Movie Night: Wayne's World

Wayne's World is probably one of the first movies I ever saw that was explicitly about music, and more importantly about people who enjoy it. It came out when I was 5 and theoretically too young to understand its humour, but as early as Grade 2 I remember walking around the playground trying to remember all the words to "Bohemian Rhapsody."

The movie was based around a popular skit from Saturday Night Live, so they didn't have to do a lot to establish the characters. It opens with a scene of Wayne and Garth doing their show, Rob Lowe's character hatching a plot to commercialize them, and then a monologue where Wayne turns to the camera to fill the audience in on the details of his life that might not be obvious from the setup. Then Wayne, Garth, and their two cameramen buddies go out for a drive and listen to "Bohemian Rhapsody," which is cued up to about halfway through.



They just drive around and sing along to "Bohemian Rhapsody." Early in a comedy movie, when most writers would be looking to cram in as many jokes as possible. And that is just the perfect song choice for this type of scene. In general, the usage of music, the way the characters think in terms of classic rock songs, is pretty great: Garth's sex fantasy is set to "Foxy Lady" by Jimi Hendrix, Wayne's pining for Cassandra is set to "Dream Weaver" by Gary Wright, and there's a scene where Wayne can't help but sing "Hey Mickey" by Toni Basil, because it was the last song he heard before he left the house that morning.

One of the movie's best scenes occurs when Wayne and Garth get backstage passes to an Alice Cooper show; Alice was enjoying a revival at the time and performed his then-recent cut, "Feed My Frankenstein." He also gets to show off his considerable knowledge of Native American peoples.





The musical crux of the movie, though, is Cassandra's band, whom Wayne helps win a record contract with their cover of Sweet's "Ballroom Blitz." The cover choice gets across exactly what kind of band they are, emphasizing Cassandra's glammy sex appeal. Notably, it's a song about music, about a party getting out of hand, with crazyass rock imagery. The version of this song that appears in a comedy movie is considerably less silly than the original take by Sweet, though.



Wayne's World is not only a really great movie based on a popular skit, it's a savvy movie about music, both the people that make it and listen to it. Wayne and Cassandra both struggle with the implications of success in their respective media, dealing with the compromises it entails. In the end, the movie isn't against success, but prefers it on one's own terms.

Alice Cooper, "Elected"

Happy voting, America. Don't fuck this up.

Serious Contenders: Alice Cooper, "Poison"

Considering it was the late-80's, and this is Alice Cooper, it's remarkable how much less silly it is than its contemporaries. Don't get me wrong, it's still a bit much, but considering it next to Poison or Winger it seems rather subdued and subtle in both its instrumentation and lyrical matter. It's not surprising that this song, with its definitive 80's lead guitar and quintessential vocal hook, was a big hit in 1989. What's a bit more surprising is that it holds up 20-some years later better than most of its contemporaries (aside from Aerosmith's Pump.)

It was the perfect Alice Cooper song, as much as "I'm Eighteen" or "School's Out," love as a game of life and death. Alice, with his knack for theatricality, does a great job wringing out the melodramatic overtones without sacrificing whatever meaning there is in the song. Alice comes off like a vulnerable psycho on the brink of disaster.

It's silly, as hard rock frequently is, but it's not afraid of itself. I dig Alice Cooper because at his best, he is simultaneously highly theatrical and over the top, but very controlled and conscious of his image. That's what makes many of his best songs stand up alongside rock's best: very much of their time, but also standing out from the pack.