Lifestyle
Why Cameron Crowe wears ‘uncool’ as a badge of honor
Cameron Crowe, left, speaks with Gregg Allman in 1973.
Neal Preston/Simon & Schuster
hide caption
toggle caption
Neal Preston/Simon & Schuster
If filmmaker Cameron Crowe’s career arc sounds like a Hollywood story, that’s because it is one. Crowe’s 2000 Oscar-winning film Almost Famous is based on his own teen years; he was 15 years old in 1973 when he became a music journalist, landing a backstage interview Gregg Allman. By age 16, he had written his first cover story for Rolling Stone. He’d go on to write about David Bowie, Jimmy Page and other rock stars.
Crowe credits much of his early success with his hometown of San Diego, which tended to come at the end of a band’s tour. By that time, he says, musicians were open to talking.
“Here’s a kid that comes to the door with a notebook full of questions based on the music that nobody was really asking them about,” Crowe says. “They’re like, ‘Get that kid in here. Come on, we’re bored. Let him ask us those questions.’”
In his new memoir, The Uncool, Crowe reflects on his adventures and misadventures as a teenage journalist. He also writes about what life was like in his family, and how he convinced his parents to allow him to go on the road before he’d even graduated high school.
The book is based in part on Crowe’s old interview tapes, which he saved. Listening back now, he says, those conversations informed his work as a Hollywood writer and director, whose credits include Fast Times at Ridgemont High, Say Anything … and Jerry Maguire.
“I transcribed all my interviews myself, so I knew that people don’t talk elegantly, but they can pour their heart out in half sentences,” he says. “So it was really one big magic carpet ride of learning about people. And it started early. I’m a lucky guy.”
Interview highlights
On interviewing musicians who were only a few years older than he was
I thought they were seasoned adults at the time. … They were 22, for example. And being 15, the distance between 15 and 22 is enormous. It’s like a generation. But really, we were all kind of young together, and rock was young. There wasn’t video assists and all the bells and whistles and dancers and stuff. It was really just a naked stage and people playing songs. And the power of the songs was the power of the concert. … But as a young guy, you’re kind of in this position where this person is allowing me to ask them whatever I want to about music that I love. And it was a blissful time and I still love writing about it.
On his mom’s reluctance to let him tour with rock bands
As a teacher and a counselor who had many great counselees who loved her so much, she always respected intellectualism. So if I could somehow pin it to intellectual success I had a way in. So to go on the road with Led Zeppelin at 15, I had to really sell Led Zeppelin to her as like music that’s based on Tolkien. And this is, like, lofty material that’s good for the soul. And ultimately, I think she said: Because we love the interviewer Dick Cavett in our family, go and take this journey, put on your magic shoes, call me every night, and don’t take drugs.” And that was my ticket out.
On being offered drugs
I learned early on, Terry, that like the best response is no. Because the person offering you the drugs generally then says, “Smart kid, more for me.” And that made me, I don’t know, it made people know that I wasn’t there to join the band, party with the band. I was there with a notebook full of questions based on loving music. And that really swung the door open in many ways.
On interviewing David Bowie in 1976
I asked him at one point, because his real name was David Jones, right? So I asked them at one point, “Am I meeting David Jones or am I meet David Bowie, the creation?” And he said, “You’re meeting David Jones who’s aggressively throwing David Bowie at you.” I asked at one time, I was like, “How do you think you’re gonna die? Do you think you’ll die on stage?” Because Ziggy Stardust, one of his characters, I think was based on somebody who had died on stage. And he said, “No, no no, I don’t think that’s going to happen to me.” I’m paraphrasing a little bit — but he said, “I think my death will be an event, something that I manage and produce and make my own statement.”
Crowe’s new memoir is based on interview tapes from the 1970s, which he saved.
Cameron Crowe/Simon & Schuster
hide caption
toggle caption
Cameron Crowe/Simon & Schuster
And that is exactly what happened. … He died of cancer at a young age and he knew he was dying. And what he did was didn’t tell anybody except a small group of collaborators. And he did this album, Black Star, which is his statement about the death that was coming. And it’s profound and it’s managed. And it is an opportunity that he did not throw away. He made a statement about his death.
On how the groupies would confide in him
All of the so-called “groupies,” or people that were hanging around the bands, women in particular, would, because I was so young, would confide in me. So I had no romantic potential or any of that. So they would actually be like magpies with me and just telling me all their stories and like, “I was really upset when he treated me like this” and “blah, blah, but you know what, you move on, you do this.” And I just I was like, wow. Nobody in high school ever talked to me like this. This is a glimpse of romantic bliss, minefields and all kinds of stuff.
On what he learned from Rolling Stone journalist Lester Bangs about being “uncool” — which was portrayed in a scene from Crowe’s semi-autobiographical film, Almost Famous
I was always trying to figure out what cool was, because my mom skipped me too many grades. I got my high school diploma in the mail, because I graduated as a junior. And the attempt to be cool … was never gonna pay off if you’re younger than everybody else. But what Lester was saying was … when you’re posturing, you’re never there. He said that they had done that to music. They had made music a lifestyle posture, not the thing that’s ripped from the soul. …
YouTube
And I thought, wow, so many of the musicians and the writers and the people that I came to love were not cool. … It was like a lost pursuit, but they found each other through music. They found each through this thing that gave you that feeling of being understood. So I called the book The Uncool because it was the badge of honor that Lester put on me, you know? Don’t try and do it. Be whatever is real to you. And that might be cool.
Sam Briger and Anna Bauman produced and edited this interview for broadcast. Bridget Bentz, Molly Seavy-Nesper and Beth Novey adapted it for the web.
Neve Campbell in Scream 7.
Paramount Pictures
hide caption
toggle caption
Paramount Pictures
The OG Scream Queen Neve Campbell returns. Scream 7 re-centers the franchise back on Sidney Prescott. She has a new life, a family, and lots of baggage. You know the drill: Someone dressing up as the masked slasher Ghostface comes for her, her family and friends. There’s lots of stabbing and murder and so many red herrings it’s practically a smorgasbord.
Follow Pop Culture Happy Hour on Letterboxd at letterboxd.com/nprpopculture
Abriana Vicioso is the host of the Flower Hour, which takes place monthly.
(Jennifer McCord / For The Times)
Each flower carries a personal history. For Abriana Vicioso, the calla lily was her parents’ wedding flower — a symbol of her mother’s beauty. “She had this big, beautiful white calla lily in her hair,” Vicioso says. “I love my parents. They’re the reason I’m here. I’ll never forget where I came from.”
The Flower Hour begins with Vicioso announcing, with a warm smile: “Today is about touching grass.” The florist-by-trade gestures behind her to hundreds of flowers contained in buckets — blue thistles, ivory anemones and calla lilies painted silver — all twisted and unfurling into the air. “Tonight is going to be so sweet and intimate,” Vicioso says, eyeing the beautiful chaos at her feet. A grin buds across her face.
Moments before the workshop, participants sit at candlelit tables exchanging horoscopes and comparing their favorite flowers. A mention of the illustrious bird-of-paradise flower elicits coos and awe from the women. Izamar Vazquez, who is from Jalisco, Mexico, reveals her fondness for roses, which make her feel connected to her Mexican roots.
Vicioso hosts her flower-themed wellness workshop near the iconic Original Los Angeles Flower Market in downtown L.A. In January, the first Flower Hour event sold out, prompting her to make it a monthly series. Vicioso describes the event as a “three-part journey” where participants are invited to drink herbal tea, smoke rose-petal-rolled cannabis joints and create a floral arrangement. “The guide is to connect with the medicine of flowers,” Vicioso says.
Rose petal joints, tea and flower arranging are all part of The Flower Hour event’s offerings.
The event is hosted at the Art Club, a membership-based co-working space. “The Flower Hour is really beautiful. Everyone gets to explore their creativity while meeting new people,” says Lindsay Williams, the co-owner of the Art Club.
The idea for Flower Hour came to Vicioso during a conversation with her mother. “We joke all the time that flowers were destined to make their way into my life,” she says. She works as a florist and models on the side, even appearing in the pages of Vogue. Vicioso grew up in a Caribbean household, where flowers and offerings were part of daily life. “In my culture and religion, a lot of my family practices — an Afro-Caribbean religion — we build altars.”
Like many cultures, flowers carry sentimental value in her religion. “I’m Caribbean, so a lot of my family practices a Yoruba religion, which comes from Africa. In the Caribbean, it’s well known as Santería.”
-
Share via
After a difficult year and a breakup, Vicioso wanted to marry her love of flowers with community building. Because Vicioso uses cannabis medicinally, the workshop naturally includes a smoking component. “My family has smoked cannabis for a lot of reasons for a long time. It’s a really healing plant,” she explains.
In the workshop, even the cannabis gets the floral treatment. Vicioso presents her rose-petal-wrapped joints on a silver platter at each table. She rolled each by hand. “If you’ve never smoked a rose-petal-rolled joint, the difference with this is it’s going to have roses that have a slight tobacco effect,” she announces.
During the workshop, Vicioso stresses the importance of buying cannabis from local vendors. The cannabis provided was purchased from a Northern Californian vendor. The wellness workshop aims to reclaim the healing ritual of smoking cannabis. “This is a plant that has been commercialized,” Vicioso says. “There’s a lot of Black and Brown people who are in jail for this plant.”
The resulting workshop is what Vicioso describes as “an immersive wellness experience that is the intersection of wellness, creativity, community and an appreciation of flowers.” The workshop serves as a reminder to enjoy Earth’s innate beauty in the form of flowers — including cannabis. “It’s this gift that the universe gave us for free and that I have this deep connection with,” Vicioso says.
Conversation cards to generate discussion among participants (top, letf). The workshop serves as a “third space” for Angelenos to engage in tactile creativity and community building outside of traditional nightlife settings.
After enjoying lavender chamomile tea and smoking a joint, Vicioso introduces the flowers to the group before inviting them to pick their own. She emphasizes each flower’s personality traits, describing green dianthus as a “Dr. Seuss” plant. Then, there are calla lilies with their “main character moment.” It gets personal. “Start thinking of a flower in your life that you can discover,” she says. “If you’re feeling like you need inspiration, you can always remember that these flowers have stories.”
Vicioso infuses wisdom into her instruction on floral arrangements: There are no mistakes. Let the flowers tell you where they want to go, she urges. Intuition will be your guide — the wilder, the better.
“Hecho in Mexico” reads a sticker on a bunch of green stems. “Like me,” says Vazquez with a laugh. “They’re all doing their own thing. Like a family,” she says later, arranging stems.
The Flower Hour participants and Vicioso, center, chat as they build their own floral arrangements at the sold-out event.
Two participants — Vazquez and Rebeca Alvarado — are friends who run a floral design company together called Izza Rose. Like Vicioso, the friends have a connection to flowers through their Latin American culture. They met Vicioso in the floral industry and were overjoyed to discover her workshop.
“This is a great way to connect with other people,” says Vazquez.
Alvarado agrees, adding: “You’re getting to know people outside of going to bars. You can connect in different ways when there’s an activity.”
Vazquez uses flowers to stay connected to her Mexican heritage, adding that she prefers to support Mexican vendors. In recent months, the downtown L.A. flower market has struggled to recover from ongoing ICE raids. “Some are scared to come back,” says Vazquez.
Hand-rolled cannabis joints wrapped in rose petals are presented on a silver platter at The ArtClub (top, right). The Flower Hour aims to reclaim the healing rituals of cannabis and flowers.
Another participant, Barbara Rios, was attracted to the workshop for stress relief. “You can hang out with your friends, but it’s nice to do things with your hands,” she says. “I work a stressful job, and it’s nice to have that third space that we’re all craving.”
On this February night, the participants were predominantly women, save for one man. In the future, Vicioso hopes that more men learn to engage with flowers. “There’s a statistic about men receiving flowers for the first time at their funerals, and I think we have changed that,” she says.
To conclude the workshop, Vicioso encourages participants to build lasting friendships and incorporate flower arranging into their daily practice — even if it’s just with a small, inexpensive bouquet.
“Get some flowers together, go to the park, hang out with each other and hang out with me,” she says. Participants leave with flower arrangements in hand. In the darkness of the night air, it briefly looks as though the women carry silver calla lilies that are blooming from their palms.
An underwater view shows US’ Lilly King competing in a heat of the women’s 200m breaststroke swimming event during the Paris 2024 Olympic Games at the Paris La Defense Arena in Nanterre, west of Paris, on July 31, 2024. (Photo by François-Xavier MARIT / AFP) (Photo by FRANCOIS-XAVIER MARIT/AFP via Getty Images)
François-Xavier Marit/Getty Images
hide caption
toggle caption
François-Xavier Marit/Getty Images
This week’s show was recorded in Bloomington, Indiana with host Peter Sagal, judge and scorekeeper Bill Kurtis, Not My Job guest Lilly King and panelists Alonzo Bodden, Josh Gondelman, and Faith Salie. Click the audio link above to hear the whole show.
Who’s Bill This Time
State of the Union is Hot; The Tribal Council Convenes Again; A Glow Up In the Doll Aisle
Panel Questions
The Toot Tracker
Bluff The Listener
Our panelists tell three stories about a travel hack in the news, only one of which is true.
Not My Job: Olympic Swimmer Lilly King answers our questions about Lil’ Kings
Olympic Swimmer Lilly King plays our game called, “Lilly King meet these Lil’ Kings” Three questions about short kings.
Panel Questions
Cleaning Out The Cabinet; Bedtime Stacking
Limericks
Bill Kurtis reads three news-related limericks: Getting Cozy With Cross Country Skiing; Pickleball’s New Competition; Bees Get Freaky
Lightning Fill In The Blank
All the news we couldn’t fit anywhere else
Predictions
Our panelists predict, after American Girls, what’ll be the next toy to get an update.
A look at some of the contenders to be Iran’s supreme leader after the killing of Khamenei
Map: Earthquake Shakes Central California
Video: Defense Officials Give No Timeline for War in Iran as U.S. Boosts Forces
Try This Quiz on the Real Locations in These Magical and Mysterious Novels
‘Scream 7’ takes a weak stab at continuing the franchise : Pop Culture Happy Hour
Florida High School Football Rankings: Top 25 teams – Oct. 21
Cleary's 21 help Le Moyne down Central Connecticut State 69-64 in OT
How old is Bo Nix? What to know about Oregon quarterback ahead of 2024 NFL Draft
99th annual Pony Swim held in Virginia
Indiana Members Credit Union announced as new anchor tenant at Bottleworks District
Map: Earthquake Shakes Central California
Gas prices could jump as Middle East tensions threaten global oil supply
Pakistan calls troops, orders 3-day curfew as 24 killed in pro-Iran rallies
US says Kuwait accidentally shot down 3 American jets
House Republicans push Johnson to go to war with Senate over SAVE Act
-
World5 days agoExclusive: DeepSeek withholds latest AI model from US chipmakers including Nvidia, sources say
-
Massachusetts5 days agoMother and daughter injured in Taunton house explosion
-
Denver, CO5 days ago10 acres charred, 5 injured in Thornton grass fire, evacuation orders lifted
-
Louisiana1 week agoWildfire near Gum Swamp Road in Livingston Parish now under control; more than 200 acres burned
-
Technology1 week agoYouTube TV billing scam emails are hitting inboxes
-
Politics1 week agoOpenAI didn’t contact police despite employees flagging mass shooter’s concerning chatbot interactions: REPORT
-
Technology1 week agoStellantis is in a crisis of its own making
-
News1 week agoWorld reacts as US top court limits Trump’s tariff powers