This Is Spinal Tap is one of the funniest and most enduring music comedies of all time. It hilariously parodies the heavy metal and general rock genres by exaggerating the most over-the-top clichés, sometimes riffing on certain moments in rock history.
The band Spinal Tap, played by three American comedic actors, is a fictional English rock group who came of age in the 1960s and lived through the British Invasion and Flower Power phases before settling on heavy metal. The actors nail the parody because they go beyond just spoofing the genre—they inhabit their roles thoroughly.
And because the actors, Michael McKean, Christopher Guest, and Harry Shearer, are so effective at portraying their British alter egos—musically as well as theatrically, they form the foundation for blurring the lines between satire and reality.
From Mockumentary To Musical Reality
The thing I find to be most amazing about Spinal Tap is how the actors McKean (David St. Hubbins), Guest (Nigel Tufnel), and Shearer (Derek Smalls) could play their instruments, write real rock songs with bitingly clever lyrics, and execute those songs at a highly competent professional level.
Note: Director Rob Reiner co-wrote all the songs with McKean, Guest, and Shearer.
After the movie was released in 1984, Spinal Tap went on a five-date tour. Audiences treated it like a real rock concert—singing along, throwing the devil sign, and buying merchandise.
The group’s musical acumen was such that they continued to pull off rock tours. They released a follow-up album, Break Like the Wind, in 1992 and embarked on tours in the ‘90s and ‘00s—just like a real band. Two years ago, bᴀssist Derek Smalls released a solo album, Small Change (Meditations Upon Aging)—just like real band members often do.
Why The Music Still Holds Up
Spinal Tap’s songs work not just because they’re funny, but because they’re genuinely good, well-produced rock tracks. “Hellhole” and “Tonight I’m Gonna Rock You Tonight” are songs you could hear on the radio without knowing it’s parody—they sound like genuine 80s-style rock.
The band members don’t wink at the audience—they’re operating from within the rock and roll circus and showing real love for it—all while using the genre’s tools to expose its ridiculous side.
Yes, the lyrics are purposefully absurd, but they’re keenly aware and smart. “Big Bottom” and “Sєx Farm Woman” skewer metal’s obsession with Sєx, while “Stonehenge” expertly lampoons the genre’s fascination with the occult. The songs are catchy and fun to sing along to, and the result is a body of work that continues to amuse, rock, and be quoted.
Some of the scenes from the film feature quotes that have become iconic—making their way into the pop culture vernacular. From “sнιт sandwich” to “None more black” to the granddaddy of them all, “This goes up to 11,” these phases have become burned into the brains of rock aficionados the world over.
In July, the original film, given a 4K restoration treatment, had a limited theatrical run.
Since then, anticipation for the sequel has been high. The trailer for Spinal Tap II: The End Continues, has appeared on the internet, showing a bit of what the band members have been up to in the past decades, how dramatically they’ve aged, and revealing that Elton John and Paul McCartney have roles in the flick.
This film will make history in that it marks the longest gap, 41 years, between sequels that feature the original cast.
Spinal Tap II: The End Continues will be in theaters on September 12th.
