Today I went with a guitar-playing friend to catch a relatively recent documentary: It Might Get Loud. I hadn't heard of the movie until about a month ago, when its trailer showed before some movie that I was catching by myself. I'm not a huge documentary-buff, but this one seemed to have legs: it follows a conversation between the Edge, Jimmy Page, and Jack White (all famous guitarists). It's a talker of a movie, really. Each artist tells his own story. Their stories also intertwine as they meet up to talk shop for one day and play some in the round.

I have to admit that the shots from U2's Elevation tour gave me the chills. It's an amazing experience, being at a U2 concert.

The movie is great and well-worth the cost of admission. It's a thoughtful movie, really. It's about creativity and where it comes from and how you handle it. It's about three diverse artists with diverse takes on things. And while I don't care for the style of two of them, I love what happens when they get together.

I am more and more convinced, as I once was, that movies and music matter. The creative arts are vital for our society. And they're just plain fun as well. Saturday night was a good one like that. Around 9 o'clock, PBS re-aired the Death Cab for Cutie episode of Sound Stage. Then it was time for U2 on the season premiere of Saturday Night Live, which I thought was actually quite funny this time around. U2 did an amazing job (even with Bono's "rapping" and strange moves). And today's movie reminded me, as last night's music, that there is much to be gained from taking the creative path.

Here's the trailer for It Might Get Loud for your pleasure. . .