Jim Ruland's Blog

Just logged on for the first time in forever so have no idea how old this request is. Sorry about that! My email is verminonthemount@yahoo.com

Hi Austen, it’s way too early for that. Just pre-order the book when it becomes available and you’ll be guaranteed a first edition. Hope that helps! 

Corporate Rock Sucks: The Rise & Fall of SST Records is coming April 12, 2022, from Hachette Books and is now available for pre-order.

PRE-ORDER
Print: Amazon | IndieBound | Bookshop | Vermin Enterprises
Ebook: Kindle | Nook

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.

What is SST? Greg Ginn started SST Electronics in the sleepy beach town of Hermosa Beach, California, 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 it 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, 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 other influential bands, SST was the most popular indie label on the planet 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.

Corporate Rock Sucks features over 50 photographs–many published for the first time–from Linda Aranow, Alison Braun, Edward Colver, Fred Hammer, Wild Don Lewis, Naomi Peterson, EJ Porter, Paul Rachman, and SPOT. Implementing interviews with the label’s former employees, as well as musicians, managers, producers, photographers, video directors, and label heads, Corporate Rock Sucks presents an unauthorized narrative history of the ’80s punk and alternative rock scenes, and shows how the music industry was changed forever.

Corporate Rock Sucks was originally published on Jim Ruland

Tonight I’m reading with Barry Gifford (Wild at Heart, Lost Highway, The Cuban Club) at Book Soup on Sunset in West Hollywood at 7pm (at Book Soup)

https://www.instagram.com/p/BozfhS7FiI-/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=1xycmj9kv2qug

Vermin returns to @labodegagallery in Barrio Logan Sat. Sept 29th with @devonglenn, @adamgnade, @lilliamr and @razorcakegorsky’s Puro Pinche Poets: Julie Macias, Eugenia Nicole & @ever.a.k.a.thegirlabouttown. Poster art by @mrglaubitz and design by @startswitharts. (at La Bodega Gallery)

https://www.instagram.com/p/BnbcDFkF48Lg1Me1QzLa2Ar7OgJGqP01YvXkCQ0/?utm_source=ig_tumblr_share&igshid=12c3vfg038ywd

Sneak peak at some new merch at Golondrina today. Punk Van Gogh and Gangsta Rick stickers. “Birdseed Violence” a Minor Threat-Golondrina mash-up. And a stamp for a new project called Dead Boids. (at Golondrina)

Farewell! See you on the other side…

#summerofnoregrets (at USS Recruit)

I may not have a job but I’m rich in contributor’s copies. “Clown Detective” in the new issue of Mississippi Review. #summerofnoregrets (at Paradise Hills, San Diego)

Beef is coming (at Paradise Hills, San Diego)

Vermin art at a vegan restaurant (at Punto Gozatera)