Pop Polymaths (he said poly)

[freakytigger.livejournal.com]

katstevens suggested that I ask about pop stars who do OTHER THINGS. I think this is a fine area of study. First of all, let's find out who they are:

[Poll #1034227]

It seems to be that being a pop star makes it less likely that people will take your other things seriously (or will assume that you will be bad at them). Is this fair - and is it prejudice or precedent that causes it? Has anyone actually read Madonna's children's book? Is anyone going to see Daft Punk's robot movie in the serious expectation that it will be good?

USW!

Comments

[alexmacpherson.livejournal.com]

It's more noticeable the other way round - when an actor or model or whatever turns their hand to pop they'll rarely get respect. I think the sheer volume of pop stars going into film has inured them from the harshest derision now, unless they're really bad - all the most recent ones have received fairly decent reviews I think!

[dubdobdee.livejournal.com]

i think rappers were the pioneers of good reviews for acting (aka kris kristofferson invented hiphop)

[alexmacpherson.livejournal.com]

I forgot Queen Latifah!

Brian May

[freakytigger.livejournal.com]

He's only submitted his phd! So we don't know if it's good! I like the idea though that the field of astronomy had held off from contemplating B May's area of study in the hope that the master would return to complete his work!!

same applies

[dubdobdee.livejournal.com]

john lydon = marine biologist!

Paris

[katstevens.livejournal.com]

My question was rly asked with Paris H in mind (and R Kelly but that's another matter). She's got a new CARTOON coming out, blimes. Of course she has a bunch of different business ventures but is pop her only creative outlet? Is her fashion designing any good at all (I have no idea)?

Re: Paris

[alexmacpherson.livejournal.com]

She acts! I have never seen any of her films, though I intended to see House Of Wax, and her next role is in a futuristic rock musical (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/6922877.stm) :o

I think...J-Lo started all of this off? The whole multi-branding thing.

[cis.livejournal.com]

I am srsly anticipating Gerard Way out of My Chemical Romance's comic! I reckon it will be QUITE FUN.

[freakytigger.livejournal.com]

I think it will be good too!

I think he is the first pop star ever to write a comic :)

[freakytigger.livejournal.com]

When I worked in a second hand bookshop we used to find any and all books by pop stars a pretty easy sell - giddyoldgoat was a lot more knowledgeable in this area than I was and knew what ridiculous price the crazed fans would pay.

Anyway a perennial in-demand book and high seller was THE ADVENTURES OF LORD IFFY BOATRACE by Bruce Dickinson of Iron Maiden! Has anyone ever read this? It had a cover drawn by the person who drew Tom Sharpe covers (or a good imitator)

[dubdobdee.livejournal.com]

haha i really nearly put bruce instead of chuck berry -- but i have not read it (chuck berry's autobiog is genuinely weirdly brilliant tho...)

bruce dickinson...

[carsmilesteve.livejournal.com]

yes yes, the flying planes and fencing all very good but dude, the adventures of lord iffy-boatrace????

Shakin that ass

[katstevens.livejournal.com]

Good point offensive_mango! Pop stars who make upbeat music are assumed to be good at dancing too - cf Sophie Ellis Bextor's continued ridicule of her giraffe-gait. And Bouncey & Justin are famed for doing their own choreography for better or worse. Does this count as 'visual art'?

Re: Shakin that ass

[offensive-mango.livejournal.com]

Britney is a good dancer too. I don't know if dancing can be counted separately, because it does seem to be assumed, but as you point out, many pop stars really aren't good dancers.

SERIOUSLY THOUGH, ARASHI

[cis.livejournal.com]

J-boybands are all about the 'being good at something else'! well if by 'good' you understand 'agreeably mediocre' except in standout cases. This is cos a j-pop idol career is not so much about making records as about near-total pop culture coverage. Actually hm this is not quite true - the current first-rank female idols (kumi koda, ai otsuka) don't have acting careers (or regular variety show work), but the bulk of idols do. Nevtheless this isn't really an extra-curricular talent, appearing in dramas is part of the job of being a pop star and perhaps therefore doesn't count.

POP STARS WHO ARE GOOD AT SPORTS is perhaps a class to consider, although for a lot of pop stars 'doing some sport' is part of their pop-star job: e.g. US pop's 'challenge for the children', NME charity five-a-sides, Harry out of McFly's charity cricket.

Re: SERIOUSLY THOUGH, ARASHI

[alexmacpherson.livejournal.com]

Kano was going to have an international club career in football before choosing grime instead!

Aaargh who won The Games last time - it was Alesha or Javine or Ms Dynamite or someone.

NOT FORGETTING

[katstevens.livejournal.com]

S Club 7! And extrapolating, The Monkees...

Goodwill ambassadors

[jeff-worrell.livejournal.com]

Does this count? Seems to be a viable second career for a lot of pop stars around the world - Geri H, Ricky Martin, Noriko Sakai, Jean Michel Jarre to name but four. It's more about using your fame for good causes than having another "talent", but surely being an effective ambassador requires some talent.

Re: Goodwill ambassadors

[freakytigger.livejournal.com]

How much actual ambassad-ing did any of them do though?

Over-achievers

[katstevens.livejournal.com]

People who succeed at one thing = more likely to be able to do it again, surely? I guess it depends how well you cope with plate-spinning. I mean, in primary school I was good at Being Good At Things, as I hadn't discovered laziness or beer or difficult things yet. So whatever it was (maths, playing the recorder, drawing pictures, playing rounders) I was sickeningly good at it. Everyone hated me!

Attn Braisedbywolves

[freakytigger.livejournal.com]

The only bit of Costello visual art I have ever seen is that REALLY HORRIBLE p3nis-triffid thing on the front of Blood And Chocolate. Is this representative??

Re: Attn Braisedbywolves

[braisedbywolves.livejournal.com]

Bah, I will amend with emoticon - It was that or John Squire.

VISUAL ART

[chezghost.livejournal.com]

oh Trevor Jackson of Playgroup - is a good graphic designer, as are the Lemon Jelly guys. And Karl Hyde. But yes these are all dorky dance blokes as opposed to PWOPA POP

KIM WILDE

[jauntyalan.livejournal.com]

top gardener! gardening is an art. oh yes it is.

Re: KIM WILDE

[jauntyalan.livejournal.com]

cheryl baker - tv presenter, also has the ability to not lose her hair

OMG!

[katstevens.livejournal.com]

We are totally forgetting the awesomeness of... THE ROCK! Wrestler, actor and AWESOME GUEST RAPPER. It doesn't matter!

Re: OMG!

[offensive-mango.livejournal.com]

The Rock--truly the Da Vinci of our time.

[ninebelow.livejournal.com]

Has Bjork been in anything except Dancer In the Dark? Cos she was a bit rubbish in that.

[ninebelow.livejournal.com]

I'm surprised no one has mentioned Mr Breast Milk and his one man cheese-based media onslaught. He can fly a plane too.

i have seen...

[dubdobdee.livejournal.com]

... the style council's "movie" jerusalem

[friend-of-tofu.livejournal.com]

Oh yeah, but separate from the poll itself - I'm not sure about the status of the plethora of artists who did their own cover art. Say, Reg from The Chameleons? Or Gong? Do they qualify - are they 'pop' enough?

(John Lennon was clearly a pop star and also did art and was a published poet, but I don't like his stuff that much, even though I think he was arguably 'good' at it - does that count?)

[friend-of-tofu.livejournal.com]

Darn, I totally forgot Courtney Love & Joe Strummer. Courtney can really act, she's done well in several movies and I think it's a shame she seems not to be doing it anymore.

Musings

[jel-bugle.livejournal.com]

I enjoyed Will Oldham's performance in Junebug. Not seen his other film.

Ice Cube was brilliant in Triple X 3.

Metallica were awesome in Some Kind of Monster, but they weren't exactly stretched acting wise.

Alice Cooper was great in Wayne's World.

Gene Simmons is a good teacher.

I thought the singer from My Chemical Romance should've been Ghost Rider.

Steve Harris from Iron Maiden could've played for West Ham.

John Barnes is a good rapper.

Suzi Quattro was in Happy Days, I learned this from the Metro.

Re: Musings

[(Anonymous)]

I just remembered! Dan Spitz from Anthrax is a certified Swiss watch maker!

[friend-of-tofu.livejournal.com]

Argh, just reminded that Nick Cave is actually a Really Good Actor - if anyone's ever seen the semi-Orwellian prison drama "Ghosts of the Civil Dead"

[mcarratala.livejournal.com]

Cave's rep in "serious" cinematic circles fairly high after his script for The Proposition, all the hard lifting in the film was done by the Australian landscape.

Anyone who has been in the pub...

[(Anonymous)]

... with me for more than ten minutes in a row has run a severe risk of being subjected to my "failed indie pop figures of the mid-1980s who are now actually quite successful in entirely unrelated fields" monologue.

It's not intended to be a monologue but that's how it always seems to work out.

bopkids