If you’re a brand seeking some measure of credibility with the kidz, the concept of getting a musician to flog your product for you makes perfect sense — the only problem is how you go about doing so without making it look like a crass commercial cash grab that will arouse only contempt in your target audience. This dilemma has led to some pretty bizarre advertisements over the years, some successful, some rather less so. Anyway, in light of the glut of such adverts recently (in the last month or so, there have been recent ads starting Billy Corgan, Wayne Coyne, and Tyler, the Creator) we thought we’d round up some of the weirdest we could find, both past and present. … Read More
50 Cent
Photos of Famous Musicians Playing in the Snow
If that was winter, we guess it’s pretty much over, which is depressing news for those of us who actually enjoy the snow (and for anyone worried about, y’know, global warming and the future of the planet.) We’re already looking wistfully back at the photos we published a couple of weeks back of famous authors playing in the snow, and we thought we’d follow up today with similar images of musicians. These were somewhat more difficult to track down — a legacy, perhaps, of the fact that musicians as a whole aren’t exactly noted for being outdoor types — but still, there’s plenty of snow-related musical imagery to be found if you look hard enough. So click through and try to ignore the fact that if these crazy warm summers are anything to go by, these sorts of pictures are probably gonna be the only way to see snow in a few years’ time. Huzzah. … Read More
25 Photos of Glamorous Musicians Doing Regular Stuff
From a young Iggy Pop vacuuming his apartment to a costumed Lady Gaga making eggs, here’s a photo roundup of our most endearingly flamboyant musicians doing incongruously domestic… Read More
Don’t Quit Your Day Job: 9 Celebs Who Should Stay Out of Movies (And 1 Who Shouldn’t)
I don’t know about you, but I had just managed to line up a babysitter and get a group of my 20 closest friends together to see Freelancers — the long-awaited re-teaming of Righteous Kill stars 50 Cent and Robert DeNiro — and wouldn’t you know it, poof, it’s gone from theaters. But have no fear, dear friends: it arrives on DVD and Blu-ray tomorrow, a full week and a half after its theatrical release.
Yes, Fiddy is at it again, and he’s not the only celebrity who insists that his talent in music (or athletics, or comedy, or whatever) means that the natural next stop is movie stardom. Though there are countless examples to the contrary — Madonna, Mariah Carey, Dennis Rodman, Michael Jordan, Vanilla Ice, etc. — they keep trying to cross over, usually without success. After the jump, nine celebs from the world of music, comedy, and sports who have got to give up the movies… and one more who shouldn’t. … Read More
The Most Gloriously Absurd Lyrics in Hip Hop History
Juggalos rejoice! The new Insane Clown Posse album is finally out this week — it was due earlier this year, but record company wrangling resulted in its release date being pushed until the end of summer. Of course, beyond their selective appeal to Faygo devotees, ICP are largely known to the general public because of the immortal couplets from their 2009 single “Miracles,” which will go down in history as one of the most ridiculous and somehow awesome songs ever made. In celebration of their new record, then, here’s a selection of the most gloriously awesome lyrics that hip hop has given the world. Your suggestions are of course welcome. (And just to pre-empt any of the accusations that have a magical way of appearing in our comments section every time we say anything remotely negative about hip hop: we’ve done this before for ’80s pop songs and we’ll most likely do it for other genres in due course. So there.) … Read More
Staff Confessions: Our Favorite Guilty Pleasure Reads
We all try to read books that enlighten us, teach us something about the world, or give us insights we might otherwise have missed. We think it’s important to read great literature and culturally important works. But let’s be honest: we also want to read books that entertain the crap out of us. And sure, we may judge other people on what they read — whether it’s books that could have us running for the hills or sidling up with our sexiest face on — but that doesn’t mean we’re saints ourselves. Just like anyone else, we indulge in guilty pleasure reading: books we know are about as good for us as an enormous chocolate sundae, but also equally delicious. Click through to see some of our most treasured lowbrow treats, and then if you feel emboldened, admit to your own guilty pleasure reads in the comments. … Read More
A Selection of the Most Genuinely Terrifying People in Hip Hop
In a world where hip hop dominates the music business, its roots as a genuinely challenging genre seem a world away. This is one of the reasons why we’re so excited to get our hands on The Money Store, the debut album by Death Grips, which follows their killer mixtape Exmilitary from last year. It’s a reminder of the fact that when hip hop abandons its tiresome obsession with idiot materialism and posturing, it can still sound vital and relevant. And it also got us thinking about the days when there were some truly, and even refreshingly, frightening people working in the genre — so here are some artists who’ve terrified the establishment and/or your correspondent over the years. (And no, we’re not including Big Lurch — PCP-catalyzed cannibalism is a whole category of its own.) … Read More
A Selection of the Weirdest Political Endorsements by Musicians
“Everybody in the industry is like, ‘Oh, Obama’s doing such a great job …’ I don’t think so. Not from what I see.” So quoth music industry rebel and political iconoclast Dave Mustaine in an interview with MusicRadar.com this week, an interview wherein he also discusses his acting ambitions and bitches about Fred Durst. The answer to America’s problems, according to Mustaine, consists of two words, one of which may or may not be a neologism for fecal sludge: Rick Santorum.
Anyone who’s followed Mustaine’s career will know he’s long had conservative inclinations, but he’s not the only musician who’s broken with the liberal norm to make an unlikely political endorsement. From Fidel Castro to Sarah Palin, pretty much every much ideological base has been covered over the years. Here is a selection of the strangest — some hilarious, some plain weird, and at least one hugely depressing. … Read More
How to Throw a Party Like a Rock Star
Last week our art editor Marina Galperina prepared for New Year’s Eve with an excellent survey of how to throw a party like various famous artists throughout history. This week, with our NYE hangovers largely conquered and our party appetites pretty much replenished, we’re revisiting the idea with a similar feature — only this time we’re focusing on the music industry, because, as pretty much everyone knows, no one throws a party like rock stars (and rappers, for that matter). From Freddie Mercury’s novel use for people under five feet tall to Richard D. James’s Miami beach nightmare, it’s all here… Or is it? Let us know if we missed anything. … Read More
James Mollison’s Hilarious Photos of Rabid Music Fans
Italy-based artist James Mollison left no musical genre untouched when he spent three years photographing various fans outside concert venues. “I was fascinated by the different tribes of people that attended them, and how people emulated celebrity to form their identity,” he writes on his website. After the collection debuted in a New York gallery, it was compiled into the book The Disciples, which showcases the dynamic fan base and their sometimes questionable apparel.
While images of Iron Maiden fans in Milan could almost be of any heavy metal fan (the iconic tee is one of the only real giveaways), other musical devotees are identifiable based on attire alone (hello there, Dolly Parton). It escapes us why anyone would actually want to look like Rod Stewart, but then again we’re reminded that “Rod the Mod” was really your mom’s sex symbol (respectfully) — which explains the age bracket of Rod’s wannabes below. Check out Mollison’s fun fan photos after the jump, and let us know which disciples look most like their idols. … Read More
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