Subway

RORY: Where you going?

JESS: Subway.

RORY: I thought we were gonna walk.

JESS: It’s fifteen blocks. Come on, I think you’ll like it.

The New York City Subway System is a rapid transit system owned by the government of New York and leased to the New York City Transit Authority. It opened in 1904, and is one of the world’s oldest public transport systems, one of the most used, and the one with the most stations, with 472 in operation. Stations are located throughout the boroughs of Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens, and The Bronx.

There is/was a concentration of record stores in the East Village, and the one that Jess takes Rory to could very well be located in this area. If they caught the subway near Washington Square, and got off at the Bleeker Street, Broadway-Lafayette Street, or Second Avenue subway station, that would take them around fifteen blocks into the East Village, saving them about 25 minutes of walking.

It’s amusing that Rory is so prepared to walk for another half hour or so – she’s already had a long walk to get to the park! You’d think she’d be glad to catch the subway.

High Fidelity

JESS: There’s a record store you should check out. It’s run by this insane freak who’s like a walking encyclopedia for every punk and garage-band record ever made. Catalog numbers . . . it’s crazy. The place is right out of High Fidelity.

High Fidelity, 2000 romantic comedy-drama film directed by Stephen Frears, based on the 1995 British novel of the same name by Nick Hornby, with the film’s action moved from London to Chicago, but otherwise faithful to the book.

The film stars John Cusack as a music-lover named Rob with little understanding of women who owns a record store called Championship Vinyl. He and his employees Dick and Barry (played by Todd Louiso and Jack Black), armed with an encyclopedic knowledge of music, compile “Top 5” lists for every occasion, and openly mock their customers’ tastes. Eventually, Rob is able to produce a mixtape to please his girlfriend, Laura (played by Iben Hjejle).

High Fidelity was a commercial and critical success, receiving praise for its witty dialogue, strong performances and solid soundtrack. It’s been voted one of the best romantic comedies, and one of the greatest films of all time. It was made into a 2020 television series.

It’s interesting that Jess compares the record store he is taking Rory to with one out of a romantic comedy – especially one where a smart but emotionally obtuse young man learns to express his feelings.

EDIT: Thank you to High Fidelity fan Alisa for supplying the correct name of the actress playing Laura.

“We saw The Bangles here”

JESS: How well do you know Manhattan?

RORY: I’ve been here a few times. We saw The Bangles here.

JESS: When was that, twenty years ago?

The Bangles, previously discussed.

Rory refers to “Concert Interruptus”, when she saw The Bangles on their reunion tour in New York, in February 2001. Jess is polite about it when he knows Rory thinks they’re great, although he can’t possibly think they match his idea of what’s “cool”.

O’Oh

This is the song which plays while Rory and Jess walk through the streets of New York to get a hotdog and then go to the subway. It’s a 1992 song by Yoko Ono, first released on Onobox, a comprehensive 6-disc collection of Yoko Ono’s work from 1968 to 1985. It included 20 previously unreleased songs, of which “O’Oh” is one.

The lyrics are about a couple enjoying the Fourth of July celebrations in Central Park together, so it’s a song about New York. Some of the lyrics are:

I never knew we could be so nice to each other

I never thought we’d be laughing together

I never knew life could be sweet and simple

I never thought that was possible

Not only does the song suit the setting they are in (although it’s May, not July, and a different park), but the lyrics are about how Rory feels about Jess. The surprise of finding that being with him is not only sweet, but simple – you can feel how easily the two of them get along, how effortlessly they laugh together.

Rory finally gets to meet Jess away from Stars Hollow, and he’s not surly, not bitter, not sarcastic – he’s sweet, he’s nice, he’s funny, in a way she never thought possible. She has taken any number of practical, physical, and emotional risks to come to New York to see him, and she gets the softest of landings, as Jess finally opens up to her, now that he’s received unexpected proof of how much Rory cares for him.

There is a real flipside feeling to the choice of song, because when Rory had her sweetest and most romantic experience with Dean (sitting in the car wreck on their anniversary), the song chosen to accompany it was by John Lennon. Now her sweetest and most romantic scene with Jess is accompanied by a Yoko Ono song. (Both songs have Oh in the title, also).

It is as if Jess and Dean are her Yin and Yang – Dean the Yang which complements her, and Jess the Yin which matches her. With Dean, there is an attraction of opposites; with Jess, an attraction of like minds, or twin souls.

Sting, Screech

LORELAI: Hey, try to seat us next to a celebrity on the Concorde, like Sting or Screech or someone.

Gordon Sumner, known as Sting (born 1951) [pictured], English musician, singer, songwriter, and actor. He was the frontman, songwriter, and bassist for new wave rock band The Police from 1977 to 1984. He launched a solo career in 1985, and incorporates elements of rock, jazz, reggae, classical, new age and world music in his compositions. He has won 17 Grammy Awards, 3 Brit Awards, a Golden Globe, and an Emmy, has a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, received the Ivor Novello Award for Lifetime Achievement, and been inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame. As a member of The Police, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2003. One of the world’s best-selling musical artists, he is regarded as one of its greatest living songwriters, and one of the great musical stars of the twentieth century.

Samuel “Screech” Powers, a character from Saved by the Bell, previously discussed. Portrayed by Dustin Diamond (1977-2021), Screech was a geeky high academic achiever who lacked common sense and social skills.

David Lee Roth

JESS: It’s where David Lee Roth got busted.

David Lee Roth (born 1954), retired musician, singer, songwriter and radio personality, best known as the lead singer of the rock band Van Halen, previously discussed.

In 1993, Roth was arrested for buying $10 worth of marijuana from an undercover police officer in Washington Square Park, and paid a $35 fine. The incident made headlines and became something of a punchline.

Dance This Mess Around

The is the song that plays while Rory is on the phone to Jess, she shuts the door to block out the noise of the song. It’s another track from The B-52’s album, released as its third single. It’s a fan favourite, often played live in concert, and like “52 Girls“, is regarded as one of the band’s finest songs. “Dance This Mess Around” went to #24 on the Hot Dance Club Play chart in the US, and was most popular in New Zealand at #35.

Mick Jagger

RORY: Okay, here’s an interesting question for you – “Have you given any thought to how children will work into your future plans?”.

LORELAI: Oh, well, uh, they’re not gonna stand in my way, that’s for sure. I mean, I plan to have some, of course, but I’m just gonna knock ’em out and, uh, have Nanny catch ’em and care for ’em, make sure Mick Jagger doesn’t come anywhere near them and then just return them to me when they’re twenty-one.

Sir Michael “Mick” Jagger (born 1943), English singer, songwriter, actor, and film producer who has achieved international fame as lead vocalist and founding members of the Rolling Stones, previously mentioned. His songwriting partnership with Keith Richards is one of the most successful in history. Jagger’s career has spanned over six decades, and he is known for his distinctive voice and energetic live performances. He gained press notoriety for his romantic involvements which is why Lorelai says she’ll make Nanny keep him away from her (imaginary) children.

He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1989 and in 2004 into the UK Music Hall of Fame with the other band members. As both a member of the Rolling Stones, and as a solo artist, he has reached #1 13 times, made the Top Ten 32 times, and the Top 40 70 times. He was knighted in 2003 for his services to popular music.

Of course, this casual attitude to children is the exact opposite of Lorelai’s real mothering style, which is deeply protective, and, if anything, rather too involved in her daughter’s life. Although even in a joke, she is concerned about shielding them from unwanted influences.

52 Girls

This 1979 song is playing while Lorelai celebrates her exams being over with margaritas. It’s by new wave band the B-52s, from their debut album The B-52’s.The kitschy lyrics and hook-laden harmonies helped give the band a fanbase, and they released several chart-topping singles. The album received mostly positive reviews from critics, who noted that it cleverly recycled early funk and Chicago blues into an eminently danceable party album. The album went to #59 in the US, was most popular in Australia at #7, and is regarded as one of the greatest albums of all time.

This is a callback to “The Deer Hunters”, when Lorelai wore a B-52s tee shirt to the parent-teacher meeting. She told Max Medina she wasn’t really a big fan, it was just something to wear because she spilled coffee on her blouse. Now we see she is enough of a fan to own this album, and to put it on when she’s in a celebratory party mood.

By the way, the song’s title doesn’t refer to a particular number of girls, but is a tribute to those women, both famous and obscure, who rocked the beehive hairdo, otherwise known as the B-52, or just “the 52” (and are therefore “52 girls”). It is this hairstyle that the band is named after.

Shea Stadium When the Beatles Played

LORELAI: Ugh, Rory, my brain is full. It has reached capacity. It’s Shea Stadium when the Beatles played. It’s cramped and girls are screaming and I think George is fighting with Ringo.

Shea Stadium, officially the William A. Shea Municipal Stadium, was a a sports stadium in Flushing Meadows, Queens, New York, which opened in 1964. It was the home of the New York Mets baseball team and the New York Jets football team, and was demolished in 2009.

The Beatles opened their 1965 North American tour there to a record crowd of 56 000, one of the peaks of Beatlemania. It was the first concert held at a major stadium, and after that, Shea Stadium hosted many other big name music artists. The last concert there was Billy Joel in 2009, which closed with Paul McCartney performing “Let It Be”. Improbably, the same groundskeeper drove Paul McCartney to the first and last concerts at the stadium.