• Yesterday the news broke that American Idol’s next season — its 15th for those of you keeping score at home — will also be its last. (When Ryan Seacrest is the only thing keeping you connected to your roots, it’s time to pack it in.) In short, given a steady decrease in ratings, the announcement surprised no one. However, it was still a sad day for Harry Connick, Jr. because now he’s going to have to go back to making records. Or movies about dolphins.
• Of course, your day could always be worse. You could appear on the cover of an Iranian book for couples experiencing sex issues like Thom Yorke did. Presumably, this is not official Radiohead merch, but then, you never know those fun-loving guys…
A pic of @radiohead‘s vocalist @thomyorke on a book about sex problems between couples published in Iran pic.twitter.com/TFKGGLs1Xw
— Sobhan Hassanvand (@Hassanvand) May 11, 2015
• Pulp fans have long wondered about the identity of the sculpture student described in “Common People.” They’ll be happy to know there’s a potential name in the mix.
Back in 2013, Jarvis Cocker admitted to BBC Radio 5 that the lyrics, “She came from Greece she had a thirst for knowledge / she studied sculpture at St. Martin’s College” did, in fact, apply to a specific muse he’d met while studying at St. Martin’s himself in the ’80s. Now the Athens Voice is claiming the woman is Danae Stratou — an artist who is married to the Greek Minister of Finance, Yanis Varoufakis. When the BBC contacted Varoufakis, he stated:
Well, I wouldn’t have known her back then. But I do know that she was the only Greek student of sculpture at St. Martin’s College at that time. [Stratou attended from 1983-1988 and Cocker from 1988 – 1991.] And, from personal experience, she is a very fascinating person.
Stratou has yet to confirm or deny any of this, which makes sense. If you were the inspiration for a song about a shallow, classist dilettante that makes the whole world dance while sneering at what a clueless snob you are—”Laugh along even though they’re laughing at you/ And the stupid things that you do/ Because you think that poor is cool”—you might also keep it to yourself.
• There’s a rumor going around that Jay Z bought Beyoncé one of the dragon eggs from the Season One finale of Game of Thrones and it was started by none other than Daenerys Targaryen. Emilia Clarke, who plays the Mother of Dragons on the HBO show, told Harper’s Bazaar that she tried to steal one for herself, but couldn’t pull off the heist. Then she noted, “Apparently Jay Z bought one for Beyoncé, or something. I don’t know.” While, in all likelihood, Clarke was making a passing joke, the remark was picked up by Complex who quickly speculated on the possibility of Bey and Jay’s GoT fandom. (They also questioned whether or not Beyoncé’s favorite character would be Cersei, which is just crazy talk as it would obviously be Ygritte.) Jay Z has yet to comment on the purchase.
Valar morghulis. Happy Tuesday.