John Cusack, Jack Black, The Boss, and One of History's Greatest Music Movies

Well, it's kind of obvious that, athough Rock Hard Times is steadily growing as a music website, we've been a tad slow in the blogging department as of late. I'm a as guilty as anyone, it just seems that everytime I sit down to impart my pearls of witty wisdom to the masses something pops up and stops me in my tracks. Hey, I ain’t lyin’. I've had several ideas for blogs that will knock off your proverbial socks. But it seems that every time I sit down to pound one out, I’m interrupted by some inconsequential bullshit like somebody dying or some other annoying bit of random happenstance. Like tonight for instance. I’d walked the dog, thrown some clothes in the wash, and had plopped down to turn out a bit of prize-winning prose. My lovely Marianne is in Florida so I had the entire evening in front of me. Alas, no sooner had I started when I got a phone call. Some friends were rustling up some chops on the grill and wondered if I was interested in coming over for a taste and an adult beverage. Well, hell yeah. After that Bengal performance today a pork chop sounds downright delicious. I need to move on and put the Bungles out of my mind. Long story short I’m not bloggin’ for long. Still, methinks it’s time for a brief look at one of the greatest films of all-time, the legendary Hi Fidelity. If you’re a music fan and haven’t seen it, don’t tell me or I shall find you and punch you in the neck. Seriously, go out and rent it tonight and save yourself some major pummeling about the neck and shoulders.

I’m not going to bore you with a detailed reconstruction of the plot, but let’s just say it’s a film about a guy (John Cusack) who owns a vinyl record store and has some serious relationship problems. Cusack stars as Rob Gordon and the film also features Iben Hjejle, Todd Louiso, and Jack Black as Barry (in an unforgettable performance). Lisa Bonet of Cosby fame is in the movie as well as Tim Robbins, and there’s even a cameo by a cat named Bruce Springsteen.

Bottom line, if you’re a music fan it’s a movie that must be seen. I don’t want to give anything away, but I’d like at least to share some of the more memorable quotes. Many of them are music-related. Here they be:

Exchange between Barry and a customer:

Customer: Hi, do you have the song "I Just Called To Say I Love You?" It's for my daughter's birthday.
Barry: Yea we have it.
Customer: Great, great... Well, can I have it?
Barry: No, you can't.
Customer: Why not?!
Barry: Because it's sentimental tacky crap that's why. Do we look like a store that sells "I Just Called to Say I Love You"? Go to the mall!
Customer: What's your problem?!
Barry: Do you even know your daughter? There's no way she likes that song! Oh, oh, oh, wait! Is she in a coma?

More dialogue in the record store:

Barry: Holy shit. What the fuck is that?
Dick: It's the new Belle and Sebastian...
Rob: It's a record we've been listening to and enjoying, Barry.
Barry: Well, that's unfortunate, because it sucks ass.

Rob, on the art of making the mix-tape:

Rob: The making of a great compilation tape, like breaking up, is hard to do and takes ages longer than it might seem. You gotta kick off with a killer, to grab attention. Then you got to take it up a notch, but you don't wanna blow your wad, so then you got to cool it off a notch. There are a lot of rules.

Rob, on relationships:

Rob: Should I bolt every time I get that feeling in my gut when I meet someone new? Well, I've been listening to my gut since I was 14 years old, and frankly speaking, I've come to the conclusion that my guts have shit for brains.

And later . . .

Laura: Listen, Rob, would you have sex with me? Because I want to feel something other than this. It’s either that, or I go home and put my hand in the fire. Unless you want to stub cigarettes out on my arm.
Rob: No. I only have a few left, I've been saving them for later.
Laura: Right. It'll have to be sex, then.
Rob: Right.

Here’s a discussion on songs about death:

Barry: Top 5 songs about death. A Laura's Dad tribute list, okay? Okay. Leader of the Pack. The guy fuckin' beefs it on his motorcycle and dies, right? Dead Man's Curve. Jan & Dean.
Dick: Do you know that right after they recorded that song Jan himself crashed his car...
Barry: It was Dean you fuckin' idiot...
Rob: It was Jan. It was a long time after the song.
Barry: Okay, whatever. Tell Laura I Love Her. That would bring the house down - Laura's Mom could sing it. You know what I'd want? One Step Beyond by Madness. And, uh, You Can't Always Get What You Want.
Dick: No. Immediate disqualification because of its involvement with The Big Chill.
Barry: Oh God. You're right.
Dick: Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald - Gordon Lightfoot.
Barry: You bastard! That's so good - that should have been mine... The night Laura's daddy died. Sha na na na na na na na na! Brother what a night it really was. Mother what a night it really... angina's tough! Glory be!

(If you don’t know that’s a reference to the song “The Night Chicago Died” get off this site immediately)

Here’s another great exchange:

Rob: Liking both Marvin Gaye and Art Garfunkle is like supporting both the Israelis and the Palestinians.
Laura: No, it's really not, Rob. You know why? Because Marvin Gaye and Art Garfunkel make pop records.
Rob: Made. Made. Marvin Gaye is dead. His father shot him.

And so on and so forth. The dialogue in this movie is a music lover’s dream, and this was just an appetizer for one of the greatest music related movies ever. OK, you can make an argument for American Hot Wax or This is Spinal Tap, but I’ll take Hi Fidelity any day. Just a lot of obscure references that make it all worthwhile. Watch it tonight, and if you’ve seen it, watch it again. It’s required RHT viewing.