Almost Famous borrows liberally from Spinal Tap

[ppo...@gloryroad.net]

Here are some of the Spinal Tap scenes that Cameron Crowe pays tribute
to in the recent movie Almost Famous

--arrival of the Stillwater's first t-shirt which turns into a fiasco

--band argument

--Stillwater's manager has british accent just like Liam, er Ian.

--Stillwater manager replaced with the line "Your manager needs a
manager."
Doesn't David St. Hubbins tell Ian when Jeannine takes over, "what
we're
trying to say is, you could do for a bit of help, that's all."

--Stillwater lead guitarist electrocuted by microphone not unlike
Derek's pod incident

--hotel lobby groupies go ga-ga over David Bowie's arrival, similar to
the encounter with Duke Fame.

--Clairvoyant group recognizes purple aura around cub reporter from
Rolling Stone, akin to Jeannine's pursuit of zodical characters

--Stillwater arrives late at the gig in San Diego and has difficulty
gaining access to the backstage entrance, calling to mind
"NOT AN EXIT", puppet show, and the monthly "AT EASE WEEKEND" at the
air force base

--Uncanny resemblance between Stillwater drummer and Derek Smalls.
(cept Stillwater drummer announces he's gay just as the plane is about
to crash)

--Marti DiBergi working on the Rockumentary =
cub reporter Williams chronicling Stillwater for a Rolling Stone cover
story

well that's all I can think of for now...

[CLOSEDOWN8]

>--arrival of the Stillwater's first t-shirt which turns into a fiasco

How is a physical effect of a record company's favor for one band member
similar to a censored album cover?

>--band argument

What band doesn't have arguments?

>--Stillwater's manager has british accent just like Liam, er Ian.

From hence forth, all british characters will officially be considered a
"Spinal Tap" reference.

>--Stillwater manager replaced with the line "Your manager needs a
> manager."
> Doesn't David St. Hubbins tell Ian when Jeannine takes over, "what
>we're
> trying to say is, you could do for a bit of help, that's all."

The incompitent manager is a staple of rock & roll. The replacement or
addition of a manger is far from exclusive to "Spinal Tap".

>--Stillwater lead guitarist electrocuted by microphone not unlike
> Derek's pod incident

Actually, it is unlike Derek's pod incident. Take away the fact that they're
both mishaps (which is an inevitability when performing live) and there's no
connection.

>--hotel lobby groupies go ga-ga over David Bowie's arrival, similar to
> the encounter with Duke Fame.

Did you ever think that Duke Fame was "borrowed liberally" from David Bowie's
persona/popularity?

>--Clairvoyant group recognizes purple aura around cub reporter from
> Rolling Stone, akin to Jeannine's pursuit of zodical characters

The "aura" scene in "Almost Famous" was a throwaway joke. Had it been
developed further, it would be ridiculous to say it's a "Spinal Tap" ripoff.
To say that Jeannine was the first character involved with astrology is both
ignorant and ridiculous.

>--Stillwater arrives late at the gig in San Diego and has difficulty
> gaining access to the backstage entrance, calling to mind
> "NOT AN EXIT", puppet show, and the monthly "AT EASE WEEKEND" at the
> air force base

Now that's just insane.

>--Uncanny resemblance between Stillwater drummer and Derek Smalls.
> (cept Stillwater drummer announces he's gay just as the plane is about
> to crash)

Because they both have beards?

>--Marti DiBergi working on the Rockumentary =
> cub reporter Williams chronicling Stillwater for a Rolling Stone cover
> story

In case you didn't know, Cameron Crowe, writer/director of "Almost Famous", did
tour with the Allman Brothers Band years before "This Is Spinal Tap" was even
conceptualized. The movies have similarities, but not because one is
"borrowing liberally" from the other. They're similar because they're both
deal with the same subject matter. One deals with the comedic ridiculousness
of rock & roll, the other one deals with the highs and lows of the whole
lifestyle.

"We'll go dancing, set fires, tag buildings, slash tires, ride go-carts like
Shriners or just hang out at Fred Meyers."
Glen Phillips, "Fred Meyers"

[Bunezuela]

Well fine then, but did Spinal Tap sing Tiny Dancer on the tour bus??!!

"Hold me closer, Tony Dan-zaaaaa"
- the Phobe Buffet version

----
"If you're talking like a bitch, I'm gonna slap you like a bitch!"
- Mr. Blonde, Reservoir Dogs (1992)

[NikkiDH]

>>--Stillwater lead guitarist electrocuted by microphone not unlike
>> Derek's pod incident
>
>Actually, it is unlike Derek's pod incident. Take away the fact that they're
>both mishaps (which is an inevitability when performing live) and there's no
>connection.

Keith Richards *was* electrocuted by a mic stand during a concert several years
in ago in Sacramento, CA. That's probably where Crowe got the inspiration for
Russell Hammond's mishap.

[ppo...@gloryroad.net]

You should lighten up asshole. You read the Spinal Tap newsgroup and
can't even recognize light-hearted offers of doggerel, which
characterize 90% of the postings to this group. Go practice your
deconstructionism elsewhere. By the way, I spent six years working in
the touring industry
so both movies have dear places in my heart in their own different ways.

[Professor John Frink]

So was it the Allman Brothers that Almost Famous was based on? Someone told me
Led Zeppelin but I saw no connection.

~ Johnny Motel ~

When words aren't enough...send flowers

"Look, if shes not into Uriah Heep, shes not worth dating."

[Bunezuela]

Now now lads, let's not stoop to flaming, we're all Tap fans aren't we then.
Here's some links between Almost Famous and other popular movies, as listed in
the Internet Movie Database. (www.imdb.com) As you can see, Spinal Tap is
referenced in AF... it's legit. Also references to the Led Zep movie and many
others.

Movie links for
Almost Famous (2000)

references
"Andy Griffith Show, The" (1960)
To Kill a Mockingbird (1962)
"Star Trek" (1966)
Don't Look Back (1967)
Baisers volés (1968)
Gimme Shelter (1970)
Song Remains the Same, The (1976)
Rude Boy (1980)
This Is Spinal Tap (1984)
Sid and Nancy (1986)

spoofs
Airplane! (1980)
Girl, Interrupted (1999)

features
Foreign Affair, A (1948)
"Midnight Special, The" (1973)

featured in
Beatles Revolution, The (2000) (TV)

AND NOW more trivia from the same site:

At the party, when he is on acid, Russell Hammond cries out "I am a Golden
God!" This is a reference to Robert Plant of the band Led Zeppelin, who is
purported to have said the same thing (sober) while looking over Sunset Strip
from a hotel balcony.

CAMEO(Wenner, Jan): Rolling Stone publisher is in one of the taxicabs William
Miller looks into.

The film is director Cameron Crowe's semi-autobiographical account of life as a
young Rolling Stone reporter. The actual group that Crowe first toured with was
The Allman Brothers. (Gregg Allman was the one who distrusted him and kept
asking if he was a narc.) Crowe's real-life near-fatal plane crash happened
while traveling with The Who. The character of Russell Hammond charcater is
based on Glenn Frey of The Eagles.

In the scene where the tour plane hits turbulence, Russell starts to sing
"Peggy Sue." This is in reference to Buddy Holly, who died in a plane crash
while on tour.

Penny Lane asks William if he'd like to go to Morocco with her. He says,
"Yes... ask me again." According to director Crowe, "ask me again" was Patrick
Fugit stepping out of character and asking Kate Hudson to repeat her lines for
another take. But Crowe like the take as-is and kept it in the final cut.

References to the Allman Brothers:

In the opening seen we briefly see a ticket stub from an Allman Brothers
concert.

Later, we see a black-and-white photo of the fictional band Stillwater that
echoes the Allman Brothers' famous Live at the Fillmore East album cover.

The character Red Dog is named after one of the Allman Brothers' famous
roadies.

We also hear the Allman Brothers' music on the tour bus.

The old records William looks through at the beginning are actually Cameron
Crowe's, saved from his younger years.

Fairuza Balk's exclamation, "Does anybody remember laughter?" is a reference to
an additional lyric Robert Plant (of Led Zeppelin) would often insert in live
performances of "Stairway to Heaven."

At the tender young age of 18, director Cameron Crowe wrote the liner notes to
the "Frampton Comes Alive!" album by rocker Frampton, Peter. Frampton returns
the favor here by acting as a music consultant for the film.

During the opening credits, the hand that's writing on the notepad belongs to
Cameron Crowe.

When Penny Lane is driving William to the hotel to meet Stillwater, there is a
reflection on the windshield that resembles the cover of Pink Floyd's album
Dark Side of the Moon.

To look like a real rock band, the four actors in Stillwater rehearsed for four
hours a night, five nights a week, for six weeks.

Stillwater's songs were written by Crowe and wife Nancy Wilson of the rock band
Heart.

CAMEO(Frampton, Peter): member of the road crew for Humble Pie. In real life,
Frampton was a member of Humble Pie from 1969 to 1971.

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----
rainy days with nothin to do
big dreams that never came true
but I've always got you
- R. Zander
http://www.cheaptrick.com/multimedia/ivealwaysgotyou2.asf

[CLOSEDOWN8]

>So was it the Allman Brothers that Almost Famous was based on? Someone told
>me
>Led Zeppelin but I saw no connection.

Stillwater is based on the 70's rock & roll in general, but the band that
Cameron Crowe first toured with was the Allman Brothers Band. Many other
events that took place during Crowe's stint with Rolling Stone are represented
in the movie. It was Jimmy Page that kept pushing an interview back until the
last minute, as Russel Hammond does in the movie.

[Clay Cahill]

Poorly grounded gear and electrical mishaps have been reported in Rock
& Roll since Woodstock... and with rock and rollers playing with high
voltage for years previously it's undoubtedly been a staple since
years before that.

--
Faith in a holy cause is to a considerable extent a
substitute for the lost faith in ourselves. - Eric Hoffer

clay.cahill@ intel.com
caca...@pacbell.net