Rock Musicians and Reality TV Shows

I don’t know if anyone else has been noticing this, but what the hell is with the whole rock/”metal” musicians (in reality, it’s pretty much just the cock rock and alternative scene guys) getting in on reality TV thing? According to what I just read on Blabbermouth, fucking Mike Starr from Alice in Chains (he used to play bass) is getting in on Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew. I don’t want to be a downer for these guys: but seriously, can’t you do yourself the favor of not embarrassing yourself in public and maybe dealing with your addiction problems in private, where they should be handled!?

There are a couple of reasons this bugs me. First, I really just hate reality shows. I think they are totally lowest common denominator bullshit and they should be pissed on by anyone with a brain. But secondly, is the crave for fame and the spotlight so big for these D-List celebraties that they have to air their personal dirty laundry on TV in order to somehow feel important and worthwhile? I know it’s a paying gig, but I suspect that kicking a drug addiction, like any kind of serious problem, is probably quite personal and not the kind of thing that’s going to go well in a public forum. If someone is pushing a fucking camera in your face what are the chances that you’re actually going to say what you’re really thinking?

It’s weak, and it’s stupid. But what else? Didn’t we already have to put up with embarrassing pictures of metal musicians after Metallica’s trainwreck Some Kind of Ridiculous Lamitude? And now look at those guys! Lars Ulrich wears silk scarves on TV shows and mislabels black metal as death metal. (Of course, this entire clip is kinda painful in general.)

There are plenty of metal musicians who aren’t stupid addicts, there are plenty who deal with their alcoholism like professionals and there are plenty of metal musicians who don’t wear silk scarves! Mike Starr, Steven Adler, the jackasses from Poison and Mötley Crue are not representative of the scene in any way. I guess on this same note, I should tell Dolving from The Haunted to shut the fuck up. But I think he’s funny. Plus, his silly Swedish ass isn’t on TV.

« »