Watch the documentary trailer about rock mag Creem

Creem: America's Only Rock 'N' Roll Magazine looks at the freewheeling Detroit-based publication that was as gonzo as the artists they covered. As Craig S. Karpel observes, "There was no parallel for it in the rest of rock journalism. It was not a magazine that was about rock n' roll. Rock n' roll was taking place at the magazine."

Developed under the working title Boy Howdy (their mascot's catchphrase), this fabulous doc is one of many that should be having a triumphant festival circuit, but the pandemic had other plans. Via the trailer:

Capturing the messy upheaval of the '70s just as rock was re-inventing itself, the film explores CREEM Magazine's humble beginnings in post-riot Detroit, follows its upward trajectory from underground paper to national powerhouse, then bears witness to its imminent demise following the tragic and untimely deaths of its visionary publisher, Barry Kramer, and its most famous alum and genius clown prince, Lester Bangs, a year later. Fifty years after publishing its first issue, "America's Only Rock 'n' Roll Magazine" remains a seditious spirit in music and culture.

Image: YouTube / Greenwich Entertainment