Rabbit, run

As I mentioned earlier in the week, The Shins are going to be everywhere, and they made an appearance (in advance of this coming Saturday's SNL performance) in last night's episode of The O.C., opening with the track "Turn On Me," from their forthcoming album Wincing the Night Away.

But don't go thinking the song's inclusion is purely promotional, as the lyrics reveal much about the episode:

"So affections fade away,
And do adults just learn to play
The most ridiculous, repulsive games?
On the faith of ruddy sons,
And the double-barreled guns,
You better hurry,
Rabbit, run, run, run."

The first lines about the playing ridiculous relationship games is pretty obvious to the plot (Summer & Seth playing a game of matrimonial chicken, Taylor & Ryan playing... whatever it is that they're playing,) but also notice the 'rabbit' reference here. Ok... I'm not suggesting the rabbit here is a direct reference to Summer's rabbit 'Pancakes,' but instead John Updike's Rabbit Run, which details the dangers of marrying your high school sweetheart at too young an age. Summer here is Updikes 'Rabbit' Angstrom character in reverse, as instead of reflecting on her past as Rabbit does, she sees her future (as a 'newpsie bride') and runs away before the marriage can even happen. It seems 'Pancakes' the rabbit might have just really been a physical manifestation of this literary comparison all along.

This is all running it's course in the background, while at center stage, Taylor and Ryan deal with literature on a more conscious level. Taylor's ex (played with pizazz by Sleeper Cell's Henri Lubatti) is in town promoting a memoir written about Taylor (A Season for Peaches) which is described as Bridges of Madison County meets The Notebook meets... porn. When with her ex-husband, Taylor is revealed to be a French culture tour-de-force: poetry (Anais Nin,) philosophy (Sartre) and even politics (apparently lunched with Jaques Chirac.) All this has Ryan feeling understandably intimidated.

Meanwhile, R&B singer Chris Brown is referred to as 'dorkalicious" (not 'darkalicious' as a couple websites misheard, nearly alerting the NAACP,) but he's certainly not acting-chopsalicious. One episode later, he's still stiff as a board. He sure can sing, though. And yes, that was Jason Schwartzman (Rushmore, Marie Antoinette) singing the close out song ("The West Coast.") Let's not forget he used to be in Phantom Planet, who perform The O.C.'s theme song.

The O.C. - Episode 4.10
1. "Turn on Me" - The Shins
2. "I Spy" - Get Cape. Wear Cape. Fly (Video)
3. "I Ain't Losing Any Sleep" - The Sunshine Underground (MySpace)
4. "The West Coast" - Jason Schwartzman

Previously: Sinking Ship (Episode 4.09)

tags: music, television, soundtrack, the oc, the shins, chris brown, john updike, indie rock, rabbit run, books, anais nin, sartre, jason schwartzman