Corporate Rock Sucks. That phrase, that slogan, it’s as well-known and recognizable as the Sub Pop logo, is synonymous with SST, though is perhaps better known than the name SST all on its lonesome. And the rise and fall?
Well.
Jim Ruland has written what will surely be acknowledged as one of the most essential historical texts regarding American music. It’s engaging, informative, insightful, and just an all-around engrossing cruise through a time in music when tastes were shifting and music as a form of communication and communal activity was forever changing the landscape and busting the gates in such a way they could never be mended.
For those who very, very, very clearly remember SST Records from its heyday, those who were actively immersed in it, those who grew up with it and had their minds blown and expanded by new sounds and discoveries, and for those who are curious, those who may’ve missed out on that the first or second time around, those who’ve heard the name SST dropped in conversation at a gig or a party and need to know what exactly SST is, this book delivers again and again. And again and again and again.
Not only was SST the “incubator of hardcore” and a stance against art controlled by boards and committees and trustees and things like such, art controlled by corporations with other interests (often more important to the corporations than the book publishing and record companies under their umbrella(s)), SST was also at the forefront of something that was particularly strong in the 80s and early 90s: mail orders. Direct mail orders. I remember dividing up my paychecks between numerous labels (SST, Sub Pop, Creation, Twin/Tone, AmRep, In The Red, Sympathy for the Record Industry, Matador, K Records, Kill Rock Stars, Minty Fresh, and on and on and on). Direct sales to fans, especially those who didn’t live by or have access to a record shop, they were of utmost importance to bands building an audience, and of utmost importance to music fans everywhere. Those who were once denied access or were completely unaware, due to said lack of access, suddenly had the gate crashed in on them, and the possibilities were endless.
With that, SST really solidified the notion of a label as a full-on entity that could be trusted, relied on, looked to for guidance. And other labels, like those mentioned above, carried that on. No longer were fans simply following bands, they were following labels. If you had a never-ending curiosity and thirst for music but didn’t really know where to begin, if you liked a band or two that happened to be on a certain label (such as SST or Sub Pop or Twin/Tone), it wasn’t a bad bet to grab something from the label you were unfamiliar with. Chances are you’d be discovering a new favorite band. And if you weren’t, you just moved on over to the next release in the catalog.
Reading this book, I couldn’t believe how much I had forgotten of that time, those bands, all that. More so, I couldn’t believe how much I never even knew about it all.
If you like any bands that were ever on SST, buy this book. If you want to start a band or are in one already, buy this book. If you want to start a record label (or, again, already have), but this book. If you just straight-up simply love music, buy this book.
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Fred Core
Excelente leitura sobre um importante trabalho.
Reviewed in Brazil on July 7, 2022
tristan bowden
A real page turner
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on September 16, 2023
Maria do Carmo Jardim Mendes
Exatamente o que pretendia
Reviewed in Spain on December 25, 2022
