Maximum RocknRoll

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Maximum Rocknroll Issue #1

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Maximum Rocknroll (also known as MRR) is a a widely distributed, monthly underground punk rock and punk culture fanzine based in San Francisco, USA. Featuring interviews, columns and reviews from international contributors, Maximum RocknRoll could be thought of as one of the most important presences in punk.

Related Topics:
Underground - Punk rock - Punk culture - Fanzine - San Francisco - USA

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Maximum Rocknroll was an off-shoot of a Berkeley punk radio show in the early 1980s but it is in its zine form that Maximumrocknroll exerted its greatest influence and became as close to an institution as punk culture allows. It was founded by Tim Yohannon in 1982 as the newsprint booklet in Not So Quiet On the Western Front, a compilation LP released on the then-Dead Kennedys' label Alternative Tentacles. The compilation included 47 Nevada and Northern California bands.

Related Topics:
Berkeley - 1980s - Zine - Punk culture - Tim Yohannon - Not So Quiet On the Western Front - LP - Dead Kennedys - Alternative Tentacles - Nevada - California

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Originally content was limited to more local bands, such as the Dead Kennedys or MDC. Today the zine has surpassed its 250th issue, and includes much more international content. As one of punk's largest zines, its reviews sections - MRR reviews records, demos and other fanzines - is one of the most comprehensive. It also reviews books, films, and videos.

Related Topics:
Dead Kennedys - MDC - Zine

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MRR has a large and dedicated all-volunteer staff. MRR reinforces the values of the punk underground by remaining independent and not-for-profit in contrast to the small number of the major media conglomerates which control most music produced today. Every month, MRR publishes many submission-based band interviews. In addition, scene reports from across the globe keep the worldwide punk scene connected.

Related Topics:
Independent - Media conglomerate

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The fact that MRR has become so large has not been without controversy; the zine has many critics on a number of issues. Editorial policy has sometimes been accused as narrow-minded or even elitist, causing some labels to boycott advertising in the zine or sending releases for review. The fact that punk is often considered as a movement opposed to authority and large institutions (see Punk ideology) has also been an argument used to criticise the zine, which has sometimes been referred to as the 'Bible' of punk.

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