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Central Congregational Church
“It was very difficult for me to be the only lyricist in the band.”
Steven Tyler, singer of Aerosmith
The third single from the album Get a Grip, released after Livin’ on the Edge and Eat the Rich, Cryin’ encouraged the band to hire the high-profile Marty Callner to direct a short film. A video whose script features a young woman (Alicia Silverstone) in love with a bad boy (Stephen Dorff). At first, everything seems to be going well for the couple, but the heroine soon realizes that her partner is cheating on her with another woman. Mad with rage and determined not to let herself be taken advantage of, she sets out to take revenge. As Alicia Silverstone finds the strength in grief to reinvent and affirm herself, the musicians of Aerosmith, seated inside Fall River’s Central Congregational Church, perform their song, taking advantage of the special lighting to emphasize the inflections in the lyrics and music. The location was also chosen for practical reasons, as Fall River is just over an hour’s drive from Boston, Aerosmith’s home base. The band also knows the city very well, having played there many times in their early days. Steven Tyler did not have to look long for the ideal place to obtain the expected rendering on the screen.
Rich in striking scenes, the video for Cryin’, with its strong female character and memorable conclusion, during which Alicia Silverstone jumps off a bridge before giving her ex-boyfriend the finger, traumatized a whole generation of fans. The video was broadcast in a loop on MTV, the leading music channel of the time, and won numerous awards. The scene in which Alicia Silverstone gets her navel pierced encourages thousands of young girls to do the same, starting a trend that has spread around the world.
As the record continues to sell by the truckload, the video for Cryin’ is making an impression on the retinas of American teenagers, but not only. More than just a song, Steven Tyler, Joe Perry and Taylor Rhodes’ composition acts as the perfect remedy for all the heartaches and encourages to move on. Playing the cheating boyfriend in the clip, Stephen Dorff finds an ideal launching pad here. Even if, in the end, this role helped shape his image in the collective unconscious. He then appeared in the credits of films where he often played troubled or unfriendly characters. In Cryin‘, Josh Holloway, the future Sawyer of the series Lost, also has a small role. Afterwards, Alicia Silverstone appeared in the video for Crazy, alongside Liv Tyler, the daughter of the Aerosmith singer, and in the video forAmazing, the final single from Get a Grip.
The album Get a Grip has sold20 million copies. It is Aerosmith’s biggest hit.
Central Congregational Church
Imbued with mystery and an integral part of American history, the Central Congregational Church attracts both the faithful and the curious.
Opened in 1875 and listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1983, this church is one of the most remarkable in the town of Fall River, Massachusetts. While it remains famous for its architecture, the work of the famous Hartwell and Swasey, it has become part of American folklore because it was within its walls that Lizzie Borden and her family once attended Sunday services. Lizzie Borden was infamous for killing her father and stepmother with an axe on August 4, 1892. The church is said to be haunted.
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Cult! music: 100 mythical music places [French Edition]
Embark immediately on an exhilarating world tour with some of music’s most iconic bands and artists!
Head to Melbourne, Australia for a stroll along AC/DC Lane before crossing the iconic Abbey Road pedestrian crossing in the company of The Beatles. Visit Janis Joplin‘s home in San Francisco and find out how Johnny Cash ended up playing his greatest hits to a crowd of prisoners in San Quentin. Travel the winding roads of Laurel Canyon in Los Angeles with Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young and stop in Japan to catch up with Deep Purple, Phil Collins and Daft Punk. Drive down the Tina Turner Highway before entering some of the most legendary studios in music history. Go back to the troubled origins of Billie Holiday and make a pact with Robert Johnson at the famous crossroads in Clarksdale, Mississippi. Embark immediately on an exhilarating world tour with some of music’s most iconic bands and artists! Relive the Jimi Hendrix concert on the Isle of Wight before paying tribute to Bob Marley in Jamaica.
Produced by a team of pop-culture specialists and enhanced by numerous anecdotes, Cult! musictells the secrets of the places that made the history of music.
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By Gilles Rolland
Passionné de cinéma, de rock and roll, de séries TV et de littérature. Rédacteur de presse et auteur des livres Le Heavy Metal au cinéma, Paroles de fans Guns N' Roses, Paroles de fans Rammstein et Welcome to my Jungle : 100 albums rock et autres anecdotes dépareillées. Adore également voyager à la recherche des lieux les plus emblématiques de la pop culture.