History Main / ScaryMusicianHarmlessMusic

[[AC: Inversions (Mild-Mannered Musician, Scary Music)]]

[[AC: Inversions]]

* MyBloodyValentine are some bizarre cross between this and a subversion- they're all mild people, and their music is mostly SillyLoveSongs. But they're legally obligated to give out earplugs at their concerts due to how loud they are, and their set finisher has been known to cause people to hallucinate being swallowed by a giant vagina.

* OzzyOsbourne has been calling himself the "Prince of Darkness" for decades, and his stage show is full of scary Halloween imagery. His music is vanilla heavy metal. Well-done vanilla, but vanilla nonetheless.
** "Vanilla" because he's the TropeMaker, natch (with BlackSabbath, which used to describe as "horror films turned into music").
*** He still counts, since his music got progressively softer, especially compared to Black Sabbath, while he still tried to keep the "evil" image. The guys in BlackSabbath and HeavenAndHell actually invert this, since they all are generally cultivating a rather laid back, nice image, but have actually been making music that's still pretty heavy and dark for guys who started out 40 years ago.
* AliceCooper's act has always been built on horror-show elements and special effects. Like Ozzy, though, his music is pretty mainstream. Sure, one could argue this to be an aversion, he did write ''ILoveTheDead'' and ''Cold Ethyl'', both about [[strike:necrophilia]] making love to corpses, or maybe an inversion, as he is now a golf-loving, born-again Christian, appeared regularly on a Phoenix kid's show, has been a guest on the Soupy Sales show, (he's friends with the host) and was pals with [[MarxBrothers Groucho Marx]], but we're talking musical content, not lyrical content.
** Alice Cooper's SpiritualSuccessor, MarilynManson, might be a bit "edgier" than Alice and Ozzy, but he's trying so damned hard to be "scary" and "shocking" that no music anywhere - and certainly not his music - could ever live up to the hype.

* XJapan since dropping their original heavy metal VK appearance is somewhat of a subversion of this. They performed some of their darkest lyrical material and one of their most overtly sexual performances (the BDSM-themed White Poem) while in more "average rockstar dress," and the MurderBallad Week End (which is actually this very trope played straight since it is an argument for why murder and suicide are hopeless) became one of their biggest hits.
** YoshikiHayashi is, according to those close to him, this trope both subverted and doubly subverted. While feared for his nigh-legendary temper and control-freak tendencies and [[{{hatedom}} hated]] for allegedly being a male RichBitch and [[TheDitz ditz]], most people who have actually gotten close to him say that he is very intelligent, as well as an incredibly kind and loving person. His music, on the other hand, is all over the map from heavy and dark themes of sexuality and violence to {{deconstruction}}s of violence and suicide to angsty {{Love Ballad}}s.

* Actually inverted with a good percentage of hardcore/metalcore bands, especially Christcore. Most of them look like the kind of kid you wouldn't necessarily disapprove of your daughter dating (though you may wish they'd get a haircut)(or stop shaving their heads), but take screaming, blastbeats, and distortion to new levels.
** One review of The Dillinger Escape Plan's first album noted that, while they looked like they bought all their clothes from the Gap, their image was MASSIVELY deceptive.

* Another inversion would be {{Swans}}. [[http://www.swans.pair.com/GALLERY/1982-1987/82_10.html These guys]] made [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v5883h_fcCA THAT]] kind of music.

* Inverted in a way by [[http://www.apostazja.serpent.com.pl/images/news/merzbow2010.jpg Merzbow]]. The [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pGzrL8J0t-c music]] this guy makes is a [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QbBBczzDeCA grinding heap]] of [[TrueArtIsIncomprehensible mindfuck]], to say at least.
** And on a similar note, Inverted hardcore by another Japanese noise group, the Incapacitants. Two 40-something white collar workers (bank employee and government employee) make some of the [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LSG3m5ujegA harshest]] [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=da-SXNm6l3k music]] ever.
* You will be hard pressed to find a greater inversion than [[http://www.metal-archives.com/band.php?id=2169 The County Medical Examiners]]. They play gore-themed deathgrind.
* Averted with Adam Young. [[HighOctaneNightmareFuel High octane nightmare fuel]] if I've ever seen it.

* MyBloodyValentine are some bizarre cross between an inversion of this and a subversion- they're all mild people, and their music is mostly SillyLoveSongs. But they're legally obligated to give out earplugs at their concerts due to how loud they are, and their set finisher has been known to cause people to hallucinate being swallowed by a giant vagina.
* Most HeavyMetal bands fall under an inversion this trope. Behind the dark lyrical themes, brutal instrumentals, and harsh vocals, most Metal musicians are laid-back, fun-loving guys.
* While the bulk of [[http://www.discogs.com/viewimages?artist=Passenger+Of+Shit Passenger Of Shit]]'s work is built around the [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DDcIPP88sKo subversion]], (or just plain [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3zWsfDpvNdY&feature=related aversion]]) of this trope, he will occasionally [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Ejf_rD1yR4 exaggerate]] it, [[PlayedForLaughs just for a laugh]] as always. A bit of warning: Only the first of those four links is work-safe.

** Speaking of murderers, [[{{Burzum}} Varg Vikernes]] does a better job averting (later inverting, [[http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/varg-vikernes depending on his look]]) this trope.

* Spanish blues band Plonk Moist invert this. [[http://c1.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/images02/152/l_7de3217e5cdf4517854ba296251e3ad8.jpg This is what they look like.]] [[http://www.archive.org/details/PlonkMoist-ArmiBeter This is what they sound like.]]

* Spanish blues band Plonk Moist invert this. [http://c1.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/images02/152/l_7de3217e5cdf4517854ba296251e3ad8.jpg This is what they look like.]] [[http://www.archive.org/details/PlonkMoist-ArmiBeter This is what they sound like.]]

* Spanish blues band Plonk Moist invert this. [[http://c2.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/images02/85/l_cc6de07bf0e2477581a5ef9b631f5d91.jpg This is what they look like.]] [[http://www.archive.org/details/PlonkMoist-ArmiBeter This is what they sound like.]]

* AliceCooper's act has always been built on horror-show elements and special effects. Like Ozzy, though, his music is pretty mainstream. Sure, one could argue this to be an aversion, he did write'ILoveTheDead'' and ''Cold Ethyl'', both about [[strike:necrophilia]] making love to corpses, or maybe an inversion, as he is now a golf-loving, born-again Christian, appeared regularly on a Phoenix kid's show, has been a guest on the Soupy Sales show, (he's friends with the host) and was pals with [[MarxBrothers Groucho Marx]], but we're talking musical content, not lyrical content.

* While the bulk of [[http://www.discogs.com/viewimages?artist=Passenger+Of+Shit Passenger Of Shit]]'s work is built around the [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DDcIPP88sKo subversion]], (or just plain [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3zWsfDpvNdY&feature=related aversion]]) of this trope, he will occasionally [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Ejf_rD1yR4 exaggerate]] it, [[PlayedForLaughs just for a laugh]] as always. A bit of warning: Only the first link is work-safe.

** Speaking of murderers, [[{{Burzum}} Varg Varg Vikernes]] does a better job averting (later inverting, [[http://knowyourmeme.com/memes/varg-vikernes depending on his look]]) this trope.

* AliceCooper's act has always been built on horror-show elements and special effects. Like Ozzy, though, his music is pretty mainstream.
** He is now a born-again Christian and loves golf, pretty much owning up to his general lack of scariness.
*** We are of course talking about the guy who sings ''ILoveTheDead'' and ''Cold Ethyl'', both about [[strike:necrophilia]] actually making love to corpses?[[hottip:* :I suppose you're talking about the musical style more than the lyrical content.]]
*** This troper, having grown up in Phoenix, has always known him to live up to his general lack of scariness. He was a regular guest on a local kids' show.
**** I know he was a friend of Soupy Sales, and a guest on the Soupy Sales show at least once.
**** He was also a close friend of [[MarxBrothers Groucho Marx]].

* While the bulk of Passenger Of Shit's work is built around the subversion (or just plain aversion) of this trope, he will occasionally play this straight [[UpToEleven and th]][[TastesLikeDiabetes en some]], [[PlayedForLaughs just for a laugh]] as always.

* Most HeavyMetal bands fall under this trope. Behind the dark lyrical themes, brutal instrumentals, and harsh vocals, most Metal musicians are laid-back, fun-loving guys.

* Inverted in a way by [[http://www.apostazja.serpent.com.pl/images/news/merzbow2010.jpg Merzbow]]. The music this guy makes is [[TrueArtIsIncomprehensible a grinding heap of mindfuck]], to say at least.
** And on a similar note, Inverted hardcore by another japanoise group, the Incapacitants. Two 30-something white collar workers (bank employee and government employee) make some of the harshest music ever.

Most HeavyMetal bands fall under this trope. Behind the dark lyrical themes, brutal instrumentals, and harsh vocals, most Metal musicians are laid-back, fun-loving guys.

* Averted in a way by [[http://www.apostazja.serpent.com.pl/images/news/merzbow2010.jpg Merzbow]]. The music this guy makes is [[TrueArtIsIncomprehensible a mindfuck]], to say at least.

**YoshikiHayashi is, according to those close to him, this trope both subverted and doubly subverted. While feared for his nigh-legendary temper and control-freak tendencies and [[{{hatedom}} hated]] for allegedly being a male RichBitch and [[TheDitz ditz]], most people who have actually gotten close to him say that he is very intelligent, as well as an incredibly kind and loving person. His music, on the other hand, is all over the map from heavy and dark themes of sexuality and violence to {{deconstruction}}s of violence and suicide to angsty LoveBallad s.

*** He still counts, since his music got progressively softer, especially compared to Black Sabbath, while he sto;; tried to keep the "evil" image. The guys in BlackSabbath and HeavenAndHell actually invert this, since they all are generally cultivating a rather laid back, nice image, but have actually been making music that's still pretty heavy and dark for guys who started out 40 years ago.