To air guitar is human, to rock is divine

From the same folks who brought you Project Runway and Last Comic Standing, the documentary Air Guitar Nation was originally slated to be a reality series on VH1 for 2006, but instead ended up becoming a film festival favorite last year. Tomorrow night, it finally makes it on to VH1, a score of sorts considering it only recently made it to DVD.

AGN is the perfect meeting of two recent cultural trends, the first being the recent resurgence of rock, thanks in part to the popularity of Guitar Hero. The second trend is the recent run of fascinating documentaries dealing with obscure sport, like Murderball, Mad Hot Ballroom, Spellbound, Wordplay and the more recent King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters.

It's formulaic to an extent, this burgeoning genre of documentary. First, find obscure tournament. Second, find at least two fascinating subjects that are pitted against one another. Here, the two subjects are C-Diddy (LA actor David S. Jung) and the greatly named Björn Türoque (New York writer-musician Dan Crane). At first it seems like a silly notion, but the wild performances and quirky humor make it an addictive film.

Looking at the list of songs played in the film, it's easy to see the parallel to the Guitar Hero series, and listening to them right now, it's hard to resist the urge to get up and flail my own air axe. Ah screw it -- post over... I'm airin' out!

Playlist: Rssmbld Sndtrck - Air Guitar Nation
1. "Ace Of Spades" - Motorhead
2. "Cherub Rock" - Smashing Pumpkins
3. "Get Your Hands Off My Woman" - The Darkness
4. "God Gave Rock 'N' Roll To You II" - KISS
5. "I Want You To Want Me" - Cheap Trick
6. "Hate To Say I Told You So" - The Hives
7. "Heroes" - David Bowie
8. "The Mole" - The Bags
9. "More Than a Feeling" - Boston
10. "Play With Me" - Extreme
11. "Take It Off" - The Donnas
12. "You've Got Another Thing Comin'" - Judas Priest
13. "We Are The Champions" - Queen
14. "Won't Get Fooled Again" - The Who
15. "Yankee Rose" - David Lee Roth

Mr Manchester lives on

This week, fans all over the world are mourning the death of television personality and Factory Records founder Tony Wilson. In the UK, Wilson was like our Jerry Springer and Colonel Tom Parker rolled into one, an overly confident television host who, through perseverance and wit, shaped the Manchester music scene into an artist's oasis. In the 2002 film 24 Hour Party People, actor Steve Coogan deftly captured the wit and assuredness of Wilson, as the film follows him from TV newsman to curious fan to major player in the 'Madchester' music scene.

For an amazing profile of 'Mr Manchester,' check out a this piece written by Paul Morely for UK's The Observer. And here's a video piece on his life complete with interviews and clips from his series So It Goes.

To celebrate the life of Wilson, a(nother) viewing of this fine film is in order. The music of 24 Hour Party People is obviously crucial to the story, as it's a reflection of the music that Tony Wilson tirelessly championed. I've reassembled them here in order as they appeared in the film.

Playlist: 24 Hour Party People Rssmbld Sndtrck

tags: factory records, film, tony wilson, music, joy division, 24 hour party people, playlist, rhapsody