A few days ago while flipping through the channels, I came across a movie I absolutely love, but for some reason haven't watched in a while. The movie being, School of Rock. I would personally consider School of Rock to be one of Jack Black's best films, although in my opinion, aside from Nacho Libre there really isn't much competition...
I stared watching right as Mr. Schneee... aka. Mr. S., aka Dewey Finn, realizes that the class members not only play instruments, but play them well. As part of his scheming he organizes his students into a band and the accompanying personnel. The scene following the bands first practice is one of the most powerful scenes in the movie. Larry, the nerdy keyboard player, approaches Mr. S. and tells him that he can't be in the band because only cool people are in bands, and he isn't cool. Later on in the film another similar conversation takes place between Mr. S. and Tomika (a young girl who is embarrassed to sing in front of a crowd because of her weight). Mr. S. explains to her that Aretha Franklin is also over weight, but after she sings, everyone wants to party with Aretha.
These scene really cracks me up when I think about the different friends I played with and bands I played in throughout Jr. High and High School. Although there is some kind of perception that people in bands are cool, nothing could be further from the truth. My first band consisted of a choir member, brass band member, and a drama kid. Not the coolest kids in the school by any means. But you know what, none of that mattered to us. The fact that we weren't on sports teams, weren't in student-body leadership, didn't have girlfirends, and in my case wore Coke bottle glasses, didn't matter. What did matter is that we could pull off half-decent covers of "The Sweater Song" and "Say it ain't so" by Weezer, "She" and "When I Come Around" by Green Day, "Mary Janes Last Dance" and "Free Fallin'" by Tom Petty, and ten or fifteen other tunes. When we were playing it didn't matter that we were 'nerds' all that mattered is that we rocked!
I remember my sophomore year in high school me and a couple of friends were invited to play at one of the "cool" girls birthday parties. It was a little awkward when we showed up, the party goers consisted of all of the members of student government (student-body pres, VP, class presidents, VP's, counsel members, etc.), cheerleaders, football players, you know all the popular kids. Then there we were, we didn't wear cool clothes, didn't really participate in school activities, and we definitely didn't hang out in "Stud Hall." Needless to say, we were out of our element.
We set up our gear, played a few popular songs from the time, probably consisting of Weezer, Green Day, Live, Collective Soul, maybe some DMB or U2, and finally ending with a rendition of "Birthday" by the Beatles.
Post the performance we suddenly fit in, people who wouldn't give us the time of day at school were suddenly talking to us. You'd be amazed by how many high school football players are fascinated by the electric guitar. After that performance things started to change for me. By this point in life I had shed the glasses for contacts and had a decent hair cut (I'm sure those things helped), but now instead of being looked at as just another guy who wore Beatles or Zepplin shirts because it was cool, I was known for wearing them because I was a musician.
Battle of the Bands was always a highlight for me and my friends. It was the one time of year that we got to take over the assemblie, and instead of watching the popular kids put on lame skits, we got to rock everyone's face off! For the week or two after the Battle of the Bands, people we didn't even know would come up and tell us how much our band rocked. It was the ultimate high for the non-athletic, non-popular guitar nerds.
When I look back at my high school days, and early college days, most of my best memories involve me holding a guitar or bass.
It seems as though all of my posts lately have mentioned Weezer and in particular Rivers Cuomo. I fully acknowledge this is due to my excitement about the upcoming Weezer album, but even with that, I think what I have to say is applicable regardless of whether a new album is on it's way or not. It seems like musicians/rock stars have always tried to portray themselves as being cool. This was particularly apparent in the 80's when their hair and guitar solos were as big as their egos. This all changed in the 90's with Weezer. They showed the world that nerds can be cool too. The funny thing is when you think about the percentage of people who are cool or popular verses those who aren't, you'll realize that maybe 10% of the population fits into the cool crowd. I think that's why Weezer has been successful for so long, they sang songs for the rest of us... the un-cool 90% of the world. Weezer's second album Pinkerton has been recognized by many as the first true Emo album. There exists an entire genre of non-cool kids making music now, and all of this can go back to Weezer showing the world that its okay to be yourself, cool or not.
In the end, not everyone is going to be a football or basketball star, not everyone is cut out to be a homecoming or prom king/queen, but everyone can excel and be 'cool' in his or her own respective area. For me, it was music, for others this could be anything; art, drama, math, science... whatever you are good at.
I have heard and read over and over again about school districts pulling the arts from their curriculum to save money. This is essentially depriving a huge faction of their students the chance to excel. From my perspective, the guys playing guitar in the hall of the high school and the guys making pots in the ceramics class are just as important as the guys on the football field. Together they create a society, and once one piece is removed the balance is gone and everyone suffers.
It's kind of funny to think that such important lessons can be taught to us through silly movies staring people like Jack Black, but truth is truth regardless of where it comes from. Things like music help kids who lack confidence gain the confidence they need to succeed, I know playing the guitar did just this for me.
-T
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