History OneOfUs / MusicalFreaks

** Ian Curtis was [[{{Bookworm}} an avid reader]], with authors like J.G. Ballard, Creator/FranzKafka and Creator/WilliamSBurroughs influencing his dark lyrics.

** He's also mentioned on Twitter that he's a fan of Website/ChannelAwesome. As of summer 2017, between trading tweets with WebVideo/DiamandaHagan, doing a promo video for WebVideo/RockedReviews, and meeting WebVideo/TheNostalgiaCritic himself while on tour, and filming a cameo while at his studio, it seems that the admiration is mutual. He even appeared, alongside his son, in the (controversial) ''Film/TheWall'' review in 2019.

* Ed Robertson of Music/BarenakedLadies is a huge gamer, claiming to have had almost every console system released since he was a child, and also collects pinball machines (showcased in the band's indicatively named video "Silverball"). This brought ''Machinima/RedVsBlue'' to his attention, and led to some collaborations with Creator/RoosterTeeth - regarding ''RVB'', intermissions featuring the characters played in a Barenaked Ladies tour, and Robertson voiced a character; he also starred in their short-lived show Captain Dynamic, had RT direct the video for "Odds Are", and the band wrote a song for ''Film/LazerTeam''.

* Ed Robertson from Music/BarenakedLadies is a gamer and a fan of ''Machinima/RedVsBlue''. He even worked with Creator/RoosterTeeth when he voiced Captain Butch Flowers on ''Red vs. Blue'' and played the title role in Captain Dynamic, a promotional series for ''VideoGame/CityOfHeroes''.

* Music/TheRollingStones: All band members are enormous fans of Afro-American {{Blues}} musicians. They covered a lot of the songs of these artists and brought them under the attention of their own rock lovin' audience. Even their band name was inspired by the line ''like a rolling stone'' from Music/MuddyWaters' "Mannish Boy". When Waters died in 1984 they send a laurel wreath to the funeral.

* Music/BobMarley admired Music/CurtisMayfield, to the point of directly quoting from a song of The Impressions in "One Love". He was also interested in Music/TheBeatles, Music/TheRollingStones and Music/BobDylan. He also said to a reggae fanzine that he'd love to sit down with Music/StevieWinwood and in his own words, "pick his brain on music".

* Thelonious Monk was an avid fan of ''Franchise/DocSavage'', so much that he sometimes kept a magazine in his coat pocket during performances.

* Music/{{Slash}} of Music/GunsNRoses and Velvet Revolver fame has admitted to being addicted to ''VideoGame/RockBand'' and is a fan of ''WesternAnimation/PhineasAndFerb''. On top of that, he is an avid {{Pinball}} collector (he had over 20 tables at one point), and 'designed'' two different machines based on Guns N' Roses ([[Pinball/GunsNRosesDataEast one]] in the 1990s by Creator/DataEast, [[Pinball/GunsNRosesJerseyJack the other]] in 2020 by Creator/JerseyJack).

* Ronni Le Tekro, guitarist of Music/{{TNT}} is a fan of ''Franchise/{{Halo}}'', even collaborating with a choir in performing music from the series. It should be noted he hates ''VideoGame/GuitarHero'' however.

* Music/{{Buckethead}}, while rarely vocal about himself, is known to be an avid video gamer, comic book fan, ''Franchise/StarWars'' fan, horror movie geek and ''Manga/GiantRobo'' enthusiast. He's also composed music for one of the Film/MortalKombat movies, recorded a special (and insane) solo for his song "Jordan", when it was included in the second ''VideoGame/GuitarHero'' game, and a remix of one of his songs also appears in the latest ''VideoGame/TwistedMetal'' game.

** Considering they recorded the song [[SugarWiki/AwesomeMusic "Blow Me Away"]] for ''VideoGame/{{Halo 2}}'' and even asked a crowd at a concert if they were excited about ''Halo 3'' coming out, this is pretty much self-explanatory.
* Music/PhilCollins [[WordOfGod has confessed]] to being a huge video game addict. He even [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SlClbw21rK8 got himself written into]] VideoGame/GrandTheftAutoViceCityStories, making him a PromotedFanboy.

** And [[Videogame/WorldOfWarcraft Warcraft]].

* Music/AndrewWK.: He released an album of Franchise/{{Gundam}} covers, "Gundam Rock", to celebrate the series' 30th anniversary.
** He's also a massive Creator/ThomasLigotti fan ([[CosmicHorrorStory Cosmic Horror]] FTW!), plays bass with art-folk weirdos Current 93 and debuted with a cassette of experimental synth music on a record label run by the guys from Wolf Eyes. Yeah, he is.

* Music/{{Nightwish|Band}} songs include references to Dragonlance, Lord of the Rings, and an entire EpicRocking nerdgasm over the Franchise/DisneyAnimatedCanon, and bassist Marco Hietala has confessed to loving video games. Band leader and keyboardist Tuomas Holopainen always has a figurine of [[Franchise/PiratesOfTheCaribbean Captain Jack Sparrow]], whom he resembles, tied to the front of his keyboards during concerts. Tuomas also recorded a whole concept album based on ''Comicbook/TheLifeAndTimesOfScroogeMcDuck''.

* Music/RobZombie is known for his encyclopedic knowledge of vintage films (particularly horror and exploitation films), television shows, comic books, manga, and anime; His film, WesternAnimation/TheHauntedWorldOfElSuperbeasto, also seems to take some inspiration from Franchise/ScoobyDoo, Creator/RalphBakshi, and [[WesternAnimation/TheRenAndStimpyShow a certain 90's cartoon.]]

* Music/{{Korn}}'s vocalist Jonathan Davis is or was a confessed VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft addict. He also made plans for a music celebrity-themed fighting game called ''Pop Scars'', which [[DevelopmentHell never got past preliminary development.]] Also, he's a big Literature/HarryPotter fan.

* Music/{{Equilibrium}} are huge fans of Video Games and have released a song about VideoGame/MonkeyIsland (''Die Affeninsel'') and a cover of the main theme of VideoGame/TheElderScrollsVSkyrim named ''Himmelsrand'', the German name of Skyrim (the in-universe land, not the game).

* Music/MikePatton is said to be an avid gamer, which makes a lot of sense as he's done voice-work for games like ''VideoGame/TheDarkness'', ''VideoGame/Left4Dead'', ''{{VideoGame/Portal}}'' and also as Nathan "Rad" Spencer in 2009's ''[[VideoGame/BionicCommando Bionic Commando''. A short print interview in the early 90s focused entirely on his love for video games, and had him citing ''VideoGame/RoadRash'', ''VideoGame/SmashTV'' and ''VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog2'' as his current favorites, as well as expressing a desire to one day compose music for a game.

* Klayton of {{Celldweller}} is an avid gamer, a ''massive'' ScienceFiction {{Geek}}, and quite interested in astronomy... oh, and he [[{{Understatement}} likes]] ''Franchise/{{Godzilla}}''.

* Music/AvengedSevenfold are evidently fans of VideoGame/CallOfDuty. Their performance in the secret ending of ''[[VideoGame/CallOfDutyBlackOpsII Black Ops II]]''? Not a promotional stunt.

* Music/DollSkin has a song called "Daughter", which is based on {{Film/Aliens}}, one of drummer Meghan Herring's favorite movies.

** He was also a fan of VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog in the 1990s and was even a composer for Sonic 3. While it's currently unknown if his music actually made it into the finished product, it's worth noting that many fans noticed similarities between his songs and the music of Sonic 3 before his involvement was officially confirmed.

** Jackson was also fond of Bart Simpson. This also explains why the otherwise reclusive pop star agreed to be a special guest voice in the ''WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons'' episode ''"Stark Raving Dad"'' and why he anonymously wrote the song ''"Do the Bartman"''.

* Canadian pop singer Music/{{Lights}} is a huge VideoGame/WorldOfWarcraft player (she plays a Death Knight, which is rather funny given her image); she's written [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R1b2UZ6ziVY an entire song]] that's discreetly about the game. The only line that will definitely tip you off if you know what it means is [[spoiler:"I'm not the hunter, I'm not the marked"]].

* Basshunter's song "Vi Sitter i Ventrilo och Spelar [=DotA=]" ("We Sit in Ventrilo and Play [=DotA=]") (from the album ''LOL <(^^,)>'') is about ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin. The same album features ''Boten Anna'', a song about an IRC bot.

** He also made a [[VideoGame/TheElderScrollsVSkyrim Skyrim]] themed track, [[http://soundcloud.com/headhunterzmedia/headhunterz-dragonborn Dragonborn]], which he released as a freebie.

** Joey is also a mega ''Comicbook/{{Superman}}'' nerd and owns a storage locker that contains all of the band's old merchandise and his Superman memorabilia. His former house in Orlando even had a room dedicated solely to Superman.

** They sampled the ''Videogame/PacMan'' theme in their song "The Game is Over" and the live performance of the song on their [=PopOdyssey=] tour was them in a simulated video game battle against an evil wizard.

* For a bunch of gangsta rappers, the rap group Slaughterhouse likes to reference ''Anime/{{Voltron}}'' and comic books a whole lot in their lyrics. Joe Budden even compares himself to [[StreetFighter E. Honda]] at one point in a song.
* It shouldn't surprise you that rapper Akira the Don is a fan of anime and comics - his album ''The Life Equation'' is a reference to [[Creator/JackKirby Jack Kirby's]] [[ComicBook/NewGods New Gods]] story. What ''should'' surprise you is that album's opening track features spoken word narration from his good friend '''Creator/GrantMorrison'''.

** The RZA is not the only comic geek in the Wu-Tang Clan. Method Man and Ghostface Killah often refer to themselves as [[Comicbook/GhostRider Johnny Blaze]] and [[Comicbook/IronMan Tony Starks]], respectively.

* In 2009, Music/{{Eminem}} was interviewed on Creator/JonathanRoss's chat show. Part of the interview was spent discussing the rapper's interest in (and cameo appearances in) comics. After the interview, Ross [[http://img43.imageshack.us/img43/6730/a5bb5da3623971426bfe183.png invited Eminem back to his house to look through his comic collection]]. Which, judging by what we saw in Creator/TheBBC's documentary on Creator/SteveDitko below, is rather extensive. He's also claimed that he dreamed of writing comics before becoming a rapper. He would eventually appear in a crossover with Comicbook/ThePunisher.

* Underground rapper Charles Hamilton is an absolutely ''massive'' VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog fanboy, to the point where he regularly wears Sonic paraphernalia, he's created an alter ego for himself called Sonic the Hamilton, and he's devised an entire philosophy around the character.

* Music/AllTimeLow frontman Alex Gaskarth is a VideoGame/StarCraft fan and his Twitter account contains a few gems of geekiness, including a pickup line involving VideoGame/{{Minecraft}}. Also, the background image for his profile is of WesternAnimation/CaptainPlanet.
* Acoustic guitarist Music/AndyMckee owns a Wii, a 360 and quite a few PC games. he absolutely loves ''{{VideoGame/Tribes}}''. Video Games and guitar are apparently the only two hobbies he has.
* [[https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Music/Ayreon Arjen Anthony Lucassen]]. All songs on the two Star One albums are inspired by {{scifi}} films. The first album takes its inspiration from movies set in space, while the second gets its inspiration from [[https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/AfterTheEnd post apocalyptic]] and [[https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/Dystopia Dystopian]] movies.

* Chris Barretto, vocalist of Monuments and Ever Forthright (as well as being a former vocalist of Periphery), is a massive fan of Series/BattlestarGalactica2003, claiming the show as one of his main inspirations for the story of The Amanuensis. Not only is this the case, but the song "Horcrux" and the part of the storyline told in that song is very much a ShoutOut to Literature/HarryPotter (the main character has to deliver a piece of himself to the gatekeepers of the Garden of Sankhara in order to proceed on his quest). He also has a tattoo of a Dalek from Series/DoctorWho.

** Oh, she's got a weirdo streak a mile wide. She covered New-Wavey XTC at one point and is a big fan of outsider musician Jandek. She just had really good handlers back when her career was peaking. Now that's she married to crazy country singer Ryan Adams (himself an avid 80's gamer), I don't think she cares anymore.

** They also performed the song "Karma" for the VideoGame/TalesOfTheAbyss anime opening. It can be found [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oRU1XbLGQK0 here]].
** Not to mention their song ''Hello, World!'' being featured as the opening for ''Kekkai Sensen'', one of the biggest series in the Spring 2015 season.

* Music/ChrisWebby is obsessed with ''Franchise/TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles'' and has the [[{{Transformers}} Autobots emblem]] tattoed on his chest.

* [[Music/{{Space}} Tommy Scott]] collects sci-fi movie figurines and shops at Forbidden Planet. His bandmate Franny Griffiths is an avid gamer - he once stated that the best present he'd ever received from a fan is a VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog game, and he's also into VideoGame/CallOfDuty and Pro Evolution Soccer.

** Awsten Knight has more of a casual interest in stereotypically nerdy things, but is a blatant music fanboy with other interests in horror movies and network comedies like Series/TheOfficeUS. He's previously responded to a question about "Marvel or DC" with "Which one's Spider-Man?" and explained that his experience with PC games ended when he failed to cook the shrimp on the tutorial island in VideoGame/{{Runescape}}. He's also been very supportive of fanworks of various kinds made for Waterparks.

* Music/AliceInChains former frontman Layne Stanley was a huge gamer. It's been said that he always kept his Gameboy on him and played it whenever he had the chance. One of the last known photos of him also saw him wearing a Metal Gear Solid shirt, and he himself once boasted in an interview that he maxed out his first credit card buying video games at a Toys R' Us, while his condo had a ''gigantic'' TV that he used exclusively for gaming and had an entire room devoted to storage for his collection. Additionally, he spent a good deal of his final recording session talking with the studio runner about various games on the UsefulNotes/PlayStation that was hooked up in the studio and giving him tips on how to beat certain parts that were giving him problems.

* Music/{{Nightwish}} songs include references to Dragonlance, Lord of the Rings, and an entire EpicRocking nerdgasm over the Franchise/DisneyAnimatedCanon, and bassist Marco Hietala has confessed to loving video games. Band leader and keyboardist Tuomas Holopainen always has a figurine of [[Franchise/PiratesOfTheCaribbean Captain Jack Sparrow]], whom he resembles, tied to the front of his keyboards during concerts. Tuomas also recorded a whole concept album based on ''Comicbook/TheLifeAndTimesOfScroogeMcDuck''.

** His Music/{{Genesis}} bandmates also qualify. Tony Banks is a fan of ''Literature/TheLordOfTheRings'' and Mike Rutherford referenced ''Series/DoctorWho'' in ''[[TheDocumentary Come Rain Or Shine]]''.

* Of Music/{{Disturbed}}, David Draiman is an avid gamer, saying his all-time favorite is the ''Franchise/ResidentEvil'' series. Also, the band liked ''ComicBook/{{Spawn}}'' enough to choose Todd [=McFarlane=] for their ''Ten Thousand Fists'' album artwork, then later to {{animate|dMusicVideo}} the video for their cover of "[[Music/{{Genesis}} Land of Confusion]]". They later went seeking out the former Top Cow artist David Finch to design the artwork for ''Indestructible''. They also once commissioned [[http://www.raymondswanland.com/Pages/Gallery01.html Raymond Swanland]] for ''Asylum'', popular with Creator/DarkHorseComics and TabletopGame/MagicTheGathering illustrations. On that note, [[http://www.xbox.com/en-US/community/calendar/gamewithfame/2008/0630-disturbed.htm the band has their own]] [[http://www.xbox.com/en-US/community/calendar/gamewithfame/2010/0826-disturbed.htm gamer tag on Xbox Live]] to invite fans to gaming sessions.

* Indie-rock artist Mac DeMarco is a fan of the ''VideoGame/{{Earthbound}}'' soundtrack and projects [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mwkyuU0zxpw&feature=youtu.be footage]] from the game on tour.

* Music/MikePatton is said to be an avid gamer, which makes a lot of sense as he's done voice-work for games like ''VideoGame/TheDarkness'', ''VideoGame/Left4Dead'', ''{{VideoGame/Portal}}'' and also as Nathan "Rad" Spencer in 2009's ''{{VideoGame/BionicCommando}}''. A short print interview in the early 90s focused entirely on his love for video games, and had him citing ''VideoGame/RoadRash'', ''VideoGame/SmashTV'' and ''VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog2'' as his current favorites, as well as expressing a desire to one day compose music for a game.

* Music/MikePatton is said to be an avid gamer, which makes a lot of sense as he's done voice-work for games like ''VideoGame/TheDarkness'', ''VideoGame/Left4Dead'', and ''{{VideoGame/Portal}}''. A short print interview in the early 90s focused entirely on his love for video games, and had him citing ''VideoGame/RoadRash'', ''VideoGame/SmashTV'' and ''VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog2'' as his current favorites, as well as expressing a desire to one day compose music for a game.

** The members [[https://youtu.be/gMw0aPMVgNc have mentioned liking or following esports]] and being into ''VideoGame/LeagueOfLegends'' (Jin plays as Jhin), with Jungkook and V naming South Korean ''VideoGame/{{Overwatch}}'' Youtube players [=YulmuAppa=] and 각, respectively. Jungkook himself is an avid ''Overwatch'' gamer - see [[https://twitter.com/bts_twt/status/1189798680397631489?lang=en this 2019 clip he recorded of himself]] playing as Widowmaker (which got him the attention of [[https://twitter.com/dpei_ow/status/1189805050232619008 some pro players]]). Additionally, V has played spontaneous matches of ''Sudden Attack'' and ''VideoGame/PlayerUnknownsBattlegrounds'' with fans; Jin, meanwhile, is a dedicated ''VideoGame/MapleStory'' player.

** They've also made albums and song based on literature, psychology and philosophy; ''WINGS'', for example, is structured after Hermann Hesse's ''Demian'' (with the music video of the title track and promotional short films containing excerpts of the book and references to Greek mythology, particularly the myth of Icarus), and the ''MAP OF THE SOUL'' series is based on Jungian theory.

** Most members are [[https://youtu.be/SpxmQMDahiU?t=44 huge anime fans]]. They even have a whole song named "Anpanman", based on the [[Literature/{{Anpanman}} character of the same name]]. Series they are fans of include Manga/{{Naruto}} (with all members singing and Naruto-running to the opening in a karaoke episode of ''Webseries/RunBTS'') and ''Manga/OnePiece''. Jimin in particular started learning Kendo as a kid to be a swordsman like Zoro (with other members gifting him volumes of the series as presents), and RM references Whitebeard in "Cypher pt. 2".

* Most members of Music/{{BTS}} are [[https://youtu.be/SpxmQMDahiU?t=44 huge anime fans]], and have referenced such in their songs. Series they are fans of include ''Manga/{{Naruto}}'' and ''Manga/{{Haikyuu}}''. They even have a whole song named "Anpanman", based on the [[Literature/{{Anpanman}} character of the same name]].
** Several members are fans of ''Manga/OnePiece''. Jimin especially; he started learning Kendo as a kid to be a swordsman like Zoro (with other members gifting him volumes of the series as presents). RM references Whitebeard in "Cypher pt. 2".

** RM is a huge Franchise/{{Pokemon}} fan and has referenced the franchise in "Intro: What Am I to You". His favorite is Dragonite - the interview linked above famously had RM frantically trying to explain his favorite Pokemon (of which he only knew it Korean name, Mangnanyeong).

* Most members of Music/{{BTS}} are [[https://youtu.be/SpxmQMDahiU?t=44 huge anime fans]], and have referenced such in their songs. Series they are fans of include ''Manga/{{Naruto}}'' and ''Manga/{{Haikyuu}}''. They even have a whole song named "Anpanman", based on the [[Franchise/{{Anpanman}} character of the same name]].

''See also: ComicsRuleEverythingAroundMe''

''See also'' ComicsRuleEverythingAroundMe, HeavyMithril, {{Nerdcore}}.

** Cobain also loved the works of Creator/WilliamSBurroughs and struck a friendship with the author. It was, in fact, Burroughs who introduced Cobain to Music/{{Leadbelly}}, which gave us the marvelous cover "Where Did You Sleep Last Night?" Also, he was so obsessed with ''Literature/{{Perfume}}'' that the Music/{{Nirvana}} song "Scentless Apprentice" was directly inspired by the novel. In the album credits of Music/InUtero he thanked author ''Patrick Süsskind,'' as well as Creator/QuentinTarantino.

* Music/KurtCobain listened to many alternative rock bands before Music/{{Nirvana}} became famous and made it his duty to give these groups a shout-out now and then, so that they got more attention from the mainstream. Among the bands and artists he liked were Music/ThePixies (Cobain: "Without them Nirvana wouldn't exist."), Music/LedZeppelin, Music/TheBeatles, Music/DanielJohnston, Music/PJHarvey, Music/TheStooges, Music/SexPistols (The title of ''Music/{{Nevermind}}'' is a homage to ''Music/NeverMindTheBollocksHeresTheSexPistols''), Music/TheShaggs, Music/TheBreeders, Music/TheVaselines, Music/BadBrains, Music/TheRaincoats, Music/SonicYouth, ''Boredoms,'' Music/{{Swans}}, Music/{{Kleenex}}, Music/TheSlits, Music/{{Leadbelly}}, Music/{{Mudhoney}}, Music/BeatHappening, Music/ButtholeSurfers, Music/PublicImageLtd, Music/DavidBowie, ''Wipers,'' Music/MazzyStar, Music/ShonenKnife...