Some Nice Press about Cool Beans!

Cool Beans! #10 CD
EVERY FUCKING SONG IS RADIO FRIENDLY
(Cool Beans Records)

The subtitle, "every fucking song is radio friendly; is no lie. I wouldn't shit you, you're my favorite turd. A companion CD to the Cool Beans Magazine. A varied collection with a fair emphasis on odd indie pop stuff - a lot of local Bay Area cats included. A couple of tracks, head in a no wave / punk / post music vein. Check out A Minor Forest; their track is very cool, very minimal (it seems to feed on itself; slowly consuming itself, munching, burping, masticating electronic sounds), and really doesn't fit the rest of the record, but who cares? It's good and it shows diversity. All in all, a very good collective effort. Highlights for me included Deerhoof, Daniel Johnston, Polkacide, and the DoubleU, and both *queen* tracks. There are lots of others to like too. I'm pretty sure you'll find something on here that you're gonna totally dig. Hopefully, this won't just get lost like lots of other collections seem to do. - Soil

Cool Beans Magazine #8 Traveling Issue Bonus CD (Cool Beans)
Like it says above, this is a product of Cool Beans zine (see zine reviews). It gives us a good overview of some very unknown indie bands from all over the place (NY, California, Australia, Belgium, Texas, etc). There"s a lot of it that could be easily classified as Low-fi and some of it that is definetily more experimental. ThreeDay Stubble sounds like the Fall at first but goes all over the weird map. A Minor Forest should appeal to Sebadoh fans. Moxie are an indie pop daydream. Lee Ranaldo heads off into an eastern ethnicity and Jinx Unit create a strange electronic/funk/indie affair before the Rhythm Pigs" "Pizza Boy" plunks you into punk eccentricity. Cleveland Bound Death Sentence and Mag Down continue the hardcore segment and then Queen Cobra re-define Low-fi with something so ill-produced and raw, it"s barely listenable (in other words- Ilike it). Weasel-MX make some sort of geek-rap. Then Snout freak out all over the place with "Pocket Equine Friend." At the end of this thing is a spoken word piece about somebody buying Elvis" Penis at the elbalming that is just too believable. There are others on this thing too - Carlos!, Tocotronic, Vapoutrail, Corduroy and a few surprises. Get it.

While we're on the subject of zines, we've picked up a bunch of new ones recently, far too many to write about here. (We will have some new reccommendations each week, however.) Our current fave is Cool Beans #8, courtesy of Matt Kelly and his outstanding staff.

Once again, it's a publication that inspires the following question: how come I'm dropping $13 on a major label cd when some guy can sell a zine WITH full-length bonus cd for a grand total of $5.95? Makes one wonder.

Anyway, we grabbed #8 because it's The Traveling Issue, one of our favorite topics. Featured in its jam-packed 66 pages are: a phenomenal tour diary of the band Fuck; Mr. Nabisco's brilliant appreciation of "Disposable Cars"; a comparison of NY Pizza and San Fran Burritos; biking, skydiving, Critical Mass, and much more! And the cd ain't bad either, totally running the musical gamut. Well worth $6 to Matt Kelly, 3181 Mission #113, San Fran, CA 94110.

The Hungover Gourmet

Cool Beans #8
As I've gotten bored with today's punk music, I find myself getting pretty bored with punk zines, too.  The same old interviews, the same cd reviews, the same attitutude.  Which is why I like punk zines that branch out and cover more than the same ol' same ol'.  Case in point: Cool Beans #8 The Travelling Issue. Sure it's got a punk slant, but the issue is jam-packed with excellent articles that go far beyond the norm, especially the fuck Tour Diary and Mr. Nabisco's 'Disposable Cars' piece, plus lots of personal recollections of excursions, bike trips, munching, skydiving and more.   And I didn't even mention the 23-track cd that comes with the ish as a bonus.   Issue #9 is also now available and is equally great with an even better cd. $6 each to 3181 Mission #113, San Francisco, CA 94110. Make checks payable to Matt Kelly. Web www.coolbeans.com

Flipside

Uncool Beans #9 $6ppdUS, HL-64-FT
Renamed "Uncool Beans" for this issue, it comes with a 28 track bonus CD. Inside you'll find: the worst of San Francisco, no to Beanie Babies, Kurt and Courtney doc. reviewed, and more. Quite a bit to read and the CD sampler's worth it. A good deal. [ga@coolbeans.com]]

STY Zine 27-1/2

Cool Beans! #8 $5.95 [8.5 x 7 68 pgs w/cd] Cool Beans. You've heard so much about it, but have yet to check it out for yourself. Let this be your introduction.  This is the Travel-themed issue, with lots of articles , stories and even some interviews loosely grouped around the idea of travelling. Photos from Cynthia Connolly, SF Burritos vs NY Pizza, a bike tour from Vancouver to SF, skydiving, fuck tour diary, interviews with: A MINOR FOREST, EX-CHITTLE, MODEST MOUSE...and the cd comp! Cool Beans has regularly come with a comp, this time Matt brings us into the 90's with a great, great comp in compact disc form.  It's such a good comp with maybe one or two exceptions.  I wouldn't buy records from any of these bands, but I love listening to them, so many different kinds of music, all together on this cd.  It's been in my cd player the past three nights while I made dinner.  I'm not gonna tell you who's on it though because I'm outta room as it is.  Just get the fucking thing! [Icki Sty]

SF Weekly
Best of San Francisco '97
Best Local Music Zine

Cool Beans editor and taxi driver Matt Kelly kicks off issue No. 6, "The Drinking and Driving Issue" (each edition centers around a theme), with the following combination tribute/warning: "Something about whipping down the highway at 90 miles per hour with a slight buzz is just romantic. Don't drive drunk. It's really stupid. But you do have to admit, it's kind of fun." Regardless of whether you'll be taking a ride in Kelly's cab any time soon, there's plenty of reason to pick up his zine -- the current issue features rambling interviews with local bands Henry's Dress, Snowmen, Fuck, an ill-fated chat with test S.F. Seal Barbara Manning, and reviews of records and live shows. Interspersed are some hair raising stories from San Francisco cabbies, and the whole affair comes with a 7 inch compilation featuring the bands reviewed within.

45 RPM of KALX FM

Cool Beans! #7 zine/flexi
Matt comes up with 54 more pages of pure reading pleasure. Highlights in this "San Francisco & Bikes issue" include interviews with Queen Cobra, and Kevin Shields (My Bloody Valentine) as well as some history on the Black Panther Party, SF-related articles (including a relevant "Best of SF; fun facts, cabbie shortcuts, and the Cool Beans! Bike Tour), an interview with Ain't Nothing Like Moonshine editor Bwana Spoons, and more fun stories regarding Matt's life as a cabbie (inc. some memorable experiences with ladies of the night and the men who love them). The zine also comes with a flexi including Queen Cobra, Little Princess, Shotwell, Hot Sandwich Lads, and posthumous unreleased Primitives and My Bloody Valentine covers from Henry's Dress. Well worth picking up!

SF Weekly

Cool Beans! #7
Two Drops of Beano There comes a time in a zine’s life when its editor realizes no one cares what he or she thinks about every record released over the course of three months by every two-bit independent label this side of Matador. Really. Cool Beans Editor Matt Kelly learned the lesson somewhere between his last issue and the new one, No. 7. “Honestly, I got kind of tired of feeling like I was working for all of these record labels creating press for them,” Kelly writes in the introduction to the double-themed “San Francisco and Bikes” issue, now at better newsstands. Instead of the record-review piffle that’s standard in approximately 852,667 other micropublications, the editor concentrates on the stuff that distinguishes his zine from the rest. Kelly drives a cab for a living and the best stories in Cool Beans come from the back of a taxi. In “Sex for Sale in San Francisco” he extracts from other drivers lurid stories about ferrying prostitutes between gigs, the scariest of which contains these lines about a trio of whores arguing about money and fumbling in the rear: “The debtor, Taneesha, needed some time to produce the money, as she had packed $1,000 in her butt. The other two tried to help her out by getting her onto all fours in the back seat and digging around in her, looking for cash.” Yuck. Elsewhere in the 56-page zine are cab-driver short cuts, a San Francisco bike tour, and, yes, band interviews -- Kelly hasn’t dissed music altogether. Songstress Chan Marshall reveals that the name of her band Cat Power has nothing to do with kittens (the name is stolen from advertising for heavy machinery); S.F.’s cutie-pie death metal trio Little Princess mythologize their extraterrestrial roots; and My Bloody Valentine’s Kevin Shields explains in two words what’s delaying the follow-up to his lauded 1991 Loveless album: “mental illness.” There’s actually even more music on an accompanying plastic flexi disc (called “Soundsheets” these days), including two cool covers by the lamentably extinct Henry’s Dress, and songs by other Bay Area bands like Shotwell, Queen Cobra, and Hot Sandwich Lads. Sure, that’s a lot of music, but hey, the record reviews are banished to the recycling pile. Cool Beans is available for $4 from 3181 Mission #113, S.F., CA 94110. (J.S.)

Outpunk #5

Cool Beans #7
Local SF zine that reads like a combination of Mudflap and Rollerderby. Heavy focus on bikes, cab driving, punk / indie music, and general happenings around town. "Best zine" in SF?  Of course not - that would be Outpunk. But overall, it's pretty dense. Comes with a free flexi.

Flipside #107

Cool Beans! #6
San Francisco's best infrequent TV Guide-sized fanzine is back! It's the Drinking and Driving issue and includes Henry's Dress, Mary Lou Lord, plus stories on AND a 7" records with previously unreleased tunes by FUCK, Snowmen, Harry Pussy (live), and the Kelley Deal 6000 (also live)! Plus Matt's stories about driving a cab in San Fran! And you get to hear one of his customers!! (Very scary!) Plus many reviews. Such a deal. -GXI

SF WEEKLY 

Cool Beans! #6
(Drinking and Driving in America)
SF Weekly review: "Cabbie vs. Crabby The Examiner's night cabbie wishes he saw so much seamy underbelly. Matt Kelly is a taxi driver on the mad streets of San Francisco and parlays his tips and stories into the fine Cool Beans. In traditional zine fashion, each issue features a different theme. This sixth time out it's "Drinking and Driving in America," which includes some really awful things you'd rather not know about cab drivers. From the beatific "So You Want to Be a Cab Driver" by Ken Wanio: "The best drivers can shoot a goofball in their neck going 60 in heavy traffic and the passengers won't even notice." Ahem. To soothe your nerves, the 60-page issue includes a 7-inch with tracks from Fuck, Snowmen, Harry Pussy and Kelley Deal 6000, all interviewed at length in print. No songs by standout interviewee Barbara Manning of the S.F. Seals, however -- who it seems has come down with a nasty case of bloated ego not seen since Linda Perry took that big bold step away
from 4 Non-Blondes. "I'm really hard on people who don't know anything about me," says Manning. "Because if they're interviewing me, they're only doing it because I have a name and they'll sell magazines." Damn. If only SF Weekly had a cover price. (Jeff Stark)"

REVIEW OF NOISE

Various - Uncool Beans! #9 Bonus CD (Cool Beans zine) On this compilation from Cool Beans zine you can hear plenty of recorded phone messages from Kurt Cobain and a Courteny one too. Christ they must have been one crazy couple judging by these recordings. But any that's only the interludes between tracks, the rest of this disc touches all sorts of genres of underground music, from hardcore to rap to indie rock. On this one you'll find Eric Gaffney, Mudhoney, Pee, Weasel, Cheap Dates, Resineaters, Food, Sack Dab, Nguyens, Shambles, 50 Million and others. Find Cool Beans at - 3181 Mission #113 San Francisco, CA 94110.

Jersey Beat

Cool Beans! #8 & #9
I have been reading this zine for a few issues now.  I've always been impressed with the way Cool Beans' articles can work with a loose, sorta general framework fore ach issue; yet, at the same time still provide a reader with a good assortment of stuff.   These issues are no exceptions.  Issue #8 is the traveling issue. Editor Matt tlaks about his bike tour down the west coast, Aaron Cometbus is 'Born to Drive', Lee Ranaldo hangs out in Morocco, fuck goes on tour, Cynthia Connoly photodocuments Balis.....damn, man, there's so much here, and there's so much variety! Right on! Issue #9 labeled 'Uncool Beans' on the cover, deals with things that suck. Beanie babies, Matt and the weird cab fares he's had, the evils and dangers of trainhopping, Pee's tour diary (less-than-capacity crownds, you know)....yeah.  Nice layout and graphics in each of these, too.  Very highly recommended in both cases. (The high coer price is because each of these zines comes with a sampler CD, which, unfortunately, I can't review due to technical problems....the one for #8 has A Minor Forest and Rhythm Pigs, and #9 has Mudhoney, Pee, and Eric Gaffney.) - MF

WNYU CHART FOR AUGUST 16, 1999
Compiled by Music Director Brendan Relyea

1. V/A - Cool Beans Compilation #10 (Cool Beans)
2. V/A - Punk & New Wave 1976-79 (Universal)
3. Hrvatski - Oiseaux 96-98 (Reckankreuzungsklankekwerkzeuge)
4. Sonovac - EP EP (Output)
5. Autechre - EP7 (Nothing)

Qvimy's Queer Store

Uncool Beans No. 9 $5.95
Here's a zine dealing mainly with bikes and music and that's not a bad thing. Design-wise, everything is tight and eminently readable. It's a little too big to fit into your back pocket at the latest indie show, but that's okay, because you want to be seen reading this sucker. The content is consistently entertaining and occasionally revealing (as in the case of an interview with an ex-riot grrl turned peep-show worker). A short essay on the various thefts and crashes of one author's bycycle had me chuckling while the P.E.E. + Trackstar tour diary had me in stiches. Amongst strong material like this, the occasional misstep (a piece on Nick Broomfield's "Kurt and Courtney" could have been and probably was, written "Mad Libs" style) is to be thoroughly forgiven. --Tankboy

Zine World

UnCool Beans #9 More than just a music-oriented zine. In addition to the cool 28-track CD featuring Mudhoney, PEE, Resineators and others, this is the negativity issue, and Matt states his dislikes in the editorial accordingly. Also covered are biking dilemmas, a PEE tour diary, and a review of www.deadtrainbums.com featuring train decapitations. My favorite story was of a riot grrrl who works in the porn industry ­ I never knew it cost so much ($85!) to watch a peep show girl stick a large butt-toy in herself. Matt Kelly, 3181 Mission St. #113, San Francisco CA 94110 [$6 64S :30 ] —Tom B.

MAXIMUMROCKNROLL

Uncool Beans #9
This is really cool. Interview with Mudhoney, bike-related stories, PEE tour diary, and an interview with a riot grrl stripper (that should arouse your prurient interest) make up this issue. Beanie Babies, bootlegging, cab driving and metal round it out. Good looking, fun to read, and comes with a CD. (MJ

Also in the Maximumrocknroll Top 10 Zines for April 1999.

Scanner #3

Uncool Beans! #9
This comes with a free CD that's reviewed in our Top Sounds section but that really is a minor point because this is pure quality.  There's little in the way of bands, just a MUDHONEY interview & a PEE tour diary, some live reviews & pieces on Kurt & Courtney, bootlegging and zine reviews.  Where this really wins out is in it's articles.  Great pieces on Freight Train Hopping (along with schocking photos that HAVE to be seen), Bike Crashes, Ice Hockey Fights & all sorts of other pieces of fun & general coolness.  Presentation is top notch too.  Incidentally, this is normally called Cool Beans bu tthis issue's feature theme is all the nasty, negative stuff (like you couldn't guess), hence the title.

Tricycle Speed

Cool Beans #8 - Travelling Issue.  It's been inspiring that the 2 zines I've been reading lately both have lots of travel stuff.  CB#8 Contains a cycling search for good espresso from Vancouver to San Fran.  Some stuff on Critical Mass. A section of travelogue with Lee Ranaldo chilling with locals in Morocco. Road stretch dialogue from Aaron Cometbus. Various astounding and freaky cab stories. Java photo journalism, cute comics and a C.D. 1st new stuff I've liked in ages.   Lee Ranaldo humbling himself in honor of the Master Musicians of Jajouka. lots of San Fran. stuff freaky kind of Desert Cabaret Rock. Punk Rock. And some nifty Euro Pop. Some interviews with Issack of Modest Mouse, A Minor Forest, Fuck tour diary bootlegging how to's, skydiving, phew! It's huge and all good!  Cool Beans! 3181 Mission #113, SF CA 94110 www.coolbeans.com

Filler Zine

COOL BEANS #8. A very cool music fanzine, this issue is mostly about traveling. Lots of good stuff, including editor Matt’s skydiving and cycle-touring journals. The material that really grabbed me were the interviews with Modest Mouse and A Minor Forest, on-the-road journals by Fuck’s tour manager (very funny) and Lee Ranaldo on his hash smoking musical experiences in Morocco, plus a nice primer on the history of bootlegging. Pricey but definitely worth it: the articles are all good, and it comes with an excellent compact disc that includes tracks by A Minor Forest, Ranaldo with the Master Musicians of Jajouka, Rhythm Pigs and many more. US$7 to 3181 Mission #113, San Francisco, CA 94110.

MAXIMUMROCKNROLL

Cool Beans #8 / $5.95 7 x 8.5 - offset 66 pgs
Comes with a CD with Lee Ranaldo, A Minor Forest, and loads more, but it won't get reviewed here cause it ain't punk enough Lots of good reading here, interviews with Modest Mouse and A Minor Forest, some writing by Lee Ranaldo, a cool bike tour diary, and bits about cab driving and sky diving.  Could have done without the tour diary (Fuck) just because I'm so tired of them, but the rest of this was very entertaining.  A bit silly though to say this comes with a "free" CD, when the zine costs $6. (GF) 3181 Mission #113 SF CA 94110

Factsheet Five

Cool Beans #7
I could be accused of giving this issue preferential treatment for its focus on San Francisco, but in fact I'd appreciate it almost as much if it were based anywhere else. Brently Pusser shares some unbelievable stories of cab fares either looking for sex for sale, or who are sex for sale. The most bizarre story involved three women, one of whom supposedly had a cache of $1000 stuffed up her butt. When gentle probing produced nothing, she asked Brently permission to expel the money by force. "Sir, is it OK if I go boo boo in your back seat?" I just loved the Cool Beans Bike Tour, and there is also an interview with Bwana Spoons (*Ain't Nothin' Like Fuckin' Moonshine*), a look back at the Black Panthers, more nutty cab stories, and interviews with Cat Power, Queen Cobra, and Kevin Shields of My Bloody Valentine. The enclosed 8-song 7" features songs from the bands in this issue. An absolutely perfect package.

Alternative Press

Cool Beans The "Drinking and Driving in America" issue features hate-vibe merchants Harry Pussy interviewing themselves; a wonderful Shaun Cassidy pin-up; straightforward interviews with Kelley Deal Mary Lou Lord; and entertaining taxi-driver stories. Editor Matt Kelly drove a cab to subsidize this `zine, which also includes a 7" starring Fuck, Snowmen, and a crazy woman in Matt's cab. ($5, 3181 Mission #113, San Francisco, CA 94110)

Ptolemaic Terrascope #23

Cool Beans! #6 comes with a free 7" featuring tracks from Harry Pussy, Kelley Deal, and Snowmen amongst others, which as ever is an indication of the direction they're coming from; feature interviews include a chat with Nick's friend Mary Lou Lord and a non-interview with Barbara Manning (who refused to talk on the basis that the interviewer hadn't done sufficient research into her career), and there's also eight pages of universally excellent record reviews, well written and thoroughly insightful. They also welcome demo tapes.

MAXIMUMROCKNROLL #173

Cool Beans! #7
San Francisco and bikes issue. Excellent as to be expected from Matt Kelly. Short (i.e. perfect length) interviews with bands such as Cat Power and the editor of Ain't Nothing Like Fuckin' Moonshine. Matt always manages to think up interesting questions that actually get interesting answers. The prize for me this issue are the stories contributed by SF cabbies. Other good stuff includes a Black Panther history (how come nearly every zine I've read lately features the BPP??) and a bike tour of the city. The only black mark is reprinting an interview from the Internet, even if it is with Kevin Shields. Tsk tsk! Recommended. (TX)

Geisterfahrer Webzine

The CD that came with #5 of Cool Beans fanzine
I first bought Cool Beans because of a very nice cover . That was #3. You got a Lou Barlow/dis record with that issue but I haven't played it. At first I thought it was some kind of tribute thing to Barlow's band Sebadoh but I read it through and there were some interesting articles. An interview with Richard Ramirez, the serial killer. A smart guy that Ramirez it seemed. Hope he doesn't walk the earth no more. Anyway with issue 5 you get a CD with a mish-mash of things. There's a live track by the Butthole Surfers and there's some Dicks. I really liked the Surfers once but I don't think their songs will be remembered. They'll be remembered for Gibby Haines. Perhaps, maybe, 'The shah sleeps in Lee Harvey's grave' will be remembered but not in the way people remember songs like 'In the ghetto' by Elvis. Bandersnatch have a good song here as well as July fourth toilet. The singer of that band croons like the singer of Slovenly once did. My friend Mattias will really love this one. He's going to Florida in the summer but I can't go because all the the cheap plane tickets were sold out because of the damn olympics.Oh, the Dicks. I see now why they must have been influential to Texas bands. They seem to be pretty hard people them Texans. Guns and cars and tattoos and cowboy boots. In Texas a dropping of cow manure is called a Meadow Muffin. In Sweden we call it' Sliding Mine Number one' (Glidmina 1) or something like that. The J Church and the Rula Lenska song here are short'n'tasty. This is a good record and considering you get that wonderful fanzine with nice stories in it you shouldn't hesitate.