The Week That Was
Here's an irony: David Foster Wallace was super talented and then he went ahead and committed suicide; Jessica Simpon's career, meanwhile, will not die no matter what happens. Maybe that's not irony...maybe it just sucks.
Friday: File this under “slow news day.” Everyone’s favorite ‘90s front man, Rob Thomas, is releasing another solo album! Remember? He was the Matchbox 20 guy. Sang lots of songs about girls he used to like. I bet they became “lost loves” after they heard him croon. Anyway, if you have intense nostalgia for the ’90s like I do, you tend to keep up with these things. According to a Billboard.com report, he’s about “80% done” with his second album, a follow-up to 2005’s …Something To Be. I’m eagerly anticipated this one…not! Sike! God, I miss childhood.
Saturday: This is just tragic—acclaimed novelist David Foster Wallace died today at the age of 46 from an apparent suicide. His wife came home and found that he had hung himself. Wallace, who received the MacArthur Genius Grant in 1997, wrote some of today’s best prose, from his novel Infinite Jest to nonfiction works like A Supposedly Fun Thing I’ll Never Do Again. Also, his work Brief Interviews with Hideous Men is set for a theatrical release, starring John Krasinski and Ben Gibbard. His work had already made its way into the modern canon, and had a profound effect on those who read him. These texts will be cherished and respected for years to come. We can only hope that he’s found peace.
Sunday: Well done, Coen Brothers! Burn After Reading claimed the top spot at the movie theatres this weekend, with $19.1 million. I’m guessing that a lot of that money came from people who just wanted to remember what Brad Pitt looked like when he wasn’t toting around a child from every nation in the world. I’ll see it because of my huge girl crush on Frances McDormand. You try watching Fargo without thinking she’s amazing—I dare you.
Monday: The Killers strike again! Just with their third album. Day & Age is due out on November 25—just in time for Thanksgiving. The first single is “Human.” Hmm…seems a little eerie to me. I’m intrigued.
Some more sad news—one of the founding members of Pink Floyd, Rick Wright, 65, passed away today after a short battle with cancer. He was their keyboardist in the early years, as well as a songwriter for both Dark Side of the Moon and Wish You Were Here. Rest in peace, indeed.
This news isn’t so sad. MTV finally decided to pull the plug on Total Request Live after 10 torturous years. Let’s be honest. It all went downhill after Mariah Carey had her infamous “ice cream cart meltdown.” Now there’s some weird Australian girl that hosts it, and I think they keep the Jonas Brothers on hand just to make sure that they have a guaranteed viewership. They’ll have a huge two-hour special in November to put it to bed, and after that, kids will have to get their music videos somewhere else. Like YouTube.
Tuesday: I’m a little sad that Amy Poehler is leaving SNL officially after the election season. It makes sense, since she’s having a baby…and she does have that Office spin-off to attend to. But still, she’s one of the last good cast members left on the show. Sigh. I guess I’ll have to start liking Andy Samberg.
Wednesday: After all that hubbub with marketing the CD as a paper lantern, some unicorn decals, and T-shirts, Of Montreal has been forced to push back the Skeletal Lamping release date to October 21. It’s totally worth the wait, though, considering how much I love paper lanterns.
Thursday: Unfortunately, thanks to Jessica Simpson’s recent invasion of the country music genre, it looks like she’s going to be around for a few more years. Her new album, Do You Know, debuted at No. 1 on the country charts. It must be a result of all those cowboy boots she’s wearing, and her insistence on saying “y’all, I’m just a country girl. I like boys and mashed taters, just like you!”
In interactive news, everyone’s flipping out about that new game Spore from the mastermind behind The Sims. Here’s another reason to get your e-panties in a bunch—Brian Eno contributed music to the soundtrack. Time to start crafting my own creature society set to bitchin’ ambient sounds.
Posted by Alyssa Vincent, Alyssa Vincent on Sep 19, 2008 @ 12:00 am
