Not all parents were created equal. There are parents who have no tact, parents who are too strict, parents who make out in front of their kids, and parents who simply have bad taste. Unfortunately, these parents still get to name their children, which is why it’s understandable that some kids can’t wait until legal age to change their names. Hey, Plato definitely has a better ring than Aristocles, son of Ariston, of the deem Cloytus. And Leon Trotsky probably realized early on that Lev Davidovich Bronshtein wouldn’t go over too well at the playground. God only knows what nom-de-plume Apple Paltrow will take on in years to come.
Of course, when you get to choose your name the first time around, you only have yourself to blame, which is why Mos Def’s recent announcement that he’ll be reborn as Yasiin come 2012 raises eyebrows. But the soon-to-be Yasiin is not the first artist to bring a stage name in for an upgrade–or an accidental downgrade. Read on for some artists whose name changes were also career changers, and decide for yourself whether Mos Def’s metamorphosis will usher in positive, new beginnings or just be the most confusing rechristening since the Triboro became the RFK.
Another South by Southwest has come and gone, and frankly we’re still recovering and trying to process all that we’ve seen. Lots of sun, food, and drinks made for hazy days and even harder to remember nights, but there are a few things we do recall seeing again and again. As in years past, we’re parsing the trends from South by Southwest 2011 to extrapolate on what they mean for the coming year in music.
1. An earthquake measuring 8.9 on the Richter scale hit off the coast of Japan this morning (the strongest ever recorded in the country), followed by a massive, 33-foot-high tsunami. Google has responded to the crisis by launching a tool that “helps you find a person or provide information on missing persons.” The site also “aggregates important resources, maps and other related information.” [via Mashable]
2. Salman Rushdie is writing the script for a new TV show! Next People, which will air on Showtime, is said to examine different aspects of American life. [via Vulture]
3. Microsoft has patented an online dating service that will help people with “fringe interests and eccentricities” find mates. And by “fringe interests and eccentricities” they mean “comic books.” [via Gawker]
4. Quentin Tarantino is suing his next door neighbor Alan Ball over some exotic birds on the True Blood creator’s property that emit “blood-curdling screams.” According to Tarantino, the noise has “seriously disrupted [his] ability to work as a writer in his home.” Check out a copy of the actual lawsuit here.
5. Forbes has released its annual list of hip-hop’s wealthiest artists: Diddy, Jay-Z, Dr. Dre, Birdman, and 50 Cent. Sean Combs is worth about $475 million; Jay-Z a close second at $450 million. [via Jezebel]
Earlier this week we read a fascinating account of the auctioning off of Edward Gorey’s fur collection over on the Paris Review. It seems that the author — who over the years acquired a whopping 21 fur coats — had a change of heart in the ’80s, and decided to lock them all up in a storage facility. When he died in 2000, he left his entire estate to the care and welfare of animals, which in turn, led to the aforementioned sale. The story got us thinking about other famous men who’ve incorporated fur into their wardrobes. After doing a little digging, we were surprised to find that the majority of celebrities who we came up with were either old school rock stars or modern-day rappers — and Justin Bieber. Click through to check out the photos, and be sure to let us know in the comments: Do you think it’s ever OK to wear real fur?
1. T.I. — who is still on probation following his release from prison in March — was arrested with his wife on drug charges last night after deputies say they smelled marijuana. They’re both currently out on bail. [via TMZ]
2. Exciting news: “Twitter for iPad takes advantage of the iPad’s fluid touch interface, letting you move lots of information around smoothly and quickly — without needing to open and close windows or click buttons.”
3. An adaptation of Neil Gaiman‘s comic book series The Sandman is coming to TV. A movie version has been in development since the mid-’90s. [via Heat Vision]
4. A 51-year-old woman is suing Diddy, saying that he fired her because of her age two decades after she helped launch his career. [via Yahoo! News]
5. We might keep watching The Office if Harvey Keitel is Steve Carell’s replacement. [via E! Online]
1. Goldman Sachs has instituted a ban on swearing in electronic messages that encompasses emails, instant messages, and texts from company phones. [via NYO]
2. Forget Jessica Simpson or Justin Timberlake — Diddy says that he wants to replace Simon Cowell as a judge on American Idol because of the awesome salary. [via TV Squad]
3. You can watch the first episode of Showtime‘s new cancer drama The Big C, which stars Laura Linney and premieres August 16 at 10:30pm, for free online right now. [via Vulture]
4. Meryl Streep and Tina Fey in a mother/daughter comedy that’s directed by Stanley Tucci? We don’t even know the storyline, and we’re sold! [via THR]
5. Steve Carell makes a lot of fat jokes in the latest installment of Between Two Ferns with Zach Galifianakis… and it ends in tears. [via The Daily What]
So, here’s what hip hop has come to: 50 Cent — a man who, let’s not forget, has been shot nine times — has a beef with Diddy. Namely, he’s sick of seeing the music mogul cash in on the Notorious B.I.G.’s memory. What do you think happens next? Well, in 2010, Fitty starts a petition on Twitterabout it. “Biggie never should have become Diddy’s Black Card,” he tweets. “When was the last time Diddy really was ‘biggin up his brother,’ not biggin up his bank?” So far, the petition has over 700 signatures… which means it just about ties our fourth-grade petition for a longer recess.
1. After two songs from The Suburbs were leaked yesterday, Arcade Fire has announced that their new album is due out on August 2. [via NME]
2. Apple has surpassed Microsoft as the world’s largest tech company. [via Wired]
3. Way too random not to share: What Kurt Loder thinks of Sex and the City 2. [via MTV]
4. Willie Nelson has chopped off his signature pigtails because they were too high maintenance. [via TODAY]
5. Diddy insists that Joaquin Phoenix‘s rap career is for reals: “If he’s not for real, he tricked me. We went into the studio, did a record, mixed a record and everything.” [via The Playlist]
Remember yesterday, when we asked if music video trailers are the silliest thing ever? Well, we obviously spoke way too soon, because now Diddy has released a truly epic trailer for his soon-to-be new Diddy Blog — here forth to be referred to only as “the most positive inspirational BLOG in THE WORLD!!!!” You can’t top that, internet. Don’t even try.
Yesterday, Diddy — who was in Paris for his Last Train To Paris launch party — posted a picture of himself in front of the Mona Lisa on Twitter. Other highlights from his trip included a trip to Notre Dame (“AT NOTRE DAME! WALKING AROUND THE STREETS OF PARIS WITH THE BADBOY FAMILY!!! J’ADORE PARIS!!”) and the Eiffel Tower (“At the Eiffel Tower drinking Ciroc straight no chaser!!!”). As we’ve never been big fans of La Joconde’s cryptic smile, we thought that the Diddy-fication of da Vinci’s famous work was a vast improvement. In fact, it made us wonder how Diddy could improve other works of art around the world.
