MAIL

MAIL

Send all your hot 'n' heavy love letters, vicious hate mail, warped comments, and tamper-proof food products to:

MAIL Dept., CREEM Magazine P.O. Box P-1064 Birmingham, MI 48012

GOT TO GIVE IT UP

It is 9:00 p.m. April 1, 1984. A newscaster has just flashed on television and said, “Singer Marvin Gaye was shot and killed by his father today during a family argument.” That was it, nothing more, a newsbrief. The man didn’t say that Marvin Gaye was a man of class and style. He overlooked Marvin Gaye’s long list of hits. He didn’t even mention Marvin Gaye’s glorious return from exile. I blankly stared at the TV for a minute thinking how understated Marvin Gaye was.

Marvin Gaye wasn’t “just” a singer, he was a “soul singer.” Soul that can be felt when listening to any of his songs. Marvin Gaye was a musician with a capital M. One listen to his 1983 comeback album, Midnight Love, and anyone would agree. He was a man of prophecies. His 1971 hit song, “What’s Going On,” is probably more appropriate today than in 1971. It was the epitome of urban and social decay and there has never been another song to epitomize it so well.

I feel that Marvin Gaye’s death is one of the most untimely deaths in the music business, if not the most. His music and style can never be reproduced. 1 remember reading somewhere that Marvin Gaye said that he recorded songs so that he could help someone overcome a bad time. I’m putting “What’s Going On” on my turntable now.

Karyn Brown

Detroit, MI

MULTIPLE EDS

I am in love with Edward Van Halen and would like to let him know this. Being the excellent, original, outstanding and noteworthy magazine that you are, I figure if good ole Ed is gonna flip through any mag, it’s gonna be yours. So I would like to take this opportunity to say, “I LOVE YOU ED!!!” (Sigh...at last!—Ed.) No, not you, —Ed. My heart’s Van Halen-filled!

Heather E.V.H. Zimmermann

Cincy, OH

STEVE WHO?

In his “Sound Of The ’60s” article, Steve Caraway says, “In 1967, Cream...debuted with their first LP.” Any band can debut with their first album—the trick is to debut with a second or third album. Now. that would be an accomplishment!

El Redundo Cato

Obscure, KY

BOOBERRY DINDIN

Hi, I’m a piece of paper named Zed. I wrote this myself, and am quite a pro at scaring people. . .DON’T EVER MAKE FUN OF HIM AGAIN OR ELSE...haw, haw, scared ya, huh? No? Well, how about this. Boo! No? Why? Weird, man, nothing scares you. SCREECH!!! He’p, no? Not yet? What do I have to do, show a picture of Ed.? Nah, —Ed., just jivin’. What? Oh, —Ed., ya scared the heck outta me! What? You scared me? Well gosh, 1 must’ve...oh, come on, —Ed., 1 wasn’t really scared. BOO AGAIN!!! What? Damn, you guys aren’t scared of nothin’. What, aren’t ya HUMAN?

Zed

Loving Patti Smith & Jeff Beck

P.S. CREEM (the pages) is my brother.

ONLY LOOKS?

A friend of mine is writing this for me. I want to ask what is all this crap about Duran Duran has made it only on looks. Well, I don’t think that’s all true because I have never seen them! I’m also a big fan of theirs. I’m blind so I want everybody to know that Duran Duran hasn’t made it on only looks.

Tiger, tiger

Rio

Fort Myers, FL

(Neither did Stevie Wonder!—Ed.)

ASK A STUPID QUESTION...

Can 1 ask one simple question? Do you ever receive any NICE letters?

Kathy “Freak” Garrow

Colchester, VT

(Not even from our mamas!—Ed.)

ANOTHER WHO LETTER

Hey, I’d like to play a little guessing game with ya if ya don’t mind. (Of course, I knew ya wouldn’t) O.K., here goes: Who has a heart of gold yet is a true Blackheart at heart? (Tough one, huh?) Who is the most dedicated rocker alive today who gives her (key word) all each and every concert? Who do millions of her true followers idolize and love more than anyone? (No, not Boy George!) Who is way too cool to even begin to describe in words on this paper? Who, who I ask??

Jenny Jett-head

Probable Californian (Uh...Nina Hagen?—Ed.)

BEDTIME FOR RUDY

Right now I’m sitting in bed with my CREEM magazine and I’m just as bored as ever.

Rudy Sarzo’s Undergarment

Tacoma, CA

QUEERS CAUGHT!

Well, I can’t say I read your mag often, but your letters are quite fun to read. Vou seem to catch some real queers writing in (go ahead, take your best shot at that line, I’m sure you’ll think of something) and you insult them quite well. So I just had to write and see how well you do on this one. If you do real well, I’ll give all the writers of CREEM a donut so you won’t have to ask the members of Was (Not Was) and Sting for theirs. OK?

Not Just Another Queer

Warren, MI

DEVIL SHOUTED AT

Hi, my best friend and I have been CREEM readers for a while now, because we are metal maniacs. Our favorites are definitely MOTLEY CRUE: What men! We have both their albums, and especially love their latest, Shout At The Devil. We especially love Nikki Sixx and Vince Neal; would we love to get them under the sheets! WOW!!!!!!!! A lot of people we know think the Crue are sick looking, but we think they are gorgeous, even with all that makeup. We saw Nikki without makeup and he is definitely still a man. We hope to be hearing more from CREEM on the Crue, and especially Nikki and Vince. Mick and Tommy are O.K. but we like the other two better. Did you ever listen to the words of “Ten Seconds To Love,” if you didn’t check it out! WOW!!!!!!!!

The Metal Goddesses (The one and only)

New York

Home of the Rising Sun

P.S. We really hope you print this letter. We’ll be looking for it.

(We get a million of these every week! From now on, Crue fans, you can just clip and mail this one!—Ed.)

CREEM, DEATH LINKED!

What’s with the fatalism, guys? I’m referring to the words appearing at the tail ends of THREE CONSECUTIVE movie reviews in the June ’84 issue, as foljows: a)“...life sucks and then you die”; b)“...we’re all going to run out of steam sooner or later, roll over, and.die”; c) ‘“That’s the way it is.. .It doesn’t get any better’” (a “best” quote from a movie). Don’t you think we know these things? (If you don’t then you underestimate us—a highly likely phenomenon when you have the almighty power to censor or altogether ignore people’s input to you and your magazine.) Such ideas are very common to most people. So why do you cruelly and flippantly remind us of them? Is it still considered hip to be depressed?—1 mean, I thought depression was so cliched...In short, why don’t you keep your opinion to yourselves and tell us something we might not know and/or might really care about. Your horrifically coy philosophizing and personal views on life could only impress the (don’t get scared now) spiritual dregs of certain metropolises and those who have to read your magazine with a dictionary at the ready..

Marianna Fikes

Jordan,, NY

NIX ON NICKS

I have a few questions regarding Stevie Nicks’s writing that need answering immediately. These questions have really been bothering me.

1. How do you do your attention?

2. How does spring turn into fall?

3. How come it’s funny that he understood if she knew he would?

4. What exactly is a sister of the moon?

5. How else do you close your eyes but softly? Does she think everyone goes around banging their eyes when they shut them?

6. How do you love a moon? And how do you feel like this moon that you love?

7. How do you step into the velvet of the morning? I have tried this on many occasions but never succeeded.

I don’t suppose you know the answers to these questions, but if you do please let me know. And by the way, I am not making fun of Stevie. I love her. It’s just I don’t understand her writing.

Therra Wolf

A very wild and untamed town

JOE ELLIOTT'S SECRET

This letter is in reference to the letter that was printed in the May, 1984 CREEM New Wave Of Metal Rock ’N’ Roll. It was in the GREAT Def Leppard article “In The Flesh.” O.K., “Def Leppard fan,” a friend and I were on that bus and we know why Joe was in a such a hurry to get on. Ya wanna know why? He’d just polished off a six pack of Heiny’s and had to go! (Big time)

J.G. and F.C. (again)

Dayton, OH