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| Spinal Tap To Reunite For Global Warming |
| 2007-04-25 |
| Spinal Tap is back, and this time the band wants to help save the world from global warming. The mock heavy metal group immortalized in the 1984 mockumentary, "This is Spinal Tap," will reunite for a performance at Wembley Stadium in London as part of the Live Earth concerts scheduled worldwide for July 7. The original members of Spinal Tap will be there: guitarist Nigel Tufnel (played by Christopher Guest), singer David St. Hubbins (Michael McKean) and bassist Derek Smalls (Harry Shearer). Rob Reiner, who both directed "This is Spinal Tap" and played the fake documentarian Marty DeBergi in the film, will also be in attendance. A new 15-minute film directed by Reiner on the band's reunion will also play at the opening night of the Tribeca Film Festival in New York on Wednesday. The slate for the opening gala, to be hosted by Al Gore, was previously announced, excepting the Reiner short. The festival is to open with a showing of several global warming-themed short films produced by the SOS (Save Our Selves) campaign. SOS is also putting on the Live Earth concerts, to be held across seven continents. Reiner spoke to The Associated Press on Tuesday to explain the reunion of Spinal Tap — a band always known more as a parody of rock `n roll excess than environmental awareness. "They're not that environmentally conscious, but they've heard of global warming," said Reiner, whose other films include "When Harry Met Sally" and "Stand By Me." "Nigel thought it was just because he was wearing too much clothing — that if he just took his jacket off it would be cooler." Spinal Tap has reunited several times since the film, but hasn't for a number of years. For the band — whose last album was 1992's "Break like the Wind" — the occasion warranted a new single: "Warmer Than Hell." Reiner provided a sneak peak at the lyrics: "The devil went to Devon, it felt like the fourth degree/ He said, `Is it hot in here, or is it only me?'" The director said the new short film explains what the band has been doing with their lives lately. Nigel has been raising miniature horses to race, but can't find jockeys small enough to ride them; David is now a hip-hop producer who also runs a colonic clinic; and Derek is in rehab for addiction to the Internet. Reiner, 60, has for over 20 years worked with the National Resources Defense Council, an environmental When fantasy exceeds reality--the very heart of the global warming debate. |
| Posted by:Anonymoose |
| #13 Reminds me, the Brits are way Way WAY overdue for producing a new rock or metal film - Amer at least made HIGH INFIDELITY + FORD FAIRLANE, which TMK remain popular wid the college crowds. |
| Posted by: JosephMendiola 2007-04-25 22:59 |
| #12 Gawd I hope they live up to the brilliance + humor of the original. |
| Posted by: JosephMendiola 2007-04-25 22:54 |
| #11 Disappointing. I won't be watching the film ever again now. |
| Posted by: Sonar 2007-04-25 20:26 |
| #10 Good, it's been unseasonably cold, we could use a little global warming. |
| Posted by: DMFD 2007-04-25 19:31 |
| #9 You know what I want You know what I need Or maybe you don't... Gimme some MONEY! |
| Posted by: mojo 2007-04-25 16:22 |
| #8 Hopefully Tap will play their wonderful "Stinking up the Great Outdoors" off the Break like the Wind album. Having said that, apparantly the copyright on some of the Tap stuff is odd and they have to appear in some endevour as Tap every so often to renew it. So said the audio commentary on the DVD at least. |
| Posted by: rjschwarz 2007-04-25 14:51 |
| #7 Anyone else get the same vibe? Absolutely, Sgt. Mom. Though I hadn't made the direct connection before you mentioned it. It's part-and-parcel of that fundamentalist mentality that brooks no doubt or discussion. And, at its core, environmentalism is just a substitute religion for most of its adherents. |
| Posted by: xbalanke 2007-04-25 13:15 |
| #6 Will their audience become even more selective? |
| Posted by: Raj 2007-04-25 12:11 |
| #5 Hopefully their drummer won't spontaneously combust... |
| Posted by: mojo 2007-04-25 11:54 |
| #4 So it is... but gee, it must be hard to be a satirist these days, when reality itself turns so bizarre. You know, all the "glowball worming" hysteria is beginning to remind me of another sort of mass freak-out; the "satanic-child-molestation-at-day-care" hysteria of about 20 years ago. It's the same sort of shrieking hysteria, the same shouting-down of all the people who said "now just wait a darned minute", the same light-speed jumping to conclusions. Anyone else get the same vibe? |
| Posted by: Sgt. Mom 2007-04-25 11:53 |
| #3 the original flick is still a classic |
| Posted by: Frank G 2007-04-25 10:49 |
| #2 Oh, Goody! Now I can turn my AC up to 11! ;-) |
| Posted by: AlmostAnonymous5839 2007-04-25 10:35 |
| #1 Just remember--one piece of toilet paper please. |
| Posted by: JohnQC 2007-04-25 10:07 |