''Fopp'' is the second EP by the American

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wale ...

band

Soundgarden Soundgarden was an American rock band formed in Seattle, Washington, in 1984 by singer and drummer Chris Cornell, lead guitarist Kim Thayil, and bassist Hiro Yamamoto. Cornell switched to rhythm guitar in 1985, replaced on drums initially ...

, released in August 1988 through

Sub Pop Sub Pop is an independent record label founded in 1986 by Bruce Pavitt and Jonathan Poneman. Sub Pop achieved fame in the early 1990s for signing Seattle bands such as Nirvana (band), Nirvana, Soundgarden, and Mudhoney, central players in the gru ...

Records. ''Fopp'' was later combined with the band's first EP, ''

Screaming Life ''Screaming Life'' is the debut EP by American Rock music, rock band Soundgarden, released in November 1987 by Sub Pop. It was later combined with the band's next EP, ''Fopp (EP), Fopp'' (1988), and released as the ''Screaming Life/Fopp'' compil ...

'' (1987), and released as the '' Screaming Life/Fopp'' compilation album in 1990.

Recording

The EP was recorded in 1988 at the

Moore Theatre Moore Theatre is an 1,800-seat performing arts venue in Seattle, Washington, United States, located two blocks away from Pike Place Market at the corner of 2nd Avenue and Virginia Street. It opened in 1907 and is Seattle's oldest active theate ...

Seattle Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...

Washington Washington most commonly refers to: * George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States * Washington (state), a state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A ...

, with producer

Steve Fisk Steve Fisk is an American, Washington-based audio engineer, record producer and musician. As a musician, he has been in bands such as the instrumental alternative/indie rock band Pell Mell and the electronic band Pigeonhed. He has long been a ...

Music and lyrics

The EP contains one Soundgarden original, two covers, and a remix. Guitarist

Kim Thayil Kim Anand Thayil (born September 4, 1960)Kim Thayil Biography
Unofficial SG Homepage.

said of the title track: "That's an

Ohio Players Ohio Players are an American funk band, most popular in the 1970s. They are best known for their songs "Fire" and " Love Rollercoaster", and for their erotic album covers that featured nude or nearly nude women. Many of the women were models f ...

song off of ''

Honey Honey is a sweet and viscous substance made by several species of bees, the best-known of which are honey bees. Honey is made and stored to nourish bee colonies. Bees produce honey by gathering and then refining the sugary secretions of pl ...

''—I've had that album since I was in high school. We thought we could take the song and make it

AC/DC AC/DC are an Australian rock band formed in Sydney in 1973. Their music has been variously described as hard rock, blues rock and Heavy metal music, heavy metal, although the band calls it simply "rock and roll". They are cited as a formativ ...

or something. We'd take the power chords, turn up the volume and make it heavy. "Fopp" is a good song that needed to be given its due as a "kick-ass rock song!"Gilbert, Jeff. "Primecuts: Kim Thayil". ''Guitar School''. May 1994. The EP also contains a cover of the Green River song "

Swallow My Pride "Swallow My Pride" is a song by the Seattle, Washington-based rock band Green River. Featuring lyrics written by frontman Mark Arm and music written by guitarist Steve Turner, the song is the third track on the band's debut EP, '' Come On Down ...

" from the 1985 EP, '' Come on Down''.

Release and reception

''Fopp'' was released on vinyl only, packaged in black die-cut sleeves and limited to 3,000 copies. The album's cover art was photographed by Charles Peterson. Frontman

Chris Cornell Christopher John Cornell ( Boyle; July 20, 1964 – May 18, 2017) was an American musician, best known as the lead vocalist, rhythm guitarist, and the primary lyricist for the rock music, rock bands Soundgarden and Audioslave. He also had a ...

said, "The second record did pretty well but it wasn't like a sweep, some people didn't like it."White, Richard. "Soundgarden Rocks". ''Rockpool''. October 1, 1989.

Track listing

Personnel

Soundgarden *

– vocals *

Kim Thayil Kim Anand Thayil (born September 4, 1960)Kim Thayil Biography
Unofficial SG Homepage.

– guitar *

Hiro Yamamoto Hiro D. Yamamoto (born April 13, 1961) is a Japanese-American bassist who was a founding member of grunge band Soundgarden, along with Kim Thayil and Chris Cornell, in 1984. He left the band in 1989; two years later, Yamamoto started the indepen ...

– bass *

Matt Cameron Matthew David Cameron (born November 28, 1962) is an American musician who is the drummer for the rock band Pearl Jam. He first gained fame as the drummer for Seattle-based rock band Soundgarden, which he joined in 1986, appearing on each of the ...

– drums Production *Drew Canulette – engineering *

– production

References

{{Authority control 1988 EPs Soundgarden EPs Albums produced by Steve Fisk Albums recorded at the Moore Theatre Sub Pop EPs