Last Sunday was my 32nd Birthday. Yay me. The reason I mention that is because I was fortunate enough to receive some gifts from friends and family. I received two of my favourite movies about music on DVD. The first was the special edition of This Is Spinal Tap, one of the funniest movies ever. Things from this movie are everwhere for a musician. Turning the amplifier up to 11, the thin line between clever and stupid.

The other was the Almost Famous Untitled Bootleg. As well as containing my favourite movie of 2000, this collection includes Cameron Crowe's extended version of the movie. Now, usually I find extended films to be great at explaining why they were cut for the final release. This is one of the few films where I feel that I won't be able to watch the fully edited theatrical release anymore. The movie is vastly improved by the addition of the extra scenes, so many new nuances and levels are added and give you an even better understanding of why things happened the way they did, and also just the love that Crowe has for that era and his memories of it.

When William Miller asks Russell Hammond, the guitar player for Stillwater "What do you love most about music." Hammond replies "First of all, everything." This scene really gets at the heart of what this movie is about and also why I continue to enjoy it so much, even at my advanced age.