AJ Morocco: February 12, 2012

MRR Records

Maximum Rock N’ Roll is one of the longest running fanzines out there, more than anyone they have stuck to their mission (sometimes to a fault) and consistently publish a solid magazine. OK, the classified section is an empty shell of what it once was, the scene reports are all but gone and the reviews can leave you scratching your head or cursing or both. But. The columnists in the last few years are better than ever (for reals), plus the articles and interviews are still a great read. What some people might not know is that MRR has released 15 records on their own label, and most of them are pretty amazing!

1. Public Safety

   Compilation from 2006, my favorite of the bunch for many reasons. Namely: Formaldehyde Junkies, The Observers, Look Back And Laugh, The First Step, Sin Dios, not to mention Regulations, Gorilla Angreb and Limp Wrist. Features some of the best bands in the 2002-2006 era, which to me is golden. With 26 songs, you are guaranteed to discover something you like on this. Contains No Hope For The Kids last song, ?Triblinka?, too.

2. Welcome To 1984

   
   
   MRR’s first release, a diverse punk comp featuring mostly international bands like Finland’s Terveet Kädet, Italy’s Raw Power, Japan’s The Stalin, Rattus, BGK and tons more. But it does have a few American bands, notably Wisconsin’s The Crucifucks and Oklahoma’s NOTA. If you have little or no exposure to foreign punk, this is a great place to start. MRR’s most recent compilation release, ?Noise Ordinance?, is an international sampler very similar to this, worth checking out if you want to hear what the current crop of bands sounds like.

3. They Don’t Get Paid, They Don’t Get Laid, But Boy Do They Work Hard!

   14 song compilation from 1989, sort of the evil twin of ?Turn It Around?. Features a wide variety of bands, like outspoken weirdos Christ On A Crutch, California straight edgers Amenity, New York crust-core in Nausea, Colorado’s Dead Silence and many more. Purchased this as a young lad (along with the Pink Turds In Space EP, a decision I would soon regret) and remain impressed with how well this is put together. Also, in hindsight I’m almost certain that Jawbox got both laid and at least somewhat paid. And not surprisingly, they are still working hard, so congrats to them.

4. Bum Kon – Drunken Sex Sucks LP

   
   
   Reissue of this classic Denver punk band’s only 7” EP from 1983, remastered and expanded with all kinds of bonus tracks. Originally released on Local Anesthetic Records, who also released EP’s by Frantix, White Trash and Your Funeral. When people say “Reagan era hardcore”, this is what they’re talking about. But hey, at least they knew who their president was. Western bands lacked the label support, fanzines and all ages venues that helped fuel the midwest, DC and NY scenes. But that forced bands like Bum Kon, Massacre Guys and Septic Death to work even harder, and made them evolve independently from what was happening in the rest of the country. Mandatory for fans of Stalag 13 and Die Kreuzen. Better than anything SSD ever did, that’s for sure.

5. Bad Religion / Noam Chomsky split 7”

   Split EP, released in 1991 in protest against the first Gulf War. Features two songs from BR (?Heaven Is Falling? and ?Fertile Crescent?) on side A and a spoken word piece from Chomsky on side B. Comes with a huge fold out poster and essays about the war. Chomsky may sound like Ben Stein when he talks, but his concise analysis and logical arguments about national affairs may surprise you. Assembled by a virtual SWAT team of who’s who in punk, including Greg Graffin, Tim Yo, Mr. Bret, ?Sabotage In The American Workpace? author and MRR contributor Martin Sprouse, Washington DC based photographer and musician Sharon Cheslow, former Gilman St soundman and engineer Radley Hirsch, just to name a few.

6. Dezerter – Underground Out Of Poland LP

   
   
   LP from 1987. Great punk rock from Poland, originally formed in Warsaw in 1981. I’m pretty sure this LP is made up of pieces of earlier releases, but could be wrong about that. Band is still together too, just released an LP in 2010.

7. Naïve – Switch-Blade Knaife LP

   77’ style punk, their first LP. Hand picked by Tim Yo after seeing one of their videos, making them the first Russian punk band to release a record in the US. The anti-communist band is still together, but is mostly remembered for their infamous performance on the steps of the Russian Parliament building during the political coup of 1991. In front of a fleet of Soviet tanks, they managed to play one and a half songs before someone in the audience cut off the power.

8. Diesel Queens vs. Insaints 7”

   
   
   Split seven inch from 1993. MRR also released an LP by Diesel Queens called ?Hooked On Moronics?, which is worth checking out if you like this split. The Insaints are great hi-energy female fronted melodic punk, sort of like early Naked Agression meets Black Market Baby.

9. Turn It Around

   Double 7” EP compilation from 1987, a decent listen but a little too Berkeley-centric for me. Features mostly early ?Slap-A-Ham? and ?Lookout!? bands. Kind of like a hamburger where the top bun is artless grindcore and the bottom bun is silly love songs, and there is no meat (or veggie pattie!) to be found anywhere in between. Strange to say the least, kind of worth it for The Yeastie Girls track alone.

10. Spoiled Brats Vs. Buttafuoco

    
    
    Double 7” record from 1994. Spoiled Brats are 77’ style punk with female vocals, the Buttafuoco side is kind of forgettable, their ?Postmortem? EP on ?Farmhouse Records? is much better.