45s and Heartbreak

A new High Fidelity broadens the vision of the original in more ways than one.

- By Jen Chaney

DURING ONE of the many list-making conversations in Hulu’s High Fidelity, a debate ensues about the top-five musical reinventions of all time. When Simon (David H. Holmes), an employee at Championship Vinyl, mentions Cyndi Lauper and her Memphis Blues album, he is shouted down by friend and co-worker Cherise (Da’Vine Joy Randolph), who says Lauper’s decision to record a single blues album doesn’t count. Then Rob (Zoë Kravitz), the owner of Championship Vinyl, chimes in with her own opinion of Lauper’s 2010 release: “It’s surprisingly unterrible.”

High Fidelity, a music-focused reinvention in its own right, is also surprisingly un terrible. The TV adaptation of Nick Hornby’s 1995 novel, which was previously made into a faithful 2000 film adaptation starring John Cusack and then a Broadway musical that ran for only ten days, also hews closely to the source material, at least initially. In keeping with High Fidelity’s musical sensibilities, it seems correct to describe the show not as a remake but as an interesting, fun cover of the classic original.