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silentbob
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Some report betsy did for some class involving some teacher that looked like some animal resembling some rodent:
The movie Almost Famous is writer/director/producer Cameron Crowe’s love-letter
to the rock industry. The movie is an autobiographical story of a young boy who
is hired by Rolling Stone as their newest rock journalist. Some of the greatest
bands of the seventies are featured both on the soundtrack and in the movie.
Not only does Almost Famous show the behind-the-scenes of a rock band, it shows
what it really means to be a rock fan. To “truly love some silly little piece
of music…or some band so much that it hurts.” That is what makes Almost Famous
great.
To truly understand Almost Famous, one must know of the life of Cameron Crowe.
Crowe was born in Palm Springs, California, on July 13, 1957. As a child,
Crowe’s mother forbade him to listen to rock music, prompting his interest. As
a teenager, Crowe began writing freelance articles for magazines like Creem and
Playboy. His writing was discovered by Rolling Stone and he was hired under
false pretenses: the magazine thought he was an adult with a journalism degree.
His first assignment, a tour with The Allman Brothers Band, became the basis for
Almost Famous. His writing was so good that when Rolling Stone discovered his
true age (16) they were extremely proud and sent him on more assignments. He
interviewed the likes of The Who, Bob Dylan, Neil Young, Led Zeppelin, Peter
Frampton, David Bowie, and Kris Kristofferson. Crowe’s mother insisted he go to
college, but he dropped out when his journalism professor began hitting him up
for jobs at Rolling Stone.
In 1979, Crowe returned to high school as a senior to do research for his book
Fast Times at Ridgemont High, which was later adapted for the big screen. Then
in 1989, Crowe made his debut with the original screenplay Say Anything. It has
since become a hit on video and cable TV. His next movie, Singles, was set in
the Seattle grunge scene of the early 90’s. Crowe continued to pen liner notes
for albums throughout his career, and in 1996 he released his most famous movie
yet. Jerry Maguire was a huge hit in the box offices and was nominated for five
academy awards. All the movies featured great soundtracks and characters with a
love for music, but none compared to the 2000 release of Almost Famous. Almost
Famous is almost completely autobiographical, and is the story of Crowe’s first
tour with the Allman Brothers and his great love of music. The soundtrack
includes Simon and Garfunkel, Led Zeppelin, Elton John, The Who, Yes, The Beach
Boys, Rod Stewart, The Allman Brothers, Lynard Skynard, David Bowie, and Cat
Stevens, among others. All these bands are mentioned in the movie along with
many others. For Cameron Crowe, and for myself, this is not the music of one
decade, but the music of a lifetime.
In a recent article with Rolling Stone, Crowe said, “I had to defend being a
fan back then. Fandom had and has had a bad connotation in journalism.” Which
brings me to my other point. Almost Famous is wonderful because it not only
celebrates the music; it celebrates the fans and what it really means to be a
fan. The plot of Almost Famous focuses on Crowe’s doppelganger, William, and
his love of the groupie, Penny Lane. Penny runs a “school” for groupies.
William and Penny are very much alike in that they both love music above all,
and are fascinated with the rock lifestyle. Penny is so entangled with one
particular band that she cannot see William’s love for her. In this, Crowe
shows the devotion he felt towards music and its creators.
Almost Famous is Cameron Crowe’s love letter to rock and roll, as well as a
declaration of fandom. In it he humbly and honestly tells us the story of his
life as a fan
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