New Favorite Things
Almost Famous, and Frankly, Not Famous
I. Almost Famous
“The only true currency in this bankrupt world is what you share with someone else when you’re uncool.”
- Philip Seymour Hoffman as Lester Bangs in Almost Famous
Oh, what a movie. How did I not know about this movie?
My friends and I went out last weekend to see how the snow played with the Painted Hills, and as you can see from the photo above, it was special. Now, it takes a while to drive out there, and we were talking about movies. Almost Famous came up. It turns out it is one of their favorite movies. I thought I saw it when it came out, but as they described it, I realized that no, I never did see the movie, and for the life of me, I don’t know why we wouldn’t have seen it. But I didn’t. So I thought I’d spin it up.
What a romp! It’s a story set in 1973 of a gifted kid named William Miller, whose sister turns him on to Rock music as she’s leaving home, and he starts writing about music for school, sending articles into the music mags, until he eventually piques the interest of Ben Fong Torres of Rolling Stone magazine, who commissions him for a story on a band called “Stillwater.” Now, William is 15 years old, but hey! It’s the ‘70s, and Rolling Stone had no idea, and so William goes on tour with the band - and the film could be called “William in Wonderland” from that point forward.
Now, I am not writing this to critique the movie. The movie is great. The casting is inspired: Billy Crudup, Frances McDormand, Kate Hudson, Jason Lee, Zooey Deschanel, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Marc Maron, Jimmy Fallon, I mean, come on! Kate Hudson and Zooey Deschanel are just unbelievably gorgeous. The soundtrack is wonderful and plentiful. The license fees must have cost a fortune! The movie is a love story to Rock and Roll and its fans. But no, this is not a critique.
I am writing this because once again, there is something out there that I never really noticed, and that bam! becomes a new favorite thing. Curiosity and discovery are so much fun! If you haven’t seen the movie, watch and enjoy it and maybe it will become your new favorite thing, and if you have seen it, it’s time for a refresher!
II. Not Famous
And you dance until the morning, all by yourself
And somehow you know, you’re not alone.- Amon Düül II, “You’re Not Alone”
And speaking of favorite things, the song “You’re Not Alone” popped up on one of my playlists last August as I was driving out to the desert, and I couldn’t help but blurt out, “what the hell is this?” I could not place the song, nor the band. I had no idea when it was recorded. It sounded like it could have been recorded in the early aughts. I immediately loved it. I had to find out what it was. I looked it up and found out that the song was from a German band called Amon Düül II, and that it was released in 1974.
1974! How could I possibly have lived this long without hearing this song? I got pissed off at my older friends I had back then for not turning me onto this band. But none of my friends would have known about them. They are obscure, and I don’t know anyone who has ever heard of them. But boy I am happy this nugget showed up in the pan.
Amon Düül was a German commune where members played music, made art, rejected the expectations of society, and rejected the bourgeois 9 to 5 life. The music they made tended toward the progressive side. I listened to some of their work, and it fits in well with bands like King Crimson and Pink Floyd. Their other work is easily identifiable as being from the late ‘60s and early ‘70s. But “You’re Not Alone” is different. It’s ethereal, it’s spiritual, I love the feeling of the music, and I love the message, which is: no matter how alone you feel, you’re not alone. And it’s true. Even if we’re not in the room together, we are all together on this orb. We are not alone. It’s a wonderful song, and I am glad it reached out from obscurity to show up in my playlist.
Have you come across a piece of art or music or a movie that immediately became one of your favorite things? I love when that happens. I’d love to hear your experiences! Please comment.
Thanks for reading this edition of Things to Realize. Please comment, like, share, and subscribe if you haven’t already! And let me know what you think of the podcast, too. I’m thinking through how best to put it together.
Thanks again!