Welcome! Log In Create A New Profile

Advanced

Re: Gruesome Twosomes

Message List New Topic Print View
MrFab
Gruesome Twosomes
September 25, 2023 09:23AM
Maybe not so gruesome, just very strange and unlikely collabs between TP artists and semi-random others:

-Joe "King" Carrasco and the Crowns + Michael Jackson = “Don’t Let a Woman (Make a Fool Out of You)”
-Circle Jerks + Debbie Gibson = "I Wanna Destroy You" (covering the Soft Boys)
-Pet Shop Boys (w/Art of Noise’s Anne Dudley and Angelo Badalamenti)+ Liza Minelli = "Results" album
-Morrissey + Nancy Sinatra = "Let Me Kiss You"
-Was (Not Was) + Frank Sinatra Jr = "Wedding Vows in Vegas"
-Was (Not Was) + Mel Torme = "Zaz Turned Blue"
-Nick Cave + Kylie Minogue = "Where the Wild Roses Grow"

R.E.M. & KRS-ONE are both TP artists, but still pretty weird combo.
Reply Quote
zoo
Re: Gruesome Twosomes
September 25, 2023 09:55AM
Midnight Oil + Emmylou Harris - "Home"

Public Image Ltd (or, John Lydon more specifically) + Ginger Baker + Tony Williams + Steve Vai - (Album)
Reply Quote
Delvin
Re: Gruesome Twosomes
September 25, 2023 09:58AM
INXS + Ray Charles on "Please (You Got That)"
Tim Armstrong (Rancid) + Joe Walsh on "Hi-Roller Baby"
Iggy Pop + Teddybears on "Punkrocker"
Billie Joe Armstrong + Norah Jones on Foreverly
The Ramones + Traci Lords on "Somebody to Love"
Spinal Tap + Cher on "Just Begin Again"
Reply Quote
breno
Re: Gruesome Twosomes
September 25, 2023 10:56AM
The KLF + Tammy Wynette - "Justified & Ancient"

People initially thought U2 teaming up with Johnny Cash was hilarious, until they finally got the memo that Johnny Cash had never been the washed-up cornball joke dimwits thought he was. As far as that goes, people also initially thought Johnny Cash + Rick Rubin was going to be a prime example of early 90s hipster irony taking the piss out of a clueless old relic.
Reply Quote
Middle C
Re: Gruesome Twosomes
September 25, 2023 11:01AM
Gary by God Numan duetting with Leo Sayer on Sayer's tv series:

[www.youtube.com]
Reply Quote
Delvin
Re: Gruesome Twosomes
September 25, 2023 11:04AM
The Art of Noise + Tom Jones on "Kiss"
Reply Quote
MrFab
Re: Gruesome Twosomes
September 25, 2023 11:34AM
Lou Reed + legendary jazz singer Jimmy Scott - some songs on the "Magic & Loss" LP

Bowie & Bing!
Reply Quote
DuckRabbit
Re: Gruesome Twosomes
September 25, 2023 11:35AM
John Lydon and Afrika Bambaataa on "World Destruction" (Man, I love that song!)
Reply Quote
MrFab
Re: Gruesome Twosomes
September 25, 2023 11:37AM
Yeah, that worked out nicely. Sonic Youth + Chuck D was kinda weird, tho.
Reply Quote
DuckRabbit
Re: Gruesome Twosomes
September 25, 2023 11:38AM
Sonic Youth and Chuck D on "Kool Thing" (about LL Cool J)
Reply Quote
DuckRabbit
Re: Gruesome Twosomes
September 25, 2023 11:39AM
Oops - I wrote mine before seeing your response MrFab. I really liked Kool Thing!



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 09/25/2023 11:39AM by DuckRabbit.
Reply Quote
MrFab
Re: Gruesome Twosomes
September 25, 2023 11:46AM
i really like the song (and that whole SY album, actually.) But Chuck's appearance just didn't seem necessary, and certainly not a full-on collab, like Johnny & Afrika.

how 'bout the "world-music" craze?
-King Sunny Ade + Stevie Wonder
-Peter Gabriel + Yousou N'Dour
-Paul Simon + Miriam Makeba, Ladysmith Black Mambazo, and who knows who else.
Reply Quote
Bip
Re: Gruesome Twosomes
September 25, 2023 11:50AM
Paul McCartney and Youth from Killing joke had that ‘fireman’ collab. That was an odd one, no?
Reply Quote
Bip
Re: Gruesome Twosomes
September 25, 2023 11:51AM
And of course Lou Reed and Metallica…. didn’t necessarily see that one coming, either
Reply Quote
MrFab
Re: Gruesome Twosomes
September 25, 2023 11:57AM
Ah yes, reminds me that Foo Fighters (feat. Pat Smear of The Germs?!?) made a record with Sir Paul.
Reply Quote
Delvin
Re: Gruesome Twosomes
September 25, 2023 12:42PM
Stevie Wonder + Kiss, on "Deuce"
Garth Brooks + Kiss, on "Hard Luck Woman" (okay, that one makes more sense, given the song ... but Kiss did play as Garth's backing band on the recording, which is pretty bizarre ... to the point of being gruesome)
Reply Quote
MrFab
Re: Gruesome Twosomes
September 25, 2023 12:47PM
and THAT reminds me of Lou Reed on KISS' "Music From The Elder" LP.

And Patti Smith on those Blue Oyster Cult albums.
Reply Quote
Philippe
Re: Gruesome Twosomes
September 26, 2023 05:14AM
I think the collaboration between Patti Smith and Bruce Springsteen is stranger that the one with BÖC. After all, bands like Radio Birdman were big BÖC fans, and they fit right in Patti Smith's territory.
Reply Quote
zwirnm
Re: Gruesome Twosomes
September 26, 2023 05:25AM
(The Scottish pop-rock band) Texas and Wu-Tang Clan, which have had a surprisingly long history of collaborating.
Reply Quote
steevee
Re: Gruesome Twosomes
September 26, 2023 06:19AM
Smith songs like "Free Money" don't sound all that far from DARKNESS ON THE EDGE OF TOWN-era Springsteen. They have a similar flair for melodrama.
Reply Quote
steevee
Re: Gruesome Twosomes
September 26, 2023 06:22AM
The Clash performing on Ellen Foley's SPIRIT OF ST. LOUIS, with Mick Jones producing the whole album and members of the band writing some of its songs, is an oddity considering that Foley had been best known for performing a duet with Meat Loaf. She practically gets lead vocals on the Clash's "Hitsville UK."
Reply Quote
Delvin
Re: Gruesome Twosomes
September 26, 2023 09:15AM
If I recall correctly, Ms Foley was Mick Jones' girlfriend at the time.
Reply Quote
breno
Re: Gruesome Twosomes
September 26, 2023 10:44AM
She'd already drifted into Ian Hunter's orbit post-Loaf, which is much less of a leap to the Clash. Her first album was produced by the estimable team of Hunter & Ronson.
Reply Quote
MrFab
Re: Gruesome Twosomes
March 12, 2024 09:47AM
Those wacky "Fish Heads" boys Barnes & Barnes somehow got Steve Perry of Journey to sing on their "Amazing Adult Fantasy" album.
Reply Quote
Post-Punk Monk
Re: Gruesome Twosomes
March 14, 2024 03:58PM
…And it's excellent! Awesome taste in covers and the few originals ain't hay! Besides, Jones produced Hunter's divisive [but great] 1981 opus "Short Back 'N Sides," which TP sent out to random subscribers in a WLP for readers to "listen without prejudice." So the whole Hunter/Foley/Jones thread was actually coherent if you line it up just right.

Former TP subscriber [81, 82, 83, 84]

[postpunkmonk.com]
For further rumination on the Fresh New Sound of Yesterday®



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 03/14/2024 04:02PM by Post-Punk Monk.
Reply Quote
steevee
Re: Gruesome Twosomes
March 14, 2024 05:03PM
Another one just occurred to me: Ghost and Patrick Wilson.
Reply Quote
Five*Words
Re: Gruesome Twosomes
March 14, 2024 08:01PM
Hunter and Foley ended up label-mates on Cleveland International.
Reply Quote
belfast
Re: Gruesome Twosomes
August 18, 2025 09:53AM
How about Bruce Springsteen and Lou Reed on Street Hassle?

Bob Dylan and Kurtis Blow was surprising, but Dylan and Michael Bolton was weird, even Bolton can’t believe it.
Reply Quote
Aitch
Re: Gruesome Twosomes
September 25, 2023 06:28PM
Blues Explosion & DJ Shadow - Fed Up and Low Down
Manic Street Preachers & Traci Lords - Little Baby Nothing
Reply Quote
ira
Re: Gruesome Twosomes
September 26, 2023 03:57AM
LL Cool J and Brad Paisley - "Accidental Racist"
Reply Quote
Delvin
Re: Gruesome Twosomes
September 26, 2023 04:07AM
Weezer + Li'l Wayne on "Can't Stop Partying"
Reply Quote
breno
Re: Gruesome Twosomes
March 12, 2024 10:31AM
Mike Watt played bass on Kelly Clarkson's My December album. (Produced by David Kahne, whose utter villainy got Wilco paid for the same album twice and cemented them as the heroes of 21st Century indie rock when their career options were previously on a definite downward slope. i wish Kahne would decide to be my enemy sometime....)

The entire saga of Axl's wilderness years is bizarre, but none of it is weirder than Tommy Stinson becoming the long-term music director for Guns N Roses. Hell, he was in GnR longer than he was in the Replacements.



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 03/12/2024 10:46AM by breno.
Reply Quote
ira
Re: Gruesome Twosomes
March 12, 2024 11:08AM
The National and Taylor Swift
Reply Quote
breno
Re: Gruesome Twosomes
March 12, 2024 11:55AM
Kanye West and Bon Iver
Reply Quote
steevee
Re: Gruesome Twosomes
March 12, 2024 12:35PM
Kenny G and the John Zorn-adjacent metal band Imperial Triumphant
Reply Quote
MrFab
Re: Gruesome Twosomes
March 12, 2024 04:21PM
Huh?!
Reply Quote
steevee
Re: Gruesome Twosomes
March 13, 2024 06:01AM
Here's their collaboration: [www.youtube.com]
Reply Quote
Michael Toland
Re: Gruesome Twosomes
March 13, 2024 10:00AM
Also featuring Kenny G's metalhead son Max Gorelick.

You'd think with a surname like Gorelick Kenny would lean more towards metal himself. Though for all I know he has a study in his house full of Gorguts bootlegs.
Reply Quote
belfast
Re: Gruesome Twosomes
March 12, 2024 01:29PM
Elvis Costello is the king of this. Often times because of his stylistic restlessness, but in later years it could feel like making amends for being so critical of someone in the past (such as Sting and the Police). I get the feeling that in addition to the maturity that comes with age, the experience of making a lifelong career as a musician and songwriter has softened his view of anyone else going through the same thing.
Reply Quote
Fleeingbandit
Re: Gruesome Twosomes
March 15, 2024 02:29AM
Harold Budd worked with some artists with disparate backgrounds. Always was amazed that he collaborated on the album "Moon and The Melodies" with the Cocteau Twins, even though the result was astonishingly brilliant. Subsequent duet albums with Robin Guthrie meshed his ambient piano works with RG's typical hazy guitar threads made famous in CT's music. Both were interested in semi-soundscapes but there is a lot of territory between Budd's "Pavilion of Dreams" and CT's "Head Over Heels" lp..

Budd also collaborated on an album with Andy Partridge, called "Through The Hill." Again, the music is awash with Budd's ambient tones, but rather light on AP's typical jangly guitar work from XTC, with only his vocals on a few songs reminding people he actually participated on the album. Quite a departure for him.

Probably the greatest and wildest team up was Aerosmith and Run DMC, "Walk This Way" was mind-blowing for me back as a kid, I had never heard rock and rap together before, although some pop stars had been rapping in essence for awhile (e.g. Deborah Harry).



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 07/27/2024 04:37PM by Fleeingbandit.
Reply Quote
MrFab
Re: Gruesome Twosomes
July 22, 2024 08:34PM
Tom Waits and Crystal Gayle - “One From The Heart” soundtrack; just checked ‘Reviews’ and looks like the TP review of Waits skips this album.

As Bip pointed out, Robert Fripp with Daryl Hall, as well as with the Roches.

Can’t believe I forgot one of my favorite gruesome twosomes of all time, Kurtis Blow and Bob Dylan, “Street Rock.“ Bob Dylan rapping. Yeah, you read that right: MC Bobby D bustin rhymes on the mic. (No, he doesn’t actually say that). Would love to know the story behind it. (Actually, would love to know the story behind most of these…)



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 07/22/2024 08:39PM by MrFab.
Reply Quote
breno
Re: Gruesome Twosomes
July 23, 2024 07:26AM
Quote
Tom Waits and Crystal Gayle - “One From The Heart” soundtrack; just checked ‘Reviews’ and looks like the TP review of Waits skips this album.

But it does include Holly Cole's all-Waits covers album, though not Scarlett Johansson's - which most people do seem to consider to be gruesome, although I kind of liked ScarJo's version of "I Don't Wanna Grow Up."



Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 07/23/2024 07:33AM by breno.
Reply Quote
Fleeingbandit
Re: Gruesome Twosomes
July 23, 2024 10:18PM
I was, for many years, shocked that Daryl Hall collaborated on Fripp's album Exposure; Hall was a pop singer and Fripp was progressive rock meets- avant- garde, I never thought the twain would ever meet. But after delving further into their relationship (Fripp produced Hall's first solo effort), what seemed like diametrical opposites began to mesh into a fresh style of music that became rather endearing and stoked my curiosity into other genres.

Peter Gabriel, on the other hand, wasn't such a surprise... with his prog/art chops, his inclusion on the album seemed almost obligatory (his version of "Here Comes The Flood," on Exposure is far superior to the version off his first album). It's a shame that the vision the three artists had of producing a trilogy of albums never came to fruition, I would have loved to see Gabriel write music and sing with the other two. You suck, RCA.



Edited 3 time(s). Last edit at 07/23/2024 11:21PM by Fleeingbandit.
Reply Quote
Delvin
Re: Gruesome Twosomes
July 24, 2024 07:40AM
Agreed, RCA really threw a monkey wrench into the works when it interfered with Hall's involvement on Fripp's recordings. Sacred Songs, Hall's first solo album, is one of the best recordings that the singer ever has been involved in. Fripp's production is clean and crisp, and doesn't sacrifice the quality of the tunes to make any kind of avant-garde point. The result is one of the best Todd Rundgren albums that Todd never made.
Reply Quote
dj45rpm
Re: Gruesome Twosomes
August 06, 2024 06:08PM
Sinead O'Conner and MC Lyte - "I Want Your (Hands on Me)" (Granted it's more like Lyte popping up for a bit than an actual collaboration, but still).

Pere Ubu, Debbie Harry, and David Sanborn - "Waiting for Mary" (one of the Night Music episodes. There was also an episode with the Residents on stage with Conway Twitty and Sanborn, but they were "dancing" instead of backing him up if I remember correctly).

Scritti Politti and Miles Davis - "Oh Patti". (If only it had been 70's Electric Miles meeting up with indie-era or even "Cupid & Psyche" SP. Alas).
Reply Quote
breno
Re: Gruesome Twosomes
August 09, 2024 01:11AM
I thought it was pretty bizarre that Luke Steele of the Sleepy Jackson somehow ended up writing several songs for Beyonce, but in retrospect, not so odd in the context of what he got up to with Empire of the Sun.

Miley Cyrus teaming up with the Flaming Lips seemed weird at first, but in hindsight both were straining mightily to attain "Weirdest Kid at the Popular Kids' Table in the Lunchroom" status. They had just come in through doors on opposite sides of the cafeteria.

Hip 80s-era Christian kids were taken aback when Charlie Peacock ended up writing for Amy Grant. Take my word for it, that caused quite the tempest in the communion cup.

Al Kooper producing Eddie and the Hot Rods seemed like an unusual choice, as did Nick Mason producing the Damned.

Neil Giraldo producing the Del Lords also seemed like an odd match, but ended up being a long and fruitful partnership and I'll hear no ill words spoken of Neil and Pat Benatar after he took several minutes at the Benatar concert I was dragged to to talk up Scott Kempner and raise money for his healthcare expenses. The guy is class.



Edited 5 time(s). Last edit at 08/09/2024 01:33AM by breno.
Reply Quote
steevee
Re: Gruesome Twosomes
August 09, 2024 06:43AM
How about Felix Pappalardi producing the Dead Boys?
Reply Quote
MrFab
Re: Gruesome Twosomes
January 16, 2025 08:20AM
Ted Nugent and Dave Gilmour played guitar on a Berlin album!
Reply Quote
Delvin
Re: Gruesome Twosomes
January 16, 2025 12:12PM
Circle Jerks + Debbie Gibson, on a cover of The Soft Boys' "I Wanna Destroy You."
Reply Quote
Heff
Re: Gruesome Twosomes
August 18, 2025 05:37AM
Steve Conte - Andy Partridge

Partridge cowrote half of Conte's last album 'Concrete Jangle' (which I think is pretty good). Funny thing is the one song that one would think Partridge had a hand in was all Conte. You can see him in the We Like It video with a lot of other semi-recognizable people.
Reply Quote
Newer Topic Older Topic
Sorry, only registered users may post in this forum.

Click here to login