"After silence, that which comes nearest to expressing the inexpressible is music."
-Aldous Huxley
My favorite
rock n’ roll film is Almost Famous
(2000). Cameron Crowe’s film captures a
rock essence rarely seen in films about music.
There’s a scene in his film where Billy Crudup’s character, Russell, has
a falling out with his band and they are all on a bus travelling down a highway
in silence. Then Elton John’s ‘Tiny Dancer’ breaks the silence and
reminds this group and I think the films audience, the magic that music brings
to people, how sometimes above all, a great record can save a life. Music allows us to connect with the world
outside of our minds in a profound way.
This is Spinal Tap (1984) captured the hilarity and silliness
of Rock n’ Roll and where it was heading and A Hard Day’s Night captured the craziness of fame, albeit still considered the
greatest film about rock n’ roll, I could also say the same for Don’t Look Back (1967) about the growing
popularity of Bob Dylan and his adjustment to fame. But I would rather focus of films about rock
music leaving great biographies like Ray
(2004) and Walk the Line (2005) for
another article.
High Fidelity (2000) is a film I mean to talk
about. It’s a film that celebrates
people celebrating great music in the way they live their lives. These main characters certainly had problems
but in spite of all that they still went to church, only that their church was
where The Velvet Underground’s ‘Oh, Sweet
Nuthin’ and The Vaselines’ ‘Jesus
wants me for a Sunbeam’ blasted on speakers. I love a film that surrounds itself with
great music. One of my favorites isn’t
even a film about music is Garden State. Loved that soundtrack, I loved how Zack Braff
used music in his movie to travel and breathe alongside his characters. Because in life music does that, it is there
in our minds nudging us, reminding us about the past and what helps us define
our present.
School of Rock is up there as one of my favorites. What I loved about it was Jack Black knew he
was right about rock. He knew that this
style of music shook him to his bones and that meant something. He taught his students the history of Rock
with the detail of a microbiologist.
Great rock
movies should make those that are new to rock and to those who have left rock
behind for day jobs and football games, to fall in love with it. There is nothing like rock n’ roll and like
most creative genesis’, rock was birthed out of oppression. Rock came from the same place Shakespeare
came from as well as Picasso, it came from changing what’s come before, and
breaking down social and political barriers to allow a voice in that otherwise
would be beat down and discarded.
The birth of
Rock n’ roll likely came to be with the merging of African musical tradition
and European instrumentation. Jazz, gospel, folk and Blues-influenced swing
brought in a new form of funk that caught the ears of many up and coming singer
song writers. Electronic instruments
with offbeat rhythmic tones and relatively simple teen relatable lyrics set rock
n’ roll off and running.
With the
song “My baby rocks me with a steady roll”
giving rock n’ roll it’s title, thanks to a Cleveland disc jockey and Billy
Haley’s “Rock around the Clock” in
1955, the teen finally found a relatable form of music that spoke to them
personally and the right kind of sex appeal they had for the artists, shake,
rattle and rolling it. Buddy Holly added
to this rock fervor but it was to Chuck Berry, Little Richard and Elvis Presley
that blow the rockabilly roof of the jailhouse.
Chuck Berry
was one of the first black performers to appeal to both white and black teen
audiences. His electric energy on stage
with his rhythm and blues sound and his dancing style gave him a sexual prowess
that singled him out as understandably one of the greats. Little Richard was known for his wild and
crazy performances and his flamboyant appearance lending his talent to help
birth in bands with the likes of The Beatles and The Rolling Stones. Elvis Presley was the rock n’ roll king,
hands down and he made girls faint. Also
he brought in a unique sound to a very young genre of music. His style and good looks solidified a form of
music that was still learning to get its legs.
When I
listen to “Like a Rolling Stone” by
Bob Dylan, I listen to this like a lover of the great wines of the world would drink
a Bordeaux, Château Pétrus from a glass, allowing it to trickle subtly into
their mouth to rest on their pallet, letting it sit for a moment before it
sinks to their throat with a melodious taste that resonates and ripples through
their very being. Songs and the music
that support them will always come in many flavors, people will always have their
tastes. But there is a recognizable aesthetic
to music that is not up for debate. Like
the fine wines, great music earned their stay in the hall of fame.
The Beatles
were an English band from Liverpool, forming in 1960. This little band from across the pond became
the most influential band in the rock era.
They Fab Four-ed it from album to album with chasing girls and many TV
appearance until the band got serious, as legend has it, a conversation between
Bob Dylan and John Lennon led to Dylan going electric and The Beatles speaking
out about the war and life. Steering
Rock n’ Roll into a smarter and less teen friendly direction. Bob Dylan didn’t set out for screaming girls
and media attention, he certainly got that but he stuck to his guns by writing
songs that is my opinion changed the world.
This man is a poet and a philosopher, one of those gifted individuals
that was able to reach a mass amount of people and enlighten them when he
himself was being enlightened, showing the world that you can think and love
your rock n’ roll at the same time.
Where rock n’ roll was birthed out of complexity in music but simplicity
in lyrics, Dylan taught the world to embrace complexity in both.
Wayne’s World for me as a kid was a great platform
for rock n’ roll. It was fun and these
two guys loved Queen and like all true rockers, hated authority. Excellent!
Because that is the true kernel at the center of it all, is
authority. That’s one of the big
problems of rock n’ roll, is it has a life span. The paintings of Van Gogh and the music of Mozart
live on through the ages among the young and the old. Rock n’ roll has yet to enjoy such a vintage
in the history of man. Maybe it’s too
young for a place in the savoring minds of the people. We are currently being paraded with many ‘old
bands’ capitalizing on the rebooting of society. A lot of these geriatric singers are suiting
for one last crack at the old days, with new films like Rock of Ages. A movie that
is an embarrassment to actual rock n’ roll that Almost Famous, School of Rock and High Fidelity honored and fought to preserve. Rock is being recycled and its legacy sold.
I
entertained the idea of watching Rock of
Ages because of Tom Cruise’s hilarious turn in Ben Stiller’s Tropic Thunder. I ended up watching half the movie because of
Tom Cruise’s over the top, Axel Rose/Steve Tyler impersonation, which in some
cases was actually funny. But for the
most part the movie was about how out of touch we all are with regards to rock
n’ roll, where it’s become a parody to laugh at. Maybe This
is Spinal Tap just knew it was coming but unless it’s underground our it’s
Radiohead, the bells seem to be no longer about to rock.
We have Led
Zeppelin and The Rolling Stones, we have Bob Dylan and The Beatles, we have the
history of rock n’ roll alive and well.
The platform is changing, the CD is even dying and rock is not part of
the future no more than art is after Jackson Pollack. So what I think is so great about these films
about rock n’ roll isn’t about hope for the future but being thankful for a
past that you existed in, where you can press play and sit back in the dark
with a beer in your hand and just listen to the rain dropping as The Doors ‘Riders on the Storm’ begins. Let that past sound marinate in your mind as
you enjoy the freedom of being in the present.
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