Man, how things can change. With a fickle society evolving at an unprecedented pace, one second you’re in, the next you’re out. But forget about all the Ricky Martins out there who owned the world, only to be forgotten in a year or two. The most fascinating subgroup of those forgotten are the celebrities who are still technically around, but that everyone forgot used to be cool.
Whenever we hear Angelina Jolie is going to be in a new movie, we instantly ask, “Will we be seeing her boobs?” If the answer is no, of course we’re not going to see another Life or Something Like It or Tomb Raider. Little do we forget that just a few years ago she was that mysterious, vampiric goddess who made out with her brother, wore Billy Bob Thorton’s blood on her neck and made (relatively) edgy movies like Girl, Interrupted and Gia.
And remember when Ross from Friends (aka David Schwimmer) was considered a heartthrob? Countless prepubescent girls used to dream of holding his hand, having him whisper sweet, paleontological nothings into their ears. Sure, the only reason the girls used to love him was because dreaming of him meant dreaming they were Jennifer Anniston, hair and all, but my point remains: look how things can change.
And remember when Jared Wolfe used to write music columns that directly had to do with music? What the hell happened to him?
And the list could go on and on: Courtney Love, Dave Grohl, Elton John, Colin Farrell, Antonio Banderas, Eminem. We forget there was a time when these embarrassments were considered innovators.
And then it’s always interesting when you find out an entity that you knew to be lame – that you assumed had always been lame – was at some point hip, occasionally even revelatory. It wasn’t until last year that I found out that before they grew out their chest hair to pioneer disco, the Bee Gees were actually a psychedelic band! Back in the 1960s!
Check out their anti-war, pro-drug rocker “I Have Decided to Join the Airforce,” on their third LP, Idea. Yes, they were so cool that they actually named their album Idea. And their 1967 Bee Gees’ First is overflowing with psychedelic mushrooms on the cover. And this music is great. I’m serious.
Archived article by Jared Wolfe
Sun Staff Writer