Sellout

The Major-Label Feeding Frenzy That Swept Punk, Emo, and Hardcore (1994–2007)

By: Dan Ozzi

Narrated by: Chris Abell

Length: 13 hrs and 3 mins

Publisher's summary

NATIONAL BESTSELLER

AN NPR BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR

"Ozzi's reporting is strong, balanced and well told...a worthy successor to its obvious inspiration, Michael Azerrad's 2001 examination of the '80s indie underground, 'Our Band Could Be Your Life.'"—New York Times Book Review

A raucous history of punk, emo, and hardcore’s growing pains during the commercial boom of the early '90s and mid-aughts, following eleven bands as they “sell out” and find mainstream fame, or break beneath the weight of it all

Punk rock found itself at a crossroads in the mid-'90s. After indie favorite Nirvana catapulted into the mainstream with its unexpected phenomenon, Nevermind, rebellion was suddenly en vogue. Looking to replicate the band’s success, major record labels set their sights on the underground, and began courting punk’s rising stars. But the DIY punk scene, which had long prided itself on its trademark authenticity and anti-establishment ethos, wasn’t quite ready to let their homegrown acts go without a fight. The result was a schism: those who accepted the cash flow of the majors, and those who defiantly clung to their indie cred.

In Sellout, seasoned music writer Dan Ozzi chronicles this embattled era in punk. Focusing on eleven prominent bands who made the jump from indie to major, Sellout charts the twists and turns of the last “gold rush” of the music industry, where some groups “sold out” and rose to surprise super stardom, while others buckled under mounting pressures. Sellout is both a gripping history of the music industry’s evolution, and a punk rock lover’s guide to the chaotic darlings of the post-grunge era, featuring original interviews and personal stories from members of modern punk’s most (in)famous bands:

• Green Day
• Jawbreaker
• Jimmy Eat World
• Blink-182
• At the Drive-In
• The Donnas
• Thursday
• The Distillers
• My Chemical Romance
• Rise Against
• Against Me!

©2021 by Daniel Ozzi (P)2021 by HarperCollins Publishers

A pedant’s note

Hate to be that guy but when one of the central conceits of the book is how important authenticity is to the subject, I’d hope there would be some quality control to the narration.

While doing an outstanding job in all other aspects, the narrator horribly butchers the pronunciations of people, bands, and labels. The Hard Times, a popular satire website like the punk onion, once has a story with the headline, “NERD PRONOUNCES ‘FAT WRECK CHORDS’ ALL SERRATE AND WEIRD.” This is that narrator. He says it like a hundred times. I think he called Davey Havok, ‘huh-Vock,’ and dozens upon dozens of similar weird pronunciations that stand out to fans of this subject matter.

Again, a pedantic rant but come on the whole point was how ruinous inauthenticity is to the scene. At least read the stuff correctly. I’ve followed and read Dan long enough to know that he’d be pretty bummed about this.

Perfect

This is so great, thanks Dan! Please keep this going…I feel like this could easily launch a volume 2, so get a major publisher bidding war going & keep making more of these until they’re not cool anymore.

Compared to This Band Could be Your Life…

This is L.A. Guns compared to
Guns and Roses, Or Warrant compared to Motley Crue. Ok to be more modern Owl City to The Postal Service.

You’re going to wish this book was twice as long

I learned about this book from the authors interview on the podcast 60 songs that explain the 90s. To say I devoured this book would be putting it mildly. A highly entertaining, and very nostalgic coverage that went so in depth and behind the scenes at some of the most groundbreaking and iconic punk bands of the last several decades. The only critique, is that I wish the book was twice as long and covered twice as many stories!

Awesomeness

Great topics and great details about some great bands. It’s exactly what I like. The narrator is great too!

A great snapshot of an exciting time

Even if you only like a handful of the bands covered, the details of each story are really interesting. If you grew up in the timeframe covered, it’s a nice stroll down memory lane. You’re likely to have a lot of “Oh yeah, I remember hearing that song/band” moments while listening. My only suggestion is that the narrator just pronounce Fat Wreck Chords as “Fat Records”. The way he literally says “Wreck Chords” during the Rise Against chapter drove me nuts. But that’s being nit-picky. Overall, a wonderful book.

What an incredible book about music I grew up with.

I grew up with these albums and hearing the stories behind the bands is so fascinating. 10/10

an incredible work

I couldn't stop listening to this book. Some of the bands covered have been longtime favorites. others not as much. And yet each story was so compelling. well done

Loved the details of each band! Would love a follow up of additional influential punk bands of the early 2000’s! Let’s get Vol 2

Fun listen to be able to go back in time and understand what was going on with some of my favorite bands of the era. Great details! Honestly, I’d love to see additional volumes to learn more of other bands too!

great

learned a lot and got excited by all the 90s and 00s punk and hardcore name drops. very thorough

fleshed out love story listical

probably only worth reading/listening if you loved most of the bands mentioned. Not so much an investigation of a genre and industry's reaction to it but a series of third party memoirs. would have loved to have heard more from labels, venue owners.
Really loved the passion of the writing.