Sub Pop / Burn To Shine

By Josh Modell | August 16, 2006 | 10:02pm

Music Reviews Music

Sub Pop's latest video collection is a testament to the label's continually amazing and diverse roster. Once known only as the birthing house for grunge, it's expanded to include peaking pop (The Shins), rock (Sleater-Kinney), electro-pop (The Postal Service), and plenty more. Though most music videos are easily accessible via the web, it's nice to have these bits collected. There's a rarely seen, disgusting clip from Ugly Casanova that features children and feces, The Shins' tribute to classic alt-rock albums ("New Slang"), a completely bizarre entry from Low ("Death Of A Salesman"), and more than a dozen others from the likes of Wolf Parade, Iron & Wine, and Hot Hot Heat.

There's some artist crossover with the latest edition of Burn To Shine, a series whose premise is awfully arty. Bands from a chosen city convene in a house that's about to be demolished—in this case used as practice for a fire department outside Portland—and each plays one song for the camera crew—no audience. Big names here include The Shins (looking slightly bored), The Decemberists (getting overly jaunty), and Sleater-Kinney (also looking slightly bored). Those are interspersed with intriguing unknowns like The Ready—average age about 13—and Wet Confetti, who'd be great if their singer could turn her whisper to a roar.