Clay-riffic

July 8, 2004 11:24 AM

"Untitled Inspirational Memoir" by American [White] Idol '03 Clay Aiken hits #9 on the Amazon bestseller chart. It will be published (presumably with a title) in November. Order yours today. Or, run home and mail off your Great American Novel -- or at least your own dashed-off U.I.M. -- to Random House, publisher to the stars.
posted by serafinapekkala (22 comments total)

At least Sedaris is at #4.
posted by serafinapekkala at 11:26 AM on July 8, 2004

Yet another reason to fret over the decline of literature in this country. As reported in the New York Times this morning (registration required).

On a semi-unrelated note.... I really dig your user name Serafinapekkala. I just finished The Amber Spyglass last night. Good stuff.
posted by fancypants at 11:39 AM on July 8, 2004

American [White] Idol '03

I'm not sure what this means. First, I don't see how it's relevant to your post. Second, Aiken wasn't the 2003 American Idol. It was Ruben [Black] Studdard.
posted by pardonyou? at 11:42 AM on July 8, 2004

Why thank you, fancypants. I read that NYT article also, and as an English major I quake in fear of our "medieval-like oral culture based on television" overlords.
posted by serafinapekkala at 11:47 AM on July 8, 2004

Why should I more upset by the pre-publication success of American [White] Idol Clay Aiken's untitled inspirational memoir than by the pre-publication success of American [White] President Bill Clinton's titled un-inspirational memoir? Should I begrudge David [Gay] Sedaris his wonderful success? Let a thousand [Pink, Blue, Violet] flowers bloom.
posted by Faze at 11:49 AM on July 8, 2004

Hey Faze: You're an asshole.
posted by xmutex at 11:54 AM on July 8, 2004

Okay, also, putting Clay [White] Aiken makes you an asshole too, serafinapekkala.
posted by xmutex at 11:58 AM on July 8, 2004

pardonyou?, you got me -- it's not relevant to the link. I just continue to be amused at how Clay's rabid fan base has made him a bestselling musician (and now author, I guess) in the face of Ruben's winning the contest and getting the publicity machines of Fox and J Records working for him. I've (over)heard more than a few arguments of the "Ruben only won because he's black" variety -- sheesh. I guess time will tell if Justin Guarini or Diana Degarmo get that Runner-Up Touch that Clay seems to have...
posted by serafinapekkala at 12:00 PM on July 8, 2004

Hey Faze: You're an asshole.

That may be true, but in this case Faze also has an excellent point which was pertinent and on-topic (and funny).
posted by anastasiav at 12:16 PM on July 8, 2004

I also find it hilarious to watch [white] people make fun of [white] people. Public displays of self-flagellation are entertaining.
posted by jonmc at 12:33 PM on July 8, 2004

I openly apologize to Faze. I missed the poster's initial "Clay [white] Aiken" which makes Faze's response not only valid but pretty funny and I in turn label only the poster an asshole.

Now that we have that cleared up...
posted by xmutex at 1:03 PM on July 8, 2004

thanks for that, x[Asshole]mutex.
posted by quonsar at 3:45 PM on July 8, 2004

Metafilter: Meta [white] filter.
posted by delmoi at 4:59 PM on July 8, 2004

xmutex: You are apperantly not an asshole! However, you are quite stupid.
posted by delmoi at 5:00 PM on July 8, 2004

When you're that guy: [who swoops into threads and inserts an insulting, yet occasionally witty, one-liner]---sometimes you get burned, and when you do, it looks baaaad.
posted by BlueTrain at 5:27 PM on July 8, 2004

So, is applying snarky adjectives in brackets in vogue? Sheesh, I miss all the fun trends.

Formless[Clueless]One
posted by FormlessOne at 5:51 PM on July 8, 2004

Heh. I didn't even put those brackets there on purpose. Although an interesting case of transference.
posted by BlueTrain at 6:09 PM on July 8, 2004

At times like this, I wonder if I should make Metrolike omit Amazon links too.
posted by britain at 6:42 PM on July 8, 2004

Blue[Balls]Train?
posted by billsaysthis at 7:23 PM on July 8, 2004

After seeing this, can you blame me?
posted by BlueTrain at 8:12 PM on July 8, 2004

It has a title now: Learning to Sing: Hearing the Music in Your Life.

Confession time: I think Clay Aiken is kind of adorable in a goofy way. There, I said it.
posted by SisterHavana at 10:19 PM on July 8, 2004

I look forward to the nation's schools changing the curriculum and making this required reading. Of course the school schedule is too tight, therefore something will have to be cut in order to make room for this critical book of inner dialogue.

I fear it's coming.
posted by fluffycreature at 4:50 AM on July 9, 2004