Comments on: Images, Reputations and Sounds of Patti Smith

Images, Reputations and Sounds of Patti Smith

MiguelCardoso — Mon, 30 Dec 2002 00:54:08 -0800

Is It Better To Look Marvellous Than To Sound Marvellous? Like The Velvet Underground, Iggy Pop and (controversially) David Bowie, Patti Smith, specially when photographed by Robert Mapplethorpe, looked way cooler than she sounded, imho. What other rock legends were more beautiful than the music they made? And, conversely, which artists' music was better than the image they projected?

By: Mijnkopthee

Mijnkopthee — Mon, 30 Dec 2002 01:10:01 -0800

Ok, i'll bite: Avril Lavigne, Christina Aguilera and Britney Spears all look way better than they sound. (or are they not 'rock legend' enough?)

By: Fabulon7

Fabulon7 — Mon, 30 Dec 2002 01:12:46 -0800

I'm dismayed. I think the Velvet Underground sounded better than they looked, and they looked pretty damned cool. Same with Iggy Stooge. 80% of the time I'm with you on Bowie though...

By: dglynn

dglynn — Mon, 30 Dec 2002 01:17:28 -0800

Jimi sounded worse than he looked, and he still sounded great to me. Of course, I still think Dylan sounded great, so what do I know? Lennon sang like an angel, and looked(and wrote) like an Irish prophet. Billy Gibbons sounds better than he looks. Nirvana always looked exactly how they sounded, and now always will. And the Pixies always looked and sounded like they should. Funny world, ain't it?

By: woil

woil — Mon, 30 Dec 2002 01:22:37 -0800

I found that for most people this also is the case when picking mates. Or watching actors. Very few actors (sean connery, robin williams) make a name out of how they sound. When was the last time you went to a movie blindfolded? I did it today.

By: prolific

prolific — Mon, 30 Dec 2002 01:25:37 -0800

Prince sounds a lot better than he looks. Other than that I couldn't think of any artist I (really) like that doesn't do the full package. If not beautiful then at least 'interesting'. Also, Mr MijnKopThee... really, I'd rather hear those girls give it to me one more time, than have to watch 'em at it.

By: smich

smich — Mon, 30 Dec 2002 01:43:58 -0800

Response to question 2: Shane MacGowan: beautiful voice, but not a pretty man

By: ivan007

ivan007 — Mon, 30 Dec 2002 02:12:43 -0800

Patti Smith, Patti Smith. Absolutely brilliant three albums. Did she sound beautiful? Well, should she? Did she look beautiful? Well, should she? I'm not sure either of these are relevant. But by god she made great music.

By: hama7

hama7 — Mon, 30 Dec 2002 02:16:04 -0800

Robert Johnson looked like he sounded. Tom Waits has honed his image to a fair approximation of his music. Joe Jackson has this voodoo out-of-body Mel Torme thing going on where the image and the voice are so different that it's like seeing a favorite radio personality for the first time in person. Then there's Kiss. Enough said. I'm not sure where to put Diamanda Galas, or this guy, or captain kirk, but Shane McGowan is so clearly in.

By: ttrendel

ttrendel — Mon, 30 Dec 2002 02:38:24 -0800

Great post and great topic... I was always disappointed seeing what Muddy Waters looked like. Don't get me wrong, he a was great looking guy. He just never looked as mean as his music sounded.

By: i_cola

i_cola — Mon, 30 Dec 2002 03:21:19 -0800

I'm sorry? Patti Smith looked better than she sounded?!? Have you been drinking Miguel?

By: hama7

hama7 — Mon, 30 Dec 2002 03:24:31 -0800

Muddy Waters? Aw, you just caught him in the wrong mood.

By: Mayor Curley

Mayor Curley — Mon, 30 Dec 2002 04:25:08 -0800

My favorite contrast between sound and appearance is The Specials. Especially in the early days, they were mostly reedy British guys playing tough-sounding ska.

By: quonsar

quonsar — Mon, 30 Dec 2002 04:33:01 -0800

aguilerra is an incredibly talented singer. has been since she was 5. once she sprouted boobs though, her 'advisors' brought in an army of 'make up artists' and tried to turn her into the 2nd brittney, and succeeded only in turning her into some sort of underbridge-dwelling orc. i doubt she'll ever recover.

By: signal

signal — Mon, 30 Dec 2002 05:33:23 -0800

Is It Better To Look Marvellous Than To Sound Marvellous? It's better to be marvellous.

By: CoolHandPuke

CoolHandPuke — Mon, 30 Dec 2002 06:01:12 -0800

Is It Better To Look Marvellous Than To Sound Marvellous? WTF are you talking about? If you're referring to Iggy Pop of The Stooges era, they are one of the most influential bands in rock, especially punk rock and without them and MC5 many, many bands would not exist. And yes, they sound marvellous.

By: Summer

Summer — Mon, 30 Dec 2002 06:28:27 -0800

With the examples cited - VU, Iggy etc - the look and the sound go together. They are an organic whole. It's called an attitude I believe. So to split them seems a bit odd.

By: machaus

machaus — Mon, 30 Dec 2002 06:34:16 -0800

So to split them seems a bit odd. This whole post seems odd. Goes against the guidelines and acts as a rock music poll. Yuck.

By: Oriole Adams

Oriole Adams — Mon, 30 Dec 2002 06:46:13 -0800

I always thought Patti Smith sounded great; a refreshing, earthy alternative to the "fluffy" female singers of the time (Streisand, Newton-John, Ronstadt). I wouldn't call Devo's music "beautiful", but I liked it, and they were all pretty average-looking...in fact, my brother often said that Mark Mothersbaugh looked like the kind of kid that sat in front of you in school and smelled like salami.

By: sgt.serenity

sgt.serenity — Mon, 30 Dec 2002 07:00:55 -0800

to get back on topic, i've always had a theory that if black francis had been as good looking as kurt cobain...................the pixies were easily the better band of the two and were there first . Its been openly admitted that 'smells like teen spirit' is a rip off of 'subbacultcha' by the pixies. If you put nevermind against doolittle the pixies win hands down ..but people like blond hair uh? i picture machaus as a slim , bespectacled guy with slick backed hair hunched over his keyboard like an inverted c and with long fingers sitting in a library...............yourself miguel.........i continually see you as a man sitting on his balcony enjoying the heat of a portugese afternoon thinking of enjoyable things to post on meta ..and popping into your house now and then....maybe a bit like a toreador or something...or a jolly man with a beard and glasses... but who knows? perhaps machaus looks like a supermodel and you look like himmler dragged backwards through a hedge . But i love you both anyway. ps patti smith = overrated.

By: RokkitNite

RokkitNite — Mon, 30 Dec 2002 07:07:30 -0800

Iggy Pop and David Bowie looked better than they sounded? Oh please... I was going to say that is such an obvious troll, but then I remembered... Bob Dylan is the obvious troll in this debate. Well, maybe a goblin rather than a troll, but he's still pretty durn ugly. And he sounds like an elderly farmer having genital surgery without anaesthetic. And another thing... the guy that Bruce Lee tricks into getting into a little rowboat in Enter the Dragon looks uncannily like Brian Ferry.

By: jonmc

jonmc — Mon, 30 Dec 2002 07:17:48 -0800

James Hetfield of Metallica once described his band as "ugly guys singing about ugly shit to ugly music." That could describe a lot of my favorites come to think of it now. Despite what modern imagemongers and the music business would have you believe, "the beautiful people" really don't have a place in real rock and roll, do they?

By: prolific

prolific — Mon, 30 Dec 2002 07:27:19 -0800

Only if they have beautiful minds as well.

By: Akuinnen

Akuinnen — Mon, 30 Dec 2002 07:29:34 -0800

Elizabeth Fraser of Cocteau Twins. I love her voice.. but I don't find her that attractive.

By: sgt.serenity

sgt.serenity — Mon, 30 Dec 2002 07:38:01 -0800

shes cute ! how dare you !

By: quonsar

quonsar — Mon, 30 Dec 2002 07:38:18 -0800

sgt.serenity: himmler through the hedge :-)

By: VelvetHellvis

VelvetHellvis — Mon, 30 Dec 2002 07:43:03 -0800

A curious post. I don't find Patti Smith physically beautiful, but Robert Mapplethorpe's imagery is. It's the contrast his works strikes with the gaunt, harsh look of Smith coupled with the light and shadow that appeals to me. As I've matured looks matter less and less and the message and its delivery are what count. My musical tastes include the music of Patti Smith, Velvet Underground, Iggy Pop, Tom Waits, Lou Reed, Leonard Cohen and many other musicians of the "not-so-beautiful" ilk. And on the subject of David Bowie and his famous area, I find the man amazing to look at and listen to. What I find sad are singers with amazing voices such as Mariah Carey and Christine Aguilera who rely more on sex appeal than talent. While the Mariahs and Christines of the world aren't my type of tuneage, I can appreciate a beautiful voice, but what is their message? And, Celine Dion, don't get me started...the voice is huge, but ugh! Aretha Franklin isn't exactly aging beautifully, but that woman has a voice and a stage presence I'd pay to dollar to hear and see in person. It seems to me that the beauty fades away and the message is what lingers.

By: shmeggy

shmeggy — Mon, 30 Dec 2002 07:59:57 -0800

For the voice that does NOT match the appearance, look no further than the chick from Romeo Void.

By: Joey Michaels

Joey Michaels — Mon, 30 Dec 2002 08:01:11 -0800

Obviously, everyone has different opinions about "what is beauty" and "what is good music." For example, I don't find Beck particularly sexy, but he made the VH1 Top 100 Sexiest artists list. Somebody must find him sexy. On the other hand, I dig his music. Many of my friends can't stand his music. Same thing with Moby. Thus Miguel's question has no definitive answer. However, while on the subject of mahor ugly rock bands, how could we get this far into a topic without sending out props to the three big uglies: Motorhead, Rush and the Cars?

By: JollyWanker

JollyWanker — Mon, 30 Dec 2002 08:13:11 -0800

Oh, no, Senhor, that paranthetical "(controversially)" will not spare you this time! All kidding aside, even more than the other examples cited, wouldn't you agree that Bowie's look(s) are integral to his overall performance, including the writing and production? He's not just famous for being a "chameleon," for the most part he's actually pulled it off. His writing has grown and while he's as prone as any musician to the occasional mis-hit, I maintain he is the only popular musician of his generation to not only perform continuously but remain relevant while moving forward.

By: bmxGirl

bmxGirl — Mon, 30 Dec 2002 08:18:47 -0800

Lyle Lovett... not a looker, but good musician!

By: klik99

klik99 — Mon, 30 Dec 2002 08:21:54 -0800

Ella Fitzgerald's music was amazingly beautiful but she was quite ugly. Although in some pictures she looks like she might be attractive but you know how much artists are pampered up for those so-called "photographs". Serge Gainsbourgh is the ugliest man that's ever lived, but he is appealing to look at. Turns out image and attractivness have nothing to do with each other. Mr. Gainsbourgh has one of the greatest images, even if only by virtue of his attr active girl friends (though that's really not it). And who else would ask Whitney Houston to sleep with him (rather crudely too) on national french television? Oh and his music definitly is as appealing as his image. Esp on "Percussions"...

By: MiguelCardoso

MiguelCardoso — Mon, 30 Dec 2002 08:23:27 -0800

For people of my generation (baby boomers), photographs were tremendously important and we emulated the looks of whoever we most liked (I was a teen John Lennon clone). There was thought to be authenticity in looking just as you sounded - the posters who said Nirvana achieve this 100% and Prince just 1% are dead right, in my opinion. I didn't mean to discuss beauty at all - just aural/imagetic coherence. The "mahvellous" thing arose because I was reminded of the Fernando character that Billy Crystal played on SNL in the early 80's and was meant tongue-in-cheek. Not that, in the meantime, my assumptions haven't been shot to pieces by the thread. ;)

By: swift

swift — Mon, 30 Dec 2002 08:37:02 -0800

Complete match: The Waitresses.

By: alfredogarcia

alfredogarcia — Mon, 30 Dec 2002 08:39:09 -0800

it's hands down better to sound better than look better. if you sound cool, you'll look cool. look at dylan and the ramones fer chrissakes.

By: monkeyman

monkeyman — Mon, 30 Dec 2002 09:12:56 -0800

Patti Smith is underrated. Her output has always been a bit uneven and political content is going to make someone unhappy, but she rocks. I've seen her several times and her live shows blew me away.

By: Eekacat

Eekacat — Mon, 30 Dec 2002 09:42:15 -0800

In the United States these days image is everything and substance is nothing. We market our Politicians, prescription drugs, everything. Look at the success of Milli Vanilli, boy bands etc. Quonsar pointed out Christina's talent, but she chose to be incredibly rich instead of incredibly good. Miguel, sorry, but you did intend to discuss beauty when you asked the question : What other rock legends were more beautiful than the music they made? Isn't that just a question of personal taste? Plus, an artists portrayal of them isn't really about their image, but what that artist sees in them. I like the music created by the people in your post, and I really don't think about what they look like. I don't believe they were packaging an image to sell records, but that they were just being themselves, unlike much of the popular music today. MTV pretty much killed the chances of most ugly bands. I am strangely reminded of the SNL sketch spoofing Billy Idol. The Album was "Right face, wrong voice", and the lyric was something like "I look like Sting, but I sing like Bing."

By: wobh

wobh — Mon, 30 Dec 2002 09:48:46 -0800

Lately, I find myself thinking about my many and various reactions to Tori Amos. My opinion of her or her music has never really settled. She's so beautiful and so... gauche for lack of a better word. It's not like whats-her-name from Hole who just irritates me and I ignore her. I have a much harder time ignoring Tori. I find her music and lyrics much more rewarding and worthy of consideration than many others. Even though she irritates me, I'll come around and start thinking she's funny, or deep or very cool or something but then I'll go around and not like her again. It's like there's a lot there and I can only take so much, you know? After listening to _Little Earthquakes_ I felt like I knew her personally. A lot of other people did too. I think she's been beating a lyrical and musical retreat ever since. And I don't blame her—let Jewel and Alanis and all the other "painfully" "honest" artists take up the slack. But she's still around, making records, doing her thing, she still an amazing musician and singer and still beautiful too in her own weird way. It's like she can't exactly let go either. Oh, and Bill Miller rules.

By: dhoyt

dhoyt — Mon, 30 Dec 2002 09:55:20 -0800

Russell Crowe is an ugly mother, but his music sure is great!

By: SoftRain

SoftRain — Mon, 30 Dec 2002 10:05:17 -0800

One band whose look and sound always seemed to match for me was Milli Vanilli--oh, wait.

By: Devils Slide

Devils Slide — Mon, 30 Dec 2002 10:15:23 -0800

Debbie Harry (circa 1978) looked way better than she sounded.

By: quonsar

quonsar — Mon, 30 Dec 2002 10:18:26 -0800

MTV pretty much killed the chances of most ugly bands. Eekacat, have you seen Limp Bizkit? :-)

By: Eekacat

Eekacat — Mon, 30 Dec 2002 10:27:45 -0800

Eekacat, have you seen Limp Bizkit? Quonsar, errr no, but I did say "most"! ;-) Though I am sure their image is carefully crafted to appear "alternative" just the same.

By: kliuless

kliuless — Mon, 30 Dec 2002 10:30:50 -0800

a letter from hendrix to his dad, august 1965 (via boing boing) Nowadays people don't want you to sing good. They want you to sing sloppy and have a good beat to your songs. That's what angle I'm going to shoot for. That's where the money is. So just in case about three or four months from now you might hear a record by me which sounds terrible, don't feel ashamed, just wait until the money rolls in because every day people are singing worse and worse on purpose and the public buys more and more records.

By: rainbaby

rainbaby — Mon, 30 Dec 2002 10:35:18 -0800

Tom Petty sounds better than he looks, and looks different than he sounds.

By: timeistight

timeistight — Mon, 30 Dec 2002 10:42:36 -0800

The Doors have enjoyed 35 years of music business success because Jim Morrison died before he got too fat.

By: gompa

gompa — Mon, 30 Dec 2002 10:45:03 -0800

Three things: Nickelback's lead singer looks like the soulless hack that he is. I've always quite liked Dave Grohl's ability to appear very cool and very self-effacing at the same time. Also, he looks a little cooler than Foo Fighters have sounded lately, but then again he looked less cool Nirvana sounded for a long time. So maybe it balances out. Finally, anyone who thinks the Velvet Underground were stronger in looks than in sound needs to listen to more Velvet Underground. Or else is thinking exclusively of Nico.

By: timeistight

timeistight — Mon, 30 Dec 2002 10:46:34 -0800

...the career of his brother Van, on the other hand, has been hampered because he sounds like Ray Charles but looks like a leprechaun.

By: ed

ed — Mon, 30 Dec 2002 10:52:43 -0800

And then there's talent like Fatboy Slim, who refuses to appear in any of his music videos and is still known for them, and the Residents, who play all of their infrequent shows with masks, lest their real identities be revealed to an audience. In their own way, Fatboy Sllim and the Residents have created an image of something that does not exist to sell their music. It could be argued that the three most popular rock and roll artists of all time were established almost exclusively on the basis of their looks: Elvis with swinging hips, channeled through a fuzzy black-and-white image; the Beatles, with their mod haircuts and suits on the Ed Sullivan Show; and the Stones, which featured a scuzzy-looking Mick Jagger, a rapacious man lusting after your daughter, someone for your parents to be afraid of, as an alternative to the clean-cut Fab Four. All three perceptions were unleashed upon the public long before MTV. All three images were cultivated with some serious reflection by their respective managers. But the question is whether these three artists would have maintained their legacy had it not been for their images. Image is inseparable from music. The association between what an artist does and what he creates is something so embedded in the way that art is marketed that it is often impossible to disassociate the connection. Who can think of Pete Townshend without seeing a man beating the hell out of a guitar? Who can conceive of a Sex Pistols show without a fight? And who can look upon U2 without seeing a pompous windbag dressed in leather jacket and sunglasses who, talent aside, has deluded himself into believing that he's a 21st century John Lennon? Take a look at the Kinks, arguably one of the great bands that came out of the British Invasion. Thirty-five years later, what are the songs that get radio airplay? The brutal satire of "Dead End Street" or the catchy pleasantries of "Ob La Di, Ob La Da?" The latter. Why? The Kinks were prohibited from touring the States and thus marketing their music to the public. As a result, Ray Davies is remembered more for the fun though frivolous "Lola" (released right on the cusp of the prohibition being lifted) than for any of the fabulous albums (Face to Face, Something Else, Victoria) he produced before that. It seems without question to me that had the Kinks been allowed to market themselves or to manifest an image (and certainly the in-fighting between Ray and Dave would have been something easy for the public to embrace; again, who can think of Oasis without seeing the Gallaghers at each other throats?), they would have enjoyed some of the success of the Who in the years before '71.

By: ed

ed — Mon, 30 Dec 2002 11:06:43 -0800

And I'd be remiss if I didn't mention Eminem, who not only bolstered his mainstream image by smartly teaming up with a hot Hollywood director (Curtis Hanson) for 8 Mile, but also muscled his way (or, rather, his publicists did) into a full-blown Sunday New York Times magazine spread (user: dr_mabuse, pw:mabuse).

By: Vidiot

Vidiot — Mon, 30 Dec 2002 11:13:45 -0800

(I was a teen John Lennon clone) Okay, now who wants to see a pic of Miguel as a teenaged John Lennon clone? *raises hand*

By: dong_resin

dong_resin — Mon, 30 Dec 2002 11:25:23 -0800

Miguel! You blasphemous shitfuck!

By: y2karl

y2karl — Mon, 30 Dec 2002 11:34:35 -0800

The winner hands down here is Merle Haggard who sounds better and better and looks, well, worse for the wear. As for Muddy Waters: If you saw him in person back when, there would be no questions. As for Bob Dylan, well, he once was young. The question is, will you look or sound as good as any of the above at any equivalent age?

By: LeLiLo

LeLiLo — Mon, 30 Dec 2002 11:39:02 -0800

dong_resin: if you're going to call Miguel names like that, at least do it in Portugese. My favorite contrast between sound and appearance is The Specials. This is not exactly the subject of the original post, but to me the greatest contrast between s. and a. is my favorite sappy singer, Aaron Neville, who looks like he might do some real damage to you in an alley. Great voice, great look.

By: klik99

klik99 — Mon, 30 Dec 2002 11:40:39 -0800

ed - yeah the residents are an intresting case, by hiding their faces they created a pretty unique image. I guess that's what Gorillaz was going for, but not as succesfully, more contrived imo, although many people may not agree with that. image in pop music these days is boring, it's all about irony. strokes, the hives, its very pretensious, im waiting for the next man who can do it like bowie can.

By: MiguelCardoso

MiguelCardoso — Mon, 30 Dec 2002 11:41:37 -0800

...the career of his brother Van, on the other hand, has been hampered because he sounds like Ray Charles but looks like a leprechaun. I dunno, timestight. I was brought up on the NME and Jim's brother (hee hee) Van Morrison was always lauded for being so absolutely uncool - even when he went Christian and duetted with Cliff feckin' Richard. Perhaps the dubious hats helped. Miguel! You blasphemous shitfuck! I admit the troll, dong. But I'm moving today so what do I care? ;)

By: MiguelCardoso

MiguelCardoso — Mon, 30 Dec 2002 11:43:31 -0800

Y2karl: Merle Haggard looks great! It's not everybody that has such a well-chosen adjective as a surname.

By: kirkaracha

kirkaracha — Mon, 30 Dec 2002 11:55:29 -0800

What about Pat Benatar?

By: dhoyt

dhoyt — Mon, 30 Dec 2002 12:02:29 -0800

My thoughts exactly. What about Pat Benetar.

By: quonsar

quonsar — Mon, 30 Dec 2002 12:04:57 -0800

What about Pat Benatar? she ever get her overbite fixed?

By: y2karl

y2karl — Mon, 30 Dec 2002 12:12:10 -0800

It's not everybody that has such a well-chosen adjective as a surname. Yeah, well, Merle, Willie Nelson and Keith Richards are textbook examples of how the sportin' life will leave you looking... Which reminds me of that bon mot of Oscar Wilde's -- Twenty years of romance make a woman look like a ruin, but twenty years of marriage make her something like a public building.

By: oflinkey

oflinkey — Mon, 30 Dec 2002 12:30:01 -0800

King Crimson. Great music- what a bunch of dorks.

By: MiguelCardoso

MiguelCardoso — Mon, 30 Dec 2002 12:44:29 -0800

Leonard Cohen, Jimi Hendrix, Jethro Tull, Marc Bolan, Joy Division, The Pixies and Nirvana are the best look like/sound like 100/100 match. They look exactly what they sound like. The worst are Miles Davis (for the jackets alone!); Diana Krall; The Tindersticks; George Clinton; Prince; Harry Connick Jr, Radiohead and David Gray.

By: quonsar

quonsar — Mon, 30 Dec 2002 12:53:17 -0800

bootsy looks like the mothership crashed on him.

By: raysmj

raysmj — Mon, 30 Dec 2002 12:55:04 -0800

No commentary on the masters, but I thought that Daniel Bedingfield guy was a girl, according to a listen of the ridiculously catchy "Gotta Get Through This." Just for the record.

By: wackybrit

wackybrit — Mon, 30 Dec 2002 13:10:55 -0800

Ok, i'll bite: Avril Lavigne, Christina Aguilera and Britney Spears all look way better than they sound. I don't know! Have you seen Avril Lavigne without all of that eye makeup on? She's no picnic. My vote goes to Shakira in all of this. She can't sing for toffee (she sure can yodel though), but she definitely has the whole image thing going. raysmj: Join the club! I always thought it was just a female vocalist, since it's common for the artist not to appear on their own tracks in the British charts.. but, doh, it's him!

By: biscotti

biscotti — Mon, 30 Dec 2002 13:35:58 -0800

What about Pat Benatar? she ever get her overbite fixed? Actually, she has an underbite. An overbite is when the upper teeth extend well past the lower teeth (like Moe from the Simpsons), and an underbite is the reverse (a Bulldog has an underbite, as does Pat Benatar). Here endeth the pedantry.

By: y2karl

y2karl — Mon, 30 Dec 2002 13:41:59 -0800

What? No one's mentioned the Insane Clown Posse yet? I saw both the Specials and Madness in 1980 and they looked cool enough then--plus both bands had a shark skinned suited dancer in a stingy brim fedora for onstage ambiance, not to mention head butting.. And man, did those guys dance fast.... It made me feel old--then!--just to watch them.

By: Vidiot

Vidiot — Mon, 30 Dec 2002 14:41:05 -0800

How about the Mighty Mighty Bosstones? Good match. Dicky Barrett is The Man. And Ben's pretty darned kewl too...

By: blue_beetle

blue_beetle — Mon, 30 Dec 2002 14:53:06 -0800

I would say Korn, but they sound as bad as they look.

By: treywhit

treywhit — Mon, 30 Dec 2002 14:57:14 -0800

First off...Pat Benatar...looks and sounds great. Next, Shania Twain is, at least, being wildly candid about her approach to selling records...look good and make songs that her fans want to hear...no artistic pretense whatsoever...and it's working. Not that beauty has anything to do with my preference for Diana Krall and Jane Monheit.

By: blucevalo

blucevalo — Mon, 30 Dec 2002 15:16:10 -0800

What other rock legends were more beautiful than the music they made? Nobody's mentioned The Strokes yet. I nominate them. They aren't legends, but you wouldn't know that from their press.

By: HTuttle

HTuttle — Mon, 30 Dec 2002 15:30:06 -0800

Peter Lemonjello looked the same as he sounded.

By: quin

quin — Mon, 30 Dec 2002 15:51:04 -0800

dong_resin: Miguel! You blasphemous shitfuck! i don't know if this was meant as a serious attack or not, but i have to say, that this comment caused me to laugh uncontrollably for a good five minutes. i so hope one day someone calls me a 'blasphemous shitfuck', that has to be the best insult i've heard in weeks. Thank you d_r. [absolutely no snarkyness intended]

By: sgt.serenity

sgt.serenity — Mon, 30 Dec 2002 15:51:38 -0800

van morrison , discuss.

By: stvc15

stvc15 — Mon, 30 Dec 2002 16:21:29 -0800

Bob Dylan died a couple of years ago -- he is currently being played by Vincent Price

By: timeistight

timeistight — Mon, 30 Dec 2002 16:21:41 -0800

already did.

By: wackybrit

wackybrit — Mon, 30 Dec 2002 16:55:58 -0800

Nobody's mentioned The Strokes yet. I nominate them. They aren't legends, but you wouldn't know that from their press. In that case I have to nominate the White Stripes! The funny thing is that even my mom likes the White Stripes now, despite them looking and sounding like crap. Still, I enjoy their tracks.. it's like eating McDonald's.. it's crap, but still enjoyable from time to time :-)

By: Monk

Monk — Mon, 30 Dec 2002 17:43:22 -0800

ed: And then there's talent like Fatboy Slim, who refuses to appear in any of his music videos Not entirely true. He's in both the Rockafeller Skank and Praise You videos. He's also been on the cover of just about every music magazine. Not what I would call keeping an image of non-existence.

By: ashbury

ashbury — Mon, 30 Dec 2002 20:22:55 -0800

Ric Ocasek from the Cars looked a little odd, but sounded so rock star-ish. From the first time I heard Holly Cole's voice I've had a huge crush on her and fantasized about meeting her and going on a date after one of her shows. Even after seeing her pictures...she's not ugly but she sure isn't my type. Of course, most people here probably haven't even heard of Holly Cole, which is a real pity.

By: Ufez Jones

Ufez Jones — Mon, 30 Dec 2002 21:06:51 -0800

Nobody has mentioned Maynard from Tool either. On CD he sounds so confident and large. In real life he looks a whole lot more like Gollum than Steve Buscemi does.

By: blucevalo

blucevalo — Mon, 30 Dec 2002 23:35:33 -0800

The funny thing is that even my mom likes the White Stripes now, despite them looking and sounding like crap. The "Maureen Dowd Memorial Yuppie Love Eminem Syndrome" lives!

By: quonsar

quonsar — Tue, 31 Dec 2002 04:33:52 -0800

eminem is a blasphemous shitfuck.

By: dong_resin

dong_resin — Tue, 31 Dec 2002 07:54:52 -0800

He wishes.

By: misterioso

misterioso — Tue, 31 Dec 2002 09:50:04 -0800

GG Allin. Looked bad, sounded bad.

By: y2karl

y2karl — Tue, 31 Dec 2002 21:03:33 -0800

You want scary ?

By: Satapher

Satapher — Wed, 01 Jan 2003 01:15:30 -0800

all of those artists looked and sounded good. square.

By: RJ Reynolds

RJ Reynolds — Wed, 01 Jan 2003 14:39:39 -0800

Miguel, you should have seen Patti Smith rocking out a New Year's Eve set last night. With her long gray hair and her man's suit she looked like Allen Ginsberg meets Stevie Nicks as a Central European panhandler. It really worked on her -- and she could and would totally kick your ass.

By: octobersurprise

octobersurprise — Wed, 01 Jan 2003 15:03:15 -0800

and succeeded only in turning [Aguilerra] into some sort of underbridge-dwelling orc. i doubt she'll ever recover. I don't know. I have hope though. Allegedly, Etta James is one of Aguilerra's favorites. Maybe when she's too old to be marketed as a Pop Tart, she'll exercise her talent a little more. I could be totally wrong, but I've got a feeling that Aguilerra's career will be a lot like Madonna's, with lots of reinventions every few years. I wouldn't be at all surprised if she's still around in 20 years.