[ 
Mood: In Love ]
[ 
Currently: Listening to music to slay zombies by… ]
“World War Z,” Mark Hamill, Todd Wainio, Iron Maiden‘s “The Trooper.”
Forgive me, KD. I have not read Max Brooks’ novel "World War Z."
In December of 2006 my wife accepted a promotion with Big Book Company #2 and we moved to Ann Arbor, Michigan amid many claims from friends, family, and acquaintences that we’d see snow banks only heretofore dreamt of in our little inland northwest hamlet of Spokane.
This is Spokane, of which Warren Zevon once sang:
The many claims were proven false by Ma Nature’s fickle temperment that winter. The only precipitation we encountered on our trip came in sparse drips and drizzles as we approached Des Moines, Iowa.
During our dry voyage we enjoyed the full-cast audio performance, author-approved abridgement of "World War Z." Featuring the talents of Mark Hamill, Alan Alda, Henry Rollins, Rob Reiner, Carl Reiner, Jürgen Prochnow, and John Turturro, among others, the audiobook was awarded with the 2007 Audie Award for best Multi-Voiced Performance (thanks, wiki). It richly deserves that award.
Through the dusty, snowless landscapes of Montana, Wyoming, South Dakota, on highways empty of even those who’d dare a normal winter’s journey on them, we drove and listened to the performance.
I think it was the nearest thing I may ever get to that feeling many Americans shared when Orson Welles’ Mercury Theater made their memorable entry into cultural history October 30th, 1938: This may really be happening.
Sure, sure, I started the cd and stopped it when necessary on the drive, but the delivery, the nuances in the voices, the accents and the passion displayed-! The word incredible doesn’t do it justice in my mind. Unbelievable might be the adjective I should use, but that counters the effect the performance had on Celena and I.
We could believe that there was a zombie infestation occuring in America even as we drove east across its great highways.
The key performance among the many excellent readings sits with Mark Hamill, as Todd Wainio, former U.S. Army infantryman and veteran of the Battle of Yonkers. I’ve known, loved, and been annoyed by his whining as Luke Skywalker, and seen his performances as the animated Joker.
His imdb.com listing has voice work that should have Mel Blanc applauding every day from his perch on high.
Hamill as Todd Wainio, though, drives home the reality of World War Z. His voice transports you, opening visual vistas in your mind of places you might never have actually seen.
When Wainio talks about the battle that turned the war around, out of nowhere (and this made me even happier I hadn’t read the book before listening) he explains how some soldiers use music to pump themselves up before a hard mission, and how over the loudspeakers the soldiers fighting those zombies that day were lifted to the fight by Iron Maiden’s "The Trooper," I teared up.
If you’ve heard the song, you can hear it in your head when Hamill’s character describes the scene. If not, you’ve missed out on a classic piece of music.
It’s no secret to anyone that I love Iron Maiden.
They are hands down my favorite band.
To have their music referenced in such a way, and that song–so perfectly picked!–used as the aural template for the human race’s battle for survival against zombie hordes?
Priceless!