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Famethrowa is loathed to take his bitter quill to celebrities other than pop stars but this has become increasingly difficult in recent days. In the aftermath of Christian Bale's foul-mouthed tirade on-set of the new "Terminator" film, news reaches us of Joaquin Phoenix's continuing meltdown. Happily, this comes as he bids to leave the big screen behind and become a rapper, securing yours truly a tenuous link to music. Whatever, because judging by his loopy display on "Letterman" this week, actors are clearly the new rock'n'roll stars.

Phoenix, brother of River and acclaimed for his titanic performances in the likes of "Gladiator" and "Walk The Line", was amongst the guests on the US chat show to promote his new film "Two Lovers". Joaquin says this will be his final acting role, as he looks to launch a career in music, a claim that has raised eye-brows and caused confusion at every turn. His strange, almost whacked-out interview with David Letterman (which you can see below) is as funny as it is odd, a fact reinforced by the sensational beard he has harvested in recent months. Here host is clearly as baffled as guest, judging by Letterman's closing comment of "Joaquin, I'm sorry you couldn't be here tonight."

Throughout this whole affair, Phoenix has been bullish in insisting it is not a scam or publicity stunt, that his music is real and his acting career over. Speaking to Reuters, he said: "I can see how people might think it is shocking. But by saying my life is a joke or the thing that I love is a joke, well, that bothers me". The Charlatans' Tim Burgess and P Diddy are both said to be involved in this new project and Phoenix has also dismissed fears that no-one will take him seriously. "I am not trying to be hip-hop, I am not trying to dress hip-hop, I am who I am. It's the particular medium I have chosen to express myself, but I don't feel like I have to fit in", he explained. That much is now pretty clear.