Almost Famous

I cannot remember the first time I saw "Almost Famous," but it very quickly became one of those movies that I felt as though I had known all my life. I can't even begin to count how many times I have seen this movie. It is without question, one of my all-time very favorite movies. I feel like I should be embarrassed by how much I let this movie impact life, but I'm not. I saw this movie enough times that I really did think that my ability to write and my deep, passionate love for music would eventually translate into a career as a rock journalist. I thought I would be William and band would find me totally endearing and invite me to go out on the road with them to be their writer while lovingly calling me, "The Enemy." I thought that if I said, "It's all happening," enough it really would be.

Because of this movie I worship Kate Hudson. She is my goddess. I have tried for years to come anywhere close to her radiance and while I know I will never achieve my goal, she will always be the person I strive to emulate. Penny Lane in not a perfect human but I think that is why I love her so much. She is entirely undone by how trusting and open her heart is. If she was even a tiny bit cynical, she wouldn't be as endearing. But her love is entirely honest and pure. It is absolutely beautiful. I think I'm still convinced that if I could perfect those little looks she gives and those little lip pouts, I could have anything I want in life. I tried quite a few times to put together a Penny Lane costume but I could never pull it off. I just have to be honest and admit that I will never be as cool as Penny Lane.

While we're confessing things, I chose my major in college because of this movie. I don't know why, but I thought that the beautiful age of rock journalism that was alive in the 1970s was somehow still around when I would be graduated in 2009. It didn't matter that Rolling Stone magazine had essentially sold out years ago and was now allowing the military to buy advertisement space. When you're young and you have a dream, it can blind you to a lot of the harsh realities about your profession. Journalism as I wanted it to exist is dead and even if I were to ever become a successful rock journalist, it doesn't mean the same thing that it used to. No one new actually gets to walk into Rolling Stone all fresh faced and invited to go on tour across the county with Queens of the Stone Age. Really, the best most people can hope for is fuel their habit by living in a large, metropolitan area, diligently tending to a personal blog you probably won't get paid for and accepting that you're going to have a huge "entertainment" budget each month.

Rock journalism is dead just as Lester Bangs said that rock and roll is dead. It will never be the way we imagine was or could be but it doesn't matter. Having the memory, even if it is a somewhat shinier than reality memory, is much better. "Almost Famous," is a past and future that I know isn't possible, but it still warms me inside to know that it maybe could have been if the stars had aligned just right.