High Fidelity

Barry:
We're no longer called Sonic Death Monkey. We're on the verge of becoming Kathleen Turner Overdrive, but just for tonight, we are Barry Jive and his Uptown Five.

Rob:
How does he do it, you ask. How does

Rob:
how does an average guy like me become the number one lover-man in his particular postal district? He's grumpy, he's broke, he hangs out with the musical moron twins...

Rob:
Liking both Marvin Gaye and Art Garfunkel is like supporting both the Israelis and the Palestinians.

Laura:
No, it's really not, Rob. You know why? Because Marvin Gaye and Art Garfunkel make pop records.

Rob:
Made. Made. Marvin Gaye is dead. His father shot him.

Rob:
Should I bolt every time I get that feeling in my gut when I meet someone new? Well, I've been listening to my gut since I was 14 years old, and frankly speaking, I've come to the conclusion that my guts have sh*t for brains.

Laura:
I'm too tired not to be with you.

Rob:
What, so if you had a bit more energy we'd stay split up, but things being as they are, with you being wiped out and all, you want to get back together? Is that it?

Laura:
Yeah.

Laura:
Listen, Rob, would you have sex with me? Because I want to feel something else than this. It either that, or I go home and put my hand in the fire. Unless you want to stub cigarettes out on my arm.

Rob:
No. I only have a few left, I've been saving them for later.

Laura:
Right. It'll have to be sex, then.

Rob:
Right. Right.

Barry:
Rob, I'm telling you this for your own good, that's the worst f***in' sweater I've ever seen, that's a Cosby sweater.

Barry:
A Cosssssssby sweater. Did Laura let you leave the house like that?

Rob:
I can't fire them. I hired these guys for three days a week and they just started showing up every day. That was four years ago.

Rob:
What came first, the music or the misery? People worry about kids playing with guns, or watching violent videos, that some sort of culture of violence will take them over. Nobody worries about kids listening to thousands, literally thousands of songs about heartbreak, rejection, pain, misery and loss. Did I listen to pop music because I was miserable? Or was I miserable because I listened to pop music?

Rob:
It would be nice to think that since I was 14, times have changed. Relationships have become more sophisticated. Females less cruel. Skins thicker. Instincts more developed. But there seems to be an element of that afternoon in everything that's happened to me since. All my romantic stories are a scrambled version of that first one.

Rob:
Sometimes I got so bored of trying to touch her breast that I would try to touch her between her legs. It was like trying to borrow a dollar, getting turned down, and asking for 50 grand instead.

Barry:
Holy shite. What the f*** is that?

Dick:
It's the new Belle and Sebastian...

Rob:
It's a record we've been listening to and enjoying, Barry.

Barry:
Well, that's unfortunate, because it sucks ass.

Barry:
Rob, top five musical crimes perpetuated by Stevie Wonder in the '80s and '90s. Go. Sub-question: is it in fact unfair to criticize a formerly great artist for his latter day sins, is it better to burn out or fade away?

Rob:
I can see now I never really committed to Laura. I always had one foot out the door, and that prevented me from doing a lot of things, like thinking about my future and... I guess it made more sense to commit to nothing, keep my options open. And that's suicide. By tiny, tiny increments.

Rob:
It wasn't boring. But it wasn't spectacular either? It was just- Good. Very good.

Barry:
OK buddy, uh, I was just tryin' to cheer us up so go ahead. Put on some old sad bastard music, see if I care.

Rob:
I don't wanna hear old sad bastard music Barry, I just want something.

Barry:
Here's the thing. I made that tape special for today. My special Monday morning for YOU... SPECIAL.

Rob Gordon:
Hey, I'm not the smartest guy in the world, but I'm certainly not the dumbest. I mean, I've read books like "The Unbearable Lightness of Being" and "Love in the Time of Cholera", and I think I've understood them. They're about girls, right? Just kidding. But I have to say my all-time favorite book is Johnny Cash's autobiography "Cash" by Johnny Cash.

Rob:
Charlie, you f***ing b*tch. Let's work it out.

Barry's Customer:
Hi, do you have the song "I Just Called To Say I Love You?" It's for my daughter's birthday.

Barry:
Yea we have it.

Barry's Customer:
Well, can I have it?

Barry:
No, actually, you can't.

Barry's Customer:
Why not?

Barry:
God. Do you even know your daughter? There's no way she likes that song. Oops, is she in a coma?

Rob:
If you *really* wanted to screw me up, you should've gotten to me *earlier*.

Rob:
Get your patchouli stink outta my store.

Rob:
Where's Ian? Or Ray, or... what is his f***ing name, anyway? What do you call him, Ian or Ray?

Laura:
Ray. I hate Ian.

Rob:
I hate him too.

Laura:
Yeah... I'm sure.

Barry:
Let 'em riot. We're Sonic-f***in'-Death Monkey.

Rob:
The making of a great compilation tape, like breaking up, is hard to do and takes ages longer than it might seem. You gotta kick off with a killer, to grab attention. Then you got to take it up a notch, but you don't wanna blow your wad, so then you got to cool it off a notch. There are a lot of rules. Anyway... I've started to make a tape... in my head... for Laura. Full of stuff she likes. Full of stuff that make her happy. For the first time I can sort of see how that is done.

Rob:
Jon Dillinger was killed behind that theater in a hale of FBI gunfire. And do you know who tipped them off? His f***ing girlfriend. All he wanted to do was go to the movies.

Rob:
My desert island, all-time, top-five most memorable breakups, in chronological order, are as follows: Alison Ashmore; Penny Hardwick; Jackie Alden; Charlie Nicholson; and Sarah Kendrew. Those were the ones that really hurt. Can you see your name on that list, Laura? Maybe you'd sneak into the top ten. But there's just no room for you in the top five, sorry. Those places are reserved for the kind of humiliation and heartbreak you're just not capable of delivering.

Rob:
I want more, I wanna see the others on the big top-five. I want to see Penny and Charlie and Sarah, all of them. You know? Just see 'em and talk to 'em. You know, like a Bruce Springsteen song.

Bruce Springsteen:
You call, you ask them how they are and see if they've forgiven you.

Rob:
Yeah, and then I feel good. And they feel good.

Bruce Springsteen:
They'd feel good, maybe. But you feel better.

Rob:
I'd feel clean and calm.

Bruce Springsteen:
That's what you're looking for, you know, get ready to start again. It'd be good for you.

Rob:
Great, even.

Bruce Springsteen:
Give that big final good luck and goodbye to your all time top-five and just move on down the road.

Rob:
Good luck, Goodbye. Thanks, Boss.

Rob:
I could've wound up having sex back there. And what better way to exorcise rejection demons than to screw the person who rejected you, right? But you wouldn't be sleeping with a person, you'd be sleeping with the whole sad, single-person culture. It'd be like sleeping with Talia Shire in Rocky if you weren't Rocky.

Rob:
That all depends.

Rob:
It made sense to pool our collective loathing for the opposite sex, and while we were at it, you get to share a bed with somebody at the same time. We were frightened of being left alone for the rest of our lives. Only people of a certain disposition are frightened of being alone for the rest of their lives at the age of 26, and we were of that disposition.

Rob:
I was jealous of other men in her design department. I became convinced that she was going to leave me for one of them. Then she left me for one of them.

Rob:
Why'd you have to tell her about the store?

Barry:
Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't know it was classified information. I mean, I know we don't have any customers, but I thought that was a bad thing, not like, a business strategy

Rob:
Marvin Gaye.

Laura:
I know.

Rob:
Let's get it on. That's our song. Marvin Gaye is responsible for our entire relationship.

Laura:
Oh, is that so? I'd like a word with him then.

Rob:
What if I was doing something that can't be cancelled?

Laura:
Rob, what are you ever doing that can't be cancelled?

Rob:
Now, the making of a good compilation tape is a very subtle art. Many do's and don'ts. First of all you're using someone else's poetry to express how you feel. This is a delicate thing.

Rob:
I'm tired of the fantasy, because it doesn't really exist. And there are never really any surprises, and it never really...

Laura:
Delivers?

Rob:
Delivers. And I'm tired of it. And I'm tired of everything else for that matter. But I don't ever seem to get tired of you, so...

Rob:
I lost it. I lost it all- faith, dignity... about 15 pounds.

Dick:
Marie de Salle's playing. You remember I told you about her. I like her. She's kind of Sheryl Crow-ish crossed with a post-Partridge Family pre-L.A. Law Susan Dey kind of thing, but, you know, uh, black.

Barry:
I wanna date a musician.

Rob Gordon:
I wanna live with a musician. She'd write songs at home and ask me what I though of them, and maybe even include one of our little private jokes in the liner notes.

Barry:
Maybe a little picture of me in the liner notes.

Dick:
Just in the background somewhere.

Rob Gordon:
I used to hate this song.

Barry:

Rob Gordon:
Now I kinda like it.

Barry:

Barry:
How about the Jesus and Mary Chain?

Barry's Customer:
They always seemed...

Barry:
They always seemed what? They always seemed really great is what they always seemed. They picked up where your precious Echo left off, and you're sitting around complaining about no more Echo albums. I can't believe you don't own this f***ing record. (tosses the record to the customer and walks away) That's insane. Jesus.

Barry:
Don't tell anyone you don't own "Blonde on Blonde". It's gonna be okay.

Rob Gordon:
I will now sell four copies of "The Three EPs" by The Beta Band.

Dick:
Go for it.

Beta Band Customer:
Who is this?

Rob Gordon:
The Beta Band.

Beta Band Customer:
It's good.

Rob Gordon:
I know.

Barry:
Top 5 songs about death. A Laura's Dad tribute list, okay? Okay. Leader of the Pack. The guy f***in' beefs it on his motorcycle and dies, right? Dead Man's Curve. Jan & Dean.

Dick:
Do you know that right after they recorded that song Jan himself crashed his car...

Barry:
It was Dean you f***in' idiot...

Rob:
It was Jan. It was a long time after the song.

Barry:
Okay, whatever. Tell Laura I Love Her. That would bring the house down - Laura's Mom could sing it. You know what I'd want? One Step Beyond by Madness. And, uh, You Can't Always Get What You Want.

Dick:
No. Immediate disqualification because of its involvement with The Big Chill.

Barry:
Oh God. You're right!

Dick:
Wreck of the Edmond Fitzgerald - Gordon Lightfoot.

Barry:
You bastard! That's so good - that should have been mine... The night Laura's daddy died. Sha na na na na na na na na! Brother what a night it really was. Mother what a night it really... angina's tough! Glory be!

Rob Gordon:
She LIKED me. She liked ME. SHE like me... At least I think she did.

Rob:
Some people never got over Vietnam or the night their band opened for Nirvana. I guess I never got over Charlie.

Barry:
(to the tune of "The Night Chicago Died"): The night Laura's daddy died/ Sha-na-na-nananannah / Mother what a night it really was / Brother what a-... angina's tough / Glooory be!

Barry:
Ah! Ahow! Owww!

Vince:
What's the name of your label?

Rob:
Top Five Records.

Barry:
Oh, that's not obvious enough Rob. How about the Beatles? Or f***ing... f***ing Beethoven? Side one, Track one of the Fifth Symphony... How can someone with no interest in music own a record store?

Barry:
Here's the thing. I made that tape, special for today. My special Monday morning for YOU, SPECIAL...

Rob:
Well, it's f***in' Monday afternoon! You should get out of bed earlier!

Rob:
Hey, Liz.

Liz:
Hi, Rob... YOU A**HOLE!

Customer:
Hi, do you have the song "I Just Called To Say I Love You?" It's for my daughter's birthday.

Barry:
Yea we have it.

Customer:
Great great... Well, can I have it?

Barry:
No, you can't.

Customer:
Why not?!

Barry:
Because it's sentimental tacky crap that's why. Do we look like a store that sells "I Just Called to Say I Love You"? Go to the mall!

Customer:
What's your problem?!

Barry:
Do you even know your daughter? There's no way she likes that song! Oh oh oh wait! Is she in a coma?

Customer:
Oh, okay buddy. I didn't know it was Pick on the Middle-Aged Square Guy Day. My apologies. I'll be on my way.

Barry:
[sarcastically] Buh-bye!

Customer:
Screw you!

Dick:
It guess it looks as if you're reorganizing your records. What is this though? Chronological?

Rob:
No...

Dick:
Not alphabetical...

Rob:
Nope.

Dick:
What?

Rob:
Autobiographical.

Dick:
No way.

Rob:
What did Laura mean last night when she said, "I haven't slept with him yet." Yet! What does "yet" mean anyway? It means you're gonna do it, doesn't it? Or does it?

[Next scene]

Rob:
[To Barry]Just come on. What would it mean to you, that sentence: I haven't seen Evil Dead II yet?

Barry:
Well, to me it would mean that you're a liar. You've seen it twice. Once with Laura -oops- and once with me and Dick, remember? We had that conversation about the guy making Beretta shotgun ammo off-screen in the 14th century.

Rob:
Right, all right. But let's just say that I hadn't seen it and I said to you, "I haven't seen Evil Dead II yet", what would you think?

Barry:
I'd think that you're a cinematic idiot and I'd feel sorry for you.

Rob:
All right. But from that one sentence, would you think that I was going to see it?

Barry:
I'm sorry, Rob. I'm struggling here. You're asking me what would I think if you told me you hadn't seen a film that you have already seen. What am I supposed to say?

Rob:
Just listen to me. If I said to you-

Barry:
"I haven't seen Evil Dead II yet", yes.

Rob:
Would you get the impression that I really wanted to see it?

Barry:
Oh, uh, well you couldn't have been desperate to see it, otherwise you'd have already gone.

Rob:
Right, I'm not gonna see that movie.

Barry:
[pause] But the word "yet". Yeah, you know what? I'd get the impression that you wanted to see it otherwise you'd have said you didn't wanna go.

Rob:
But in your opinion, would I definitely go?

Barry:
How the hell am I supposed to know?! Probably!

Rob:
Why?

Barry:
Because it's a brilliant film. It's so funny, and violent, and the soundtrack kicks so much ass. I never thought I'd say this, but can I go work now?

Rob:
Just the obvious stuff.

Laura:
What's the obvious stuff?

Rob:
I don't know.

Laura:
So it's not that obvious, then.

Rob:
No.

Rob Gordon:
It's brilliant, being depressed; you can behave as badly as you like.

Rob Gordon:
We have one of those conversations where everything clicks, meshes, corresponds, locks, where even our pauses, even our punctuation marks, seem to be nodding in agreement.

Rob Gordon:
I agreed that what really matters is what you like, not what you are like... Books, records, films—these things matter. Call me shallow but it's the f***in' truth, and by this measure I was having one of the best dates of my life.

Rob Gordon:
Jesus. I'm glad I know nothing about psychotherapy, about Jung and Freud and that lot. If I did, I'd probably be extremely frightened by now: the woman who wants to have sex in the place where she used to go for walks with her dead dad is probably very dangerous indeed.

Rob Gordon:
Read any women's magazine and you'll find the same complaint over and over again: men are not interested in foreplay and they are hopeless in bed. They are selfish, greedy, clumsy, and unsophisticated. These complaints I can't help feeling are kind of ironic 'cause back then, all we wanted was foreplay and girls weren't interested. We were told not to even think about it. Foreplay changes from being something that boys want to do and girls don't, to something that women want and men can't be bothered with. The perfect couple, if you ask me, is the Cosmo woman and the fourteen-year old b-b-b-boy.

Rob Gordon:
Top five things I miss about Laura. One; sense of humor. Very dry, but it can also be warm and forgiving. And she's got one of the best all time laughs in the history of all time laughs, she laughs with her entire body. Two; she's got character. Or at least she had character before the Ian nightmare. She's loyal and honest, and she doesn't even take it out on people when she's having a bad day. That's character. Three; I miss her smell, and the way she tastes. It's a mystery of human chemistry and I don't understand it, some people, as far as their senses are concerned, just feel like home. [lipsyncs four, while holding up four fingers] I really dig how she walks around. It's like she doesn't care how she looks or what she projects and it's not that she doesn't care it's just, she's not affected I guess, and that gives her grace. And five; she does this thing in bed when she can't get to sleep, she kinda half moans and then rubs her feet together an equal number of times... it just kills me. Believe me, I mean, I could do a top five things about her that drive me crazy but it's just your garden variety women you know, schizo stuff and that's the kind of thing that got me here.

Rob Gordon:
Some people never got over 'Nam, or the night their band opened for Nirvana. I guess I never really got over Charlie. But, the thing I learned from the whole Charlie debacle? You gotta punch your weight. See, Charlie? She was out of my class. She was too pretty. Too smart, too witty, too much.

Barry:
Ah man, that's great. That's the fun thing about workin' in a record store - you get to play crappy pop you don't even wanna listen to.