looking on she sings the songs

"i have to go home." ~ william miller
"you are home." ~ penny lane

if i could live in a film for a few days this would be the one. i never grow tired of watching this film. ever. a part of the film, most likely the scene above, is always with me.

i think my mom was a bit like penny lane before i was born. every so often she lets stories slip out, and i see a side of her that few recognize. but, i remember how i saw her when i was a little girl; long hair, flowy dresses, stereo always playing, and that faraway look in her eyes. i think sometimes we see more clearly the truths inside of people when we are small; our eyes less blurred by disappointment, loss and desires.

this scene, the thing i love most about it, is how it is the music that heals the tension between everyone; and how, if only for the six minutes and twelve seconds it takes for tiny dancer to play, everyone forgives and everyone is connected. and doris the tour bus keeps rolling along down the road.

there is more i could say about the story. how there are so many layers, and perspectives, at play here. you could take it as a coming-of-age story about william miller, based loosely on cameron crowe's own coming-of-age, and how william took his first stab at being a rock reporter. you could watch it all from penny's point of view, another coming-of-age story, and how she learns to let go of love from others, finally taking that trip with herself; the eventual peeling back of the muse who is a living and breathing girl inside of the inspiration and song lyrics. or, you could take it all as a rock and roll tale, yet another kind of coming-of-age, and how the music can get lost along the way of egos, record labels, rolling stone, friendship, sex, drugs, fans, and love.

365 love: almost famous