Love Rock Revolution: K Records and the Rise of Independent Music

By: Mark Baumgarten

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Synopsis: Punk isn't a sound--it's an idea! 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. In its history, K Records has fostered some of independent music's greatest artists, including Beat Happening, Built to Spill, Beck, Modest Mouse, and the Gossip. 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 Revolutiontells 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.