# Background viewing before This is Spinal Tap **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Tags:** movies\ **Created:** [September 8, 2022, 9:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/background-viewing-before-this-is-spinal-tap/971206 "2022-09-08T09:39:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![muldoonthief](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muldoonthief/32/3188_2.png) [@muldoonthief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/muldoonthief)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2022, 5:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/background-viewing-before-this-is-spinal-tap/971206/21 "2022-09-08T17:55:40Z")
> [@RitterSport](#): > > At least he’ll get the jokes about David St. Hubbins’ girlfriend screwing everything up… I thought she was coming to drop some stuff off, you know, then go right back. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2022, 6:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/background-viewing-before-this-is-spinal-tap/971206/22 "2022-09-08T18:04:20Z")
If he asks about something in particular then explain it. He may not ask, the gags are funny without knowing the background and he deserves a chance to appreciate the movie more when he watches it again someday. If he’s really into it point him to the imdb trivia page. ---
**Author:** ![blondebear](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blondebear/32/1022_2.png) [@blondebear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blondebear)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2022, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/background-viewing-before-this-is-spinal-tap/971206/23 "2022-09-08T18:20:35Z")
My recommendation would be to get the movie on DVD so he has the option to watch the movie again with the in-character commentary track. ---
**Author:** ![EinsteinsHund](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/einsteinshund/32/8400_2.png) [@EinsteinsHund](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EinsteinsHund)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2022, 7:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/background-viewing-before-this-is-spinal-tap/971206/24 "2022-09-08T19:04:10Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > Agree with everyone that says send him in cold. Half the fun will be watching him figure out some of the jokes. You don’t need prep to get “These go to 11” or “Lick My Love Pump.” Although it would help if he knows Boston has 35 colleges/universities. A modern audio standard in our digital age is still called “Dolby”, isn’t it? Else you’d have to explain that bit too. ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2022, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/background-viewing-before-this-is-spinal-tap/971206/25 "2022-09-08T20:18:53Z")
And that Des Moines is not in Indiana. I’m from Des Moines, and saw that movie many times for free because my brother worked there. Towards the end of its run, senior citizens were coming to see it and saying, “We have GOT to find out if this movie really is as funny as everyone says it is!” BTW, at the time, some critics chastised Rob Reiner for making a feature-length doco about a movie nobody had ever heard of before, and there were indeed people who walked out halfway through saying, “Who IS this band? I’ve never heard of them before.” I’m going to add that I have not been able to watch it ever since the news broke that the daughter of Tony Hendra, who played their manager, made very credible accusations that he molested her. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2022, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/background-viewing-before-this-is-spinal-tap/971206/26 "2022-09-08T20:58:16Z")
> [@nearwildheaven](#): > > “Who IS this band? I’ve never heard of them before.” I seriously had people asking me whether this movie was a true story, about a real band\* when it was new. I’m like, even if you don’t recognize “the meathead”, don’t you recognize Billy Crystal? Patrick McNee\*\*? Howard Hessman? I even think I knew who Fran Drescher was (maybe) at the time. I admit I didn’t recognize Lenny (or was it Squiggy?), but I never liked L&S. And even more I admit I was surprised to see they wrote and played their own music. Fun fact: Blue Oyster Cult played Magic Mountain when I lived in LA. I thought, “man, Spinal Tap is true! How the mighty have fallen.” AFAIK, they didn’t have a puppet show with them, though. \*to clarify, they didn’t think it was a biopic, they thought it was a real documentary \*\*eta: I found it funny that the guy directing Get Back was Michael Lindsay-Hogg, and then I understood Sir Denis Eton-Hogg. ---
**Author:** ![JRDelirious](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jrdelirious/32/9531_2.png) [@JRDelirious](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JRDelirious)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2022, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/background-viewing-before-this-is-spinal-tap/971206/27 "2022-09-08T21:12:54Z")
> [@silenus](#): > > “Lick My Love Pump.” You don’t even need to be familiar with Mozart or _Amadeus_ to get _ **that** _ gag. 🤪 ---
**Author:** ![bobot](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bobot/32/21622_2.png) [@bobot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bobot)\ **Post date:** [September 8, 2022, 9:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/background-viewing-before-this-is-spinal-tap/971206/28 "2022-09-08T21:20:20Z")
Another vote for no prep-work. Dive right in. ---
**Author:** ![Darth\_Hamsandwich](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/4bbf92/32.png) [@Darth\_Hamsandwich](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darth_Hamsandwich)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2022, 1:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/background-viewing-before-this-is-spinal-tap/971206/29 "2022-09-09T01:45:08Z")
“His music is made by ‘DJs’ and ‘producers’ sitting in front of a computer.” Maybe he would identify with[Popstar: Never Stop Never Stopping](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q9RoNzJrmDo). ---
**Author:** ![Hatchie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hatchie/32/3983_2.png) [@Hatchie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hatchie)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2022, 3:46am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/background-viewing-before-this-is-spinal-tap/971206/30 "2022-09-09T03:46:23Z")
Also, let him know there was a time, long ago, when Americans were convinced that any group from England was by definition if not immediately important, then at least must be tuned in to something we weren’t because, you know, from England. ---
**Author:** ![ZipperJJ](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/zipperjj/32/211_2.png) [@ZipperJJ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ZipperJJ)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2022, 4:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/background-viewing-before-this-is-spinal-tap/971206/31 "2022-09-09T04:03:32Z")
I know it’s been decided already but I want to chime in and say I didn’t know any “back story” about the movie or the industry when I first saw the movie as a kid in the 90s. The movie holds its own. If anything, it made stuff funnier going _forward_. ---
**Author:** ![Shalmanese](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/45deac/32.png) [@Shalmanese](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shalmanese)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2022, 4:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/background-viewing-before-this-is-spinal-tap/971206/32 "2022-09-09T04:23:08Z")
I had to explain to an Non-American how it was possible to make a mistake resulting in something being 1/12th the size but apart from that, everything else translated. ---
**Author:** ![Princhester](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/3e96dc/32.png) [@Princhester](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Princhester)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2022, 4:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/background-viewing-before-this-is-spinal-tap/971206/33 "2022-09-09T04:26:40Z")
He’s a completely metricated kid. He won’t get that one, either. ---
**Author:** ![Tibby](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tibby/32/17030_2.png) [@Tibby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tibby)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2022, 4:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/background-viewing-before-this-is-spinal-tap/971206/34 "2022-09-09T04:36:42Z")
**Odd personal factoid:** although I’ve seen all of Christopher Guest’s _other_ movies from start to finish, I don’t believe I’ve ever watched **This is Spinal Tap** in one complete viewing. Because of the movie’s buzz, I’ve watched so many (various scene) clips of the film, so many times, I’m sure, patching them together, I’ve watched the movie in it’s entirety a few times over. Has anyone else done this with **TiST** …or any _other_ films? ---
**Author:** ![zbuzz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/e19b73/32.png) [@zbuzz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/zbuzz)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2022, 5:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/background-viewing-before-this-is-spinal-tap/971206/35 "2022-09-09T05:13:17Z")
> [@hogarth](#): > > A good companion piece is **Anvil!: The Story of Anvil** This is the answer you’re looking for. Not only is it a great documentary, Anvil is as close to a real-world analogue to Spinal Tap as is possible. And one of the founding members is actually named Robb Reiner. But even if you’re not going to show him anything beforehand, you should watch it yourself because it’s a really good doc for This Is Spinal Tap fans. edit to add Anvil documentary trailer [![](https://img.youtube.com/vi/umAxeO-QfmY/hqdefault.jpg "Anvil! The Story of Anvil (USA Trailer)") ](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=umAxeO-QfmY) ---
**Author:** ![Dead\_Cat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/9fc29f/32.png) [@Dead\_Cat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dead_Cat)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2022, 10:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/background-viewing-before-this-is-spinal-tap/971206/36 "2022-09-09T10:00:42Z")
Just here to point out that “These go to 11” isn’t really a rock music joke, it’s a maths/physics joke. Carry on. ---
**Author:** ![RitterSport](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/rittersport/32/6326_2.png) [@RitterSport](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RitterSport)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2022, 10:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/background-viewing-before-this-is-spinal-tap/971206/37 "2022-09-09T10:37:45Z")
Definitely, because 11 is one louder than 10. That’s just math! ---
**Author:** ![Eonwe](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/eonwe/32/240_2.png) [@Eonwe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eonwe)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2022, 2:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/background-viewing-before-this-is-spinal-tap/971206/38 "2022-09-09T14:34:59Z")
> [@Shoeless](#): > > Also, maybe a puppet show or two. No no no! You’ve got it all wrong! If I’ve told you once I’ve told you a hundred times- watch Spinal Tap first, and puppet show last! ---
**Author:** ![JohnGalt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johngalt/32/184_2.png) [@JohnGalt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnGalt)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2022, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/background-viewing-before-this-is-spinal-tap/971206/39 "2022-09-09T16:54:54Z")
Since it doesn’t look like it has to be a movie, how about the episodes of _Documentary Now!_, with Bill Hader and Fred Armisen. My favorite is [Sandy Passage](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt4943628/?ref_=adv_li_tt), a spoof of [Grey Gardens](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0073076/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_0) (1975), or the 2009 version [Grey Gardens (2009)](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0758751/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_3) with Drew Barrymore. It’s take some investigation on the backstory of these two ladies, but I think the ending is absolutely fantastic, especially how similar it is to _The Blair Witch Project_ (is that an option?). I tried to watch _This Is Spinal Tap_ a few weeks ago, but it has never clicked for me, despite multiple attempts to view it. I have a hard time understanding the hard-metal rock world so I never understood why it was so popular. ---
**Author:** ![Jophiel](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jophiel/32/66_2.png) [@Jophiel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jophiel)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2022, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/background-viewing-before-this-is-spinal-tap/971206/40 "2022-09-09T17:12:36Z")
> [@JohnGalt](#): > > I have a hard time understanding the hard-metal rock world so I never understood why it was so popular I think it’s just a different sort of humor than you enjoy. Or that particular attempt at humor didn’t work for you (if you’ve enjoyed similar films). I was never into hard-metal but most of the jokes and events stand on their own: A dude trapped in an egg pod for the entire concert, the tiny Stonehenge, the Black Album and Smell the Glove issues, the girlfriend wanting them to dress in animal costumes, the puppet show, drummers dying, the Goes to 11 scene… none of these require inner knowledge of hard metal to land, they’re either sight gags or pretty universal in their ridiculousness. I’m sure there’s stuff to enjoy _more_ if you’re “in the know” but think the film sets itself up pretty well regardless. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/background-viewing-before-this-is-spinal-tap/971206.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/background-viewing-before-this-is-spinal-tap/971206.md?page=3)