b'uch to Joes relief, Sub Pop was pleasedmovement earlier in the decade, releasingby Happiness were among the first batch of mp3s with the results. Well, they liked every- Nirvanas debut as well as albums by the Afghanoffered for sale on the labels web site, along with thing except the cover image. Joe had chosen aWhigs, Mudhoney, and Sunny Day Real Estate. Insongs by St. Etienne, the Murder City Devils, and collage of a partridge made by his friend Zoe Blyth,the 2000s it would define the indie-rock boomCombustible Edison. There was a lot of stuff that because the bird had special meaning for him. Mywith records by the Shins, the Postal Service, andwas clearly before its time, says Linehan. There last name in Italian means partridge, so I wantedFleet Foxes. In between those two trends, thewere some really great records that just didnt find to use Zoes artwork. But [Sub Pop Co-Founder andlabel stumbled. In our kind of tongue-in-cheekan audience for whatever reason. But now I hear President] Jonathan Poneman said it wasnt a goodcorporate mythology, we refer to those years assome of the new Sub Pop bands and Im like, oh image for a debut album cover. He didnt think peo- the dark years, Poneman told Magnet magazine inmy god, that sounds just like Zumpano! ple would connect with it. Instead, they decided on2015. All kidding aside, they were years filled with a photograph taken by Dennis Kleiman at an aban- struggle and trying to figure out what we did as aJournalists who heard the album loved it. In a New doned mental hospital not far from Northampton.company We thought Overcome by HappinessYork Times list of albums she called beach reading We had a shot with the peak of a barn or a storagewas something that would take off more than itfor the ears, Ann Powers wrote: Overcome taps building in the background, and Poneman gave it todid Its not to suggest that we were disappointed.an all-American yearning that recalls neon-lighted the art guy to do a mockup. As soon as he showedWe were so used to being disappointed, becausefairgrounds and lovers cars parked at the edge it to me, I thought, Thats the cover. He was abso- we thought we were releasing some truly extraor- of a Great LakeBeneath the beauty, each song lutely right. Blyths partridge was placed inside thedinary records. is haunted by bitterness, but its fatalism is char-jewel case, right behind the CD itself. acteristic, too, of a landand a seasonin which Like many other labels both independent anddreams can be won or dashed at a sideshow rou-Sub Pop, however, was not in great shape in themajor, Sub Pop was also weathering the rockylette wheel. Joe Pernice exhibits a tendency to say Clear Spot UK & Europe CD Single issued by Rykodisc in 1999 (Cat No. RCD5-1058) late 1990s. The label had pioneered the alt-rockstraits of digital technology. Tracks from Overcomeone thing and sound like its opposite, which also'