You can't put your arms around a Zoom
On meeting people I interviewed for Corporate Rock Sucks for the first time and the Duck & Cover tournament of cover songs.
When I started Corporate Rock Sucks I had no idea what I was getting into. I had just finished Do What You Want, and I thought the process for writing the new book would be similar to the old one. I’d travel around with my tape recorder and talk to the musicians, producers, photographers, and formers employees who made SST Records great. Then I’d take that mountain of material and try to shape it into something that made sense.
COVID-19 was already happening but I was slow to grasp how disruptive it would be. The other day I was reflecting on the travel I did for the Bad Religion book. I did interviews with band members in their homes, at Epitaph HQ, over breakfast and lunch before gigs, in grocery store delis, at recording studios, in rehearsal spaces, on tour buses. I remember talking to Jay Bentley while walking to a coffee shop in Italy. During a rainy day in Spain the stories flowed. I even peppered Greg Graffin with questions during a private tour of the Vatican. The fucking Vatican!
I thought Corporate Rock Sucks would take me all over California and out to New York with stops in Arizona, Wisconsin, and Wyoming. None of that happened. I didn’t do any interviews face-to-face. They all took place over the phone, on Zoom, or via email while I sat at my desk. (Sometimes I’d change things up and move my laptop to the bedroom.) As interviews stretched into their second and in some cases third hour, I felt the limitations of technology. The interviews were great but on a personal level I was starving for human contact.
So when I heard that former SST owner Joe Carducci was going to do an event in LA with Simon Reynolds, author of Rip It Up and Start Again, I knew I had to drive up from San Diego to be there. The event was held on the bookstore’s back patio, a place I’ve read—and seen people read—many times before. It’s right next to 826LA and some of you will recall that my reading series Vermin on the Mount was held there for a short time. I have many happy memories there.
Joe and Simon kicked off the conversation with a discussion of Rough Trade in London and Joe countered with his experience at record stores and distributors on the West Coast. Simon interviewed Joe for the SST chapter of Rip It Up and Start Again, which is a must have for SST enthusiasts. (He also wrote this long essay about the early days of punk for the London Review of Books earlier this month.) Joe, of course, wrote Enter Naomi, a tribute to SST photographer Naomi Petersen and a secret history of SST Records. Joe has a sharp mind and whether he's putting down his thoughts on the page or in conversation the result is always memorable.
Afterwards, with a long-distance assist from Michael T. Fournier (hi Mike!), I introduced myself to Linda Kite and Mugger, who were both in the audience. I’d interviewed them both for the book but we’d never met in person. After getting my books signed, I was in for another surprise. It turns out that Joy Press, who’d been my editor at Village Voice (briefly) and the Los Angeles Times (for many years) and is also a talented writer, was there to support her husband, Simon Reynolds. Mind blown!
I tagged along with a crew of people who went to grab a bite to eat with Joe, Linda, and Mugger at a vegan restaurant down the street. I didn’t realize how much I missed sitting around a table, telling and listening to stories, bullshitting about books and music and movies, meeting new people, and making new friends. It was the kind of gathering I used to take for granted before the pandemic and never will again.
Most importantly, I got the opportunity to thank Joe and Linda and Mugger for helping me with the book, but especially Joe, who indulged all of my many follow-up questions for weeks and weeks. It would have been easy for him to say “that’s enough” but he was extremely generous with this time.
The great thing is I’ll see several of these people again on April 1 at the first annual D-Day. Wanna go? Get your tickets soon, because this will sell out.
PssSST (Cover Song Edition)
Today I want to talk about (SST 263) Duck & Cover: a compilation of cover songs recorded by SST artists released in 1990. This was the first of two “gimmick” compilations SST assembled. The second was (SST 276) SST Acoustic that featured—wait for it—acoustic songs.
During this period in the label’s history, new releases slowed to a trickle and many of the records it put out were greatest hits anthologies. That said, Duck & Cover is a fascinating record that features original cover art from Craig Ibarra that depicts a rainstorm of records and tapes falling from the sky with various figures on the ground running for cover.
Duck & Cover is neither comprehensive nor exhaustive. You’ll find plenty of cover songs in SST’s catalog that aren’t represented here, but it’s a compelling mix of songs that’s worth exploring. In honor of the March Faxness competition, which pits cover songs against one another in a March Madness-style tournament, I’ve seeded the track listing to pit these songs in a head-to-head competition. The first song on the first side of the record will go against the last song on the flip side. Get it? Got it? Good. Because here we go…
1 Hüsker Dü “Eight Miles High” vs. 13 Trotsky Icepick “The Light Pours Out of Me.”
“Eight Miles High” is a worthy #1 seed. It’s such a ripping cover that SST released it as a single (SST 025). “The Light Pours Out of Me” is song by Magazine from the 1978 album Real Life. Howard Devoto cowrote the song with his former Buzzcocks bandmate Pete Shelley. The cover appears on Trotsky Icepick’s 1989 release El Kabong (SST 246). We have two very different American bands covering English artists. Vitus Mataré’s brash and bratty version sounds like he’s drawing inspiration from Public Image Limited but I think Hüsker Dü does more with “Eight Miles High,” making it uniquely its own—an essential criteria for an excellent cover song.
Winner: “Eight Miles High” outshines “The Light Pour Out of Me”
2 Meat Puppets "Good Golly Miss Molly" vs. 12 The Last “Baby It’s You”
No SST band loved playing cover songs more than the Meat Puppets. I explore this in my book, so I won’t go into it here. Frankly, I don’t think “Good Golly Miss Molly,” which appears on the 1986 EP Out My Way (SST 049), is the band’s best cover (that honor, IMO, goes to “Tumblin’ Tumbleweeds”) but if you thought Hüsker Dü’s version of “Eight Miles High” was scorching, wait until you check out this one. “Baby It’s You” was written by Burt Bacharach with Luther Dixon and Mack David. Bacharach was hitmaker who composed ‘70s cheese like “That’s What Friends Are For” and “Raindrops Keep Fallin’ on My Head.” The Beatles had a hit with “Baby It’s You” and so did the Shirelles. The Last’s version appears on their 1989 release Awakening (SST 230). It’s very nice, but nice will get you nowhere in this competition.
Winner: “Good Golly Miss Molly” puts “Baby It’s You” to bed.
3 Black Flag “Louie Louie” vs. 11 Descendents “Wendy”
I’ve already written extensively of how Black Flag weaponized “Louie Louie” and unwittingly laid the framework for a pop monster. But the Descendents’ cover of the Beach Boys “Wendy” from Liveage (SST 163) is a worthy competitor. Listening to the Descendents rip up “Wendy” you can hear the progression from doo-wop to the sickly sweet tuneage of the Beach Boys to the pop demolitions of Blink 182. It’s also a lot more fun to listen to than “Louie Louie.”
Winner: “Wendy” dumps “Louie Louie”
4 Volcano Suns “Kick Out the Jams” vs. 10 Minutemen “Ain't Talkin' 'Bout Love”
The MC5’s “Kick Out the Jams” is one of the greatest rock songs of all time. If you’re going to cover it you either have to exceed its intensity or completely dismantle it. Boston’s high-energy alt-rocker Volcano Suns make a valiant attempt but ultimately does neither. I prefer the Minutemen’s deconstruction of the Van Halen song “Ain’t Talkin’ ‘Bout Love,” which is both a classic and a parody of itself. The Minutemen’s rebuke of high-kicking, Spandex-wearing rock-and-roll excess comes through in the video below.
Winner: “Ain’t Talkin’ ‘Bout Love” kicks “Kick Out the James” to the curb.
5 Saccharine Trust "Six Pack" vs. 9 Stone by Stone with Chris D. "Ghost"
This is one of the stranger match-ups. In the late ‘80s and early ‘90s, when many bands were jumping ship from SST a handful of artists released a slew of albums: Trotsky Icepick, The Leaving Trains, and Chris D. of the Flesh Eaters. Stone By Stone was a project Chris D did with Chris Haskett of the Rollins Band. On his 1989 album I Pass for Human (SST 247) Stone by Stone covers the song “Ghost,” which was written by Eric Martin. Although Martin is probably best known for his band Mr. Big, he has been involved in some projects that might surprise you.
“Ghost” is a catchy song but not half as memorable as “Six Pack.”
Winner: “Six Pack” exorcises “Ghost”
6 Revolution 409 "Crazy Horses" vs. 8 The Leaving Trains "The Horse Song"
This match-up works out perfectly because you’ve got two horse songs racing neck and neck. (See what I did there?) If you’re wondering, “Who the hell is Revolution 409?” it’s the name Redd Kross recorded under for the Melting Plot compilation (SST 249). “Crazy Horses” is by The Osmonds. Yes, these Osmonds.
This video kind of kicks ass, no? Can you imagine if a rock band brought back synchronized dance moves? This old Irish step dancer is ready for it. While I can see why Redd Kross covered it I’m not sure their version is an improvement. “Crazy Horses” is up against The Leaving Trains version of “The Horse Song” by Iggy Pop. I don’t want to spoil it for but this one may not be about an actual horse. The Leaving Trains serve up a competent cover but the clap-track kind of ruins it for me.
Winner: Neither. I’m going with…
7 Dinosaur Jr - "Just Like Heaven"
Since we’ve got an odd number of entries, Dinosaur Jr’s epic rendition of “Just Like Heaven” is still standing there all on its own, and since I make up the rules to this competition I’m going to name it the winner of the previous match-up. “Just Like Heaven” was released as a single and deserves to move on to the next round. Let’s reconfigure the next round based on the original seeding and see what we come up with:
1 “Eight Miles High” vs 11“Wendy”
2 “Good Golly Miss Molly” vs 10 “Ain’t Talkin’ ‘Bout Love”
5 “Six Pack” vs 7 “Just Like Heaven”
I’m going to go with the underdogs in this round: “Wendy,” “Ain’t Talkin’ ‘Bout Love” and “Six Pack,” which leaves us with three songs. Shit. Another odd number. So I’m going to declare “Six Pack” the winner.
An SST band covering an SST band may seem cheap but I gotta go with Saccharine Trust here. They know the intro to “Six Pack” is untouchable and leave it alone. Baiza does an amazing rendition of Ginn’s guitar style , which is incredible when you consider that Baiza barely knew how to play guitar when he started jamming with Jack Brewer.
I love the spirit of the song, which comes through in this live performance where you can hear Brewer cracking on Black Flag before the song: “They don’t even know what beer tastes like!”
Now everyone knows the song is a satire of those who party their lives away (and possibly written with Keith Morris in mind), but in Saccharine Trust’s hands it’s a true party anthem. They’re not taking a piss out of Black Flag, but they’re not not taking the piss either. I think the legacy of SST, and Black Flag in particular, is so heavy that we sometimes forget about the good times these bands hand together. This recording captures Saccharine Trust having an absolute blast.
Thanks for reading. If you enjoyed this than you’ll probably like March Faxness and unlike here you can even vote on the songs.
Remember, when you pre-order Corporate Rock Sucks you’re entitled to some incredible perks, including access to a Zoom call with me and Keith Morris and the first chapter of Corporate Rock Sucks. But don’t take my word for it. Here’s what Greg Graffin had to say about the book:
Boooooooo. Wendy is the 3rd greatest cover of all time ( Hendrix Watchtower, The Clash Police on My Back )