Carly Simon has finally answered one of the iconic questions of popular music, namely who was she singing of in the inimically titled 'You're So Vain'.
Well, Carly has disclosed the target of her disdain...
Come to find out it was her gay record producer and non-love interest David Geffen, the wealthy and very successful fashion and cultural sophisticate.
And not...this guy.
Who would've thunk it?
You know, my aversion to the handsome and charming Mr. Beatty was largely a measure of the rumors that he was unkind to the women that loved him. Turns out it was never like that. He never spoke of the women he was entwined with, except to praise them. And all the criticism directed towards him he simply shrugged off as though nothing had happened. He never spoke up to defend himself, conducting himself in a remarkably disinterested and chivalrous manner.
Having been the subject of false accusations myself, I have a great appreciation for the hits he weathered for the sake of being a stand-up kind of guy. Hat tip to you, Mr. Beatty.
Now in his later years, the former high school sports star continues to rise in my estimation. I'm going to have to watch his portrayal of Bud Stamper in 'Splendor in the Grass' again, opposite the young Natalie Wood as Wilma Dean 'Deannie' Loomis. That was a heart rending tale of good intentions gone awry. As a young actor, he was remarkably good in it.
Update:
So Robert Stacy McCain goes to the trouble to put his finger in my eye over the whole Carly Simon thing. Like what, I'm a reporter now? I'm supposed to know that English tabloids don't always fact check their stories before going to print?
Anyways, no more links to Stace.
That's it for me.
I mean it. The guy is a royal pain.
You know, it's funny. I saw something the other day about the answer to the old "You're So Vain" riddle, and although I didn't think about it for more than a moment at the time, I was aware of a sense of disappointment -- not that the apparent answer was David Geffen, and that it wasn't even a romantic disillusionment that had inspired the song, but that Carly Simon ("my" Carly Simon) had undone the mystery.
ReplyDeleteThe first time I heard of Carly Simon was when she performed, with James Taylor, on some TV show, when I was thirteen. They were so perfect, together and separately, the music, their harmonies, her shyness, his calm -- I was immediately in love. With Carly Simon, with James Taylor, with Carly-and-James. At some point I heard that "Vain" was about someone "real', but obviously, nobody could possibly be as real as James, so I never cared "who". Their divorce -- the end of the marriage that I had "known" to be the perfect romantic union of equals -- hit me as hard as if I had actually known them, and watched their family grow.
But none of this came back to me until I was surprised to find how relieved I was that the mystery wasn't as solved as we thought.
I don't know why it matters to me, except that it is a relic of an earlier time, an earlier me. It ties in with what we were talking about elsewhere -- the sweet intensity of the memories of early romances, of cautious hopefulness and delighted surprise, and the too-soon-lost ability to be blissfully, deliciously, unguardedly, happy in the moment.
Who would've thunk it?
ReplyDeleteTHIS is Just Too Weird.
I mean, In the small-world, I-was-just-commenting-to Ilion-about-this sense.
ReplyDeleteThere was supposed to be comment in between the 8:06 and the 8:18 -- I don't know where it went!
ReplyDeleteSimply: Your Who would've thunk it? line being really weird -- in the I-was-just-commenting-to Ilion-about-this sense.
Cath, did you check out that two-bit hack, Robert Stacy McCain? I mean, what the...?!!
ReplyDeleteImagine the nerve of the guy linking over here, all on account of his taking it in the shorts over some cleavage war he got into with Bob Belvedere.
As if?! He ainna gonna win no cleavage war with Bob Belvedere! (And no, I'm not gonna link Bob Belevedere - there are women and children reading this blog!!) Taking on Belevedere is like going against Sicilians in a fight to the death. You donna wanna go there.. capisci?
Never mind us, Cathy. We're just being goofy. That Stacy McCain is a funny guy. Smart too.
ReplyDeleteBy the way, that's a great comment Cathy, and I appreciate your sharing it with me. There is an innocent sense of things being as they should be, and though James and Carly broke apart, there is something about the mystery to that song that takes us back to that time and the world as it was, then.
ReplyDeleteDo you ever watch an old movie, and pretend in your mind that it is the year that the movie came out in... that it is 1978, or whatever the year might be? You have to remember what you were doing then, where you were living, who was in the house, how you were getting to school. With the visual cues in the show, it sometimes will give you the feel.
It's kind of fun sometimes.
I can't believe McCain linked this post! What a maroon!!
ReplyDeleteFunny you mentioned the way old movies "take you back" -- I just watched Raiders of the Lost Ark with my 9-year-old nephew (first time for him -- such fun watching him watch it!), and I absolutely remember everything about going to see it almost 20 years ago.
ReplyDeleteWow, that Darrell is something, isn't he. I throw out a couple of ideas and he reels off a whole stream of consideration that is highly detailed, highly insightful and leaves little else to be said. I'm glad you are in there pitching away. I'm sure it makes it a lot more fun for them.
ReplyDeleteThe funny thing about this Caprica show is the concept of an alterante reality that the characters all spend time in. I have to say it reminds me some of myself. For the past three years I have gone from a reader of political op-ed pieces, to reader of those plus a reader of some fun blogs, to a commentor on those blogs, to a frequent commentor and now to a blogger myself. I have a whole host of friends that I have never seen, and I enjoy interacting with them at least as much as the people around me at work. The holo-world experience is eerily familiar.
Wow.
Taking on Belevedere is like going against Sicilians in a fight to the death.
ReplyDeleteWow, it's all so cosmic, man. I kept trying to figure out why that seemed so familiar...
You fool! You fell victim to one of the classic blunders - The most famous of which is "never get involved in a land war in Asia" - but only slightly less well-known is this: "Never go against a Sicilian when death is on the line"!
(Vizzini, The Princess Bride)
The holo-world experience is eerily familiar.
ReplyDeleteI've almost decided the Losties are avatars, and the time travel is just moving suddenly between levels.
Don't tell Darrell... ;)
That's really good - you caught The Princess Bride reference, along with a little of The Godfather mixed in.
ReplyDeleteNicely done.
Can't take credit for The Godfather, but I love The Princess Bride
ReplyDelete