Creem: America's Only Rock 'n' Roll Magazine

Creem magazine was a goofy-hip, inside-jokesters publication aimed at teenage boys that was founded above a record store/head shop in 1969 Detroit by Barry Kramer (he named/misspelled the magazine Creem after the band Cream, just as Rolling Stone named their rival publication after The Rolling Stones). With R. Crumb artwork and the Boy Howdy logo (often used as a faux beer can), Creem was the anti-rock journal, an F-you to Rolling Stone. This 76mn documentary, peopled with mostly reprehensible personalities (such as senior editor Lester Bangs, who appeared to be both anti-Semitic and homophobic), gets surprisingly serious near the end as the principals leave us. Their legacy is of an important piece of rock 'n' roll history which faded into the sunset 20 years after it appeared. The film is slick, flashy, funny and empty--like Creem itself. Great for fans, and the covers and celebrity testimonials are fun. **1/2 from ****

Creem was always like Rolling Stone magazine's snotty bratty little brother. Scott Crawford's documentary is a bit like that as well - quick and cheep. Only 75 minutes long it gets the story told (HBO's Rolling Stone: Stories From The Edge doc was 360 minutes long by comparison). Rolling Stone strained to be legit, Creem was sex, drugs and louder, faster rock.

Creem lasted for 20 years on the newsstands, but the Doc basically concentrates on the first third of that history. Many of the surviving members of the staff are on hand to be interviewed and tell stories. There is a bit of actual footage from the period (much of it captured on grainy videotape), but the talking heads, magazine scans and vintage photos carry the load here.

What really emerges is a portrait of three men: Publisher and founder Barry Kramer, editor Dave Marsh and bad boy critic Lester Bangs. In true rock 'n roll fashion, Kramer and Bangs both crashed and burned before they hit 40 (Bangs was only 33). The other heartbeat of Creem was that it was from Detroit, and not L. A. or NYC. Iggy Pop and the Stooges, the MC5 and Motown gave it a 'middle of the country' soul. The original Creem office was in a nasty part of the inner city, which makes the two years at a virtual commune far outside the metropolis seem even more of an oddity.

Crawford's Doc can't escape the feel of a Boy Howdy! Production with half the Creem employees and Kramer's family producing it*. Still, the friends and family don't skimp on the dirty laundry. Even in their 60s and 70s, the staff still has the attitude - much like the magazine they helped bring about.

* Boy Howdy! Was the defacto logo for the magazine much like Alfred E. Neuman for Mad - they even touted a faux beer with the label!

"CREEM" was Rock n' Roll in print. With its provocative images and irreverent text it was a rag founded by misfits who represented the music every belch of the way. "CREEM: America's Only Rock n' Roll Magazine" punches through like a good Punk track - short, fast and to the point. Starting off (where else?) in Motor City Detroit the mag immediately had a reputation for supporting well-known and obscure acts while at the same trashing them down in true Rawk style. Priceless footage of the mag's staff during their heyday and cool images bring an era back to life as the story unfolds. The camaraderie, fights, the sex, drugs and Rock n' Roll lifestyle and its heros and casualties are all here with interviews of the magazine's staff, writers, musicians and other notables revving up the mag's importance and legacy. The only flaw is the lack of comprehensiveness with this otherwise fun rockumentary, the empty feeling that something's missing and that the film could have been more fleshed out to give a fullness and justice to this interesting and unique tale. One of the better documentaries of recent times "CREEM: America's Only Rock n' Roll Magazine" is a celebration of the golden age of Rock and a rocking tribute to a historical and cultural artifact that entertained, tittilated and inspired a generation.

"CREEM: America's Only Rock 'n' Roll Magazine" (2019 release; 75 min.) is a documentary about the (in)famous music magazine, founded and published by Barry Kramer in 1969. As the movie opens, we see grainy B&W footage of the CREEM gang in downtown Detroit, as they introduce themselves. We then step back and get a Detroit Rock Scene 101 primer, as we are reminded how many great rock artists emerged from Detroit (too many to name here). Kramer owned a record store/hang-out room on Cass Avenue that then started publishing CREEM with hardly anyone having any writing or rock credentials. Led by Editor-in-Chief Dave Marsch, they were a trailblazer in bringing the rock stars to the reading public. Comments REM's Micheal Stipe: "My life changed when I saw Patti Smith's picture in CREEM." At this point we are 10 min. into the film.

Couple of comments: this is the second documentary directed by Scott Crawford. More importantly, it is produced by JJ Kramer, the son of original founder Barry Kramer, and by Jaan Uhelszki, one of CREEM's original journalists (she also wrote the film's script). There is much to tell, and the movie moves at a frantic pace as we learn how CREEM functions in the early days (the magazine was named after the band Cream, whom Kramer adored). Dave Marsch and Kramer argued often. Then in the early 70s Lester Bangs joins CREEM and now even more internal tension ensues, while the magazine continues to grow. The film covers mostly the 1969-1981 era, and along with it, we get a ton of fun archive footage from the 70s. With so much materials to cover, it's a bit of a shame that the movie runs only 75 min. but it's a minor quibble.

"CREEM: America's Only Rock n'n Roll MAgazine" premiered at the 2019 SXSW festival to immediate acclaim, and was scheduled to be released in theaters this Spring. Then a little think called COVID-19 happened. Theaters are very slowly reopening, and "CREEM" opened out of the blue this weekend at my local art-house theater here in Cincinnati (complying fully with all COVID-19 measures). I couldn't wait to see it. The Friday early evening screening where I saw this at was attended so-so (3 people including myself). The movie's DVD release is scheduled for next month. If you have any interest in rock music, I'd readily suggest you check this out, be it in the theater, on VOD or soon on DVD/Blu-ray, and draw your own conclusion.

While Barry Kramer and Lester Bangs weren't available to be interviewed, viewers will see and hear everyone else that made Creem Magazine the rag to read about who was doing what (and to whom) in rock 'n' roll.

Like the magazine, the documentary is irreverent and passionate about its subject. While the director (Scott Crawford) grew up in the Washington, D.C. area, he understands the mid-western DIY ethos that enabled Creem Magazine (which was published in Detroit, not NYC, not LA) to go from nothing to something larger than life from the moment it began.

Actually, no Crawford doesn't just understand that DIY ethos. He owns it. He published his own 'zine on the DC hardcore scene when he just a kid and, with practically zero budget, directed the documentary, Salad Days.

But back to Creem and this documentary. The people who chose to work at the magazine (the writers, the editors, the publisher, the photographers, the assistants, the people who made sure it got to the printer) all had something to prove. And they sure didn't do it for the money. But these are the kind of people who have a story to tell. And they do it in this film. And so do people like Joan Jett, Wayne Kramer, Alice Cooper, Cameron Crowe and more.

Does it have a few imperfections? Sure. So did the magazine. Do these blemishes get in the way of enjoying the show? Maybe if you're the type that subscribes to Rolling Stone and thinks Jann Wenner's cool.

If you're a long-time fan of Creem Magazine, you'll not be disappointed. If you're new to the subject, you'll learn a lot and have fun at the same time. But why take my word for it? Watch the trailer. Or, better, watch the film.