Should the sell-out in question that is being whored and snatched up like a kid off the street by eager beavers and evil sheep be of an art form that has its audience nailed right in and all that word of mouth is trying to do is capture a little extra cash or glory, as long as what we are referring to doesn't completely suck then what is the problem? Artists often times do what they have to do in order to afford the luxury of doing what they like to do. Big fucking deal.
In some cases swing dick executives come racing in and horde all over a particular medium or trend and shove it down throats so hard and fast that jaws and windpipes wind up being crunched and brutalized from overkill. So goes the commercialized shit circus. Once the bones heal and boredom is relieved through dental work and re-constructive surgery, newly inflicted torture styles and methods of execution are rolled out of staff meetings where they can assault consumers willing to invest in the next flavor of the month.
But what about the artists themselves? Those who have chosen the art form highlighted as not only their means of creative expression but a way to pay the bills? Fans cry sell-out at the drop of an axe anytime something with a ghastly pale skin tone from lurking in the underground steps out to soak up some rays and breathe in the stink of some new blood. Why is this? Is it because these fans are so possessive they cannot stand the thought of some Hot Topic wearing mall rat getting a little culture for a change?
Take all those Star trek/wars nerds for instance.
These motherfuckers sleep outside movie theaters on the street next to a shit reeking hobo in a cardboard box to be first in line whenever a new movie with a robot or a spaceship in it opens up. I think this goes beyond mere fandom and drops its feet in the bunny boiling bucket. But okay, do you think that just because Star wars part 69: Space tongues in Uranus makes way more money than Star wars part 68: Penis sabers of the light brigade that it matters whether the movie was advertised only at comic con or there were posters of anuses in space posted all over Target stores galaxy wide? Who cares who buys or watches your precious nerd forms? If there was money to be made the artists and powers that be made it and that way you can all assure that you'll be cozying up with homeless turd burglars every movie season.
Art is art. Absolutely. But at the heart (or at least kidneys) of art is money. The artists need it or otherwise they are gonna be sleeping in those cardboard boxes and the fans are gonna be camping out to see movies like Chicks with dicks and boys with poise starring Kate Hudson and Ashton Kutcher in 4-d, which is kind of like 3-d except that while you are watching the movie the ushers come into the theater and anally rape you because they believe that your wallet is in your back pocket right next to the cookie jar.
I don't care how popular something is or who makes it popular. You know what I do care about? Whether it sucks or not. Sounds pretty basic, but it has always worked for me. Two of the things that I happen to love and be most passionate about are horror and metal. Both of these are art forms that have somewhat limited appeal overall and yet like anything else they do find themselves being whored on the corner from time to time. What I like and what anyone else likes is irrelevant. We all have our own opinions. I do wish to point out though that when I am referring to the concept of horror I am in fact speaking of actual horror. Not this watered down shopping mall nonsense. I mean, okay so there are tons of things that I happen to think are way overrated. Stephen King and Blair Witch Project certainly top the list. Opinions are subjective. But the term horror itself has very specific rules for play and standards by which it should be both considered and judged. First rule of horror club. . . . Any movie that is rated pg-13 is not horror.
The term horror is thrown around like a dismembered torso in a game of zombie body ball and thrust upon many things that don't deserve to be labeled as such. Still, I like what I like and when I see certain things I know good and well not to even bother going anywhere near them. One person who might not have always hit the castrated ball right out of the park in a grand slam epic fashion every single time but who is, and always will be, someone that not only grabs my attention but will manage to keep it for the duration is Rob Zombie.
Though long a staple on the underground music scene with his old band White Zombie and in recent years his namesake solo act this man has proven himself to be quite an impressive film director by turning out some of the most kick ass grindhouse inspired sleaze and gruesome treats that I have found myself gobbling up in the last eight years.
Fans of real horror owe it to themselves to check out his demented duo of masterfully helmed movie mayhem, House of 1000 corpses and the Devils Rejects. Severed hands up and down two of the best horror flicks to be made in the last ten years. I’ll admit the guy kind of pissed me off with those shitty Halloween re-makes but he now claims to be done with that noise and is focusing his attention on two projects that he has talked of for many years. 2012 will see his return to balls out horror that hopefully will not just play like a slipknot video with some butcher knives inserted in torsos with the Lords of Salem. After that he is finally gonna do his cinematic love letter to the exploitation genre called Tyrannosaurus Rex. Can't fucking wait, dude.
While it could be argued that doing the Halloween re-makes would be selling out I must say that despite the fact that I loathed both and thought they sucked shit through a straw I looked at it this way . . . . They were bound to be done by somebody at some point. Fuck it. Rob gave it his trademark flair. I figured I had a greater chance of digging his vision as opposed to some shitbag like Michael Bay. Didn't happen. But I’m good with that. Now it’s time to move on. So while Rob casts Lords of Salem he sneaks in a little project that has fans crying sell-out and the shopping mall babies pooping in their diapers.
Rob Zombie has directed a Woo-lite commercial.
Yes, you read that correctly. One of the true new masters of horror and exploitation has crafted a television ad for laundry detergent. Some people flipped the fuck out. How dare he?! Blah-blah-blah. Of course I had to check the commercial out and truthfully I think it's fucking awesome. Is Rob Zombie a sell-out? I read an interview with him and he basically said the makers of the product approached him and he did his thing. Cha-ching! Okay, so what is the big deal? It’s a horror commercial as it certainly has that Rob Zombie trademark flair smeared all over its body and up on the insides. Hell, I wish more advertisers would churn out horror commercials. I’d actually want to sit through them.
What determines the nature of a true sell-out and who got paid and then sold it out there for consumption is always going to be up for grabs in the gory intestinal feast. If an artist does something that might seem out of character in their body work cavity and actually makes something kind of cool and in turn gets paid so they can go about their business and make their shit even cooler because they have achieved a little commercial acclaim along with having a little more of those presidents with bullet holes in their heads in their pocket, where is the selling out? Rob Zombie is an artist. It wasn't like he did a lame ass commercial for Dominos pizza with telephones singing "Call me" by Blondie. The guy made something with an obvious Texas Chainsaw Massacre vibe to jolt people into being nicer to their clothing. I think it’s pretty funny and way cool myself.
Below is the commercial if you have not seen it. If you think Rob Zombie sold out that is certainly your option to do so. I’m just glad he is done with Haddonfield and headed for Salem now. Having widened his audience by directing a Woo-lite commercial I would be happy to see some happy housewife who sees Lords of Salem advertised and says "Yay wow. That is the guy who did the Woo-lite commercial. " Then head to the theaters with the girls and leave shit stains behind for the ushers from having their fish tacos scared right out of them. Now that would kick ass.
***Original blog post date 9/29/2011***
. cool post and good brand. thank you so much for sharing with us.
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