Celebrity

I just finished watching "How To Lose Friends and Alienate People" with Simon Pegg (I thought the movie was decent and probably enjoyed it more because of Pegg. I love him - if you haven't seen "Shawn of the Dead" or "Hot Fuzz", you should. As soon as possible). One of the themes of the movie is the culture of celebrity that is created and sustained by both the public and the media that doesn't necessarily relate to how talented the person is or the quality of their craft. I was all set to go off on a rant against how I hate that this happens and I was ready to identify people, TV shows, movies that are famous or popular that I think are worthless. Then, I decided why bother. I just didn't have the energy to go on a long winded tirade about a subject for which I am in the minority (this is probably just an rare occurrence - I usually like nothing better than to disparage the poor taste of others, but I just wasn't feeling it tonight). I know that the majority of people in this country like mediocre fare - why else are American Idol, Two and a Half Men, Nickelback and Paul Blart: Mall Cop popular?

So, rather than harp on things that popular that have no reason to be so, I decided to pick 4 people/bands/shows that should be much more popular than they are:

Joseph Gordon-Levitt
While he is not as well known today by name, I am sure there are a lot of people that would recognize him if they saw a picture of him (and he was wearing a long-haired wig). He first came to the public's attention as Tommy, the youngest member of the cast of "3rd Rock From the Sun." Few people that saw him back then would figure that he would become one of the most talented and versatile young actors in Hollywood today. He impressed many critics with is role in "Mysterious Skin", but my favorite performance of his was in "Brick." He was able to take a challenging role in a movie that sought to take a typical 40's film noir plot (along with the same kind of hard-boiled dialog you would expect from a film of this type) and convincingly portray the kind of world-weary sleuth that you could favorably compare to a Sam Spade or a Philip Marlowe. He is set to star as Cobra Commander in the live-action GI Joe movie this summer, so maybe he is on the verge of stardom (although from everything I have read and seen about this movie, I am not optimistic about its chances...)

New Pornographers
The New Pornographers are an alternative band that write and perform some of the catchiest pop songs that you will ever hear. Except that no one other than indie rock fans have any idea who they are. Their best songs have hooks that stick right in your brain and have you humming them long after you have heard the song. As far as pop music today, there is nothing that you will hear on your local Top 40 station that can hold a candle to the songs that Carl Newman, Dan Bejar, Neko Case and the rest of the Pornographers have released on their 4 discs. They have shown that "pop music" doesn't have to be a type of music that is associated with bland, corporate created, bubble gum crap.



The Hold Steady
Another alternative band that is relatively unknown outside of indie rock fans. The Hold Steady are more straightforward rock and roll than The New Pornographers, though, so they should have even more mainstream appeal. I am not sure why they have not crossed over and received more radio airplay. They also put on one of the best live shows around in terms of getting the crowd into it and also how into the show the band is (singer Craig Finn is a real character). I have seen them 3 times now and I will continue to see them every chance I get.



30 Rock
You may be asking, "how can a series that won the 'Best Comedy Series' Emmy 2 years in a row need to be more popular?" Have you seen the ratings for this show? Its one of the best shows on TV and nobody is watching it. If it wasn't for the fact that NBC overall is in the crapper ratings-wise, they probably wouldn't have stuck behind it as strongly as they have. Each and every week, Alec Baldwin hits it out of the park with his portrayal of Jack Donaghy, the head of NBC. Tracy Morgan is so off the wall as Tracy Jordan (who I am pretty sure is just an exaggerated version of Morgan's real life persona). I know lots of people that love the Office that don't stick around to watch 30 rock afterward and I don't understand it.