Ben Gibbard’s engagement to Zooey Deschanel was the real-life indie nerd equivalent of Brian Krakow dating Angela Chase on My So-Called Life. So it’s no wonder Gibbard and fellow Death Cab for Cutie member Nick Harmer are seizing the moment to talk some trash about Angela’s ex Jordan Catalano. I mean, Jared Leto.

“Jared Leto and his band 30 Seconds to Mars — he’s acting the part,” Harmer told The Big Takeover (via Spinner). Then Ben Gibbard chimed in with more specifics: “He’s a professional actor in music; so there’s no way to feel any sincerity about his position as a musician.”

Gibbard went on to say that Leto’s schtick as the guyliner-donning frontman of 30 Second to Mars could be boiled down to simply “acting what you think a rock star should act like.” Harmer adds that Leto’s fans then believe the stunt, saying to themselves, “Oh, that’s what rock stars do: they wear eyeliner.”

Don’t they realize that real rock stars ride their bicycles in circles and take pictures for the yearbook? Nick Harmer does end the rant with some praise for their pasty indie brethren: “I think Jack White — he’s savvy as all get out with the media. But he also just has this magic around him. Conor Oberst is another one for me. They’re able to kind of be one inside of the other.”

Anyway, at least a new Death Cab video/song dropped today amid these squabbles.

Well it took almost two years, but Radiohead’s “pay-what-you-want” for In Rainbows scheme is now having a bit of a backlash. Actually, it looks more like Jared Leto is jumping on board one part of Kim Gordon’s “Radiohead Model” diss from last week when she pointed out that a record label eventually released In Rainbows, making it not technically a self-released “community-oriented” effort. Anyway, here’s what Leto told Spinner:

“I’d be curious to see more examples because didn’t Radiohead eventually put their record out? Trent [Reznor] seems to be the only guy that’s stuck to his guns and stayed tried and true. He’s a god among men.”

And then some more kissing up to Reznor: “It’s really interesting to see such a creative person express himself in business terms, to see how would he do things… I’d love to talk to him about what he’s learned.”

We really shouldn’t be taking advice on the music industry from Jordan Catalano, but it’s interesting that some of Radiohead’s critics are latching on to the “self-released” aspect of their scheme. Isn’t the rest of Kim Gordon’s argument, that letting fans of a huge band determine music’s monetary value can make other musicians look bad, a much more interesting/worthwhile debate?

The first Hollywood heartthrob to take on the Jeff Buckley biopic project was Brad Pitt (as a producer), but that fizzled out despite the blessing of Buckley’s mother Mary Guibert. Now The Courier Press reports (via The Playlist, via The Daily Swarm) that a new project is in the works with the producer of 2007’s Joy Division film Control, Orion Williams. What’s more, Jared Leto, James Franco, Robert Pattinson and James Marsden have all expressed interest in playing Buckley.

“I have finally relented against my deep conviction that films about people should never be made until those people are long dead,” Guibert said. “Whoever gets the part will need a lot of self-discipline because they won’t be able to fake it.”

Jared Leto is technically a successful singer, but the John Lennon murder movie Chapter 27 was a flop, so he might be a bit risky. Robert Pattinson actually might make sense, as he is a singer/songwriter with a bit of that Buckley vibe, but he doesn’t really look like the part to me. Either way, they better all start practicing their Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan right away.