Five Reasons 'American Graffiti' Made Us Teenagers of ’62

I will fight anyone who says American Graffiti isn't a perfect movie. It's solid top to bottom. George Lucas captured both the end of a very specific era (the 50s) and the universal experience of growing up. The movie lets the viewer in on the experience in a way that has nothing to do with where you actually were in 1962. Lucas made it all feel like magic. Or maybe it was the music. 

It was definitely the music. Check out my latest for Consequence of Sound in which I layout my argument for why we all got to be teenagers of '62 thanks to American Graffiti.

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This is about the Garden State soundtrack. I can't think of a snazzy title.

It's been quite the week, so unfortunately I've neglected The Musically Inclined a bit. The upside is that it's Friday and I've cleared my schedule to do precious nothing tonight...or that's the plan at least. Lord knows I'll wind up getting roped into something and probably go very willingly. In any case, I was trying to think of something to post about. The most obvious thing music-related is that the other day I watched Garden State for the second time. It's really a terrific movie, the kind of that's got a perfect balance of heart, soul, brain, and weirdness. Unless you've seen it before, you've got no idea where you're going until you get there. That's fairly representative of life, I think.

Garden State has been out a few years and I distinctly remember being more interested in it for the soundtrack than for the actual movie, because that's most of what anyone talked about. A friend gave me a copy of the soundtrack last year and that's ultimately what spurred me to rent it. Some soundtracks are weak, only having a couple songs worthy of purchase, but what makes this one different is that it plays like that perfect mix tape that someone gave you. I guess these days it's more about the playlist, but the idea is the same. From Nick Drake, Frou Frou, Colin Hay, Coldplay, and of course the Shins, there's not a track there that doesn't perfectly encapsulate the feel of the movie. Most strikingly, I knew exactly what kind of tone to expect before ever watching it.

That's some serious mix tape skill. At the same time the soundtrack is so solid and rich, I listen to it sparingly. These last couple days though, it's been on loop in my head and I don't mind hearing that wistful, calm, yet cathartic backdrop to my day-to-day life.

If for some reason you haven't seen Garden State, good freaking grief, get your butt into gear and watch it. Now.

Spinal Tap and a Week Without Music

It occurred to me that it's been an entire week since my last post. Apologies. Sometimes TMI hits the perfect balance of nothing to write about and no time to do it. It's been a chaotic week, involving a move and such and there hasn't been a good opportunity to sit down, chill out, and listen to an album. I don't even think that Labor Day will afford me much down time. So, what happens in a week without music? A lot of little things which are normally punctuated by whatever is on Shuffle get lost in memory. Without music, the day-to-day seems colorless and bland. Also, I've found I'm hypersensitive to random songs getting stuck in my head at a moment's notice. It's a little like a blown circuit, fragments of speech triggering song association and that's pretty much all she wrote until the next intense little bout. Hopefully things will even out, at least they'd better because I've got two more reviews in the pipeline and I'm not about to turn in a) crap, b) late crap. Also, I vow never to to be further than a mile from my beloved iPod.

On a different note, last night I saw This is Spinal Tap, the frequently-referenced mockumentary on a fake 80s rock band from the U.K. It was completely absurd and therefore, right on the money. It doesn't really matter if the fashion sense of bands has changed, they still take themselves way too seriously and are forever at the mercy of knee-deep b.s., egotism, and the Yoko Onos of the world. It was a real riot and TMI highly recommends it if you have still managed not to see it. Something else worthy of note is that the actors (Harry Shearer, Christopher Guest, etc.) all actually learned their instruments for the movie. That's pretty cool. As for the writing, you really have to pay attention or you'll miss so much.

Anyway, that's my deal. Hopefully September holds musical excitement (overly optimistic?). Ciao.

BEST QUOTE:

Marty DiBergi (Rob Reiner): Do you feel that playing rock 'n' roll music keeps you a child? That is, keeps you in a state of arrested development?

Derek Smalls (Harry Shearer): No. No. No. I feel it's like, it's more like going, going to a, a national park or something. And there's, you know, they preserve the moose. And that's, that's my childhood up there on stage. That moose, you know.

Marty DiBergi: So when you're playing you feel like a preserved moose on stage?

Derek Smalls: Yeah.

Across the Universe: A Beatles Musical...And it Actually Worked

I can't even really think of everything I want to say because I typically don't review movies-- there's so much to cover. Acting, singing, dancing, visual effects, story, and that's hardly the half of it. As far as the visuals themselves, I can only say that you'd have to watch the movie yourself because I couldn't possibly do them justice if I said they were mind-blowing.

I can say this though, the Beatles were probably the first band I was aware of, back when I was barely five and by ten I figured out they were my favorite band. When you listen to a band for that long, you easily take them for granted. It's nearly impossible to maintain the same level of interest or appreciation for why you thought they were so great in the first place. Watching Across the Universe reminded me. The arrangements are done so intelligently as not to merely copy the originals or totally reject them. They made these songs seem new again. "I Want You (She's so Heavy)" hasn't sounded this good in years and Abbey Road is just begging for another go on the stereo.

Then there are the songs I don't know so well, like "Helter Skelter" or "Happiness is a Warm Gun--" a couple of killer scenes, especially the former which was tragically and ironically juxtaposed with "Across the Universe" in the climax. There's still a lot to be heard.

Obviously, a significant reason for the appeal of not only the movie but the band itself, is the time period. 60's music had something ineffable-- don't get me wrong, I'd never want to be some kind of musical nihilist, convinced that music is dead and gone, stupid and weak. There's stuff out there that makes me want to take off running down the street because it's so good but there's a soul from that decade that we will not see again, except for maybe a fleeting artistic glimmer from a movie like this.

I'd defy anyone who would tell me that this could have been handled in a more apt fashion. Sure, the start was a tad rocky but the end result is a giant gorgeous painting that, in my opinion, is one of the few movies or soundtracks these days that would actually be worth owning.