For years the main magazine hailed as covering rock ‘n’ roll was always considered Rolling Stone Magazine. I grew up reading that constantly. But at the same time I was reading another magazine that focused on rock ‘n’ roll. And that magazine was more in touch with the average fan. Rolling Stone seemed to have changed from the counter culture magazine of the past to the slickly produced company magazine. It felt too pretentious in its reviews and if you go back and look through old issues you’ll find tons of incidents where they praised groups that disappeared without a trace and condemned groups that rose to superstardom. Keep in mind that was the magazine that said Led Zeppelin was terrible.
The other magazine that was worth picking up though was Creem. Sure they could be irreverent, they could be snide in comments and they could be wrong on occasion too. But they covered the music scene from a different perspective. You felt they actually listened to the music, that they went to the concerts and that they knew what they were talking about. Who knew what was going on behind the scenes with this small magazine fans loved?
Now we get the chance to find out with the movie CREEM:
AMERICA’S ONLY ROCK ‘N’ ROLL MAGAZINE. The title rings true. While RS seemed to
go out of their way to produce a slick corporate style magazine Creem was the
little engine that could. They lived the rock ‘n’ roll lifestyle and talked
about it.
The magazine began in Detroit, considered the home of American rock ‘n’ roll for many. This was where Ted Nugent, Alice Cooper, Grand Funk Railroad, Iggy and the Stooges, Bob Seger and MC5 cut their teeth. This was hard core rock ‘n’ roll at the time and being discovered by music fans across the country and around the world. This was not the pre-packaged east/west coast produced bands. This was in your face loud guitar music and Creem covered it. As MC5 lead singer Wayne Kramer says in the film "Creem Magazine was our Facebook, it was our social media."
The movie covers all bases here moving from the early days of the magazine, who founded it, how it came to be and the people that worked on the magazine over the years. Two main writers for Creem would go on to influence other writers for years to come. Dave Marsh would become a major contributor to the history of rock music. And Lester Bangs would become the mold that all other aspiring rock writers wanted to become.
Creem didn’t want to cover pop culture or music the way that RS did. RS was talking about the likes of Linda Ronstadt and James Taylor while Creem was talking about punk rock. That’s not to say those artists were bad but they weren’t rock ‘n’ roll. That’s what Creem was all about. That and nothing else. And this film show why and the behind the scenes stories that helped make them the magazine they were.
As a teen in the seventies I remember Creem well. I can recall a copy that featured Marc Bolan and T.Rex on the cover. I found their reviews more along the lines what I and my friends enjoyed rather than being told what we should like from RS. The magazine went to the way of the dinosaur and the movie explains how that happened as well. In a world inundated with the corporate culture product now coming out, both musically and journalistically, Creem was a breath of fresh air. While we may never see its like again, at least we can enjoy this film that heralds the magazine that was.
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