Spinal Tap Edition: This Blog Goes to 11
Lessons in Anarchy and Good Neighborliness from 'The Funniest Movie Ever Made about Rock and Roll!'
What better way to celebrate this Substack reaching its milestone 11th post than to take a look at the rockumentary film that showed the world how to go to 11?
This is either a terrible idea, or a great idea.
If you’ve never seen This Is Spinal Tap, it’s a classic comedy that spoofs rock-&-roll, band dynamics, the music industry, and documentary filmmaking. It’s a satire and a self-satire — it’s a meta-satire! — and it’s brilliant on all fronts.
The movie follows a British rock band trying to reclaim its former success. But the band, the music scene, and the touring landscape aren’t what they used to be. And it’s an intriguing plot to use for exploring anarchy and good neighborliness.
Let’s look at some movie quotes!
‘We’re not university material’
Higher education in the U.S. is a mess of government regulations, subsidies, and the quest for high social status instead of genuinely good character. Alternative learning methods and parallel institutions offer better, less costly ways to learn valuable skills, and to grow and socialize during your early adulthood.
Maybe a long time ago, a college degree demonstrated intellectual merit and competence. But that argument seems less valid today. Look at how badly most of the “expert class” of highly educated people botched the dominant COVID-19 narrative. And unsurprisingly, confidence in higher education continues to decline.
There’s no shame in not being “university material.” If anything, the opposite is true.
‘Their appeal is becoming more selective’
This euphemism for the band’s shrinking fan base is also an early lesson we all learn when exploring the higher, more humane ethics of anarchism, voluntarism, and genuine apostolic, “Early Church” Christianity.
Our pursuits aren’t mainstream. It’s challenging to persist as an outcast. As I wrote in the Good Neighbor, Bad Citizen book (available at Amazon, B&N, Lulu):
Jesus doesn’t say living this way will be easy; He says it will be blessed.
Become more selective — honest, attentive, rigorous, truly virtuous, humane — in your beliefs, even if your “appeal is becoming more selective” socially.
‘Heavy (heavy) duty (duty) brings out the duty in my soul’
As farcical as the Spinal Tap members seem most of the time, they have many bursts of poignancy and genius, perhaps none better than this line from the song “Heavy Duty.”
The highest sense of duty must emerge from your own soul, not from seeking external validation. It strikes a chord — pun intended! — with the themes of my blog and book, and is at the core of the neighbor-citizen conflict I described in the Introduction of my book:
Good neighbors “insource” their ethics; charity and friendship are the key virtues of their relationships. Good citizens “outsource” their ethics; compliance with the commands of rulers and enforcers is a fundamental and necessary aspect (some might call it a “civic virtue”).
Good neighbors consent. Good citizens conform.
‘He was the patron saint of quality footwear’
So goes David St. Hubbins’ explanation of his surname’s meaning.
Whether or not there was ever an actual Saint Hubbins in history (probably not, at least not yet!), sainthood is a very real and attainable thing. To be a saint, ultimately, is to accept and reach an eternal friendship with God. It requires commitment and often manifests in quiet, humble acts.
And while motorized vehicles can exponentially reduce the time and effort needed for long terrestrial journeys, there’s no such shortcut for a saintly, good-neighborly life. The metaphorical road to sainthood must be traveled slowly, incrementally, as it unfolds.
Saints also avoid hypocrisy. They don’t merely talk the talk; they walk the walk!
It all makes you grateful for quality footwear.
BONUS QUOTE FROM THE MOVIE OUTTAKES: ‘They wouldn’t be brilliant if they didn’t retain that quality of infancy’
Derek Smalls says this about the two visionaries — each billed as the Lead Guitarist — of Spinal Tap, Nigel Tufnel and David St. Hubbins.
If you’ve been reading this Substack for a couple of months or had ventured into the archive, then you can hear echoes of my Dec. 6, 2023, article. Cue that fine-looking graphic, and enjoy reading or re-reading about The Curious-Gullible Matrix!:
‘How can I leave this behind?’
We’ve reached the “Big Bottom” of this post; all articles must end, even those that go to 11.
This means it’s your turn to share your thoughts in the Comments!
Was this a stupid or clever idea for an article?
Have you seen the movie and/or heard the surprisingly great albums the band released?
What’s your favorite part of the movie? Does it reveal a good-neighbor / anarchist / Christian message?
Any other feedback about today’s post?
Such a talented ensemble and Spinal Tap remains highly quotable 40 years later. Their other mockumentaries are fun as well.
Clever. Definitely.
I love the curiosity/gullibility matrix. Don't think I've seen that before. Good framework.