Last month, Shanghai experienced an unusually-high level of celebrity-band sightings with both Taylor Momsen of Gossip Girl fame touching down at Mao Livehouse with her The Pretty Reckless, and My So-Called Life heartthrob Jared Leto bumming the Black Rabbit Festival crowd out with his off-pitch vocals and faux-hawk, fronting platinum sellers 30 Seconds to Mars.

With that in mind The Beat takes a look at some of the worst celebrity bands in recent history, and some of the best bands to come out of the boob tube.

The worst . . .

30 odd foot of grunts (Russell Crowe): TOFOG, as they’re known in Australia, play a wretched mix of pub rock and country music, and anyone who regularly watches the NBA in China can attest to being violated by Crowe and co., as their live footage is in regular rotation on 五星体育. Perhaps they should consider re-naming themselves 30 odd foot of vomit induced by listening to this junk.

Juliette & The Licks (Juliette Lewis): Another celebrity who’s made the runs through China, Juliette Lewis, and her Licks, rely on that ever-so-popular “bat-shit-crazy chick runs around on stage with an Indian headdress and minimal clothing in front of a core of seasoned LA scene vets” formula. While the Licks music is more tolerable than a lot of their celebrity peers, it’s tough to shake the image of Lewis playing a retard in “The Other Sister,” begging the question, “once you go retard, can you ever go back?”

Bruce Willis (Bruce Willis): Bald, handsome, a New Jersey native . . .

Regular readers of The Beat would probably guess there’d be some praise for Bruce and his sick harmonica skills, as displayed on his 1987 debut The Return of Bruno. But not only does Mr. Willis lose points for being the namesake of one of Shanghai’s worst value restaurants (and seriously, why can’t they just serve classic eggs Benedict, why must patrons assemble their own Eggs B. It’s like paying to do manual labor and eat mediocre food), but his cheesy schtick is unparalleled, and well, quite lame.

The best . . .

Dethklok (“Metalocalypse”): Part band, part cartoon, Dethklok play heavier-than-thou grindcore while saving the world from destruction, just so they can inflict destruction upon mankind themselves. One of the greatest bands to come out of television, Dethklok is the brainchild of guitarist Brendan Small, and has become the heavy metal version of Gorillaz, releasing well-received albums and selling out tours around the US.

The Monkees (“The Monkees”): The original TV band, the Monkees, who were originally assembled in 1966 to capitalize on Beatle-mania, have enjoyed one of the most successful careers in rock and pop music, despite the fact that their drummer couldn’t drum and their lead singer was a dwarf. Armed with a young, tin-pan-alley-era Neil Diamond as their ace songwriter, the Monkees broke out of the confines of network TV, and went on to release five albums after the shows cancellation. They also starred in the seminal stoner flick Head, which has been acknowledged as part of the Criterion Collection, thanks to tons of LSD and one Jack Nicholson.

Watch: Taylor Momsen and the Pretty Wreckless perform “Light Me Up,” until the camera commits suicide and self destructs . . .