Creem Magazine is Back with a Vengeance
breaking back onto the scene by shit-talking Surfbort
Stevie Knicks in Creem Magazine via their Instagram
Hello ladies + everyone,
It’s Mo AKA DJ Gay Panic and this(!) is The Deviant Dispatch. I keep a faggoty ear to the ground, delivering you the latest news on NYC’s greatest underground parties, rock shows, and ACTUAL raves- every fuckin’ week for just $5 a month. Plus you’ll get it-girl gossip, cultural speculation, snark, typos, and lots of Charli XCX updates. If you’re not convinced but wanna check out the scene, you can subscribe for free to get bi-monthly emails. To throw me some much-needed support, share this newsletter with someone or hit the heart button at the top of the post!
You’ve read the headline: Creem magazine is back! The magazine (which ran from 1969 to 1989) was the first to leave behind the sunny platitudes of the 60s and embrace the abrasiveness of punk and heavy metal. Lester Bangs, a noted firebrand unafraid to deliver a scathing take, was the magazine’s editor. He led a crew of writers who lived out rock n roll’s hard-partying ethos and wrote Kerouac-style about music. Cheap Trick drummer Bun E. Carlos described the magazine as “the wise-ass middle child who wanted the details, all the scoop.” Despite it’s unique place in rock history, it stopped production in 1989.
Now the magazine is back, with its first issue hitting newsstands Sept 15th. Currently you can read every back issue featuring David Lee Roth, Dolly Parton, and Siouxsie Sioux, but what caught my eye was the new content, which they dropped July 14th.
The most viral piece is a semi-takedown of Surfbort, one of the biggest bands in the current Brooklyn scene. The piece quotes several unnamed scenesters saying things like “They write boring riffs [and] unsurprising lyrics, because they’re more in it for the looks than anything.” and “Anyone I’ve spoken with that has seen them live or expressed interest did not actually listen to their music.” That latter quote is certainly true of this author.
The writer of the Creem piece isn’t content to hide her opinions behind anonymous quotes. She goes in, describing the band’s music as “derivative” and the people behind it as “a circus of thrift store regulars trying a little too hard to be weird.”
Opening track “FML” has Miller declaring just that—“FML I wanna kill myself,” which feels less like lyricism and more like a text you’d send your friend about your hangover.
Despite the pretty critical beginning, the story ends by acknowledging that live the band is undeniably magnetic and gives the band credit for being self-aware ( they call themselves “cringe-rock”) and inspiring a reaction in people.
There’s also a killer profile on Special Interest, with the band fully ragging on a recent show they played with hype band Turnstile and 2010s hipster darlings Beach Fossils. “I feel like we were put on that lineup to make it more relevant.” The band’s sound kept cutting out during their set, adding to their dissatisfaction. “I’m particularly pissed about the Turnstile show because nobody did anything to help” front person Logout said in the story.
Such willingness to rag on other people is part of the Creem legacy, and is sorely needed in our modern age of publications sucking up to subjects in order to get access. Plus, it’s welcome when the insights are so good. For instance, the writer of the Special Interest story takes care to note that “so much is said about the band’s political aspirations, very little is made of their overwhelming horniness, their ability to turn an industrial-art-punk-techno detour into the animated distillation of a good, fun fuck.” Now that’s good music writing!
I’m glad to see good writing about music and culture come back, and it’s just in time I’m going to be taking a break from the newsletter in August, so it’s good to know there are snarky voices out there doing the damn thing.
As always, scroll on to find this weekend’s event listings.
XOXO,
Mo
Bellows LIVE
When: Friday
Where: Wet Spot
What: Bellows is a 2010s indie rock act that is steeped in the diy punk contect of their time. Their 2015 song “Orange Juice” namechecks now-shuttered venue Palisades, and the music video was filmed in another closed DIY venue Aviv. It’s only fitting that they are now playing the newest DIY spot in Brooklyn called Wet Spot, a rooftop space accessible only by ladder.
How much: $15
A Night Of A Thousand Stories
When: Friday 10-2am
Where: All Night Skate
What: A birthday party for my friend and house of quench member Bri Joy, with key members of the collective in attendance. IF you want a peak at the beautiful chaos of the house in action this show is one to see. DJ Soo Intoit will be playing a typically high octane set, and recent mx nobody winner Cuntyham will be debuting a digital drag performance via video. In IRL attendance are Paris L’Homie, Klondyke, and Cherry Jaymes.
How much: $10 suggested donation
SKSKSKS 1 Year Anniversary
When: Friday 10 - 4am pm
Where: H0L0
What: For this influential hyperpop party’s 1st birthday DJ/promoter THELIMITDOESNOTEXIST is bringing in the rapper/singer Kitty, formerly known as Kitty Pryde. She’ll be familiar to hipsters who were online in 2012 during her cloud-rap breakout “Ok Cupid”. Since then she’s made trance-like house and sassy electropop.
How much: $18-26
Punk Island
When: Saturday 12-7pm
Where: Maria Hernandez Park
What: Before a pandemic this festival was an all-ages, 2 day affair on Randall’s Island. Now the fest is coming back smaller, with just 1 day of bands. It’s also going to conveniently be at Maria Hernandez park. While the fest might be smaller this year, stellar new bands like The Dialoators and TDA (which stand’s for Tits.Dick.Ass) makes it just as vital.
How much: Free
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