What kind of crazy fucked up world do we live in where the phony country music in a movie is better than everything on the hit parade?<\/p>\n
I bought that Alpha Band album.\u00c2\u00a0 I didn’t think T Bone Burnett was that good.\u00c2\u00a0 But I guess he developed.\u00c2\u00a0 Which is why all our pop stars don’t have to be thirteen and appeal to those popping zits.<\/p>\n
Worse, you’ve got oldsters behind the fresh faces creating what they THINK the little kids want.\u00c2\u00a0 And it’s so fake you want to puke.\u00c2\u00a0 If you’re paying attention at all.<\/p>\n
Supposedly "Crazy Heart" was going straight to the small screen.\u00c2\u00a0 But now it’s been rescued and is this year’s "Slumdog Millionaire".<\/p>\n
It’s not.<\/p>\n
I’m not even sure I can recommend you see it.<\/p>\n
But I will say I’d be surprised if Jeff Bridges is not nominated for an Academy Award.\u00c2\u00a0 Sure, he seems to be channeling Kris Kristofferson, but watching you don’t see the movie star behind the mask.\u00c2\u00a0 He appears to be the burned out former minor success who’s cruising the country in his old GM truck, just trying to eke out a living.<\/p>\n
And what a living it is.<\/p>\n
Playing a bowling alley.\u00c2\u00a0 Shtupping the adoring fan who’s near menopause, then slipping out the door in the morning rather than have to confront and kiss that mug.<\/p>\n
What does the song say?\u00c2\u00a0 "I used to be somebody, now I’m somebody else?"\u00c2\u00a0 No, the problem is you’re the same damn person.\u00c2\u00a0 Who took off like a shot in one direction and finds it’s too late to stop now.\u00c2\u00a0 You gave up college, family life, all in pursuit of your dream.\u00c2\u00a0 But what if your dream doesn’t come true?\u00c2\u00a0 You’re relegated to a life of service jobs.\u00c2\u00a0 If you’re lucky, you can play music on the weekends.<\/p>\n
Or maybe it’s even worse if you’ve had some success like Bad Blake.\u00c2\u00a0 Because you just can’t give up.\u00c2\u00a0 Even though you know you should.<\/p>\n
But it turns out that Bad Blake still has some writing prowess.\u00c2\u00a0 When Maggie Gyllenhaal bums out because Bad Blake effortlessly writes a song in her bed you see the power of the music.\u00c2\u00a0 To make women fall in love with you.\u00c2\u00a0 To speak the truth.<\/p>\n
And the truth is not every story has a happy ending.\u00c2\u00a0 Which is one of the reasons why Hollywood\u00c2\u00a0 movies play in countries where English is never heard but are shrugged off by anyone with a brain in the U.S.\u00c2\u00a0 We’re looking for truth.<\/p>\n
And we’ve lost it not only in movies, but mainstream music.<\/p>\n
But when we find it, we tell everyone we know.<\/p>\n
And the truth in this movie is Jeff Bridges showing up to open for his old protege Tommy Sweet.\u00c2\u00a0 You see trucks and buses.\u00c2\u00a0 You see hustle and bustle.<\/p>\n
Rock and roll, country music, hell, they don’t live on television.\u00c2\u00a0 They live where there are no satellite dishes broadcasting, at the gig, in your hometown, in the middle of nowhere.<\/p>\n
If you don’t get a thrill walking amongst the vehicles backstage, if your pulse doesn’t throb when you see those grizzled guys in shorts pulling cable then you haven’t been behind the curtain.<\/p>\n
That’s the power of show.<\/p>\n
And it all depends on the music.<\/p>\n
What did Joni Mitchell sing?\u00c2\u00a0 That we had to get back to the garden?<\/p>\n
If you give people what they expect, if you play to formula, you might make momentary coin, but you’ll be almost instantly forgotten.\u00c2\u00a0 But if you’re willing to practice, develop your skills, test limits, lay down some truth, you can be remembered, you can play music for the rest of your life.<\/p>\n
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