Freaks and Drinks Episode VI: “I’m with the Band”

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“The 29-Piece Drum Kit”

 

Your Pop Filter presents Freaks and Drinks, a drinking game for each individual episode of Freaks and Geeks. This time we are doing episode 6 titled “I’m with the band,” in which Lindsay encourages Nick’s dreams and Sam embraces public nudity. Well, not so much embraces he is forced to deal with it because he is shoved into a hall without a towel after hitting the showers.

In this very special episode, our freak boys have formed a band that covers the songs from the breakout leaders of rock-n-roll at the time; dudes like Eric Clapton, Eddie Van Halen, and Jethro-tull number among the rocks-gods of this time period , all of which would be idols to these boys. *side note, The Ramones came out a little late in this era, but Nick doesn’t want to play their songs because, “they only play–like, three cords.” (Idiot.)

 

 

The sound these boys produce can at  best be described as unlistenable teenage-garage-band garbage. They are terrible.  But what the band practices do is allow our characters to emulate their favorite musicians and escape the monotony of their lives for a few hours……the opening scene of Nick Andopols playing drums in his basement sort of sums it all up. Nick is listening to Rush’s “Tom Sawyer” in his headphones and drums like a manic on his outrageous 29-Piece Drum kit, (I think I see his mom’s missing frying pan in there). Of course, that is an epically technical song–so when the camera pans out and you hear what Nick actually sounds like in comparison with Neil Pert, and well, he sounds…

 

 

 

He’s bad, it sounds of shit. I see why his dad hates having to hear it so damn much.  But while Nick is playing, he sinks completely into the recesses of his inner world. He is in the place in the imagination where anything is possible, and you can be whatever you want to be. He is out there in space, like some sort of rocket-man. The sad thing about this episode is watching Nick’s escapist-dreams about being a professional drummer crash into the harsher realities of life. Lindsay is caught in a misguided attempt to help Nick by encouraging him to pursue his dreams. She pushes him the only way she knows how:  she tells him he needs to to practice over and over and work really hard, and if he does these things he can make his dream happen. This is one of those ways education indoctrinates students into believing in its power. One of the tenets of education is that with just a little determination and elbow-grease, you can accomplish anything. Students are rarely told that some things are beyond our grasp because of a complete lack of understanding about the real world applications of our big dreams. Nick pushes the band to practice one song six times and effectively sucks all the fun out of it, and the band inevitably splits up. The big surprise of the episode is that Daniel actual prevails as the level headed one, and dishes out his slacker wisdom on an obtuse Lindsay. He gets the difference between escapist reality and what the road ahead actually looks like, and more importantly how to derive a little joy out of life despite its limitations.

And then some stuff happens with Sam…

I just have one thing to say about John Frances Daly in this episode. JFD is a fucking rockstar.

 

His story line deals with him not wanting to invite the humiliation of group-showering with his classmates into his life. His performances was touching and vulnerable.  And then,  in the final act of the episode the actor displays a very un-Sam  like bravery by running practically naked through a set in front of dozens of extras, crew hands, and cameras and whoever happens to watch this episode. It takes chops to play character who is terrifically shy about his body so believably when you have the courage to immortalize your mostly naked body on celluloid for generations to come.

 

 

All in all, a stellar episode. Here are your rules.

• Everyone drinks when Daniel eats the orange rind.
• Everyone drinks when a bunch of freshmen kick the moon.

 

• First person to say “innie,” when you see Harris’s belly button deals 2 drinks.
• If you point out a David Bowie or Cream reference, you make everybody else drink.
• Chug through Sam’s streak, first person to finish their beer wins.

Series Long Rules

• Drink whenever Mr. Weir tells a story that is meant to be a cautionary tale. Drink 2 if someone dies.
• Drink whenever Sam and Cindy are in the same scene together.
• Drink whenever Kim Kelly is being a bitch.

 

-Stephanie Rose