Speaking of pop culture quotes and references, Almost Famous is a movie I’ve watched so many times it’s actually become embedded in my DNA. (Same for Cameron Crowe’s other music opus1, Singles, which I cut my teeth on and which we’ll get to that one later in the Ukulele Alphabet…)
And yes, this song is featured in the movie, but if you didn’t remember there’s a second Elton John song in Almost Famous, you’re forgiven.
The “Tiny Dancer” scene is one for the ages — love or hate, it’s likely the one you remember — but “Mona Lisas and Mad Hatters” probably slips most people’s minds.
It’s the song that plays during the scene at Max’s Kansas City when Dick asks tells Penny to leave and William runs out into the street to find her (and where you see Jann Wenner, founder of Rolling Stone, making a cameo as the newspaper-reading cab passenger).
I wanted to pay homage to this great movie moment and great New York City moment, but a) Max’s Kansas City no longer exists and b) it would have been awkward if not impossible to film outside the now-closed Gramercy Park Hotel2 or the Plaza Hotel — the two places that bookend this scene.
So I fast-forwarded a bit, metaphorically, and performed this song in Central Park — a classic Manhattan filming location by any stretch.
If you recall, the morning after William saves Penny from an overdose at the Plaza, the two walk through Central Park and Penny reveals her real name. (It’s not Emily Rugburn.)
Enjoy the soundtrack with the birds, see you back in the real world, don’t take drugs (unless you are a golden god, and remember, if you ever get lonely, just go to the record store and visit your friends.
Listen to the original version of “Mona Lisas and Mad Hatters”:
Read more about The Ukulele Alphabet project:
Introducing The Ukulele Alphabet
There are 52 weeks in the year and 26 letters in the alphabet. 26 times 2 equals 52.
I’m not a Cameron Crowe superfan; there are many of his films I’ve never seen, including Vanilla Sky (!). But I’ll mix my metaphors again and quote Barry in High Fidelity: “Sub-question: is it in fact unfair to criticize a formerly great artist for his latter-day sins, is it better to burn out or fade away?”
This is/was a hotel with a wild history and the liquidation sale seemed like it would have been something to see. I didn’t go because I was COVID-shy but I kind of regret it. Anyhoo, the hotel property is apparently under new ownership and may re-open?
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