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Corporate Rock Sucks: The Rise and Fall of SST Records

Corporate Rock Sucks: The Rise and Fall of SST Records

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  • Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
  • Create Date：2022-05-01 08:51:35
  • Update Date：2025-09-06
  • Status：finish
  • Author：Jim Ruland
  • ISBN：0306925486
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Summary

A no-holds-barred narrative history of the iconic label that brought the world Black Flag， Hüsker Dü， Sonic Youth， Soundgarden， and more， by the co-author of  Do What You Want and  My Damage。

Greg Ginn started SST Records in the sleepy beach town of Hermosa Beach， CA， to supply ham radio enthusiasts with tuners and transmitters。 But when Ginn wanted to launch his band， Black Flag， no one was willing to take them on。 Determined to bring his music to the masses， Ginn turned SST into a record label。 On the back of Black Flag’s relentless touring， guerilla marketing， and refusal to back down， SST became the sound of the underground。

In Corporate Rock Sucks， music journalist Jim Ruland relays the unvarnished story of SST Records， from its remarkable rise in notoriety to its infamous downfall。 With records by Black Flag， Minutemen， Hüsker Dü， Bad Brains， Sonic Youth， Dinosaur Jr， Screaming Trees， Soundgarden， and scores of obscure yet influential bands， SST was the most popular indie label by the mid-80s--until a tsunami of legal jeopardy， financial peril， and dysfunctional management brought the empire tumbling down。 Throughout this investigative deep-dive， Ruland leads readers through SST’s tumultuous history and epic catalog。

Featuring never-before-seen interviews with the label's former employees， as well as musicians， managers， producers， photographers， video directors， and label heads， Corporate Rock Sucks presents a definitive narrative history of the ’80s punk and alternative rock scenes， and shows how the music industry was changed forever。

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Reviews

John Spiller ，

Much like SST Records， "Corporate Rock Sucks" begins with promise， reaches full bloom about midway through， and then just peters out。 Ruland capably explains the rise of SST Records， while steering clear of hagiography。 SST Records was founded and shaped by the obsessions， bloody mindedness， and work ethic of Greg Ginn。 When those qualities synced just right， the creative output was astonishing。 （See e。g。 Black Flag 78-82， SST Records 79-86）。 The first third of the book， then， is largely told fr Much like SST Records， "Corporate Rock Sucks" begins with promise， reaches full bloom about midway through， and then just peters out。 Ruland capably explains the rise of SST Records， while steering clear of hagiography。 SST Records was founded and shaped by the obsessions， bloody mindedness， and work ethic of Greg Ginn。 When those qualities synced just right， the creative output was astonishing。 （See e。g。 Black Flag 78-82， SST Records 79-86）。 The first third of the book， then， is largely told from his perspective or at least with him at the center。 The challenge in telling the story of SST Records -- a challenge Ruland does not surmount -- is providing some narrative thrust when SST's release schedule veers from oversaturated to non-existent。 Ginn recedes into the background and no one steps forward to replace him， at least in the narrative sense。 Instead， we are left with a rote recounting of SST's mediocre 90's output and the embarrassing Ginn-led Black Flag "reunions" that cast doubts on the brilliance of his earlier achievements。 。。。more

Paul ，

The history of the most famous and notorious indie record label （as well as the LA punk scene， and hardcore， and alternative music） is as comprehensive as it is engaging。 It's a marvel， and Jim's best book to date。 The history of the most famous and notorious indie record label （as well as the LA punk scene， and hardcore， and alternative music） is as comprehensive as it is engaging。 It's a marvel， and Jim's best book to date。 。。。more

Brendan ，

While there is， perhaps， just a little too much space given over to telling the story of Black Flag that has been documented in countless other places， this is a fascinating story of one of the greatest record labels ever。

Benjamin Van Buren ，

I’ve been anticipating the arrival of this book with cautious optimism for months now。 Nobody’s attempted to write a book covering the entire history of SST Records although plenty has been written about Black Flag （Get in the Van， Our Band Could Be Your Life， Spray Paint the Walls， American Hardcore， etc）。 There are so many ways this could’ve gone wrong: not enough detail and it’s a blown opportunity， too much detail and it’s a slog to get through。 I gotta say this was done about as perfectly a I’ve been anticipating the arrival of this book with cautious optimism for months now。 Nobody’s attempted to write a book covering the entire history of SST Records although plenty has been written about Black Flag （Get in the Van， Our Band Could Be Your Life， Spray Paint the Walls， American Hardcore， etc）。 There are so many ways this could’ve gone wrong: not enough detail and it’s a blown opportunity， too much detail and it’s a slog to get through。 I gotta say this was done about as perfectly as could be expected。 This paints a complete picture of the record label’s trajectory over the years and covers all of the bands that you’d expect （Black Flag， Minutemen， Husker Du， Meat Puppets， Bad Brains， Sonic Youth， etc）。 Overall this takes a pretty balanced look at all parties involved—I honestly think there could’ve been more scrutiny on Greg Ginn’s mishandling of all label dealings， primarily his refusal to pay royalties or give bands back their masters， but the book still does a great job of covering this。 Could’ve also used more fresh quotes/interviews from people associated with the bands/label， but how many times can the same people be interviewed about the same thing—especially when it was such a negative experience for most of them？ These are minor complaints though， I really loved this book and flew through it quickly。 Very well done。 。。。more

Scott ，

Enjoyable and nerdily in-depth， was really pleased it avoided getting microscopic on the Ginn / Rollins kerfuffle and concentrated on the business side。

Miguel ，

SST holds a place near & dear as a few of my all-time favorite albums were issued by that label and I would gladly pick up a book with background on this or other labels of that time （Touch&Go， Discord， Matador， SubPop， K， AmRep， etc。） But SST was a bit before the others and had such an incredible roster。 It was just so depressing to read of its slow denouement - clearly Ginn had some knack for business and picking bands， but that ability dried up in the late 80’s as it slowly became a husk of i SST holds a place near & dear as a few of my all-time favorite albums were issued by that label and I would gladly pick up a book with background on this or other labels of that time （Touch&Go， Discord， Matador， SubPop， K， AmRep， etc。） But SST was a bit before the others and had such an incredible roster。 It was just so depressing to read of its slow denouement - clearly Ginn had some knack for business and picking bands， but that ability dried up in the late 80’s as it slowly became a husk of its former glory over the next three decades。 Very well documented and enjoyed the writing style。 。。。more

Chris Molnar ，

Incredible story fascinating for anyone with a passing interest in how the sausage gets made in an independent or countercultural artistic incubator。 Even if you're not that interested in hardcore or 80's college rock， this is an astounding piece of reporting that manages to touch on vast swaths of American underground music in the 1980's， a microcosm of underground art in a fully pre-Internet era。 Greg Ginn is an absorbing， tragic figure whose unlimited work ethic and bizarre dark side must hav Incredible story fascinating for anyone with a passing interest in how the sausage gets made in an independent or countercultural artistic incubator。 Even if you're not that interested in hardcore or 80's college rock， this is an astounding piece of reporting that manages to touch on vast swaths of American underground music in the 1980's， a microcosm of underground art in a fully pre-Internet era。 Greg Ginn is an absorbing， tragic figure whose unlimited work ethic and bizarre dark side must have made this a difficult book to create - to fairly report on a deeply unwell person who hates not just you but most everyone they have ever met， and who shepherded and created an impossible amount of music， which for about ten years held （and now withholds） some of the most influential American bands of the post-punk era。There could easily be a 24 Hour Party People-type film of this with Caleb Landry Jones as Ginn， although photonegative - the bureaucratic nastiness of the straight edge control freak rather than the freewheeling risk of a party animal， though with the incredible DIY rewards it brought。 。。。more

Carla T ，

It’s a trip reading a book that I know some of the details that they are discussing。 I can recall the times I would hang out at SST office in Lawndale and eventually visit the Long Beach site。 How sad that this record company could have continued to work with so many amazing artists imploded because the original owner wanted to do his own thing。

Dan ，

My thanks to both NetGalley and the publisher Hachette for an advanced copy of this book on rock music history。 Back in the days before compact discs and Napster independent record labels and independent music stores were the bastions of cool。 So much great music on vinyl， cassettes， eps zines and odd comics that would show up and disappear so fast。 One of the labels that always seemed to have if not the best music， but the most interesting and usually the loudest was SST Records。 The artwork， t My thanks to both NetGalley and the publisher Hachette for an advanced copy of this book on rock music history。 Back in the days before compact discs and Napster independent record labels and independent music stores were the bastions of cool。 So much great music on vinyl， cassettes， eps zines and odd comics that would show up and disappear so fast。 One of the labels that always seemed to have if not the best music， but the most interesting and usually the loudest was SST Records。 The artwork， the music， the attitude so apparant on every release， just super fresh super real sounds。 Jim Ruland in his book Corporate Rock Sucks: The Rise and Fall of SST Records tells the history of this label that changed so many things in music， but has really become one of music's great "And yet" stories。 The "And yet" really is the heart of this tome。 SST Records is the brainchild of guitarist Greg Ginn， known more for being a founding member of the band Black Flag and later Gone。 Having difficulty in getting a record deal for his band， Ginn adapted his own mail order ham radio business to distribute info， eps， art and and zines to fans。 Touring endlessly the band built up a steady fanbase that included venues， music buyers， store owners， and authorities who didn't like the punk music scene。 Other bands soon joined the label， releasing some of their best works， and getting them major label attention such as the Minutemen， Hüsker Dü， Sonic Youth， Soundgarden and others。 The label was one of the most respected labels during the 80's until the industry， and musical tastes outside and inside the label and things just started to slide。 The book is well researched and full of information and interview， some never seen before。 And lots of music， some great music， some ehh music， but the love the author has for this genre， and label shows clear。 Not that he has a problem pointing out the mistakes and frankly arrogance and stubbornness of creators， label owners and musicians。 This is very much a warts and all telling， and gives the reader a lot to think about， in what went right， and what went wrong。 My only gripe is that there are alot of names to keep track of， and some players disappear for long stretches or are gone from the book entirely。 However， that is minor in something that is so comprehensive。A intriguing read about a label that was so cool， that went downhill so fast。 The "And yet" and "If only" moments are many， but that seems to be a theme to books like these。 Definitely recommended for music fans and historians， if only for the complete discography of releases。 Also recommended for people wanting to make their own way in the arts， if you have a dream go for it， Greg Ginn did， an well read the book and learn what you can。 。。。more

Emily ，

3。5 starsThis book provides a very comprehensive history of SST Records， an indie label that put out records by lots of bands I’d heard of but never heard （like Black Flag， Husker Du， and Bad Brains）， bands I have both heard of and heard， like Sonic Youth， and bands that I have just never heard of。 Ruland does a great job of covering lots of music over about a 40-year time span， and I discovered many records and bands that I need to learn more about。 My only complaint is there was so much inform 3。5 starsThis book provides a very comprehensive history of SST Records， an indie label that put out records by lots of bands I’d heard of but never heard （like Black Flag， Husker Du， and Bad Brains）， bands I have both heard of and heard， like Sonic Youth， and bands that I have just never heard of。 Ruland does a great job of covering lots of music over about a 40-year time span， and I discovered many records and bands that I need to learn more about。 My only complaint is there was so much information I sometimes lost track of who everyone was。 Still， it was a great intro to， and history of， a very influential label。Thanks to NetGalley and Hachette for the ARC。 。。。more

Josee ，

Corporate Rock Sucks is a very engaging and comprehensive story of the founding and legacy of SST records， home to a slew of legendary artists and albums that are still influencing people to this day。 I still listen to and love a lot of the bands highlighted in this book， Black Flag， the Minutemen， Sonic Youth， Husker Du to name a few。 It was really interesting to learn of the label’s founding in the 1970’s as well as Black Flag’s inception and the various changes as far as band members and styl Corporate Rock Sucks is a very engaging and comprehensive story of the founding and legacy of SST records， home to a slew of legendary artists and albums that are still influencing people to this day。 I still listen to and love a lot of the bands highlighted in this book， Black Flag， the Minutemen， Sonic Youth， Husker Du to name a few。 It was really interesting to learn of the label’s founding in the 1970’s as well as Black Flag’s inception and the various changes as far as band members and style it underwent。 Greg Ginn， one of the founders brothers of Black Flag and SST， educated as an economist， helped to run the label， sign artists and toured relentlessly with Black Flag and later his own Grateful Dead inspired band， Gone。 His background， work ethic and uncompromising attitude really propelled SST forward throughout the years。 Author Jim Ruland writes engagingly， each of the many personalities of the bands comes through and we get the story in a clear timeline through the 1970’s to present。 There was a lot in here that I didn’t know。 Anyone interested in the LA punk/hardcore/alternative scene would definitely appreciate this book。 As a music fan， I loved it。 。。。more

Miya ，

Interesting story。 Didn't completely capture me， but other people may be grabbed more than I was。 Either way the history is super fascinating。 Interesting story。 Didn't completely capture me， but other people may be grabbed more than I was。 Either way the history is super fascinating。 。。。more

Reference

google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=Corporate Rock Sucks: The Rise and Fall of SST Records

hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=Corporate Rock Sucks: The Rise and Fall of SST Records&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft

The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,Corporate Rock Sucks: The Rise and Fall of SST Records&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0