So the new Sun Kil Moon record is out. Oddly enough it’s 11 Modest Mouse covers, but it’s fucking amazing. So the really odd thing here is Cameron Crowe is putting out the vinyl version on his label(Vinyl Films). Now I fucking hate Cameron Crowe, he makes shit movies for 30’s something half wits. Only rivaled by Oliver Stone for the crown of fake good movies. This really didn’t start as a rant againt Cameron but while I’m on a roll let me just post this:
What’s odd about Crowe is how pervasive his influence is, or seems to be; there are so many movies that feel like they could have been directed by him (Serendipity comes to mind), mostly because lesser directors steal his actors and his tricks. Likable lead, comely lady, ol’ time rock ‘n’ roll song for the trailer. All this bad-Xerox mimicry has made Crowe seem like the voice of a generation — much as John Hughes once was. Yet in his own films, all Crowe can do is spout slogans; he’s a voice with nothing to say.
At their core, Crowe’s movies are distressingly anodyne: Be nice. Play fair. Walk wide-eyed into this world, and appreciate its wonder, especially when said wonder unfurls to a song by Elton John.
In fact, the most enjoyment we’ve gotten out of Cameron Crowe in years has nothing to do with him at all. It’s that fake trailer for the fake movie Shining that’s been circulating the internet for weeks(which I posted here). The most inspired moment in the fake trailer is the use of Peter Gabriel’s “Salisbury Hill,” so perfectly employed as the Pavlovian cue for all viewers to prepare their hearts for warming. This kind of Easy-Bake moment is exactly what Crowe’s best known for, and best at: a moment that effectively cues you to feel something you remember having felt before, rather than inspiring an actual honest emotional response.
-Fametracker.com
Anyways the guy has put out a Low record and some various other cool things on vinyl. For the record I like Fast Times at Ridgemont High and I almost like Vanilla Sky but he lifted that movie from Abre Los Ojos so that doesn’t count. Let me return to the point of this post, check out Sun Kil Moon.