The Ultimate 80s Rock Documentary 'Heavy Metal Parking Lot' Will Never Die

We are now exactly as far removed in time from the 1986 release of Heavy Metal Parking Lot as its sleeveless truants and zebra-print daytrippers were from Elvis Presley's gyrations on The Milton Berle Show. In other words, the world's greatest 16-minute documentary about Judas Priest fandom currently stands at the precise midpoint�almost to the day�of the filmed history of rock 'n' roll.
HMPL is one of the VHS era's unassailable cult classics, although it's hard to know what that term means since the creation of YouTube and the evergreen availability of nearly everything. The thrill of discovering a copy in a friend's tape collection or at a rare DC-area screening is gone. That the film continues to reward viewers in its freely available .MP4 incarnation is a testament to its weird goodness, its good weirdness, and the unscripted enthusiasm of its stars: a Chaucerian succession of hilarious caterwauling youths. It's hard to imagine a less cynical group of people. The underage beer-guzzling is as quaint today as the lines of pristine Mustangs and Firebirds or the public displays of devotion to Judas Priest, a devotion that remained unshaken and sincere even after the definitive anti-hagiography that was 1984's This Is Spinal Tap.


Heavy Metal Parking Lot from Jeff Krulik on Vimeo.


 Two novice filmmakers named John Heyn and Jeff Krulik shot HMPL in the hours before a Priest show at the since-demolished Capital Centre in Landover, Maryland, not far from the Baltimore suburb where I grew up. My childhood was ordinary�not in the least metal�although at 12 or 13, I had a best friend who loved any form of self-serious rock music. One summer, after renting Detroit Rock City on videotape, Mike convinced his father to drive us all the way to Camden, New Jersey, to see KISS play with Ted Nugent. Probably the quality of experience we were hoping for was something akin to HMPL's metal-head hajj, since we actually brought Mike's family camcorder along with us. It was a major moment of teenage disillusionment to discover an audience of balding divorc�s and middle managers in peasant blouses. Years later, after seeing HMPL, I realized that it didn't matter anyway. Our idea had been done a generation earlier.

Once you join the church of HMPL, you start to see its influence everywhere: Beavis and Butthead, found-footage festivals, this website. The film's concision, disinterest, and speed prefigure the form of the viral video. You could describe it to your niece or nephew as a long collection of Vines.


Mauk, Ben. "The Ultimate 80s Rock Documentary 'Heavy Metal Parking Lot' Will Never Die | VICE | Sweden." VICE. May 17, 2016. Accessed June 16, 2016. http://www.vice.com/en_se/read/the-ultimate-80s-rock-documentary-heavy-metal-parking-lot-will-never-die. 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Dropkick Murphys: 'We Aren�t Doctors, But We Can Play Music and Deliver a Message of HopeThrough Our Songs'

Image
Much of the band's latest music directly addresses the causes closest to them including the rampant opioid epidemic ravaging New England and the recent presidential election Dropkicks Murphys are a rare breed. Boston�s pride, the Celtic punk rockers are kicking off their third decade as a band, with their famous flame of passion showing no sign of dwindling to a flicker. It�s burning more fiercely than ever, frontman Al Barr and guitarist Tim Brennan tell me, as we slump into leather sofas surrounded by guitars in London�s Gibson Studios. It�s impossible to separate this six-piece from their fans, so much so that new song �Blood� from their upcoming ninth album 11 Short Stories of Pain and Glory is a homage to the mutual respect and dedication they share. Unlike many contemporary bands, the Dropkicks do not rely on radio airplay to get their music heard. They have shifted over four million albums globally, fan favorite � Rose Tattoo � has racked up over 24 million hit...
Read more

A&R Legend John Kalodner Talks Aerosmith and Why Rock Won't Reach the Masses Again

Image
Legendary A&R man John Kalodner, center, and a few friends. Courtesy John Kalodner A Whitesnake medallion is the only memento John Kalodner kept from his remarkable A&R career.  He keeps it in front of the desk and computer in his airy Hollywood Hills home, commemorating Whitesnake�s self-titled 1987 album, which featured the band�s epic pop-metal hits �Here I Go Again� and �Still of the Night.� It sold more than 8 million copies. Kalodner did A&R for it, which means he helped develop the band's sound and vision, as he also did for the post-rehab Aerosmith LPs that sold a bazillion copies during the 1980s and '90s. At one time or another, Kalodner also played a major role in the careers of AC/DC, Phil Collins, Cher, Bon Jovi, Peter Gabriel and even Jimmy Page.  During his own 30-plus year career in the music business, which began in Atlantic Records' publicity department in 1974, Kalodner was awarded a literal pile of platinum and gold records. Bu...
Read more

Rise Above: Will Donald Trump's America Trigger a Punk Protest Renaissance?

Image
The underground hardcore punk movement � led by the likes of Black Flag, MDC and Minor Threat � flourished during the height of Reagan�s presidency in the 80s. Composite: Getty Images & Malcolm Rivera Since the election, the Kominas have been getting the same curious request. The east coast punk band keeps being asked, by film-makers and documentarians, for a Donald Trump protest song. �People just assume we have an anti-Trump song already recorded,� says Basim Usmani, the group�s bassist. In the weeks preceding and following the election, musicians, fans and critics have discussed and debated the idea that Trump�s impending presidency could inspire a new movement of politically charged protest music. So it�s no surprise that the Kominas, a South Asian American band whose discography includes provocative statements like Sharia Law in the USA, would be called upon for a musical reaction to the president-elect. �It�s been hard to deal with,� says Usmani, whose band recentl...
Read more