Restless Records is a record label that was started in

El Segundo, California El Segundo ( , ; ) is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. Located on Santa Monica Bay, it was incorporated on January 18, 1917, and is part of the South Bay Cities Council of Governments. The population was 16,731 as of the ...

in 1986 by

Enigma Records Enigma Records (also known as Enigma Entertainment Corporation) was a popular rock and alternative American record label in the 1980s. History Enigma Records launched as a division of Greenworld Distribution, an independent music importer/ ...

and primarily released alternative, metal, and punk records. Restless also licensed and released records from

Bar/None Records Bar/None Records is an independent record label based in Hoboken, New Jersey. Early history Tom Prendergast started Bar/None in early 1986 in Hoboken, New Jersey. Having previously worked in pirate radio and booked and promoted bands in his na ...

Metal Blade Records Metal Blade Records is an American independent record label founded by Brian Slagel in 1982. The US office for Metal Blade is located in Agoura Hills, California. It also has offices in Germany, Japan, Canada, and the UK. The label is distr ...

and

Mute Records Mute Records is a British independent record label owned and founded in 1978 by Daniel Miller. It has featured several prominent musical acts on its roster such as Depeche Mode, Erasure, Einstürzende Neubauten, Fad Gadget, Goldfrapp, Grin ...

. Restless also had a fully owned subsidiary, Pink Dust Records. In 1991 Restless and a number of Enigma Records titles were acquired by Bill Hein and Joe Regis and re-launched in Hollywood, California. In 1992, Restless acquired the Twin/Tone Records label and classic titles by such artists as The Replacements,

Soul Asylum Soul Asylum is an American alternative rock band formed in 1981 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Their 1993 hit "Runaway Train" won the Grammy Award for Best Rock Song. The band was originally called Loud Fast Rules, with a lineup consisting of D ...

, The Jayhawks and

Ween Ween is an American Rock music, rock band from New Hope, Pennsylvania, formed in 1984 by Gene Ween, Aaron Freeman and Dean Ween, Mickey Melchiondo, better known by their respective stage names, Gene and Dean Ween. Generally categorized as an al ...

. This added to Restless' already substantial catalogue of titles by

They Might Be Giants They Might Be Giants (often abbreviated as TMBG) is an American alternative rock band formed in 1982 by John Flansburgh and John Linnell. During TMBG's early years, Flansburgh and Linnell frequently performed as a duo, often accompanied by a dr ...

The Cramps The Cramps were an American rock band formed in 1976 and active until 2006. Their lineup rotated frequently during their existence, with the husband-and-wife duo of singer Lux Interior and guitarist Poison Ivy the only ever-present members. ...

The Dead Milkmen The Dead Milkmen is an American punk rock band formed in 1983 in Philadelphia. Their original lineup consisted of vocalist and keyboardist Rodney Linderman ("Rodney Anonymous"), guitarist and vocalist Joe Genaro ("Joe Jack Talcum"), bassist ...

Devo Devo (, originally ) is an American Rock music, rock band from Akron, Ohio, formed in 1973. Their classic line-up consisted of two sets of brothers, the Mothersbaughs (Mark Mothersbaugh, Mark and Bob Mothersbaugh, Bob) and the Casales (Gerald ...

The Flaming Lips The Flaming Lips are an American psychedelic rock band formed in 1983 in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. The band currently consists of Wayne Coyne (vocals, guitar, keyboards), Steven Drozd (guitars, keyboards, bass, drums, vocals), Derek Brown (k ...

Stiff Little Fingers Stiff Little Fingers are a punk rock band from Belfast, Northern Ireland. They formed in 1977 at the height of the Troubles, which informed much of their songwriting. They started out as a schoolboy band called Highway Star (named after the De ...

, T.S.O.L. among others. In 1993 Restless co-founded Alternative Distribution Alliance (ADA) with Warner Brothers Music Group (WMG) to handle its distribution and certain titles released by Warner Bros., Elektra Records, Atlantic Records, their affiliates and Sub Pop Records. Sub Pop subsequently became a partner in the venture. Within 10 years, ADA went on to become the largest distributor of independent music in America. In 1997 Restless was acquired by Arnon Milchan's New Regency Productions, one of the entertainment industry's largest independent film production companies. Restless remained a subsidiary of New Regency until 2001, during which time, Restless released many of New Regency's soundtracks including ''L.A. Confidential'', ''Fight Club'' and ''Malcolm In The Middle'' (the title song to which earned They Might Be Giants a Grammy in 2001). After New Regency sold its interest back to Hein and Regis in 2001 Restless entered into a distribution deal with Ryko Distribution which led to a sale to Ryko Corp. Ryko was later acquired by Warner Music Group in 2006. Since then, some of the albums originally released under Restless went out of print, referred to by They Might Be Giants in their newsletter as "the almost instant collapse of Restless Records after the events of 9/11."

Artists

45 Grave 45 Grave is an American rock band from Los Angeles formed in 1979. The original group broke up in 1985, but vocalist Dinah Cancer subsequently revived the band. History The band was founded during the punk rock movement by Paul B. Cutler i ...

* Adrenalin O.D. *

Agent Orange Agent Orange is a chemical herbicide and defoliant, one of the "tactical use" Rainbow Herbicides. It was used by the U.S. military as part of its herbicidal warfare program, Operation Ranch Hand, during the Vietnam War from 1961 to 1971. It ...

* AMiniature * Aversion * The Bags * Band of Susans *

Tim Buckley Timothy Charles Buckley III (February 14, 1947 – June 29, 1975) was an American musician. His music and style changed considerably through the years. Buckley began his career based in folk music, but his subsequent albums experimented with ...

* Butchering The Beatles * Lori Carson * Cinderblock *

Cirith Ungol In J. R. R. Tolkien's fictional world of Middle-earth, Mordor (pronounced ; from Sindarin ''Black Land'' and Quenya ''Land of Shadow'') is the realm and base of the evil Sauron. It lay to the east of Gondor and the great river Anduin, and to ...

* Danzig *

Dead Milkmen The Dead Milkmen is an American punk rock band formed in 1983 in Philadelphia. Their original lineup consisted of vocalist and keyboardist Rodney Linderman ("Rodney Anonymous"), guitarist and vocalist Joe Genaro ("Joe Jack Talcum"), bassist D ...

Death Angel Death Angel is an American thrash metal band from Daly City, California, initially active from 1982 to 1991 and again since 2001. Death Angel has released nine studio albums, two demo tapes, one box set and three live albums. The band has gon ...

* Doughboys *

Dream Syndicate A dream is a succession of images, ideas, emotions, and sensations that usually occur involuntarily in the mind during certain stages of sleep. Humans spend about two hours dreaming per night, and each dream lasts around 5 to 20 minutes, althou ...

* Econoline Crush * Electric Love Muffin * Elvis Hitler * Roky Erikson * The Fibonaccis *

FLAK Anti-aircraft warfare, counter-air or air defence forces is the battlespace response to aerial warfare, defined by NATO as "all measures designed to nullify or reduce the effectiveness of hostile air action".AAP-6 It includes surface based ...

Forgotten Rebels The Forgotten Rebels are a punk rock band from Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. Founded in 1977,

* Get Smart! (band), Get Smart! *

Russ Tolman Russ Tolman (born August 15, 1956) is a singer-songwriter who came to international attention in the 1980s as guitarist, songwriter, and producer of True West, a band associated with the Paisley Underground. Early life and career Tolman wa ...

Giant Sand Giant Sand is an American musical group from Tucson, Arizona, United States. Its most constant member is singer-songwriter Howe Gelb. The group started as Giant Sandworms in the late 1970s post-punk and paisley underground scenes. They later s ...

Crispin Glover Crispin Hellion Glover (born April 20, 1964) is an American actor. He is known for portraying eccentric characters on screen, such as George McFly in ''Back to the Future'' (1985), Layne in ''River's Edge'' (1986), Andy Warhol in ''The Doors'' ...

* The Golden Palominos * Green on Red * Hellion * Indestroy *

IronChrist Ironchrist is an American crossover/thrash metal band founded in 1986 from the demise of the punk rock band Spastic Rats. Along with label mates Indestroy, Ironchrist was one of the biggest metal bands of the late 80s to early 90s in the mid-A ...

* Jailhouse *

Jessica Betts Jessica Betts (born June 19, 1982) is an American singer and actress based in Los Angeles. She has been married to Niecy Nash since 2020. Career In 2005, Betts won ''The Road to Stardom with Missy Elliott,'' a singing competition television se ...

*The Jet Black Berries *

The Johnsons ''The Johnsons'' or '' De Johnsons '' is a 1992 Dutch horror film thriller directed by Rudolf van den Berg. It also known under the title ''Xangadix''. The film was nominated for a ''Fantasy Film Award'' at the ''Porto Film Festival'' in Portug ...

* Little Caesar *

Mazzy Star Mazzy Star is an American alternative rock band formed in 1988 in Santa Monica, California, from remnants of the group Opal. Founding member David Roback's friend Hope Sandoval became the group's vocalist when Kendra Smith left Opal. Mazzy St ...

* Michael Sweet * The Moog Cookbook * The Neighborhoods * Nova Mob * Old Skull * The Outlets * The Pandoras * Perfect * Punchbuggy * Radar Bros. * The Shivers *

Social Distortion Social Distortion is an American punk rock band formed in 1978 in Fullerton, California. The band currently consists of Mike Ness (lead vocals, lead guitar), Jonny Wickersham (rhythm guitar, backing vocals), Brent Harding (bass, backing voca ...

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = '' Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , ...

Suncatcher A suncatcher or light catcher is a small reflective, refractive, and/or iridescent ornament. It may include glass or nacre pieces and be hung indoors near a window to "catch" sunlight. A suncatcher is like the optical equivalent of a wind chime ...

* Terrance Simien and the Mallet Playboys * Straw Dogs (formerly The F.U.'s) *

* T.S.O.L. * Top Jimmy & The Rhythm Pigs * The Vandals *

Wall of Voodoo Wall of Voodoo was an American rock band from Los Angeles, California, United States. Though largely an underground act for the majority of its existence, the band came to prominence when its 1982 single "Mexican Radio" became a hit on MTV an ...

Warren G Warren Griffin III (born November 10, 1970) is an American rapper and producer known for his role in West Coast rap's 1990s ascent.Steve Huey"Warren G: Biography" ''AllMusic.com'', Netaktion LLC, visited May 8, 2020. Along with Snoop Dogg and ...

* Wipers/

Greg Sage Greg Sage (born October 21, 1951) is an American songwriter, guitarist, and vocalist, regarded as an important influence on many punk rock and post-punk artists. Sage is best known as the principal songwriter and vocalist/guitarist of the infl ...

* YMO *

You Am I You Am I are an Australian alternative rock band, fronted by its lead singer-songwriter and guitarist, Tim Rogers. They formed in December 1989 and are the first Australian band to have released three successive albums that have each debuted ...

* The Zeros

References

{{Authority control Punk record labels American independent record labels Alternative rock record labels Record labels based in California Record labels established in 1986 Record labels disestablished in 2001 1986 establishments in California 2001 disestablishments in California Defunct companies based in Greater Los Angeles

Artists

See also

References