A huge thank you to Marco D’Auria of the Contrarians, Dan Chartrand of Off the Charts, and the near-legendary Uncle Meat for comprising our expert panel tonight.  The subject was Spinal Tap, the band and the music.  It may be fair to call Dan a “superfan”, as he had some Spinal Tap rarities that I don’t.  Dan provided some cool physical product, including CDs and LPs of This is Spinal Tap, Break Like the Wind, and he even unfolded his Back From the Dead CD packaging to show us what it looks like when it’s a little paper stage set.

Taking a cue from another big Spinal Tap fan, Peter Kerr, I stole a tactic from Rock Daydream Nation and did some discussion questions in rounds.  Here’s what we tackled:

• Were you ever in the blissful unawareness that Spinal Tap was a fake band?  Or were you always in on the joke?
• Evaluate the musicianship of Tap.
• Pick a favourite song from the soundtrack.
• Pick a favourite song from Break Like the Wind.  
• And a quick discussion of Back from the Dead.

Along the way we discussed the history of Tap, both real and fictional.  We had a look at the DVD for the Return of Spinal Tap, and had a chat on that subject.  I peppered the panel with trivia throughout the night.  We had an insightful discussion about talent, and the three actors who played the central characters:  Michael McKean, Christopher Guest, and Harry Shearer.  We speculated on director Rob Reiner’s role in the songwriting, and technical aspects of the writing and playing.  Did Harry Shearer play fretless bass on “Break Like the Wind”?  I don’t know, but we do know he can play upright bass thanks to his role in A Mighty Wind.  In short, the music and movie were given as much appraisal and analysis as we could do in an hour.

Meanwhile in the comments, Pete Jones provided quote after quote after quote, from a variety of Tap interviews and performances.  Thank you Peter!  And thank you to everyone who watched and joined in.  

I started the show with a quick unboxing, from Australia’s Ash Geisler, who has been a huge supporter of the show.  Thanks again Ash for watching, and for sending me this awesome package.  I guarantee some of them will be getting a review.

One topic I didn’t get to mention on the show, but did come up among the viewers:  Spinal Tap II is coming to theaters in 2025.  How do you feel about this?  Let us know in the comments.  I for one don’t think it’s necessary or a good idea.  The cameo-laden cast seems gimmicky, but Rob Reiner is back is the director’s chair.

Thanks for watching, and if you didn’t, the link is below.  This is one I’ll be watching over again.  

NEXT WEEK:  A Mighty Wind with Dan Chartrand, John Clauser & Uncle Meat!