INSTANT KARMA
Alternative nation
A new book explores how SST Records defined America’s ’80s rock underground before imploding in acrimony
On the frontline: Black Flag’s Henry Rollins in LA, May 1984
IRIS SCHNEIDER/LOS ANGELES TIMES VIA GETTY IMAGES; GIEKNAEPS/GETTY IMAGES
IN 1987, Dinosaur Jr embarked on what was supposed to be on their breakthrough tour. They had just made their second album, You’re Living All Over Me, which would eventually become an underground rock landmark. Except the album had been delayed, and their new label SST hadn’t given them a reason or even an ETA. “It was horrible,” says frontman J Mascis. “We set off on our big summer tour without an album out. Nobody knew who we were. Our van broke down a lot. There were even some gigs where we were told, ‘You’re not playing here’, even though we were already booked. It was pretty miserable.”