Creemwork—Frauds, Failures, and Fantasies Part Two Summary and Analysis

In "Screwing the System with Dick Clark" Bangs describes his meeting with the longtime "American Bandstand" host Dick Clark. Bangs marvels at Clark's ability to speak off the cuff and appreciates his opinion that the current generation of young people are very conformist despite their claims to originality. Clark tells Bangs that glam rock, which Bangs refers to as fag-rock, is mostly just a show to shock people, and it will pass. Still, Clark does not see bubblegum pop returning to prominence. Clark concludes that he will be around because he does not take stands on what is good or bad music but just promotes popular music.

In "Slade: Sladest" Bangs tells about hearing this album at a dinner party, and it leading him and others to...