If you’ve ever wondered what your favorite literary characters might be listening to while they save the world/contemplate existence/get into trouble, or hallucinated a soundtrack to go along with your favorite novels, well, us too. But wonder no more! Here, we sneak a look at the hypothetical iPods of some of literature’s most interesting characters. What would be on the personal playlists of Holden Caulfield or Elizabeth Bennett, Huck Finn or Harry Potter, Tintin or Humbert Humbert? Something revealing, we bet. Or at least something danceable. Read on for a cozy reading soundtrack, character study, or yet another way to emulate your favorite literary hero. This week: Jay Gatsby, Fitzgerald’s ink and paper representation of the quintessential American dream — with a dark side.
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In the publishing industry’s sprint to the holiday sales home stretch, few books succeed quite as well as the salacious celebrity bio — be it compelling biography or self-indulgent memoir. Whether written by devoted scholars or the icon in question (usually with the guiding hand of a ghostwriter), these pop culture tomes make for appealing reading and easy gifts — especially when probing the gossipy private life of a public figure. With the roll out of this year’s high-profile music bios — a staple of the celebrity book genre — now well under way, here’s a guide to the season’s standout studies and tone-deaf duds. Because, let’s face it: not everyone is as exciting on the page as they are on the stage.
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From Frank Sinatra to Foo Fighters, Five Hundred 45s: A Graphic History of the Seven-Inch Record chronicles more than half a century of vinyl-single art, all reproduced at original size.
Compiled and written by album designers Spencer Drate and Judith Salavetz, the book groups its 500 subjects thematically, rather than chronologically. Collectively, the images represent the best use of art, illustration, photography, and typography in the packaging of an analog format that has survived through the digital revolution.
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For some bands, there comes a time when music is not enough. Maybe the lead singer is acting like a diva, maybe there’s no more artistic inspiration, maybe your patented toothbrushes are made of toxic plastic, or maybe it’s just that you have a deep, unrealized vision of yourself as Julia Child. Regardless, for many musicians, food is the next frontier, and our Amazon shopping carts (if not our stomachs) are all the better for it. Want to make GWAR’s candied sweetbreads? How about some of Dolly Parton’s Dixie Fixin’s? Dig into our favorite musical cookbooks after the jump.
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1. Leonard Dicaprio — rumored to be at the top of Martin Scorsese’s list for that Frank Sinatra biopic — is taking singing lessons to improve his odds. [via The Sun]
2. By scooping up Zac Efron’s sloppy seconds, Chace Crawford has made it 100 percent easier for tweens to enjoy six degrees of Kevin Bacon. [via NYDN]
3. The critics’ tweets about the debut of Quentin Tarantino’s Inglourious Basterds at Cannes are decidedly mixed. [via /film]
4. Christie’s will auction off “Little Buddy,” a handwritten poem about a dying dog by a 16-year-old Bob Dylan. He wrote it at summer camp. [via Guardian]
5. Talking Points Memo’s Josh Marshall forgives Maureen Dowd for her “accidental plagiarism” of his work. [via NYT]
According to this article in the Telegraph, “Jamie Foxx, the African-American actor, singer and comedian, has been named as a potential contender for the role of Frank Sinatra in Martin Scorcese’s biopic of the entertainer.” Their source: this Daily Express piece which cites an anonymous “well-placed industry insider” (maybe one of Foxx’s agents?) chatting up a storm at Cannes. Read More »
“I don’t usually hang with men who wear earrings.”
- Frank Sinatra, who is featured and quoted by New York Times columnist Bono in his otherwise incomprehensible, but somewhat compelling, first column. Seriously, we just read it about three times and still don’t really know what it’s about. Something about sentimentality and the economic crisis and yellow paint. The best part is the section where he quotes Sinatra, who sounds just as ridiculous as Bono but at least made us laugh.
Here’s hoping that Bono continues utilizing his valuable op-ed space to spout off nonsense and quote celebrities, and instead of attempting to become the next Nick Kristof, just keeps channeling Cindy Adams.
