Those Lazy-Hazy-Crazy Days of Summer

A popular song written by German composer Hans Carste with lyrics by Hans Bradkte, first recorded as “Du spielst ‘ne tolle Rolle” by Austrian singer Willy Hagara in 1962. It was recorded in 1963 by Nat King Cole, with English lyrics by Charles Tobias, who gave it a nostalgic theme. Cole’s version went to #6 in the US, and #3 on the Middle-Road Singles Chart. It is the opening track on his album of the same name.

It is from the song that the episode gets its title, and serves as the inspiration for and soundtrack to Taylor’s First Annual Stars Hollow End of Summer Madness Festival. In keeping with the theme of madness, a barbershop quartet sings this song on a sanity-eroding permanent loop at the festival. It is performed by Mick Foster and Tony Allen in the show.

Bauhaus

RORY: What else did you take?

LORELAI: Nothing. Your comforter came into my room by itself . . . and brought your Bauhaus T-shirt with it.

Bauhaus, English rock band, formed in 1978. The group consists of Daniel Ash (guitar, saxophone), Peter Murphy (vocals), Kevin Haskins (drums) and David J (bass). The band is named after the German art school, Bauhaus. One of the pioneers of gothic rock, Bauhaus were known for their dark image and gloomy sound, although they mixed many genres, including dub, glam rock, psychedelia, and funk.

Their 1979 debut single, “Bela Lugosi’s Dead” is considered one of the harbingers of gothic rock music and has been influential on contemporary goth culture. Their debut album, In the Flat Field, is regarded as one of the first gothic rock records. Bauhaus went on to achieve mainstream success in the UK with their third album, The Sky’s Gone Out, which peaked at No. 4 on the UK Albums Chart in 1982. That same year, they also reached No. 15 on the Singles Chart with a standalone cover of David Bowie’s “Ziggy Stardust”, earning them an appearance on Top of the Pops. They broke up in 1983.

This is another indication that Rory likes gothic rock, and dark, gloomy music in general.

Peaches and Herb

LORELAI: And, by the way, I got you out of dinner with the Gilmores tonight. I thought you and Dean might enjoy a little Peaches and Herb time together.

Peaches and Herb, vocal duo created in 1966. Herb Fame (born Herbert Feemster in 1942) is the “Herb”, and seven different women have filled the role of “Peaches”. The most famous ones are the first Peaches, Francina “Peaches” Barker (1947-2005), and the third one, Linda Greene, who appeared on their biggest hits, “Shake Your Groove Thing” (1978) and “Reunited” (1979).

It is the song “Reunited” that Lorelai is referring to, with its line Reunited, and it feels so good. The song went to #1 in the US, and was popular around the world. It is unlikely that Rory is quite as excited about her reunion with Dean as Lorelai seems to want her to be.

Carson Daly and Cheney

PARIS: I mean, why not just send Carson Daly over to the Middle East next time Cheney goes, huh?

Carson Daly (born 1973), radio and television personality. He was a VJ on MTV’s Total Request Live, and a DJ for the southern Californian radio station 106.7 KROQ-FM. In 2002, he joined NBC as the host and producer of late night talk show Last Call With Carson Daly.

Richard “Dick” Cheney (born 1941) [pictured], politician and businessman who served as the 46^th vice president of the US from 2001 to 2009 under president George W. Bush. Cheney, often cited as the most powerful vice president in American history, ended his tenure as an unpopular figure in American politics, partly due to an incident where he accidentally shot an acquaintance while hunting. In 2007, the Taliban claimed an assassination attempt on Cheney while he was visiting Afghanistan. Dick Cheney, a Yale alumnus, is currently the oldest living former US vice president.

“American Secretary of the Treasury traveling around with Bono”

PARIS: I mean, come on, Senator Boxer, as one of our foremost Democratic leaders, I ask you – do you really think it looks good to have the American Secretary of the Treasury traveling around with Bono? I mean, I know apparently he’s a saint, he’s going to save the world, yada, yada, yada, but my God! He never even takes the sunglasses off.

Paris refers to Paul H. O’Neill (1935-2020) economist and government official who served as the 72^nd US secretary of the treasury from January 2001 to December 2002. He was known for his outspoken manner, which would eventually see him sacked in December 2002 for his public disagreements with the Bush administration.

In May 2002, O’Neill visited Africa with Irish rock star Bono (born Paul Hewson in 1960), to draw attention to its poverty. Bono is the frontman for band U2, frequently mentioned as one of Lorelai and Rory’s favourite bands. Since 1984, Bono had been involved in efforts to raise funding in aid of Africa, and in 1999 became a lobbyist in Washington DC on behalf of non-profit campaigns to raise awareness of Africa’s plight. He is known as one of the world’s best-known philanthropic performers.

Bono is known for always wearing dark glasses. In 2005, he revealed that his eyes were extremely sensitive to light, and in 2014 that the sensitivity was caused by glaucoma.

People and Works Referenced More Than Once in Gilmore Girls (Up to Season Two)

Women

Christiane Amanpour

Pamela Anderson

Jane Austen

Simone de Beauvoir

Bjork

Anita Bryant

Mariah Carey

Cher

Colette

Joan Crawford

Emily Dickinson

Celine Dion

Enya

Ella Fitzgerald

Zsa Zsa Gabor

Judy Garland

P.J. Harvey

Lillian Hellman

Barbara Hutton

Carole King

Ricki Lake

Jennifer Lopez

Courtney Love

Madonna

Carmen Miranda

Marilyn Monroe

Nico

Yoko Ono

Dorothy Parker

Sam Phillips

Sylvia Plath

Emily Post

Dawn Powell

Britney Spears

Meryl Streep

Martha Stewart

Barbra Streisand

Elizabeth Taylor

The Virgin Mary

Barbara Walters

Eudora Welty

Virginia Woolf

Men

Abbot and Costello

Woody Allen

Kevin Bacon

Beck

Matthew Broderick

Mel Brooks

Charles Bukowski

Chang and Eng Bunker

George Clooney

Elvis Costello

Kevin Costner

James Dean

Charles Dickens

Fyodor Dostoevsky

William Faulkner

Sigmund Freud

William Randolph Hearst

King Henry VIII

William Holden

Hubert Humphrey

Michael Jackson

Henry James

Jesus Christ

Pope John-Paul II

James Joyce

Ted Kaczynski

John F. Kennedy

Stephen King

John Lennon

Nathan Leopold and Richard Loeb

Baz Luhrman

David Lynch

Barry Manilow

Charles Manson

Arthur Miller

Benito Mussolini

Paul Newman

Richard Nixon

Charlie Parker

Sean Penn

Regis Philbin

Grant Lee Phillips

Brad Pitt

Iggy Pop

Elvis Presley

Prince

Paul Revere

J.D. Salinger

William Shakespeare

Frank Sinatra

Steven Spielberg

Sylvester Stallone

Hunter S. Thompson

John Travolta

Mark Twain

Tom Waits

Books

Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? by Edward Albee

Tuesdays with Morrie by Mitch Alborn

Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll

Don Quixote by Miguel de Cervantes

The Mourning Bride by William Congreve

Howl and Other Poems by Allen Ginsberg

Hansel and Gretel by The Brothers Grimm

Rapunzel by The Brothers Grimm

The Iliad by Homer

The Sketchbook of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent by Washington Irving

Nancy Drew series by Carolyn Keene

On the Road by Jack Kerouac

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

Paul Revere’s Ride by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow

A Mencken Chrestomathy by H.L. Mencken

The Crucible by Arthur MIller

Gone With the Wind by Margaret Mitchell

Remembrance of Things Past by Marcel Proust

The Fountainhead by Ayn Rand

Hamlet by William Shakespeare

Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare

Anna Karenina by Leo Tolstoy

Secrets of the Flesh: A Life of Colette by Judith Thurman

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain

The Last Empire by Gore Vidal

Slaughterhouse Five by Kurt Vonnegut

The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams

A Streetcar Named Desire by Tenneessee Williams

The Bible

The Compact Oxford English Dictionary

Comics

Peanuts

Superman

Periodicals

Cosmopolitan

InStyle

Jane

The New York Times

The New Yorker

The Wall Street Journal

The Washington Post

Films

Babe

Bambi

The Boy in the Plastic Bubble

Cinderella

David and Lisa

The Deer Hunter

Dr Dolittle

Fatal Attraction

Footloose

Frankenstein

Fried Green Tomatoes

Funny Girl

Ghostbusters

Glitter

The Godfather series

Grease

Heathers

The Horse Whisperer

How the Grinch Stole Christmas

The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1939)

Invasion of the Body Snatchers

The Little Rascals

Mary Poppins

The Matrix

Midnight Express

The Miracle Worker

Monty Python and The Holy Grail

Oklahoma!

The Outsiders

Rebel Without a Cause

The Rocky Horror Picture Show

Rosemary’s Baby

Say It Isn’t So

The Shining

Sixteen Candles

Sleeping Beauty

Stalag 17

Star Wars

A Streetcar Named Desire

Tears and Laughter: The Joan and Melissa Rivers Story

West Side Story

The Wizard of Oz

The Yearling

Bands

98°

Ash

B-52s

The Bangles

The Beatles

The Bee Gees

Belle and Sebastian

Black Sabbath

Blondie

The Cure

Duran Duran

Foo Fighters

The Go-Go’s

Grandaddy

Grant Lee Buffalo

Metallica

Motley Crue

NSYNC

Pixies

Rolling Stones

The Sex Pistols

The Spice Girls

Steely Dan

Van Halen

The Velvet Underground

Wilco

XTC

Albums

Wasp Star (Apple Venus Volume 2) – XTC

Songs

What a Wonderful World – Louis Armstrong; Joey Ramone

I Can’t Get Started – Ella Fitzgerald

Someone to Watch Over Me – Rickie Lee Jones; Marty and Elayne

Where You Lead – Carole King

It’s a Small World After All – Richard and Robert Sherman

We Are Family – Sister Sledge

Teach Me Tonight – Dinah Washington

My Little Corner of the World – Yo La Tengo

Television

All in the Family

The Andy Griffith Show

BattleBots

The Brady Bunch

Charlie’s Angels

The Facts of Life

Get Smart

Happy Days

I Love Lucy

Jeopardy

Joanie Loves Chachi

Lassie

Looney Tunes

The Mary Tyler Moore Show

Mutual of Omaha’s Wild Kingdom

The Odd Couple

The Oprah Winfrey Show

The Powerpuff Girls

Saved By the Bell

Star Trek

This Old House

The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson

The Twilight Zone

Twin Peaks

Wheel of Fortune

Wonder Woman

Music Referenced in Season Two

Albums

Odessa – The Bee Gees

Parachutes – Coldplay

Live at the El Mocambo – Elvis Costello

Liege & Lief – Fairport Convention

… And Then There Were Three – Genesis

Beauty and the Beat – The Go-Go’s

Barry Manilow Live – Barry Manilow

Kick Out the Jams – MC5

The Black Saint and the Sinner Lady – Charles Mingus

Jagged Little Pill – Alanis Morisette

The End … – Nico

Nude & Rude – Iggy Pop

Philosophy of the World – The Shaggs

!!!!!Here Are The Sonics!!!!! – The Sonics

The Unwritten Works of Geoffrey, Etc – Whistler, Chaucer, Detroit, and Greenhill

Songs

Fernando – ABBA

Highway to Hell – AC/DC

Girl From Mars – Ash

Dance This Mess Around – B-52s

Macarena – Bayside Boys

Be True to Your School – Beach Boys (performed by Grant-Lee Phillips)

Hey Jude – The Beatles

Stayin’ Alive – The Bee Gees (performed by Marty and Elayne)

I’m Waking Up to Us – Belle and Sebastian

Legal Man – Belle and Sebastian

Human Behaviour – Bjork

Rapture – Blondie

Love Will Keep Us Together – Captain & Tenille

Cat’s in the Cradle – Harry Chapin

Believe – Cher

Gypsys, Tramps and Thieves – Cher

Thank Heaven for Little Girls – Maurice Chevalier

One Fine Day – The Chiffons

Guns of Brixton – The Clash

Walkin’ After Midnight – Patsy Cline (performed by Sean Gunn)

This is Hell – Elvis Costello

Church of the Poisoned Mind – Culture Club

Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Ole Oak Tree – Dawn ft Tony Orlando

Que Sera, Sera (Whatever Will Be, Will Be) – Doris Day

Whip It – Devo

Hotel California – Eagles

Car Song – Elastica

Deora Ar Mo Croi – Enya

A-Tisket, A-Tasket – Ella Fitzgerald

I Can’t get Started – Ella Fitzgerald

Hava Nagila – Folk Song

I Found Love – The Free Design

Get Happy – Judy Garland

Jubilee – Grant Lee Buffalo

November Rain – Guns ‘N’ Roses

Perfect Situation for a Fool – George Highfill

(In My) Solitude – Billie Holiday

(If Loving You is Wrong) I Don’t Want to Be Right – Luther Ingram

L-O-V-E – Irving

Seasons in the Sun – Terry Jacks

Billie Jean – Michael Jackson

Rocket Man – Elton John

Where You Lead (I Will Follow) – Carole King

It’s Alright, Baby – Komeda

Girls Just Want to Have Fun – Cyndi Lauper

Ramble On – Led Zeppelin

I’ll Go Home With Bonnie Jean – Alan Jay Lerner and Fredrick Loewe

One Step Beyond – Madness

Like a Prayer – Madonna

Music – Madonna

Don’t Cry Out Loud – Melissa Manchester

Looks Like We Made It – Barry Manilow

Until the Real Thing Comes Along – Dean Martin

I Can’t Give You Anything But Love, Baby – performed by Marty and Elayne

Someone to Watch Over Me – performed by Marty and Elayne

White Lines – Mel Melle

Conga – Miami Sound Machine

Hail, Hail, The Gang’s All Here – Theodora Morse

Dr Feelgood – Motley Crue

Love Hurts – Nazareth

O’Oh – Yoko Ono

Price Yeah! – Pavement

Oh Sherrie – Steve Perry

Nothin’ is for Sure – Grant-Lee Phillips

Spring Released – Grant-Lee Phillips

Love is Everywhere I Go – Sam Phillips

Monkey Gone to Heaven – Pixies

I’m Bored – Iggy Pop

Du Hast – Rammstein

What a Wonderful World – Joey Ramone

What a Friend We Have in Jesus – Joseph M. Scriven

Anarchy in the UK – The Sex Pistols

It’s a Small World After All – Richard and Robert Sherman

Know Your Onion! – The Shins

A Foggy Day (In London Town) – Frank Sinatra

Come Fly With Me – Frank Sinatra (performed by Marty and Elayne)

Fly Me to the Moon – Frank Sinatra (performed by Marty and Elayne)

The Way You Look Tonight – Frank Sinatra

We Are Family – Sister Sledge

True – Spandau Ballet

You’re Just in Love – performed by Sally Struthers and Liz Torres

I’ll Be Your Mirror – The Velvet Underground & Nico

Teach me Tonight – Dinah Washington

Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go – Wham! (performed by Grant-Lee Phillips)

Heavy Metal Drummer – Wilco

Valley Girl – Frank & Moon Unit Zappa

Classical/Opera

Prague Symphony – Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart

La Traviata – Giuseppe Verdi

Artists

Bryan Adams

Greg Allman

Anita Bryant

Mariah Carey

Dido

Celine Dion

Dr Dre

Bob Dylan

Marianne Faithfull

Bryan Ferry

P.J. Harvey

Billy Idol

Janet Jackson

Jerry Lee Lewis

Liberace

Yo-Yo Ma

Chuck Mangione

Bette Midler

Willie Nelson

Olivia Newton-John

Ted Nugent

Sinead O’Connor

Charlie Parker

Tom Petty

Elvis Presley

Bruce Springsteen

Sting

Tom Waits

Chuck E. Weiss

Neil Young

Bands

The Bangles

Bay City Rollers

Buena Vista Social Club

The Damned

Dave Matthews Band

Def Leppard

Destiny’s Child

Duran Duran

Hole

Hootie & the Blowfish

The Judds

Linkin Park

The Lovin’ Spoonful

Metallica

The Monkees

Nirvana

No Doubt

NSYNC

Rolling Stones

Rush

Slint

The Spice Girls

Tool

Van Halen

The Who

Wu Tang Clan

I Can’t Get Started

At the end of the episode, Sookie and Jackson’s wedding is about to begin, as we hear the strains of their wedding song, “I Can’t Get Started”, previously discussed.

The episode nears it conclusion with a shot of Rory and Lorelai, locked in their own secret relationship difficulties, neither sharing them with the other, as they have to focus on the wedding. Rory has secretly kissed another boy while on a date with her boyfriend, and still looks shellshocked by her own action. Lorelai is heartbroken over being dumped by another woman’s boyfriend, who is going back to be a father to their unborn child – something he could never muster the energy for when it came to Lorelai’s daughter.

The song “I Can’t Get Started” is written from the perspective of someone who is successful in every possible outward way, yet they don’t have a hope of beginning the relationship that they want. In the same way, Lorelai is a successful mother, homeowner, community participant, and businesswoman; Rory is a successful student, journalist, debater, and now Vice-President elect at a prestigious private school. However, success in romance is eluding them. It’s the complete opposite to the end of Season 1, which concluded with both Lorelai and Rory infatuated with their respective partners, and bubbling over with happiness and excitement.

Walkin’ After Midnight

The song sung by Kirk at the wedding. It’s a country pop song, written by Alan Block and Don Hecht in 1954, first recorded by Lynn Howard with The Accents in 1956.

It is best known for the version sung by country music artist Patsy Cline, first performed in 1957 on the television show, Arthur Godfrey’s Talent Scouts. Despite Cline not liking the song, she won first place in the TV contest, and there was such a strong audience response to the song that it was rushed out as a single within a month.

“Walkin’ After Midnight” became Patsy Cline’s first major hit, selling over a million copies, and reaching #12 on the charts, #2 on the country music charts.

The song is about someone so lonely after a breakup that they go for long walks in the early hours of the morning, unable to sleep for the misery. It’s a suitable choice for Kirk, who had earlier confessed his loneliness to Luke.

You’re Just in Love

The song Miss Patty and Babette together at the wedding, while Morey plays piano. It’s a popular 1950 song by Irving Berlin, first performed by Ethel Merman and Russell Nype in the Broadway musical Call Me Madam; Merman later reprised her role for the 1953 film version, featuring the song as a duet with Donald O’Connor [pictured]. The song has been recorded several times, most successfully by Perry Como and the Fontana Sisters, who reached #5 in the charts for 1950.

The lyrics of the song give the message, You’re not sick, you’re just in love – a callback to Rory crying that she must be “sick” to have cut school to see Jess in New York. Now Lorelai has done something even more questionable, and the song is telling the Gilmore girls (and Jess?) that they’re not sick in the head, they are simply in love.