Summer feels like it hasn’t really arrived yet here in SF, but things are hot nonetheless! After two special issues — the Photo Issue and our 30th Anniversary Issue — with good feedback from you all, we are back on “normal” track; that’s no synonym for boredom though here at MRR — far from it! We’ve been busy going to speakeasy punk swaps, seeing cool shows around the Bay and punk documentaries at the Roxie, and we still have time to bring all you fine dorks a fresh issue of MRR!

In this issue — MRR #352, September 2012 — Hafiz of Singaporean punkers VAARALLINEN talks to us about punk life and projects in Southeast Asia, Jaaka from punk band and family LUTA ARMADA discusses São Paulo punk and their rendition of raw punk, and we have the second part of the Noise-Core Roundtable Japanese punk symposium, featuring members of CONTROL, PEOPLE and STAGNATION, followed by an extensive current interview with Japanese noise-core punks STAGNATION.

Next, we catch up with Minneapolis pop punkers FROZEN TEENS, the DIPERS from NYC discuss the Yankees, among other things, and Bay Area queer punks ALABASTER CHOAD chat about their weirdo noisy perv punk. We find out what Chicago punks GRITOS DE RESISTENCIA have to say about punk and politics, and we talk to NYC’s newest old school ’80s hardcore band BRAIN SLUG, Swedish D-beat ragers KVOTERINGEN, and Seattle melodic crust punx KOHOSH.

We’ve also got a feature on the Support New York collective and a special piece on the crossover/thrash metal book Murder in the Front Row; never forgetting your usual array of favorite columnists, zine reviews and the most extensive punk record review section in the world!