Punk isn't a sound--it's an idea! In its history, K Records has fostered some of independent music's greatest artists, including Bikini Kill, Beat Happening, Built to Spill, Beck, Modest Mouse, and the Gossip. In 1982, K Records released its first cassette and put its own spin on punk's defiant manifesto: You don't need anyone's permission to make music. Thirty years later, the label continues to operate in the underground while rightfully claiming a role as one of the most transformative engines of modern independent music. It has also galvanized the international pop underground, helped create the grunge scene that took over pop culture, and provided a launching pad for the riot grrrl movement that changed the role of women in music forever. Love Rock Revolution tells the story of how it all happened, recounting the early journeys of K Records founder Calvin Johnson from the punk mecca of London to the hardcore clubs of Washington, D.C., in the late-'70s, the creation of K Records in the '80s, the label's role in revolutionizing independent music in the '90s, and its struggle to survive that revolution with its integrity intact.
Love Rock Revolution
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Editorial Reviews
Review
"No novelist, short of Ayn Rand, could come up with a character as iconoclastic and idealist as Calvin Johnson, which is one reason Love Rock Revolution is a compelling book. Mark Baumgarten methodically details every nuance of K Records, and in doing so has written the best book yet on the Olympia, Washington scene. Whether you're a fan of Beat Happening, Bikini Kill, or Nirvana, this book will help you understand a scene that changed music history."
Charles R. Cross, author of Heavier Than Heaven
"In his new book Love Rock Revolution: K Records and the Rise of Independent Music, Mark Baumgarten explores the independent music scene of the mid eighties to the present through the story of Calvin Johnson's seminal record label. And although he's only looking a few decades back, it was a different world. To find music that wasn't on the radio, you had to search — without Google. You had to go to shows, get mix tapes from cousins, or ask record store employees for "underground" bands. But once you did, there was a whole world to explore. It was the heyday of zines and newsletters, when independent bands toured in vans across the country, blazing trails down the still-new interstate system, winning new fans over one small town at a time."
Think Out Loud, Oregon Public Broadcasting
"Baumgarten is not just a great writer and astute music critic; he is an impeccable storyteller, and exhibits this skill in this selection from his book. Love Rock Revolution will undoubtedly be a treasure for K Records fans and music lovers in general."
Pop Press International
"It’s a fascinating and thoroughly-researched book that should interest anyone curious about independent music, the Northwest, or the growth of a community or scene."
Another Rainy Saturday
"It could all be called 'punk,' but in a sense that referred to a feeling and an ethos, not a particular sound. Love Rock Revolution reflects that feeling by describing not only the music itself, but the economies of culture, resources, and personality that made it possible. Similar economies inform recent manifestations of DIY culture in niches all over the world, and this makes the book’s subject larger and more important than the story of a single independent record label — even though that story, skillfully and entertainingly told, is its major focus... Baumgarten does not pretend to be exhaustive, but his clear enthusiasm for the K millieu is contagious, making newcomers feel as though they could have been in on the scene themselves."
Los Angeles Review of Books
"Baumgarten's history lessons are conversational and well-written, and he obviously has a deep love for his subject. Amid accounts of who's who, there are small revelations, like just how bizarre K Records' back catalog is: The fervent hard rock of Karp alongside the sugar-spun Softies, and Built to Spill's deft guitar epics bookended with Beat Happening's near musical incompetence. Erratic and varied, it's very much a list that represents K Records' open-door policy, where record deals are made with a handshake. Even if Love Rock Revolution doesn't lob hardballs at Johnson's psyche, it's a nourishing chunk of facts, stories, and memories of long teenage days spent listening to K Records mixtapes."
The Portland Mercury
"Baumgarten manages to pull off a rather balanced and historically important label biography through the format of an oral history -- no easy feat."
Bookslut
Charles R. Cross, author of Heavier Than Heaven
"In his new book Love Rock Revolution: K Records and the Rise of Independent Music, Mark Baumgarten explores the independent music scene of the mid eighties to the present through the story of Calvin Johnson's seminal record label. And although he's only looking a few decades back, it was a different world. To find music that wasn't on the radio, you had to search — without Google. You had to go to shows, get mix tapes from cousins, or ask record store employees for "underground" bands. But once you did, there was a whole world to explore. It was the heyday of zines and newsletters, when independent bands toured in vans across the country, blazing trails down the still-new interstate system, winning new fans over one small town at a time."
Think Out Loud, Oregon Public Broadcasting
"Baumgarten is not just a great writer and astute music critic; he is an impeccable storyteller, and exhibits this skill in this selection from his book. Love Rock Revolution will undoubtedly be a treasure for K Records fans and music lovers in general."
Pop Press International
"It’s a fascinating and thoroughly-researched book that should interest anyone curious about independent music, the Northwest, or the growth of a community or scene."
Another Rainy Saturday
"It could all be called 'punk,' but in a sense that referred to a feeling and an ethos, not a particular sound. Love Rock Revolution reflects that feeling by describing not only the music itself, but the economies of culture, resources, and personality that made it possible. Similar economies inform recent manifestations of DIY culture in niches all over the world, and this makes the book’s subject larger and more important than the story of a single independent record label — even though that story, skillfully and entertainingly told, is its major focus... Baumgarten does not pretend to be exhaustive, but his clear enthusiasm for the K millieu is contagious, making newcomers feel as though they could have been in on the scene themselves."
Los Angeles Review of Books
"Baumgarten's history lessons are conversational and well-written, and he obviously has a deep love for his subject. Amid accounts of who's who, there are small revelations, like just how bizarre K Records' back catalog is: The fervent hard rock of Karp alongside the sugar-spun Softies, and Built to Spill's deft guitar epics bookended with Beat Happening's near musical incompetence. Erratic and varied, it's very much a list that represents K Records' open-door policy, where record deals are made with a handshake. Even if Love Rock Revolution doesn't lob hardballs at Johnson's psyche, it's a nourishing chunk of facts, stories, and memories of long teenage days spent listening to K Records mixtapes."
The Portland Mercury
"Baumgarten manages to pull off a rather balanced and historically important label biography through the format of an oral history -- no easy feat."
Bookslut
About the Author
Mark Baumgarten is a Seattle-based music writer. He serves as Editor at Large for City Arts magazine, and his work has been featured in Willamette Week, The Village Voice, Seattle Weekly, and Lost Cause magazine.
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More About the Author
Mark Baumgarten (born August 18, 1978) grew up in the small cow-town of Tomah, Wisconsin, before moving to Minneapolis to pursue his writing career. He eventually settled in the Pacific Northwest where he enjoys the mild winters, the music and the mountains. In the last decade he has served as music editor of Willamette Week and executive editor of City Arts, Sound, Twin Cities Metropolitan and Lost Cause magazines. He is the author of Love Rock Revolution (out July 10, 2012), and is currently the editor-in-chief for Seattle Weekly. Mark lives in Seattle.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This book reminded me of what it was like to be a teenage punk. It awakened something in me I thought I had lost. More than a story about a specific man and label, it's a story about the discovery and love of music. Anyone who felt butterflies in their stomach as they put on a new record for the first time will love this book.
By Tom
Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase
Found the book Love Rock Revolution very interesting. Didn't know a lot about independent music however the book is written in a way to get one interested in not only independent music, but the lives of the characters also. Good read!
By ilikebooks
Format:Paperback
I really enjoyed this history. The narrative kept me interested, while leaving me with (what I think is an understanding of) what K Records is about. I'll concede that it's best suited for a niche audience.... If you don't care much for underground music or the roots of modern indie rock, this book won't be your favorite.
I didn't read this as the history of one small label. K Records was one of many in a movement. Dischord Records (Fugazi, Minor Threat), Kill Rock Stars (decemberists), Sub Pop (shins, nirvana) and Rough Trade (smiths, strokes) all play sizable roles in the book... and most of those other labels have been recognized for how they contributed to the beginning of independent music.. but it seems that K has often been overlooked. I'm glad someone wrote their story.
I didn't read this as the history of one small label. K Records was one of many in a movement. Dischord Records (Fugazi, Minor Threat), Kill Rock Stars (decemberists), Sub Pop (shins, nirvana) and Rough Trade (smiths, strokes) all play sizable roles in the book... and most of those other labels have been recognized for how they contributed to the beginning of independent music.. but it seems that K has often been overlooked. I'm glad someone wrote their story.
2 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase
the somewhat dubious premise of this book is that calvin johnson and his olympia contemporaries were genuine visionaries and groundbreakers whose contributions to indie culture vastly transcended their teeny record sales. the more cynical among us might say that they were no different than scenesters in a thousand other american cities, making records of interest to only to locals and a few obsessives. as literature, this book isn't particularly gripping--it's mostly a fact-oriented history of a few obscure bands and labels, and doesn't delve very deeply into the the psyches of the characters. still, it's a pleasant enough read for fans of outsider music.
6 of 14 people found the following review helpful
By popgirl
Format:Paperback
The acknowledgments at the end of this book begins, "When I first called Calvin Johnson and told him I wanted to write a book about K Records, he considered the prospect silently for a few moments before responding, 'That sounds like a really boring book.' "
Listen to Calvin about his own story. I nearly fell asleep reading this bo...zzzzzzz
Listen to Calvin about his own story. I nearly fell asleep reading this bo...zzzzzzz
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