# 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:** 10\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2022, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/background-viewing-before-this-is-spinal-tap/971206/41 "2022-09-09T17:24:07Z")
“It’s hard to dust for vomit.” ---
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2022, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/background-viewing-before-this-is-spinal-tap/971206/42 "2022-09-09T17:31:03Z")
My favourite quote: “We are such fans of your music and all of your records. I’m not speaking of yours personally, but the whole genre of the rock and roll.” ---
**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, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/background-viewing-before-this-is-spinal-tap/971206/43 "2022-09-09T17:39:11Z")
Fred Willard is so good in that movie. ---
**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 9, 2022, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/background-viewing-before-this-is-spinal-tap/971206/44 "2022-09-09T17:45:52Z")
> [@Jophiel](#): > > 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. I still think my favorite scene is when they get lost on their way to the stage and meet the janitor. Twice. That’s universal humor you don’t need a special hard rock knowledge for. But all in all, it helps to know all those clichés and extravaganzas of rock to enjoy the film. ---
**Author:** ![Llama\_Llogophile](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/49beb7/32.png) [@Llama\_Llogophile](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Llama_Llogophile)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2022, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/background-viewing-before-this-is-spinal-tap/971206/45 "2022-09-09T18:30:20Z")
> [@Jophiel](#): > > 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. This really puts perspective on things though, doesn’t it? ---
**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 9, 2022, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/background-viewing-before-this-is-spinal-tap/971206/46 "2022-09-09T22:01:57Z")
> [@JohnGalt](#): > > 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. Funny, I feel the same about Guffman and Best In Show. I found them both terrible\* in comparison to the genius that is TiST. And I never even bothered with A Mighty Wind. Yet people here in this thread just love them. To each their own. Still, I’m glad I saw the My Dinner with Andre action figures scene. That’s right up there with Nigel’s visit to his guitar room. ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2022, 10:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/background-viewing-before-this-is-spinal-tap/971206/47 "2022-09-09T22:04:39Z")
> [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > And I never even bothered with A Mighty Wind. You really should. To me, it ranks _just_ behind Spinal Tap. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2022, 10:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/background-viewing-before-this-is-spinal-tap/971206/48 "2022-09-09T22:24:39Z")
> [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](#): > > Fun fact: Blue Oyster Cult played Magic Mountain when I lived in LA. I saw BOC in Vegas in a dilapidated closed movie theater. They still fuckin’ _rocked!_ ---
**Author:** ![Snarky\_Kong](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a183cd/32.png) [@Snarky\_Kong](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snarky_Kong)\ **Post date:** [September 9, 2022, 11:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/background-viewing-before-this-is-spinal-tap/971206/49 "2022-09-09T23:08:01Z")
He absolutely does not need to watch a rock documentary first. Maybe a couple of clips of live shows? I don’t think it relies on a bunch of inside knowledge of the 70s music industry. ---
**Author:** ![Kent\_Clark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kent_clark/32/105_2.png) [@Kent\_Clark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kent_Clark)\ **Post date:** [September 10, 2022, 12:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/background-viewing-before-this-is-spinal-tap/971206/50 "2022-09-10T00:51:25Z")
> [@Tibby](#): > > 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? I have never watched _Caddyshack_ from start to finish, although I’m pretty sure I’ve seen enough clips to assemble them into the complete film. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/background-viewing-before-this-is-spinal-tap/971206.md?page=2)