People that take themselves too seriously

I was at Bar Marmont a while back and couldn't help but notice Michael Stipe (lead singer of R.E.M.) sitting nearby. He was pouting, wearing all-black with a black beret and refusing to smile at his table of otherwise shiny, happy people. 

I was annoyed, but not because I think he's some celebrity monkey that needs to dance for me. I want to stress that if I saw any dude pouting in all black with a black beret it would bother me. Some people just take themselves too seriously.

Part of the reason for my anger is that Mr. Tortured Artist refuses to play the song Shiny Happy People on stage, no matter how bad his fans want it. His excuse? Apparently the song is really deep, and was making a mockery of a Chinese Communist propaganda poster. Um, yea. No one got that from the technicolor video of him flailing his arms and dancing with the redhead from the B-52's. So shut up and play the song that helped you be a millionaire courtesy of us.

Now that my rant has started, I should mention that Radiohead refuses to sing their iconic song Creep live. Yet another example of our money making these guys a bunch of self-important knuckleheads.

Oh, and the Beastie Boys refuse to play (You Gotta) Fight for your Right to Party. How do you like that? Apparently, they don't like jocks pump-fisting to that song because they say it was meant to make fun of those very people. Funny, that didn't come across in the video. And they certainly didn't seem that socially conscious when they recorded the song Girls which included the lines:

Girls!

Do do the dishes.

Girls!

To clean up my room.

Girls!

To do the laundry.

Girls!

And in the bathroom.

Girls!

Oh but let me guess, that song was really deep too. They were probably exposing the dark underbelly of sexism in Hip Hop culture.