I haven’t checked in with Maximum since the nineties, when both HeartattaCk and Punk Planet started in reaction to MRR’s coverage of what was (and wasn’t) punk. Columnists bickered, sniping about slights, real or imagined—it was all too much after a while. Now, twenty years later, MRR feels much more unified than I remember—rather than divisiveness and genre definition, MRR celebrates DIY culture in what feels like a gathering of tribes. The template is the same—columns, interviews, reviews—but the vibe is much more inclusive. This issue features Ian MacKaye and archivist Nichole Procopenko on archiving Dischord’s massive collection of punk effluvia. After reading this issue, I subscribed: I can’t think of a better endorsement. –Michael T. Fournier (MRR, PO Box 460760, SF, CA 94146, maximumrocknroll.com)