The band's first non-single release was the Jealous Again EP in '80. Chavo Pederast (Ron Reyes) had replaced Morris on vocals. Slightly tighter but similar to the "live" tracks, Flag was finally amongst the recorded living. Media Art was shut down in '81, so Spot and the band went to Hollywood's Unicorn Studios to record their masterpiece, Damaged. A second guitarist/vocalist, Dez Cadena, was added to the lineup, and bellowing hulk Henry Rollins was brought in to sing lead. Loaded with punk classics like "Rise Above," "Gimmie, Gimmie, Gimmie" and a new version of "Depression," Damaged also displays a sense of humor regarding the band's suburban heritage on "Six Pack" and "TV Party." The twin guitar attack and group vocals give the songs added depth without degenerating into clutter.

Litigation with SST's distributor Unicorn prevented the release of new material by Flag until '84, and the time off from recording afforded Ginn time to concentrate of the development of SST. His virtually flawless taste and personal integrity accounts for the fact that much of the best punk of the era bears the SST (or new Alliance) logo, and Spot was the label's key producer until the mid 80s.

From Sam Pedro came the uncategorizable trio, Minutemen (named dually for the brevity of their songs and their watchful gaze upon society): D. Boon on guitars and lead vocals, Mike Watt on bass, and George Hurley on drums made music that pulled elements from punk, funk, and jazz and assembled them into brief, stabbing vignettes on the Spot-coproduced (with Ginn) Paranoid Time EP in '80, The Punch Line in '81, the great What Makes a Man Start Fires? in '82, and Buzz Or Howl Under the Influence of Heat in '83.

Meat Puppets were another eccentric trio: this one from Arizona featuring brothers Curt (now of Eyes Adrift) and Cris Kirkwood on shared vocals, guitar and bass respectively, and Derrick Bostrom on drums. Meat Puppets from '81 is serviceable thrashy punk, but Meat Puppets ll from '83 finds the band creating an affecting brand of Southwestern music that sounds like Roger McGuinn, high on peyote, fronting the Replacements in the desert on great cowpunk songs including "The Whistling Song," "New Gods," "Lost," "Lake of Fire" (later covered by Nirvana), and "Split Myself In Two." Up On the Sun finds the band more relaxed with their Southwestern vision: the title track is a spacious desert delicacy with Curt's always pitch-challenged vocals wavering pleasantly in and out of focus. "Swimming Ground," with beautifully picked and phased guitar from Curt, is a watery wonder.

Ginn found Minneapolis natives Husker Du playing to a near-empty club in Chicago. Still another trio - this one led by Bob Mould on guitar and vocals, and Grant Hart on drums and vocals - Spot helped guide the band through its early sloppy/thrashy records to its status as the most melodic of punk bands by the mid '80s. Particularly noteworthy during Spot's run is the band's ripping cover of the Byrds' "8 Miles High" (released on a single) and the Zen Arcade album, both from '84.