) a sleepy down tempo (meaning slow) version of heavy metal where bass guitar takes the focus instead of regular guitar. It tends to be trippy, focusing more on jazz beats from the drummer. Oh yea, and everyone chants. Songs written in the style of stoner doom metal tend to be long, like 15 minutes long. And if a song has any good parts, they tend to fall right at the end, long after a listener has gone on to something else… unless you have smoked pot. OM’s old drummer was known as a “ride expert” implying that he was really good at playing a ride cymbal at a 4/4 tempo for over 15 minutes at a stretch.

OM, pronounced like the meditation vocalization, “OOOOOOMMMMMM, (a word, not letters)  is a band that is composed of just the bass and drums from another, now disbanded, stoner doom metal band, “Sleep.” In 2003, OM started ending college parties with their own brand of nap time music and I first heard of them in a Guitar World article in 2004. I wish I could get my hands on that article because I swear it made the band sound awesome. OM is the kind of band that would be asked to play in Jerusalem, and then after accepting the gig, would play 6 songs over the course of FIVE AND A HALF HOURS.

In truth, OM isn’t “bad,” they are just boring. The Sub Pop singles club release consists of the two songs, “Gebel Barkal” and another version of “Gebel Barkal” called “(Version.)” I can say for certain that they are different and that the b-side, (Version) is the better of the two. The bass riff does drive well and the mixes are fun to listen to in a Highlights Magazine, “Can you spot the differences in these two pictures?” kind of way. This is OM’s first outing with new drummer Emil Amos, but he may as well be the other guy. Normally when I write a review, I flip records like crazy so that I am always listening to something. With this 45, I listened to it 5 or six times and wrote the rest of this review listening to that Jerusalem show I spoke of earlier in mp3. I just had to know how a band could play 6 songs over that long a period. I found out… they did it slowly.

I ended up listening to Radiohead’s Kid-A while I wrote because it was more uplifting and I felt that my record player could use a break from all the running at the spindle, waiting for me to flip over Sub Pop’s newest 45prm club single.

In November of 1988 an unknown independent record label released a 7” record. The sleeve for the 45rpm black vinyl was a blurry black and white picture of a then unknown musician. His lips were pursed and his hair was less than an inch from his arm pits. In plain white block letters one word was written. Nirvana.

I can only imagine what it must have felt like opening that first record. Reading the words “Love Buzz” below the small spindle hole would have been an audiophiles dream; dropping a needle onto the virgin vinyl and hearing those first 7 bass notes warm the room. Kurt kicking in the guitars with an up stroke of a very wet and messy Bb5 would have signaled a new era of music for me…But I never experienced it. I missed the release by 12 years.

The record I am talking about was the first release in a series entitled, “The Sub Pop Singles Club.” The pun is intended. Sub Pop, the most influential record label since its inception, has made a habit of being self deprecating. They assume that since they are lonely audiophiles, anyone listening to their products must be as well. The singles club was a way to spread the word about bands that would never have otherwise been heard. It was marketed to the underground with a sales pitch only a late ‘80’s outsider could love. 

There was only one problem. The 1980’s rock scene was dying. What would later become “grunge” was on its way to being the next great thing. And Sub Pop was at the epicenter, creating the initial waves that would bring rock music back from the dead. They did this by sending one 45rpm record each month to the homes of the kids who knew what was coming. Those kids went on to be musicians, critics, and music lovers who in tern, shaped the music industry into something different. Sure, the music industry screwed up another golden opportunity, but for ten years, between 1988 and 1998, there were bands worth listening to again.

The Singles club didn’t just feature the very first Nirvana single. The list of alumni who started with the Singles Club is long. Highlights include; Mudhoney, Sonic Youth, The Flaming Lips, Fugazi, L7, Rollins Band, The Jesus & Mary Chain, The White Stripes, Modest Mouse, and Iron & Wine. Every one of those bands deserves your attention, and if you have not heard of one or more of them I suggest giving each a listen. Don’t get me wrong, there are bands that have been featured on the Singles Club that I downright abhor,  (see: The White Stripes or Death Cab for Cutie) but the Sub Pop singles club was defining in its scope. Sub Pop had its finger on the musical art pulse of the era and it could be argued that it still does.

When the Sub Pop Singles Club started in November 1988 I was seven and didn’t know to join. When it re-started in November 1998 I was a junior in high school, broke and couldn’t join. I remember going to the home of a kid who I hated just to listen to each single. His parents were rich and would by him anything he wanted.

Sadly, the singles club 2.0 ended before I could afford the expense. But a few months ago, while window shopping on the Sub Pop web site, I stumbled across the following message.

Sub Pop Singles Club 3.0 - 30000900

The Sub Pop Singles Club: The Return of the Return of Khan

The Sub Pop Singles Club is back, all tan and rested after a shockingly long sabbatical. It is a somewhat louche, world-weary thing with its eye on your wallet. And, for a price, The Sub Pop Singles Club is ready and willing to satisfy you aurally in ways you never dreamed possible.

Without further pandering, here are the facts!

Fact 1!
This run of The Sub Pop Singles Club will run for 1 year only, before returning to its secret island vacation spot for eternity (or until we here at Sub Pop feel masochistic enough to take on coordinating this debacle again.)

Fact 2!
This year’s Sub Pop Singles Club will include records (of the 7” variety) with music from such artists as Om, Unnatural Helpers, Tyvek, Black Mountain, Black Lips, Arthur & Yu, Mika Miko, Blues Control, Notwist, plus some stuff we’re not yet at liberty to divulge. And they won’t come out in that particular order, necessarily.

Fact 3!
We will mail you 1 record per month, every month for an entire year beginning on August 15th with a fantastic pair of songs from Om.

Fact 4!
For shipments to North America, you will pay us $75 in exchange for receiving this monthly boon from us. If you live elsewhere, in places outside of North America, we will require $90 from you.

Fact 5!
We will be pressing 1,500 copies of each single and so the number of subscriptions available for sale will be correspondingly limited. When these subscriptions are gone, that’s it!

Fact 6!
In addition to the singles themselves, each subscriber will receive a coupon enabling the download of high-quality MP3s of each record. No need to worry about how you’ll jam that 7” into your disk drive, we’ve got all you technophiliacs with your new-fangled gadgets covered.

Fact 7!
Subscriptions will be limited to 5 per person.

So here’s your chance to join the throngs of assholes selling their collectibles on eBay for ridiculous sums! All you have to do is: SEND US YOUR MONEY!

When I first read the news I had to wipe the tears from my eyes. I ordered immediately, and then asked my wife if it was OK. I couldn’t wait to put needle to vinyl, in 45rpm no less, and hear the newest bands. I admit I am somewhat out of date. I still listen to vinyl every chance I get and regularly purchase it. Now I had chance to use the 45 setting for something more important than my mother’s old records or the crappy bands I listened to in junior high.

Every month until the club ends again I will be reviewing the releases as they come to my door in the classic Sub Pop brown mailer. As of this writing I have received the 8/08 release, the first since 3.0 began. I will review it later this week. Unfortunately, the club is full for this round but hopefully, Sub Pop will continue to pump out the bands that will continue to crush the edge and innovate an otherwise stagnant music scene.