Tenacious in a bid for greatness

THE members of the Angeleno comedy-rock duo Tenacious D -- whose movie “Tenacious D in the Pick of Destiny” hits theaters Wednesday -- would be the first to admit that humility is not what made them rock stars. So it was never a question of if the group’s cinematic debut would hold its own against celebrated rock flicks such as the Beatles’ “A Hard Day’s Night,” “Pink Floyd the Wall,” the Who’s rock operas “Tommy” and “Quadrophenia” and Led Zeppelin’s “The Song Remains the Same.” It was always about primacy.

“Where are we going to stack up against those movies? On top,” the D’s Kyle Gass says. “Here’s why: It’s going to be funnier than any of them. We’ve taken what we think works and honed it into a sharp razor’s edge that’s going to cut through the demographics and leave people” -- he pauses, searching for just the right description -- “in pain. Or it could be a complete disaster.”

“The Pick of Destiny” combines creation myth -- it explains how the members of the D met and formed a band -- with a hero’s journey, of sorts; the movie details how they became “the greatest band on Earth” (Tenacious D’s description, not ours). Tenacious D’s more famous half, Jack Black, becomes serious when appraising the major shortcoming of rock’s film canon.

“None of those movies were on a level of a ‘Road Warrior’ or ‘Empire Strikes Back’ or ‘Raiders of the Lost Ark,’ ” he says.

“Rock movies usually have a hard time capturing the essence of rock: the excitement and glory. When you hear Ozzy tell the story of how he and Geezer Butler wrote that song ‘Black Sabbath’ on their first album, that’s like the essence of rock,” Black continues. “There’s something scary and dramatic about it. But at the same time, there’s something that’s stupid and ridiculous and hilarious about it. And until now, no one’s ever really captured those stories of creating music. We cracked the code!”

Just don’t mention “Pick of Destiny” in the same breath as the rockumentary that made “This one goes to 11” a household phrase. “It’s not like ‘Spinal Tap’ at all,” explains director Liam Lynch. “For this generation, I want it to be somewhere between ‘Blazing Saddles’ and ‘Caddyshack,’ in that there are things that aren’t punch lines you just want to repeat to your friends. Musically, it’s somewhere between ‘Tommy’ and ‘Clash of the Titans.’ ”

Rapper stands up for the hoodie

CALL it the most controversial, misunderstood and frequently maligned piece of clothing in Britain: the lowly hooded sweatshirt, or “hoodie.” British laws called Anti-Social Behavior Orders have been enacted against the wearing of hoodies in shopping malls because, the argument goes, the hoods hide wearers’ faces, enabling them to commit violent crime without being identified. And over the last couple of years the issue has stoked discontent between members of the British middle and lower classes and polarized adults and teenagers.

But now the hoodie has an unlikely -- not to mention, vertically challenged -- champion. Self-proclaimed “big midget” British rapper Lady Sovereign has launched a personal crusade against anti-hoodie sentiment with her website www.savethe hoodie.com.

“OK, basically I’m fed up!” the S.O.V. rants on the site, “it makes me laugh that shopping centres and what not are trying to ban the Hoodie.... If someone commits a crime, it’s not about what they are wearing ... a criminal is a criminal no matter what they wear....Don’t blame the Hoodie, you should be able to wear what you want!” For additional thoughts, fans also can consult Lady Sovereign’s song “Hoodie” (on which she urges, “fling on an Adidas hoodie and just boogie woogie with me”) from the MC’s new Island Def Jam CD, “Public Warning.”

Beach Boy strikes movie deal

LOOKS like Beach Boy Brian Wilson’s life is going to get the big-screen blowup. He recently made a deal to tell his life story in a biopic that could do for the “Good Vibrations” innovator what “Walk the Line” did for Johnny Cash: enhance his status as a pop music legend and sell bazillions of records in the process.

According to Variety, Wilson is giving filmmakers the right to use his vast catalog of songs in the film, which they say won’t gloss over the drug abuse or mental problems that characterized much of the perfectionist singer-songwriter-producer’s career.

Wilson, for his part, admitted he isn’t exactly looking forward to experiencing those chapters of his life again but is willing to endure it for the project’s greater creative good. “It’s tough, and when I see the movie I’ll be ill at ease at some of the bad parts,” he told Variety. “But I remember when we made ‘Pet Sounds,’ and I knew we were up to something spiritual and special. I have that feeling again.”

chris.lee@latimes.com