There was a time when punk, hardcore, and a form of hardcore punk all kind of comingled. Now it seems that something has happened, because when the smoke cleared hardcore and punk were nowhere remotely near each other. There were some strong adherents to one camp or the other back then, but you’d often see Sick Of It All playing a show with Avail, and everybody went to see Fugazi. There are some things I definitely don’t miss about that: windmills in the pit, crews of meatheads kicking the shit out of people, basketball jerseys, Suicide Girls—but in general I do miss the time when punk and hardcore were lumped together. Luckily, Not Like Youis written by an old schooler like me. The band Since We Were Kids! has an interview in this issue, and they talk a bit about what happened to their brand of hardcore: “I remember buying merch and CDs from the band, because that kept bands on the road. Nowadays, everyone knows about hardcore. Bands are ‘hyped’ and ‘marketed’ to the point that they are basically shoved down your throat... It’s definitely not for ‘outcasts’ anymore.” If that innocent time never returns, at least we’ve got Not Like You as our agent, something run by a hardcore enthusiast who is keeping it old school and filling us in on what matters. In this issue there are also interviews with Burn, Ian MacKaye, and Backtrack. Most of the questions seem to scratch the surface and when coupled with this guy’s disarming manner they make for good interviews. There are also record reviews. Overall, a good read. Get this for that old school flava. –Craven Rock (Not Like You, 102 Richmond Ave SE, Albuquerque, NM 87106, [email protected])