Find the Japanese version of “Almost Famous”! What is the hidden gem directed by that famous actor/talent? Looking back on music history and personal history at the same time

“Almost Famous” synopsis

Raised by a strict mother, she is an honor student who knows nothing about sex or drugs. A manuscript that William wrote for a local magazine caught the attention of Rolling Stone magazine, and he completely changed his normal life as a 15-year-old and immersed himself in the world of rock. William is assigned to cover a band that is on the verge of breaking out, and meets groupie leader Penny Lane. It was the beginning of a painful love...

Index

• Takanori Jinnai was a charismatic vocalist. If you don't watch ``Rockers,'' which he directed, you'll be missing out!
• A look into Hakata's rock scene and the "back then" of legendary guitarist Nobuo Tani
• The end of youth and what happened to The Rockers

Takanori Jinnai was a charismatic vocalist. If you don't watch ``Rockers,'' which he directed, you'll be missing out!

Cameron Crowe is a popular film director with a unique background, having made his industry debut as a music writer for Rolling Stone magazine at the age of just 15. His masterpiece, ``Almost Famous'' (2000), is based on an episode in which he accompanied a famous rock band on tour at the time. This film is filled with the bittersweetness of an innocent boy's initiation (rite of passage) as he climbs the steps to adulthood, and at the same time gives us a vivid look at the rock scene of the early 1970s, as well as the reality of rock journalism. .

A person who was actually at the center of the history of pop music later takes up the megaphone and looks back on his youth autobiographically in the form of a film. This is a valuable report filled with three-dimensional emotion, but are there any similar examples in Japan?

One example of this is the movie ``Sweet Heat Boy'' (1987), directed by Takashi Matsumoto, known as one of Japan's leading lyricists. The story is based on his high school days, before he formed the legendary band " Happy End " in which he was a drummer. However, this is not available on DVD.

Therefore, I would like to recommend a movie that you can easily watch right now - and a hidden gem that you will simply be missing out on if you haven't seen it yet. The film `` Rockers '' (2003) was Takanori Jinnai's first directorial role.

Speaking of Takanori Jinnai, many people may only have an image of him as a cheerful actor and talent who became a big hit in the trendy drama of the bubble era. However, he was originally the vocalist of "The Rockers" (TH eROCKERS), which was active for a short period in the early 1980s (and is still active today after several reunions). One of the representative bands of the second generation of Hakata's rock scene (the first generation included Sunhouse, where Makoto Ayukawa and others were members), commonly known as ``Mentai Rock'', and is one of the representative bands of the Hakata rock scene, along with The Roosters, The Mods, and ARB. (Although strictly speaking, The Roosters are a band from Kitakyushu).

Search YouTube for live footage of The Rockers from that time. The young Jinnai, who is razor-tall and slim, can sometimes be seen singing in a style similar to David Johansen of the New York Dolls.

In 1998, he published his tearful autobiography ` `Amazing Grace '' (published by Gentosha). Based on this masterpiece, the movie ``Rockers'' focuses on themselves before their professional debut.

The style of this film is close to the current image of Jinnai. Rather, perhaps his true nature is that he is friendly to the point of being uncouth. It's an entertaining youth movie with no stylish pretension whatsoever and a heart-warming sense of service. Of course, it is full of the earnest feelings of a once in a lifetime generation, transcribing the precious treasures of life.

This is Jinnai's version of ``Almost Famous''. However, it is not the cute girls who symbolize ``those days.'' For him, ``Penny Lane'' is the late guitarist Nobuo Tani (born 1959 - died 1996).

A look into Hakata's rock scene and the "back then" of legendary guitarist Nobuo Tani