Listen free for 30 days
-
Corporate Rock Sucks
- The Rise and Fall of SST Records
- Narrated by: Jim Ruland
- Length: 13 hrs and 54 mins
Failed to add items
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wish list failed.
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
Buy Now for $32.31
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
You may also enjoy...
-
Sellout
- The Major-Label Feeding Frenzy That Swept Punk, Emo, and Hardcore (1994–2007)
- Written by: Dan Ozzi
- Narrated by: Chris Abell
- Length: 13 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Seasoned music writer Dan Ozzi chronicles this embattled era in punk. Focusing on eleven prominent bands who made the jump from indie to major, Sellout charts the twists and turns of the last “gold rush” of the music industry, where some groups “sold out” and rose to surprise super stardom, while others buckled under mounting pressures. Sellout is both a gripping history of the music industry’s evolution, and a punk rock lover’s guide to the chaotic darlings of the post-grunge era.
-
-
Thorough and well written
- By Jay Herbert on 2024-04-22
Written by: Dan Ozzi
-
Punk Paradox
- A Memoir
- Written by: Greg Graffin
- Narrated by: Sean Patrick Hopkins, Greg Graffin
- Length: 12 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Greg Graffin is the lead vocalist and songwriter of Bad Religion, recently described as “America's most significant punk band.” Since its inception in Los Angeles in 1980, Bad Religion has produced 18 studio albums, become a long-running global touring powerhouse, and has established a durable legacy as one of the most influential punk rock bands of all time. Punk Paradox is Graffin's life narrative before and during L.A. punk's early years, detailing his observations on the genre's explosive growth and his band's steady rise in importance.
-
-
Great story if you are a BR fan
- By Tyson Finley on 2023-11-16
Written by: Greg Graffin
-
Sing Backwards and Weep
- A Memoir
- Written by: Mark Lanegan
- Narrated by: Mark Lanegan
- Length: 11 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When Mark Lanegan first arrived in Seattle in the mid-1980s, he was just "an arrogant, self-loathing redneck waster seeking transformation through rock 'n' roll." Little did he know that within less than a decade, he would rise to fame as the frontman of the Screaming Trees, and then fall from grace as a low-level crack dealer and a homeless heroin addict, all the while watching some of his closest friends rocket to the forefront of popular music.
-
-
I'm a big fan of Mark Lanegan
- By Jeremiah Simmons on 2024-03-29
Written by: Mark Lanegan
-
Meet Me in the Bathroom
- Rebirth and Rock and Roll in New York City 2001-2011
- Written by: Lizzy Goodman
- Narrated by: Charlie Thurston, Nicol Zanzarella
- Length: 19 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In the second half of the 20th century New York was the source of new sounds, including the Greenwich Village folk scene, punk and new wave, and hip-hop. But as the end of the millennium neared, cutting-edge bands began emerging from Seattle, Austin, and London, pushing New York further from the epicenter. The behemoth music industry, too, found itself in free fall, under siege from technology. Then 9/11/2001 plunged the country into a state of uncertainty and war.
-
-
Good but incoherent at times
- By Anonymous User on 2023-03-24
Written by: Lizzy Goodman
-
Do What You Want
- The Story of Bad Religion
- Written by: Bad Religion, Jim Ruland
- Narrated by: Rob Shapiro
- Length: 10 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Do What You Want's principal storytellers are the four voices that define Bad Religion: Greg Graffin, a Wisconsin kid who sang in the choir and became an LA punk rock icon while he was still a teenager; Brett Gurewitz, a high school dropout who founded the independent punk label Epitaph Records and went on to become a record mogul; Jay Bentley, a surfer and skater who gained recognition as much for his bass skills as for his antics on and off the stage.
-
-
Awesome book!
- By Samqc on 2023-07-14
Written by: Bad Religion, and others
-
Sonic Life
- A Memoir
- Written by: Thurston Moore
- Narrated by: Thurston Moore
- Length: 19 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Thurston Moore moved to Manhattan’s East Village in 1978 with a yearning for music. He wanted to be immersed in downtown New York’s sights and sounds—the feral energy of its nightclubs, the angular roar of its bands, the magnetic personalities within its orbit. But more than anything, he wanted to make music—to create indelible sounds that would move, provoke, and inspire. His dream came to life in 1981 with the formation of Sonic Youth, a band Moore cofounded with Kim Gordon and Lee Ranaldo.
-
-
Amazing trip through Thurston’s life!!
- By Anonymous User on 2024-01-11
Written by: Thurston Moore
-
Sellout
- The Major-Label Feeding Frenzy That Swept Punk, Emo, and Hardcore (1994–2007)
- Written by: Dan Ozzi
- Narrated by: Chris Abell
- Length: 13 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Seasoned music writer Dan Ozzi chronicles this embattled era in punk. Focusing on eleven prominent bands who made the jump from indie to major, Sellout charts the twists and turns of the last “gold rush” of the music industry, where some groups “sold out” and rose to surprise super stardom, while others buckled under mounting pressures. Sellout is both a gripping history of the music industry’s evolution, and a punk rock lover’s guide to the chaotic darlings of the post-grunge era.
-
-
Thorough and well written
- By Jay Herbert on 2024-04-22
Written by: Dan Ozzi
-
Punk Paradox
- A Memoir
- Written by: Greg Graffin
- Narrated by: Sean Patrick Hopkins, Greg Graffin
- Length: 12 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Greg Graffin is the lead vocalist and songwriter of Bad Religion, recently described as “America's most significant punk band.” Since its inception in Los Angeles in 1980, Bad Religion has produced 18 studio albums, become a long-running global touring powerhouse, and has established a durable legacy as one of the most influential punk rock bands of all time. Punk Paradox is Graffin's life narrative before and during L.A. punk's early years, detailing his observations on the genre's explosive growth and his band's steady rise in importance.
-
-
Great story if you are a BR fan
- By Tyson Finley on 2023-11-16
Written by: Greg Graffin
-
Sing Backwards and Weep
- A Memoir
- Written by: Mark Lanegan
- Narrated by: Mark Lanegan
- Length: 11 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
When Mark Lanegan first arrived in Seattle in the mid-1980s, he was just "an arrogant, self-loathing redneck waster seeking transformation through rock 'n' roll." Little did he know that within less than a decade, he would rise to fame as the frontman of the Screaming Trees, and then fall from grace as a low-level crack dealer and a homeless heroin addict, all the while watching some of his closest friends rocket to the forefront of popular music.
-
-
I'm a big fan of Mark Lanegan
- By Jeremiah Simmons on 2024-03-29
Written by: Mark Lanegan
-
Meet Me in the Bathroom
- Rebirth and Rock and Roll in New York City 2001-2011
- Written by: Lizzy Goodman
- Narrated by: Charlie Thurston, Nicol Zanzarella
- Length: 19 hrs and 42 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In the second half of the 20th century New York was the source of new sounds, including the Greenwich Village folk scene, punk and new wave, and hip-hop. But as the end of the millennium neared, cutting-edge bands began emerging from Seattle, Austin, and London, pushing New York further from the epicenter. The behemoth music industry, too, found itself in free fall, under siege from technology. Then 9/11/2001 plunged the country into a state of uncertainty and war.
-
-
Good but incoherent at times
- By Anonymous User on 2023-03-24
Written by: Lizzy Goodman
-
Do What You Want
- The Story of Bad Religion
- Written by: Bad Religion, Jim Ruland
- Narrated by: Rob Shapiro
- Length: 10 hrs and 25 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Do What You Want's principal storytellers are the four voices that define Bad Religion: Greg Graffin, a Wisconsin kid who sang in the choir and became an LA punk rock icon while he was still a teenager; Brett Gurewitz, a high school dropout who founded the independent punk label Epitaph Records and went on to become a record mogul; Jay Bentley, a surfer and skater who gained recognition as much for his bass skills as for his antics on and off the stage.
-
-
Awesome book!
- By Samqc on 2023-07-14
Written by: Bad Religion, and others
-
Sonic Life
- A Memoir
- Written by: Thurston Moore
- Narrated by: Thurston Moore
- Length: 19 hrs and 8 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Thurston Moore moved to Manhattan’s East Village in 1978 with a yearning for music. He wanted to be immersed in downtown New York’s sights and sounds—the feral energy of its nightclubs, the angular roar of its bands, the magnetic personalities within its orbit. But more than anything, he wanted to make music—to create indelible sounds that would move, provoke, and inspire. His dream came to life in 1981 with the formation of Sonic Youth, a band Moore cofounded with Kim Gordon and Lee Ranaldo.
-
-
Amazing trip through Thurston’s life!!
- By Anonymous User on 2024-01-11
Written by: Thurston Moore
Publisher's 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 listeners 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.
PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.
What the critics say
“SST Records became a radiant supernova of creativity and possibility. A true and livable alternative to lame shit. And then, somehow, it fell apart when it was poised to create another universe. It became radioactive, a black hole. This book is that ‘somehow’—part archeology, part autopsy.”
—Todd Taylor, Razorcake
“‘Get in the van,’ to borrow a phrase from another Black Flag book you may have heard of, has become something of a cliche, but it's no less true for punk bands in 2022 than it was in 1981. No matter how talented you are or how good your songs, you still, at long last, have to put in the work. The same applies to writers. For Corporate Rock Sucks, it's clear Jim has logged thousands and thousands of miles, talking to seemingly everyone who ever even heard of SST, digging up old record reviews and interviews and photos and zines no one has probably looked at for decades. It all adds up to an informative and fun read on a highly influential, and highly dysfunctional, record label.”
—Luke O'Neil, author of Welcome to Hell World: Dispatches from the American Dystopia
“With Corporate Rock Sucks, Jim Ruland asserts his power as a leading chronicler of Southern California punk rock. His exhaustive research and incisive commentary form a detailed and dynamic work worthy of the gargantuan legacy of SST—one of America’s foremost independent record labels that gave rise to Black Flag, the Meat Puppets, Minutemen, Hüsker Dü, Sonic Youth, Dinosaur Jr., and many others. An essential read for those curious about the label’s serpentine path and pre-broadband DIY music culture.”
—Erin Osmon, author of Jason Molina: Riding with the Ghost and John Prine
What listeners say about Corporate Rock Sucks
Average Customer RatingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Tim Kirker
- 2022-05-20
Heyday of Independent Hardcore Label
Ruland does a great job of digging into the hardcore punk scene of the 80s and 90s when SST gave the big boys a run for the money. His no nonsense narration is ideal for the material. Plenty of background on banner groups like Black Flag, Minutemen, Husker Du, Bad Brains, and Meat Puppets. Only complaint is listing of recording numbers throughout text which breaks the flow of the story in the audio version.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!