MAXIMUM

$t9HOCKNHO LIMARCH '85

Secret rocks medical world

RAMONES DISCOVERETERNAL YOUTH

28",

says

33

year

old bassist

TALES OF TERRORrock rest home!

NO .23

t

R usk ie attemptto POISON GIRLSfoiled

Jumpin' Jeff Bale:"Life a VICIOUSCIRCLE ofconspiracy

Plus : All the hottestgossip and scenereports!

FRIGHTWIG:sues hairdresserover coiffure

Buddhists bringRUINto Philly!

Drug-crazedAmazon tribeinvades D .C.

pOUG MoOD'y MAIL ORDERgo. 06X 2314 URLSB/D ~A9Loo4 -ofl; sAS .EFREE MYStic STicKER

DON 'T LET THIS HAPPEN TO YOUTHIS POOR FELLOW SENTHIS MONEY TO ANOTHERMAIL ORDER SERVICEWEEKS &WEEKS AGO

STILL NO REPLYNext time, He ' ll think twice.

FOR LOW PRICES andFAST SERVICEMake your next order withSYSTEMATICThe reliable

mail order service.WRITE OR CALL FOR

FREE CATALOG!SYSTEMATIC RECORD DISTRIBUTION

1331 Folsom StreetSan Francisco, CA 94103

TOPMAXIMUMUOCKNUDURADIO STATIONS :MAX RNR RADIO SHOWSARE NOW AVAILABLE FOR STATIONSONLY . CASSETTES ARE $5 PER SHOW.CONTACT RUTH SCHWARTZ AT P .O . BOX988, S .F . CA 94101

For what it's worth, here are the Maximum Rock'n'Roll crew'scurrent Top 15 lists . Please send us your records or tapes (2copies of vinyl, if possible--one for review, one for radio)

. theaddress is : MRR/ P .O . Box 288/ Berkeley, CA 94701.

NO PARTICULAR ORDER

1

NEW MAIL ORDER INFOU .S . AND CANADA : CURRENT AND BACKISSUES AVAILABLE FROM MRR/P .O . BOX288'BERKELEY CA 94701/USA FOR $1 .50EACH . 6 ISSUE SUBSCRIPTIONSAVAILABLE FOR $9.U .K . : CURRENT AND BACK ISSUESAVAILABLE FROM MRR/P .O . BOX 59/LONDON N22 FOR 11 .25 EACH . 6 ISSUESUBS AVAILABLE FOR ;7.50 . WRITE THISADDRESS FOR EUROPEAN WHOLESALEDISTRIBUTION . (RATES UPPED DUE TODOLLAR/POUND EXCHANGES).EUROPE : CURRENT AND BACK ISSUESAVAILABLE FROM MRR/P .O . BOX59 ;LONDON N22/ENGLAND FOR $2 EACH.6 ISSUE SUBSCRIPTIONS AVAILABLE FOR512.

AUSTRALIA,

ASIA, AFRICA, SOUTHAMERICA : CURRENT AND BACK ISSUESAVAILABLE

FROM

MRR/P .O .

BOX288/BERKELEY CA 94701/USA FOR $3EACH .

6

ISSUES

SUBSCRIP11ONSAVAILABLE FOR 518.

DEADLINES FOR NEXT ISSUE:SCENE REPORTS-22nd of the monthAD RESERVATIONS-NowAD COPY-1st of the monthISSUE ON STANDS-15th of month

AD SIZES AND RATES:1/6 PAGE(2} WIDE X 5 DOWN) $201/3 PAGE(5 WIDE X 5 DOWN) $401/2 PAGE(7 ; WIDE X 5 DOWN) $50

BACK ISSUES AVAILABLE#9-#22

Deborah V

Lance Hahn

CONTRIBUTORSRoger ArmstrongChristopher CartBob CTesco VeeCecilia & SusanFrank MurrayMichelle CaliLyle HysenPaul DecolatorBert QRonald ThatcherSimon WreckElizabeth Chodorowska

Front cover by Erikka Lenbergs

LL MRR.If you're interested in selling

MRR at gigs in your area, please get intouch with us for details.READERS If your local record or magazinestore isn't carrying MRR or runs out ofthem too quickly and doesn't re-order,please let us know the name of the placeso we can tell our distributors where tosell them . Your input is essential.

PLEASE CONTINUE TO SEND ALLRECORDS, TAPES, LETTERS, PHOTS',ARTICLES, ETC TO:

MAXIMUM ROCK'N'ROLLP .O . BOX 288

BERKELEY, CA 94701

APOLLONIA 6-BLUE LIMOSINEASOCIAL-DET BI'r1'HA SLUTET-EPCOLERA-TENTE FFJDAR 0 AMANHA-LPCOLIABOS-LPIIAMMGE-SINS OF OUR FATHERS-LPJOHN FOGERTY-OLD MAN DOWN THE ROAD-45KIDNAP-1984 (from sampler EP)MALEFICE-LOST SHEEP-EPMILKMEN-LOLITA-45RAMONES-HOWLING AT THE MDON-45REAGAN YOUTH-ROUGH ANTHEMS-EPSOLDIER DOLLS-A TASTE OF BLOOD-EPTARGETS-MASSENHYSI'ERIE-LPUPROAR-NOTHING CAN STOP YOU-EPVORKRIEGSJUGEND-LP

ANTI-SYSTEM-NO LAUGHING MATTER-LPLEGION OF PARASITES-PRISON OF LIFE-LPPUTRID EVIL-flexiINSTIGATORS-NO ONE LISTENS-LPPOISON-demoMANIACS-EP/ROVSVETT-EPUPRIGHT CITIZENS-EPC .O .C .-ANIMOSITY-LPSTUPIDS-EPHEADLESS-flexi7 SECONDS-NPPOSSESSED-demoCOLERA-LPCHRISTIAN DEATH-double 12 " EPVORKRIEGSJUGEND-LP

ASOCIAL-SET BI'1"1HA SLUTET-EPBREEDERS-ZEN PUNK-EPCOLERA-TENTE MUDAR 0 MAN HA-LPCOLIABOS-LPDAMAGE-SINS OF OUR FATHERS-LPDON'T NO-THE REAL WORLD-EPHOSTAGES CF AYATOLLAH-EPINBRED-TPLUNATIC FRINGE-CRINGE WITH . . .-EPPAULINE MURRAY-DON 'T GIVE UP-45RAMONES-HOWLING AT THE MOON-EPREAGAN YOUTH-FD'TARGETS-NASSETTHYSTER IE-LPTEDDY & FEAT GIRLS-EPVORKRIEGSJUGEND-LP

LANDLORDS-LPANTI SYSTEM-LPHEADLESS-flexiPARTNERS IN CRIME-EPREAGAN YOUTH-EPRIM SHOUT-EVES POLICY-TPSPASTIC RATS-TPCOLERA-LPVELVET UNDERGROUND-V .U .-LPV/A-VOTE NO IN ' 85-TPDON'T NO-EPTEDDY & FRAT GIRLS-EPOCTOBER CRISIS-TPDAMAGE-LPMURDER INC III/M .C .G .-split TP

WKDU PHILADELPHIA PA call staWHLRS STORRS CT 91 .7FH SAT 2AMWAIF CINCINNATI OH call staCKDU HALIFAX NS 97 .5FM 113N 8PMWEEL W . BARNSTABLE MA Call stationKCSB SANTA BARBARA CA 92F/ WED 11PMWCSB CLEVELAND OH 89 .3FM WEDS 11AMKPFA BERIT ET CA 94 .1FM TUES 9PMKFCF FREE7C CA 88

.127 TUES 9PMWRUB BUFFALO NY 640AM SUN 10PMKHSU ARCATA CA 91 .5FM THUR 11PM

C .I .-JOY RIDE-LPISM-AnySSD-HOW WE ROCK-LPFOWERAGE-TP/GB-TREBLINKA-EPHYPNOTICS-INDOOR FIENDS-LPSTARK RAVING MAD-EPRATTUS-KUN ' POMAII . . .-STALIN-AnyVERBAL ABUSE-LPCANCEROUS GROWTH-TP45 GRAVE-SCHOOL'S OUT-EPSUPERHEROINES-SOULS THAT SAVE-LPSTATE-NO ILLUSIONS-EPSEPTIC DEATH-LP

ACID DRCPS-OUT OF SIGHT. . .-45

ANTI-SYSTER-NO IAUCKIIG MATTER-LPBEASI'IE BOYS-ROCK HARD-EPDAMAGE-SINS OF OUR FATHERS-LPD .O .A .-DON'T TURN YOUR BACK-EPLEPERS-I WANNA BE GOD-EPREALLY RED-LP demoRUN-D .M

.C .-KING OF ROCK-LPCREAMING TRIBESMEN-A STAND ALONE-45

SHOCKABILLY-VIETNAM-LPSONIC YOUTH-BAD MOON RISING-IPTEDDY & FEAT GIRLS-EPV/A-BATTLE OF GARAGES-LPV/A-YALTA HI-LIFE-IPVELVET UNDERGROUND-V .U .-LP

SMERSH-MAKE WAY FOR RUMBLER-TPBIG BLACK-RACER X-LPKURTIS BLOW-BASKETBALL-EPTC' :MY KEENE-BACK AGAIN-MEVENOM-CANADIAN ASSAULT-EPSWANS-New UK EPNAKED RAYGUN-THROB THROB-LPFAT BOYS-LPWHITE FLAG-3rd STRIKE-LPDEATH IS JUNE-NASA-LPTESE' DEPT-STRIKING MINER'S CHOIR-LPWA SP-I WANNA BE SOMEBODY-vdo/ULA-BEAVER CAR-EPDER DURSTICE MANN-BIER 4 GOT-LP

IEIDE-everything

HUSKER DU-NEW DAY RISING-LPARTICLES OF FAITH-GIVE THANKS-LPOFFENDERS-allSLAYER-allV/A-P .E .A .C .E .-LP double999-Nasty, NastyANTHRAX-FISTFUL OF METALMAN SIZED ACTION-5 STORY GARAGEPOSITIVE OUTLOOK-TPSTATE OF THE UNION-TPUNIFORM CHOICE-TPPOISON IDEA-LPVATICAN COMMANDOS-POINT ME TO END-LPSIEGE-1TUZI-CRIMINAL CHILD-TP

Jeff BaleJerry BoothPaul CurranAnna ChapmanErikkaVirginia PeeplesKent JollyRuth Schwartz

SHITWORKERS PusheadJohn HowardRick StottMurray BowlesBrian EdgeSteve SpinaliTim YohannanScott

BoonzNeil CartwrightHavardPercy HamiltonJed SeltanBrian & BillJoey AbbinReiner MettnerScott FreeDonny the PunkGlen E FriedmanSumpy Soriano

JohnPlain WrapCliff ParkerCaptain RyeAllison RainsAl QuintRay FarrellMouseMykel BoardDog tow ne

Eric

AMMO HAMILTON OIET 93.31W C

a',,'

KDIC-GRINNELL IA-Call StationWECI RICHMOND IN 91 .5FM TUES 10130PM IMUMCMNROLE

RADIO

ON THE AIR

1U,0

CD

C1CN

D

m0in0

KZ UM LIWX'L.H NE 99 .3FM THUG t0('fOPMWCSR-CCLUIDUS OH 540AM/99 .9Cab WEDWMEB ORONO POI 91 .9F?! FRI 9PMKUGS BELL77NGHAM WA 89 .5FF: WED 10PMVUSB STONY BROOK NY 90 .1Pt' WED 11PMKJHK LAWRENCE KS 91 F?I MON KidsWSPN SARATOGA SPGS NY SAT 5PMWBGU BOWLING GREEN OH 91 .5E14 THUR 112EWZRD CHICAGO U. 88 .3F7 SUN 1PMKCPR SAN LUIS OBISPO CA 91 .3FM SAT 7PMCJSA EInDNTON ALTA call stationIYAI PEELS MJt 90 .3FY SAT 7PP!WDJM FRAMINGHAM MA 91 .3FM WEDS 8t30PMWSIA STATEN IS, NY 88

.9FM Call sta

D n nIWOWDSIWINWWIIMMNWWBNO

The John Peel Session

Sr''N.OsIt

FOR CATALOGANDMORF!

STORE It.

\v7Afl,'QrDOZWITH . .

U.9., EOROPVAN,V.1A.,JAPANE9E,

SPEEVCORE,qC,RS LEAS' S,

COLL.ECTAI ! S,T--SN112TS' 4 MORE!

WRITE US WITH YOUR2.S'AMPL'ES ANP PRtCE

LIST. (ESPECIALLYWO t2l..E"tvf

LAS!

'75 WEST BOO S'.' ,ALT LAKE cr~~, UTAH (24101

Dear People Who Write:Every time that I read a letter or an

article in a hardcore fanzine, I go nutsfinding spelling errors . If you want to putacross an effective argument to anaudience, you must make sure that yourargument is flawless . Anybody who isn'tinto hardcore, but does read the lyricsand the zines (my mom) will be fairlydistressed by the poor use of the Englishlanguage. To get the full impact of anymessage, the message must be clear.

Lesson #1 : When one is using "you are",as in "you are a rad fisher", thecontraction is "you're", not "your" . Thensay, "Where is your rod, Harry?"Lesson #2 : When deciding to use "its" or"it's", follow this rule . When somethingbelongs to something else, say, "Yourskateboard lost its front truck! WatcFOutfor the truck!" If oy u're at a trendyhardcore party, you can say, "It's awell-known fact, to those of us wTareaware of the situation, that Tim of MRR isfinancially backing all Banana Repub iT cs ."

Any persons found to be creatinggrave grammatical errors will be forced notto fish for a month, and when you dofish, you'll (you will) have to use Zepcopoles, which are the lamest.Morgan from Canada

Dear Morgan,While I quite agree with your

sentiments (having to decipher and typeup letters from functional illiterates isgetting to be a bit of a drag), I thinkthat your argument would have beenstronger if you had backed it up better.Hopefully, I corrected all the mistakes inyour letter before I printed out this copy.Just for the record, "every time" is aphrase consisting of two words, not one,and it is usually considered standardpractice to drop the "e" from "argue"when one adds "-ment" to form the word"argument" . Erikka

Dear MRR,In #21, Ray Farrel cuts down (the

honorable) Genesis P . Orridge in his socalled "review" of the PSYCHIC TV "NewYork Scum Haters" LP.

In reading his "review, Mr . Farrelfails to mention one word in regard to themusic in "New York Scum Haters" . He goeson to mention this "theory" that (PSYCHICTV's) "Experiments in video and liveperformance may tell more about them thantheir records can ."

From that quote, I can only thinkthat Mr . Farrel has never even seenPSYCHIC TV live . If he had, he would beable to tell which could tell us more, therecords or the video and live perfomances.

He just stated in his review thewords "may tell us" . What's the matter,you don't know?

If so, it is very, very poorjournalism on his part, not to mentionextremely dangerous and irresponisble.

PYSCHIC TV is not a mere band . Thetemple and the many, many disciples don'ttake Mr . Farrel's ignorance lightly . The

pencil, typerwriter, and the ("Gifted")tongue can "spit" out words that can bringrewards or punishment to those who dareto tarnish that wich they (the weak) don'tunderstand.

If ("the honorable") Mr . P . Orridgesticks needles through his penis, that'shis right . (And may be his duty) . Why,Mr . Farrel thinks he can judge that andthose which are above himself is a puzzle.

Mr . Farrel has by his actions createda vicious cycle which must be completed.He i started something that will provehis resistance or his downfall . No matterwhat he will win . All he has to lose isignorance, fear, and beyond any doubt,discipline will take a new meaning in hislife .

Thank you, for your time. I wouldappreciate it, if Mr . Farrel has any formof explanation towards his childish attackon PSYCHIC TV . I expect his reply in thenext issue.

Stick to hardcore . After a while, youmay move on towards other froms of music.Don't review that which is beyond yourbrain, Mr . Farrel . Pain can be a motivatortowards stupid behavior control

. PYSCHICTV is a force better left alone if you arenot prepared to confront yourself!

Either lead, follow, or get the fuckout of the way!'Buddy Foster/Psychic Youth

Dear Buddy,You've been watching too many Bruce

Lee movies.Ray Farrell

Dear MRR,Jeez, what a great article"Beyond

Meat" was and still is . I turned it in as anessay in my English class and I receivedan A for the grade . Not bad, huh? Thanxa lot . And thanx also for keeping me sanedown here in Douglas, Georgia, population15,000 . I've been here for a i year and itgets me sorta down cuz the people here donot like me at all . But I try to push themoutta my mind and concentrate onpracticing guitar, skating, and reading allI can. Your zine has kept me informedabout what's going on in the alternativemusic world.

My mom loves ya too, cuz she likesHC . She's as great as MRR is, teaching mehow to play guitar and drums . She was inthe VELVET UNDERGROUND, where sheplayed drums . Well, anywaze, thanx MRR,mom, and Michael Lerner (for writing thatarticle).Kerry Tucker/ 702 E Franklin St/ DouglasGA 31533P .S . BLIND LEADING THE BLIND shred!

Dear MRR,The next time I hear someone define

"A REAL PUNK", I'm gonna shit rabbitturds and hop down a fucking hole! Withlove and all that crap, Wolfboy/ PortlandOR.

Dear MRR,I'm writing for help from anyone

willing to respond . My dilemma : I'm tryingto organize a free peace concert for theyouth of this community . My reasons arenot completely selfless . I will receivecredit at the university I attend . It wouldbe gratifying to expose the youth of thiscity to new music and new ideas . I was afreshman in H .S . when the SEX PISTOLSwere alive . Unfortunately, PIL hadreleased a few LP's before I even heard ofJohnny Rotten . Radio in Central Illinois isa vast wastelend of trash.

I plan to invite local peace groups toattend the show, and recruit followers,much like the military does in our H .S.Possibly a few will be enlightened . I don'texpect a mass conversion, but no onecould say "I didn't know there were

alternatives" . There are alternatives toRonald Reagan, nuclear war, and DURANDURAN.

I would like to have at least onehardcore band with an album out to playthe show . It's important that the showremain free to insure everyone'sparticipation . I realize travel costs money.If any bands are interested, contact meand we can work something out . I canarrange a paying show in town or the area(we are 100 miles from St . Louis, 200 milesfrom Chicago, and 75 miles from theUniversity of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana.

Anyone planning to be in the area inlate April or early May, drop me a line.Locals write too1 may not be familiarwith your band.Sean Burns/ 2209 S 6th/ Springfield IL62703

Dear MRR,Someone in #21 was concerned about

what good of Mike Muir has said in thatPenthouse article . Well, this should clearthings up . It's from XXX #8.

x ::x-, :hat was that piece in Penthousethat you were involved with?like-That was a long time ago and Ireally don't like to talk about it,but I knew this guy who was a phot-ographer and he had a friend who wasdoing a piece on punk rock . The guycame over and he was . . .well, I d^n'twant to call anybody an alcocholic,but the first thing he said was thathe had a tooth ache and if I had some-thing to help it . he didn't taper.ything and he just wrote it down

and there were things that I supposedlysaid that I kn- .v I never said and therewere a lot of things that I said thathe gave to other people . It wasbasically bull shit and they did justwhat they wanted to do and just toprove a point, they came over andsaid that he'd give me twenty fivedollars if I went over and startedfucking with some dude and I askedwhy and he told me that it would makea good picture . They just wanted some-thing fucked up and something thatwould scare people . .hat kind ofpeople buy Penthouse anyway? Forthe articles, what else . People aregoing to buy it for the pictures, soif people are going to buy it, theygot to have something crazy.

Anyone into VANDALS, CIRCLEJERKS, FEAR, BLACK FLAG, and STALAG13, or if you want my zine for $1, write:Michelle/ 1528 Sheridan Rd/ Glendale CA91206.

MRR,Who came up with this "punkette"

bullshit? it's just sexist garbage . Anyfemale calling herself a "punkette" shouldhave her head examined . Punks arepunks . I'm no one's cheerleader! I'd loveto hear from anyone . Write to me.Dinah Tabor/ 2003 Paquito/ Austin TX

Dear MRR,This is to all the people who wrote to

me, especially Sabine from W. Germany,

Pete from Who Really Cares, the guy inD

.C ., and girl in Michigan. I was jumped

and beaten in a subway tonight by 6 guyswho stole a bag containing all youraddresses, in addition to every word I've ,written for 3 months

. Please, please,please . .

.this is true, and I desperatelywant to write back to you and am not someasshole who doesn't answer letters

. .

Meat Squirmles/ 22 Georgian Blvd/ JacksonNJ 08527

Dear MRR,We are writing because we have heard

so many lies about us. For example, that

asshole business guy, Chris of Bad

Compilation Tapes, has lied a lot aboutus . . . stuff like saying we're "not punksbut rockstars, etc" . Ask him how muchmoney he stole from us . The final days wespent in NY, he had us staying with somelunatic nazi skins, without money andfood, because he wouldn't pay us what he

owed us . As to the problem about phonecalls we made to Finland from the States . ..We asked Chris if we could call our girlfriends, record label, and parents, and hesaid that he would pay for them . Now, wehear that we burned people! This is nottrue!Rike/ HOLY DOLLS (Riistetyt)/ Box 51/33211 Tre/ Finland.

Dear MRR,Hooray for G .G . ALLIN and the G .G.

Obscene Report . It's great to see theliving god back in action! As a former NewHampshirite, I feel it is necessary toinclude our state in your scene reports . Ijust moved to NY recently, and have beencommuting to my home town of Concordevery other week . The scene has beenslow, but up-and-coming . The rareity ofshows in our area gets us to commute toBoston for a few good ones.

In the Plymouth area, a band called 5BALLS OF POWER are playingaround--good thrash! They deserve bettergigs . In the Portsmouth area, I've seen 2bands--VITAMIN and PSYCHO . Things arereally hoppin' in the Concord/MerrimackCounty area . The BLIND EJACULATIONShave a tape out and have been playing ona couple of indie stations . GROWINGRANKS are getting material together for anLP . Look for an up-and-coming band,CATHODE RAY MISSION . They're hot!Also rumored is another cassette byABORTION SQUAD from Manchester.

That's all . For any info or if you'reinterested in playing around the Concordarea, write to:Cathode Ray Mission/ 25 Little Pond Rd!Concord NH 03301.

Hey gang,Just wanted to let you know Vermont

hasn't sunk into NY yet, and it's fuckingcold up here. You have it made inCalifornia . Mohawks are out of thequestion here

. They freeze and snap off! !The "I Hate Ronnie" contest's drawing

for the beautiful car pictured here is stillgoing on, but you must enter to win . Andfor those of you thinking "Ha, I'll neverwin that beautiful automobile, thosecontests are fake", I'll give you proof thatpeople win

. Last year my mother won ourGrand Prize, and you could this year . Toenter, you must submit three things : yourname, your address, and a paragraph onwhy you hate Ronnie Reagan

. This is thechance of your life . Send entries to:Potsie & his raiders/ 47 5 Williams St #212/Burlington VT 05401.

Dear MRR:In the past several issues of MRR

there have been a few letters written inregards to the Boston scene . No matterwhat point of view these letters expressed,they all missed the one, most importantaspect : there is no Boston scene . Why thetrue story has not been told is beyond me,because it's rather obvious.

Boston was once the home of hardcorebands such as SS DECONTROL, JERRYSKIDS, DYS, FU's, PROLETARIAT,FREEZE, and others . Together, thesebands and the people associated with themraised a very healthy, very smart "scene".But then, a few years later, somethinghappened . Boston's musical attitude hascompletely gone haywire.

There are no hardcore bands inBoston any longer

. Of all the bandsmentioned above, none have retained theiroriginal attitudes. The bands have either

broken up, or have taken on a "newdirection," which is for the most part, aheavy-metal, anti-hardcore stance . Bandssuch as the FU's have actually denouncedhardcore (see interview in XXX fanzine).One thing that pissed me off like hell wasat the final JERRYS KIDS show when avery influential member of the scene, whoI won't say the name of, actually made abig speech saying that hardcore was dead,and that this particular show was the "endof hardcore in Boston" . He further madethe totally assinine remark that "westarted hardcore in Boston, and now weare going to end it here today ." By theend of the day, people were milling aboutsaying "hardcore sucks," "Hardcore isdead ." During JERRYS KIDS set, theyplayed an old SSD song, changing the titleof it to "How Much Hardcore Can YouTake" . In a nutshell, the scene now hateseverything it once advocated . The bandssay they have "grown up ." I think they'vejust grown stupid.

A Boston scene report is a farce . Itmay mention tons of bands, but it neglectsto mention that none of the bands want tobe recognized as punk or hardcore.JERRYS KIDS, THE FREEZE,PROLETARIAT, are gone . DYS is a metalband, and the FU's, patriotic or not, wantto be called a "rock 'n' roll" band . Theycan do that if they want, but if this iswhat the bands want, then why do theybother

clinging

to

theunderground/punk/hardcore community?Why don't they reform under another nameand move to a metal, or rock'n'roll scene?Their shit only ruins things for peoplewho still like punk or hardcore oralternative ideals.

All the thinking is gone . All theideals have been thrown away . It's over.The (and there are a few) few bands whostill like the old ways are simply notenough to start a second uprising . Myfriends and I want to start a hardcoreband (or to phrase it better, analternative music band), but deep down Iknow it can't be done because the audienceno longer accepts the music or the ideals.Not only that, but the people necesary topromote and aid an upcoming band, suchas radio stations, record companies, etc .,have all gone the same way . It is said thatthe scene has moved on to a "new plane".Well, why can't the old one continue also?

Things are in bad enough shape as itis in the world . One of the last forms ofpositive rebellion does not have to destroyitself.Pat, Boston.P .S .--Violence and ignorance aren'thelping much either . Are these samethings happening elsewhere?

B rothers-This is Dave from D .Y .S . in Boston.

I'm writing in response to a letter printed2 issues ago about 3 Boston "sellout "bands, namely SSD, D .Y .S ., and GANGGREEN.

Yeah, we're sellouts alright . Wedidn't stay the exact same or go in the"correct direction" . I always thought thatthis whole trip was about progress, oh mybrothers - about not staying the same,about not getting stale . Was I wrong? Tellme, my open-minded brothers, is thatwrong? If so, then we're in the goodcompany of a few other "sellout" bandswho had the guts to progress - HUSKERDU, BLACK FLAG, and CODE OF HONORbeing just a few.

Funny thing - the kid who wrote thatletter never heard our new record, nordod he read any of the lyrics, andbasically has absolutely no idea of whatD .Y .S . is all about . D .Y .S . is and alwayshas been about honesty, intense power,and high energy . What we are not about islabels,

lies,

and meandering juvenile

musical

critiques

by

an

ill-informedlistener.

So, my brothers, check out Bostonfor yourself . D .Y .S ., SSD, GANG GREEN,and the F .U .'s all have new records out.None of them are similar to one another,except that in all 4 instances, the bandshave matured, the musicians haveprogressed, and the spirit of each band ismore eloquently and powerfully expressed.D . Christian Smalley/ D .Y .S.

Dear MRR,This letter is in response to Louie

Lasorda's letter (Feb issue), which was inresponse to Andy T's letter (Jan).

First of all Louie, I admire yourability to accept the changes bands makein their styles of playing . However, I feelthere is a problem when that progressionis from fast and exciting to slow andboring . D .Y .S .'s new metal sound sucks . Ilike metal, good metal that is (ieMOTORHEAD, BLACK FLAG), not this shitthey are trying to pass off as a "morepowerful" sound . I experienced the "new"D .Y .S . sound live at the Paradise oneafternoon, and disappointing is putting itmildly . I feel the same way about the newSSD (who could obviously care less what"the kids have to say") . Christ, theyplayed with PUBLIC IMAGE at a 20 & overbar (the Metro).

I had better watch my step, you ofcourse being a part of the "true hardcorescene" . Talk about close-minded . Who thefuck are do you think you are to labelmusic imitation or real? Being part of the"true hardcore scene" probably means youwere also in the "cool crews", the samehigh school-type cliques that alienatednewcomers to the Boston scene . I guessinstead of listening to the great newhardcore bands (imitation hardcore is whatyou called it), we should listen to the"real" hardcore bands ("imitation" have"progressed" and now suck . I'm not sayingprogression in hardcore is impossible-YOUTH BRIGADE and 7 SECONDS areperfect examples of a changed sound thatis still cool- . Oh yeah, about trying tobring back the spirit of 1980 (talk aboutbackwards thinking), I don't think thespirit has ever left . . . and with lessnegative assholes like you writing thescene off as dead, the rest of us will bemuch better off.Pete/ 1111 Pine St #7/ S .F ., CA 94109P

.S . Unite.P .P .S . KILSLUG rule!

Dear MRR:I would like to comment on the

garbage about punk becoming boring,generic, unoriginal, etc . I personally feelthat is a load of shit . I mean sure, a . lotof bands are playing a bunch of 900m .p .h . thrash, but did it ever occur toyou that thrash is what bands like andwant to play? And I've never heard a bandthat sounds just like another one . Eachthrash band has its own sound . I'm in aband, MORAL DECAY, and we playdefinite thrash . Our songs are mostly fast,short and full of energy . We don't playthrash because we are stupid and musicallyuntalented . We play thrash because that iswhat we like . And I'm sure it's the sameway for a lot of other bands that havebeen labeled unoriginal and boring . A lotof people gripe about bands sounding allalike, well I'd like to see you people getup and start a band of your own.

Also, people talk about bands allbeing generically political . People thinkthat enough has been said about RonaldReagan, war, nuclear holocaust, cops andgovernments . Well, I don't . A lot has beensaid and a lot of people have been working

really hard, but the things that we hate,cops and government shit, etc ., have notgone away . So why should I not singabout what sucks and what should be doneabout it just because others feel the sameway and have voiced their opinions beforeme? That's dumb . Punks keep saying thesame thing because the fucking systemkeeps playing the same fucking game . Andas long as they keep pulling their shit,we'll keep fighting it any way we knowhow .

I've been hearing a lot of talk latelyabout people hating the DEAD KENNEDYS.A lot of punks feel that Jello and companyare a bunch of "fat rock gods," justbecause they are starting to catch on anda lot of people are liking them . I thinkthat is great . What good does it do if onlypunks listen to punk, and no one everhears any of it? I'll quote the words ofsomeone (I don't know who), "preaching tothe converted gets you nowhere fast" andI definitely agree with that . We've got toget people to know about punk, to knowwhat it's about and what it means . BecauseI know many people who said they hatedpunk, and when they finally heard some,like it . I myself am one . If I'd neverheard the DEAD KENNEDYS and theANGRY SAMOANS two years ago, I'd bestanding in line right now waiting to buytickets to this fucking . IRON MAIDENconcert this month saying "I hate punks.Randy Roads rules!" And I've got friendswho got into punk the same way . So don'tspit on the DKs because they're becomingknown outside of punk circles, give them afucking hand for getting where they areand not selling out.Patrick

Spencer--1513

CheyenneBlvd . /Colorado Springs, CO 80906P .S .--1 really wish punks would not fighteach other . If we can't even get alonginside our own groups, how can we askthe whole world to? Think people, you'vegot to practice what you preach . If wedon't unite, then we can never put all ofour collective power together against thesystem, and we're all going to get plowedright over . If we don't get together, thenwe have no power, and that is exactlywhat the system wants.

Dear MRR,Well, it's over and we made it

through ominous 1984 . For every band thatcalled it quits, there were two new groupsto take its place . Gang violence rose andnow appears to be falling off . Our gloriousleader, President Ronald Wilson Reagan isunfortunately still with us, but as fornow, we're all pretty much alive . Theworld scene is flourishing to the point thateven those countries behind the ironcurtain are plagued with those "damn punkrockers" . We made it.

So here we are looking at a wholenew year, and wondering what it mighthold in store for us--peace, war? Noneamong our ranks can say for sure . This isthe year we can really make a difference.This is the year we have to make adifference, after all, how many more yearscan we survive with jolly massa Reaganholding sway over us all? So, to quote theStern brothers, "Get off your ass, getoutta your house, take matters in yourown hands. Us kids are gonna do thethings we gotta do 'cause it's up to us tomake a stand".

So here's the best of luck to everynew band, and a wish for continuedsuccess to all the ones who have alreadybroken through.

"Let's . . .be careful out there."Landshark Marc/ 6200 McCoy/ Amarillo TX79109Hello MRR,

It seems alot of people are using theterm "peace punk"

. If punk isn't a peaceoriented movement please point one out to

me .

The

concern

overpseudo-intellectualism is really saying"leave the thinking to the elite, the prosdo it best" . Is this punk? If you aren't"peace punks" what kind of punks areyou? Punk did start out as a reaction towhat was wrong, so why stop there,leaving it as musical evolution? Those whowant punk to get "back to what it was"are just the type of attitude the "good ole'days" were aimed against (violentmetaphor) in the first place . Someone oncesaid "if you're not part of the solution,you're part of the problem" . Is punk to beproblem or solution? Peace punks? Whatelse is there, I really want to know whatthe rest of you are so mad about?Pete Hurd/ Who Really Cares/ 737 LudgateCt/ Ottawa Ontario K1J 8K8/ Canada

Dear MRR:Before I begin, I would like to say

that I'm not against skins in general, butthey're the only people who I've seen ruina show. Last Saturday, I attended acurfew show at the Mab . The showincluded four bands ; I missed the firstband and I didn't catch the name, but theother bands were RUIN, CONDEMNED TODEATH, and TALES OF TERROR.

RUIN played their set and everyoneseemed to enjoy it, although there wasn't awhole lot of action on the audience's part.CONDEMNED TO DEATH was met with alittle more enthusiasm . Both bands weregreat

.

TALES OF TERROR managed to get adecent respnse from the audience andeverything was cool until about halfwayinto their set . A bunch of skins startedgetting out of hand.

I don't mind people getting psycho,but the skins were just trying to hurtpeople . One time this skin just deckedsome guy for no reason . By the end of theset, nobody was up by the stage but theskins. If they want to hurt people, whydon't they go somewhere and hurt eachother? Clearing out a whole club full ofpeople just for fun seems pretty lame tome .

Maybe for some people having a showruined is no big deal, but I live inModesto and I only get to go to showsonce in a great while . Why should I go allthe way to San Francisco to pay fivebucks to get beat up when I could stayhome and have it done for free? Sincerelypissed, Kjell Anderson! 221 Merlin Wat/Modesto, CA 95350Dear MRR:

Dear MRR,Please allow me to express my feelings

about MRR and the NY punk scene . Firstoff, congrats go out to MRR for being themost informative rag in the world. I'vebeen a constant reader since issue #1 . 21issues later and I can't take this shit nomore . All this crap about NY is making mebarf . When I read the unsigned(Halloween) letter to NY skins, I waswondering what innocent kid would beblamed for that letter (me?) . OK, fuckthis Peace Punkx vs . Nazi Skins deal.When is this shit gonna stop, or is itgonna stop? Hey, lots of kids from thescene are way cool! A .F . being some ofthem . As far as the others mentioned inthat fetter (I'm not mentioning namesbecause I like my legs), there's no use!These guys have been crazy for as long asI know them

. 10% of the NY scene are outof their fuckin' minds . Drugs, alcohol, andbad neighborhoods have everything to dowith this behavior

. These guys are badinfluences to the "new" punks becausethey look up to them

. The scene used tobe fantastic, fun, and inspiring to me.Wha happened? People started getting toorowdy, new people on the scene starteddressing and acting the same way . Toomuch! It sucked wind! It seemed a wasteof time to go out and meet these people

(cliques) . That's the main reason why I"split the scene" . That, and too many oldfriends fuckin' me over : distributors,record store owners, close friends, etc.

Even through all this garbagethough, I'm continuing to put out NYhardcore records : bands that try to makeNY a better place to be from ; kids thatcan take how NY is now and who arewilling to make the scene a little better.First off, try to stop these senselessfights . Try to help each other

. work andtalk with each other . Make the scene whatit used to be (fun! ! !) . Let's make it thatway again . Blacks, Whites, Hispanics,Punks, Skins, and Longhairs, unite

. Let'sget it together brothers and sisters!

I'd like to help however I can, butI'd just like to say I don't hang out in theBig City . I haven't in months . Toodangerous! I've been mugged, rolled, andshit on too many times

. If all you MRRreaders (who are interested?) would like toknow, I've wedded and moved to UpstateNY

. The Bronx was too crazy for me andmy wife (Angela) . We both lived there forall of our lives and, take it from me, itsucks! Constantly watching your back,keeping your hands on your wallet, etc.Big City Records will remain stationed inthe Bronx though . (2329 Vance St/ BronxNY 10469) . But I will be stomping newground up in the hills . All my old (andnew) friends can write me if they wouldlike. It gets boring sometimes . I'mcurrently working on my next 3 releases:the UNJUST, BCR's comp, and a JaviSavage EP (including a HC version of BobMarley's "Jammin") . Until then,Javi (John Souvadji) / ROC/ Pine St/ LakePeekskill NY 10537.

MRR,I was very amused by the AGNOSTIC

FRONT interview. After reading it I felt

that a situation like this had occuredbefore-- meaning a cross between love ofone's country and bullshit . Nixon! I thinkthey (A .F .) are bullshit . They talk of themalevolence surrounding skins and yetshouldn't be the center of attention whenit comes to the blame . Everyone has theirbad aspect, but why is it that the skinsare always there? I do not have anythingagainst them in general . I admire theirsupport of the country

. But things likethe incident at the TOXIC REASONS showshouldn't go on, because to me, punk isexpressing your own ideas and respectingother's ideas

. Punk is not destroying thegovernment before it

. It is showingdisapproval of the way something is runand should be corrected . Keep in mindthat this is one of my views of punk.AGNOSTIC FRONT, please let meunderstand you more . Lots of things youtalked about were interesting, and lots wasshit.Mike B/ Despair zine! 1901 Bainbridge Rowdr/ Louisville KY 40207

MRR,I'm writing to you about AGNOSTIC

FRONT . I don't agree with what theystand for, but I like their music and Idon't think they are nazis

. The interviewtried to make them say more than theyever intended to say in the first place.They are a band, not a political party.They should not be required to answerquestions or take stands on every issueexisting inside or outside the scene . Theremay or may not be National Front in NY.A .F . denying that there is doesn't meanthere isn't, but either way A .F . shouldnot be held responsible for it

. A .F . is notinvolved in any skin vs

. punk conflictseither ; at their show in Bridgeport,Connecticut, they let an anarchy/peacepunk named Ray sing their song "Unitedand Strong" . Roger sang right along withhim and A .F . and friends caused notrouble at the show

. This could mean that

the trouble at NY shows is caused byelements in the scene other than A .F . andtheir friends . Violence doesn't follow themto every show . What I'm really trying tosay is : they have good music, why ask formore?Inez Shields/ P .O . Box 1112/ Danbury CT06810.Dear Inez,

I couldn't disagree more . If it's just"good sounding" music you want, thenpunk is no alternative at all . For me, whatmakes punk different is the intelligenceand commitment behind it . If bands aregoing to speak their minds on social issues(as A .F . do), then they have to be awarethat social issues are political issues . If aband preaches "love of country", thenthey should not be defensive to what that"love "entails, to what their understandingof "country"is . I think there 's directconnection between an opinion on "servingone's country" and one's opinion on thesituation in Nicaragua . (And speaking ofwhich, even though A .F. were prettyevasive on that question in MRR, they didanswer it in another zine, Guillotine, andthe answer, printed below, is prettyilluminating).

:CI ..Iw7TINE : How would you feel If we were to;et into a war with Nicaragua?

Annie : We nave to stop Communist aggression.

7o : err You've got to defend this country . If wedon't get Into it, the commies get into it.

Annie, It starts with s handful of men guardingthe border . Two years later you've got a major

offensive there.

120.1: : I mean if Russia thinks their gonna walkInto Nicaragua, we've gotta do the same thing.Forget about this question . We don't reallylike to get into politics . I ' ve heard a thous-and anti-Nicaragua songs and anti-Reagan songsand anti-cope songs . Alright, so some cope arelucked up.

UL'ILIWTINE, How do you feel about the politicalcTWin the United States today and itsrelationship to hardcore?

Rogger : Something in the government is fucked up,like a lot of poor people need help and Reagantucked them over, like with Welfare and Unem-ployment.

Annie! He Likes our foreign policy, but hedoesn't like our national policy.

11-LOTINE : Vow that you've answered it for him ..

ver: I -.Fink le ram hlta i Reagan) . I like a_o_

nar . that ras utw.

hunter He lines a leader . He needs a fuhrer!

Roger : Forget the politics:

Finally, the whole concept of "unity"in the punk scene is really ambiguous.Unity around what principles? If it's unityaround hard-sounding music, then yourcriteria is met . But for me, unity wouldhave to do with a lot broader set ofvalues .

Tim

Dear MRR,Laugh! I almost shit myself . .

. I justread the AGNOSTIC FRONT interview andnearly threw up.

"In England, it (National Front) is away of survival . . .there is a need for

racism . . . In England, there are constantrace wars between the whites, the blacks,and pakistanis . . They are all racist, butracist to protect thems4lves in the racewars . . ."

Well, A .F ., thanks for giving mesuch a perceptive insight into the cultureand recreational activities of people in thecountry I've lived in for 27 years.Actually, in the course of 330 odd gigs,I've played just about every major (andlots of minor) towns in England, and spenthours drinking and talking with people ofall cultures in all sorts of places . . . andnever seen a "race war"

. D'you know why?Because there aren't any-- except in theperverted fantasies of evil people like theN .F

., and you maybe?At the moment there's a miner's strike

in the U .K . which has been going on for10 months . Loads of bands andperformers, black and white, have beendoing benefit concerts for the strikingminer's families . And West Indians, Asians,and others have been in the forefront offund raising activities . If you'd been atthe Notting Hill Carnival (a West Indianfestival) last year you'd have seen thestickers : Black people support the miners.I've spent long periods in places likeBirmingham and Bradford (majormulti-cultural areas) and seen unity thatwas (and is) a positive inspiration . Racewars? Yeah, and little green men inWashington Redskin shirts . Millions of 'em!

Of course in certain areas (especiallyin East London, that area so romanticizedin certain places), there is a degree ofracial tension caused by a common povertyand misery, bad housing, unemployment

..

and the National Front exists to enflamethat tension . Instead of unity and a bondto solve common problems, (by taking onthe government, the source of the problemin Britain today), they urge violence,racism, and a kind of dumb patriotismwhich really gets up the nose of those ofus who are proud of our country (thoughnot much of its history) and want to enjoyand savor the varied cultures nowavailable for all of us.

The N .F . cause trouble at gigs,cause venues to be closed down, and arereally tough just as long as there's 5 timesas many of them as there are of you . TheN .F . have violence as their onlyargument-- no philosophy, no reason, noideology worth speaking of-- just violence.And finally, I'm very pleased to say thatthe N .F. are a tiny, tiny minority whoseinfluence stops at the tips of their boots.Some of us are determined to keep it thatway (cheers, Phil Swisher of Raleigh) anddo it through dialogue if possible . But ifit comes to it, we'll take 'em on.

AGNOSTIC

FRONT :

you

seemintelligent guys . . . so wise up and stoptelling ME what's happening in mycountry-- especially when it most certainlyisn't!! And remember, the jackboot wouldhit you first of all.Attila the Stockbroker (the John Rigginsof poetry)/ 161 Spencer Croft/ Harlow,Essex/ england CM18 6JR.

Dear MRR,If you would please stand by, I would

like to spill my guts . Spill 'em on a trulysensitive topic indeed ; racism. Yes, it'sour old pal racism, who never fails toshow its ugly head to all . Be it aimed atthe white, the black, or the Asian, thegentile or the jew, the woman or the man,racism is a fear and a hatred which I canstand no longer.

I was brought up with the belief thatall men and all women are created equal;words in the vein of honky, nigger,chink, etc ., offend and threaten me to thesame degree . For the most part, I believethat racism is an unfounded fear of thosewho look different ; however, there are

those who believe that their prejudice isjustified due to past negative experienceswith the race in question . My response tothat is simple : to hold an entire race orethnic group accountable for the actions ofa few reflects a weakness that runsrampant in our society.

Let us try to stop it, shall we? Whennext you hear a racial slur being dropped,let loose your tongue and display youranger . If we are lucky, someone whorespects you may be standing withinearshot, and he or she may be influenced,not to ignorance, but to knowledge . RobOakes/ IDLE RICH/ 4 Charlesgate East/Boston, MA 02115

Dear Keith and MRR,I want to thank you both for printing

up the letter and article about fascism andnazis .

I used to be a skinhead ; boots,suspenders, and shit for brains . I used tobelieve in all that "white power" stuff,nationalism, and of course oi! We (ourgang) used to mold ourselves after theworking class movement of England, andtruly wished we were there . Wesubstituted "niggers", "fags", and anyother minority for "pakis" . . . including"punks" . Everybody in the scene called usnazis and fascists . But to tell ya thetruth, I never knew what the fuck theywere talking about . To me, being a naziwas "punk" . I thought it was acompliment . Beating the shit outta all thoseunwanted lowlifes was the thing to do . Iwas brought up by my parents to hate"niggers" and "chinks" ; they weredestroying our economy . I've realized nowhow wrong I've been . It seems to me thatsociety sets us up against each other sowe hold each other down . Know what Imean?

There's just one more thing ; beingfrom a skin gang (brotherhood, we used tocall it), I saw and lived the mind gameswe used to play on everyone . Intimidationwas a biggy ; so was out-and-out violence.But the biggest con was how we used tomake people believe that we were morethan what we were-- and that was just abunch of frustrated, stupid kids . Peoplesaw us as a strong social unit living inharmony, protecting each other. Inreality, we had the same stupid mindgames with each other . We were nothingspecial,

but

we had

everyone

elsebelieving we were.

I'm lucky I got out of it . But I'msure my gang would try to kill me if Igave my real name, so I won't . But I knowwhere their soft spot is . . . right betweenthe legs.A .S .S ./San Fran

Dear MRR:I've read a lot in your zine about the

swastika and what it symbolizes . I happento study symbology so I thought I wouldtell you what it really means . The swastikais an ancient fertility symbol . But the Naziswastika is backwards . Therefore, it meansdeath . It is a powerful symbol (look atNazi Germany), but the Nazi swastika isnegative in every way . Those of you whothink it's cool to wear don't know whatyou may be bringing on yourself.Furthermore, the swastika is basically across with bent arms . If the Nazi swastikais backwards, it's rather like anupside-down cross, isn't it? Now, what isthe opposite of God? Keep that shit awayfrom me, thankyou.Janet Alit, Westlake, OH

Dear MRR:I'm 48 years old and I just want to

let everyone know that if you think punkstarted with the SEX PISTOLS or NEWYORK DOLLS, think again . There was shitlike that in the 50's, only it wasn't calledpunk/thrash music, it was called "skid row

noise ." If you don't believe me, just askyour old man . And if you think punkswearing swastika armbands is new, guessagain kids . In 1956, we had a band called"9th Ward Scum" . We played at thisunderground club called "The Bunker".Sure, it wasn't popular, but to us itsounded a lot better than BUDDY HOLLEY,FATS DOMINO, or THE BEATLES . To us,these people always sucked . We didn't playthat slow bullshit . We looked and soundeda lot like THE MISFITS . We got hassled bycops all the time and once our drummerwas picked up for walking down the streetwith a needle through his ear . Then ourclub was shut down and the band nolonger existed . We had the same attitudemost punks have today, so I'm all for thehardcore scene. Don't give up kids . I'm 48and I've only begun to fight.

"Graveyard Rodeo" rules!David Dumestre, New Orleans, LA

Hell-o:I

just

got

back

from

theABSURDS/VOMIT show in Old Montreal. . Sorry, but I couldn't expressmy anger any better . I don't know, maybeI should have done like that girl . . .smashup some glass and scream . Fuck you,bastards, fuck you . I'm not addressing thepublic, just you . I don't care about them,they might as well go and nuke their wholefucking lot . I mean . . . hell, Its me who'sapathetic . It's me who doesn't care. Ishouldn't give a shit . But I fuckin' do . ..for you . You wanna be different . . . BE.Tonight I saw the same reaction as I wouldsee in fuckin' Spectrum . Most peoplestanding around, not even trying to stopthe fights,

not even trying to stopthrashers Worn smashing up(unintentionally, some would say ; STUPID,I would say) that guy's place.

VOMIT reacted cool (thanks, Ilearned something) . You assholes justwatched . Sheep . . . fuckin' sheep . You'reno better than the people you criticize . Iam firmly apathetic, but fuck, I wanna bedifferent, I am different . I'm not a pieceof shit like them, the society . Not abighead, I say this because I've tried tobring myself here and I know it . If I can'tmake my life like I want, I'll try to makemySELF like I want . In any case, I'llalways have the exit option . Won't take theshit . You motherfuckers are no different ifyou don't start to act . Let that mohawk benot only your "fuck off" to the society,but also to that asshole who thinks it's not"cool" to take a step . . . To gently hold aguy and keep him away from the guy hewas fighting with . To go to the mike andsay that you think tonight's show is amess . To scream and shout at people, tellthem that they suck . Hey girl, you noticedthat half the crowd wasn't payingattention . Well, one heard, one cared.Next time, that one might be the one whowill make a difference.

You bastards . MOVE, SCREAM,SHOUT . Say that you don't want it (sheshowed you some real agression) . That youdin't want the fights to happen again . Goto the mike, say that you didn't like whatjust happened.

What she said was right . You heardabout the Vancouver 5 . You went to acouple of benefit concerts . You had fun,met friends, etc . Then forgot . Yah, that'sall there was to it . I came out of theshow, people talking and laughing . Iheaded home . On the bus I saw 9-to-5'erscoming back from their clubs, talking andlaughing . I saw no real difference . We justdo our partying in a different way, in adifferent place.

I'm no disillusioned motherfucker whoafter some time gets disappointed by punk.I've been fuckin' disillusioned for 22bloody years . I've tried many, and I'vebeen let down by many. I just don't wantto keep it inside because I always thought

(and still do) that . . . fuck, I'm not gonnaexplain it for you . The guy said, "Where'syour idealism gone?"

I just hope a lot of people get to readthis, or at least hear about it . There wasno better way of getting it heard . Don'tfuckin' reply . I didn't express myselftotally, so why bother? O .M .T ., Montreal

Dear MRR,The prevalent commodification of the

art/style associated with the 'punk culture'has brought a question to my mind : how isit that a movement whose historical/political/ intellectual justification isrevolutionary and progressive, producescommodities saleable and palatable to thefascist New-Aryan IBM children?

My primary criticism is that therevolutionary spirit inherent in themovement is compromised by the referringto the metaloid propensity for thesymbolism of death and violence for artisticreference points, rather than referring tomore progressive exemplifications of non-conformity . Certainly there is little that isrevolutionary in touting about skull andcrossbones, the fucking capitalist-gluttonpirates did that, as did KISS and BLACKSABBATH! This mode of expression hasobviously proven to be a highly lucrativeone, as Ozzy Osbourne's bank account willprove. To indulge in this is to fuel theambition of the corporate sector and thuscontribute to their oppression of thepeople.

Punk is intelligent, as is revealed byits proponents' fairly well-defined stanceson the major issues, and their realisticapproach

to

life .

And

the

infantilescribblings of Pushead et al seeminconsistent with this intelligence . It seemsto me to be regressive and non- reflectiveof the historical significance of the punkmovement . Being in prison, I see daily alarge amount of metaloids . It's in the factthat the art they have chosen to associatethemselves with is so similar to much ofthe punk graphic literature that I feel mysentiments are founded . Most of thesemetaloids are extremely fascistic, sexist,racist, and superlatively ugly, andnowhere near what I consider "punks".The only thing that alienates them fromthe rest of capitalist/moron society is thefact that they are unpropertied . This factinstills in them, not a hatred for a sicksociety that created class struggles, but ahatred for the individuals associated withaffluence, caused by simple envy andgreed . If punk art .is interchangeable withthe art produced by this mentality, thenthere's something fucking wrong with it.

If anyone would like to discuss thiswith me, feel free to write.Gregory W . Roberts/ Matsqui Penitentiary/P .O . Box 4000/ Abbotsford BC/ CanadaV2S 4P3.P .S . K .A .I ., I lost your address . Couldyou send it again?

Dear MRR,My name is Scooter . I play guitar for

the CORRUPTED QUAKER BOYS . You'veprobably never heard of us, but I'm sureyou will in the near future . We all arepresently in an institutional learningfacility which is very military . You askthen how we pull it off? Being a punkhere is a very illicit act ; it's hard . Manyof my friends have been kicked out andhad their files really fucked up . Well, meand C .Q .B . really hold up to thestandards of punkdom, although it's quitedifficult . We are stamped by the rankingpeople here as attitude problems . And theywatch over us like hawks, looking for ameal .

Well, let me talk about C .Q .B . Thereare 3, sometimes 4 of us

. We are a group,a club also --an alternative, you couldsay . We think of ourselves as a wrench inthe works . Without us, this place would

run smoothly. Our music is fast and very

loud . We want to do some slower tunes,but the anger always comes out when wesing

. The point gets across, and that'sthe object.

Well, we gotta roll. Keep it up and

don't let the authority bums get you.John Sean/ Box 98/ U

.F .M .A./ Randor Strd/ Wayne PA 19087

Dear MRR,I just got suspended from school for

2 days for telling a teacher to "fuck off"after she took away my MRR . When theyasked me why I used profanity against aperson of "superior authority", I just toldthem I was pissed off. This got meanother day of suspension . I told them Ihated this school, and they told me Ishould consider it

school!Well, I happen to consider this school

part of our brainwashing society . I toldthem I came to their classes every fuckingday and didn't give them any shit, but Icouldn't deal with much more

. Of course,they came back at me with "you're 16 . Whydon't you just quit . People like you don'tbelong here ." Well, I thought, that's realencouraging . Then, of course, they had tosttack the fact that I'm a total punk andsay that I didn't have to be that way,because of the "trend" I'm in . Well, Ihappen to be proud of being the way Iam, thinking the way I think, listening tothe music I listen to, having the moralswhich I think are right! But I'm fed upwith the shit I get . Yes, I am from amiddle class family, but that don't meanshit, does it? M .Y ./ 43 Revell Ave/Northampton MA 01060

Dear M .Y .,My advice is to stick with school as

long as you can, learn as much aspossible, and then use those skills againstthe system . Turn your middle classadvantage into a weapon . Tim

Dear MRR:I recently relocated to northern

Idaho, where I am pursuing a collegeeducation at the University of Idaho . Igrew up in the Bay Area . I am fortunatethat, in the Bay Area, I was exposed tomany different outlooks on society inrelation to the forces which influence thebehaviour and actions of its constituents.In conjunction with my unique liking ofhardcore music, I found the social outlookof the punk subculture to be the mostacceptable, open- minded, non-prejudicedview established by any group

. Thesewere the reasons which induced me tobecome part of the scene,

Last summer, during the period oftime directly before my departure, I wasdisillusioned by the notion of abandoningthe ideals of this individualist philosophyand making the decision to play theirgame, live by their rules, and to become acontributing member of their twistedsociety.

However,

I quickly regained mysenses upon my arrival at the U

. of I.(which is located in an extremelyconservative part of this country) . Iimmediately observed first- handedly theintense brain-washing and propagandizationon the part of the government-controlledmedia . The shocking, hideous truth ofthose in power (pro war, sexism, racism,corporate-control, mind control, richsupremacy) became strongly reinforced inthe eyes of myself, as being one who hadopportunity to become exposed to sourcesof information based on reality andhumanity, not merely the subduction ofsociety on the basis of governmentprogress (as is exhibited by the media).(Thanx to Tim, Jeff, and Ruth of MaximumRock 'n' Roll and all those whointelligently participate in the scene

.) Myinner feelings about the "dream" (which is

not dead by any means!) and theblindness of so many citizens of this areahas driven me, more than ever before, tocompletely nonconform to the everpresentnarrow-minded ways and to stand up forwhat I believe in.

It may seem terrific to be able toresist the "fruits of Reagan's reign", butit is actually very self-inflicting and verydifficult . I am constantly harassed andthreatened wherever I go . I wonder if all

;the punishment and abuse is worth it.If you would like to share your

thoughts and opinions with me and mygirlfriend, Francesca (who has the sameproblem), please write : Doug andFrancesca/ 426 Lewis Street/ Moscow,Idaho, 83843

Dear MRR,I am a student at a small Christian

college in the Pacific Northwest . Recently,an old friend of mine came to visit . Hecertainly wasn't the person I remember!The young man I remember as an icon ofthe church with a promising futureawaiting him in the business world wasnow sporting a mohawk, ripped jeans, anda DIE KREUZEN t-shirt . How the hell doeshe expect to even get a job interview now?To be blunt, the guy looked like shit-- Imean, you can imagine how he stood outlike a sore thumb at this conservativecampus!

Well, I'm not one to judge a book byits cover, but when we talked, I could tellthat Satan was the master of my friend'ssoul . My friend told me all about the"scene", bands, the politics of punk, andshowed me this zine . The only thing Ifigured

out

was

that

he

wasanti-everything

and

didn't

vote

forReagan.

As far as I'm concerned, if "punk"means thinking for yourself, then this guyis as brainwashed as you can get . all of asudden a guy I thought I knew wasbabbling about anarchy, reading CRASSlyrics, getting red over vivisection, andthinks Adam Smith's Wealth of Nations is acrock of shit . So what is he going to dowith his life? What do punks do when theygrow up? Get jobs as trashmen, I suppose.I mean, there comes a time when you haveto accept reality and get on with the jobof life . Anarchy is just not a part of thereal world.

The point of this letter is : given thesocial realities, maybe it's OK to be apunk in high school when you aren't facedwith the responsibilities of the job world.But ultimately, you have to realize that inorder to buy a house and raise a family,you must--in my friend's words-- sell out.

Anyway, my friend left a copy ofyour zine with me . Since I used to thinkhe was a good guy, I thought I'd writeand ask the readers if they could explain"what being a punk" means . My friendinsists this is not just a passingfad . . .well, how many hippies do you seearound these days? Although I doubtthere's any real substance to the scene,I'm willing to listen.E .S .

Wyatt/ Hall Director/ Foss Hall/P .L .U ./ Tacoma WA 98447.Dear Paul,

I hope you get some response fromreaders . But my question is : If Jesusshowed up today, would he get a jobinterview?

Tim

Dear MRR:Today

something

happened thatgreatly disturbed me and that I feel isworth writing about . It involved acompletely defenseless, though whiny, fouror five year old and her obviouslyfrustrated mother . The last thing a motherwants is to draw attention to herself, butthrough the mother's loud, abusivethreats, both verbal and physical, to thechild this is exactly what she did . An

elderly lady kindly tried to intervene butwas told very rudely by the mother to"Fuck off and mind her own business!" Iempathized with the mother and didn'twant to enrage her further, but I told herthat she was making it the business ofeveryone on the bus . At that point sheturned on me and I thought she was goingto hit me too . The mother then draggedthe child off the bus (before their stop)and fortunately an old man followed them.

I felt so sick just knowing that whenthat child got home she would certainly bepulverized and most of the people just satthere as if nothing was happening . Surethey didn't want to interfere, but thefeeling of "Stand up for yourself becausenobody else will" just cannot be applied toa four year old, who should not have tofear her mother in the first place.

There are a lot more things than justchild abuse that people turn a blind eyeto . There SHOULD be a somebody else thatshould stand up for someone or somethingor some cause, and it should be YOU!!People complain and are apathetic, butthey're sure not going to stand up and dosomething about it are they? No, they'regoing to let the next person who comesalong do something about it . Well, maybethere won't be a next time, or a nextperson for that four year old, or for you,either . Erica Hendry/ 5612 Maple St . /Vancouver, B .C ./ Canada V6M 3T7

Dear MRR-We recently did a four date tour of

Holland which went really well andencountered some interesting people on theferry over . The bar was filled with about15-20 squaddies (British soldiers) andafter the four of us had sat down, one ofthe drunk ones started having a go at usfor our mode of dress and general attitiudeso I argued with him for some time until itseemed inevitable that we were going toget the shit kicked out of us.

However, the squaddie calmed downand had the decency to introduce himselfand a few of his mates . We started talingabout the various aspects of their and ourlives and got on really well . These guyswere from the Welsh Guards presentlystationed in Belsen . One of their number(not present) apparently considers himselfa punk and held a seance intheconcentration camp one night, thestupid cunt.

Anyway, we talked about theFalklands and they told us some veryinteresting facts, later corroborated by theother squaddies we asked in the other partof the boat.

The British force was held at bay for7 hours by a machine gun post on top ofMount Helier (right name, I think) andwhen the post was eventually taken, theyfound one 14 year old boy behind themachine gun and 8 others from 14 to 16wounded or dying.

They were in the Army Cadets inArgrentina and were told that they wouldbe going on a training excercise to Chile!They were all put into uniforms (overcivilian clothes) and supplied with maps ofthe Chilean countryside . They were toldthat other soldiers would be attacking themas part of the excercise and that they hadto defend the position . It wasn't untiltheir friends started being torn to piecesby the British fire that they realisedsomething was wrong

. The British chckedthrough the whole bunker after it hadbeen taken and found that these youngboys had not been given one single liveround between them - they had been firingblanks!!

As the British forces gradually sweptthe islands, they heard more stories fromthe prisoners they collected en route . Mostof them had been told that the Britishwould eat them if they were caught . Two

guys were asked how they had gottenthere and they replied that we weredancing in a disco when a press gangburst in and beat them up . They weregiven 2 weeks training, a uniform, and agun and shoved onto the Falklands tofight, somewhat confused as to what thefuck was going on.

We talked for ages on all subjects andfound the squaddies to be in fact veryhumane in their general outlook . They feltthat they had to tell someone about whatreally went on because they just don't feelthat in a major war that the British Armywould be capable of defending itself,because of the pompous, pathetically heroicattitiudes of the officer class who havecreated fuck up after fuck up for thetroops.

Their officer in charge is nicknamed"Spock" because they can't believe thatsuch a fucking lunatic could come fromthis planet . He constantly shows people hisdoctors certificate to prove that he issane!

Ever since the Falklands he- hasturned every excercise into "the battle forGoose Green" with his soldiers taking theparts of both Argentinian and Britishtroops and repeating the same manoeuversover and over again until he is satisfiedthat they have made an authenticreproduction of the actual battle.

A lot of these squaddies are justbiding their time, waiting to get out of theArmy (one of them reckons he's going tojoin Greenpeace) after having beenthrough such a fiasco and seeing theirbest friends killed needlessly.

The Welsh guards were given theduty of transporting and protecting theArgentine prisoners , becasue thesquaddies who hadn't been there and whohad been subjected to the newspaperslander and propaganda, would have tornthe prisoners apart . One of them cameaboard with a rucksak bulging with blackdustbin bags . The guy was very religiousand was reluctant to let them see what hewas taking home with him . They openedthe bags to find the dismembered body ofhis brother stuffed into individual bags sohe could take him home and bury him.They had to throw it overboard as it wasa health risk . -Aphid Amebix/Wey-UpWoodborough Rd .! Roadstock/ Bath/ Avon/England

Dear MRR-It is not usually necessary for me to

write to publications to try and justify myexistence or the existence of my brotherswho all try to create interesting and asoriginal as possible music.

But have you heard? Did you knowthat AMEBIX all use real heavy dopemaaan! Eeck! Schack! Horror! So fuckingwhat, anyway? What do you expect from aband, you fucking pruists! Do you expecta band to live up to your expectations allthe time in their private lives just becauseyou like their music? We have our ownideas on things and our own morals whichwe have developed over the 5 or 6 years wehave existed as a band and as a family ofpeople.

I'm only writing to you because I'msick to death of hearing it, (AMEBIX takesthis and does that, blah, blah) . I don'tknow where the rumours started (tho I dohave a good idea), but I'm now gonna putthe fucking record straight once and forall .

My name is Stig . I play guitar forAMEBIX and was one of the foundingmemeber of the group . Yes, kiddies, I ama heroin addict and I don't try to hide itfrom anyone (but the pigs), nor do I tryto make taking smack look cool so thatother people will try it . It's a shit thingto get into and I would not advise it toanyone .

OFF THE PAGE AND IN YOUR FACE

" . . .it is very successful . Iwas fully enthralled by itand can't put it down.Excellent, excellent job!!!!"

- Martin LEADING EDGE

byGary RobertRob KulakofskyMike Arredondo

"I think you've done a greatjob - it's very well done,very neat ."

Mauro RAW POWER

" . . .it's great! Funny to seeeveryone in 3D . Opening quoteis an award winner . My momwant-s one . . ."

over 100 OUTRAGEOUS 3D photos featuring

Black Flag Crucifix Battalion of Saints Lewd TSOLDead Kennedys Circle Jerks - Fuck Ups Verbal Abuse FU'sRaw Power Cause for Alarm Youth Brigade Riistytet Fear7 Seconds M*D*C* Toxic Reasons Minor Threat MIAReagan Youth Stranglehold DOA Sado Nation Die Kreuzen Target Video3DGLASSES INCLUDED WITH BOOK

Ian MINOR THREATDistribution by ROUGH TRADE TOXIC SHOCKSYSTEMATIC

II PUBLISHER'S EXCLUSIVE nSPECIAL COLLECTOR'S EDITIONSigned and Numbered $1295with extra glasses

Send check or money order to:IN3D, 5841 Geary Blvd.San Francisco, CA 94121(outside US send international money order)

Add $1 .50 for shipping & handling.CA residents add 6 1/2% tax.Foreign or First Classadd $3.00 shipping and handling.

~Ll~i'J:Ix~DON 'T MISS

DIE KREUZEN 'S DEBUT L .P.

FIRST FULL LENGTH ALBUMANOTHER MANS SAC

15 .00 $0 .50 . ... 5u.r .cE OVE.sE.s

SURFACE

OVE'RSEpS

50o P5

P . . $6.50P.P .

ilffJJ fff #9A- UerOR G D,~'I

' a'~EC.OR0.S,P.O . BOX 433 DEARBORN, MI 48121

Let me tell you a little more aboutmyself . I am the only person in the bandwho takes drugs . Got it?

The rest of the band have trieddifferent things in their lives, but havenot got fucked up like me

. In fact, noneof them take or have taken any drugs forsome years now

. I think they drink onoccaison, but that's about it.

I started taking heroin and heroinderivatives when I was 17 (animpressionable age) . . . I am now nearly 23,about the right amount of time to gain areasonable habit, don't you think? Everytime I have given up for any period oftime I have become an alchoholic . I startedusing smack heavily to combat the longterm side effects of taking acid and takingit all the way to hell and back . (You thinkacid is harmless? Try taking it everydayfor 6 months) . Which did my head inconsiderably so much, so that I can't evenbe in a room where people are smokingdope (grass, pot, weed, hash, etc

. . .)because I start getting paranoid and startfeeling horrible even though it's beenyears since I've touched any hallucigens atall .

I am currently undergoing amethadone reduction course and it ishelping a little in the fact that when weare on tour I don't have to hit the streetsin each town to buy smack which makesdoing gigs a lot easier . Oh yeah, by theway many thanx to the people we havestayed with on tours who understood theproblem or at least made the effort tounderstand it . Instead of treating me likesome kind of social leper which a lot ofpeople have done (Fuck You!).

I write to you because you seem tocover a lot of ground and a lot of peoplewill see this letter which might just stopdumb cunts coming up and asking me thesame stupid old questions about drugswhen we are there to play music.

So there you have it, part of myprivate life which I resent having to bringout into the open but it was the only wayto sort out the whole fucking stupid thing.

Now everyone's had their piece ofmeat I'll sign off, don't bother replyingbecasue I won't . This is the first and lasttime I compromise! - Stig, AMEBIX

P .S . Yes, I've been to hell and back andI've even gone down on Satan'swart-infested pus-ridden prick, gaggingand choking all the way . Where do youthink our songs come from, huh???

The following is a discussion paperand as such is not meant to be passivelyconsumed and discarded ; rather it is meantto be a starting point for furtherdiscussion . This paper deals with what Isee as important issues with regards topolitics and punk ; it is not meant to be ageneral political analysis though I hope itwill be a starting point towards just suchan analysis.

Do you really see punk as being apolitical movement? In terms of an overallview I would have to say no . If there is tobe politics found in punk it is in the areaof music and the way it is made anddistributed . "What about the 'political'lyrics?", you ask . First off, its obviousthat lyrics in a song are not the ideal wayto disseminate political theory or raiseimportant issues but they do serve apurpose if written with an understandingof the situation and limitations involved.Unfortunately, what I see is a constantbarrage of anti- government/policeiwar/religion songs that have shown no sign ofprogressing beyond the basic rant thateveryone should be familiar with by now.In my own cynical moods I see politicallyrics in punk like guitar solos in heavymetal - just another requirement for the

genre . I think that lyrics quite accuratelyreflect the level of political consciousnessi .e

. the barest minimum of understanding.What I'm suggesting is that those

punks that are political should come toterms with the fact that there is no wayon our present course that punk as awhole

will

become

political,

it

istheoretically

and

realistically

animpossibility

. What is needed is forpolitical punks to partially retreat from thevarious battles within punk and to regroupthemselves in order to move far beyondthese hollow rants.

ASSIMILATIONThe state uses assimilation as a tactic

for diffusing, distorting and eventuallydefeating what is seen as a threat

. Thetactics used are directly related to theseriousness of the threat; thereforeassimilation being subtle and not so messyis used quite often in dealings with acounterculture (hippies, punks, etc .) i .e.something which is not really a majorthreat but has that potential . When thethreat is major, subtlety is thrown out thewindow . In the 60s the Black PantherParty and the American Indian Movementamong others had war declared on them bya state that saw their ideas as being fartoo dangerous

. You need only look aroundyou and see the washed up wreckage ofthe 60s to understand how well assimilationworks . But there's no need to look back inorder to see this process occurring ; theCanadian government has put "peace" onits agenda when in reality it is merely acase of pretending to tell people what theywant to hear . Even the American stateswillingness to begin arms talks can be seenas nothing more than a token concessionwith

which

to

deflate

a

mainstream"movement".

In the context of this article, themost obvious example of assimilation wouldbe hardcore . And its a classic example inevery way-they have stolen the soul ofwhat is being done, emphasizing the bad,ignoring the good, and feed it to theirhuge audience . What has happened is amass redefinition of what something is allabout . It's easy enough for insiders to yellfoul at outlandish representations ofthemselves, but our problem and theirtactic is to influence future peers, who atthis point are the general public . Thething to understand is that the threat isnot to the people but rather to the state.In order for a true image to appear, thestate must be bypassed and eliminated fromthe equation . For this to happen, muchcreative thought and action must occur tocut through the bullshit and make it thatmuch harder for the situation to bemanipulated and distorted . The majorquestion is : Has the media image becomethe reality?

Because of its nature, assimilation isdifficult to combat unless a clearunderstanding of its processes is achieved.What is needed is a constant movementtoward more radical politics in punk sothat the move towards mainstream will becounteracted and assimilation avoided.

THE SUBCULTURE TRAPLet's try to be objective and take a

step outside and look at this thing calledpunk . To an outsider, punk would appearto be a white male phenomena with veryloud, fast and seemingly angry musicmixed up with naive politics and anextreme fascination with negative imageryand death . That's what an outsider wouldsee, and to be honest, quite often this iswhat I see too . Punk, with its claim to bean alternative to society, rings hollow;this world is dominated by the white maleand

most

definitely

has

anobsession/worship of death . When aself-proclaimed alternative is nothing morethan a mirror of society, it has becomecaught in the subculture trap

. I see ourpresent

society

as

being

negative,

unequal-a place where intimidation anddomination reign supreme . Something thatis opposite to this mess should be positiveand life-affirming, something that breaksdown the walls of sexism ; not this maledominated, death worshiping, and defeatistthing called punk . All this leads me to askthe question : Has the nihilism of '77 reallyleft punk?

I think it is very important toconstantly analyze and put into perspectivewhat punk is doing and where it is going.If we see it as being a big and majormovement, we are setting ourselves up fora big letdown and defeat when itsinevitable collapse does come about . Itseems that this mistake was made in the'60's and we should be smart enough tolearn from those mistakes . Punk was anintroduction to progressive politics formany people, but it is a small part of theoverall political struggle . It doesn't haveto be the beginning and end ; rather, itshould be part of the process, and weshould be able to move beyond it and canbe constantly expanding our outlook sothat we don't get trapped into having ourdreams and ideals shattered by some fuckup, like punkas we know it, disappearing.It is time for us to stop channeling all ourenergy into perpetuating punk ; we shouldbe moving in other directions of politicalwork instead of just repetitive preachingto the so-called converted.

ANARCHISM IN PUNK"Anarchy in the U .K ."-it should be

quite obvious that the SEX PISTOLS wereby no means anarchists, but merely usedthe term purely for its shock value . Butby doing this, the words "punk" and"anarchy" were connected in what was thestart of a relationship that has lasted tillthis day . CRASS, and bands like it, werethe first to take the concept beyond therealm of shock-slogan, and it has spreadlike wildfire throughout the scene, judgingby the number of @ in band names and onjackets, etc . I've read countlessinterviews, letters, and articles dealingwith anarchy, and they almost alwaysbreak down into 2 basic arguements : 1)anarchy would mean chaos . Who would fixmy plumbing if it broke down, etc .? 2)anarchy means everyone cooperating andrespecting other people's rights, etc . Atbest, a very unresearched and naivedialogue on the subject . I'm going to pickup on the people who promote the idea ofanarchy, as opposed to those that areagainst it, because I feel, that to a certainextent, those for it, by way ofdisinformation, have created their ownopposition . The term "anarchism", to me,is in itself a contradiction of sorts, owingto the various number of strains inexistence.

Punk anarchists are quite adept atpointing out the problems in our presentsituation, and for the most part I agreewith their views as far as they go, butthen the analysis is thrust far ahead intothe utopian future with the vaguest ofexplanations as to how this transformationis to take place . The main complaint Ihave, and I'm going to blame this one onCRASS, is that anarchism and pacifism arebeing treated as one and the sameideology, instead of the seperate ideologiesthat they are . Michael Bakunin, consideredby many to be a major anarchist thinker,is quite famous for saying "Destruction iscreation" . The Spanish anarchists took uparms and fought during the Spanish CivilWar, the R2, a German guerilla group, isanarchist in political outlook . . .these arebut a few examples of anarchism withoutpacifism . A political analysis does nothinge on a few token slogans ; rather, it isan in depth look at history and presentday reality of our world.

What I'm advocating is for people tobecome more politically involved, bothwithin and outside punk, but to do this

4.

insidcriminately has many pitfalls . There isa huge web of political concepts, methodsand analysis to deal with in order toarrive at your own political attitudes . Thisweb is full of political traps andcontradictions that must be seen andavoided in order for progress to occur.The contradictions are many . For instance:advocating real change and participating inthe electoral process, narrowly definingnuclear weapons as the major problem,supporting armed liberation struggles inthe Third World while abhorring armedstruggle in the First World . These are justa few of the more blatant contradictionsand traps, yet these kinds of paradoxeswill continue to occur unless a solid andclear political outlook is developed . To seeonly the whole or a part is not enough;the key is to understand the connectionsbetween the two and how change in oneaffects the other.

I boil down to a matter of effeciencyand clarity of view of the goal you wish toachieve

. The only way this can come aboutis through much thought, discussion, andresearch, but for someone truly wishing tomake a change, it is imperative that theyengage in this process . It seems like, andis, a massive job, but an extremelynecessary one, in order for real change tocome about . You can't just dance to therevolution . ..

I think it would be wrong for me tofinish without putting forward at least onesmall initial proposal . Here goes . .

. Themain thing I would like to see is seriouspolitical punks get together and starttalking, not through the mail, but inperson . I suspect that a lot of theseconnections have not been made, andtherefore I'm proposing that people couldwrite to me and I would then send out amaster list of addresses to all those thatwrote in . Hope to hear from you soon.Dave/ 726 W. 17th Ave/ Vancouver BC/Canada V5Z 1T9

RESPONSE TO PAM KIRKIn a letter to the editor that appeared

in #21, Pam Kirk informed her readers thatI once wrote an article entitled "The Deathof Hardcore", which claimed that "hardcoreis dead and has been so for almost ayear ." Kirk's claim is that this articledirectly contradicts my "Intro to theSituationist International" (MRR19), whichclaims that '77-style punk is dead, while"the same cannot be said for hardcore ." Iwould not deny that Kirk's claim cuts meto the bone . All I can say is that in the6th issue of Not Bored, the situationist-inspired journal I edit, I explicitlyrepudiated that article, as well as anarticle that appeared in the previous issueand the entire first issue of Not Bored.I'd be happy to repudiate it once again forPam Kirk and MRR's readers.

When I wrote "The Death ofHardcore", I was supporting myself as amainstream rock and roll music critic . Ihad a weekly with a photo at a daily citypaper, a monthly in a statewide alternativepress, and the odd freelance piece hereand there . "The Death" was one of theodd pieces--if the compromisededitor-in-chief doesn't think your articleisn't sufficiently compromised, he won'tprint it, you won't get paid, and your assis owned by the bank . This was before thewriter Griel Marcus turned me on to theSI's many and difficult writings . Thesituationists might say that during theperiod I wrote " The Death", the first issueof Not Bored, and what later became thearticle in the 5th issue, I'd let theimperatives of the spectacle take over andinvert my judgment : hardcore, rather thanbeing alive, indeed growing during theearly 80's, was "dead".

I reserve the right to claim that theseacts don't invalidate me or the writingsI've done since, especially the "Intro tothe SI" . We say that you should "learnfrom your mistakes" . I think we should goeven further : there are certain types ofknowledge that can only be learned bymistakes ; mistakes are necessary . In thesociety of the spectacle, "even the true

appears as a moment of the false" (GuyDebord, 1967) . I agree with Pam Kirk:"The death of Hardcore" was a failure.But it's an interesting failure, just likethe FEEDERZ are

. And yes, that doesmean that, like the FEEDERZ, I am aleader to be dumped.Bill Brown/ P

.O . Box 7252/ Ann Arbor MI48107

IL ATE llodTofJs'C/VSETf

5821 FA1.CO14LffE l- MWX-NI 'WE WONT 8z ECNir,cileo''i

B

nt CAHTRDCORE Sou,D js HELD oN

U$h (lops'SLImE' VAIIEY ' 4 A WE GoT bat:. 15 SCIJ6S $4

.00LPFEm2- 'Oe6YATGREEN ACRES" COMP. FEATQRING

MOY-NIX AND THE DEBUT of THE LIVERS, . A-P05T FUNK BAND W11H GIRL SIWGER.4 ltks 713 .50 .

- BCTH TAPES Jl'l.CD.ApT~RL IF INWRESTED IN BE INv ON NEXT COMP SCNDBA1JDS : A DECENT GuALITY 3 SCW.. DEMO CASSETTE . 1

Farewell note : Rockin' Ray Farrell,longtime troublemaker at fabled RatherRipped Records, stalwart from the outsetat MRR Radio, veteran of the Rough TradeWars, unwitting participant in 1001 bizarreoccurances, and everlasting supporter ofthe indie network, will be moving to L .A.to work for SST Records . Ray, get theirmail order in up-to-date shape! We'll missye! Tim & the Gang

U .S . TOURING BANDSThe band TERVEET KADET from

Finland would like to tour the U .S . thissummer . If there are any U .S . bands whowere already planning on doing a tour,and who would be interested in doing itwith T .K . (they will pay half of the costs,including arranging the tour, vehiclecosts, gas, etc), then please write to:Vote Vasko/ Box 69/ 40101 JKL 10/Finland . Thanks .

AC Ti ON!ADVENTURE!

ROMANCE!?LA'W WRAP!

12 SONG DEBUMTpARLcBUMN

RCORDSAIN/ENIGMAE

BUY IT. LEARN IT. LIVE IL

coo

MRR has received quite a lot ofresponses to our fairly small and ill-placedquestionairre in #21 about what possiblechanges readers wanted to see in the zine.The results are as follows:1) Most people felt there already existed abalance they'd more or less like to seemaintained2) The general feeling was that scenereports are criticel and necessary, but dotend to be boring or repetitive reading3) People wanted more interviews andfeature articles.4) Most folks were not that concernedabout getting a sturdier cover and thesubsequently higher cover price.

I'm fairly pleased at the results, anddo have a few recommendations that mightimprove the areas in questions.1) SCENE REPORTS : People writing themshould try to, develop a more personalstyle, and strive to make them interestingreading as well as informative reading.Different organizational approaches arecalled for here, as well as literarydevelopment . Instead of the usual "thisband's doing that", "this gig was OK","this record is due out", etc ., there

S sees*

should be more attention paid to overallattitudes within the scene and behind thescene, covering creative activities besidesjust the execution (no pun intended) ofmusic

. And instead of just a monologue,it'd be interesting to perhaps get ahandful of one-two paragraph mini-interviews (with photos, of course).2) INTERVIEWS : We can only do so manyourselves here, or ask for so many fromour correspondents

. It'd be helpful ifhundreds of young bands everywhereasked someone locally (or do it yourselves)to write up a mini-article or one- twoparagraph interview on themselves, andsend it in with a photo and lyrics to asong . We'd have lots more to run, andalthough it might be a bit catalog-like,that isn't necessarily bad . Also, it'd begreat to receive interviews of people whoarent just in bands, but who are active inother aspects of creativity.3) FEATURE ARTICLES : I'm sure thereare plenty of readers out there withexpertise in various fields of history,politics, sociology, arts, psychology,science, humor, etc ., who'd could beginsubmitting interesting pieces . They needn'tbe lengthy, but could be if the subjectwarrants it . Somewhat in relation to this,MRR will be putting out a special magazine(not in our regular numerical series) ofinvestigative journalism in the field ofparapolitics, that murky area behind thescenes and behind the headlines, delvinginto the conspiracies, assassinations, mindcontrol, police state movements around theworld . Hopefully, this will spawn a lot offuture articles for the regular zine, andcreate an important cross-pollenation withthat whole subculture.

So, if MRR is to improve in theseareas I've mentioned, then it's going torequire the work and creativity of many ofyou readers . I think we can pull it off.Thanks, Tim .

LI BER TE?

RACISM IN AMERICAA 2 TRACK FLEXIWITH A 4 PA.GE

FOLD SLEEVE

ONLY $1 .00 TO;

LIBERTE?

c/o MIND MATTER RECORDS,

POB 421304, SF,CA . 94142

-ht

SEW:. 'S(Ott)~

GOi' .o 1-At_w0dD PL1~D.

Lou ISE-11ACpl c , qDS!SSIAM SIZ: 4- gLTE'tNItT6

race As& .1

SPLEEN VENTING TIME:Thesis : When Tim asked me to write

for MRR I agreed on the condition that mycolumn never be censored . It never hasbeen . Once, however, I wrote a snidecomment about Pushead beingpussy-whipped into cutting the peni offhis drawings . Tim called me up and askedif I would consider taking that sentenceout .

"I don't want to start wars betweenthe columnists," he said . "It's stupid ."

For once in the aeons, Tim was right.It IS stupid for columnists in the samemagazine to use their space to yell backand forth at one another . I cut theoffending sentence.

Antithesis : Tim Yohannon gets toread-- and answer-- my column in thesame issue it's printed . I can't repond tohis until two issues later . This is due tothe peculiarities of printing and deadlines,and to the fact that it is, after all, Tim'smagazine . (Nya, Nya!--TY) (I didn't writethat!--TY) So, when in issue 21, Timattacked my column, its taken 'me untilnow to answer it!

In the first paragraph he says "Mykelfinally w