When the name Ben Stiller comes to mind, one does not generally think of the actor as a musician. Usually, his characters such as Derek Zoolander, Rage Man, Ted (from There’s Something About Mary), and, most importantly, Chas Tenenbaum. Bfore all these roles, however, Stiller was a member of the post-punk group Capital Punishment from the early 1980s. During their short career the band went on to release one album in 1982 known as Roadkill. Since it’s release, it as become more of a collector’s item.
Now, according to their very own press release, any Stiller fan will be able to get their very own album as Roadkill is set for a remastered and expanded version. The new and improved Capital Punishment album will be released this early Fall on September 14 via Captured Tracks record label. If you were as curious as I was to hear Ben Stiller’s music mind then check out their single Muzak Anonymous below.
The song open quietly with a bass line that has quickly invited an extremely dirty, yet, pleasant guitar running through a chorus pedal. Then, all of a sudden and seemingly out of nowhere, a funky groove picks up, the drums enter and one can almost hear and feel David Byrne dancing beside them. Vocals come through doing a post-punk rap in the form of Blondie as backing vocals respond with the ABC’s.
This song, this band of Ben Stiller, took me completely by surprise in such a great way. The song is funny, groovy, and full of all the great things that post-punk has to offer. If Ben Stiller never made it as an actor, he could definitely fall back into music.
We all know Ben Stiller was a member of this band and went on to act, but he was not the only one to change careers. His band member Peter Swann went on to be a Supreme Court Justice for Arizona while Peter Zusi (also from the band) went on the be a professor. The only member to stick to music was their other Capital Punishment member Kriss Roebling.
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