From AC/DC to Zombie: Celebrating This is Spinal Tap's (1984) 30th Anniversary at YEAH! TV

YEAH! TV is kicking off a month-long celebration of Spinal Tap's thirtieth anniversary.  

The site is hosting a special version of the movie with new commentary by director Rob Reiner, and with some other special features as well.

One web feature is "From AC/DC to Zombie," a treasure trove of appreciation or tribute for the world's loudest band by some of the most famous rockers on the planet.  

Among those talking about Spinal Tap on the tribute page: Meat Loaf, Chris McCready, Dave Mustaine, Dave Navarro, and Rob Zombie.

And also..yours truly. Yep, I'm in there too.

So if you get the chance, celebrate "Stonehenge," "Big Bottom," "Sex Farm" and thirty years of Spinal Tap with YEAH!.

Last but not least, be sure check out my book about the making of the film: Music on Film: This is Spinal Tap.

Anti-Music Reviews Purple Rain: Music on Film

Music scholar and blogger Anthony Kuzminski puts my latest book, Purple Rain: Music on Film under his critical microscope at anti-Music.   Check out the whole piece, "Rock Reads," but in the meantime here's a snippet:

"Muir's text is straight and to the point and he packs a lot of punch and unbelievable information in 132-pages. Most other writers would flesh the book out to a few hundred pages for the sake of their ego, but even if Muir had done this, the book wouldn't have been any better. Once you pick it up, you will probably read it in no more than two sittings and revel at the luster of the film. The music from the film has gone into the stratosphere as possibly the supreme record of the last three decades (it was number two on Rolling Stone's "100 Best Album's of the 80's" and number one on Entertainment Weekly's "Greatest Albums of the Last 25 Years" in 2008). The music is so timeless and faultless that the film is often forgotten about. But reading Muir's book we're reminded that Purple Rain was more than an album, but a cinematic event."

The PC Principle covers Purple Rain: Music on Film

The PC Principle's Troy Foreman features an extensive interview with me, here regarding my new book for Limelight Editions, Purple Rain: Music on Film.  Troy and I had a great chat.  He's a Prince fan from way back, and had terrific questions and insights.   We talked a lot about Purple Rain, and also Prince's not-always-successful movie career after the 1984 film.  We also discussed why Purple Rain holds up today, and my process for writing the book, and how I came to the project.

Check out the full interview.

Here's a snippet of Troy's intro: "Who would have thought back in 1984, a little low-budget film starring an artist that most of the general public didn’t know about, would become a cult classic. Not only the film, but its fantastic soundtrack. Well, Purple Rain did just that. Regarded as one of the best rock films ever made, Purple Rain would go on to redefine the genre and make Prince a pop superstar. Award winning author John Kenneth Muir takes a look at the phenomenon that was and still is associated with the film."

I want to thank Troy for featuring my work at PC Principle, and for being a great host.

I'm on Movie Geeks United...

Movie Geeks United examines the legacy of the 1984 rock classic, Purple Rain (and subject of my latest book) in its new episode, now airing.  Jamey DuVall and I recorded the interview a few weeks ago, and had a great talk about the film, and about musicals, circa the mid-1980s.

Check out the interview here.

And Even More Purple Rain: Music on Film Reviews

My latest book, Purple Rain: Music on Film, is still bringing in some nice reviews.  Here's the latest batch, in case you're still planning to order the book, and need a little push...

From Cinema Sentries:

"This book is not just for fans of Prince or Purple Rain. It is a great companion to a film that changed music and the film industry. Reading it makes you want to watch Purple Rain with a new set of eyes. One in a series, this book is one to keep and read over again. It had so many great little facts as well as bigger ones, that you won't get them all in the first read through."

And from Monique Blog:

"Muir expounds not only on the behind-the-scenes machinations of the film, but also on how The Kid shares many positive and negative personality traits as Prince himself. Overall, the book is an indispensable book for anyone who is a fan of Prince, his music and his films."

Don't forget, Purple Rain: Music on Film is available at here, at Amazon.com.

And a Few More Purple Rain: Music on Film Reviews...

Well, the critic's reviews are coming in fast and furious now.

Popstars Plus says: "“Music on Film: Purple Rain” is very well written by Muir, who has written a number of well known books on movies and entertainment, has done an excellent job of research and writing this book as well...If you liked the movie, this is a perfect book Music on Film for you..."

and


Cinema Sentries says:  "The  series issues short works (about 130 pages or less) analyzing key movies portraying music in some fashion. The short length limits the detail, only allowing for a general overview of the film. Despite that limitation, Muir's examination of Purple Rain provides a fascinating look at a classic rock film, and Magnoli's stories emphasize the roadblocks filmmakers may encounter, even before shooting a single frame."

Purple Rain: Music on Film Excerpted at Movieline

My latest film book, Purple Rain: Music on Film, is currently being excerpted over at Movieline.  If you want to get a taste of this book in Limelight's ongoing Music on Film Series before purchasing it, you might want to check this excerpt out.  In particular, the section featured at Movieline involves director Albert Magnoli's first meeting with Prince in Minneapolis, in an introduction that might have gone...badly.

Here's the link again.

And don't forget, Purple Rain: Music on Film is now available at Amazon.com and other online retailers.

Purple Rain: Music on Film Book set for release

My newest book, part of Limelight Edition's celebrated "Music on Film" series, will be released shortly, and I wanted to give readers here a head's up about it. 

My first text in the series gazed at  the making of 1984's This is Spinal Tap, and this new edition gazes at another classic rock film of that very year, Purple Rain.

To celebrate the book's upcoming release, the blog Onstage and Backstage, has posted my piece "Four Reasons Why Purple Rain Endures."

Here's an excerpt:

"1. Purple Rain is as close to getting “to know” the real Prince as we’re likely to get.

The artist who changed his name to an unpronounceable symbol and declared the Internet “dead” in 2010 is an enigmatic, mysterious fellow.  What makes him tick?  From what inner turmoil does his creative genius derive?

Although featuring a heavily fictionalized account of his life, Purple Rain remains the closest we are likely to get to an authentic Prince screen biography.  The film reveals the turmoil in his home life among his parents, and the relationships roiling Prince’s band mates in the Revolution.

At the start of Purple Rain, Prince emerges from smog and fog in silhouette and finally becomes visible…at least for the duration of the movie. This is as clearly as we have ever viewed the man, and his later films, including Under the Cherry Moon (1985) and Graffiti Bridge (1990) assiduously steered away from offering any further biographical detail.

2. The film is multi-faceted in its depiction of an icon. 

We’ve all seen big-screen musical biographies, and most often, they gloss over warts to forge a heroic, larger-than-life portrait of a talent we’ve come to love.  Consider Cool as Ice (1990), or even 8 Mile (2002), both of which failed to capture the real life experience or apparent rage driving performers such as Vanilla Ice or Eminem.

Or consider the superficial, bubble gum Rick Springfield vehicle, Hard to Hold (1984).  By contrast, Purple Rain reveals Prince in all his flawed and human dimensions.  He’s a genius, but he’s difficult.  He’s talented, but he’s demanding.  He’s an iconoclast and a perfectionist, and he’s anchored by nagging self-doubt.

In one of the film’s most famous scene, Prince sits back-stage – sulking in his tent as it were – making funny voices with a hand-puppet.  He comes off as angst-ridden, self-centered, and isolated.  Purple Rain is willing to reveal Prince in all his human shades, even the unflattering ones, and that’s why some critics (including Roger Ebert) listed it as one of the top ten films of 1984."

Check out the rest of the piece at Onstage and Backstage, and also watch a video about the book, featuring a voice-over by yours truly.  And don't forget, you can pre-order the book at Amazon.com, here.

Now Available: Music on Film: This is Spinal Tap

I'm proud and very excited to report that my latest film book, Music on Film: This is Spinal Tap, (Limelight Editions, 2010), is available as of today.

This book launches the Music on Film book series, a collection of small (100 -145 pages) volumes devoted to important film titles from cinema history.  

Another upcoming entry is  Music on Film: West Side Story by the great Barry Monush (Everybody's Talkin': The Top Films of 1965-1969, Screen World, etc.).  And I'm already on deadline for my second contribution to the series. 

But I just received my author copies MoF: This is Spinal Tap and the book is gorgeous, and beautifully presented. Limelight did a bang-up job.

Here's the official word on the book:

From The Publisher: In 1984, four comedians - Christopher Guest, Michael McKean, Rob Reiner, and Harry Shearer - unleashed This Is Spinal Tap, the world's first "mock-rockumentary" and a joke that has lasted into the 21st century and inspired a generation of imitations.

Now, award-winning film journalist John Kenneth Muir (An Askew View: The Films of Kevin Smith) escorts the reader through a quarter-century of heavy metal laughs, offering a detailed history of the film's genesis and an up-close look at the reasons why this beloved rock-and-roll movie comedy has endured for so long, - and even met acceptance in the rock-and-roll culture it lampoons.

Features interview material with the cinematographer, editor, and some supporting cast members of This Is Spinal Tap as well as "King of Nostalgia" Joe Franklin.

About the Author: John Kenneth Muir (Charlotte, NC) is the author of Best in Show: The Films of Christopher Guest and Company (Applause, 2004) and The Rock and Roll Film Encyclopedia (2007). He is the creator of the independent web series The House Between, which was nominated for Best Web Production in 2007 and 2008..

If you can swing it, order your copy of Music on Film: This is Spinal Tap today!