In the late '80s and early '90s, Seattle and its music scene became the center of the pop culture universe. Sub Pop, the small label founded by sometime journalist Bruce Pavitt and nurtured with his partner Jonathan Poneman was its primary documenter.
Soon that signature Seattle sound -- crafted by bands like Green River, Mudhoney, Soundgarden and, most famously, Nirvana -- could be heard on mainstream radio and on MTV. Seattle was mobbed by music journalists and record company reps looking to cash in on what was proclaimed the biggest one-city music phenomena since Detroit spawned Motown.
However, the success of the scene they so lovingly supported, particularly the success of Nirvana, was a mixed blessing for Sub Pop. The financial benefits, in part derived from selling half of the company to Warner Bros., were huge. The costs were also huge: A decadent hubris that was, as Poneman remembers, "like the dot-com frenzy before there was a dot-com."
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