Getting arrested and booked isn't the end of the world, by any means. Well unless you just killed a shit-ton of people at a bowling alley or something, it really is. But if you are a rocker or a celebrity who committed a minor offense, it's just a funny footnote in your public life you can look back on with a nod and grin after you pay off your lawyer and sign some autographs for your community service rep.
Not everyone gets off that easy (that's what she said), with people like Motley Crue's Tommy Lee and rapper Lil' Wayne serving long stretches in the clink like the rest of us would have to. To be fair, Wayne went up for a drug offense and was used as an example, while Lee deserved every bit of time he got for beating up Pamela Anderson. It seemed to actually make him a better person in the long run, too.
Mug shots capture people at their worst and most vulnerable, away from publicists and handlers to make them look presentable. Many have no idea what is coming next, be it career ruination or worse, so many of them look dazed and confused as hell. We collected the five best shots from the rockers, rappers, country pickers and poppers for your amusement.
Hopefully this blog counts towards Rocks Off's community service he owes for what happened after the Motorhead show last September. We didn't know that mail boxes were flammable after you poured gasoline on them, and our apologies to that all-girls softball team from Plano.
ROCKERS
Billie Joe Armstrong: Soon after this picture was taken, for drunk driving, Armstrong lost what looked like 25 pounds and wrote
American Idiot.
David Bowie: This is the most goddamned dapper mug shot we have ever seen. It looks like Bowie must have stolen jewels or a woman's heart. He just stole ours.
Jack White: What Jack White did to get this mug shot taken was pretty cool, beating up that dude from the Von Bondies. At least White went down for something cool that involved massive amounts of blood, instead of boring old drunk driving.
Marilyn Manson: White and Manson look like twins in their mug shots. Manson put his crotch on a security guard's face to win this photo shoot.
Scott Stapp: "My Own Prison" indeed. Maybe if he would have went to big-boy prison he would have gotten cooler tattoos.