New Doc Prescribes Anvil- Spinal Tap turns 25-

After gurgling down the hot black aromatic morning mouthwash, better known as Trader Joe's Fair Trade french roast, I booted up my computer. I always look at my selected online newspapers first thing in the morning. Every day I wonder, and worry, when I'm actually going to have to pay for my information. All this free Internet, after paying the connectivity to the coaxial pipeline or satellite, reminds me of the old days when broadcast television was free, and cable was really cheap. There are still a lot of cheap shows on cable these days, but all of it costs a bundle. Since I'm on a satellite hookup even broadcast television dings me for my dough these days.

Low or no cost reeled us into the giant tube, and now most of us pay heavy prices for the privilege of a televised rendering of our news and entertainment. I can see the Internet just becoming a broader platform of the same old television drill. A lot of clever people working for really big interests are hard at finding the magic pay-as-you-play formula for all this electronic wonderment.

Speaking of wonderment, I caught a couple of great articles on subjects I love, films and music. The articles were on the same subject matter, a new documentary on a long forgotten but still-hanging-in-there heavy metal band, Anvil. The name for the group is a perfect name for a heavy metal band. And in one of those real life beats fiction moments of serendipity, the film maker of Anvil's documentary, Sacha Gervasi, who wrote The Terminal for Steven Spielberg, was a roadie for the band twenty years ago.

I'm stoked about seeing this movie, which looks like This is Spinal Tap, only about real people. As the ultimate cosmic coincidence, Anvil's drummer is one Robb Reiner. There might be no degrees of separation between the original spoof and the reality here.

This Is Spinal Tap, the finest film spoof of all things metal and all rock music in general, is now twenty-five years old. This is a fine year to celebrate this great satire, which now proves life does indeed mirror art. Anvil looks like the perfect companion for an evening of tribute to the Tap. Rock on Nigel, David, Derek, "Lips" and Robb.