Tragic and terrible news from over the weekend, as renowned director, producer and actor Rob Reiner has passed away. He and his wife Michele were found dead in their Los Angeles home. The further details of this case are grim so I’ll just leave them alone other than to say that it was an apparent homicide. Rob was 78 years old, Michele was 68.
Reiner was born to legendary comic actor Carl Reiner and actress/singer Estelle Reiner. Rob got his start in acting during the 1960’s, landing bit parts in many well-known series of the time. He would land what many consider his signature role as Michael “Meathead” Stivic on the beloved sitcom All In The Family, playing foil to Carroll O’Connor’s famous Archie Bunker.
Reiner began his long-running directing career in 1984 with the film that lands his obituary on these pages with the cult classic This Is Spinal Tap. Reiner would go on a run of massive success that kicked off with 1986’s Stand By Me and ran through to 1992’s A Few Good Men, and he would continue to find success through the remainder of his career. He would also be found in several acting roles, including Throw Momma From The Train and The Wolf Of Wall Street.
Reiner’s career spanned a long time and incorporated several elements of movie and TV making, but of course I’m going to use a few more words to expound on the subject I’ve already covered in great detail – the film that both created the “mockumentary” genre and also hit a bullseye in portraying the hard rock and heavy metal scene of the early 1980’s. Spinal Tap was the concoction of Reiner as well as the principal actors – Harry Shearer, Michael McKean and Christopher Guest. Invented originally for comedy tv skits, Reiner would secure financing from his old pal Norman Lear (creator of All In The Family) and film in an ad-lib style to let the film essentially write itself. Reiner directed the effort and also portrayed Martin “Marty” Di Bergi, the documentary maker chronicling the hi-jinx of Spinal Tap.
This Is Spinal Tap did not light the world on fire when it was released, but as the years wore on it became a cult classic. Nostalgia only brought the film more fondness and the band became an institution beyond the scope of the initial film. It took 41 years but we did get a sequel in the form of Spinal Tap II – The End Continues, which hit theaters earlier this year and appears to be Reiner’s final film project. He did have one more thing in the can and it does involve Spinal Tap – the band filmed a farewell concert that is set to release sometime in 2026.
It was a senseless, tragic act that took away Rob and Michele. But there is a lot of Rob Reiner to fondly remember. He has any number of classic films to his credit, and his role as “Meathead” was an all-time performance. For me I’ll obviously most remember Spinal Tap, though many of his other films are classic works of art. Rest easy Rob and Michele, and thanks for all the memories.
This past weekend we received the gift of the new Spinal Tap movie – Spinal Tap II – The End Continues. Along with that we got the inevitable “soundtrack” or music album to accompany the film. I’ve already given my thoughts on the movie here, so today let’s go over the record.
Spinal Tap – The End Continues
Released September 11, 2025 via Interscope Records
This album is straightforward and doesn’t have a ton of background info to go over. The album was recorded by the band’s three principal actors – Michael McKean, Christopher Guest and Harry Shearer. Guest and McKean are also the album’s producers along with CJ Vanston, who also plays keyboards for the group in the movie. Joining in on drums is Valerie Franco, the actress/drummer who portrays the band’s new drummer Didi Crockett in the movie. There are also a wide array of guests on this album, Phil X and Greg Bissonette are a few noteworthy ones beyond the mega-star headliners.
We’re about ready to dig into the album, but there is one oddity as it relates to streaming services. If you look this up on Spotify, you’ll get 12 tracks – 9 new songs and 3 re-recorded Spinal Tap classics with very distinguished guest musicians. This should also be true of other streaming services, well, except for one.
If you have Amazon Music, or if you purchase a physical copy of the album as I have, you will find one additional track – the band’s classic Big Bottom, with guest musicians Garth Brooks and Trisha Yearwood. This does not appear on any other streaming service because Brooks has an exclusive deal with Amazon and is otherwise dead set against streaming music services. Since I do have it on record I will cover the widely-celebrated collab in this roundup.
Nigel’s Poem
This is a small bit from Nigel with sparse atmospheric keyboards behind it. As a song it is quite short, as a poem a minute might as well be an eternity as far as I’m concerned. This vaguely calls back to his spoken word intro to Stonehenge, but not really. I’m not sure what this is doing here. Grade: D+
Let’s Just Rock Again
This first proper song is a decent enough cut of old-school epic rock with the annoying sort of keyboard sound from Eurpoe’s The Final Countdown. The verses on this one have all three band members trading off vocals, it’s very slow and doesn’t always work. The chorus builds up in ok fashion. It’s not a horrible song but it isn’t all that great. Grade: C
(Listen To The) Flower People, featuring Elton John
We get are first guest shot here, with the legendary Elton John making his first of two appearances. Here the band tackles their first proper hit from the 1960’s as Spinal Tap, this jam is also in the film. It was a hilarious song back in the first film and it’s only made better with Elton John contributing to it. It will become quickly apparent that the entire value of this record is in these marquee guest appearances. Grade: A
Brighton Rock
A pretty nice classic rock track here. The lyrics are absolutely pointless but I guess the song needed something. Not a bad song overall though. Grade: C+
The Devil’s Just Not Getting Old
The music here is quite good. What I believe are Harry Shearer’s vocals are not. I could live with his super gruff vocal style, but this lyrical output is totally ham-fisted and not amusing. I honestly don’t know what the fuck this is. Grade: D-
Cups And Cakes, featuring Paul McCartney
Here is another early Tap classic, actually pre-Tap as the band were the Thamesmen at the time. This silly sweet track has the one and only Paul McCartney on it, Macca also jams this out with the band in the movie. It’s short and sweet and, while not the greatest song ever recorded, you can’t really fail with Macca joining in on your jam. Grade: B+
I Kissed A Girl
So I’m not gonna bother with even a surface level analysis here – this song sucks. End of. Grade: F
Angels
This doesn’t fit the movie or Spinal Tap’s style at all but it’s also a pretty decent song that sounds good and has something of a point so have a Cfor your trouble.
Big Bottom, featuring Garth Brooks and Trisha Yearwood
In the film, a short clip of Garth and Trisha covering Big Bottom comes up. It’s pivotal to the story and is also absolutely hilarious, one of the best moments in the film. In keeping with the theme of the album, we get a full version with the couple as welcome guests.
Garth and Trisha completely handle the vocals here, they trade off lines and Trisha’s subtle twists to reflect the gender ramifications of her singing certain parts are hilarious. The pair are also the focus of the song as the music does seem to sit in the background a bit more than in the original version. But what is widely hailed as the best Spinal Tap song is handled very well here to accommodate two A-list guests and everything comes off in great fashion. Again, you must either have a physical copy of the album or Amazon Music to have access to this song. Grade: A
Judge And Jury
This one comes in with an R&B style jam, or at least it’s in that vein. It’s pretty awful but it does sound clear and better executed than some of the other stuff on the album. It is further evidence that the group had no real creative direction when putting this record together and were just throwing shit at the wall. The biggest problem with throwing shit at the wall is that it’s shit. Grade: D+
Rockin’ In The Urn
Holy shit, we actually get to a new song that has a bit part in the movie and has some semblance of a point to it. This is handled by Derek Smalls/Harry Shearer as it was a proposed solo tune of his. Harry’s vocals are the weak point of the song, the music itself is honestly quite good. This is about the only glimpse of the old classic Spinal Tap that could crank out surprisingly good songs. The verses here are too slow for my tastes but the song is pretty decent overall. Grade: C+
Blood To Let
This album is a slog to get through but it’s oddly picking up steam in its final moments. This is an upbeat rocker with some keyboard and horn accents and is honestly a pretty good track. It’s probably the most well-formed of any of the new original songs and doesn’t really suffer at any point in the song. On most any other rock album this would be a passable secondary track, but on this bomb of an album it’s a highlight. Grade: B
Stonehenge, featuring Elton John
We close things out with Elton joining in on the band’s epic power metal-ish song. The track was pivotal to the first film and is integral to the new film’s climax as well. This new version does have some differences to the original but is generally faithful in execution. This always was one of the better Spinal Tap songs and it’s only enhanced with the presence of the great Elton John. Grade: A
The End Continues is a soundtrack album, though beyond the guest shots and the one original song that gets a bit of play, I’m not sure what film this album is soundtracking. It’s very odd that another Derek Smalls original that gets featured in the beginning of the film wasn’t recorded for this. This album has a few highlights with the mega-star guests and then has maybe one song that’s possibly worthy of any future listens. The rest of the album is very throwaway and holds no replay value of any sort. Even the few songs that do come together as decent tracks really don’t offer a reason to be revisited.
Spinal Tap was able to compose a shockingly good soundtrack for their first film, and then in 1992 they gave up an original album Break Like The Wind that had the excellent single The Majesty Of Rock on it. The band reconvened in 2009 for a collection of re-recordings Back From The Dead that didn’t offer up a ton of new stuff but was very good sounding. But here in 2025, with what is likely the final Spinal Tap musical release, the band hacked up a hairball. The record did chart very modestly in the UK and Scotland, but beyond that and the excellent guest appearances on well-known Tap songs, this album is dire and honestly better left forgotten.
Album Grade: D
It is a shame that we didn’t get something more with this album. The movie was worth the time and it’s been nice to see Spinal Tap get one more push in the limelight. But this time they brought an album that sadly doesn’t pass muster. I can certainly forgive this and move past it, there is plenty enough in the Spinal Tap lexicon for me to enjoy. But it would have been nice to have a little more something to what is most likely the group’s musical swansong.
This past weekend was the theatrical release of Spinal Tap II – The End Continues. This film is the sequel to the 1984 cult classic mockumentary This Is Spinal Tap. It’s not common to get a sequel film 41 years after the original, but a long-standing battle over rights issues and a simple desire to find the “right” story for a new film held things up for a long time.
This new film involves the four main characters – band members David St. Hubbins, Nigel Tufnel and Derek Smalls, as well as documentary maker Marty Di Bergi. There are also a number of new people involved, a handful of cameos from characters in the first movie, and several new guests.
The movie is quite short by today’s standards, going for 1 hour, 22 minutes. I was fine with it, there was more than enough to fill the screen and I didn’t see a reason to have a super long movie.
The plot is very simple and, to be honest, barely even there. Spinal Tap are contractually obligated to have one more show after 15 years of not playing together. The rest of the film is the lead-up to the show and then it caps off with the show itself. It’s extremely simple and doesn’t carry any excess baggage or dense weight to process.
This does make for easy watching but does also have a downside – there isn’t a ton of real tension or anything in the film. The first movie had a huge sense of wondering just how far the band was going to fall, as well as a true antagonist with Jeanine fouling up the band. Spinal Tap II doesn’t have much adversity going on – sure, David and Nigel have issues with each other and there’s an antagonist with a slimy concert promoter, but the film moves from “they’re reuniting” to the reunion in pretty short order. No one needed a crazy movie with twists and turns, but this is super, super light on plot.
We do get several guest appearances. A handful are small cameos that let us know how characters from the first film are doing, and a few others are new guests. Garth Brooks and Trisha Yearwood appear in one of the film’s most hilarious scenes and Paul McCartney makes a decently-sized appearance as himself. Elton John spends a bit more time on the screen and is pivotal to the film’s conclusion. There are a handful of other brief guest shots that come during an important story scene and I won’t spoil it, but they do make the joke that everyone thought they were going to make based on the pre-announced guest list.
One thing the movie gets right and probably the central thing they needed to get right is the humor. There are a few outright moments of gut-busting laughter, but most of the jokes are the same kind of faux-British, deadpan delivery that made the first movie so charming. Nigel especially is as full of nonsense as he was in the first movie.
Another thing done very well is honoring Spinal Tap lore. This movie fits very easily in alongside its 41 year old sibling film. The band’s long-running issues with drummers play a huge role, and the actual reunion show and aftermath are very much tied to incidents from the first movie. There isn’t a ton of new original music on offer in contrast to the first film, but Derek Smalls does air out a few bits of solo material. And while David St. Hubbins does seem a bit different as he’s gotten older, Nigel and Derek are almost straight-line continuations from the original flick. It’s very cool to catch up, albeit briefly, with old characters like Bobbi Flekman, Jeanine and Artie Fufkin. And the film honors the departed Ian Faith with a brief flashback before introducing his daughter. While the plot may be light, the story connection to the first film is rock solid.
I don’t feel much need to keep going with dry analysis so I’ll go ahead and wrap it up here. Spinal Tap II – The End Continues is a fitting sequel to the classic film of decades gone by. While it doesn’t offer up a lot in the way of story, it does great service to its lineage and offers up an entertaining array of laughs. It was nice to see the band back together for one more ride and the movie was more than worth the time.
Grade: B+
So now we have what seems to be a fitting conclusion to the Spinal Tap saga. I presume this is the final film, anyway. And in usual movie tie-in fashion, the band did offer up an album to accompany the film. I have since covered the album in this post.
Super quick one today – kind of pointless post but I figured I’d take a moment to discuss this.
We are a few months away from the release of Spinal Tap II: The End Continues. This flick will be the sequel to the much-loved 1984 masterpiece This Is Spinal Tap, the great mockumentary that put rock and metal under a hilarious and critical lens.
While Spinal Tap II isn’t coming until September, there is a treat coming this weekend for fans. The first film This Is Spinal Tap will get a limited theatrical run over the July 4th holiday. This will only be for the few days following the holiday as far as I know – one local place is showing it on the 5th, 6th and 7th.
There are a few bonus features tossed our way, in case the thought of watching a 41 year old film you’ve seen dozens of times isn’t that appealing. First, Rob Reiner will reprise his role as Marty Di Bergi to offer up a new introduction. And we will also get a sneak preview of the new film. I’m sure the new bonus footage is brief, but it’s a fair little bit of a draw to go hang out in a movie theater and be treated to the fantastic film again.
Obviously since I’m talking about this I have my tickets for the Saturday showing and will be there. I won’t bother doing a report on it, the new snippets don’t really warrant their own post and I’ve already talked about the original film. I never need an excuse to put the movie on so watching it again is no problem for me. And this will make a busy Saturday for me, as Ozzy Osbourne’s final show is also happening that day and I’ll take that in via streaming as well. I’m glad I have an extra day off to process all of this heavy metal madness.
And that is about all I have to say on it. I’ll be at the theater this coming weekend to enjoy one of my favorite films, and I’ll be there again in September to enjoy the sequel. I know some people are cynical about the new film, but I’m old and tired and I’m ready to just enjoy something. I trust the people involved with the film to deliver something that entertains me for the film’s runtime. I doubt it will be as good as the original, but few things are. I’m sure there will be plenty in the new film to enjoy.
Yesterday we got official news of the sequel to the iconic movie This Is Spinal Tap. The movie is called Spinal Tap II: The End Continues and will hit theaters September 12 of 2025. This article from Consequence Of Sound lays out a lot of the details.
This sequel, which comes 41 years after the original, features the three main actors from the original film all taking up their roles again – Christopher Guest as Nigel Tufnel, Michael McKean as David St. Hubbins and Harry Shearer as Derek Smalls. Rob Reiner is again both in the director’s chair and also resuming his on-screen role as mockumentary host Marty Di Bergi.
The first movie featured an array of special guests from both the acting and music worlds, and the new Spinal Tap will feature a few returning guests and several new ones. Coming back to the film are Fran Drescher and Paul Shaffer. Drescher is confirmed to reprise her role as “the hostess with the mostess” Bobbi Flekman, while it’s not entirely confirmed if Shaffer will be back as the useless record label rep Artie Fufkin. (I would assume he is)
We do have quite the roll call for new guests in this second film. No less than Paul McCartney and Elton John will drop by, as well as Garth Brooks and Trisha Yearwood, Questlove, Chad Smith and Lars Ulrich. That’s a pretty titanic guest list and it’s most likely that we don’t have all the details on guest shots right now. And it sets up a funny possibility – both Chad Smith and Lars Ulrich are drummers, and Spinal Tap lore is not kind to drummers. Lars might meet the fictional end that some cynical Metallica fans have been longing for. (not me, I think he’s fine)
There are a host of other actors who will take up new roles, which is fairly obvious since this is a new story set a ways beyond the initial film. But there will sadly be a handful of both regular cast and guests who cannot make the sequel as they are no longer with us – Tony Hendra (Ian Faith) and R.J. Parnell (Mick Shrimpton) are gone, as are guests Bruno Kirby, Fred Willard and Howard Hesseman. (this is not a comprehensive list, the cast list for the first movie is pretty big)
In preparation for the new film, the original This Is Spinal Tap will get a new showing in theaters and then a digital and streaming release this summer.
Of course people are wondering if a sequel is really necessary, especially after this long, and if it will be worthwhile. There are several cynical comments about the new film, but with this being the Internet in 2025, those kind of comments are unavoidable. Plenty of others seem excited by the prospect of the new film, I among them. No, I don’t expect this to be as good as the first film or even nearly as so. That was a cultural moment that is unable to be replicated. But I do expect that the people involved can make an entertaining and amusing film that does justice to the Spinal Tap legacy. I’m not worried about that at all and I fully expect to enjoy the new film. These folks know what they’re doing and I don’t anticipate any real letdown here.
There’s not much left to do besides wait for the film. We don’t have a trailer yet, just a small teaser video included below. We just have to get through the summer so we can tap into another slab of hilarious rock and roll.
A short post today but one to confirm some very welcome news that came down the pipe last week. I had just discussed Spinal Tap a few weeks prior – I dug into the music as part of the Album Of The Week and I gave a post to the immortal film.
Last Thursday some earth shaking Spinal Tap news came out – Rob Reiner has confirmed that a second Spinal Tap film is in the works. This is a proper sequel to the 1984 film, in contrast to the 1992 offering that was mostly a live show. Spinal Tap II (or whatever it will be called) is intended for release in March 2024, which will coincide with the 40th anniversary of the original film.
This is very happy news, of course. Fans have clamored for a sequel ever since the original gained its cult-like following decades ago. The principal actors refused, saying they would only do it when they felt they had a good premise and the time was right. Apparently they found their premise and here we are, a shade under two years away from a Spinal Tap sequel.
Reiner has given some details about the film’s plot – the band, having been splintered apart for years, reconnects with Marty DiBergi after being unhappy about the documentary he filmed years ago. The band are on the hook for one more gig – in their contract with manager Ian Faith there remains one legally binding performance. Ian has passed on but his widow is calling in her owed performance, so the group must reunite for one more show.
It sounds like the troupe have a solid idea for a film that should tick many of the same boxes as the original. The cynical cash grab reunions of many legacy acts has been a long-running joke in the music world for a long time now, and it’s perfect fodder for Spinal Tap’s deadpan delivery.
I’ve notice a fair bit of negativity towards the announcement, but that’s not something I’ll really bother with. The cure for cancer would be shouted down online these days. I see no reason why a new Spinal Tap movie can’t work. It might not be the masterpiece the first one was but with the key players still involved there’s no reason it can’t be good.
We have a ways to go before this movie hits in March 2024. Hopefully society doesn’t collapse before then, it is a real possibility. But it’s great news that we’ll get to visit this glorious movie and band one more time and I have every hope for another killer masterpiece.
And one more thing – hopefully the reunion gig is booked in Cleveland.
Of course, before I get into the main event, rest in peace again to Ric Parnell. Parnell played Mick Shrimpton in the movie and was the drummer for the 1984 album as well as the 1992 effort Break Like The Wind. Parnell died just a few days ago at age 70.
In terms of movies about music, there honestly are not many that measure up to This Is Spinal Tap. The “mockumentary” was a battle to get funding for and film, and then was a slow-burner that edged its way to cult classic and then eventually immortal status. While there are a handful of music films that are held in the highest regard (The Last Waltz comes to mind), there are few, if any, that do for rock and metal what Spinal Tap did.
The movie is a laugh riot, but the jokes aren’t the kind of setup-punchline thing. Much of the movie was done improv style and the jokes are left in a deadpan form for whoever wants to pick them up. Anyone else saying some of the stuff in the movie would come off just plain dumb, but it’s the most brilliant comedy when delivered in the movie.
And of course the film’s greatest legacy is that it’s almost not really a parody. There are many tales of rock stars seeing the movie and not finding humor in it – Steven Tyler of Aerosmith and The Edge of U2 are a few who thought the movie was so spot on that it wasn’t funny. Many musicians have recalled their own “Spinal Tap” moments on tour, the fake band’s name is now a term for real life happenings. And even the idea of having a black album cover would come to fruition – while Spinal Tap’s Smell The Glove didn’t get traction in America, Metallica’s “Black Album” seven years later would be the best-selling album of the 1990’s. That probably has more to do with Metallica than with Spinal Tap, but the parody band were openly cited as inspiration for Metallica’s cover.
And that’s really the thing about Spinal Tap – they’re pretty much just another band from the era of rock and metal. They informed the scene as much as they provided commentary on it. Rob Reiner went to see Judas Priest live as part of his homework to make the movie. And tell me that you don’t see Iron Maiden all over Spinal Tap, they’re almost the same damn band. Spinal Tap provided legitimate influence to countless bands over the years, and every big band has their “Spinal Tap” story of some absurd event almost too silly to be real.
This Is Spinal Tap is a movie that has entertained many rock denizens in the 38 years since its release and it has also bore real influence even as what was originally a mock band. The movie just rolls from start to finish with a completely packed guest list and absurd gag after absurd gag. It entered the general pop culture lexicon in many avenues – Harry Shearer’s gig on The Simpsons led to a Spinal Tap episode, Fran Drescher reprised her role as Bobbi Fleckman on her hit 90’s sitcom The Nanny, the esteemed Mick Fleetwood actually risked life and limb to become a Spinal Tap drummer for a spell in the early 2000’s, and Christopher Guest has helmed a series of award-winning mockumentaries in the same style of Spinal Tap. This led to a huge mash-up in 2003 on A Mighty Wind, where Guest mockumentary regulars Eugene Levy and Catherine O’Hara joined the other Spinal Tap primary players and a host of other Hollywood talent in a folk revival mockup that garnered a similar reception to Spinal Tap.
There is no questioning the legacy This Is Spinal Tap has left on the rock landscape. To wrap up I want to recall three of the movie’s most famous scenes. This isn’t a list of “my favorites” per se, honestly the whole movie is my favorite. But these scenes are the ones that people go back to and that people who don’t even know Spinal Tap at least have heard of the references.
Hello Cleveland!
This scene is an absolute laugh factory – the band are getting ready to go on stage to a very energetic crowd in Cleveland and begin their journey from backstage. The only problem is that backstage to stage is a journey longer than one of Skyrim’s longest dungeons. The band get lost at multiple points and have to ask for directions from an employee, but even that doesn’t get them on stage. The band are lost in a broken down labyrinth.
This is one of the many scenes that have happened to countless musical acts in real life. I can’t locate the exact text now but the scene might have been inspired by a similar gaffe by Tom Petty. Even if not, rock stars and luminaries from every genre of music have their own Hello Cleveland! Stories.
These Go To 11
This scene doesn’t need much exposition – I’d imagine it’s the most famous line from the movie. Nigel is showing Marty an impressive guitar collection (the sustain!) when the Marshall head that goes to 11 is shown.
And it’s not just the concept, it’s also in the delivery – when Marty suggests that 10 could be made louder, Nigel simply chews his gum for a moment and then remarks “these go to 11.” Just amazing delivery.
This is the phrase that people know from the movie even if they don’t know the movie. It’s the signature line and it’s why we’re all here.
Stonehenge
It’s all there – the band break into their epic, brought out to revive flagging attendance numbers on tour. Everything is going great, then a Stonehenge monument falls from the sky that isn’t big enough to use as a footrest. The aftermath sees manager Ian Faith quit the band and a path to oblivion unfolds – that is, until Sex Farm hits the charts in Japan.
Stonehenge is everything that goes wrong with stage props, something that happens to bands all the time. But Stonehenge actually did happen to a real band, just in the opposite fashion – in 1983, Black Sabbath had to cancel several Canadian shows on their Born Again tour because their Stonehenge replica was too big to fit in venues. And the funniest part is that one didn’t influence the other – Spinal Tap had a draft version of their Stonehenge gag before Black Sabbath’s tour. It’s just one of rock’s freaky coincidences. Spinal Tap would twist the bit and do the “too big” version in 1992 at their Royal Albert Hall performance.
Any time I go back and watch the movie, it’s always the Stonehenge scene that has me on the edge of my seat. It’s the movie’s most pivotal moment and the biggest turning point for a band slowly flailing away on a tour that isn’t working. Everything before builds up to Stonehenge and everything after is a result of what happened. The whole scene, sadly not entirely represented in the clip, is really the point of the movie.
And there we have it – one of the greatest movies of all time and one of rock and metal’s most important moments. I’m sure I’ll have more to say about the film in the future, this is a well that there is plenty more to go down before hitting bottom.
The Crooked Wanderer 