Now let's touch on a personal favorite of mine, something I criminally forgot to toss into my Class of '84 retrospectives--so consider this an honorary late addition. This Is Spinal Tap is a close inside look at one of the greatest metal bands--nay, greatest things--ever, the eponymous Tap itself. From their start as a sixties skiffle band, Spinal Tap have broken new ground with original and cutting-edge material like 'Big Bottom' and 'Lick My Love Pump', which transcends the very fabric of music itself.
Filmmaker Marty Di Bergi, a former naval vet of the USS Ooral Sea itself, brings to light their innovations like an amp that goes up to eleven for when you really want to jump off the edge, to some of their less fortunate outings, like every one of their drummers having an unfortunate accident. But, with his personal interviews with band members (or should I say, legends), like Nigel Tufnel and Derek Smalls, we can truly see the geniuses that gave us an all-black album cover before those hacks at Metallica ever did, or who redefine guitar solos by using a violin as a pick.
But truly, This Is Spinal Tap was revolutionary for highlighting the challenges that plague any outfit in the music industry, like getting lost in convoluted backstage tunnels, or accidentally ending up with a replica of Stonehenge in danger of being crushed by a dancing dwarf. Even the personal troubles of the titans amid this motley crew of gods cannot be made candid, such as Tufnel's Fender guitar that is so mint, none can even look at it. And indeed, who could soil the instrument of such a maestro with their unworthy and most decidedly not metal glance?
Okay, enough of the crap. This Is Spinal Tap is a mockumentary courtesy of Rob Reiner, playing Marty, with Spinal Tap itself being the creation of comedians Michael McKean, Harry Shearer, and Christoper Guest as Tufnel himself. Beyond arguably popularizing the very concept of the mockumentary itself, it struck at the very lexicon of pop culture itself--even the IMDB movie score goes up to eleven. And while not supremely popular on release, it's amassed over the decades the cult following it most assuredly deserves.
Beyond that, there's not a whole lot I can say about it beyond 'this is funny', and 'that is also funny', and 'that has me in stitches'. I will say that the film hits home hard enough for real rockers that many were confused as to what was even supposed to be funny--as more than one has had their incidents of stage disasters, getting lost backstage, and occasionally (probably) having a drummer spontaneously combust. Ironically, the air-headed band in this one seems a lot more coherent than, say, Ozzy Osbourne on a normal day; and while their lyrics are juvenile, it's precisely that kind of silly charm that makes a lot of the mock songs here catchier than many a metal track that consists largely of molesting the guitar and making pig noises.
So yeah. If you haven't seen it, go do so already. Through all the laughs and tribulations, there's an important lesson to be had from it all--that anyone can rise up from any depths, ascend from their lowest point, provided they have a fanbase in Japan they didn't even know about. And really, is there anything more anyone can aspire to?
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