26 years ago in Metro Times: Bill Rowe examines the "Rock and Roll Comic Book" that CREEM magazine allegedly had become over the years post-Lester Bangs. Rowe talks with current editors Dave DiMartino and (our current MT music editor) Bill Holdship about the changing of the guard between the earlier and latter staffs. Holdship defended the magazine saying, "We're probably most concerned with getting to some kid in Iowa who doesn't have access to the information you and I do. With any luck he'll pick up on some stuff outside the teen crap." Holdship would be right, as Kurt Cobain cited the latter issues of CREEM as a gateway of musical influence in a later RIP magazine interview. What was happening: The young, Brooklyn-based Beastie Boys were fresh off their second EP, Cooky Puss, when they headed to St. Andrew's Hall.
20 years ago in Metro Times: Journalist Hunter S. Thompson's syndicated column, which was previously a regular feature in Metro Times, found Dr. Gonzo recapping a wild ride to the airport in a column titled "The Last Taxi to Scotland." Fifteen years later that week, in 2005, Thompson was found dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound at his home in Woody Creek, Colo. Unpublished Thompson works include a novel about time he spent at a San Francisco strip club while writing for Playboy magazine and another about a journey to an NRA gun rally. What was happening: Rick Danko at the Park Theatre in Windsor and Lenny Kravitz at the Palace of Auburn Hills.
8 years ago in Metro Times: Jack Lessenberry writes on the state of Detroit's public schools with an all-too-familiar point: "There isn't anything more important to rebuilding Detroit than making it possible for kids to get a quality education." It's more of the same these days, just a different tongue, as last month's cover story told in Bard-speak. Thou shalt prepare for more updates on the January story from Sandra Svoboda, as this issue is as vital as ever. What was happening: Nas at the Royal Oak Music Theatre and System of a Down at the State Theatre (now the Fillmore).
