"SNAKELAND MUST BE DESTROYED": SCENE FIVE

* This is a fictionalized account of some shit that actually happened. All the names, locations, etc. have been changed to protect the innocent as well as the guilty. – JG *

INTERIOR – NEEDLE TRAX – DAY

A small one-room storefront, Needle Trax is cozy rather than cramped, with rock posters covering every inch of wall and ceiling space. Racks of rock records line the walls and a couple more create a u-shape for customers with the cash register by the door. Hoover and Griffin hunch over a couple of the racks, near each other but not next to each other. They flip expertly through the records, occasionally pulling something out for a closer look.

HOOVER

Needle Trax was the best record store in Fallsville, and

the most reasonably priced. We used to call the proprietor

“Jim” even though that wasn’t his real name because we were

relatively sure that he was the fat, bearded Jim Morrison who

had faked his death and was hiding from his fans.

ANGLE ON “JIM”, the owner of Needle Trax, as he looks intently at the back cover of the Doors’ “LA Woman” album and strokes his beard. He does, in fact, look like the fat, bearded Jim Morrison pictured on the front cover.

GRIFFIN

Well, what do you think?

HOOVER

What do I think? I think jazz fusion sucks, and

if you buy that John McLaughlin record you are

a goddamned idiot.

GRIFFIN

No, no, I mean about Hannah Graeber.

HOOVER

Oh. That.

GRIFFIN

Yeah, I mean, doesn’t it completely creep you out

that she was killed in Snakeland?

On “Snakeland”, Jim looks up, slightly concerned.

HOOVER

Yeah, man, I think it’s super-creepy. Especially because

it makes me think that one of the Heads did it.

GRIFFIN

You really think one of the Heads is capable of murder?

HOOVER

Have you had the pleasure of meeting

Mike Guerrasio, Griffin?

GRIFFIN

(shrugs) Yeah, I mean he’s a terminal asshole but

murder? That’s something else.

HOOVER

Maybe. (pause) But if he didn’t do it then who did?

GRIFFIN

I heard a lot of Satan worshippers hang out there.

Maybe Hannah was some sort of sacrifice.

HOOVER

C’mon, Griffin, Satan? You may as well believe

in, like...Santa Claus, or Jesus.

Griffin shakes his head and laughs at this. He and Hoover walk over to the cash register where Jim is waiting to cash them out. They place their selected records on the counter. Jim looks down. Hoover and Griffin have placed Gang of Four’s “Entertainment” and The Seeds’ first album on the counter.

JIM

(nods) Nice!

Jim begins checking out their purchases.

FADE TO BLACK

"SNAKELAND MUST BE DESTROYED!": SCENE FOUR

* This is a fictionalized account of some shit that actually happened. All the names, locations, etc. have been changed to protect the innocent as well as the guilty. – JG *

INTERIOR – FALLSVILLE NORTH HALLWAY – DAY

Hoover and the Misery Kid walk down the hallway talking. Although the Kid’s other clothes change, he continuously wears the skeleton sweater, like armor or a badge of honor. Hoover, as usual, looks faintly ridiculous. As they walk, they pass various Head girls crying in small groups. They pass Mike Guerrasio as well, who is so upset that he doesn’t even call them “punk rock faggots”.

HOOVER

It’s so weird, man – they didn’t even make an announcement or

cancel any classes or anything. As far as they’re concerned it

seems like Hannah didn’t get murdered at all.

MISERY KID

Yeah, well, I mean she was just some Head –

it’s not like somebody real died.

HOOVER

(slightly upset) Hey man, that’s kind of fucked up. That’s like when

that Rand kid killed himself and you wrote “DEAD” over his face in

my yearbook.

CUT TO:

ANGLE on Yearbook page. Picture of Rand with “DEAD” scrawled across his face in capital letters.

CUT TO:

INTERIOR – FALLSVILLE NORTH HALLWAY – DAY

MISERY KID

Yeah, heh heh, that was hilarious.

HOOVER

No, no, it really wasn’t.

MISERY KID

Shut up, pussy.

CUT TO:

EXTERIOR – FALLSVILLE STREETS – DAY

Hoover and the Misery Kid walk purposefully along a suburban Fallsville street. As they walk, every so often the Kid will just begin whaling on Hoover for no reason until he pushes the Kid off of him. They eventually find their destination and walk up a driveway to the garage at the end of it.

CUT TO:

INTERIOR – GRIFFIN’S GARAGE – DAY

Griffin and D-Man are already there, D-Man standing in his customary suit with his bass on, looking bored, and Griffin obsessively tuning his guitar. The Kid and Hoover walk in.

D-MAN

Thanks for deciding to show up.

MISERY KID

Fuck you.

Hoover walks over to where his drums are set up. There are only two of them, a floor tom and a snare, and they are set so that he can play them standing up. He taps them a couple of times with the drumsticks, checking the tuning. Hoover starts looking around.

HOOVER

Shit! What are we gonna use as a mic stand?

Griffin grimaces, looks around, then smiles.

GRIFFIN

Wait, I got an idea.

CUT TO:

Same location, some minutes later. The band is playing one of their songs, “Mutilate My God”. They are rocking out as best they can. The Misery Kid plays an acoustic guitar with a Sesame Street microphone lodged in the hole under the strings to pick up the sound and transmit it to a similar Sesame Street speaker. This bizarre arrangement, however, produces the best fuzztone in the history of Rock. Griffin and D-Man play hard on their more traditionally amplified instruments. Hoover beats the tom-tom and snare in time and sings into a microphone that has been duct-taped to the handle of an old stand-up vaccum cleaner.

HOOVER

(Sings)

I was dreaming on a backstair bleeding

Dirtied up my knees with the flesh

Looking for the blacklight of 119

Anticipating “chien andalou”

And they’re doing something in there and I know it’s something

That I can’t resist

Mutilate my god

Mutilate my god

They rock as one through an instrumental bridge, Griffin bending the strings until they feed back. Hoover comes back in when the time is right.

HOOVER

(Sings)

I was peeking in the keyhole with one eye

Breaking all the glasses of sin

Puking up the blood of the menstrual angels

But almost always missing my shoes

And they’re doing something in there and I know it’s something

That I can’t resist

Mutilate my god

Mutilate my god

They rock until they hit one final chord, all jumping in the air to then slam it home together.

D-MAN

(Breathless) We are awesome.

The Misery Kid shakes his head.

MISERY KID

It was okay but you still keep missing that one part.

D-MAN

(pissed off) What one part?

MISERY KID

You know when I go like this...

The Misery Kid hits a chord.

MISERY KID

...and he goes duh duh dum dum?

The Kid points at Hoover and makes a drumming motion.

D-MAN

Yeah?

MISERY KID

Well, that’s the part where you go diddely dow.

The Kid makes a bass playing motion.

D-MAN

You mean like this?

D-Man plays a quick bass fill. The Misery Kid shakes his head and smiles condescendingly.

MISERY KID

You’re still doing it wrong.

D-Man and the Misery Kid continue to argue in the BACKGROUND while Griffin and Hoover speak quietly.

GRIFFIN

So, uh, are you gonna go to Hannah’s funeral?

HOOVER

No, I mean, are you?

GRIFFIN

No, no, I just thought ‘cause she sat in front of you

in homeroom and stuff...

HOOVER

Wow, well, we weren’t friends or anything, I just sat

behind her, you know...

GRIFFIN

No, no, that’s cool, I just meant...

HOOVER

Yeah, no, I know, it’s just...

Both stop speaking for a moment. Hoover sighs.

GRIFFIN

You wanna go buy some records?

HOOVER

Yeah, man. I really do. I really wanna go

buy some records.

CUT TO: