tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3829599.post111783091880047055..comments2024-01-28T00:20:40.933-08:00Comments on Agoraphilia: Whether VainUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger13125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3829599.post-1119110645527297732005-06-18T09:04:00.000-07:002005-06-18T09:04:00.000-07:00How does thinking oneself to be the subject of a n...How does thinking oneself to be the subject of a <I>negative</I> song make you vain? Wouldn't that make you either a)honest with yourself, if you're actually the subject or b)self-effacing, if you're not?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3829599.post-1118415443587888052005-06-10T07:57:00.000-07:002005-06-10T07:57:00.000-07:00Whitman, the song is about Carly, and her feelings...Whitman, the song is about <I>Carly,</I> and <I>her</I> feelings about the way he acts and treats her. His focus on himself in reaction to hearing the song accentuates the fact that he has never had any access to her feelings, or the effect on them that his actions have.Timothy Sandefurhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01416347637468098134noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3829599.post-1118186966149591282005-06-07T16:29:00.000-07:002005-06-07T16:29:00.000-07:00Wouldn't any thought on Carly's part that a few pe...Wouldn't any thought on Carly's part that a few people might think the song was about them, make the song, in some small way, about them?<BR/><BR/>Personally, I think the song is directed at one person in particular with Simon probably realizing (as j.v. points out) that some other men might take it as being about them. Bonus burns. <BR/><BR/>To me, the rest of the lyrics, even assuming factually tweaked, point to one person: Mr. Main Vain. A vain personality type would do all the other things described in the song: rock bright metro scarfs, take off to anywhere on a whim and compliment his girl by referring to her as part of a 'pretty pair.' We can argue all day long whether these things implicate vanity, but well-reasoned definitions of what actually constitutes vanity may be out of place in a textual interpretation of Carly Simon's musical motives. Just saying ;)<BR/><BR/>Anyhow, if the other behaviors described in the song are also about Mr. Main Vain, then he can both know the song is about him and still be vain. He's got vanity back-up. <BR/><BR/>I dunno, my mom thinks it's about a good friend of Taylor's. <BR/><BR/>Lex<BR/><BR/>P.S. Hey Jaime, do you really want to know the deal with this song,or is this some logic-exercise game you've been kickin around to later sell as lsat prep? Personally, I just care way too much about the song. I'll probably be thinking on your theory for days. Like, serious pre-bedtime and staring into the stars thinking. Damn you.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3829599.post-1118083135538788272005-06-06T11:38:00.000-07:002005-06-06T11:38:00.000-07:00Bloody Hell!I've had this damn song in my head all...Bloody Hell!<BR/><BR/>I've had this damn song in my head all frikkin' weekend since reading this post.<BR/><BR/>And even worse, someone "sang" it at a Memorial Day BBQ this year, so it's not even the original stuck in my head, it's karaoke caterwauling.<BR/><BR/>Oy vey!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3829599.post-1117854439735158842005-06-03T20:07:00.000-07:002005-06-03T20:07:00.000-07:00theres also that Nine Inch Nail song Starfucker th...theres also that Nine Inch Nail song Starfucker that borrows those lyrics... maybe he meant something different?Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3829599.post-1117847055710737882005-06-03T18:04:00.000-07:002005-06-03T18:04:00.000-07:00I dunno. One the one hand you could say, "Well, y...I dunno. One the one hand you could say, "Well, you're so vain that I you'd think this song is about you" indicates what the song is about. But I think it is a scathing, "obviously, this song is not about you, vain person."Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3829599.post-1117841401600654902005-06-03T16:30:00.000-07:002005-06-03T16:30:00.000-07:00I thought it had been settled that "you" was about...I thought it had been settled that "you" was about Warren Beatty.<BR/><BR/>Anyway, I react to the song the way Glen did. The song <I>is</I> about "you".<BR/><BR/>But, the only reasonable interpretation that I came up with, is that the song does tell things about him, but that's not what the song is really <I>about</I>.<BR/><BR/>It's really about self-absorption in general, not about the person in particular.Gilhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16905127825110313631noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3829599.post-1117837184739892222005-06-03T15:19:00.000-07:002005-06-03T15:19:00.000-07:00"Of course, maybe my idea is a bit forced because ..."Of course, maybe my idea is a bit forced because it suggests that a song can be addressed to one person (or set of people), but actually be about someone else. But then again, I think that happens quite a lot." <BR/><BR/>Yes, it's possible for a song to be *about* X but *addressed* to Y. Consider Michael Jackson and Phil McCartney in "The Girl Is Mine"; each singer is addressing the other, but the song is about the girl. <BR/><BR/>However, in this particular song, the use of the second person pronoun 'you' (in the title, even!) pretty clearly indicates that the addressee and the subject are one and the same. The song is about a person who is vain, and the singer says "you're so vain."Glen Whitmanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01425907466575991113noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3829599.post-1117835081064605102005-06-03T14:44:00.000-07:002005-06-03T14:44:00.000-07:00I think this post explains why Carly Simon now jus...I think this post explains why Carly Simon now just writes songs for "Winnie-the-Pooh" animated films.Kevin B. O'Reillyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/16145886080665210498noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3829599.post-1117834471159467932005-06-03T14:34:00.000-07:002005-06-03T14:34:00.000-07:00I think this makes sense because even if Simon had...I think this makes sense because even if Simon had addressed a group as being vain, they would be similarly not vain because the song really would be about them. You can be plural after all.<BR/><BR/>Of course, maybe my idea is a bit forced because it suggests that a song can be addressed to one person (or set of people), but actually be about someone else. But then again, I think that happens quite a lot. Isn't that what subversiveness is all about?<BR/><BR/>And I note despite my attempt to clean up my logic, I failed to successfully clean up my numbering. Oh well.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3829599.post-1117834079537770472005-06-03T14:27:00.000-07:002005-06-03T14:27:00.000-07:00Heh. Oops, poor editing on my part. Let me resta...Heh. Oops, poor editing on my part. Let me restate:<BR/><BR/>1) Simon actually addresses her song to nobody in particular (merely "you"), yet had someone in mind when she wrote a "song about them".<BR/>(2) A song being "addressed to someone" ("Hey, you, vain person") is different than a song being "about someone". [E.g., sometimes songs are addressed to people of virtue, but are about the unvirtuous, etc.]<BR/>(2) It is not vain to think a song is about you, when a song actually is about you.<BR/>(3) Those who mistakenly think the song is addressed to them are vain, and Simon had reason to believe there are several vain individuals who would mistakenly think so.<BR/>(4) The song therefore is actually about someone who is not vain, even though it is addressed to someone who is.<BR/><BR/>This could potentially confirm conventional wisdom that James Taylor is not vain, but that Warren Beatty and Mick Jagger are.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3829599.post-1117833898041544232005-06-03T14:24:00.000-07:002005-06-03T14:24:00.000-07:00How about:(1) Simon actually addresses her song to...How about:<BR/><BR/>(1) Simon actually addresses her song to nobody in particular (merely "you"), yet had someone in mind when she wrote a "song about them".<BR/>(2) A song being "addressed to someone" ("Hey, you, vain person") is different than a song being "about someone". [E.g., sometimes songs are addressed to people of virtue, but are about the unvirtuous, etc.]<BR/>(2) It is not vain to think a song is about you, when a song actually is about you.<BR/>(3) The actual addressee cannot be actually vain.<BR/>(4) Those who mistakenly think the song is addressed to them are vain, and Simon had reason to believe there are several vain individuals who would mistakenly think so.<BR/>(5) The song is actually about someone who is not vain.<BR/><BR/>This could potentially confirm conventional wisdom that James Taylor is not vain, but that Warren Beatty and Mick Jagger are.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3829599.post-1117832630646879592005-06-03T14:03:00.000-07:002005-06-03T14:03:00.000-07:00Vanity alone would not cause an individual to assu...Vanity alone would not cause an individual to assume all songs were about him; I think a large ego would be necessary as well.<BR/><BR/>Unless of course, he considers himself to be vain, and then assumes that all songs about vain people are about him. <BR/><BR/>The fact that he knows Carly Simon personally also might be a tipoff.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com