Latest news with #SlowMagic
Yahoo
11-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Record Store Day 2025: A guide to the annual celebration for vinyl lovers everywhere
Record Store Day is Saturday, April 12, when crate diggers descend on thousands of independently owned brick-and-mortar record stores around the world to browse hundreds of new and exclusive vinyl releases by artists big and small. The annual event began in 2008 to celebrate the people who work at and frequent indie record stores. It has since been embraced by musicians and bands of all sizes and genres. 'The whole energy in a record store is just super inspiring. I feel at home,' Post Malone, who is serving as this year's Record Store Day ambassador, said in a statement after being chosen as the 2025 honoree. 'It's really an unexplainable feeling to hit up a shop and dig through crates, just see what grabs your eye. You can be looking for something super specific and end up finding something totally different. It's the best.' Vinyl lovers would seem to agree. While streaming services now account for most of the music industry's revenue, record buying in the United States continues to grow. According to the Recording Industry Association of America, sales of vinyl records outpaced that of CDs in the U.S. for the third consecutive year in 2024. There were 44 million vinyl records shipped last year, compared with 33 million CDs. And revenues from vinyl records grew 7% to $1.4 billion in 2024 — the 18th consecutive year of growth. All of which means it should be another busy day at record shops on Saturday. To find a participating record store near you, check this searchable list. Below is a quick guide to just some of what's in store for those participating in Record Store Day 2025. Austin City Limits, the longest-running music series in television history, is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year. And Howard, the Grammy-winning singer-songwriter and Alabama Shakes frontwoman, is releasing her electric 2024 performance on the show for Record Store Day. Speaking of exclusives, Slow Magic is a collection of never-before-released songs by Jeff Bridges (yes, that Jeff Bridges) culled from a cassette tape labeled 'July 1978.' According to notes from the record label, the music sounds like 'The Band playing at CBGB' or 'Arthur Russell and the Talking Heads collaborating on a suite of mutant disco.' And it most definitely doesn't sound like the Eagles. Deadheads have a lot to celebrate on Record Store Day, with four new releases, including this 1976 live recording of the band at New York's Beacon Theatre, available for the first time on vinyl. Ahead of their long-awaited reunion tour, which kicks off later this year, the Britpop band's entire singles collection from 1994 to 2009 is being released on vinyl for the first time since its initial pressing in 2010. The singer and 2025 Record Store Day ambassador is releasing his COVID-era 2020 livestream tribute to Nirvana, which featured Blink-182's Travis Barker on drums and included covers of Nirvana classics like 'Come as You Are,' 'Heart Shaped Box' and 'In Bloom.' All net proceeds from the sale of this record will be donated to MusiCares's addiction recovery and mental health efforts. The A side of the soundtrack to this 1984 cult classic film contains six songs performed by Kilmer, who died earlier this month. (Its release on vinyl for Record Store Day was announced well before his death.) The B side contains selections from the film's score. The Stones have embraced Record Store Day in recent years, and this year they're rereleasing the remastered Out of Our Heads, the 1965 studio album featuring their iconic hit '(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction.' Keith Richards and Ronnie Wood have new live solo Record Store Day releases too. The biggest and likely heaviest release for Record Store Day 2025, this 1970 live recording by legendary jazz pianist and bandleader Sun Ra spans six LPs and comes in a hardboard box. Swifties like vinyl records too! And 'Fortnight,' from The Tortured Poets Department, is getting the RSD treatment. The exclusive 7" white vinyl release features both the original single featuring Post Malone and a remix by Blond:ish. The soundtrack to the ubiquitous 2024 film adaptation of the musical features 12 songs by Ariana Grande, Cynthia Erivo and the rest of the cast, including one previously unreleased duet. Crucially, the limited-edition double LP released exclusively for Record Store Day was pressed on green and pink glitter vinyl.
Forbes
11-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Forbes
Jeff Bridges On New Album ‘Slow Magic,' Improvisation And The Dude
Actor Jeff Bridges performs atNeil Young's 24th Annual Bridge School Benefit Concert at Shoreline ... More Amphitheatre on October 24, 2010 in Mountain View, California. (Photo by Barry Brecheisen/WireImage) By 1977, actor Jeff Bridges had already been nominated for a pair of Academy Awards in recognition of his work on 1972's The Last Picture Show as well as Thunderbolt and Lightfoot three years later - but music was in his blood. While he began writing songs at the age of just 14, Bridges has released a trio of albums since 2000, moving nearly 400,000 copies of his T-Bone Burnett-produced, self-titled effort in 2011 (following an Oscar-winning turn as troubled country singer 'Bad' Blake in the film Crazy Heart). But his latest musical endeavor, Slow Magic, 1977-1978, now available for streaming on digital platforms ahead of a Record Store Day vinyl release this Saturday, April 12, is different. Rescued from a single five decade old cassette, and mastered by John Baldwin, the new collection finds Bridges in experimental mode, drawing from influences ranging anywhere from Bob Dylan or The Beatles to Captain Beefheart along the way. Slow Magic grew out of a run of Wednesday night jam sessions led by co-conspirator Steve Baim, which would wind up including everyone from Mitch Mitchell (the Jimi Hendrix Experience) to members of Oingo Boingo. On a record not without the occasional odd moment, Bridges jams with friends including legendary actor Burgess Meredith, who channels Mickey Goldmill (the character he portrayed opposite Sylvester Stallone in the 1976 boxing drama Rocky) as he delivers a unique guest vocal on both 'Here on This Island' and 'Kong,' an epic tour de force which finds Meredith helping deliver Bridges' idea for a King Kong sequel in a song. Not unlike Bridges' Emergent Behavior, a series of similarly raw, lo-fi recordings available on his website which drill down on the idea of musical evolution, Slow Magic, 1977-1978 has also evolved, defined at times by the idea of improvisation. 'This album and this Emergent Behavior, those volumes, it's kind of like reversing the order,' explained Bridges during a recent video call. 'Often, you'll get an album that will come out and be a beautiful album, and then years later they'll say, 'And here's the making of that album! Here are some demos,'' he continued. 'This is sort of flipping that around. This is like releasing all of this demo-like stuff first.' Teaming with record label and distributor Light in the Attic, who has specialized largely in archival projects and reissues since 2002, the Slow Magic vinyl set features stunning liner notes, penned by writer Sam Sweet, which really ties the project together. I spoke with Jeff Bridges about revisiting Slow Magic almost 50 years later, strong storytelling, the city of Los Angeles, improvisation, optimism and The Big Lebowski. A transcript of our video call, lightly edited for length and clarity, follows below. 'Slow Magic, 1977-1978,' the new album from actor/musician Jeff Bridges, is now available for online ... More streaming via Light in the Attic ahead of a vinyl release on Record Store Day 2025 Jim Ryan: When I read that the fortunes of this project hinged upon the condition of a single 50 year old cassette, I was… concerned. But the sound quality is actually pretty good. I know John Baldwin mastered the album. What was the process of saving and enhancing this music like? Jeff Bridges: You mentioned our mixer, the guy who did the final mix: John. He did a remarkable job. Because, yeah, it's all off a 50 year old cassette! So, I was really pleased with how it was mastered. Ryan: I have to admit, I was not familiar with Light in the Attic prior to this. They seem like the perfect partner. What was it like working with them on Slow Magic? Bridges: Incredible, man! The whole thing was started by my dear friend Keefus Ciancia, who I worked with on several other projects. And, without me knowing it, he sent it to Matt Sullivan at Light in the Attic. And I was just so pleased that Matt dug it too. He said, 'Let's make an album!' I said, 'What?! Are you kidding me, man?' And he said 'No. Archival. It's all about archiving stuff.' I guess it qualifies. But, anyway, it was wonderful. And the great byproduct of the whole project was reigniting all of these old friendships from that time. That was wonderful. I just think they did a splendid job. I loved working with Sam Sweet on all of the copy. We did some more documentation stuff with video. My old girlfriend Candy Clark had some photos to contribute. Loretta Ayeroff shot the cover. It was just a fun project. Ryan: Sam's liner notes are really lovely - in a way we just don't see much anymore with new releases. There's a real element of storytelling there I wasn't expecting. How important was that to you? Bridges: Oh, that was so important! So important. Yeah, when I met with Sam we hit it off kind of immediately. I really enjoyed his sense and importance of place. He wanted to go to that place on Washington Boulevard and find out what it was. Just his genuine curiosity was great to behold and be a part of. 'Slow Magic, 1977-1978,' the new album from actor/musician Jeff Bridges, is now available for online ... More streaming via Light in the Attic ahead of a vinyl release on Record Store Day 2025 Ryan: When it comes to storytelling, whether it's a songwriter, a screenwriter, poet, novelist or anyone else, who are some favorite storytellers? Bridges: Now, all of the sudden, boom, my mind is blank. Let me think… Check out Tom McGuane. I met him the year I met my wife - so that's about 50 years ago - right around this time. He's the guy who wrote a movie called Rancho Deluxe. If you've never seen it, it's a pretty good one, I think. You know, Slim Pickens, Sam Waterston - pretty wild cast. So, he comes to mind. There's a great book of his called Cloudbursts, a book of his short stories, that I'm currently reading. I'm reading Michael McDonald's What a Fool Believes, his biography - that's fun. I recently read Jim Carrey's memoir! Consolations by David Whyte, a wonderful author. Ryan: Speaking of storytelling, I'm familiar with the backstory to 'Kong' and your idea for a King Kong sequel. Not that I ever expected to be asking someone about a Burgess Meredith guest vocal but how does he, while sort of in character as Mickey from Rocky no less, kind of help flesh out the unique storytelling there? Bridges: Oh man, well… I was gonna say still waters run deep - his waters weren't even that still - but they were still very deep, man. He turned me on to John Lilly. Do you know who John Lilly is? The guy who invented the isolation tank. So, right around those times when we were doing the 'Kong' stuff, maybe shortly after, he turned me on to the isolation tank: the inner journey that you go through when you take away all of your sensory organs. And that was a wonderful thing. I remember when we did my second film. It was called The Yin and the Yang of Mr. Go. It's a pretty bizarre movie. James Mason plays a Chinese-Mexican character. Burgess also plays a Chinese man. When we were doing it, Burgess was writing songs and playing and goes, 'Oh, let's change the character! Let's say you're gonna write a rock opera!' So, we wrote some tunes. He was just so encouraging of any kind of creativity. And, so, when I thought of this 'Kong' story, he immediately came to mind to do this takeoff on the Hindenburg disaster, or the Zeppelin crashing. And then, on the spot, he said, 'Do you mind if I read a poem of mine?' I said, 'Oh, by all means.' And he read that thing. And that was like a jam. I think it was the first take - we just played over that, you know? Played together. And it was great. Jeff Bridges (left) poses with Burgess Meredith (right), both of whom appear on the new Jeff Bridges ... More album 'Slow Magic, 1977-1978' Ryan: To me, an exciting element of this album is the way that it takes you directly to a very unique time and place. Especially in the liner notes, Los Angeles is almost presented less as a setting and more as a character, a protagonist. It kind of makes L.A., at that point, sort of seem like this magical place where anything, even fame, isn't just possible, it's expected. How did Los Angeles at that particular time kind of shape the creative you'd become? Bridges: Interesting… It's also youth, you know? When you're young, you think, 'Oh, anything is possible! I wonder what's gonna happen?' That kind of uncertainty and that open quality was part of the music that was going on there and that we were making. Also, you've got to think about the music that we were listening to growing up: The Beatles, Bob Dylan - it doesn't get much better than that stuff. Ryan: You sort of hit on the idea of improvisation there in the construction of 'Kong.' I always feel like the idea of improvisation is one that carries important life lessons beyond making music or acting. Improv keeps me out of my comfort zone. How important is that to you even this far along? Are there some parallels there? Bridges: That word is a pretty strong word in my life. We certainly use it in the acting realm. Sometimes, you actually film it and that's what you see on the film is the improv. But a lot of improv can be used to discover the truth of a scene. For instance, I'm thinking like Lebowski: there's very little improvisation in The Big Lebowski. The Coen brothers just write so well that it seems like that. John Goodman and I would rehearse and improvise a lot to find the reality of the scene - but we'd always go back to the original. Because every 'f–k,' every 'man,' was just in the right musical place, you know? You want to play the notes of the tune. And they were so well placed that we would always go back to that. But improvisation, if you apply that to life and say, 'Let's improv,' it's like creating a context where you don't have to play your persona. You don't have to do your normal lines, you can be free. I remember one of the guys in the Wednesday night jam, who was a dear friend but is no longer with us, Mike Portis, when he was in college, his whole thesis was on this thing where he would become another person - and would act with a different accent and all. Because he felt another aspect of himself could come through if he didn't have to play himself, you know? We all have these personas of who we think we are - and who we think people think we are. And that's something that you can play against. Michael Portis (left) performs with Jeff Bridges (right). 'Slow Magic, 1977-1978,' the latest album ... More from actor/musician Jeff Bridges is now available via Light in the Attic Ryan: I know you're doing a run of Big Lebowski screenings in California starting April 16. I was pondering the Dude as I watched that film last night. The Dude doesn't judge. He has a caring side. He accepts that which is different. He's honest and he's there for his friends. You've written about the Dude's spirituality. And, god bless him, he hates the f–ing Eagles, man. But I feel like we could learn a lot from that character. What could the Dude teach us as we navigate life in 2025? Bridges: Oh man. Well, he's authentically the Dude, you know? He's known as the Dude and he's supposed to be so chill and relaxed - but all through the movie, he's not at all, you know?! And I can relate to that. This idea, like we know how we oughta be - but that ain't necessarily how it is. And, in each of those troubled, tough times, that's where the gold is actually - that's where the lesson is. It's those times when you think everything is perfect and relaxed. I find those to be the most dangerous times. 'Watch out, I'm feeling too good!' That's where I get in trouble. Ryan: Well, I love the gritty guitar part at the top of 'You Could be Ready.' What was it like revisiting that one? Bridges: (Hums intro) I was just playing that song this morning, man! I was revisiting old tunes saying, 'Oh yeah…' This idea of being ready. We so often think that we come from this place of not enough: not enough money, we don't have enough training or enlightenment - all of these different things we don't have enough of. And maybe the song is saying, 'Maybe, you've got it. Maybe you've got what's enough. Maybe you don't even realize that you're ready.' What is ready anyway, you know? Actor Jeff Bridges, musicians Elvis Costello and T-Bone Burnett perform at Neil Young's 24th Annual ... More Bridge School Benefit Concert at Shoreline Amphitheatre on October 24, 2010 in Mountain View, California. (Photo by Barry Brecheisen/WireImage) Ryan: I was listening to the song 'Slow Magic' again this morning. Given what you've been through in the last five or so years in particular, does a song like that take on new meaning as you sort of set it against the idea of mortality? Bridges: Yeah. Yeah. I think, when I was on death's door, I experienced some slow magic, you know? (Laughs) It was pretty wild. That's a song - and I'm not sure if it's in the version that is on the album - but, there's a line in the new version, I think, where 'Slow Magic' - 'It's slow magic when you see how the trick was done.' That's kind of the punchline to the song. I'm not sure if it made that early version. Ryan: I love that we're talking about a 50 year old cassette in 2025 - and here you're illuminating the way in which these songs are still evolving. How important is it to you whether it's a film or a song that these things do have that ability to grow and evolve? Bridges: I love that… I love that! This album and this Emergent Behavior, those volumes, it's kind of like reversing the order. Often, you'll get an album that will come out and be a beautiful album, and then years later they'll say, 'And here's the making of that album! Here are some demos.' This is sort of flipping that around. This is like releasing all of this demo-like stuff first. And who knows? Maybe it'll get polished up, maybe it won't. Doesn't really matter all that much, you know? I might polish it. Or some other young band might say, 'Oh yeah, let's do some of those Bridges tunes, man!' Ryan: I thought it was interesting the way the liner notes ended with the lyrics of the unreleased song about the Wednesday jams. Certainly, there's an element of nostalgia there. But, to me, it also sort of closes the Slow Magic project on an optimistic note. Was it important to strike that tone? Bridges: Yeah, I'm an optimist. I think positively. I'm hopeful. That just seems to be how I roll, you know? My DNA, how I was raised, my environment - that's definitely part of who I am. That seems to be just how I naturally am cooked.
Los Angeles Times
09-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Los Angeles Times
The Dude really rocks: Jeff Bridges leans into raw truth of his music on the old/new songs of ‘Slow Magic'
With his extraordinary acting prowess, it's no surprise that Jeff Bridges made 'the Dude' as iconic as the greatest rock stars. However, most fans of 'The Big Lebowski' probably aren't aware that Bridges is a real rocker in his own right, a gifted singer-songwriter who plays both guitar and piano. Beyond his acclaimed performances in classic films like 'Starman' and 'The Last Picture Show,' cult hits like 'The Fisher King' and his unforgettable turn in 'Crazy Heart,' the legendary actor boasts a music résumé that rivals most full-time musicians'. Bridges released his debut album, 'Be Here Soon,' in 2000. He also co-produced the record with Chris Pelonis and the Doobie Brothers' Michael McDonald, who sang guest vocals, along with David Crosby. His 2011 self-titled follow-up album, produced by T Bone Burnett, made waves, landing on the Billboard 200 as well as country, folk and rock charts. Ahead of the album's release, Bridges performed at the Troubadour, where he was introduced onstage by Quincy Jones, who told the star-studded crowd (Jackson Browne among them) that music is Bridges' 'true calling.' Bridges even has his own signature models of Breedlove guitars. Now, Bridges is poised to release 'Slow Magic, 1977-1978,' his first record since his 2015 spoken-word/ambient album, 'Sleeping Tapes.' The 10-year gap between records might seem like a long time, but these songs actually have been waiting almost 50 years to make their debut. 'Time is so bizarre. I can't believe we recorded this half a century ago,' Bridges, 75, says during a Zoom call, wearing a brown cable-knit sweater, with his reading glasses perched on his nose, and sporting a bushy white beard. Sitting in his garage-turned-ceramics studio that doubles as a jam space, at his home in Santa Barbara, surrounded by framed photos, artwork and various mementos, including a 'The Big Lebowski'-themed bandanna, Bridges seems just as incredulous that 'Slow Magic' is even coming out. He explains that the journey to release it was rather unexpected. He credits Keefus Ciancia, his 'Sleeping Tapes' collaborator, for the record making its long-overdue public debut. Bridges had played the decades-old cassette of his songs for Ciancia, who, without Bridges' knowledge, passed it along to Matt Sullivan, founder of indie label Light in the Attic, who was eager to release it. Bridges was stunned but delighted. For fans of Bridges' films, 'Slow Magic' is a rare treat, offering a glimpse into a more personal side of his life that was previously hidden from the public eye. In his 20s, as his big-screen career was taking off — with two Oscar nominations, for 'The Last Picture Show' and 'Thunderbolt and Lightfoot,' already under his belt — Bridges would join a group of his high school friends for weekly nighttime jam sessions. Keeping the vibe loose and spontaneous, they drank whiskey and improvised instrumentals. 'Occasionally we'd spout words,' Bridges recalls. 'And people who didn't play a particular instrument were encouraged to play that instrument.' And, man, were they high. How high? 'Pretty damn high,' Bridges says, laughing, recalling late-nights fueled by pot, quaaludes, cocaine and psychedelics. After all, he notes, it was the '70s, a time of experimentation. Inspired by these sessions, Bridges would write songs on his own, recording them between film shoots. To co-produce the tracks, he enlisted Ken Lauber, who had arranged and composed the music for 1975 film 'Hearts of the West,' in which Bridges starred. It's rumored that Lauber, who also had worked with Bob Dylan and the Band, contemplated the latter to back Bridges on the recordings, but instead chose Bridges' crew of jammers due to their unique, irreplaceable chemistry. Clocking in at approximately 40 minutes, 'Slow Magic' offers an eclectic ride, reflecting Bridges' diverse influences — spanning from Captain Beefheart and Motown to the Beatles, Moondog, the Rolling Stones and Dylan. The lead single, the self-satirizing 'Obnoxious,' released in February, finds Bridges singing hilariously about self-indulgence, eating and drinking excessively, and popping pills. The album also features a pair of atmospheric instrumentals, 'Space 1' and 'Space 2,' co-written by the jammers. The album's highlights include the soulful, sax-infused title track, 'Slow Magic'; the Band-esque 'This Is the One'; a blissful love song Bridges wrote about his wife, Susan; and the upbeat, radio-friendly 'You Could Be Ready.' The record closes with the epic eight-minute 'Kong,' which Bridges wrote after director John Guillermin rejected his idea for an alternate ending to the 1976 'King Kong' remake, in which Bridges starred. In his version, the giant monkey turns out to be a machine. The song features the disco-inspired chorus 'Do the King Kong, baby,' with actor Burgess Meredith simulating the historic Hindenburg disaster radio broadcast as he narrates the massive ape-machine's fiery crash to the ground. The bananas track was detailed in Rolling Stone in 1977, when Bridges graced the magazine's cover to promote the sci-fi fantasy blockbuster. Titled 'What Is Jeff Bridges Afraid of?,' the article chronicles his relentless self-doubt and anxiety, which Bridges confesses still plague him to this day. It's an admission that seems curiously at odds with his laid-back demeanor, though. 'I think maybe what you're seeing these days is a version where I've covered a lot of that up. All of those fears are still going on, but I polish that shit out,' Bridges says. 'I don't think I've changed much. I feel about the same.' While he acknowledges his 'pretty good reputation of being well-liked,' he reveals, 'Liking myself, having understanding, affection and empathy for myself — that's what I could use some work on.' What's more, he shares that as an actor he's imprisoned by his perfectionism, which he describes as 'a self-imposed hell.' 'Creatively, the sweet spot comes from getting out of the way and letting things come through you,' he says. 'And my anxiety comes from feeling that I've got to do it 'just right,' but I don't know if I have the goods to come up with … so that's what I struggle with.' To illustrate his point, he references 'The Big Lebowski.' ''Sometimes you eat the bar and sometimes the bar eats you,'' Bridges says, laughing as he delivers the famous line just like actor Sam Elliott in the film, his Southern drawl turning 'bear' into 'bar.' It's humor that helps to alleviate his anxiety, he says, which includes laughing at himself 'for being so ridiculous about it all.' What's more, Bridges expresses gratitude for his wife's frequent reminders to lighten up and have fun. 'And then it's like, oh yeah, I forgot — joy. The miracle is available. It's right there, going on all the time,' he says. It's miraculous that Bridges is even alive. In 2020, he was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin lymphoma. Meanwhile, as he battled cancer, he contracted COVID, which, he says, left him 'on death's doorstep.' In remission since 2021, he says his latest CT scan showed no trace of the cancer, making it especially poignant that Bridges is currently learning to play Leonard Cohen's 'Waiting for the Miracle' on guitar. Self-taught on the instrument, which he first picked up at 14, Bridges began writing songs soon after. When Bridges was 20, Quincy Jones put his song 'Lost in Space' in the 1969 film 'John and Mary,' starring Dustin Hoffman and Mia Farrow. Bridges calls it an 'amazingly cool' moment. Still, he says he didn't fantasize about becoming a professional musician. Passionate about ceramics, painting, photography and music, he reveals that he was never particularly career-driven. 'I've never really been an ambitious person. I never had that kind of drive,' he says. Even acting was not initially a goal for Bridges, who admits he feared the scrutiny of following in the footsteps of his famous father, Lloyd, who was best known for starring in the TV series 'Sea Hunt.' 'I had a desire to share what I had to offer, but I didn't want to be labeled … what do they call it? ... 'Nepo baby,'' Bridges says. 'I could understand why people would resent that, and I didn't want to be resented.' Nonetheless, his father encouraged him to pursue acting, pointing out that it would bridge his various interests, allowing him to play a musician in a film someday. Truer words were never spoken. In 1989, Bridges starred in the critically lauded 'The Fabulous Baker Boys' alongside his older brother, Beau, as a waning lounge act duo of piano-playing siblings who hire a talented, beautiful singer, played by Michelle Pfeiffer, to revitalize their act. After his success in 'The Fabulous Baker Boys,' Bridges took a sharp turn in 2005 with his next musician character, embracing a darker role in 'Tideland,' portraying an electric guitar-toting, drug-addled failed rock star in Terry Gilliam's surreal tale. But it was his captivating, starring turn as chainsmoking, alcoholic, washed-up country star Otis 'Bad' Blake in the heart-stirring, redemptive 'Crazy Heart' several years later that earned him Oscar gold, as well as a Golden Globe, Screen Actors Guild Award and an Independent Spirit Award. Ironically, Bridges initially passed on the part. It felt too risky to play a role so personal to him. 'Subconsciously, I think I was turning it down because playing something that was so dear to my heart … exploring my [kind of] music and stuff … if you keep it in the dream world, you're safe,' he says. 'But when it becomes real, you know you could easily fail, and all of your dreams could be shattered.' The turning point came when Bridges ran into Burnett, who was set to oversee the film's music, and encouraged him to take the role. 'I thought, 'Wow, this is too cool of an invitation,'' Bridges reflects. 'So, I said, 'F— it. I'm just gonna do it.'' It was music to the ears of 'Crazy Heart' director Scott Cooper. 'Jeff changed my life by saying yes to a screenplay that I wrote specifically for him,' Cooper, who made his directorial debut with the film, tells The Times. 'I was somewhat besieged by other actors to play the part — all of whom are great actors and movie stars — but which actor can portray an incredibly flawed character, make us see ourselves in that character and, in the end, uplift us? For me, it was only Jeff Bridges.' Even when Bridges isn't playing a musician, his cinematic path often intersects with music, whether it's his cover of Johnny Cash's 'Ring of Fire' with Kim Carnes that plays over the opening scene of 'The Contender' or his role in 'Masked and Anonymous,' acting alongside his longtime musical hero, Dylan, who co-wrote the 2003 film. Bridges recalls a particularly surreal moment when the music icon came knock-knock-knockin' on his trailer door, guitar in hand, for an impromptu jam. Initially trembling with nerves, Bridges says he felt increasingly at ease playing music with Dylan, finding him to be disarmingly down to earth. 'It's a great blessing to just be alive with that guy,' he says. 'It's like being alive during Shakespeare's time.' Bridges has crossed professional paths more than once with Dylan, whose song 'The Man in Me' plays during the opening titles of 'The Big Lebowski' and a later scene as well. Soon, Bridges will host a series of 'The Big Lebowski' screenings on the West Coast. 'They'll show the movie, and then I'll do a talk and show my experience through the photographs that I took during [the making of] it,' he says. In the meantime, as he contemplates what's next after the cancellation of his TV series 'The Old Man,' Bridges says 'Slow Magic' has reignited his desire to make music. He's thinking about getting in touch with 'Kenny Lauber and some of the old guys' to reunite the group. As Bridges tells it, playing with a band allows him to act out his long-standing 'Beatles fantasy,' and remains one of his most rewarding roles.
