Coolest Retard, No. 17, November 1981
Chicago: Self-published, 1981. Item #4276
Chicago: Self-published. 4to (8 ½ x 11 in.) Offset. Side-stapled in wraps. 37 pp. Minor chipping present on the edges of front cover, internal pages clean and unmarked. Overall near fine condition.
One of Chicago’s earliest punk and new wave fanzines, The Coolest Retard ran for 23 issues between 1979 and 1983. Issues featured stories, interviews, columns, record reviews, and live show reviews, with an emphasis on bands and artists from the Chicago area. Packing issues with features on some of the popular bands emerging from the era, The Coolest Retard provides a vivid portrayal of Chicago’s early punk. Its cut-and-paste collage style makes it definitive of the punk zine aesthetic that has lasted to this very day.
Contains interviews with James Chance, Bill Laswell, Was (Not Was), Geoff Blythe (The Bureau), and feature stories on Oil Tasters and Bush Tetras. Also contains live show reviews for Echo And The Bunnymen, Plasticland, The Birthday Party, Dead Kennedys, Mink DeVille, and The Misfits, all from September/October 1981.
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