New Belle and Sebastian Single

RORY: Lane, this is flat out stalking.
LANE: Look, I don’t have much time. I’ve already used up my five minutes of phone time so this is totally illicit, but I have to talk to you. There’s a new Belle and Sebastian single coming out today.

Belle and Sebastian, Scottish indie pop group formed in Glasgow in 1994 by Stuart Murdoch and Stuart David. After the limited release of their 1996 album Tigermilk , they recruited other musicians and singers. The band took their name from a short story Murdoch had written inspired by the television adaptation of the French novel Belle et Sébastien about a six-year-old boy and his dog.

Their 1996 album If You’re Feeling Sinister is widely considered the band’s masterpiece, while their 2000 album Fold Your Hands Child, You Walk Like a Peasant brought mainstream success in the UK.

In fact, Belle and Sebastian didn’t release any new singles in 2002, although they brought out an album called Storytelling in June, the soundtrack to the 2001 film of the same name. Their most recent single was “I’m Waking Up to Us”, an EP put out on November 26 2001. It went to #39 in the UK and #22 in Scotland. It was #4 on the UK indie charts. I can only think this is the single Lane is referring to.

The song is about the break up of a relationship and the realisation that it would never have worked, which would fit in with Lane’s mood. Some of the lyrics include:

You know I love you here’s the irony
You’re going to walk away intact
I think you never liked me anyway …

I think I’m waking up to us
We’re a disaster
You don’t want to know me

Dairy and Mucous, Salt Water and Vinegar

PARIS: Dairy’s bad too because of the mucous. You haven’t had any dairy in the last forty-eight hours, have you?
RORY: In my cereal this morning.
PARIS: Geez! Okay, well there’s a solution of salt water and vinegar that can help cut that.

Paris (who is allergic to dairy herself) tells Rory that she isn’t allowed to have any dairy foods before the debate, because it stimulates the production of mucous. It’s commonly believed, but in fact this is a complete myth. There is simply no link between drinking milk and producing more phlegm. It’s thought that because milk and saliva form a moderately thick liquid that briefly coats the throat and tongue, it gives the illusion of having increased phlegm, hence the reason for the mistaken belief.

However, she is correct that vinegar is a natural decongestant – the usual home remedy is apple cider vinegar with honey in it. Salt water is also an excellent gargle to clear the throat, so it seems as if Paris has put the two things together to create what she must think is a doubly-powerful remedy. I’m hoping she only intends it as a gargle – drinking salt water is obviously bad for you, and might make Rory sick.

Litchfield

LORELAI: So where’d this business trip take you?
CHRISTOPHER: Your neck of the woods, actually. I’m in the Litchfield area.

Litchfield is a historic town in Connecticut with a population of around 8000 (about the size of Stars Hollow). This comment seems to place Stars Hollow in Litchfield County, the location of Washington Depot, Milford Green, and Woodbury, which can be seen as inspirations for the town and its setting.

What business Christopher could be doing there is a bit of a headscratcher – he works for a Boston company that helps struggling technology companies trim their resources, presumably softening them up for corporate takeovers. Litchfield County is a rural area with a low population density, farmland, and small towns: what tech company could possibly be located there?

I can only think he is actually in Hartford or New York or something, or the whole thing is a lie. Perhaps Christopher has actually lost his job?

Pinteresque

RORY: Sometimes I will add a dramatic pause to prove a point, undercutting my wpm.
PARIS: Let’s not harbor any Pinteresque fantasies here, Rory.

Paris is referring to playwright Harold Pinter (1930-2008), one of the most influential modern British dramatists, with a career spanning more than 50 years. His best known plays include The Birthday Party (1957), The Homecoming (1964), and The Betrayal (1978), each of which he adpated for the screen. He wrote several other screenplays, and directed or acted in radio, stage, television, and film productions of his own and others’ works. He received over 50 awards and honours, including the Nobel Prize for Literature in 2007.

To say that something is “Pinteresque” means that is characteristic of the dialogue in a Harold Pinter play, which (among other things) contains long, brooding pauses. “The Pinter pause” is considered a trademark of his style.

Willie Nelson

RORY: I talk normally.
PARIS: For the average Willie Nelson roadie, yes, but not for a winning debate team member.

Willie Nelson (born 1933), country music singer, actor, and activist. He gained critical success with his 1973 album Shotgun Willie, then both critical and commercial success with his follow up albums in 1975 and 1978, making him one of the best known country music stars, and a leading figure in the outlaw country subgenre.

He’s appeared in more than 30 films, co-authored several books, and been involved in activism for the use of biofuels and the legalisation of marijuana. I think it is the activism for marijuana that Paris is thinking of – as if all his roadies will be stoned and speaking in stereotypical “stoner” voices.