Cameron was among the 273 voters for Rolling Stone’s 500 greatest albums of all time (this special issue is on newsstands now!). Crowe’s #1 selection was the Beach Boys album Pet Sounds. He wrote this about that seminal album. I’m trying to get all 50 of Cameron’s picks, so stay tuned….
David Bowie. Photo courtesy of Neal Preston.
Cameron talks with Chris Marlowe of the wonderful UK music magazine, Mojo. This interview is from the August, 1995 issue. I’m not sure what Cameron was doing in the UK at that time (since this was between the release of Singles and Jerry Maguire). He talks about the early days, Fast Times, Singles and his love of music. It’s the only Crowe interview I’ve located for 1995.
Cameron talks with singer Rita Coolidge about her career and marriage to musician/actor Kris Kristofferson in this Rolling Stone interview from June, 1977. The album mentioned in this interview (Anytime…Anywhere) was a break out smash for Coolidge. Coolidge and Kristofferson were one of the big power couples of the ’70s. Coolidge and Kristofferson released one final duet album, Natural Act, in 1979, but their marriage was on the rocks, and they separated by the end of the year.
Coolidge never repeated the pop success of Anytime…Anywhere, but she did continue to land hits on the adult contemporary charts through the early ’80s.
Here’s the latest in our series of Crowe inspired essays called “We Have the Records, We Have the Proof”. The latest entry (by Dan Pulliam) is entitled The Penny Lane Identity Crisis. Another powerful, personal story. Check it out!
The Penny Lane Identity Crisis
(or: how I learned to become an invisible man in just six years)
by Dan Pulliam
Penny Lane is, in some ways, that same person for each of us that she was for William Miller. It took a while for this to dawn on me, but upon subsequent viewing of ‘Almost Famous’ (and, more especially, of ‘Untitled’), a few things became undeniably clear. One: Penny’s perfection is in her flaws. Two: Penny isn’t perfect…she just happens to be perfect for the one who loves her. Three: Under it all, she carries her battered heart wrapped up in a blanket while projecting an air of invincibility. And four: Through everything, there is one person who knows her best…possibly better than she knows herself.
That’s where we come in. And come on, guys, you know who you are. We’re the tortured souls. The ones who find something of worth in a Crowe film because we can actually feel what other people just watch casually with less-than-discerning eyes. We’re the best guys that everyone knows. We’re the last in a dying breed of chivalrous romantics (the ones as yet unphased by the recent influx of societal cynicism). We’re the people who sit patiently and wait for something intangible. We’re never happy until we find it, and yet we’re never quite sure what it is. If this is making any kind of sense to you, then we’re probably on the same page, and in the vein of the tortured soul syndrome, we’ve all got our Penny Lane, don’t we?
Cameron profiled the band for Rolling Stone back in 1974. This was before Stevie Nicks and Lindsey Buckingham joined the band. On a related note, don’t miss the very famous Mac profile that Crowe did three years later…
Here’s the latest in our series of Crowe inspired essays called “We Have the Records, We Have the Proof”. This one comes courtesy of site reader Lisa King. She recalls her experiences with Crowe’s film and how they shaped her personal life in her piece entitled “The Beauty of Gray”. It’s heartfelt and worth your time. Check it out.
The Beauty of Gray
“Every passing moment is a chance to turn it all around”
by Lisa King
My introduction to the films of Cameron Crowe was a shaky one.
When I first watched ‘Say Anything…‘, I was frustrated with Lloyd for taking Diane back as easily as he did in the scene at the dojo. I remember thinking that if only the filmmaker had made Diane look into Lloyd’s eyes and really sell the idea that she needed him, not just someone, that I would have felt more satisfied with the movie.
When I first watched ‘Jerry Maguire’, I was exasperated by the ending and felt like I was the only person in the theater who didn’t believe it was an entirely happy one. I remember thinking that if only the filmmaker had made Jerry and Dorothy hold each others hands at the end, instead of continuing to have Ray be the (literal and symbolic) bridge between them, that I would have felt more satisfied with the movie.
Vinyl Films Records second vinyl release (after Mark Kozeleck’s Duk Koo Kim which sold out in the U.S. – Blue Vinyl copies will be available overseas soon) will be released in mid-September. It’s by the Duluth, Minnesota band Low. The EP Murderer will contain three exclusive tracks (“Murderer”, “Silver Rider” & “From Your Place on Sunset”). It will be released on 10″ vinyl only, 1,000 numbered copies in the states (black vinyl) and 500 copies on red vinyl in Europe. Stay tuned for all the latest.
Cameron comments on Russell Crowe’s band Thirty Odd Foot of Grunts and their 2001 album Bastard Life or Clarity. You may also want to check out the band’s official site.
