Cold Weather and Spinal Tap

Its been colder in Denver the past few days than I can remember in my 5 years+ living here, and it isn't forecast to let up for a few more days. When I woke up this morning, the news told me that it was -5: I simply refuse to believe that my fair city is this bone chillingly cold, but it is. Although we haven't got near the amount of snow as other locales that are experiencing the same deep freeze weather pattern, I would almost prefer that we did so that we would at least have something to show for this damn cold weather! On the flip side, it has been great weather to stay inside and take in a good flick - This is precisely what I did last night.

Last night I watched a movie that I hadn't seen in quite some time, an old favorite of my pops, "This is Spinal Tap." For those of you who don't know of said flick, its basically a mocumentary by Rob Reiner about the life and times of an aging 60's rock band touring the U.S. in the 80s. The movie features cameos from Ed Begley Jr, Billy Crystal, Angelica Houston, and is often laugh out loud funny. I won't spoil the movie for anyone who hasn't seen it yet, but there is one scene that had me in stitches.

The scene elapses as many in the movie, with Marti DeBergi (the mockumentarist) prying into the history of Spinal Tap. He inquires about their high turnover in the drummer position of the band, and the band offers a hilarious 'explanation.' Essentially they go on to explain that they have had really bad luck with drummers in the past, with accidents ranging from spontaneous combustion (it happens more often than you would think!) and bizarre gardening accidents to the ever popular choking on someone else's vomit. They even go as far as to compose an album without a drummer, just using a drumming machine, and naturally the machine crashes. The movie is hilarious, short, and a must see for anyone who loves a good mockumentary.

Generally at this point I would offer a witty criticism, or a deep analogy, but there is none to be made here. The movie is silly and fun, but deep and brooding is nowhere near the vernacular that I would use to describe the film. So, I might just suggest here that you put a couple logs on the fire, cozy up with your loved ones, and rent "This is Spinal Tap." You won't be disappointed.

A.S. Bloom