Aside from being a vehicle for Russell Brand, for so long a rock star without a music career, Infant Sorrow boasts something of an actual pedigree with real musicians like Jarvis Cocker and Carl Barat (The Libertines) contributing, and enough original songs to fill an album (also the film’s official soundtrack). Whether there is life for Infant Sorrow beyond “Greek” remains to be seen, but here’s our tip o’ the hat to nine other bands-from-movies that we reckon are good enough, or at least have a good enough gimmick, to be able to survive outside the films that spawned them; in a couple of cases they actually do.
In no particular order (this is a collaborative effort and we wanted to keep it friendly):
“Almost Famous”
Band name: Stillwater
Who were they? Guitar-Jeff Bebe (Jason Lee), Guitar-Russell Hammond (Billy Crudup), Bass Guitar- Larry Fellows (Mark Kozelek of The Red House Painters), Drums- Ed Vallencourt (John Fedevich)
Best track: “Fever Dog”
Worst Track: None that we heard but the pitch was a bit off when the entire bus sang “Tiny Dancer.” Still, that’s part of what makes it magical.
How hard do they rock? When Rolling Stone writer William Miller calls your guitar incendiary you know you have accomplished something. Stillwater’s arena blues rock, with Jeff Bebe’s soulful swagger and Russell Hammond’s undeniable presence as an emerging guitar God, encompassed the greatness of Lynyrd Skynyrd and The Eagles, amping it up with a solo of cool that few bands of the era could touch. The scene where Russell Hammond walks onto the stage before Fever Dog can only be described as electric. Their fans are as hungry as the song’s subject, knowing that they are tasting a rare moment. The Stillwater performance we see brings us the best part of being a music fan. They are on the cusp of greatness but still are small enough to be your little secret.
“Velvet Goldmine”
Band name: The Venus In Furs and Wylde Ratttz
Who were they? Brian Slade (Jonathan Rhys Meyers as a Bowie/Bolan mash-up) lead the Furs and Curt Wild (Ewan McGregor as a Iggy Pop/Lou Reed surrogate) fronted the Wylde Ratttz.
Rock Pedigree: Anyone who thinks the meta-referential “I’m Not Here,” was Todd Haynes’ first foray into movie-rock meta-textualness needs to go back and revisit his glam-rock paean “Velvet Goldmine” which did a lot of rock-star character compositing to create new figures (while McGregor’s character is clearly physically based on Iggy Pop, the electroshock therapy to “cure” his homosexuality reference is ripped straight out of the Lou Reed biography). The film is littered with rock and cinema references. The Slade character has a persona named “Maxwell Demon” who is named after one of Brian Eno’s early bands, the members of Placebo all appear as the fictional band, Flaming Creatures, which is named after a graphically sexual, 1962 experimental film by filmmaker Jack Smith, The Wylde Ratttz are a reference to Ziggy Stardust guitarist Mick Ronson’s early band (The Rats) and the list goes on and on.
Who They Really Were: Forget the actors, the musical members of The Venus In Furs (itself a Velvet Underground reference) were a supergroup that included, Radiohead’s Thom Yorke and Jonny Greenwood, David Gray, Suede’s Bernard Butler, and Roxy Music’s Andy Mackay. The musicians behind The Wylde Ratttz were a complimentary American supergroup that featured Sonic Youth’s Thurston Moore and Steve Shelley, Minutemen’s Mike Watt, Gumball’s Don Fleming, The Stooges’ Ron Asheton, and Mark Arm of Mudhoney (anyone remember that they tore the roof off the MTV Video Music Awards in 1998?)
Best track: Best is relative as covers can’t compete with these originals, but “Venus in Furs” as sung by Thom Yorke doing his best Bryan Ferry imitation is… interesting and Jonathan Rhys Myers singing Brian Eno’s “Baby’s On Fire” with the Wylde Ratttz was surreal enough that it’s worth taking another listen to
Worst track: Placebo’s cover of T-Rex’s “20th Century Boy.” How do you fuck up that classic track? Easy, you become the wannabe glam rockers in Placebo.
How hard do they rock? The bands were fine, but really its an excuse to delve into the Roxy Music, Stooges, Brian Eno, Lou Reed, T-Rex, Slade, New York Dolls, etc. bands that were referenced in the film. Pulp, Shudder to Think and Grant Lee Buffalo also wrote original music for the film and curiously enough there were zero David Bowie songs in the film even though his character and music were obviously integral to the story and musical scene at the time. This is because Bowie was shepherding his own film project and didn’t want the competing film to get all his songs. Of course that film has never materialized.
“Hustle & Flow”
MC name: DJay
Who were they: DJay (Terrence Howard) provides the flow while Al Kapone of Three Six Mafia penned the lyrics.
Best track: “Whoop That Trick” wins out over the Oscar-winning “It’s Hard Out Here For A Pimp” with dark grooves and an aggressive delivery from Howard.
Worst track: “Hustle & Flow (It Ain’t Over)” is derivative and doesn’t stand up to multiple listens outside the film.
How hard does he rap? The three songs performed by DJay in the course of Craig Brewer’s junkyard-underdog-rising film are hard Southern gangsta rap, heavy on the bass and dispersing misogynistic lyrics with ease. Howard does well to keep up his end while Al Kapone’s rhymes are serviceable at worst and include such gems as “I don’t think you understand this one right here might get banned/Setting off a riot like we living in Afghanistan.” Overall, get the three songs and avoid the soundtrack, which is peppered with guest appearances of songs that only get brief airtime in the film.
“The Adventures Of Buckaroo Banzai Across The 8th Dimension”
Band Name: Hong Kong Cavaliers
Who Were They? Frontman Buckaroo Banzai (Peter Weller), pianist Rawhide (Clancy Brown), sax player Reno Nevada (Pepe Serna), guitarists Perfect Tommy (Lewis Smith) and Pinky Carruthers (Billy Vera) and backup dancer and pianist New Jersey (Jeff Goldblum).
Best track: The instrumental “Bonzai Jam” sounds like something in the eighties that would have had us tapping our toes and nodding our heads at the bar.
Worst track: We’re not a fan of Bonzai’s impromptu cover of “Since I Don’t Have You,” and neither are the bad guys, who interrupt Bonzai’s live rendition with gunshots before kidnapping his lady love.
How hard do they rock? The score of the film, from Grammy winner Michael Boddicker, riffs off the very little we do hear of the Cavaliers, so you could suggest we spend the entire film listening to physicist/neurosurgeon/rock star Bonzai’s eclectic band. There seems to be a heavy reliance on period-appropriate synth and keyboard, though the heavy reliance on sax and piano suggests a futuristic melding of big band aesthetics and frisky jam band-age.
“The Devil’s Rejects”
Band name: Banjo & Sullivan
Who were they? Lead singer Roy Sullivan (Geoffrey Lewis) and banjo player Adam “Fingers” Banjo (Lew Temple).
Best track: “I’m At Home Getting Hammered (While She’s Out Gettin’ Nailed)” surprisingly lives up to its title as a jokey honky tonk knee-slapper that lends itself easily to singalongs.
Worst track: “I Don’t Give A Truck,” with its heavy reliance on electric guitars, sounds very much like the worst of modern day country machismo, shedding the duo’s custom sheepishness.
How hard do they rock? Banjo And Sullivan’s “collection” dates back to the mid-70’s, before they disappeared in the middle of a horrendous murder spree. Or so “The Devil’s Rejects” director Rob Zombie would have you believe. With songwriter Jesse Dayton and star Lew Temple, Zombie actually produced a full length album for minor characters in his film that we never see performing, only being tortured by Zombie’s bloodthirsty protagonists. It’s a curious experiment for such a small film, made doubly intriguing by the fact that, despite the fact that the songs rely on Zombie-style double entendres and cheap jokes, they’re pretty catchy period-specific country tunes.
“School of Rock”
Band Name: School of Rock
Who were they? Vocals, Guitar – Dewey Finn (Jack Black), Lead Guitar – Zack Mooneyham (Joey Gaydos Jr), Bass Guitar – Katie (Rebecca Brown), Keyboards – Lawrence (Robert Tsai), Drums – Fred (Kevin Clarke), Various roles – the rest of Horace Green Prep School 5th Grade Class
Best Track: “School of Rock” aka “Zack’s Song”
Worst track: Well, in fairness they only really have the two original songs so “Legend of the Rent.”
How hard do they rock? Rock can change the world, there is no doubt — but this band does something way more difficult — they change their parents’ minds. By the end, Zack’s need for his Dad’s acceptance, Fred’s rebellion, Lawrence’s shyness (we love Lawrence), the self-confidence of the entire class and, of course, Dewey’s salvation, all hang on one song, one performance, one shot. And they kill it. So the song itself is a wee bit paint-by-numbers (it was supposedly written by an 11-year old) and we might wish there was just one more notch they could crank when they hit their second chorus, but really, that’s nitpicking when you’re grinning and humming along with the audience. These kids don’t just rock hard they rock cute.
“Blues Brothers”
Band name: Blues Brothers
Who were they? John Belushi as “Joliet” Jake Blues, lead vocals; Dan Aykroyd as Elwood Blues, harmonica and lead vocals; Steve Cropper as Steve “the Colonel” Cropper, lead guitar, rhythm guitar and vocals; Donald “Duck” Dunn as Donald “Duck” Dunn, bass guitar; Murphy Dunne as Murphy “Murph” Dunne, keyboards; Willie Hall as Willie “Too Big” Hall, drums and percussion; Tom Malone as Tom “Bones” Malone, trombone, tenor saxophone and vocals; Lou Marini as “Blue Lou” Marini, alto saxophone and tenor saxophone and vocals; Matt Murphy as Matt “Guitar” Murphy, lead guitar; Alan Rubin as Alan “Mr. Fabulous” Rubin, trumpet, percussion and vocals
Best track: Probably “Shake A Tailfeather” with Ray Charles that turns into a street party, though Jake Blues’ religious experience at the church of James Brown is kind of amazing (though technically, he doesn’t really perform during the song)
Worst track: None
How hard do they rock it? “Blues Brothers” is a odd one in that the musical duo spend most of the film getting the band back together for a charity gig, that mostly results in a relentless chase movie. It’s hard to imagine any studio greenlighting a 2 hr plus surreal comedy about blues revivalists, especially in today’s climate, but Belushi and Aykroyd make it work. Their energy and passion not only for the concept, but more importantly, for the music, is infectious. Their use of the guest musicians is carefully thought out, resulting in sequences (like Aretha Franklin’s “Think” in a diner) that are sublime, paying respect to both the artists and music, while still being plenty of fun. Of course, a car chase through a mall also helps. However, once they manage to shake off everyone they’ve pissed off — including Good Ol’ Boys, Illinois Nazis and jilted ex-lovers — and get to the gig, they make a solid case for why getting everyone back together was worth the effort. Belushi and Aykroyd aren’t the greatest singers, but they are great performers and it shows through and through. Like the best rhythm and blues material, they find the neck snapping breaks and grooves that make the best of genre so infectious, and milk it for all its worth. And no, this isn’t R&B as in R. Kelly, but the real deal shit of the classic Motown and Stax era with thick hooks and precision execution. And of course, it certainly doesn’t hurt the Blues Brothers to have some of the most esteemed rhythm and blues players of all time in their band, including members of Booker T & The MGs and The Movement (Isaac Hayes’ band). So yes, they definitely rock it.
“Music & Lyrics”
Who were they: Alex Fletcher (Hugh Grant) as the washed-up lead of the ’80s pop mainstay…PoP! and Sophie Fisher (Drew Barrymore) as an unlikely lyricist. Also features fictional teen star Cora Corman (Haley Bennett). Adam Schlesinger provides the lyrics for most of the tracks, though the film had a good half dozen lyricists associated with it.
Best track: “Don’t Write Me Off” caps off the film and is a sweet, ultimately shaggy-dog ballad that is sympathetically nailed by Grant.
Worst track: Corman’s terrifically bad sitar-infused “A Way Back Into Love” takes choice digs at pop stars trying for the “world sound.”
How hard do they sing? With all three actors performing their own vocals…surprisingly decent! We knew Barrymore could sing, but Grant and newcomer Bennett hold their own. “PoP! Goes My Heart” parodies ’80s cheese with proper skill while “Buddha’s Delight” has Bennett seductively imitating Britney Spears and features the requisite bad-taste Buddhist nirvana reference.
Extra Rock credit: Adam Schlesinger of slick power-pop band Fountains of Wayne wrote many of the film’s songs.
“This is Spinal Tap”
Band Name: Duh, Spinal Tap
Who were they? Lead Vocals, Guitar – David St. Hubbins (Michael McKean), Lead Guitar, Vocals, Mandolin, etc. – Nigel Tufnel (Christopher Guest), Bass Guitar – Derek Smalls (Harry Shearer) Keyboards – Vic Savage (David Kaff), Drums (one of many) – Mick Shrimpton (RJ Parnell)
Best Track: Tough call, but “Tonight I’m Gonna Rock You Tonight” wins out because of its disturbingly pedo lyrics, catchy riffs and redundant second ‘Tonight.’
Worst track: “Jazz Odyssey.” Sorry, Derek.
How hard do they rock? [tries valiantly to resist the obvious ‘they go to 11’ line.] You knew they’d be here, and they are. While the troupe behind the film went on to parody folk music, dog shows, amateur theater and the Oscar race, nowhere else was it so obvious that they just adored the thing they were sending up: the music is a piss-take, yes, but one done with such absolute love, craftsmanship and commitment to rocking that it never feels snide. An integral part of one of the most hilarious films ever made, the songs are both parodies and perfect examples of the cock-rock genre. Spinal Tap were so great as a fictional band they became a real one… oh fuck it, they went to 11.
— Jessica Kiang Kevin Jagernauth, Adam Sweeney, Gabe Toro and Mark Zhuravsky
