(((O))) Review: Cameron Crowe – The Uncool: A Memoir

“One day, you’ll be cool”. Zooey Deschanel’s portrayal of Anita Miller telling his younger brother William in the 2000 movie Almost Famous, where she is leaving home and giving William her entire record collection between The Beach Boys’ Pet Sounds, Cream’s Wheels of Fire, Led Zeppelin’s first album, and landing on The Who’s 1969 breakthrough Tommy, where she leaves a note that says, “Listen to Tommy with a candle burning”.

As soon as the sound of ‘Sparks’ plays, you feel the future of where William is going and the direction he’s about to embark on. For Cameron Crowe, before he had achieved success with Fast times at Ridgemont High, Say Anything, Singles, Jerry Maguire, and then, Almost Famous, which was based on his teen years as a writer for Rolling Stone Magazine, he interviewed the bands and artists that he admired growing up.

From Jimmy Page, David Bowie, Kris Kristofferson, members of Fleetwood Mac, and interviewing Gregg Allman, his memoir, The Uncool, chronicles his time with Rolling Stone in the 1970s with his interviews and experience during that time frame. Following in the foot steps of fellow rock critic Lester Bangs, who not only was a critic and journalist for Creem and Rolling Stone (Rolling Stone fired him because he gave one of Canned Heat albums a bad review), but a mentor to a young Cameron.

Reading the book, its almost as if you want to dig out your Neil Young, Yes, Zeppelin, and Bowie albums, dust them off, play it on your record player and make it the soundtrack of your life. From his growing up childhood years in Palm Springs, his father an Army officer, going to see his first concert by his mother and seeing Bob Dylan in 1964 at a local college gym, Crowe bears it all.

Then when he was in his teens, he started to writing for the San Diego Underground Paper called the San Diego Door, which was a publication that began his career. It did bring back a memory for me when I wanted to write about music where I took a course at Houston Community College which is now Houston City College 20 years ago called Commercial Music Forum where I had to write five concert reviews, that was the light-bulb moment for me, and I felt where Cameron was about to enter the door and never look back, if his mom wanted him to be a lawyer originally.

We’re along for the ride, experiencing his time interviewing David Bowie during the Station to Station-era as he spent 18 months, following him, getting the cover story about his favourite band Led Zeppelin when they were on tour promoting the Physical Graffiti album in 1975. It was the first cover for the magazine for the group, after the magazine trashed them with their earlier albums and Zeppelin themselves refused to be interviewed by Rolling Stone. There’s an old saying, “An elephant never forgets”. For Zeppelin, they haven’t forgotten. Until Cameron came in.

There’s a moment in either listening or reading the audiobook or the memoir where it has been told by Cameron many, many times, where the initial plan was where the band members were holding black roses with Jimmy Page. It was their way of saying to the magazine, “You hated our albums, here’s our gift of black roses to you.” But unfortunately, the photo wasn’t used because of a lightning error, and the famous live photo shoots was used instead.

But from all of the crazy and amazing ride Cameron endured in the ‘70s, one that he’s pleased with was his time interviewing Joni Mitchell. He mentions in both the book and audiobook that its one of the best he experienced about when Mitchell was doing the Mingus album which was originally released on June 13th 1979 on the Asylum label, which was her collaboration with jazz legend Charles Mingus before he passed away on January 5th the same year the album was in the works.

Even though Crowe knew that she never cared about the magazine because one of the articles mentioned in 1971 at the time of the Blue album, it was about her relationships which was a bad move on Rolling Stone’s part. Before Cameron was ready to publish his story, Mitchell asked him that she wanted to go over it before it went to the magazine. She looked over it the following night and went over some of the corrections to make sure it’s perfect.

It was like the teacher that Cameron wished he had. And with Joni, she had complete faith in Crowe’s writing. And believe me, it was a perfect combination. The Uncool is a fascinating memoir for anyone who loves music or revealing the true story beyond the 2000 classic. Music is the true form of healing of one’s hope to continue on and never look back, but it is a healing mechanism that stays with you for the test of time.