Top 5 movies as love letters to pop music/culture

1. Almost Famous - 70's rock and pop, music journalism and life on the band tour. Two of my favorite musical moments in film when (a) William sees his sister off and finds her record collection under his bed to the tune of Simon and Garfunkel's "America" and (b) the band Stillwater reconciles after a dispute while listening and eventually singing along to "Tiny Dancer" on the tour bus.

2. School of Rock - Anything that Jack Black enjoys, which is not a bad subset of classic rock. Amplifies and glorifies all that is good-natured and fun about rock. You have to love how every kid finds a way to contribute to the "class project" despite differing backgrounds and talent (though all are upper-middle class).

3. High Fidelity - The best musical ending performance in any movie, period. "Did I listen to pop music because I was miserable? Or was I miserable because I listened to pop music?"

4. A Mighty Wind - This movie's hilarious, and it satirizes folk music while putting on a hell of a great folk concert at the end. A lot smarter than it first appears.

5. A Hard Day's Night - Manic setpieces, clever jokes spun into rapid-fire dialogue, and some of the catchiest Beatles tunes ever performed. The Beatles actually poke a lot of fun at themselves and the disproportionate attention they were suddenly receiving.