“Amost Famous” (2000) dir. Cameron Crowe

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Watching this film just made me smile from ear to ear the first time I saw it back in 2000. The reason is that, for all intents and purposes, I was the lead character, William Miller, back in middle and high school … albeit with much much much less ambition … as evidenced by the fact that I didn’t pursue a career in journalism or filmmaking.

With the exception of “Say Anything,” “Almost Famous” is writer/director Cameron Crowe’s best film. It’s his autobiography disguised as fiction. What’s particularly amazing is that he really did live most of the antics in the film at the age of 15 and not only did Crowe not become a drug casualty or bitter hack as he got older, he transcended all of it and became a successful filmmaker.

Yes, there’s a lot of this film that may seem corny. But the lead character (as well as the person the lead character is based on) is only 15 … and is a decent person. His way of navigating this sometimes very dark world and maintaining his integrity is what makes this film particularly inspiring. It’s clear that Crowe has a genuine love for humanity and for people. As flawed as many of the characters are in this film, he doesn’t make any of them completely unlikable. His ability to see the humanity in a very debauched world is what makes this film such a joy to behold.

The performances, from Patrick Fugit as Miller, to Kate Hudson, Billy Crudup, Frances McDormand, Jason Lee, and Phillip Seymour Hoffman are all terrific. Hell, even Zooey Deschanel is charming in this film (which trust me, is extremely hard to admit).

A lot of rock critic types rolled their eyes at this film when it came out and you can sense the jealousy in their attacks for obvious reasons. While This is not a perfect film, denying its charms is to deny the film’s audacious optimism and humanity. This is a great, great movie and is a film that always makes me feel better about the world.

“Sister Ray” – The Velvet Underground

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From 1968’s “White Light / White Heat” here is the Velvet Underground’s infamous 17-minute plus epic of noise and decadence “Sister Ray.” A bonafide classic and the last hurrah for the orginal VU when John Cale was still a member.  After this, the Velvets were still a great act, but started to shift away from darker themes.

“Tallahassee Lassie” – Rolling Stones

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An outtake from the Stones’ 1978 masterpiece “Some Girls” that should have definitely been included in the original mix of songs, but now has thanks to the Deluxe Edition double CD that was recently released. While this cover of the Freddy Cannon classic is a damn nice discovery, the version by the Flamin’ Groovies from the early 1970s is even better:

https://davesstrangeworld.com/2012/08/07/tallahassee-lassie-the-flaimin-groovies/

“Winn Coma” – Boss Hog

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More balls-to-the-wall mid 1990s punk rock, this time from Boss Hog, Jon Spencer’s other big band of the era (aside from the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion). Boss Hog not only featured terrifically abrasive guitar work from Spencer, but also some of the most ferocious vocals in all of rock and roll from Spencer’s spouse, the beautiful and sometimes nude Christina Martinez. Bang your head, indeed!

“Well I …” – The Candy Snatchers

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Some primo 1990s gunk-punk from Norfolk, VA. The Candy Snatchers, along with such bands as The New Bomb Turks and The Oblivians, were an important part of a defiantly lo-fi punk movement from the 1990s that belched and farted all over the corporate “alternative nation” that erupted thanks to Nirvana’s success. These were bands who just rocked out with little regard to digital recording or political correctness and epitomized everything that corporate alternative bands claimed to be.

“Bitter Moon” (1993) dir. Roman Polanski

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“Bitter Moon” is one of Roman Polanski’s best and most underrated films. This is a film that polarized most critics and audiences back in the day and there’s a good chance that if you don’t love “Bitter Moon,” it will either piss you off or upset you. I don’t think there’s anyone who just “likes” or “dislikes” this film. It’s a real “love it or hate it” kind of enterprise.

The film chronicles a ocean cruise journey that a troubled married couple, named Nigel and Fiona (played by Hugh Grant and Kristin Scott-Thomas respectively), are undertaking to save their marriage. Nigel becomes infatuated with a beautiful young French woman named Mimi, played by Polanski’s real-life wife Emmanuelle Seigner. Mimi’s husband, a self-loathing and disabled drunk named Oscar (played by American actor Peter Coyote), offers his wife to Nigel, but Nigel must listen to a very long story about Oscar’s relationship with Mimi first. The story takes several days to tell and as it unfolds, we are witness to one of the most twisted views of a relationship ever committed to celluloid. It makes the marriages in “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?” look healthy by comparison.

However, as Nigel is getting ready to close the deal with Mimi, Mimi, Oscar, and Fiona seem to have other plans and make what’s already a very strange and creepy film even more so.

Despite the fact that “Bitter Moon” may leave you with a sour feeling in your stomach, there is a lot of humor, albeit extremely dark. In addition, the acting by the leads and the way that Polanski unfolds this very disturbing tale is terrific.

The film contains some very graphic sexuality and language and the attached European trailer (which contains nudity) is definitely not safe for work. However, if you’re looking for something audacious and envelope-pushing, “Bitter Moon” is highly recommended.

“Sunny Afternoon” – The Kinks

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Another stroke of genius from the Kinks. At face value, this song could be taken as the lament of a rich man bitching about “mo’ money, mo’ problems.” But Ray Davies and the gang have always been a bit more complex than that. Granted, Davies has never shied away from being the contrarian and the lyrics of this song could represent his genuine disgust over having to pay taxes. But he’s such an ironic bastard, he could be laughing at the rich man bitching about his taxes. Confuse and conquer is not a bad motto for an artist on the make. You decide.

“Steppin’ Out” – Steel Pulse

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This was one of the defining songs of my 10th grade year in high school. Mainly because I got rides to school with my older brother and he played the “Earth Crisis” cassette in his car every day. I finally got to see Steel Pulse live during my first year of college when they opened for Bob Dylan. In retrospect, the acoustics were so horrible in the basketball den where I saw them, that it wasn’t quite the transcendent experience I was expecting. Fortunately, I was too chemically enhanced to care.

“Baby’s on Fire” – Brian Eno

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From Brian Eno’s magnificent and near-perfect first solo album “Here Come the Warm Jets,” comes “Baby’s on Fire.” The title is appropriate because the song descends into an inferno of guitar noise, supplied by King Crimson’s Robert Fripp. F–k Rick Wakeman and Emerson Lake and Palmer! This is the real 70s progressive rock.