Friday, January 30, 2015

Rock Rock Rock Rock Rock 'n Roll High School

Some guy wrote about Rock 'n Roll High School yesterday. After Tommy died, I watched the movie for the first time in decades and was struck by two things:

1. Oh my God, they really do sound retarded. Like, they aspire to be retards.
2. Who took longer to show up onscreen in their own movie, The Ramones in Rock 'n Roll High School (almost 38 minutes in) or the shark in Jaws?

Rightfully so, the other guy had nicer things to say:
It’s a call for revolution not by scowling militants in uniforms, but by a goofy DJ convinced of the liberating, life-affirming powers of rock in its purest form. The movie’s famous Mad-style poster made this promise explicit with the tagline, “Will your school be next?” Though the film flopped at the time of its release, it was a big enough cult hit to spawn a little-loved sequel, 1991’s Rock ’N’ Roll High School Forever, which replaced the Ramones with Corey Feldman, then and sunk without a trace. It turns out that despite Screamin’ Steve’s words (and if you can’t trust a DJ named Screamin’ Steve, who can you trust?) the miracle of Rock ’N’ Roll High School wasn’t repeatable. That’s part of its magic. Like the Ramones, it was one of a kind, and retains its joyful power years later as a call to rebellion and rocking that includes just about everyone in its embrace.
A quick Google search let's you see tho whole movie (on Amtrak right now, can't embed.)

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