May 4, 2002

10:14 AM

Dale Earnhardt, Inc to honor Lisa 'Left Eye' Lopestonight at the Pontiac 400, thanks to autopsy photos circulating on the net. "We want to express our deepest sympathy to her family, friends and fans. She was a very gifted young woman who will be greatly missed. She has a huge following here at our shop." The DEI cars -- driven by Steve Park, Dale Earnhardt Jr. and Michael Waltrip -- will each carry a [black] stripe under the left headlight. In addition, over the wall pit crew members on all three teams will wear black stripes under their left eye in Saturday night's event.
posted by junkbox (26 comments total)

oh jesus....what crap is this now...typical nascar mentality. how about a huge rubber over the mouths of whoever thought of this misguided tribute to a forgettable "star".
people, please get a real life, before you start posting this bullshiiiiiit
posted by billybob at 10:21 AM on May 4, 2002

"She has a huge following here at our shop."

*rolls eyes*
posted by mmesker at 10:37 AM on May 4, 2002

Sheesh, I thought this was just another Onion article until I actually read it. Professional sports don't get any more white in the U.S. than NASCAR.

Millions of redneck race fans must be thrilled!
posted by mark13 at 10:47 AM on May 4, 2002

Bizarre story. Are the Earnhardts paying tribute because they are TLC fans or because they were offended by the Internet publication of her post-mortem photos?

It seems odd that they're still trying to let the public know how aggrieved they were about Dale Earnhardt Sr.'s autopsy photos, which to my knowledge never ran on the Internet and were never shown to any of the press thanks to their court fight. How offended can you be about something that you prevented from happening?
posted by rcade at 11:07 AM on May 4, 2002

Professional sports don't get any more white in the U.S. than NASCAR.

Which does, to be fair, make this all the more weird and notable. Plus, memorial "left eye" stripes are particularly surreal.
posted by BT at 11:09 AM on May 4, 2002

strange gravefellows
posted by tsarfan at 12:21 PM on May 4, 2002

"Hey look, they're talking about NASCAR, here is my chance to make a funny, cutting remark... I am soooo clever, look at me."

Did anyone notice that the lead singer from Alice In Chains, Layne Staley, died recently? Oh, well, he did. He too was young.
posted by hotdoughnutsnow at 12:29 PM on May 4, 2002

Mh..and what about the death of any dude on the workplace, maybe because some moron decided to save on security costs ? Nothing against singers , but hell what's so important about her ? It's sad because she's dead, not because she was a star. Git a clue.
posted by elpapacito at 12:49 PM on May 4, 2002

I disagree - I love this post. The Internet connection(the autopsy photos)and the real-life symbolic correspondence/representation via the black eyepatches and strips on the left headlights makes this a truly interesting phenomenon.

The fact she wasn't famous makes it all the more interesting - now she is. And has a MetaFilter thread about it. If that isn't irony at its best - and proof that the Web means something to the outside world - well at least it's damn funny.

[Though I'd like to know more about the autopsy pictures and the train of thought that led to the hommage].
posted by MiguelCardoso at 1:02 PM on May 4, 2002

Nothing against singers , but hell what's so important about her ?

Um, the whole point of it is because she has already been singled out by those who circulate her autopsy photos. DEI, having been in a similar position, is taking a stand against that. They're not randomly picking Famous Person X.
posted by claxton6 at 1:13 PM on May 4, 2002

"she wasn't famous" ?

according to more or less every news article on her death, TLC was "the biggest-selling girl group ever." how that's calculated, I don't know, but ... yeah, she was famous. not appreciated by the MetaFilter demographic, obviously, but that's irrelevant, except for the purposes of those here who require ever-increasing amounts of bad taste and/or snark in their daily diet.
posted by Sapphireblue at 1:21 PM on May 4, 2002

I just want to say that I think this is a nice tribute on the part of DEI. And that this sort of family-mentality is what makes me a NASCAR fan. Well, a fan of stock car racing - there are a few choice things I'd say to Mike Helton if I ever met him.
posted by annathea at 2:06 PM on May 4, 2002

It's been raining most of the day here in Richmond. I can't wait to see all the DEI pit crews looking like Liza Minnelli.

All I can say is that it's a fortunate thing that a rap star named Dirty Sanchez didn't perish in an automobile accident.
posted by machaus at 2:39 PM on May 4, 2002

I imagine it's possible one or two people working for DEI are, um, in the TLC demographic. Or, maybe, sometimes, white people buy albums by black people. No, let's just assume they're all rednecks, though, so our worlds aren't shattered by complexity.

TLC trumped the girl groups in sales, said the AJC:

The trio's second album, "CrazySexyCool," sold in the vicinity of 11 million copies, making it the top-selling album by a female group of all time.... Was TLC in fact the biggest girl group of all time? Perhaps. The group sold nearly 20 million albums in the United States alone and has numerous gold and platinum singles to boot. Even Diana Ross and the Supremes can't make that boast.

A chart shows that the all-time sales for the Spice Girls are 11 million albums, and for Destiny's Child, 13 million.

And for all the people who commented without reading the article:

Within days, morgue photos of Lopes were circulated on the Internet, striking a nerve within the Earnhardt organization.

For myself, heck, whatever. But I'm sure the gesture will be appreciated by fans.
posted by dhartung at 2:43 PM on May 4, 2002

is it ironic that they are honoring LeftEye in a sport that only has left turns?
posted by mkelley at 3:05 PM on May 4, 2002

...a sport that only has left turns?

not true
posted by machaus at 4:17 PM on May 4, 2002

...a sport that only has left turns

You're thinking of indy racing.
posted by mikhail at 5:07 PM on May 4, 2002

All I can say is that it's a fortunate thing that a rap star named Dirty Sanchez didn't perish in an automobile accident.

You win.
posted by SiW at 6:41 PM on May 4, 2002

And for all the people who commented without reading the article ...

What folks? Your sneer is off the mark -- there's nothing in the preceding comments that indicates the article wasn't read.
posted by rcade at 7:41 PM on May 4, 2002

The key difference between "TLC" and artists such as The Supremes and other pre-"hip" girl groups was CLASS. You know, as in TLC had/has none. Sure, they sold lots of albums, but there's still a LOT more people in this world who can hum about a dozen Supremes songs, versus those who can recall any TLC songs. That will change in time, of course, to some extent, but given the demographics, the % of people who buy/listen to any given artist during said artist's recording timespan, and the passage of time, The Supremes will outpace TLC in terms of memorability, longevity, and impact.

Of course, Billie Holiday and LaVern Baker reign supreme over all female recording artists. Ever.
posted by davidmsc at 9:24 PM on May 4, 2002

Damn, I thought it a pretty nice gesture, but who am I to take away from the "lets pile it on the southern rednecks (aren't they all) mentality."
posted by trox at 10:25 PM on May 4, 2002

A "stripe under the left headlight"?

Meanswhile, the wives of the drivers will burn down their houses and have vowed not to chase waterfalls for the duration of the race. It's a good thing it wasn't Madonna or the guys in the pit would be wearing traffic cones for bras.

So where are these morgue photos?
posted by pracowity at 10:52 PM on May 4, 2002

TLC and the Supremes have one thing in common: Both are classic examples of singles acts. TLC made the top of the Village Voice Pazz and Jop poll one year for top single. You couldn't imagine them getting it for an album. Now, the difference is, the Supremes hit their peak during an era of singles, not albums. TLC has worked in an era of albums (although the advent of the mp3 brings with it the possibility of changing that whole dynamic). Consequently, when you talk of how many albums TLC sold versus those sold by the Supremes, you're doing the old apples and oranges thing.

I never turned the dial when "No Scrubs" was on, by the way, and found "Unpretty" an amazingly straightforward, biting song for a singles act, or any type of act for that matter. I don't get the snobbery on display here. They didn't suck, really.
posted by raysmj at 1:20 AM on May 5, 2002

So where are the pictures?
posted by elvissinatra at 6:40 AM on May 5, 2002

You know, as in TLC had/has none.

My taste is not opinion, it's fact!
posted by anildash at 10:35 PM on May 5, 2002

yeah, i want the photos.
posted by shadow45 at 7:08 AM on May 6, 2002