LANE: So, Janie Fertman’s trying to be my friend again. RORY: Yikes. What kind of vibe are you giving her? LANE: Oh, my patented Keith Richards circa 1969 ‘don’t mess with me’ vibe ….
Keith Richards (born 1943), famous as co-founder, co-songwriter, guitarist, and secondary singer for English rock band the Rolling Stones, previously mentioned. As a member of the Rolling Stones, Richards was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1989, and the UK Music Hall of Fame in 2004. He is regarded as one of the world’s best guitarists and the best creator of guitar riffs. [photo shows Richards in 1969]
EMILY: She wouldn’t stop scowling. LORELAI: I was going for a Billy Idol thing.
Billy Idol (born William Broad in 1955), British-American singer. He first achieved fame in the 1970s as leader of London punk band Generation X, before a subsequent solo career made him a lead artist on MTV in the 1980s. His biggest hits include Dancing With Myself, White Wedding, Rebel Yell, and Eyes Without a Face. Billy Idol took a break from music during the 1990s, making musical comebacks in 2005 and 2014.
Billy Idol was known for his signature scowl, which he came up with as a way of making himself memorable. He could easily have been an artist that Lorelai enjoyed during her teen years.
This is the song which Rory is listening to her on her Walkman, which takes us out to the end of the episode.
It’s the second track from the 1998 album What Makes It Go?, from Swedish indie pop group Komeda. The album received good reviews, and is now regarded as their best album. The lyrics of the song reassure Rory that everything is alright, even in a “crazy world”. The madness has ended now, and she can return to her normal life.
Komeda was influenced by The Velvet Underground, one of Lane’s favourite bands, and was chosen to support Beck, one of Lane’s favourite musical artists. I don’t think it’s a stretch to imagine Lane recommended this album to Rory, and it might even be borrowed from her.
This is the song which plays while Lorelai and Emily do their turn on the catwalk.
Girls Just Want to Have Fun was written and first recorded by Robert Hazard in 1979, but is best known for the version performed by Cyndi Lauper, released as the lead single from her 1983 debut album, She’s So Unusual. It became her breakthrough hit, signature song, and a feminist anthem, reaching #2 on the charts, and promoted by a quirky, Grammy-winning music video.
The song describes a girl or young woman telling her parents that she needs to have some fun in her life in order to express herself. It’s something that Lorelai would have wanted to say to Emily and Richard when she was growing up, so the song must have resonated with her. Lorelai later says she chose all the music for the fashion show, and the chances are very high that this song is in her personal music collection.
(Note that Cyndi Lauper wears a red dress on the record cover and in the music video, just like Lorelai and Emily!).
IVY: She’s [Paris] funny? RORY: Oh yeah. Hilarious. I mean, the times that we have spent laughing together. I tell ya, she’s a regular Gary Mule Deer.
Gary Mule Deer (born Gary Miller, 1939), American comedian and country music singer. In a career spanning over six decades, he has performed major concert stages in the US, including Carnegie Hall and Grand Ole Opry, and made more than 350 television appearances, including on Hee Haw, previously discussed. He entertains regularly at casinos, including in Las Vegas, and for many years has toured in concert as a special guest to Johnny Mathis.
FRANCIE: Mariah Carey’s crackup. LEM: Have you heard her fan message recently? She’s fine and is currently staring at a really beautiful rainbow. IVY: Survivor, hello.
Mariah Carey (born 1969), American singer, songwriter, and actress. She rose to fame in 1990 with her self-titled debut album, and was the first artist to have her first five singles reach #1. She initially signed with Columbia, and married one of their executives in 1993 (they separated in 1997 and divorced in 1998).
In July 2001, after parting with Columbia and breaking up with her boyfriend of three years, Carey suffered a physical and mental breakdown. She began posting a series of disturbing messages on her official website, and displayed erratic behaviour on several promotional appearances, such as doing an unscripted striptease on MTV. The messages on her website spoke of being drained and burnt out by the music industry, and needing a break.
Carey was admitted to a hospital in Connecticut for treatment for two weeks, then remained absent from the public for some time. In late August (perhaps 4-6 weeks before the events of this episode), Carey posted an audio message on her website thanking fans for their support during her recovery.
In the message she told her fans, I just want to say thank you so much for all the letters and everything … as I speak to you, I’m looking at the most beautiful rainbow that is going across the entire sky, and I love you much! Thanks. Bye. She took the rainbow as a positive omen, especially as her 1999 album was called Rainbow.
Recently, Mariah Carey has revealed that she was diagnosed with bipolar disorder at the time of hospitalisation, but it took her some time to accept it. It must be said that Gilmore Girls was never particularly sensitive on the subject of mental health issues.
MENA: Lorelai Gilmore. So you’re Emily’s daughter? LORELAI: Oh, yeah. You know my mother? MENA: Oh, very well. We’re on the Philharmonic committee together. She told me to keep an eye out for you.
A Philharmonic Society is one dedicated to organising concerts of classical music, and the name is reminiscent of the New York Philharmonic Orchestra, suggesting the committee is one which supports a symphony orchestra. It could very well be one and the same with the Symphony Fundraising Committee, which Emily sits on with Headmaster Charleston’s wife, Bitty. Either that, or the writers have given Hartford two symphony orchestras, and Emily supports both.
Mena is on the committee with Emily, and they seem to be on good terms. This may have been another thing assisting Lorelai to be so easily accepted by the Booster Club mothers. Emily is very influential – rejecting her daughter would not be a smart thing to do.
LORELAI: Talk to some kids, I’ll hang out with their moms, and we’ll get into Harvard, take over the world, then buy Chilton and turn it into a rave club.
A rave club is one which hosts dance parties (“raves”), typically featuring Djs and electronic dance music. Most often associated with the early 90s.
Note that Lorelai says, “We’ll get into Harvard”, rather than “You’ll get into Harvard”, as if Rory has to succeed for both of them.
This is the song which Rory listens to while she reads in the dining hall at lunchtime.
Know Your Onion! is a 2002 single by American indie rock band The Shins, a release from their critically-acclaimed 2001 debut album, Oh, Inverted World.
The lyrics are from the perspective of a suitably angry and frustrated loner who’s been shut out of a society they can see through with devastating clarity – a comment on the theme of this episode. It suggests Rory isn’t as content with her lonely position at Chilton as she might appear.
These lines seem especially pertinent:
The songs that I heard The occasional book Were the only fun I ever took And I got on with making myself
Rory spends her lunchtime reading and listening to music because it’s her only authentic choice for doing something she enjoys.
Rory listens to music on her Walkman while she reads, a brand of portable media player made by Sony since 1979 (originally it played cassettes). A prestige model was released in 1999 for the anniversary of its release. The name Walkman is now often used to refer to any similar product, just like Kleenex.
The Annotated Gilmore Girls 