It Might Get Loud

I previously said this was the next movie I would see in a theater. Then I got a job so yesterday was the first chance I got. After work I went to Best Buy. They didn't have it. So I went to, there was nowhere else to go to. I'm in the middle of Manhattan and there are no places to buy Blu-Rays. Virgin would have had it, if they hadn't closed down. Thanks, economy.

Netflix gave me a long wait so I had to rent it on dvd from Blockbuster. Blockbuster! It had been so long since I was there they thought my roommate was still on my account. I will say they had more new releases available than Netflix does. That's saying something for a dying franchise.

The movie is really good, if not as amazing as I had built it up in my mind. I doubt any movie this side of "Lord of the Rings" could have matched the level I set in my head. But for a guitar lover, I doubt a better movie will be made.

The choices are perfect. Jimmy Page, the Edge and Jack White may not be the fastest guns of their eras, but they each changed the way the instrument was played, adding techniques my old guitarist in Psychasm would have yelled at me for trying. They each approached a completely different musical landscape and each came to a crossroads early in their career.

The attitudes of their ages are fascinating to watch. Page is an elder statesman, laying back and listening more than talking. He's so much more full of smiles than I imagined. The Edge is a man at the top of game and staying there. He's smart, funny and open to whatever the other players have to say but watch his eyes. He's always, always focused. Jack White comes off as arrogant. He throws out crazy ideas that don't work, like dressing a nine year old child as himself so he can teach boy Jack how to play. It seems like a coping mechanism for a young player obviously intimidated to be in the room with these two. His talent puts him there, if not his confidence.

If you're the type of person to see this movie, you're also the type of person who will watch every deleted scene. Like Jack White showing Jimmy Page and the Edge how to play "Seven Nation Army" with three whammy pedals (and Jimmy asking "is this right?"). It's these moments when the history drops away and it's just three musicians learning a new song that open the movie up. Not only are they just like one another, they're just like every person who's picked up the instrument and can't put it down.