I took a chance on an email I got from a publicist and asked for a review copy of a music doc called The Heart is a Drum Machine sight-unseen. I did this on the credit of the participation of Wayne Coyne (The Flaming Lips), Elijah Wood, Kurt Loder, and George Clinton, among various others.

The movie is a talking head meditation on the nature of music: what it is, where it comes from, and where it's going. It's really well-edited in context with what it's going for, but it's not for everyone. You get into people expounding philosophically about the work of Carl Sagan. You have to be able to get the vibe and just let its 73 minutes roll. It's pretty goddamned groovy, honestly. No, you don't have to be high to dig it (I wasn't), but I'm sure there are some who would say you do. Hell, some of the people who appear probably were high, who knows.

A gigantic bonus is Tea Party wingnut Victoria Jackson singing a song about how she was worried that going to see a movie with Weird Al Yankovic during the filming of UHF would be a sin (she was married at the time). A cover of "Rocket Man" done by The Flaming Lips' Steven Drozd (who did the doc's score) and Tool's Maynard James Keenan runs over the credits. I wish it were available for purchase.

It's available for order from Amazon for $16.99. Extras include a 25-minute interview with John Frusciante, who is best known as the guitarist for The Red Hot Chili Peppers on their biggest studio records.