OUT
NOW!
The expanded, re-mastered edition of I Don’t Wanna Be Too Cool is out now! In the early ‘80s, Kate Fagan took the Chicago punk rock scene by storm with her self-released single, and in 2016 we reissed the coveted 7”, which quickly sold out. The expanded edition features four additional unreleased, ahead-of-their-time tracks, originally composed for Kate Fagan's rock opera The Kissing Concept, a semi-autobiographical love story inspired by the ‘70s/’80s nightclub scene that Fagan had explored during her time in New York.
Over the years, Fagan has remained a stalwart in her local music scene, and she continues to perform and organize shows in her new home of New Orleans. She’s even helped shape new generations of musicians through the several chapters of Girls Camp of Rock. While the 2016 reissue re-established Fagan’s cult-classic status for a new audience, this new expanded release solidifies her place in a tradition of trailblazing, powerhouse frontwomen.
LOW INVENTORY ALERT FOR WHITE VINYL!
Kate Fagan took the Chicago punk rock scene by storm in the early 80’s with her self-released single “I Don’t Wanna Be Too Cool, ” which became the best-selling single ever by a local artist at the legendary Wax Trax! Records. Today, Captured Tracks is thrilled to present an expanded, re-mastered edition of I Don’t Wanna Be Too Cool as a full-length vinyl album, featuring four unreleased, ahead-of-their-time tracks.
Before she was opening shows for The Clash and The English Beat as the founder/ frontwoman of long-running Chicago ska trailblazers Heavy Manners, Kate Fagan released the cult new wave single I Don’t Wanna Be Too Cool on the tiny local imprint Disturbing Records.
Upon its early-1980 release the pogo-ready “Too Cool” single was immediately embraced by local club DJs and radio stations and tastemaking record stores like Chicago’s legendary Wax Trax, where it became the best-selling release by a local artist ever. The flipside, “Waiting for the Crisis,” also gained notice for its raw musical style and politically charged Reagan-era lyrics, which still resonate today.