Is anyone here familiar with "The Gilmore Girls" Lane? She's the resident Korean with the shows typical mile-a-minute vocaulary who just so happens to be a self proclaimed audiophile. I've just started watching the show myself and have discovered with Lane that she hides hundreds of cds in her floor boards and closets because her mom is one of those fanatical religious nuts who thinks her daughter is about to descend into an abyss of sin at every turn. One episode had her conspire with her best friend Rory to get her hands on a copy of Belle and Sebastians new cd on its release date. And here's a conversation between Rory and Lane considering the pros and cons of intra-band dating:

Lane: There's a danger here. The band thing. Need I mention the rock 'n' roll casualties from intraband dating? Not that there's not success stories. You've got your Crafts, your Yo La Tengos, your Kim and Thurstons.

Rory: Sonny and Cher, the early years.

Lane: Plus, you've got your bands that survived breakups, no doubt.

Rory: Wish they hadn't.

Lane: X, Superchunk, the White Stripes. But in the negative you have ...

Rory: Sonny and Cher, the later years.

Lane: Jefferson Airplane, Fleetwood Mac. I know of two country music stars whose backup singers shot him in the groin.

So if anyone here is familiar with Lane's cd collection discuss here the pros and cons of it. Does she deserve the title of audiophile or music snob?

Gilmore Girls is OVERWRITTEN in every sense of the word.

VoicesCarry said:

It's not surprising that you would say that for this little exchange between Lane and Rory was an example from an article about how overwritten most teens on television are. Oh for the subtler days of "My So Called Life". And "Veronica Mars" is refreshingly unflashy in it's writing.

But you gotta give it to "The Gilmore Girls"; it's funny as hell!

CynicKill said:

Somewhat. I guess. I've never really laughed out loud at the show, when I've seen it. It takes itself way too seriously, and so all these "witty" one-liners have no valid context whatsoever. Compared with other teen shows which are knowingly stupid and don't aspire to be anything else.

Digressing just as bit but what I do like about the show is that it's show-offy. I mean nowhere on the dial will you get references as to how much of a chore Proust is or how Ayn Rand is a nut job. There was an arguement about how The Beats are more of a guy thing and how Jane Austin is supposedly better, but possibly more of a girl thing. Plus they jabber on like this at about 250 WPM until your head spins.

I didn't mention the jokes, like Rory and Lane's little intra-band thing.

VoicesCarry said:[quote]

CynicKill said:

I disagree with you on the context. I think that's a strenght of the show, that no matter what one liner they throw in or how out of control the wit gets, it always remains in context to the character or the situation. One time Rory was considering becoming a recluse because of town embarrassment and her mom was saying that it wouldn't be good, then Rory says, "Well it worked for JD Salinger."
[Edited 11/26/04 12:41pm]

CynicKill said:[quote]

VoicesCarry said:

The jokes are out of context because if we are to take the show seriously, they must interact like real people, not like 24/7 walking talking pop culture reference books, know what I mean?

VoicesCarry said:

Oh yeah. Definitely.

CynicKill said:

It just takes me out of the show when they talk like that, I guess. It's a bit disconcerting.

It's definitely one of those things you have to ACCEPT in the show. It's what I like about the show so it's easier for me to be impressed by it. It's a selling point for me.

CynicKill said:

Cool

It sounds like all the characters are doing standup. It's very distracting and not as 'cute' as the writers seem to think. Also, though I think Lauren Graham is very HOT, she is so annoying whenever she makes talk show appearances. She's not funny, though she thinks she is...

Lane is way cute

Off-topic interlude; I guess the Gilmore Girls conversations are appealing to people like me, people who like quick wit and innuendo.

Personally I love it. I like language and the way it's used on this show.

Especially all the music references.

To get back on track; Lane's musical taste is good. Belle And Sebastian RULE. I love the way she is uptight about music.

The show CynicKill spoke of was one that aired in Holland just this week. So it's fresh in memory. I love Lane's character.

CynicKill said:

Audiophiles MEANS music snob, most of the time.

GooeyTheHamster said:

Oh ok. I thought it meant fanatic.

I don't know who's more a snob, Rory, Lorelei or Lane. Lane seems to like a lot more then the other two. Rory has dissed No Doubt, Hanson and others. And there have been a few favorable Prince refrences. One time when the GG had termites and they went over to Sooki's to spend the night and Sooki was all giddy talking about how they could stay up all night, do this and that, "then we can watch Purple Rain and-"

I know her character's a Prince fan. She mentions him quite a bit on the show.

i was ready to post "you are all wrong, her name is ling not lane..." but a quick google search has proved me wrong...

carry on.....

The Hanson reference appeared when Lorelei and Rory were talking about some:

Lorelei: Say you have a thing for Taylor Hanson-

Rory: Why Taylor Hanson

Lorelei: They're like the new Bee Gees. So you're all in love with Taylor...

Rory: Ok can we switch to someone else because this Taylor Hanson thing is really unnerving?

Never mind having seen it, I've never even heard of this show - but anything that gets Belle and Sebastian mentioned on network tv can't be all bad.

damosuzuki said:

That's what I'm saying.

Here's an article on "The Gilmore Girls" obsession with music.


http://www.amplifiermagaz...irls.shtml

Issue 24
2001


Including excerpts from the interview with Gilmore Girls
creator and producer Amy Sherman-Palladino
by Stewart Mason
Right now, there’s more opportunity to discover great pop music on television than there’s been in nearly two decades, ever since MTV changed the musical landscape seemingly overnight.
Of course, MTV for years has been sliding towards complete musical irrelevance for anyone old enough to drive themselves to the record store. You won’t find the newest, most unjustly obscure, smartest and catchiest pop there, or on VH1, or indeed anywhere on cable. You’ll find it on prime-time network TV.

Yes, really. The same prime-time network TV that for the first three decades of rock and roll history either pretended the music didn’t exist, smugly mocked it or, most often, got it glaringly, hilariously wrong. Remember that episode of What’s Happenin’ where Re-Run got tricked into bootlegging a Doobie Brothers concert? Only in a television fantasyland would three mid-‘70s black teenagers be the slightest bit excited about going to see the freakin’ Doobie Brothers, but you get the idea the producers of that show never heard of Parliament-Funkadelic.

Television historians will tell you that it was Miami Vice that finally got rock-on-TV right, and while it’s clear how much of today’s filmic vocabulary can be directly traced to this show’s appropriation of MTV editing gimmicks, it’s also painfully obvious that their taste in music was nowhere near so up-to-the-minute. This show’s avatars of hip, remember, were Phil Collins and ex-Eagle Glenn Frey.

That’s not the rule anymore. A New York Times article recently discussed how many current television commercials use songs by otherwise obscure young pop artists, focusing on The Apples In Stereo, who licensed their songs “Shine A Light” and “Strawberryfire” for JC Penneys and IBM. NBC’s critically acclaimed new series Ed uses the Foo Fighters’ wistful “Next Year” as its theme song, and has twice prominently used Marshall Crenshaw songs in scenes. The oft brilliant Fox sitcom Malcolm in the Middle has a theme song by They Might Be Giants, who also write the underscore (the music used beneath scenes and during transitions) for every episode. But the current reigning champion of obscure pop music shoutouts, as well as quite possibly the most pop music-obsessed TV show ever, is The WB’s Gilmore Girls (Thursdays, 8 p.m. Eastern). Ostensibly a warm-hearted family comedy-drama about a mother and daughter, in reality, it's the world’s first television show written by pop geeks, about pop geeks, for pop geeks.

That somewhat controversial term is not used lightly. The characters on this show revel in their differences from the cardboard figures on such superficially similar series as 7th Heaven or Dawson’s Creek. The high school students not only attend classes, they actually study and even read books on their own. The adults drop casual references to both Marcel Proust and The Dukes of Hazzard. The dialogue is fast, funny, and often insightful, and for all the show’s deliberate whimsy, even the minor characters feel more like quirky human beings than stock figures rounded up from an “Eccentric Local Color” casting call. And by conscious design, series creator Amy Sherman-Palladino has chosen to express these characters’ individualism in large part through their idiosyncratic tastes in pop music. The near-constant musical references on Gilmore Girls, ranging from Thelonious Monk and Tito Puente to Young Marble Giants and the Sugarplastic, are not last-minute additions, but a fundamental part of the characters’ lives. Or, as series writer Daniel Palladino puts it, “Before this show, we always thought the network and studio dictated what kind of music to use, and then when we got into this, we started using music and putting in references and waiting for someone to tell us not to! Then we discovered that it’s actually the creators and producers who put in all that bland music. So we’ve been using this as a forum to espouse our musical tastes.”

What you need to know about the show itself:
Gilmore Girls is about the unique bond between 32-year-old Lorelai Gilmore and her 16-year-old daughter Rory. Lorelai (Lauren Graham, who has been the best thing about a long string of mediocre-to-horrible sitcoms, and who is luminous now that she finally has a role to match her talents) is a manic, caffeine-fuelled smartmouth who got pregnant at the age of 16, quit school, moved out of her rich and domineering parents’ house and became a maid at a hotel in the tiny Connecticut village of Stars Hollow. Sixteen years later, she now runs the place. Rory (talented newcomer Alexis Bledel, a former teen model who has the winsome grace and quirky intelligence of the young Winona Ryder, minus the angst) is a bookish straight-A student who dreams of traveling the world and going to Harvard, not necessarily in that order. Rory gets into a snooty prep school called Chilton. But in order to afford the huge tuition, Lorelai has to mend fences with her parents, Emily and Richard (noted stage actors Kelly Bishop and Edward Herrmann), who agree to finance Rory’s education as long as they’re allowed back into Lorelai and Rory’s life.

These are folks who take their pop music seriously. All activity stops when Rory’s best friend, the adorably awkward Lane Kim (Keiko Agena), rushes into the Gilmore house waving a copy of Wasp Star (Apple Venus Volume II). Seconds later, Lane, Rory and Lorelai are dancing awkwardly around the living room while “The Man Who Murdered Love” plays at top volume.

Although music is important to nearly all the characters on the show, Lane is Stars Hollow’s resident pop fanatic, and one of the most endearing, true-to-life adolescents ever shown on television. A Velvet Underground fan whose career goals include either becoming the Foo Fighters’ bassist or the keyboardist on the Siouxsie and the Banshees reunion tour, Lane is alternately rebelliously dismissive of and scared to death of her fiercely traditionalist Korean immigrant mother. A walking encyclopedia of music history whose taste runs from Yoko Ono (“A very misunderstood artist and the Beatles would have broken up anyway. I know it, Yoko knows it, Sean knows it, Julian’s still in denial but what can you do?”) to Grandaddy, Lane is shy and conflicted, but she’s a refreshing reversal of the usual High Fidelity cliché of the person who depends on pop music to provide the emotional depth their everyday life doesn’t provide. For all its faults, Lane is quite happy with her life, thank you, and uses music as more of a social and communal activity than a crutch. Although Lorelai and Rory are the stars of the show, Lane is its philosopher.

Can Lorelai and Rory Save Pop Music?
Well…they’ve got as good a shot at it as anyone else. As Daniel Palladino points out, “It seems like no one at record companies actually likes music anymore.” The ad agency reps, TV show producers and music supervisors who salt their programs with music they genuinely love and think is underexposed--Ben Vaughn has stated in interviews that he uses Alex Chilton’s music in That 70s Show simply because Alex is a talented friend who could use the extra money--are in some ways the best A&R people in the music business today. Is their use of their favorite obscure pop music working? Both artists and fans say yes.

Eytan Mirsky is a New York-based singer-songwriter who works at a film post-production house as a sound editor by day and records his own sweetly astringent pop songs after hours. He’s placed songs in a few noted indie films--Jane Adams and Michael Stipe sing Mirsky’s song “Happiness” at the end of his film school friend Todd Solondz’s film of the same name, and his songs play a key part in Jeniphr Goodman’s The Tao of Steve--and he recently had an instrumental version of his song “Leaving You,” from his soon-to-be-released second album, Was It Something I Said?, play during a pivotal scene in an episode of Ed. Mirsky admits that he didn’t get much (“say it's high three figures”) for this, but says that isn’t the point. He’s a realist when it comes to the use of his music on TV. “People have contacted me from all over the world about Happiness, and many of the reviews for The Tao of Steve commented on my songs, but even all that hasn't had that much of an effect on my career. I would have hoped that by now I'd have been hired to do more film work, but eventually something else will pop up.” So why does he license his songs? “The money. But also, I'm hoping that they continue to use more stuff from me, which of course would mean more money! Plus, you never know what it could lead to, who you could connect to. In this case the music editor is a friend of mine so it's just encouraging that he actually used some of my music. It gives me hope for the future.”

But what it comes down to is this: Does the use of pop music in TV shows cause viewers to actually buy albums? I asked this question on a message board at a Gilmore Girls fan site and apparently, the answer is yes. In particular, copies of the two most recent XTC albums, Carole King’s Tapestry (the show’s theme is a new recording of that album’s “Where You Lead” by King and daughter Louise Goffin) and the collected works of the Bangles (Lorelai’s favorite band, who performed live in the episode “Concert Interruptus”) are apparently considerably more prized now than they were before this show went on the air. And for the artists, the fans, and the TV landscape, it’s hard to see how that can be anything but a good thing.

Q&A with Amy Sherman-Palladino

Amplifier: The musical references are such an important part of the show, more so than on any other show I’ve ever seen not actually set in a musical world.

Amy: They are important, because certain music has become very associated with WB shows. You know, like Dawson’s Creek got into the really Paula Cole-y, Sarah McLachlan-y kind of thing. Because the voice is very specific on the show, the dialogue and the language is specific; I needed the music to be equally as specific, ‘cause it’s your backdrop. It says as much about the show as the words do! So…when I set about to put music in it, I’m like, “We gotta get somebody to score the show that really gets the show... not just somebody who scores five thousand shows on television and has won forty Emmys and who I’m sure is very competent. But somebody who’s got a very unique voice.” Hence, the lovely and talented Sam Phillips!

That started as a lark, really, because we used one of her songs in our pilot, and everybody fell in love with the song and most of the people had never heard it before, and they were like, “Is this a hit? Is this on the radio now?” and I’m like (laughs) “Uhhh…noooo…this is actually from, like, the ‘80s! It’s been around a while!” We were literally about to hire somebody and then I just said, “You know, just for the hell of it, let’s call and see if Sam has any interest in being involved with the show.” I got a call back that said “Oh, Sam is available and she’ll meet with you in an hour!!!” and I’m like “REALLY???” She was interested in doing it because I think she’s getting interested in learning how to score movies, because T-Bone is doing that now, and they’ve got a young daughter, and so Sam wants to be around a little bit more. She has a new album coming out soon, too.

So at what point in the conception of the show did you decide on the importance of the music and how you wanted the music to be?

Well, it was always a part of it. As a writer, you always want your stuff to be specific to you. It wasn’t a show I wrote for money, I wasn’t under a deal anywhere, it’s just an idea I wanted to do. I went directly to the network and said, “Look, this is what I wanna do, I dunno if you’re interested in it,” and they just took a flyer on me. So it was kind of one of those under-the-radar shows anyhow, that not too many people had their eyes on. Because of that, it was like, “Okay, great, when you get the pictures all together, now you have to think about music!” That’s the point where you have to think about “What do I want to say about this show? What do I want to say about the kinds of music these characters listen to? What do I want to say about the background music, which dictates how scenes feel, and the rhythm and the pace, and the knowledge [on the audience’s part] of where they are?” Part of it is that by putting in a character like Lane. Kids like Lane, who is really into music…well, my husband’s nephew is 15, and the music that this kid listens to! And it’s because of his father, you know. These kids didn’t grow up listening to Barney songs, they grew up listening to Tom Waits! They grew up with Jonathan Richman! They grew up with a totally different musical point of view. So you’ve got a 15-year-old kid now who’s into everything from Louis Armstrong on! All of a sudden you hear him talking about the Kinks and other stuff where you’re like “Really? But you’re fifteen! Shouldn’t you be into Limp Bizkit?”

What’s great is that I’m surrounded! My husband is super super into music, and my best friend, who works on the show, she’s super super super into music, so I constantly have people bringing me things! “You’ve got to listen to this song! We’ve got to do a Jesus and Mary Chain song.

When you name drop musicians and authors in your scripts, are you thinking more “This is a tribute to someone I admire” or more “Maybe if I mention this, someone will go seek it out”?

I think it’s both! When I have Rory reading Dorothy Parker, it’s because I’m a huge Dorothy Parker fan. But also, I’m always trying to get Alexis to listen to different kinds of music. I just bought her some Suzanne Vega recently, because Alexis is a very interesting girl--she’s just gotten into Squeeze, for example--so I’m trying to get her different things. I think that sometimes it’s fun to slip in a little something unexpected, and sometimes I think it would be fun if kids had to track down something. If nothing else, it’s fun to show what kind of an open world these people live in that they would know all these things!

You know, it is happening, that people are buying these books and records because of their use on the show, if the internet message boards I’ve been reading are any indication.

Really? That’s great! There are certain things like XTC and Sam and Grant Lee Phillips…people should know them! They should buy these albums! They’re just so good! They’re just pop craftsmen, and why they’re not bigger is just a mystery to me. When I look at that whole surge, that, that, Lillith Fair surge, and I’m thinking, “Why not Sam? I don’t understand!” She’s so interesting, and she’s not like so weird or crazy…why not? I just don’t get why not.

In the episode “Kiss and Tell,” Dean gives the usual “Isn’t it horrible that they used ‘Pink Moon’ in a VW ad?” speech. Where do you fall on that sort of thing? What if because of the show, there was a huge XTC revival and they suddenly started selling albums?

Well, advertising can be a great thing. You know they used one of Sam’s songs for a Calvin Klein fragrance commercial, and they did it so well! It was just her song “I Need Love” and these very interesting visuals of two people obviously in love. I wasn’t even certain it was a commercial until the very end, when they brought up the Calvin Klein logo. I called and asked if she’d seen the commercial yet, and she said “No, I’m scared to,” and I said, “I think you’d be very proud of it, because what they’ve done is taken the essence of your song and put visuals to it.” They didn’t cheapen it at all. I think it depends…music is so personal, that if it’s used in a cool way to convey something interesting, it says something. And if it says something about a show, it’ll say something about a product.

You know, it’s hard. Artists struggle to get their music out there. When Sam’s new album comes out, the same Sam Phillips fans will go out and buy that album and love it, but how many other people would be into Sam if she had an outlet where other people might go, “Hey, that’s a really interesting song, who is that?” You just have to be picky. It’s just like being a writer. Someone can throw a trillion dollars at you to turn Webster into a movie, and you can take the money and do it, or you can think, “You know, I really don’t think Webster is a movie, and that’s not something I want to put my name on.” But someone else could bring you something like the Charlie’s Angels movie, which I think turned out pretty well! It wasn’t the greatest movie in the world, but it was the right way to do that thing! And if you have an opportunity that’s a wonderful idea that’s going to give you exposure, and give you some cash when you’re living in a barn and driving a taxi on the weekends, I really think that this can only be a good thing.

Article and interview both excerpted from Amplifier #24, May/June 2001.

CynicKill said:

Thanks for copy/pasting!

Fun read! I love these people. I love the series.

"Gilmore Girls, and especially Lane, are the most musically obsessed characters on television. Here are a few samples:

1) Episode: Nick & Nora / Sid & Nancy

[Lane walks into the diner]

LANE: Oh, thank God, you haven't left yet.

RORY: Nope, what's up?

LANE: Well, I found the greatest record store in the world. It's ten minutes from your school and I'm wondering how much you love me.

RORY: Address.

LANE: Record Breaker Incorporated, 2453 Berlin Turnpike.

RORY: Got it. Place your order now.

LANE: Okay, Charles Mingus, "The Black Saint and the Sinner Lady."

LORELAI: Mmm.

RORY: Right.

LANE: The Sonics, Here are the Sonics.

RORY: Burn me a copy. Next.

LANE: MC5: Kick Out the Jams. Fairport Convention: Leige and Lief. BeeGees: Odessa.

RORY: BeeGees, really?

LANE: Well, Mojo says.

RORY: So it must be true.

LANE: Okay, that's it. Now if I could just find a copy of Whistler, Chaucer, Detroit and Greenhill, I will finally be done with the sixties.



Why it's cool: For its obscurity, this takes the Gilmore Girls musical-reference crown and throne. Here, Lane bounds in clutching a copy of Mojo's 600 Best Albums of the Pop era, presumably the plan is to systematically tick off these against those in her collection. The record store in question actually exists - their phone number is 666 0696, if you're interested - not sure of the area code though.

Charles Mingus' "Black Saint..." alongside Kind Of Blue and Love Supreme, is generally considered one of the landmark jazz records. It was the first Jazz record to utilise overdubbing and bring avant-gardism to public acclaim. The original version contained liner notes by Mingus' psychologist.

The Sonics - Here Come...is the debut album from the oft-cited cult-cred 60's rock pioneers.

Kick Out The Jams is the essential 'high energy' 1968 live recording made in their hometown Detroit. Any self respecting music fan will know the opening refrain to the track 'Kick Out The Jams'.

The long-enduring Fairport Convention get a look in with what is considered the seminal 60's folk album, if not of alltime. Featuring the late Sandy Denny on vocals, it is one of the two albums in the bands continuing discography to feature both key members Richard Thompson and Dave Swarbrick.

Bee Gee's Odessa is considered one of the Brothers Gibb's most enduring original albums. A double album, which spawned the single 'First of May', it was originally issued in a red felt cover, with the titled embossed in gold on the front.

Most obscure - the final album Lane is looking for was by four Texas teenagers, working under the pseudonyms of Benjamin Whistler, Geoffrey Chaucer, Nathan Detroit and Phillip Greenhill. The album was titled 'The Unwritten Works of...' and was issued in 1968. The producer was the now-famous artist/producer T-Bone Burnett - who in an interesting bit of circularity is married to Sam Phillips, who performs much of the incidental music in the show. Whistler Chaucer Detriot and Greenhill is full of plucked pianos, backwards guitar solos, accordions and sand blocks. With enough good songs, they called it an album and somehow got Uni Records to release it. The rarity of this item alluded to is indeed correct. A mint copy sells for around $au90.00. One music site, out of Madrid, describes the album as 'fantastico folk rock con precioso toque psycho...muy inspirado.' Another calls it 'offbeat literary psych-pop.'

CynicKill said:

LoL

This is one of the reasons why I loooove this show so much!!

CynicKill said:

The most well written (and equally well acted) show about teenage angst I've ever seen. I'm not surprised it was canceled.


Never seen it.

Quote #2:

6) Episode: That Damn Donna Reed ...

RORY: I need to borrow a cd.

LANE: Which one?

RORY: The weird one.

LANE: I...need more information.

RORY: I don't know which one it is but I'd know if it I saw it.

LANE: Ok, well let's take a look. [lifting a board from the floor] So, ok, we have classic rock, progressive rock, pretty-boy rock -

RORY: Excuse me?

LANE: Bon jovi, Duran Duran, The Wallflowers, Bush -

RORY: Got it, next?

LANE: Uh, punk, new wave, german metal bands...Broadway soundtracks. [lifting another board]

RORY: Interesting filing system.

LANE: Anything yet?

RORY: Nope. Sorry.

LANE: Ok, well over there we have jazz, jazz vocals, classical, country, rockabilly, Sinatra - the capitol years. Oh wait! The miscellaneous section.

RORY: Hey that sounds right. [Lane lifts another board] Ha, William Shatner. Is this the one where he sings 'Tambourine man.'?

LANE: And 'Lucy in the sky with diamonds.'

Why it's cool: We all have our own, often seemingly ridiculous filing system (I once saw one according to spine colour - the result was a dazzling colour spectrum. But attempting to locate Manic Street Preachers 'Generation Terrorists' according to the intensity of pink??? Erm... no thanks.) ....and Despite Bush's protestations to the contrary, that Gavin Rossdale perpetually looks like he's walked off the set of a Calvin Klein shoot - they'll rarely be taken seriously by the discerning audiophile. The Shatner reference... is an actual CD. A truly appalling concept (worse than the 'In My Life' George Martin compile a few years back) it features Hollywood types butchering the Beatles. Recently re-issued by Rhino, the CD, alongside the eternally typecast Trekky Shatner, features such gems as Telly Savalas' treatment of 'Something', George Burns doing ...'Help from My Friends' and Bing Crosby having a go at Hey Jude.

Where are you all getting them script outtakes?

I am too lazy to search.

GooeyTheHamster said:

I'll post the article once I've exhausted it of quotes. Trying desperately to keep this board alive.

Quote #3:

Episode: Teach Me Tonight

[Jess finishes writing something on a notepad, then hands it to Rory]

JESS: Done.

RORY: This isn't Shakespeare.

JESS: It's not?

RORY: It's the words to a Clash song.

JESS: Ah, now, but which Clash song?

RORY: Hey, I'm not the one being tested right now.

JESS: Ten seconds.

RORY: Jess.

JESS: Nine, eight, seven.

RORY: Stop it.

JESS: Six, five, four.

RORY: You know you're really starting to. . .

JESS: Three.

RORY: Ooh, ooh, Guns of Brixton!

JESS: A plus. . . .hey, do you wanna get outta here?

RORY: What?

JESS: I'm sick of studying.

RORY: How can you be sick of studying? You haven't done any studying. You've done card tricks, you've made coffee, you've tried to explain to me how on earth Coldplay could be considered an alternative band, but as of yet, no studying.



Why it's cool: That Shakespeare is even mentioned in the same breath as the output of Clash speaks tomes. That they choose 'Guns Of Brixton' is ultra-cool, one of the verses has the lyric 'His game is called surviving as in heaven as in hell', which at that stage has particular pertinence to Jess' situation. The passing, incisive opinion on the shifting of the defining boundaries between mainstream and alternative, is irreverent and - well, correct.