So excited about Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist, which opens here on October 3rd.  I adore Michael Cera.  He plays Nick, who isn't gay, but plays in a queercore band.  Norah is played by Kat Dennings, who was also in 40 Year Old Virgin.  She and Nick are high school seniors and they end up running around Manattan, trying to get over their ex's and looking for a legendary band's secret show.  Of course, Nick and Norah nurse the sexual tension throughout the whole adventure, which just happens to be accompanied by a great soundtrack.  The line-up was just announced by Atlantic Records... check it out:

1.  Chris Bell – “Speed Of Sound”
2.  Devendra Banhart – “Lover”
3.  Bishop Allen – “Middle Management”
4.  Vampire Weekend - Ottoman”
5.  The Dead 60s – “Riot Radio”
6.  Takka Takka – “Fever”
7.  The Submarines – “Xavia”
8.  We Are Scientists – “After Hours”
9.  Band Of Horses – “Our Swords”
10.  Army Navy – “Silvery Sleds”
11.  Richard Hawley – “Baby You're My Light”
12.  Shout Out Louds – “Very Loud”
13.  Paul Tiernan – “How To Say Goodbye”
14.  The Real Tuesday Weld – “Last Words”
15.  Mark Mothersbaugh – “Nick & Norah’s Theme”

The album comes out on September 23rd.  You can pre-order next Tuesday, August 26th on the Atlantic Records website and get a free t-shirt (you have to be one of the first 200).  You can also get the album there in limited edition vinyl.

 
Lee Rosenbaum, veteran arts writer and author of the blog Culture Grrl is amazed at what museum folks are revealing to the press while under investigation for accepting stolen antiquities.  She has a good round-up of all the recent coverage.   Lee will also be  on These Days this Thursday as we spend an hour talking about the topic of cultural heritage and the role of museums.

I love Cary Grant – what’s not to love? He’s dashing and funny, gutsy but well-mannered, daring and thoughtful, and tall.  He was...oh, so tall.  And he could really wear a suit. Grant had a fascinating life, though I’ve chosen to ignore the fact that he was once a mime.  Mimes are disturbing. I suspect Cary Grant is the only mime I could love, especially if he was wearing a suit.  Anyway, Benjamin Schwarz of The Atlantic pays tribute to Grant.  I love this description of Grant’s accent:  “an amalgamation of low-born and refined, of West Country lilt and hard Cockney, overlaid with the clipped patter of baseball talk.” 

Here’s a scary bit (depending on your perspective) on the future of the beauty industry.  Botox will be a thing of the past. Wrinkle eradication will come in a jar and breast implants from your butt. 

Stephanie Coontz is a marriage historian and always has fascinating things to say about relationship trends and the current state of marriage.  I’ve had her on These Days before, and the topic makes our phone lines light up immediately.  Here’s an essay she recently wrote on marriage. One of the surprising statistics is that 40% of American children are born to unmarried parents. That seems incredibly high to me. 

Apparently, Sarah Silverman doesn’t like to be video taped on stage and have her performance end up on YouTube. She and Ben Bridwell of Band of Horses have something in common.