Christopher Guest accepts Berklee doctorate, rocks out

photo by Phil Farnsworth

Christopher Guest - an honorary doctor of music? You know, it makes a lot more sense than it might seem. After all, what were Waiting for Guffman, A Mighty Wind and This Is Spinal Tap if not dissertations on three disparate genres of music? More than just wickedly funny skewerings of human vanity, Guest's films feature some of the best musical parodies this side of the Yankovic River. For proof, just catch a glimpse of "(Listen to the) Flower People" from Spinal Tap. Extra credit for the Mozart reference!

So it's encouraging to see Guest accepting a doctorate from Boston's prestigious Berklee College of Music. Last Friday, the school inducted Guest into a prestigious group of honorary alums that includes Duke Ellington, Dizzy Gillespie and David Bowie. According to the Bostonist, Guest took his diploma and then immediately threw up the sign of the beast. He then led a group of dozens of Berklee students and faculty in a 15-song set of material from his films. The college lovingly titled the program, "These Go to 11: Christopher Guest Meets Berklee."

"I've been fortunate," Guest said during a break in his set. "I get to write films. I get to write music in films. I get to play arenas wearing a wig."

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