Johnny Metal earned a new nickname tonight: Johnny Homework! His meticulous research and notes provided a solid backbone of knowledge on which we arranged an awesome discussion. The topic: the now-classic Christopher Guest mockumentary A Mighty Wind!
Together with Uncle Meat and Dan from Off the Charts, we tried to cover every aspect that we love about this movie. We went deep on the following topics:
The cast
Our favourite bands
Our favourite songs
Favourite scenes
Fred Willard
The Kiss at the End of the Rainbow
The ending
Additionally, we looked at CDs, vinyl, and a very nice songbook from Johnny Homework. Gotta get that physical product in.
This entry comes from my journal 15 years ago today, April 19 2007.
RECORD STORE TALES #982: Sounds
When I was a young single guy still working at the Record Store, I liked to customize my home computer experience. The sound scheme in particular was something I enjoyed fiddling with. I would download .wav files from TV shows, movies, and Homestarrunner cartoons. Nobody wants just the default sounds, I figured. Let’s have some fun with them, I reasoned. For example During my Homestarrunner phase, I always had the character announce incoming emails, as below.
Homestar: “Email”
The journal entry below reveals other favourite system sounds I employed. Jen didn’t care for them, and I must have loved her or something, because the below implies that I changed them for her!
2007/04/19 21:18
Every time I upgrade my computer I switch sound schemes around. I’m sure Jen will appreciate it that my computer won’t be swearing constantly anymore. My old sound scheme featured such classics as:
New person logs into MSN Messenger: “Who the fuck is this asshole?” as spoken by Samuel L. Jackson.
Jackson: “Who the fuck…”
New email (Outlook): “(gunshot) Oh I’m sorry, did I break your concentration?” again by Samuel.
Jackson: “Oh I’m sorry…”
I also changed some old favourites, just for the sake of change. My computer no longer quotes Clerks at startup and shutdown anymore:
PC startup: “I’m not even supposed to be here today!”
Dante: “I’m not even”…
And PC shutdown: “My love for you is ticking clock Berzerker! Would you like to suck my cock Berzerker!”
Olaf: “My love for you…”
Of course, those old favourites will be cycled in again one day. But now I’m sure she’ll be happy that for now, MSN Messenger has just has Fred Willard saying, “Hey, wha happen?”
I strongly recommend you brighten up your day by customizing your own soundscapes in computerland!
Turn it up to 11! I will be LIVE at 12:30 AM (ET) Saturday morning with Robert Daniels on VISIONS IN SOUND. Tune in on your dial to 98.5 or internet to CKWR! You folks in the UK can tune in as you enjoy some morning java! Join Us THIS Saturday 12:30-2:30am (ET). Check out what Rob has planned this time:
This Week On Visions In Sound – The Mockumentary
This week we look at some mock documentary soundtracks. Featured music is from The Rutles, A Mighty Wind, FUBAR, Series 7 (Girls Against Boys) and This Is Spinal Tap. Join us THIS Saturday 12:30-2:30am (ET) Friday 9:30-11:30 (PT) on FM 98.5 CKWR. www.ckwr.com
We will also be live on Facebook to chat and talk about the music and films off air.
Be sure to listen in! Don’t be like Tron, not show up, and funkin’ blow.
A MIGHTY WIND – The Album (2003 Sony Music Soundtrax)
It’s way too easy to dismiss this album as a novelty. After all, movie stars singing songs in a comedy movie rarely amounts to anything substantial. However, the Oscar nomination for “A Kiss At The End of The Rainbow” lends this album credibility. Not to mention, most of these people have been singing for years. Eugene Levy and Catherine O’Hara frequently had musical numbers on SCTV. Michael McKean, Harry Shearer, and Christopher Guest perform here as The Folksmen, but they are probably best knows as their alter egos, Spinal Tap.
I can’t say that every song is a winner. I’m not a huge fan of the stylings of The New Main Street Singers (Jane Lynch, John Michael Higgins, Parker Posey, et. al. in a “neuftet”). It”s just not to my taste. As Harry Shearer says in the movie itself, “Would you rather hear a toothpaste commercial, or some music?” The New Main Street Singers are the toothpaste commercial. It works in the context of the movie. On the album, well, I could live without!
The estranged couple Mitch & Mickey (Levy and O’Hara) sing a beautiful song called “When You’re Next To Me” on track 3. It’s pretty stock until the second verse, when O’Hara comes in with her harmonies, and at that point I can believe that this is a real, serious folk duo. After all, they’ve been working together in various incarnations almost as long as their movie counterparts. Great song, and a great performance.
Finally, The Folksmen pull out their greatest hit(!), “Old Joe’s Place”, a fun novelty track that’s instantly catchy and memorable. You won’t be able to stop singing, if you can keep up with the rapid fire lyrics. Even better is “Never Did No Wanderin'”, on which the three singers meld perfectly. Not to mention these guys can really play their instruments, don’t underestimate them.
Lyrically, the jokes (when present) are sometimes a little subtle. For example, “Blood On The Coals”. Since there were so many folk songs about train accidents, and just as many folk songs about coal mine disasters, why not combine the two? So it’s a song about a train that crashes into a coal mine. Elsewhere, the jokes are more obvious. The Folksmen end their cover of “Start Me Up” faithfully to the Stones’ original, which sounds absurd. I like the absurd.
Although I cannot pick a favourite song, I think “A Kiss At The End Of The Rainbow” is as beautiful and perfect as music gets.
Lastly, the CD is enhanced with a bonus video: “When You’re Next to Me” by Mitch & Mickey live, which was deleted from the movie. This feature is only advertised inside the CD booklet. In the days of Youtube, this really isn’t much of a feature anymore, but I remember being quite excited to discover it back in 2003.
Don’t let the “comedy” tag scare you off. These are just great songs. It should hardly be a surprise — The Folksmen used to open for their alter egos Spinal Tap decades ago! These guys are all pros.
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