The world’s most famous fanzine began in 1977 as something completely different: radio show “Tim and the gang,” which covered the worldwide punk scene with a special focus on the SF Bay Area. Personalities included Jeff Bale, Ruth Schwartz, and Jello Biafra (who would, years later, accuse the zine of inspiring the people who beat the $h!+ out of him outside Berkeley’s famed 924 Gilman).
The zine itself launched 5 years later, as the booklet for 1982, as the newsprint booklet in Not So Quiet on the Western Front, a compilation double-LP released by Alternative Tentacles (Biafra’s own record label).
Today, it’s powered by fan-submitted reviews of bands from across the globe, including “scene reports” that attempt to capture the flavor of the local punk movement everywhere from “Dubai to Denver.”
In MRR’s own words, it continues to not only survive but thrive by “remaining stable on the one hand and flipping the bird with the other.”