Music for Film Almost Famous
I had an instructor in graduate school, Bobby Knight, who wrote the music for TV series such as Lassie. One of the most important things I remember from his course was that music, or any other film element, should never overshadow the audience’s psychic emersion into the film. Anything that helped point out technique or artistry would pull the audience out of this zen-like experience.
Almost Famous does a wonderful job of using music. When I first viewed the film, I became lost in the story. The music of the fictitious band STILLWATER was vibrant and alive. It felt like “new” music even though it was meant to mimic the rock and roll bands of that era.
Nancy Wilson of Heart (Cameron Crowe’s wife) along with Cameron wrote the music for the band STILLWATER. Peter Frampton wrote two songs as well. Nancy Wilson receives credit for the music score and Danny Bramson receives credit as Music Supervisor. What makes the music in the film work is its inherent relationship with the story. Let’s take the exterior scene of the sports arena where Penny Lane and William are exiting the arena. Occasionally we can hear his mother’s distant whistle in the background. The music under the scene is unobtrusive and complimentary to both the dialogue and the mother’s whistle. Penny is revealing to William that she is going to Morocco for a year. The music echoes the mood lightly and doesn’t distract from the whistle of the mom in the background.
I am amazed how well integrated the music is in the story. It’s present in so much of the film. Occasionally there is a scene with dialogue only, such as the scene where William’s mom calls his hotel room and Estrella answers the phone. Estrella first thinks it is Maryann with the pot. When she finds out it’s William’s mom she defends William and tells the mom she should be proud of him. By not using music in this scene the focus is on the dialogue, which centers on the moral issue of William’s life in this new world of rock and roll. It’s important to know when to use music and when to use silence or dialogue alone.
The overall sound mix utilizes much music. Often the music is mixed with other backstage sounds. There is a flow between the musical padding behind dialogue scenes and the actual stage music or music generated by radios within scenes. Music is also indicates a change in scene such as the time William is sharing secrets with Russell and then some guys in a car invite them to a party. The film then does a hard cut to the party and the music cuts in hard and strong. This helps the story flow and increases the forward momentum of the storytelling.
One of the best scenes utilizing music is the tour bus scene the morning after Russell’s bout with LSD at a party. The tour bus has picked up a humiliated and still-stoned Russell while party goers watch the bus pull away. The song Tiny Dancer is playing on the bus stereo. At one point a band member starts singing along with the song and then others join in. Finally, Russell starts singing along and the tension is relieved. This use of music creates a well motivated scene dramatically and the key story element is the use of the song.