PUP: Tiny Desk Concert

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Robin Hilton | July 24, 2025
Existential dread never sounded more joyful or uplifting than it does in the hands of PUP. Across its catalog of albums, like the appropriately titled Morbid Stuff or The Dream is Over, the Canadian pop-punk group confronts world-weary discontent with deadpan humor, hard-earned wisdom and a lot of heart.

For the group's long-overdue Tiny Desk, PUP (an acronym for Pathetic Use of Potential) rips through five songs, opening with the restlessly hooky "Morbid Stuff," followed by "Robot Writes a Love Song," from 2022's The Unraveling of PUPTheBand, and "Hallways," a driving anthem about staying alive in the face of struggle, if only to take care of your dog.

Outside of the songs, frontman Stefan Babcock doesn't say a word during the set, but beams playfully through much of it, even after he sings, "I've been navigating my way through the mind-numbing reality of a godless existence," from the 2019 track "Kids." The band closes with the pop-leaning "Hunger for Death," from PUP's latest album, Who Will Look After the Dogs? Trying hard not to break character, Babcock leans in with, "F*** everyone in this office," before adding, "especially me."

SET LIST
"Morbid Stuff"
"Robot Writes a Love Song"
"Hallways"
"Kids"
"Hunger for Death"

MUSICIANS
Stefan Babcock: vocals, guitar, keys
Steve Sladkowski: guitar, background vocals
Nestor Chumak: bass, background vocals
Zack Mykula: drums, background vocals

TINY DESK TEAM
Producer: Robin Hilton
Director/Editor: Maia Stern
Audio Technical Director: Josh Newell
Host/Series Producer: Bobby Carter
Videographers: Maia Stern, Joshua Bryant, Kara Frame
Audio Engineer: Josephine Nyounai
Production Assistants: Ashley Pointer, Dhanika Pineda
Photographer: Grace Raver
Series Editor: Lars Gotrich
Executive Producer: Suraya Mohamed
Series Creators: Bob Boilen, Stephen Thompson, Robin Hilton
VP, Visuals and Music: Keith Jenkins

#nprmusic #tinydesk #pup

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