How do you feel about musicians creating "characters?"

[The Curmudgeon]

So I was away at T in the Park, a 3 day music festival and I've just now managed to get enough shit together to sit down in front of a computer. But still, inside voices please, folks. Ouch.

Anyway, there were two possible outcomes for the last act of the weekend to go see. Do I want the grounded, working man's rock and roll of Noel Gallagher? Or the sight of guys in their forties dressed up in war paint and shouting about starting fires and causing riots? That would be the Prodigy. I picked that.

It got me thinking, though; the way that Noel Gallagher presents himself on stage is very much the same way he presents himself in interviews and in everyday life. But the way the Prodigy present themselves is complete showbiz make-believe. Maxim, with white paint slashed over his eyes, looks genuinely threatening. Keith Flint looks like the cross between Johnny Rotten and Pazuzu.

Consider the difference between them as The Prodigy..



And then backstage.



So there's no talk of "hello, Scotland" or "you all having a good time" or any other such live festival banter, it's "WHERE ARE MY FUCKING WARRIORS?!"

So how do we feel about that? Do we prefer a show? Or do we prefer something more.. well, REAL?

[trashcanman]

It's all good. I mean, Alice Cooper is one of my favorite performers of all time, and I can't imagine his stage shows with him just being a dude up there singing. His act is entirely tied into his music and who he is as a performer. But he's kind of a dumbass in interviews. Don't care, though; the music and shows are amazing and that's what counts to me as a fan of those things. And no part of me believes Dr. Dre and Ice Cube are really out driving around looking for police officers to shoot. But there's nothing wrong with being legit either. It just depends on what kind of show you want to put on. Like some bands refuseto do encores because they think the whole "clap for us while we pretend we're maybe not going to play our biggest hit" schtick is tired and dumb. And they aren't wrong. I just want music and a show. I'll take it however I get it.

[Ben]

Ice Cube ain't legit? Whatchyoo sayin', son?

[trashcanman]

But today he didn't even have to use his AK.

[The Curmudgeon]

Is Alice Cooper a dumbass in interviews? I always thought he was an intelligent sort of fellow.

[trashcanman]

He's not usually a dumbass, but he's said some dumb things before. Nothing Kanye-Westish or as obnoxious as Ted Nugent, but he's kind of the other goofy uncle of classic rock. But he knows all this so he makes it work by not being pretentious at all. Dude just doesn't really give a shit. I saw him in an interview once saying it's a good thing people like him are good at entertainment because they're too stupid to do anything else. He's not that smart, but he's smart enough not to pretend to be either. Seems like a good guy, but I don't want to sit and discuss philosophy with him. Here are some pearls of non-wisdom, though.

Drinking beer is easy. Trashing your hotel room is easy. But being a Christian, that's a tough call. That's rebellion.

Yeah, nothing screams "REBEL" like enlisting with the inescapable and endlessly vocal majority.

When you believe in God, you've got to believe in the all-powerful God. He's not just God, He's the all-powerful God and He has total control over everyone's life.

I consider myself a Christian, but I refuse to accept this irresponsible bullshit of "we have no control over anything and everything that happens is because God wants it to happen." How could anyone worship a all-powerful being whose divine plan includes child rape, SIDS, and random cancer?

"I vote for the person, not the party. [As for U.S. Vice President hopeful Sarah Palin], I think she's totally a breath of fresh air. When they say she has no experience, maybe that's what Washington needs. I still don't know who I'm going to vote for. But in a shooting war, I want a pit bull, not a poodle. I'm gonna go for the hawk."

I don't know if the UK knows about Sarah Palin, but she's borderline retarded (but cute!) and almost became vice president. Even if I was pro-war, I wouldn't vote for the hawk that keeps flying into windows.