This Day Goes to 11. Happy Nigel Tufnel Day! 11/11/11
Today is an historic day. It is a first-ever celebration of its kind. This is a limited edition holiday that we can only celebrate once! Unless we get pills that keep us forever young. This isn't one of your run-of-the-mill card holidays. This is actually very serious! Turn it up to 11 and turn to the closest person to you and wish them a "Happy Nigel Tufnel Day!"
When viewed through the paisley-coloured goggles of hindsight, one must conclude that every music act that has formed in their wake, owes a little something to Spın̈al Tap. This includes every hard rock and heavy metal band worth it's umlauts, to any act who has dared create a massive and complex stage set, all the way up to Justin Bieber. (Please note at this point that the imaginary editor of this piece, who is actually me, but for purpose of clarity and or to further confuse you, we'll call him Larry, would like to make it clear that the use of the name of a wildly popular singer from Canada was a blatant and bold-faced SEO attempt, and that in no way should said "singer" ever be compared to the legends that are Spın̈al Tap).
Where was I? Oh yes! Influence. In actual, literal fact (allegedly) Spın̈al Tap's influence is so powerful, so wide ranging, that it tore the very fabric of the space-time continuum which led to the band influencing their forebears, including Beethoven, Brahms and the guy who played Private Wilhelm in The Charge at Feather River.
Wilhelm scream
Legendary documentarian Marty DiBergi's true and completely accurate behind the scenes film of their 1982 concert tour, "This is Spın̈al Tap", is the absolute best way to truly understand these misunderstood geniuses. If you have never seen it (first of all, what's wrong with you!?) I beseech you in the name of the smouldering ashes of Tap drummer Mick Shrimpton, watch it! But, if you don't have 82 minutes right now, keep reading!
While they are pretty much universally ignored by radio (though I have it on good authority that a low-bandwidth AM station out of Papua New Guinea features a weekly Breakfast With-style program called "Tap 'em If Ya Got 'em") Spın̈al Tap nonetheless are huge influencers in the world of radio broadcasting. No, really. It's twue! It's twue! (Ed note: Why did you include a quote from Madeline Kahn? You aren't confusing her with Fran Drescher as Bobbi Flekman are you? - Larry)
Another area in which Tap have never won friends or influenced people, is with the music critics. Frankly, I don't give a something's something if every "critic" in the world (and the two from Dimension X) panned their 1974 album, Intravenus de Milo. Personally, I find it to be an order of magnitude better than 1970's Brainhammer, simply because the riffage of de Milo's hit single "Tonight I'm Gonna Rock You Tonight" surpasses even "Smoke on the Water" and that song about hedgerows by that band with the explody airships on all their covers as the real reason why every dude for the past 40 years goes to Guitar Center to buy an expensive instrument they can't play but still believe it will get them chicks. And don't even get me started on the whole "sexist" controversy over the cover of their album, Smell the Glove. Because really, what's wrong with being sexy?
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| The highly controversial, record label-approved cover of Smell The Glove (Polymer Records) |
Really clever people who talk loudly in movie theaters also know that Spın̈al Tap not only puts the heavy in heavy metal, but is solely responsible for self-indulgent, hour long, noodly improvisational song performances. Those who worship upon the alter of Prog must also agree (no,really, I insist) that Tap's concept album The Sun Never Sweats is the one thing to rule them all. (Ed note: That was a pathetic SEO attempt and not even a good pun. - Larry).
One can be certain, but one has no way of verifying it (short of ringing up someone who does things for H.M. The Queen) that Spın̈al Tap has done more than any other band in history to promote the wonder and the majesty of Stonehenge. Ok, to be fair, Black Sabbath tried, but Tap out-Henged them. Were it not for Spın̈al Tap, there wouldn't be a new, flourishing interest in becoming a druid. (* Reminder Note: Write an interesting factoid about real druids, here.)
Even if you disagree with everything else I've written here (except that bit about the panda, because no one can dispute THAT) there is one thing that every man, woman, child, robot, zombie, pirate, ninja, lolcats and dogs can agree on: Spın̈al Tap, more precisely Spın̈al Tap's Nigel Tufnel was the first guitarist to go to 11.
So, to celebrate this first ever "Nigel Tufnel Day", I encourage, nay require, each and every one of you, to at some point today, turn it up to 11 in celebration!
(Health warning: do not try this with ear buds or head sets. But by all means, annoy your neighbors!)
If you enjoyed this article, might we also suggest reading Spın̈al Tap: The Official History.
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