Friday, February 26, 2010

ALSO RULED OUT: ALEXANDER HAIG, WILLIAM COLBY, AND FRED FIELDING: Carly Simon has finally named David Geffen as the inspiration of "You're So Vain." This finally ends years of speculation that leading candidates Mick Jagger, Kris Kristofferson, and Cat Stevens were, in fact, vain.

Any other great pop culture mysteries yet to be solved?

43 comments:

  1. Paul Tabachneck9:18 AM

    Is this an official reveal?  I feel like she wasn't directly quoted -- this feels like conjecture on the part of the Sun.

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  2. The Pathetic Earthling9:19 AM

    If the Sun says it, it's gospel, right?

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  3. The Pathetic Earthling9:20 AM

    If the Sun says it, it's gospel, right?

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  4. Benner9:42 AM

    "You had me several years ago / When I was still quite naive. / Well, you said that we made such a pretty pair / And that you would never leave. / But you gave away the things you loved / And one of them was me."

    Not Geffen, at least not on the basis of whispering "Neffeg Divad" on a new album.  (Paul is Dead, anyone?)

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  5. Anonymous9:45 AM

    Wait, I thought it was Warren Beatty.  All my life, I thought it was Warren Beatty.

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  6. Meghan9:46 AM

    <span>Wait, I thought it was Warren Beatty.  All my life, I thought it was Warren Beatty.</span>

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  7. Pretty sure one of the lines is, "Or the wife of a close friend."  Not what I'd expect from Geffen.  Composite still makes more sense to me.

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  8. I'll note that twice this week I made Al Haig "I'm in charge here!" jokes that flew over the head of my only slightly younger audience.  Ah, generation gaps.

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  9. lisased10:22 AM

    Try explaining "I'm in charge here!" and why it was just wrong to a third grader.

    "But he took initiative!"

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  10. Remaining pop culture mystery: who Oughta Know?  Dave Coulier is so vain that he thinks the song is about him.

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  11. Says Wiki: "In 2004, Simon told Regis Philbin, "If I tell it, it's going to come out in dribs and drabs. And I've given out two letters already, an "A" and an "E." But I'm going to add one to it. I'm going to add an "R," in honor of you.""

    Other pop culture mystery: What's in Marcellus Wallace's briefcase?

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  12. Adam C.11:05 AM

    Well, that ain't Geffen, then - no R.  W<span>ARRE</span>n B<span>EA</span>tty still works.

    What's in Marcellus's briefcase is The MacGuffin.  That's all it ever needs to be.

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  13. Joseph J. Finn12:15 PM

    No no, it's Elvis' gold suit from True Romance.

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  14. lisased12:20 PM

    Another mystery: What did Bill Murray whisper to Scarlett Johansson in "Lost in Translation"?

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  15. bad dad12:20 PM

    Reverse Beard?

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  16. Didn't she auction off the answer to the question a few years back?  And the winner isn't allowed to tell who it is until the subject of the song died?  So she can't be telling people or the auction winner will want their money back!
    Via Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/You're_So_Vain

    <span>Dick Ebersol</span>, president of <span>NBC</span> Sports and a friend of Simon, was the highest bidder for a <span>Martha's Vineyard</span> Possible Dreams charity auction offering in which the prize was the revelation of the person that "You're So Vain" was about. After making the winning bid of $50,000, Ebersol was given a private performance of the song at Simon's home and Simon whispered the subject into his ear. A condition of the prize was that Ebersol would not reveal the person to anyone. Ebersol said that Simon allowed him to divulge a clue about the person's name: "Carly told me that I could offer up to the entire world, a clue as to what she'll tell me when we have this night in about two weeks. And the clue is: The letter 'E' is in the person's name."<sup></sup><span><span>[</span>6<span>]</span></span>

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  17. Lazygal1:05 PM

    Why did Billy Joe McAllister jump off the Tallahatchie Bridge?

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  18. Subjects on which I trust The Sun are pretty much limited to:

    1.  The comings and goings of British celebs about which I do not care (Jordan, Jade Goody).
    2.  Having a topless lady in the paper every day.

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  19. Benner1:38 PM

    Maybe it was Dick Ebersol, trying to keep the truth from getting out.  I'm shocked he only bid $50,000, unless the only other bids were in the $10 - 15,000 range.  

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  20. bill.1:44 PM

    Media lies! He was pushed.

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  21. bill.1:53 PM

    The original spouses of Mike and Carol Brady. Glancing at wikipedia: Mike was a widow and Carol's circumstances were never mentioned.

    I see a tell-all book written by Cindy after years of recovered-memory therapy. Skipping to the last page, Alice, as Carol's secret lover, did them both in. They only had one bathroom because she was just pretending to be a housekeeper.

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  22. Joseph J. Finn2:13 PM

    Accordiong to Barry William's book, Carol was supposed to be a divorcee but ABC balked at that for some reason, so they left it vague.

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  23. I know where Jade Goody is: DEAD.

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  24. Alex Gordon2:44 PM

    Has the number of licks it takes to get to the center of a Tootsie Roll Pop ever been conclusively determined?

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  25. Adam C.2:46 PM

    One, too-hoo-hoo, thrrrrrree.  Chomp.  Three.

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  26. Devin McCullen4:15 PM

    Going really old-school, I would still like to know who put the bomp in the bomp-bah-bomp-bah-bomp.

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  27. Adlai4:26 PM

    Apparently Geffen's middle name is Lawrence.

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  28. Maret4:43 PM

    Regardless of the truthiness of the reveal, no discussion of "You're So Vain" is complete without  reading <span>JOHN MOE'S POP-SONG CORRESPONDENCES, VOLUME XI: </span>A Retort<span> </span>to Carly Simon<span> </span>Regarding Her Charges<span> of Vanity.</span>

    His other Pop-Song Correspondences are also well worth a read.
    <span> </span>

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  29. Mr. Cosmo5:04 PM

    Devin, maybe you'd like to *know*, but I'd like to *thank* the guy who wrote the song . . .

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  30. bad dad5:05 PM

    Try this link:

    http://www.mcsweeneys.net/2006/2/13moe.html

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  31. Mr. Cosmo5:10 PM

    Other mysteries:
    (For the lyricists) What is it that Meatloaf won't do?
    (Because I really want to know) Who are you?
    (For those watching too much Disney XD) In what tri-state area is Danville located?

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  32. On #1, is it the same thing that Jeffrey Toobin apparently wants to do?

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  33. bill.5:51 PM

    The Tootsie Pop wiki page once linked to three studies investigating the number of licks. For some reason this valuable information is gone. Luckily, Tootsie.com records the outcome of the valiant researchers at Purdue, University of Michigan, and Swarthmore Junior High.

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  34. The Pathetic Earthling5:55 PM

    I know, first-hand, that one thing Jeffrey Toobin wants me to do is be very, very, very, very clear that the phone number he left goes to an office at New Yorker Magazine, not New York Magazine.  Maybe even more than that other thing, given his tone.

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  35. isaac_spaceman7:02 PM

    Video has been removed, so mystery unsolved.

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  36. isaac_spaceman7:10 PM

    Huh, I always thought "Who Are You" was about some antisocial bar-brawling drunk, and the "who are you" is a taunt.  Now that I've looked up the lyrics, it's pretty clear that it's about a drunk dumpee.  The "you" is just a girl.  Not as exciting, really. 

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  37. Have I ever told here the story of the call I took (during the Hoeffel campaign) from Philip Gourevitch from the New Yorker?  I swear he sounded like the guy from Costington's on The Simpsons.

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  38. Alison10:50 PM

    There's a Danville in PA.

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  39. I always thought Warren Beatty would look mighty fine in apricot.  Suits his eyes.

    re: the Brady Bunch - I always considered it creepy that the children NEVER mentioned their missing parents.  Dude, repressed, much??

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  40. The Pathetic Earthling11:59 AM

    In fairness, Bobby did mention it (and indeed had a picture of his mother) in the wedding episode.  Of course, he never mentioned it again no doubt with worry of giving Carol the vapors.

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  41. Anonymous4:16 PM

    Keep posting stuff like this i really like it

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