Terry Gross

I was just— Knowing that she hated rock and roll.

When you were 15 writing about bands, the bands were older than you were.

But looking back now, they were probably mostly in their 20s.

I know.

Which is really young.

So what's your take on some of those musicians now thinking of them as young people and not as older people?

So how did you manage to convince anybody that at the age of 15, still in high school, that you were worthy of being taken seriously, that your opinions were informed enough and deep enough, went deep enough to be a spokesperson for whether this album was good or not, to be worthy of talking to a band?

So Philip Seymour Hoffman plays Lester Bangs in Almost Famous.

And I want to play a scene where he gives you some very interesting advice.

But first I want to explain who Lester Bangs is.

I mean, he was a really eccentric guy and such strong feelings and unwavering in his confidence, in his opinions about what was great and what was garbage.

Oh, yeah.

And he pretty much became a cult figure, you know.

Yeah.

and died young.

Yeah.

So when you start writing for Cream, he gives you some advice.

So this is a scene between Patrick Fugit, who plays your surrogate in the film, and Philip Seymour Hoffman, who plays Lester Bangs.

Unmerciful.

Honest and unmerciful.