musicloverThis Is Spinal Tap
September 11th 2006 10:00
When people show an interest in rock n' roll, they often ask for a song or a band to get them started on their quest for musical nirvana. However, it's not that easy. Rock n' Roll is far too diverse a genre to be encapsulated by just one song. Luckily, no music is needed to understand the world of rock n' roll. Just watch "This Is Spinal Tap"
Think of "The Office", but set in the 70's and featuring a fading British rock band on tour, rather than a paper manufacturing company. "This Is Spinal Tap" is a mockumentary about such a band ( named Spinal Tap, by the way) , on tour in America at the wrong end of their careers. It is full of parodies of various actual bands, as well as certain rock n' roll stereotypes. The plot is loosely structured around a series of interviews that the band conducts with the director of the mocumentary, all of which are hugely entertaining. Here's a sample, from IMDB.com :
Marty DiBergi: It's very pretty.
Nigel Tufnel: Yeah, I've been fooling around with it for a few months.
Marty DiBergi: It's a bit of a departure from what you normally play.
Nigel Tufnel: It's part of a trilogy, a musical trilogy I'm working on in D minor which is the saddest of all keys, I find. People weep instantly when they hear it, and I don't know why.
Marty DiBergi: It's very nice.
Nigel Tufnel: You know, just simple lines intertwining, you know, very much like - I'm really influenced by Mozart and Bach, and it's sort of in between those, really. It's like a Mach piece, really. It's sort of...
Marty DiBergi: What do you call this?
Nigel Tufnel: Well, this piece is called "Lick My Love Pump".
The above is a perfect example of satirization; in this case, the tendency of some rock n' roll songs to be incredibly complex musically, while dealing with topics that are anything but, is touched upon. The songs that the band performs are also parodies of more famous ones ( "Gimme Some Money" & "Money (thats what i want)" by the Beatles, or "Big Bottom" & "Fat Bottomed Girls" by Queen.) The movie eventually gained such a cult following, that the featured band started touring and making albums in real life, never departing from their original style. I leave you with a "review" of one of Spinal Tap's covers, quoted in the movie:
"This tasteless cover is a good indication of the lack of musical invention within. The musical growth of this band cannot even be charted. They are treading water in a sea of retarded sexuality and bad poetry."
Watch it.
This review was written with "Stepping Out" by John Mayall's Bluesbreakers, playing in the background.
Image from Wikipedia article "Spinal Tap"
Think of "The Office", but set in the 70's and featuring a fading British rock band on tour, rather than a paper manufacturing company. "This Is Spinal Tap" is a mockumentary about such a band ( named Spinal Tap, by the way) , on tour in America at the wrong end of their careers. It is full of parodies of various actual bands, as well as certain rock n' roll stereotypes. The plot is loosely structured around a series of interviews that the band conducts with the director of the mocumentary, all of which are hugely entertaining. Here's a sample, from IMDB.com :
Marty DiBergi: It's very pretty.
Nigel Tufnel: Yeah, I've been fooling around with it for a few months.
Marty DiBergi: It's a bit of a departure from what you normally play.
Nigel Tufnel: It's part of a trilogy, a musical trilogy I'm working on in D minor which is the saddest of all keys, I find. People weep instantly when they hear it, and I don't know why.
Marty DiBergi: It's very nice.
Nigel Tufnel: You know, just simple lines intertwining, you know, very much like - I'm really influenced by Mozart and Bach, and it's sort of in between those, really. It's like a Mach piece, really. It's sort of...
Marty DiBergi: What do you call this?
Nigel Tufnel: Well, this piece is called "Lick My Love Pump".
The above is a perfect example of satirization; in this case, the tendency of some rock n' roll songs to be incredibly complex musically, while dealing with topics that are anything but, is touched upon. The songs that the band performs are also parodies of more famous ones ( "Gimme Some Money" & "Money (thats what i want)" by the Beatles, or "Big Bottom" & "Fat Bottomed Girls" by Queen.) The movie eventually gained such a cult following, that the featured band started touring and making albums in real life, never departing from their original style. I leave you with a "review" of one of Spinal Tap's covers, quoted in the movie:
"This tasteless cover is a good indication of the lack of musical invention within. The musical growth of this band cannot even be charted. They are treading water in a sea of retarded sexuality and bad poetry."
Spinal Tap in all their glory.
Watch it.
This review was written with "Stepping Out" by John Mayall's Bluesbreakers, playing in the background.
Image from Wikipedia article "Spinal Tap"
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Comment by JohnDoe
Film & TV on DVD
This is a film to watch time and again, One of the greatest comedies of all time. Constantly hilarious, insightful and best of all it all feels like the artificial reality it is.