The cameo role has been around a long time. Especially for musicians. Underground films are one of the few places you can actually see underground musicians on the screen. As far back as the sixties, cult bands have found a brief home in Hollywood.

Today, cameos are reserved for Jessica Simpson and Ozzy Osbourne in major flicks. But if you are a rock nerd and you dig under the surface, you’ll be pleasantly surprised. Thanks to Netflix, two movies: Downton ’81 and Southlander: Diary of a Desperate Musician feature more appearances by indie rock stars than a taco stand at South By Southwest.

Experiment Volume 9: Musician Cameos!

Downtown 81 (1981)

Urban graffitist/ Warhol puppy-dog Jean Michel Basquiat makes his acting debut in this pretentious New York art flick. Basquiat, as you may or may not know, made a name for himself in the 80s by becoming a tagging hero around NYC, who eventually moved his art from brick walls to gallery walls.

The plot of this film is like reading a drugged-up, filthy version of The Pokey Little Puppy. Basquiat, playing himself, is kicked out of his apartment and has all his band gear stolen in one day. The rest of the film revolves around him searching for his guitar and a place to crash.

But in between the droll acting are performances by some incredibly important underground musicians of the 80s NYC scene. First and foremost, DNA. This No-wave band’s influence is being felt in groups like The Rapture, Erase Errata and Radio 4 today. The band released less than 20 minutes of music, but plays two-chaotic numbers in this film.

Along with DNA, James Chance has been equally influential on the recent interest in no-wave/dance punk. His band, the Contortions, should be collecting royalties from the above mentioned artists. Like a cross between James Brown and Iggy Pop, Chance burns flames on stage playing the punk-funk-dance anthem “Sax Maniac”.

Lesser known and lesser influential acts, The Plastics, Tuxedo Moon and Kid Creole and the Coconuts make appearances as well. And Debbie Harry, of Blondie notoriety, appears as Bosquiat’s fairy god mother.

If you’re not a total music geek or fan of Bosquiat’s this probably isn’t the wisest way to spend an hour of your life. But if you are, this is the holy grail of gritty NYC art from the period. Very little footage of any of the performers, Bosquiat included, is available publicly.

Southlander: Diary of a Desperate Musician (2001)

Searching for lost musical instruments is the order of the day. Rory Cochran (Yep, Slater from Dazed and Confused) is a keyboard player searching for a rare synth stolen from his station wagon.

Without it, he cannot join the band fronted by semi-celebrity Beth Orton, which of course, is his ticket to the big time. There aren’t many real performances by rockers, but several strange acting roles.

Beck plays an acoustic ditty and turns out being Cochran’s tour guide, leading him through LA dives and mansions, looking for his mystic keyboard. Beck needs to stick with making sub-par records, because his acting is like week-old bread.

Jennifer Herrema, singer for the skuzzy, junkie rock band Royal Trux, makes an appearance as a gun toting convenience store clerk.

The late Eliot Smith, the mopey acoustic balladeer from the Good Will Hunting soundtrack and a handful of brilliant solo records, plays a bus driver for Orton’s band.

Southlander is a cheap-o flick with a tired story line, but it’s fun to see these musicians taking on new roles. Actually they might just be reprising their roles as bus drivers and store clerks from before they had rock gigs.

More NetfliXperiments:
Netflix has thousands of films to rent. I try to squeeze in as many films as I can since I pay a monthly fee. I skip the junk you can rent at Blockbuster and go straight to the sublime, irreverent and just plain weird you can’t find anywhere else. Consider me your trash man and treasure hunter as we experiment with movies we never knew existed.

· NetfliXperiments Volume 8: The Jazz Age
· NetfliXperiments Volume 7: TV Daze
· NetfliXperiments Volume 6: Amish Paradise?
· NetfliXperiments Volume 5: Freak Out!
· NetfliXperiments Volume 4: Leprechaun Party!
· NetfliXperiments Volume 3: Rock 'n' Roll Freakshow
· NetfliXperiments Volume 2: Ouch! My Head Hurts--Foreign Films
· NetfliXperiments Volume 1: Highway Horror & Hillbilly Fishermen

Rent DVDs from Netflix - 13,000 titles - Free Shipping - No Late Fees!