James Franco, Smokey Robinson record duet

It’s the mark of an evolving life to learn at least one new thing every day.

Today, we learned that James Franco has recorded a duet with Smokey Robinson. The two met on a plane, Robinson told Page Six, and basically said “Why the heck not?” Robinson confirmed, “It’s as simple as that. There’s no deep dark secret.”

Oh, but that one seemingly innocuous tidbit unpacks into at least a few more layers of factoids and revelations. On the most superficial level, it’s news that Franco’s icky-named band Daddy apparently wasn’t a one-off. This development, in turn, signals a larger truth, one we’ve known for a while but that the lull of Franco news in 2012 has allowed us to keep at arm’s length. Now that the aspiring musician is roping in a legit Motown legend to execute his weird, Serge Gainsbourg-esque musical vanity project, we need to face facts: James Franco will not be stopped. He will not be ignored.

Robinson affirmed to Page Six, “James is my brother.” Hopefully the “Tears of a Clown” singer will offer the guidance of a a stern older brother directly opposite the the pipsqueaky, pusharound li’l sis role that Anne Hathaway played during their 2011 Academy Awards co-hosting gig. Because we all know how that collaboration turned out.

Then again, the duet is called “Crime,” which begs the question, What kind of crime? Against music? Against humanity? That remains to be determined until the single is officially released.

Franco has already successfully infiltrated film, TV, movies, art, literature, and academia. With this apparent foothold in yet another art form, we must be vigilant. If he pulls a JT and takes partial ownership of Friendster, we should perk up our ears to better hear the clomp-clomping of the Four Horsemen.

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