Topic: Crossover artists and Triple Threats = ugh (Read 34928 times)

barista.babe · « **on:** 07 Oct 2009, 11:31 »

Am I really the only person that's sick of all of this cross marketing and highly anticipated debut album of celebrity/actor/famous for no reason? I mention this because I just read an article stating that the one kid from Degrassi high (the new one, not the glorious amazing classic from the 80s) is releasing a hip-hop album. His musical stage name is Drake (on Degrassi he's the black kid who got shot and was in a wheelchair for most of the series). Anyways, it's not just this kid -- it's also Jared Leto (and a pathetic excuse for a band 30 Seconds to Mars) and Taylor Momsen (the younger blonde chick from Gossip Girl. Apparently, she thinks she's Courtney Love (grosssssss) and has a band called the Pretty Reckless. She also allegedly fired 1/2 of her band because they didn't look "punk" enough) and virtually every actor/actress on a cable TV show.

So...
I guess I'm wondering if anyone enjoys these bands (or a band with a similar situation - actor/actress trying to get involved in the music industry, whether for art or money)? I have yet to come across an actor that became a musician that I really really enjoy. The only one that seems to come to mind is Jason Schwartzman (Phantom Planet/Coconut Records). But aside from that...what is there?

Is it art? Is it them taking on the "role" of musician or bandmate (or frontman/frontwoman of a band in most cases).

I just think that celebrity music projects are becoming like celebrity fragrances --- practically everywhere and usually shitty.

Am I wrong?

Bastardous Bassist · « **Reply #1 on:** 07 Oct 2009, 11:40 »

Well, there's Band From TV, but that's slightly different.

Other than that, I've not really noticed.

barista.babe · « **Reply #2 on:** 07 Oct 2009, 12:44 »

Not so much a yardstick.

Big Happy Captain · « **Reply #3 on:** 07 Oct 2009, 12:50 »

wasn't the dude from Phantom Planet in the band BEFORE he became an actor?

frankly i think its all a bit close-minded. frankly if someone is musically creative, as well as having an interest in the dramatic arts, then its fair enough if they try to pursue both.

sure, they may be "pretty shit", but thats just opinion, which can be applied to any band.

Bonnie Prince Billy is a great actor as well as a great musician. i reckon most people here would agree with me on that, so its not like the 2 art forms cant be inexclusive. (am i using that word right?)

E. Spaceman · « **Reply #4 on:** 07 Oct 2009, 12:57 »

Iggy Pop.

KickThatBathProf · « **Reply #5 on:** 07 Oct 2009, 13:02 »

David Bowie.

karl gambolputty... · « **Reply #6 on:** 07 Oct 2009, 13:06 »

Dr. Teeth and the Electric Mayhem

michaelicious · « **Reply #7 on:** 07 Oct 2009, 13:06 »

Quote from: Big Happy Captain on 07 Oct 2009, 12:50

Bonnie Prince Billy is a great actor as well as a great musician. i reckon most people here would agree with me on that, so its not like the 2 art forms cant be inexclusive. (am i using that word right?)

He is a pretty good actor. I rented a movie called Wendy & Lucy because he was in it. He was only in it for a couple minutes at the beginning and the rest of the movie kinda sucked. I was pretty bummed out.

Bastardous Bassist · « **Reply #8 on:** 07 Oct 2009, 13:14 »

Quote from: karl gambolputty... on 07 Oct 2009, 13:06

Dr. Teeth and the Electric Mayhem

They aren't actors, though. They appear in movies, but they're documentaries. You might as well call the guys in Metallica actors because they appeared in that documentary about that terrible album they put out recently (not the terrible album they put out most recently, the one before it).

E. Spaceman · « **Reply #9 on:** 07 Oct 2009, 13:19 »

Metallica documentaries are comedy goldmines though.

Bastardous Bassist · « **Reply #10 on:** 07 Oct 2009, 13:22 »

No arguments from me there, but I think they're being genuine in them, which makes them funny, but not actors.

Of course, if they're actually really good musicians who just excel at being funny on-screen, then I will take everything I've said about them back (except that their past several albums have been terrible).

karl gambolputty... · « **Reply #11 on:** 07 Oct 2009, 13:27 »

Quote from: Bastardous Bassist on 07 Oct 2009, 13:14

They aren't actors, though.

Are too! Animal's turn in Muppets from Space brought a tear to my eyes

Scandanavian War Machine · « **Reply #12 on:** 07 Oct 2009, 15:42 »

pwhodges · « **Reply #13 on:** 07 Oct 2009, 15:44 »

Marianne Faithfull's done a fair bit of acting as well as her singing (and I'm not thinking of Girl on a Motorcycle, either).

But you'll find that Wikipedia doesn't mention the time when, as children, she and I danced together - I was dressed as the Sun and she as the Moon.

DarkAvenger · « **Reply #14 on:** 07 Oct 2009, 15:45 »

I'm going to have to say that Zooey Deschanel does good stuff in She & Him.

But yeah, Jeans has this.

StaedlerMars · « **Reply #15 on:** 07 Oct 2009, 15:57 »

I saw Henry Rollins do a spoke word thing three years ago. It was good.

JD · « **Reply #16 on:** 07 Oct 2009, 16:33 »

Hayden Panettiere(had to google her name durr hurr) made a single once. 'Twas pretty bad.

a pack of wolves · « **Reply #17 on:** 07 Oct 2009, 16:42 »

Quote from: Jeans on 07 Oct 2009, 15:10

Dez Cadena was like "Jesus Christ, this guy is so awesome. Hey man I'll just pick up this guitar and play some stupid shit under Ginn

Hey. Hey! Don't you talk about Dez like that. Saying his guitar playing was stupid shit is implying there is something wrong with Damaged. That is quite simply factually incorrect. Everything about Damaged is awesome.

michaelicious · « **Reply #18 on:** 07 Oct 2009, 16:54 »

Quote from: pwhodges on 07 Oct 2009, 15:44

But you'll find that Wikipedia doesn't mention the time when, as children, she and I danced together - I was dressed as the Sun and she as the Moon.[/

What a wonderful sentence. You could easily turn it into a short poem.

Inlander · « **Reply #19 on:** 07 Oct 2009, 19:03 »

I saw Steve Martin playing banjo in a Bluegrass band on Letterman the other night. It was pretty good! Actually, it was a lot better than any of the movies he's been in lately (except Shopgirl, which was okay).

scarred · « **Reply #20 on:** 07 Oct 2009, 19:06 »

Quote from: Scandanavian War Machine on 07 Oct 2009, 15:42

Dead Man's Bones / Ryan Gosling

KickThatBathProf · « **Reply #21 on:** 07 Oct 2009, 19:17 »

Chevy Chase played in a band with the dudes from Steely Dan in college I think

Johnny C · « **Reply #22 on:** 07 Oct 2009, 19:39 »

debbie harry

Bastardous Bassist · « **Reply #23 on:** 07 Oct 2009, 20:01 »

That's unfair, because he's not really an actor either.

squawk · « **Reply #24 on:** 07 Oct 2009, 20:17 »

and even

michaelicious · « **Reply #25 on:** 07 Oct 2009, 20:18 »

That post might have outdone Jens's Henry Rollins post.

De_El · « **Reply #26 on:** 07 Oct 2009, 23:25 »

Quote from: Jeans on 07 Oct 2009, 16:52

You have no idea how long I have wanted to hear this from another human being. Until now I thought it was just me, the guy in the record store that flashed a grin when I bought it, and Michael Azerrad that liked Damaged.

What, really? I thought it was like a self-evident truth that Damaged is a perfect record.

BeoPuppy · « **Reply #27 on:** 07 Oct 2009, 23:49 »

Milly Cyrus/Hannah Montana anyone? Or Hillary Duff?

Pretty awful, right?

I just got the Disney channel so I'm much more aware of their existence now.

a pack of wolves · « **Reply #28 on:** 08 Oct 2009, 06:05 »

Keith Morris is brilliant and all but I reckon he was at his peak on Group Sex, which admittedly has Black Flag songs he nicked when he left. That album's another one where there is absolutely nothing wrong. And although you can't fault Nervous Breakdown and Jealous Again they sound like a different band to the one that made Damaged, all sneering punk attitude where Damaged is bleak, hardcore depression. Damaged also has the advantage over later Black Flag records of being almost entirely written before Rollins joined, because although he was a fantastic frontman his lyrical contributions could be... well, a bit wonky on occasion.

Bastardous Bassist · « **Reply #29 on:** 08 Oct 2009, 06:54 »

Quote from: Jeans on 08 Oct 2009, 06:50

and they often practiced up to 8 hours a day under Ginn's lead

That's still less than a "normal job" would require. Not saying they were lazy, because I know how hard actually making a living off of music can be, but you could have come up with something better.

Bastardous Bassist · « **Reply #30 on:** 08 Oct 2009, 07:00 »

Like I said, your only problem was the practicing 8 hours a day thing. You don't have to tell me that being a musician is hard work that doesn't pay as well as the skill and work required should pay.

a pack of wolves · « **Reply #31 on:** 08 Oct 2009, 07:01 »

That's 8 hours in an incredibly hot little box in LA, and Ginn insisted they played as hard as they would on stage. Imagine playing a hardcore gig for 8 hours. Also, their touring ethic was brutal. They were rarely home and pretty much single-handedly invented DIY touring across the US. There's a reason Black Flag had serious problems holding on to members since hardly anyone could handle what Ginn demanded of them. Well, that and the fact that Rollins and Ginn sound like they were massive cocks during the Black Flag years.

Sure, they were never one of the lyrically great punk bands, but I actually think the lyrics on Damaged were fine. Crude, yes, and you wouldn't want to go comparing Police Story to Suspect Device or anything. I don't have a problem with crude or even teen angst though, what they're expressing in the lyrics might but simplistic but it's given depth and bite by the music and delivery. Plus, quite a few songs are deliberately funny. I can't imagine anyone writing Six Pack and TV Party without knowing they were pretty hilarious, and the video for the latter bears this out.

Drinking And Driving is just laughable though, and not deliberately so.

KharBevNor · « **Reply #32 on:** 08 Oct 2009, 07:39 »

Quote from: Bastardous Bassist on 08 Oct 2009, 06:54

That's still less than a "normal job" would require.

Hang on, since when is 8 hours a day not a normal job?

Bastardous Bassist · « **Reply #33 on:** 08 Oct 2009, 08:52 »

...Music is not a normal job.

Bastardous Bassist · « **Reply #34 on:** 08 Oct 2009, 10:17 »

I completely misunderstood the point Khar was making. My point was "up to," and after looking at the wikipedia article, they are not specific as to a number other than "several." I found a reference that said it could last six hours a day. Even if it lasted six hours and took place all seven days a week (the reference also said that it could take place either six or seven), that's just the time a "normal job" would take up. I doubt many of the musicians spent much time outside of rehearsal on individual practice, so it's really just like a normal job, at maximum. Anybody who can actually manage to make a living off of music without a label is not somebody I would consider lazy, but the rehearsal time is not indicative. Between rehearsals and individual practice (which is much more intense for the parts of my body used to play music), I wold probably put that much into my instrument when I was doing that for a living.

gospel · « **Reply #35 on:** 08 Oct 2009, 10:25 »

Quote from: Scandanavian War Machine on 07 Oct 2009, 15:42

It works--very well. In fact, after listening to the album, I asked myself why somebody like that would ever be an actor. Admittedly, I haven't sat down and watched Believer yet, but his other movies seem ho-hum. I refuse to watch The Notebook.

EDIT:
Speaking of "crossovers" and speaking of spoken word, here is a copy of Closed on Account of Rabies: Poems and Tales of Edgar Allan Poe (1997).

Code: [Select]

http://www.mediaf!re.com/?znjmiyyzjdd

Quote

CD1:
1. Alone - Marianne Faithfull
2. Raven - Christopher Walken
3. Tell-Tale Heart - Iggy Pop
4. Conqueror Worm - Ken Nordine
5. Black Cat - Diamanda Galás
6. For Annie - Gavin Friday
7. To Helen - Ed Sanders

CD2:
1. Haunted Palace - Ed Sanders
2. Ulalume - Jeff Buckley
3. Berenice - Dr. John
4. City and the Sea - Debbie Harry, Jazz Passengers
5. Annabel Lee - Marianne Faithfull
6. Masque of the Red Death - Gabriel Byrne
7. Raven [Live Excerpt] - Abel Ferrara

michaelicious · « **Reply #36 on:** 08 Oct 2009, 11:14 »

You should watch Half Nelson.

barista.babe · « **Reply #37 on:** 08 Oct 2009, 11:58 »

Or you should just look at my awesome microsoft paint version of half nelson instead.

After reading the responses to this thread, I'd like to say:
Firstly, that I love Henry Rollins, and if Rollins made a hip hop R&B album produced by Lil Wayne and Chamillionaire I'd probably buy it. Especially if one of the tracks featured Lydia Lunch.

Lastly, I understand that there's this whole "Art is art no matter what medium one uses" ideology, but I don't necessarily agree with it. Just because someone is an amazing painter (for example) and they have a relatively decent singing voice, doesn't mean that they should star in a feature film just to make some extra money. I guess that's all interchangeable. Just because someone is an amazing singer, and a relatively decent actor, doesn't mean they should paint a few mediocre paintings and try to sell them for a buttload of money. or Just because someone is an amazing actor, and a relatively decent painter, doesn't mean that they should put out a new mainstream pop/rock/hip hop album to make some extra money.

I guess my beef isn't with the medium in which an artist chooses to express themselves with, but rather the idea that just because I'm successful with one medium means that I must be successful with all mediums. I suppose it's just another way to attach another tag to their "brand." Oh he/she is an actor,singer, poet, artist, perfumer,clothier,mogul,mongul acrobatic gymnast with a penchant for adventure and a sex tape.

i wish those were the tags attached to my personal brand...sigh.

epoch · « **Reply #38 on:** 08 Oct 2009, 19:26 »

Quote from: Ptommydski on 07 Oct 2009, 11:53

Frankly if Phantom Planet is being used as any kind of yardstick for quality then something is indeed deeply wrong.

Phantom Planet=Eh, alright.
Coconut Records=Amazing.
And so was Darjeeling Limited. Jason Schwartzman is the only person who's successfully pulled it off, I think.

rynne · « **Reply #39 on:** 09 Oct 2009, 03:11 »

barista.babe · « **Reply #40 on:** 09 Oct 2009, 05:41 »

Wartime is so bad that it's good. The video is amazeballs.

a pack of wolves · « **Reply #41 on:** 09 Oct 2009, 06:08 »

Quote from: barista.babe on 08 Oct 2009, 11:58

I guess my beef isn't with the medium in which an artist chooses to express themselves with, but rather the idea that just because I'm successful with one medium means that I must be successful with all mediums.

Sometimes it does mean just that though. The way the KLF approached music meant they would make good artists, since that was really what they were doing all along.

Also, people often have a lot of things they'd love to do creatively and if they become hugely successful in one field it makes it a lot easier for them to persuade people to let them do other things too, things they've always wanted to do. Would Don Van Vliet have been able to launch his art career if it hadn't been for his success as Captain Beefheart? Maybe, there's a story he was told he had to quit music in order to be taken seriously as an artist and his work does seem to have been taken on its own merits, but that original fame caused people to look at his art when he might otherwise have had a hard time getting anyone to pay attention.

gospel · « **Reply #42 on:** 09 Oct 2009, 12:17 »

Can I get paid to rant?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AyRDDOpKaLM

Clobbersaurus · « **Reply #43 on:** 10 Oct 2009, 11:04 »

Quote from: rynne on 09 Oct 2009, 03:11

totally worth it for Juno Reactor.

Bearer · « **Reply #44 on:** 23 Oct 2009, 12:41 »

Question: "Does this count?"

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YqB7UEdhKug

Answer: "Bill Clinton always counts. Always..."

JD · « **Reply #45 on:** 24 Oct 2009, 00:55 »

My mom has a saxophone Clinton shit. it is so classy

Thrillho · « **Reply #46 on:** 24 Oct 2009, 05:54 »

30 Seconds To Mars are no worse than most "emo" bands. In fact I'd go one better and say they're not as bad as most of them.

KharBevNor · « **Reply #47 on:** 24 Oct 2009, 18:09 »

Nah, they're pretty fucking dreadful.

Koremora · « **Reply #48 on:** 24 Oct 2009, 19:13 »

30 Seconds to Mars.

Discussion over.

Koremora · « **Reply #49 on:** 24 Oct 2009, 19:15 »

AND FOR THE COUP DE GRACE:

THESE FORUMS NOW CLOSED (read only)

Author Topic: Crossover artists and Triple Threats = ugh (Read 34928 times)