Gone in a second

I just found out that Brandi Carlile is a huge nerd, and here is why:

I've discovered what those "ball of snakes" tattoos on her arms actually are: they're the fuckin' auryn from The Neverending Story, and so they are also actually balls of snakes (of sorts). What a geek! Even though I don't really remember The Neverending Story, I love her for loving something so nerdy so much that she had it permanently stamped on her body. Twice. The other great thing about this is that at least one of the twins (Tim, I think) has a matching one on his right arm. I don't know about Phil--I've never seen his bare arms (I think--I can't tell them apart unless they're holding their instruments).

I wonder if she's read the book. I don't know if I want to know the answer to that, because nobody ever reads the book, and it breaks my heart every time. You think I'd learn, wouldn't you? However, this book is German, so if she hasn't read it, I'll give her a pass. And start to wonder if she's functionally illiterate... No! Just kidding. But the spelling in those lyrics for the new songs is horrible.

Then this just makes me thing of that stupid Strong Bad cartoon where Homestar pours Mountain Dew on Strong Bad's keyboard and sings, "the neverending sodaaaaaaa." Heh heh.

Now that I've wikipedia'd the novel (to make sure there was a novel), I think I have to read it. And watch the movie again. That's good, because The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test is not holding my attention. I am so over all that beat nonsense, though I've finally realized that I like Tom Wolfe's writing style. I'm just sick of hearing about the beat generation, you know? Also! Much like with Ken Kesey and the movie adaptation of One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, Michael Ende got so pissed off at the changes the movie was making to his novel that he sued the film people to get them to stop production or change the name of the film. Obviously, he lost. But how's that for a strange connection between the things my brain has kicking around in it?

PS: Just in case my relentless babbling causes somebody else to finally try to discover just why I keep going on and about this girl, here are my top 5 Brandi Carlile songs for your downloading and discovering pleasure:
1. "Downpour" - Sweet, simple song about missing her parents while she's livin' the transient life of a rock star. For whatever reason--the cello, her voice, mostly--this is actually my absolute favorite song of hers.
2. "Closer to You" - Rambling, countryfried, written with Tim, I never get tired of this one.
3. "The Story" - I dare you not to like this song (written by Phil! who I love, because he frequently performs barefoot).
4. "What Can I Say" - Featured on season 2 of Grey's Anatomy and quite possibly how I heard of her in the first place.
5. "Late Morning Lullaby" - Just beautiful. And it's about not wanting to get up in the morning, which is the story of my life.
Bonus: If you can find it, get "Boys Don't Cry." It's one of those songs I liked so much, it hurt me. If you can't find it, I will give it to you.
(If you want to go the whole album route, get The Story before Brandi Carlile.)