Gary Jules and the group rules

I need to make something clear-- I drop names all the time and I have no shame in it.... none at all. I still manage to, on a daily basis it seems, mention the fact that I once met J.T. LeRoy at the Viper Room. See, I did it again.

So, anyhow, I took a Mark Twain seminar with Gary Jules (I was hardly ever there of course) when I went to school in. L.A.-- at around the same time that his cover of "Mad World" made it into the film "Donnie Darko"

Let's see what I can remember about him... His last name was Aguirre and he had returned to school some ten years after having initially failed out. He ended up graduating in Fall 2001. Hmmm.... Alls I can really remember is that he seemed like a really nice guy and he had some of the best tattoos I have seen to date... especially this really interesting tattoo of a star centered around his elbow. I was always staring at it. Oh, and he brought his first album, which was released independently, into class once and the professor passed it around 'cause the cover photo made some kind of allusion to Huck Finn or something. Oh, and one time I peed in the stall next to where I think he was pooping. My conversion to using bathroom stalls to pee in instead of just using the urinals is a whole story in itself.

Anyhow, I was thrilled to hear that Michel Gondry directed his video for the American release of "Mad World"--His song made it to #1 in England--. Michel Gondry is the brilliant mind behind the really cool Bjork videos, a couple of The White Stripes videos, and the new film "Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind". I can't wait to see it!!!

The Nerve Interview: Michel Gondry