Brit comedian and actor Russell Brand is known for rib-tickling, zany mock rock. He's a former heroin-lovin' wild man, so there's no wondering where his crazy comes from.
Brand's channeled his nuttiness in a rollicking discography of tracks featured on the silver screen and on television; some say the bloke even recorded a euphonic ditty for an ex-girlfriend on YouTube (Katy P?!).
Before the madcap wag embarks on his first ever world stand-up tour, and makes a pit-stop at the Coral Springs Center for the Arts on Sept. 22, County Grind is highlighting the jester's most memorable musical bits.
See also:
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5. "African Child (Trapped in Me)" from Get Him to the Greek
"All these blowjobs in limousines/What do they matter?/ What do they mean?/To the little African child/Trapped in me," Infant Sorrow's frontman Aldous Snow cries on this ludicrous attempt at rock activism. This is classic Brand madness (him birthing an African baby, and receiving fellatio amid an oppressive battleground), but its cultural commentary about empty celebrities is the principal.
Russell Brand may be a jackass, but he knows how to critique hegemony. After all, he did ask British parliament to humanize drug addiction.
4. Russell Brand's song about Katy Perry's vagina
OK, so this jig wasn't penned by Brand, but it's pretty spot-on. At least we know Katy isn't sporting a jacked-up camel toe.
The song boasts lyrical gems like, "It's smoother than a luxury liner. It should be the special at a roadside diner," and "Her clitoris is the gold, and I'm a happy miner." Brand impostor Zach Selwyn references Perry's "I Kissed a Girl," but gloats about smooching the pop princess's "other lips."
The tune becomes a bit irksome by the end (enough about her twat!), but it mimics Russell and Katy's once all-consuming relationship. I guess it wasn't pretty enough to keep them together.
3. "Can't Fight This Feeling" from Rock of Ages
Donning an uuber-layered Alice Cooper do, Brand sings his little heart out as rock 'n' roll junkie Lonny Barnett in movie musical Rock of Ages. Rus's unabashed hair metal flamboyancy and Alec Baldwin's cheesy harmonies drench the glossy REO Speedwagon power ballad in wit. And Brand's rub downs and pelvic thrusts are priceless. After a montage of carousel riding and golf putting in each other's arms, the two share a passionate kiss. Brandwin?!
2. "I Am the Walrus" at the 2012 London Olympics
He lip-synced an iconic Beatles song out of a megaphone and impersonated Willy Wonka -- Rus really let the freak flag fly on this one. Brand's bad boy persona isn't exactly attuned to the Olympics's pantheon of human gold, but that's why this rendition rocks.
The wacky narrator looks at home in his trippy milieu, and his nasally British yell (whether prerecorded or not) makes him a fitting narrator in the UK setting. It's bizarre, but it's Brand's circus.
1. "Inside of You" from Forgetting Sarah Marshall
Right here is one of Brand's no-nonsense ballads. He skips the courting BS and moves straight to the sheets. His cocksure, imbecilic Aldous Snow was the comedic glue to this 2008 rom com, and his wooing serenade (plus an eccentric froggystyle position mid-song) paints a hilariously freakish picture of his wild, rock star sex. As Jonah Hill's character fawns over Snow, we understand why Brand makes us go "from six to midnight."
Russell Brand on September 22, at Coral Springs Center for the Arts, 2855 Coral Springs Dr., Coral Springs. Visit coralspringscenterforthearts.com.
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