Creem magazine is the subject of the forthcoming documentary, Creem: America’s Only Rock N’ Roll Magazine, the first trailer for which is available now. The film examines the rise and fall of the publication that presented an alternative to mainstream outlets and sounds.
The magazine founded in 1969 by Barry Kramer and Tony Reay was published monthly until 1989 when it suspended production, only to receive a short reemergence in the 1990s. The youth culture publication gave rise to noted rock critic Lester Bangs, who later became an influential figure to Rolling Stone teenage writer Cameron Crowe as portrayed in Almost Famous.
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For those who don’t remember print media, let alone the 1970’s, Creem epitomized everything that Rolling Stone wasn’t. The San Francisco-based publication that had started as the voice of the counterculture had given way to the Laurel Canyon sound of the early 1970s and, to many, lost its edge. Thus entered Creem into the national conversation who, from its home base in Detroit, MI, represented the alternative voice of an ever-expanding rock scene. The magazine and its rowdy crew continued to embody the true spirit of rock n’ roll while other outlets jumped on the singer-songwriter bandwagon. This put Creem in the enviable situation of being the voice of the emerging punk and new wave scenes that would emerge toward the end of the 1970s.
In the trailer, journalists, musicians, and actors define what Creem meant to their generation. As Jeff Daniels so eloquently puts it, “Buying Creem was a little bit like buying Playboy. You didn’t want your parents to see either one of them.” This sentiment is echoed by artists like Kirk Hammett, Michael Stipe, Chad Smith, and more. Featuring vintage footage and archival magazine covers, the trailer paints the portrait of a giant middle finger to the musical establishment that was Creem.
Watch the trailer for Creem: America’s Only Rock N’ Roll Magazine, in theaters this summer.
Creem: America’s Only Rock N’ Roll Magazine — Trailer
[Video: Greenwich Entertainment]
Visit the Creem magazine website, which hosts an archive of old issues, for more information.