Coolest Retard, No. 19, March/April 1982
Chicago: Self-published, 1982. Side-stapled in wraps. Item #4277
4to (8 ½ x 11 in.) Offset. 32 pp. Binding staples have been removed, minor wear to wraps, otherwise 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 Hüsker Dü, Robyn Hitchcock (The Soft Boys), and Cary Baker (music journalist). Includes features on Orange Juice and the Damned. Also contains a retrospective on punk/new wave throughout 1981.
Sold