So, you know how actor Joaquin Phoenix seems to have gone all late-period Andy Kaufman over the past year, hiding behind an unruly beard, ever-present shades, and declaring that he has left acting for a career as a rap star? For a year now, people have been debating whether or not it’s all been a humorous publicity stunt/ gag, or if Phoenix really has left acting to spend the rest of his days as a white MC, while other just keep watching his David Letterman interview on repeat due to its awkward hilarity.
We’ve already told you about Joaquin Phoenix, the rapping disaster but just when it looked like it couldn’t get any worse, it did. Following in Phoenix’s rapping aspirations; a young fan takes it upon himself to create a 4-part a cappella version of Phoenix’s “hit” using the same laughable lyrics and all. My all time favorite has to be “I’m quitting acting, ‘cause hair and make-up suck.”
Phoenix has yet again had another interesting on the road experience, which has been brought to us by someones cell phone. He’s dressed in his now obligatory black suit, with his Jehovah Witness beard, and attacking people in the audience while telling them how much money he has. Nicely done.
It’s nearing the end of the week and there is some seriously strange news stirring. Joaquin Phoenix may have started a domino effect with his bizarre interview. Now, things are getting even weirder.
Santogold has decided to change her name to Santigold, yet offers absolutely no explanation for the vowel switch. Maybe she just wants to release another self-titled album that’s different.
The ever-sterile Michael Jackson has somehow ended up with a MRSA type skin infection that has swelled both his face and hands. Now it’s getting to the point where I really do feel awful for the guy. Talk about bad (pun intended) luck.
A new film about the life of Jimi Hendrix is in the pre-production stages. Heavy rumor indicates that the famous guitarist will be played by his modern day reincarnate, Lenny Kravitz. I know, I know, none can compare to Hendrix but it’s less about Kravitz’ skill and more about his swagger.
MGMT is set to create artwork for the new Playboy which hits shelves February 14. The androgynous boys of MGMT may just give the straight mag a cool edge for the month.
Love Santigold’s new name? Think it’s Karma attacking Michael? Wish they’d cast someone else as Hendrix? Looking forward to the artistically inspried Playboy? Let us know!
Let’s take a quick looks at what’s going wrong with musicians today…
Lilly Allen apparently has some grandpa issues. After meeting Lucian Freud, the German-born, 86 year old painter who resides in London, Allen felt the urge to get in bed with him. “I met him and I thought ‘I want to shag [him].’ It would be funny. He’s four times my age” Allen stated. Ummm, funny? That’s just nasty, Lilly, nasty. [NME]
Lux Interior, the frontman for the influential punk band, The Cramps, died yesterday at 4:30 pm at Glendale Memorial Hospital in Glendale, CA. Interior, whose real name was Erik Lee Purkhiser, passed away due to a previously existing heart condition. Survived by Poison Ivy, his wife and band member, Interior will be remembered for his wild stage antics and influence on the 70′s punk scene in New York. [NME]
Wu-Tang’s RZA tells Wired about his newest projects, Madlib’s character Quasimoto gets its own toy figure, and EW casts doubt on Joaquin Phoenix’s career change. Check out the round up:
It’s been rumored that RZA will leave the music business after the release of his solo album, The Cure, but the Wu-Tang Clan rapper has other ideas. He has recently released Afro Samurai Resurrection, a soundtrack for the popular TV series, and his music appears on the Afro Samurai videogame, released this week for the PS3 and Xbox 360. RZA also says that he made an album with System of a Down bassist Shavo Odadjian, and is interested in directing a martial-arts film with fellow Clansman Raekwon. [Wired]
In case you haven’t had much time between watching the inauguration and laughing your ass off at Joaquin Phoenix (a.k.a. hip-hop’s newest disaster), here are some interesting news tidbits from the music world that you might have missed:
If it wasn’t enough already that Madonna was recently renounced by religious bigwigs, it was announced this past week that full-frontal, black and white nude photo, taken in 1979 and used in a 1985 Playboy issue, is up for auction Feb. 12. The photo (which proves that “trimming the hedges” wasn’t a priority in the 70s…) and its specs are available to view online. The print is expected to sell for up to $15,000 at Christie’s auctioneers in New York. More on this story here.
On his blog for the Seattle Weekly’s Web site, former Nirvana bassist Krist Novoselic was able to shed a little light on the folly of music emulation games like Rock Band and Guitar Hero. The musician was shopping in a department store and stopped to try his hand at playing the bass line for Nirvana’s 1992 hit “In Bloom” for Rock Band 2. Novoselic wrote that the game reminded him of Space Invaders with falling music notes, but admitted he couldn’t keep up. Hilariously enough, he passed the controller off to a waiting kid (who had no idea he was standing next to the original artist), who proceeded to shred through the rest of the bass line, leaving Novoselic deliberating the game’s authenticity. Let’s hope the poor guy hasn’t just lost his touch. Check out the entire blog post here.
Not too long ago, Joaquin Phoenix announced that he would be leaving his acting career for good and was setting out to become a musician. Considering his shady appearance (you literally couldn’t recognize the guy behind his lumberjack beard and big shades), there were some doubts, but Phoenix is now proving his seriousness about his musical endeavors.
Either that, or Phoenix is showing us what can happen when you “take the brown acid.” Check out more on the story as well as another video below the jump….
Joaquin Phoenix announced to TV’s Extra on Monday that he is retiring from acting to pursue music. After learning to sing and play guitar for his Oscar-nominated role as Johnny Cash in 2005′s Walk the Line, it appears that he is super-serious about this turn in his career.
“Phoenix, who was curiously being followed by his own camera crews, reiterated, “Yeah. I’m working on my music. I’m done. I’ve been through that.”"
It is said that he has already collaborated to some extent with UK band The Charlatans, but it has not yet been confirmed if that is where the majority of his efforts will be directed. Fans of Phoenix might think with an inkling of hope that he’s not serious – that perhaps it’s a flight of fancy, a blip on the radar of consideration. But at this point and time, it doesn’t sound like the actor is joking or throwing around dismissive phrase for publicity.
Loading ...
