Rockin’ Writers
There are musicians who take their turn at being bad writers. (I’m talking to you Madonna!) Apparently, there are also writers who take their turn at being (presumably bad) musicians.
The Rock Bottom Remainders is a band that includes Amy Tan, Stephen King and Dave Barry, among other well-known writers. The article about them in the New York Times wouldn’t go so far as to say they suck, but I’d be terribly surprised if they didn’t. I mean, do we really need to hear Frank McCourt sing “It’s my party, and I’ll cry if I want to”?
I’d like to think this is some elaborate statement about people using their fame in one field to create a vanity project in another field they would otherwise be too unskilled to break into. But I sometimes make things too complicated.
Then again, maybe they would blow my mind. Maybe I need to hear Maya Angelou cover “Smoke on the Water.”
-Marcia
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It’s funny you should mention this. I was reading King’s On Writing yesterday and was marveling at the idea of him having a band. But hey, if he’s having fun…
Overall, I guess it makes sense for a creative person to have talent in multiple fields. I don’t mind when actors/musicians write when they have talent. It’s the blatant commercialization that people like Madonna do that offends me–this movement toward “synergy” in the entertainment companies by having “artists” brand themselves in all kinds of areas, including books. Icky!
Comment left on June 5, 2007 @ 3:32 pm