The Coldest Zine

10/25/2025

Issue 3 now available at in Chicago!

10/10/2025

A few months ago, we got an angry reader’s letter. The author – arguably not the sharpest tool in the box – was offended that we’d casually used the term bonehead in an article. He also complained about our “boring ad nauseam tale of Jamaicans”, which he pointed out had “nothing to do with Oi!”.

I was gobsmacked. I couldn’t recall us ever writing anything about “Jamaicans” or rude boys in the ten years since we started the blog. Then it struck me – that had been a glaring omission!

When I recently came across this photo, showing a group of black lads hanging out in Brixton in the late sixties, it occurred to me that I couldn’t easily classify them. Were they rude boys? Skins? Neither?

So I asked someone who might know: original South-East London skinhead Paul Thompson. Additionally, I got in touch with another mate, Steve from Coventry, who’d gone through both rude boy and skinhead phases in the ‘70s and ‘80s, to ask about the so-called rude boys of the 2 Tone era.

The result is this exploratory little article:

https://creaseslikeknives.wordpress.com/2025/10/08/squinting-at-the-rude-boys-a-subculture-rarely-in-focus/

08/20/2025

Record Exchange in St. Louis, MO (May 2025)

Originally the Buder Branch of the St. Louis Public Library built in 1961, since 1999, this has been the home of the Record Exchange. Place is just jam packed with used LPs, CDs, 45s, DVDs, used stereos, comics and books. Everytime I'm in STL, I stop here. They have a decent soul section, a sometimes surprising blues collection and lots and lots of jazz.

Photo shot with Kodak Euro35 Legend on Ilford HP5 Plus Black and White film

08/07/2025

RIP. Eddie Palmieri has been one of my favorites since I first delved into salsa music in my early 20s. I was lucky to see him live in Chicago some years ago and was surprised to see how fast he could play at his age.

If you're interested, Wax Poetics #49 has a really great article on him that focuses on Harlem River Drive, his attempt to merge black soul and Puerto Rican (Afro-Cuban) salsa in one record. I've always been interested in how different music styles of the 60s and 70s, that were associated with different races and ethnic groups met with each other, so that is a favorite record of mine.

His 1972 live album playing at Sing Sing was mind blowing to me when I first heard it. "Jibaro / My Pretty N*gger", a poem by Felipe Luciano which is recited live on this record, is so meaningful to me it's hard to put into words. Relating the black and Puerto Rican experience and struggle in such a visceral and emotional manner really impacted me when I first heard it.

Eddie's brother Charlie, another giant in the world of salsa music, passed away some years ago but Eddie always talked about him in interviews and at shows. I'm not a believer in religion, but if there is something after this life, I hope Eddie and Charlie are somewhere making music again.

He roped salsa into conversation with jazz, rock, funk and even modern classical music. “A new world music,” one critic said, “is being born.”

07/26/2025

Lesson learned: it is extremely difficult to get good photos from an Instax Mini 11 when it is dark and the subject is moving! These were the only two I took where you can tell there are actual human beings there..

Anyway, these are the best shots I did. They are of Splatter Pattern from Milwaukee, who you should all check out because I think they're a good band

07/22/2025

Kind of a skinhead weekender coming up in Chicago. Shows on Thursday, Friday and Saturday

07/04/2025

Congress Theater, Logan Square neighborhood, Chicago, IL (January 2024)

This place has been closed for a while. The one time I've been here was for Riot Fest 2008. I was in the city for a conference of the Campus Antiwar Network (CAN). At the time, I was living in Iowa City, IA, living in a cooperative house, working in a Proctor & Gamble contractor warehouse and was involved with the local (mostly) student antiwar group.

Me and this girl that came to the conference decided to bounce to go to Riot Fest. I can't remember everyone who played, but definitely Leftover Crack, Mighty Mighty Bosstones, Jay Reatard and DOA were there. Even then, Congress probably could have been condemned. Some of the floors seemed like they were headed in the direction of collapse and I thought at the time it was a fire trap.

I ended up getting drunk as s**t off Hennessy shots. As the day went on I sobered up, then got a hangover. We were all supposed to go back to Iowa City that day but everyone with a licence was too scared to drive at night. So me, with no driver's licence, and a thumping headache, downed a Red Bull and drove back from Chicago...hoping we didn't get pulled over...

Shot with Kodak i60 camera on Kidal Tri-X film

07/04/2025

07/02/2025

Beton Arme, Bottom Lounge, Chicago, IL (September 2024)

📸 by Gerri Fernandez

06/16/2025

Iggy Goleczynski, co-founder of the Two Tone store in Passaic, NJ passed away last month. I believe he was in his late 70s.

If you're following this page, you likely already read the short history of the store I wrote for Issue 2, but link is in the comments if you haven't. A friend of the zine visited Iggy last year with a printout of the article, so I'm grateful he was aware of it.

He couldn't have been aware of how popular the article was and is. It is easily the most popular thing I've written or posted for the zine. It is constantly being reposted in various Facebook groups and has the highest visitor stats on the zines site. A lot of people have fond memories of Iggy and the Two Tone store.

There is an 'Iggy Memorial' show scheduled for August 1st at Dingbatz in Clifton, NJ.

06/14/2025

Me and the fam went down to the "No Kings" protest. Was one of the bigger ones I've been to in Chicago. Not sure if these things make much of a difference, but them anti-working class, anti-migrant parasites need to know not everyone is going along with their bulls**t.

06/13/2025

The homies Fuerza Bruta have a new 4-track EP coming out on 7/25/25! Pre-orders for the 10" are available through Warthog Speak Records , who describes the new release as "The Brute Force rises again, hard as ever, with a new 4-track, 10-inch, 45rpm EP of tried and true, oi!-rooted-in-classic-Spanish-language-punk barrage we've come to expect from this lot. No surprises, all gusto. Especially that closer."

The EP release party will be at Cobra Lounge in Chicago on 7/25 featuring Brick Assassin, The Slads, Criminal Kids and Splatter Pattern.