Angry Puppy

Inspired by a recent Rock Band 2 party (and our recent re-watching of Star Trek: DS9), we proudly present our favorite rock-adjacent cameos in sci fi, horror and fantasy.

As always, pick your top three, and if you think we overlooked someone, let us know in the comments. (Oh, and lest you think we forgot, honorable mention goes out to Marilyn Manson for appearing as a porn star in Lost Highway.)

#13 - Paul Simon in Millennium

Huh? Exactly.

#12 - Mick Jagger in Freejack

Let’s be honest. There’s very little that we remember offhand about 1992’s Freejack, except that Mick Jagger was a villain who drove around in a big tank while harassing Emilio Estevez.

It’s set in the dark future of 2009, so get ready now! Our current financial crisis might be leading somewhere.

#11 - Roger Daltrey in Sliders

The founder of The Who went on to build up quite the sci fi/horror resume, with appearances in Lois & Clark, Tales from the Crypt, Highlander, Witchblade, and, best of all, Sliders. Man, we loved that show, and Daltrey was awesome as some military guy in a two-parter.

#10 - LL Cool J in Halloween H2O

We love LL in just about anything, because us Lads Love Cool James too! H2O was surprisingly good considering how late it came in the franchise, and LL rocked the Ronny role (okay, he’s not actually a rocker, but we also love alliteration).

#9 - Madonna in Dick Tracy

You never thought you’d see Madonna show up in an Angry Puppy list, huh? She struggled a bit with the whole “acting” and “singing” thing, but her portrayal of Breathless Mahoney was not as bad as you remember. And who else could have pulled it off with a straight face?

#8 - Iggy Pop in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine

Actually, he was pretty terrible. But c’mon - it’s Iggy frakkin’ Pop!! He’s at least a hundred times cooler than anyone on that station, except for Jadzia (of course) and has the added bonus of being able to pass for an alien without makeup.

#7 - Grace Jones in Conan: The Destroyer

If Grace Jones could have played both Conan and Zula, this would be in the #1 spot. We haven’t seen the movie in years, but we’ll never forget the moment Conan cuts her free from her captors, and she kicks all their asses with nothing more than a big stick and a snarl.

#6 - Shirley Manson in Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles

The queerest of the queer has breathed new life into The Sarah Connor Chronicles, though she’s in dire need of more screen time. Even her recent role as a lowly urinal was more interesting than half of John Connor’s dialogue and character development!

#5 - Henry Rollins in Wrong Turn 2: Dead End

As much as we want to say that Henry Rollins was the best thing in that movie, it would be more fair to say Henry Rollins was the only good thing in that movie. But it’s also fair to say that his screen time was so awesome that he actually made this thing more than watchable; his performance made WT2DE, at times, enjoyable. Plus, Marc has a huge crush on him.

#4 - Ice-T in Tank Girl

Ice-T, frakkin’ awesome. Tank Girl, double frakkin’ awesome. Ice-T as a kangaroo dude in Tank Girl? Super mega frakkin’ awesome! Seriously, we really love that movie.

#3 - Alice Cooper in Freddy’s Dead: The Final Nightmare

You really can’t blame Freddy Krueger for being messed up. Spawned by 100 madmen and raised by an abusive alcoholic, he just wasn’t cut out for quiet suburban life. And who better to play Krueger’s adopted father than Alice Cooper, whose solo debut was the appropriately titled Welcome to My Nightmare.

Bonus rocker trivia: Iggy Pop’s “Why Was I Born (Freddy’s Dead)” played over a montage of Freddy scenes in the “final” nightmare’s end credits.

#2 - David Bowie in a three-way tie with himself, in The Man Who Fell to Earth, Labyrinth, and Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me

Actually, David Bowie in anything is pretty brilliant, but these three are exceptionally weird and wonderful. Who can say which is more gloriously disturbing: 70’s androgynous alien dude, hair band refugee cavorting with muppets, or that guy in the hallway who’s there and yet isn’t there. So hard to choose, it’s almost not fair! “You say that so often, I wonder what your basis for comparison is?”

#1 - Alanis Morissette in Dogma

This could easily have gone so wrong in so many ways. Kevin Smith could have stunt cast any obvious choice in this role, and any celebrity probably would have done it. But thanks to his stroke of genius, the role of God was played not by George Clooney, Julia Roberts, or Oprah, but by Alanis Morissette. Here she reprises the role after the credits in Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back:

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