Got a hold of the Crèem book and after reviewing that and the Bomp book, the Bomp retrospective vastly superior. The Bomp book was shockingly superior, especially considering Creem was put out by HarperCollins and Bomp was put out by Ammo.
Who the hell are Ammo?
Well they are pretty awesome, at least in regards to this book.
That book is fucking beautiful.
I’m not a music person. I could care less about it. I also am pro east coast, so I say this with much “oh fuck man” that Bomp is a better book.
Creem is full of pictures and bullshit. I mean Creem had so many great people, but wow, it was very fluffy. The book is very Tiger Beat fluffy.
“Hold on, Creem was not Tiger Beat. Creem was Eric Clapton and Tiger Beat was Leif Garret,” BusTard the crusty old bastard.
Keep in mind I do not know about music. I’m 29 years old (info on my dirty 30 party coming shortly) and I have no idea what Creem was supposed to be. I’m saying what it looks like it was. If you read the retrospective, Creem seemed pretty weak, possibly they should have gotten some better editors. I think people like me were editing that book, maybe not like me, because I would never be stupid enough to try to edit a music book about the 1970s. Creem reminded me of a hardbound teen magazine, but with people who are old.
Now Bomp you get a true retrospective of the era. Or what it ideally was like. The book felt gritty and filled with information, the musicians were secondary. It was the writing and the production that made that magazine great.
It’s been nearly 30 years ago. You would think that Creem would get that their audience is now sober and nearing retirement.
Now I don’t know if that’s how it was during the actual era, but if you read both retrospectives Mick Farren and Suzy Shaw with the Bomp book have honored the past in a much more respectful and cooler way.
Bomp with it’s copies of the mimeographs of the magazine and copies of the proof pages, it is very artful. The Bomp book is also casebound with fucking beautiful paper, not that vanished shit. I hate varnished paper.
Varnish is for books you masturbate with.
The meat of the magazine is splayed out in it’s all hand drawn hideous glory. It’s a beautiful book. Bomp is a beautiful and a substantial book.
For a person like me who doesn’t care about music, it was quite entertaining.
Another music book for non-music, but appreciate the art of it people:
I have to go drink my enhanced brandy.
Browne
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