Many of the remaining baby boomers are finding out just how much our jukebox heroes ranged from mischievous to racists to rapists. Do you want to know the stories behind the music (i.e., the lyrics, the featured performers, the collaborations), or the stories behind the people who created the music? Because if you're easily disillusioned and can't separate the two, David Crosby: Remember My Name would not be for you.
David Crosby is an a-hole. He says so. And throughout the movie he seems to be trying to walk the tight rope between remorses for his a-hole-ness and wasted time; and fond memories laced with the knowledge that if not for them, he wouldn't be where he is today. He never fully succeeds in achieving a comfortable relationship with either; which is about as human as you can get in a documentary: people's stories are never that simple.
Crosby took full advantage of the hedonistic 70s; which married 1950s misogyny with the free love movement, and initially equated drug experimentation with freedom (until, like Crosby says, you realize that you keep chasing that first rush but you never get it again). He took the freedom of his fame to the extreme: blew up bands, insulted friends who stuck by him, abused his body; and shakes his head now, wondering how he's still here.
Viewed through the lens of current times, it's hard to imagine where the musicians of the era found the time and energy to produce music that still resonates today. But they did, Crosby did. And in the end, it appears that Crosby has come to recognize that the music is why he survived. Yes, he acknowledges the importance of his wife and family, but he knows that if given a choice between them and music, music would win.
I was reading an article about the movie, and Cameron Crowe was clear that they didn't want to go back and interview David's former band mates for the movie. It wasn't that they weren't asked, it was a production choice. As Crowe said, these guys frequently get asked questions about the past and about their relationships with each other , they answer them all the time. This is David's movie. Let him tell the story his way. He goes on to say that he senses Crosby would like some closure with his former band mates, and perhaps hopes the movie will open some dialogs before it's too late
As a child of the 70s, I appreciated the film. The threat of continuity that Cameron Crowe brought to the production, with his long history in the rock 'n' roll industry, along with the clarity of purpose not to turn Crosby into either a hero or tragedy, made this one of the better rock documentaries I've seen in a while.
David Crosby is an a-hole. He says so. And throughout the movie he seems to be trying to walk the tight rope between remorses for his a-hole-ness and wasted time; and fond memories laced with the knowledge that if not for them, he wouldn't be where he is today. He never fully succeeds in achieving a comfortable relationship with either; which is about as human as you can get in a documentary: people's stories are never that simple.
Crosby took full advantage of the hedonistic 70s; which married 1950s misogyny with the free love movement, and initially equated drug experimentation with freedom (until, like Crosby says, you realize that you keep chasing that first rush but you never get it again). He took the freedom of his fame to the extreme: blew up bands, insulted friends who stuck by him, abused his body; and shakes his head now, wondering how he's still here.
Viewed through the lens of current times, it's hard to imagine where the musicians of the era found the time and energy to produce music that still resonates today. But they did, Crosby did. And in the end, it appears that Crosby has come to recognize that the music is why he survived. Yes, he acknowledges the importance of his wife and family, but he knows that if given a choice between them and music, music would win.
I was reading an article about the movie, and Cameron Crowe was clear that they didn't want to go back and interview David's former band mates for the movie. It wasn't that they weren't asked, it was a production choice. As Crowe said, these guys frequently get asked questions about the past and about their relationships with each other , they answer them all the time. This is David's movie. Let him tell the story his way. He goes on to say that he senses Crosby would like some closure with his former band mates, and perhaps hopes the movie will open some dialogs before it's too late
As a child of the 70s, I appreciated the film. The threat of continuity that Cameron Crowe brought to the production, with his long history in the rock 'n' roll industry, along with the clarity of purpose not to turn Crosby into either a hero or tragedy, made this one of the better rock documentaries I've seen in a while.