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Rock 'n Roll (and Tattoos) Never Forget

Posted Wed Oct 29, 2008 6:01am PDT by Shawn Amos in GetBack

There’s this Matt Groening Life In Hell cartoon from way back that shows two old dudes who look like prunes and are covered in tattoos. One says to the other (I'm paraphrasing), "Oh, I see you were an idiot in the '90s too."


Andre 3000 is a long way from the old folks’ home, but he told the press last week that, "I had six silly tattoos done when I was young, and I bitterly regret them."  He's thinking about having them removed but is wondering if the scars would look even sillier.

 

 

 

 

We're probably the most tattooed generation ever. More than 40 million people in America have at least one tattoo. Musicians rarely stop at one. That's too bad, because a whole bunch of those guys are eventually going to look really dumb playing bingo with their fellow senior citizens. The only thing worse than an old rocker is an old, tattooed rocker.


Here's my cautionary list of musicians who’ve made the biggest tattoo mistakes. Keep this blog post with you when you're drunk some Saturday night and headed for the studio to get inked.


JON BON JOVI - THE CORPORATE TATTOO
Jon reminds me of the Office Space-type dude who hides his Superman tattoo underneath his suit to remind him he's a rebel deep down inside. You know that guy. He listens to Bon Jovi records.

 

 

 

 

 


JOHN MAYER - PREP SCHOOL GUY TATTOO
One day John Mayer will wake up and remember that he's a middle class white guy from Connecticut whose mom was a teacher and dad was a high school principal. He'll look at his full-sleeve body art and wonder what made him pretend he was Henry Rollins’ half-brother.

 

 

 

 

 

OZZY OSBOURNE - SENILE OLD GUY TATTOO
No one wants to see their grandpa muttering to himself in the back yard, turning up his hearing aid, trying to rub the "O-Z-Z-Y" off his knuckles.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

TOMMY LEE - "I USED TO BE RIPPED" TATTOO
"Mayhem" looks cool on your stomach when you’re in your '30s and cut. When 60 hits and you've got a big-ol’ beer belly? That just says, "Sad Old Man."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

DAVE NAVARRO - "WHY DOES THAT WOMAN HAVE TATTOOS?" TATTOO
Here's the problem with Jane's Addiction's Dave Navarro: He looks more like his ex Carmen Electra each year, which makes the body art seem even more out of place. Ten years from now, he'll look like one of the Gucci-wearing, Rodeo Drive trophy wives with ink all over. It won't go down well at the country club.


See our picks for the most outrageous celebrity tattoos in our FlipBook.

 

Drop by GetBack.com for your daily dose of pop culture pleasure -- music, movies, games, and more.

3163 Comments

81. Yahoo! Music User -
yea ok, im the douchebag because i know that john mayer spent a year in japan and made life-long friends that twelve years later give him those tattoos? that makes sense.

82. __A_YAHOO_USER__ -
To each his own... I'm not hating on anybodys tats- i have 2 meself... just make sure it's what you want and that you can live with it for the rest of your life...

83. Yahoo! Music User -
yeah, i kinda regret why john mayer had to put so much tattoo in his hand..

84. Charles H -
Hey! Who wants to wear a friggin cast and it be not colorful? sign my cast? hey tatoos are body art , plain jane should have a few on her ass!

85. Blah -
Ugh! Please, I've seen worse tattoos on your average American. Try this, a woman was telling her kid not to do drugs with a pot plant tattooed on her neck in the middle of Wal-Mart.


I'm assuming the person who wrote this is someone who pesters God every Sunday with prayers. Not that I have a problem with God, but this article screams "Written by a proud Christian" to me.

86. Yahoo! Music User -
I now really regret the tattoo of a burning cigarette on my cheek. Seemed like a good idea at the time. I looked so so cool.

87. __A_YAHOO_USER__ -
Hey leave Ozzy out of this dudes. He deserves more respect then the other idiots witht he tattoo's. Bon Jovi also looks cool for his age with that superman tattoo. Ozzy and him still ROCK the night away.

88. Baseball Fury -
you really think most of these guys will make it into retirement home age? I think most will be dead...

you know what is really lame now and will be really lame in the future?

BLOGS!!!!!

89. Jenica -
im sorry i wasted my time reading this i assume the writer has nothing better to do than find an excuse to be heard other wise he or she is the one who talks and no one listens. we all know how akward that is when your in a room full of people and you say something and for one second everyone looks at you and then continues a different conversation with out you. what a lame way to be heard! why do you even care!

90. Yahoo! Music User -
i didnt say ALL japanese tattoos are decided for you. it was from the specific people he got it from. yea, i dont know who they were, so what.

91. Yahoo! Music User -
I knew a girl who got a tattoo of a dolphin on her butt. She put on about 40 pounds and now the tattoo looks like an inflated puffer fish.

92. Trucker-Girl! -
Some tats are nice... But then there are people like a girl I went to high school with... (Desert Vista, class of 1999) She showed up to class one day and hiked up the back of her shirt to show everyone the Tramp-Stamp that said "Brad-Dog".

"I got my boyfriend's GANG NAME because we will be together forever!"

Yeah...

We called her retarded then and I use her as an example of retardation now.

93. Charles H -
Ozzy is a farout guy , crazy and fun. Love his music an he has tatoos look good to me .Hey they are more than you are worth$$$ Fickin christy dummies

94. Yahoo! Music User -
john mayer is an arrogant twot (x1000)

95. Nick -
i hate tatts they will stay there unless it is somthn really kool or it will be regreted john mayors looks kool i like his

96. Tim -
the difference between people who have tattoos and don't have them are that the people that do have them don't care that you don't. Get over yourself to believe your better if you don't have one.

97. Yahoo! Music User -
To all the people saying that tattoos are horrible and make you look trashy, you just insulted almost every single person in my family. No-one said that you had to be covered in tattoos, but a few, like 2 or 3 that can be hidden or are un-asuming, don't make you trashy. My mother (45) has three tattoos-one on her shoulder, ankle, and wrist. They're cute. So, go easy, ok?

98. Jim -
Everyone with tats regrets em sooner or later, even the ones who claim their devotion to their body graffitti. Example: Cher, who was so 'leading edge' years ago with tats everywhere. I wonder how many thousands she has spent removing them? I heard she's been removing them a little at a time for years now, and they always leave scars. She'll be a sight soon.

99. Yahoo! Music User -
Yeah tats are cool when you are young or in a phase but once you get older they just suck! Tattoos are a really bad fad that everyone thinks makes them cool. I am not saying that tats are bad just the ones that people get because they are cool! seriously does 3/4 of the people with asian tats and nautical star tats have a clue about what they mean? Not so much it just looks cool!

100. Yahoo! Music User -
that was stupid article and the author is an idiot. why put others down for no reason when you obviously have no idea about tattoos and what they mean to these people? not cool.
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