Music

Victoria garage-punks Slam Dunk release Arcade Fire mockumentary

by Jeremy Mersereau

According to a new ‘documentary’ trailer from Victoria, BC’s Slam Dunk, the band recently got the opportunity of a lifetime: Going on a year-long tour with Montreal’s own indie-rock royalty, Arcade Fire.

Whoa, that’s a huge opportunity. Congrats, Slam Dunk! You’ll be bangin’ bongos with the Butlers in no time! There’s just one problem: It’s all made up. Slam Dunk has never toured with Arcade Fire, and Playing With Fire is a mockumentary about Canada’s great white indie mopes.

The forthcoming film is directed by Slam Dunk’s singer/guitarist Jordan Minkoff, and depicts the band’s life on the road with “the greatest Canadian indie-arena all-timey modern rock group of the last five years.” Something tells me this mockumentary is going to be less than fawning towards the Fire. In other words, Arcade Fire fans might think this’ll be a cinematic connector (to their indie heroes), but it’ll be just a reflektor (of the band’s melodramatic ridiculousness).

However, according to a press release circulated by Slam Dunk, the movie will feature a brand new Arcade Fire song called “Irish Lad” and the band “will never forget this trip because it has been completely documented in this devastating tale of adventure and delusion.” Hmmm, sounds legit.

Watch the trailer for Playing With Fire below:

While taking the piss out of Arcade Fire and their brand of dour “indie”-“rock” is certainly admirable, it’s hardly necessary. Reminder that this is the band with the guy that says things like “I think of hip hop as a mass media, radio, MTV thing. Rock just isn’t relevant anymore – a tear rolls down my cheek as I say that” and does things like this, and is a hilariously insecure, entitled ding-dong to boot. When someone’s self-parodying themselves on that level already, a mockumentary is just adding fuel to the fire.

Never fear though, Fire faithful: a real documentary about the Grammy-winning group is coming in September.