LETTERS

LETTERS

Mail Dept., CREEM Magazine, P.O. Box 931869, Los Angeles, CA 90093

GOOD NEWS WEEK!

I am here today to save CREEM magazine. Yes, indeed, I will save the magazine that is called CREEM on this day.

Here I am.

You’re very welcome,

Chip Duffey

Athens; GA

SPECIAL EDITION POLICY LAID BARE!

We certainly are fortunate to have not one, but two super teenybopper

female stars gracing the current “hits parade.” (Not to be confused with the similarly-titled satanic magazine.) There’s Debbie Gibson and Tiffany . .. and probably a dozen new ones this week alone!

Now... on to the important matter of discussing which of these cuties will reign on the teenybopper throne. ..

Tiffy has the obvious advantage, with a #1 hit under her belt, but at least Deb-

bie writes her own songs instead of raiding the Tommy James catalog of surefire AM hits. I am forced to give the nod to Miss Gibson—sure, she sings dumb teenybopper songs, but by her BEING a dumb teenybopper, what more should we expect?! Tif, on the other hand, seems to be more inclined to recording what our wonderful rock critics have expertly dubbed “schlock.” And having appeared and won on TV’s Idiot Search says little in favor of the petite one’s credibility.

Hope this helped to enlighten you readers. Needless to say (I will, anyway), the Deb vs. Tif battle for our hearts has become the issue in contemporary pop music! (Notice I use the term “pop” and not “rock ’n’ roll,” which, of course, no longer exists.)

Of course, you were probably planning a special edition anyway... don’t bother. By the time you’ve read this letter, the aforementioned teen sweeties will have been long forgotten. Let us pray.

Love,

Christopher C. Manson

Florence, AL

KILLING A COLUMN

I know that serious engagement with what the magazine has to say is frowned upon in CREEM’s letters column, but what the hell, here goes. Iman Lababedi’s February Eleganza column on racism , though obviously wellmeaning, was off the mark on several counts. First of all, it would have been nice had the “several months” the article spent on hold been used for factchecking: Bruce’s line, of course, is, “They’re still there, he’s all gone”—the implication being the futility of our involvement in Vietnam. Costello’s lyric is quoted correctly, but without mention of its (almost too) heavy irony, which is dishonest if Lababedi understands the song, or dumb if he doesn’t. And you don’t have to be an apologist for the Graceland foofara to note that Simon shared songwriting credit, and, one assumes, royalty payments, on about half the album. (And Standing On The Beach is a single LP.)

But all that’s just bad journalism. What’s worse is the bad thinking that follows it. The fight against racism and sexism is fought by people standing up and being counted—by rock critics, for example, using their enormous power and influence (and awesome respect from fans) to point out these things in reviews (assuming correct information). The wrong way to do it is through governmental or legislative or wacko intervention in artistic product and the PMRC has tried or epitomizes all three. Lababedi’s near-endorsement of labelling albums is irresponsible and dumb: he should think for a few minutes about who’s going to be doing the labelling, and then about how long the labellers will spend tracking down sexism and racism before getting onto bigger and better things like sex in general, political content or even—gasp!—affection for cult heroes: the Replacements’ “Alex Chilton” will be the first to go! To equate the “very real fears” of the Arab-American Anti-Discrimination Committee in the wake of the assassination of Alex Odeh with anything thought, felt, said or imagined by the PMRC in Tipper Gore’s wildest dreams only serves to belittle the ADC and its serious battles. And finally, the closing words of the column—the equation, yet again, of “Killing An Arab” with the killing of Odeh—was unconscionable.

Bill Wyman

Berkeley, CA

(“Enormous power??!”—Ed.)

HE’P DESK PAGED Well, so what are you saying in your February 1988 issue? That you think New Order are going to break up? Shouldn’t you do an interview with them before it’s too late? And pictures! Please get some good pictures! I hope they stay together, though.

N. Chiang Palos Verdes, CA (Marry us.—Ed.)

NO LAWSON BROTHERS HERE!

The Entertainment Industry is a very exciting business, though extremely difficult to enter. Among the Arts of Entertainment, Music is the most lucrative, but without a doubt the most difficult of all. It is an endless and sometimes futile struggle to enter the World of Music, and to be noticed and recognized as being talented and original.

I find it very exciting when a person of an average background fights and persists in their pursuit of a break, and finally gets the recognition and chance that they were striving for.

There is one such individual by the name of John Kline, who is a Bucks County resident that has always been one of the people that I have described. Mr. Kline is a singer of Original material, that was written, produced and arranged by himself, in the category of* Rock-A-Billy.

I fervently believe that an Exclusive Interview will be of definite interest and value to your readers, and I am hopeful that it is suitable for publication in you production.

Very Sincerely Yours,

David L. Mocknick

Levittown, PA

(Ever considered moving to Hell?—Ed.)

CLOCKWISE IN SOUTHERN HEMISPHERE, DOPE!

There is a certain peculiar behavior that I have been observing and I am hoping that you will be able to help me understand it.

Regardless of the movements of each of the individual members, groups of people dancing to country music on the dance floors of drinking establishments move in a decidedly counter-clockwise rotation. People dancing to “rock” music tend to move in a “milling about” fashion with no discernable movment of the group as a whole.

Why is this? Is the counter-clockwise country music rotations indigenous to the Chicago are (from whence I come) or is it a mutation of some strange behavior from some other geographical area?

This puzzles me greatly and I am anxiously awaiting your reply. Thank you.

L. (Y.) Kemper

Buffalo Grove, IL

OVER THE EDGE

Cheap Trick is back!!!

Dead serious. Saw them last night at a place called Westport Playhouse in St. Louis.

The show was being barely advertised on an unlistened-to Top 40 teen station. The night of the show, a much “cooler” station gave it a plug, so a lot of last minute die-hards showed up. It would be an OK show. Probably.

And the lights blaze on and... that guy playing the bass.. .THAT’S TOM PETERSSON. (Or it may be spelled with one S. Need to verify the correct spelling at this point in his life).

He’s back and playing better than ever. And the rest of the band is just as fired up. They played a set that had the entire place uproariously rocking. They raged through three songs from their way underrated debut album. They dug deep into their backlog of material, and dispensed of everything but two songs that were post-Petersson.

It was like going back into time, but so much more. Nielsen said they had just finished recording an album, though they played no new material. But if their new stuff is half as energized as these guys were last night, then it will smoke.

And Bun E. quit smoking. Robin Zander smokes, and he’s still just as precious looking as ever, Marlene Dietrich cheekbones and all. And the voice?... All I can say is these guys were on. They were hot. They were groovy. Everyone in that audience realized just how sorely we all missed the old-brand, original brand Cheap Trick.

CREEM, you gotta talk to them. Find out what’s going on. This is too good to be believed. You have been told. Trust me. This is too much.

I’m happy.

Pat Weiss

St. Louis, MO (And that’s not all.—Ed.)

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