The 'Sleepwalk' Stereotype

Tonight I'm writing up the last review before my long-awaited, sorely-needed vacation. I'd be understating it if I told you I was totally burned-out. Not in what I do -- I'm thankful everyday to have two jobs I enjoy -- but in how much of it I've been doing.  When one's on break, the other slog ons. Well, I'm shutting them both down, temporarily (I hope).

So while I'm on an airplane somewhere over the Pacific later this week, you can read my interview with "Sleepwalk with Me" director, co-writer and star Mike Birbiglia, and my review of the film, which both come out Friday. (You can find them at my U-T page as I'll be blissfully unable to link them here).

I make it pretty darn clear in both articles that I'm a fan of Birbiglia, "This American Life" and Ira Glass, who produced the film and co-wrote it. But what I don't get to say is that I'm kind of embarrassed about it. Not that I'm a fan -- because I think Glass and his peeps are doing terrific work that's led to a revolution of sorts in spoken audio entertainment -- but because I'm apparently exactly the type of person who is.

I know this because I simply cannot escape "Sleepwalk with Me," Birbiglia, Glass or any combination of the three. They're everywhere: on my iPhone, on my radio, in the newsfeeds crawling up my screen all day.

Now, I know there are plenty of people out there who've never heard of this film, or couldn't begin to tell you how to pronounce Birbiglia (I prefer Kristen Schaal's attempt in the film, Pandapiglio), so it isn't that Harvey Weinstein just threw in a couple million bucks to get this movie some Academy eyeballs. This is low-budget, grassroots, public radio-style marketing we're talking about.

I'm inundated because I am the exact target audience for this film, and the marketing folks know it. (I even told this to Birbiglia during our phone conversation and he freaked me out by saying he remembered seeing my tweet about it the night before. It really never occurred to me that he might actually read said tweet). I'm in my 30s, white, over-educated, left-leaning, consider myself more urban than suburban (six years living in NYC gives me some street cred, no?), etc. I'd probably shop at Whole Foods and eat organic if I could afford it.

That embarrasses me a little. And here I thought I was so unique.

The Freddie Mercury Thread

Sometimes it's hard to remember that we live in a blessed technological era. Mostly because our gadgets, apps and social media networks flood our consciousness with a constant stream of information -- some useful or perhaps entertaining, but much of it irritating, if not downright upsetting.

But not tonight, when I decided to pick up a thread of information I found dangling before me. 

These threads almost always appear while listening to one of the many podcasts that accompany me while walking the dog or driving to work. The subject of interest depends entirely on the podcast – debut films by actors-turned-director if it's Filmspotting SVU (Streaming Video Unit, cute); the frustrating career of Nikola Tesla if it’s Stuff You Missedin History Class; the evolution of the English language from “Slate's Lexicon Valley;" the oversized ego of a reality TV show producer on “KCRW’s The Business,” or the most memorable TV sitcom finales on “Slate’s Culture Gabfest” (or maybe it’s “NPR’s Pop Culture Happy Hour,” I always get them mixed up. They're both great, though one is a bit snobbier than the other. Guess which?)

I could go on, but the point is that I’m usually learning something during my downtime (when I'm not horizontal on the couch). Of course, dog walking and driving aren't exactly ideal opportunities to start poking around on the Internet when I want to know more about a subject, so I usually absentmindedly drop the thread before I manage to get in front of a screen.

But tonight I listened to something that compelled me to go straight to the computer immediately after the leash was back on the hook.  It was this podcast from “KCRW’sUnfictional,” a show that features work by independent radio producers.  

The concept sounds terrible at first, but it is brilliantly executed. It’s a deconstruction of Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody” that lyrically weaves together different versions of the song in every style you can think of, from country to classical. There's also some clever "instructional" narration and a rotating cast of guest voices -- music experts, composers, musicians, Mercury's bandmates-- all chiming in with their interpretations and impressions of the song that defies all expectations.

I was three when “Bohemian Rhapsody” was released and I had virtually no association with it until the “Wayne’s World” movie, based on an SNL skit that dominates more of my high school memories than it probably should. I remember seeing the movie in the theater and being completely taken aback during the now iconic car scene. It was the first time I paid any real attention to the song and I thought it was quite possibly the craziest, funniest thing I’d ever heard (and a favorite movie scene as well). I also quickly caught on that just about everyone else in that theater was a hell of a lot more familiar with the song than this music dork. 

Freddie Mercury

At that point, I affixed the song in the "pop culture classic" category and didn't give it another thought until tonight, when I listened to an audio collage of exactly why it deserved to be there. Love it or hate it, you can’t deny "Bohemian Rhapsody" its uniqueness, courtesy of Freddie Mercury. So I picked up his thread and started reeling it in.

I started (where else?) on Mercury’s Wikipedia page, where I discovered some fascinating and surprising facts about his ethnicity (Parsi, another thread worth following), religion (Zoroastrianism), romantic history (women!) and his near universal acceptance (again, according to Wikipedia) as "one of the greatest singers in the history of popular music."

It was then I realized that I'd never actually seen a Freddie Mercury performance, only inferred what I thought it would be based on what I've heard about him over the years - flamboyant and outrageous. But was that all? 

Freddie Mercury at Live Aid, 1985

I was led to what Wikipedia deemed "one of Mercury's most notable performances" at the Live Aid concert in 1985. A quick YouTube search led me to this video of Queen’s set from that monstrous stadium show. I think the other bandmates were on stage, but it’s hard to say for sure because the camera operators clearly couldn't keep their lenses off of Mercury as he paraded across the stage wearing tight white jeans, a wife beater tank top and a leather-studded collar around his muscly bicep. His hair was slicked back, his buck teeth bad enough to distract you from his gyrations, tongue flickers and suggestive winks at the camera. He was simply electric. 

When I did lose focus during some of the band's more dated 80s songs, I marveled at the mammoth television cameras surrounding the stage and the multiple strands of electrical cords the crew and Mercury had to hop over and around. It all looked so cumbersome, especially when considering the bit of technology (iPhone) that led me down this path in the first place.

The performance picked up again with “We Will Rock You,” a song that immediately took me back to the stands of my high school football field, stomping my feet and clapping my hands while screaming the lyrics at the opposing team’s fans sitting across the field. Then it was “We Are the Champions,” and I found myself sitting next to my big sister in the backseat of my mom's car, singing with passionate glee.

By the time the 21-minute video was over, I was warm with Mercury’s infectious energy, only to turn cold when I recalled how he died in 1991, of complications from AIDS at the age of 45. He left this world just one day after announcing he was sick. This was around the time of Ryan White, and it’s hard not to think of the shame or judgement he must’ve faced. Or how, if he’d come of age today, he could’ve avoided getting the disease at all, or at least not have succumbed to it so quickly.

A bit melancholy, I decided it was time to let the thread drop, although who knows where it would’ve taken me next. Well, I do know. It took me here, to write this down and share with you. Maybe you’ll follow the same threads I offered you above, or perhaps you’ll forge your own path. It doesn’t really matter. The point is, we can so easily do that. 

And that’s why I love the Internet.