I went to the same high school as Jessica Simpson!
Of course, I didn’t go there at the same time that Jessica did. Jessica was long gone by the time I started the 9th grade. As well, I actually graduated while Jessica dropped out so she could become a super-rich celebrity instead. That said, I did take a few classes that were taught by Jessica’s former teachers, who all agreed that Jessica was a sweet person. To be honest, most of my classmates made a big deal about being kind of cynical about going to the same high school as Jessica Simpson. You’re never more jaded than you are between the ages of 13 and 18. Myself, I’ve always liked Jessica Simpson because we’re both from Texas and we both occasionally play dumb for the laughs.
Anyway, this song was written when Jessica was going through a very public divorce from Nick Lachey. It’s an empowerment song that also happens to be really depressing, which is really the best type of song there is. There’s something to be said for a good depressing song and a good depressing video.
Today, the Shattered Lens wishes a happy birthday to Jessica Simpson. On a personal note, we went to the the same high school, though I started a few years after she had already left.
Today’s music video of the day is the latest from Jessica Simpson. Jessica Simpson actually went to my high school, though she was a student long before I got there. She was often held up as an example of what we, as students, could achieve even though she dropped out without graduating.
In other words, don’t worry too much about that diploma.
The other night, I was watching Class of 1984 with a group of friends (including three TSL writers), and I we started discussing what our high schools were known for. When I was a student there, my high school was probably best known for the fact that Jessica Simpson attended the school in the 90s. She didn’t graduate because she left Texas for Hollywood but that was still our claim to fame. It’s interesting because people didn’t care that was my school was also named one of the best high schools in America and that it had an acclaimed drama department. But they definitely cared that Jessica Simpson dropped out before I was even old enough to attend.
(Is it a good thing when your school is best known for a student who dropped out and went on to become a success with G.E.D.?)
Today’s song of the day was inspired by that conversation. Here’s Jessica Simpson, covering These Boots Are Made For Walkin’.
(Yes, I know that no cover can compare to Nancy Sinatra’s other but I didn’t go to Nancy Sinatra’s high school. Plus, I’m a Southern girl with a closet full of boots. I relate to this version.)
You keep sayin’ you’ve got somethin’ for me Somethin’ you call love but confess You’ve been a’messin’ where you shouldn’t ‘ve been a’messin’ And now someone else is getting all your best
These boots are made for walkin’ And that’s just what they’ll do One of these days these boots are gonna walk all over you Ya
You keep lyin’ when you oughta be truthin’ And you keep losing when you oughta not bet You keep samin’ when you oughta be a’changin’ Now what’s right is right but you ain’t been right yet
These boots are made for walkin’ And that’s just what they’ll do One of these days these boots are gonna walk all over you
You keep playin’ where you shouldn’t be playin’ And you keep thinkin’ that you’ll never get burnt (ha) I just found me a brand new box of matches, yeah And what he knows you ain’t had time to learn
These boots are made for walkin’ And that’s just what they’ll do One of these days these boots are gonna walk all over you
Here’s Jessica Simpson to help get us into the Christmas spirit! I don’t know if I’m going to get any snow in December but I’ll take some rain and some moderately cold weather. I love the holidays no matter what the weather may be.
This music video features Jessica Simpson and her friends — Christina Applegate, Christina Milian, and Eva Longoria — hitting the roller rink and debating how famous they would like to be. They’re already famous enough that Ryan Seacrest is driving their limo and Andy Dick is handing them their roller skates. What was going on with Andy Dick anyways? I’ve never heard one person, famous or not, describe a positive interaction with Andy Dick but somehow, for a few years, he just seemed to show up everywhere. Were that many people really saying, “I want Dick in 2006.” Wait, that didn’t come out right …. oh well, I’m too lazy to rephrase.
This video was directed by Brett Ratner. There used to be a reality show called On The Lot. It was like American Idol for aspiring filmmakers. One of the guest judges was Brett Ratner and all the contestants were like, “I mean, Brett Ratner is the guy who made me want to make movies!” I always thought that was a weird reason to want to make movies. It was also a weird thing to admit to. I mean, Brett Ratner pretty much is a walking episode of Entourage. That said, Brett has always been pretty honest about being an overgrown frat boy so I don’t get as annoyed with him as I do with certain other directors.
Brett was originally meant to produce one of the recent Oscar telecasts but he had to step down due to some controversial statements he made in the past. Eddie Murphy was scheduled to host but Murphy stepped down as well. Nobody asked Andy Dick to take their place so maybe Hollywood’s gotten over needing Dick. Wait….
Today’s music video of the day is both wholesome and rebellious. It’s wholesome because it’s a Jessica Simpson video. It’s rebellious because it’s Jessica finally calling the shots over her own life.
Take that, Nick Lachey!
Seriously, this feels like a nice revenge video. It came out two years after Jessica and Nick divorced and it finds Jessica back on the ranch and waiting for a better lover and, even more importantly, doing it all on her own terms. This is the type of video that Jessica’s management never would have allowed to happen in the days before she married Nick. As such, this is not just a video about inviting over your lover. This is a video growing up, maturing, and embracing what makes you happy.
For today’s music video of the day, we travel back to the innocent days of 2003! That was the year when Jessica Simpson and Nick Lachey taught a generation about the meaning of love. Or something like that.
In this video, Jessica Simpsons sings about the “sweetest sin,” which was apparently having sex with your husband. Today, it’s easy to forget all the attention that was given to the marriage of Jessica and Nick and how every story about the couple found room to mention that Jessica “waited” until marriage. (Whether Nick waited never seemed to be much of a concern.) Looking back on it, it was actually a bit creepy the way that singers like Jessica Simpson, Britney Spears, the Jonas Brothers, and so many others were sold as being both sex symbols and icons of chastity. Both sex and virginity were big money makers in the early aughts.
Of course, Jessica herself always came across as being genuinely sweet. The recording of this song was actually featured on an episode of Newlyweds: Nick and Jessica. The episode was famous for a scene in which the Columbia Record execs ordered Jessica to “simplify” the song so that it would be easier for her fans to sing along with. Jessica broke into tears but Nick volunteered to help her out. Viewers were so busy going, “Awwwwww!” that it’s possible they missed just how messed up it was that Jessica didn’t really have any control over her music. That’s another thing about the early aughts. It was a time when managers and record execs openly bragged about dumbing down music and everyone acted like that was totally acceptable. (Just think about Lou Pearlman, going on national televison and literally salivating over the idea of putting together another vaguely anonymous boy band.)
The video features Jessica and Nick on the beach and they sure do look like their in love! Of course, Nick disappears at the end of the video so …. well, that couldn’t represent anything, could it? I mean, there’s no need to read between the lines here, is there? Two years after this video was shot, Jessica filed for divorce and true love died. Actually, that’s being a little overdramatic. Still, it was kind of sad.
I went to the same high school as Jessica Simpson!
Of course, I didn’t go there at the same time that Jessica did. Jessica was long gone by the time I started the 9th grade. As well, I actually graduated while Jessica dropped out so she could become a super-rich celebrity instead. That said, I did take a few classes that were taught by Jessica’s former teachers, who all agreed that Jessica was a sweet person. To be honest, most of my classmates made a big deal about being kind of cynical about going to the same high school as Jessica Simpson. You’re never more jaded than you are between the ages of 13 and 18. Myself, I’ve always liked Jessica Simpson because we’re both from Texas and we both occasionally play dumb for the laughs.
Anyway, this song was written when Jessica was going through a very public divorce from Nick Lachey. It’s an empowerment song that also happens to be really depressing, which is really the best type of song there is. There’s something to be said for a good depressing song and a good depressing video.
Through the Shattered Lens 