Holleration in This Dancery with Emmy Blotnick

(upbeat music) - Y'all, what the fuck is up? Welcome to my favorite lyrics, the podcast where we talk about music lyrics, except for when we talk about other stuff. Today we've got a very special guest. You know where you love her. She's got a special out right now called What's Her Secret. She is also, according to Sam J, one of the few cool white women in the entire industry. One of two. - Oh my God. - Welcome to the show, Amy Blondick. That's an incredible intro. Thank you so much. - Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, I like to try to, it's different every time. Sometimes people get credits. Sometimes I'm just like, hey, look who's on the show. - That's super cool. I gotta know who the second white woman is. - Megan Galey. - Oh wow, okay, excellent. I mean, that's good company. - Sam's pretty anti-white women just kind of generally, but especially you've worked with her. Yeah, just pretty anti-white woman sentiment in general, but especially in comedy. I think she's, there's not that many that she's appreciated. And I remember she was going off about this one time, and she was like, she was like, you probably think it's, you be running around having all these white women friends and I don't be doing, and I was like, Sam, there's no way you think there's no cool white women in the industry. There's gotta be some that you think are all right. And she goes, she likes, thanks for a second. She was like, you know what? I'll give you Amy Blondick, and I'll give you Megan Galey. - Wow. - One out of two. - I mean, that's, I'm truly honored. - 50% of the cool white women community. - That's huge. - That's my credit from now on. That's all I need. - It obviously is a big credit. There's a lot of people who have a lot of other credits that you have to share. This is, it is a high praise. - Well, thank you for telling me that, and for having me on. - This is, I'm already, I'm flustered in a positive way. - Sure, did they ever tell you this at any point? - I feel like maybe not in those exact terms. - Sure, sure, sure. - But you've worked, you've worked on a couple shows of hers. - Yeah, I mean, I'm a fan. - Sure, sure. - I'm happy to be, yeah, happy to be here. - Those writers rooms are also really funny to me because you'll look at it and it'll be like, all right, so for this writers room, it was the Langston and Zach Foxx and Gary and Sam and Amy Blotnik. - Yeah, I love, I really, I'm, I'm very lucky. I feel, yeah, I'm over the moon, I'm about that. - Amy, welcome to the show. - Thank you. - Thank you for being here. For the listeners at home, Amy is a person that I've always been a fan of. I saw you do a show in LA in like maybe 2017 or something like that and maybe it was like hot tub. - Oh, yeah. - You were doing a bit about how you were missing a letter on your keyboard and you had to like, copy and paste. Was it a zero? - Yes, the zero key. - You were missing the zero key and you had to copy and paste the zero from like Google. - Yes, it's, I was typing in Andre three 'cause it would auto complete thousand. - And then you could grab a zero. - Yeah, so I, my most searched thing was Andre three and then I was just doing that every time I needed a zero for like two years. 'Cause it costs money to replace the keyboard and-- - Sure, I probably don't just replace one like one number. It's probably a whole to do. - Yeah, they wanna like really make an errand of it. - So it's gonna be $400? - Yes, yeah, and I, at the time was like, well, I'm not worth it. I'm not gonna, I'm not gonna go to the Apple Store and take care of myself and my things. - Sure, yeah. - And I only use this every day all the time, so. Yeah, that's, you have a great memory, that's so cool. - Yeah. - Were you in, did you live in LA? - No, I was just like visiting, either we were on the same show or I just like pulled up to hang out at whatever show you were on. - That's cool. - But all this to say, I don't see Amy a lot, but she is somebody that I'm like happy to see every time. - Feeling is super mutual. - Yeah, that I see her. And for the longest, this is the thing I wanted to talk to you about for the longest. Amy had no social media presence at all and it was a thing that I really looked up to her for. Amy, for years, if you're like a real day one, Amy had, and I know some, there'll be some day one, Amy heads in the chat today, you would see that she just had an Instagram with just a picture of a toilet. - Yes. - And what, I think if I remember right, the toilet said like standard on it, and your caption was, I demand excellent. - Yes, wait, you're so, your memory's incredible. That is what it is. - I think I'm just a fan. - Wow. Yeah, it was, it was the only thing I had posted for 12 years. I posted it in 2014 and just left it and it turned into almost like a guest book. Like people would-- - People started commenting under the toilet. - Yes, there's like hundreds of comments on this one post 'cause that's all there was. But I'm sure I also missed out on plenty of people who were like looking for information or like more stuff or whatever that probably were just like, oh, there's nothing here. And now I'm like behind. - Sure, sure, sure. There's some things that probably got missed. During that period of time, were you logging into Instagram and looking at stuff? Like were you just kind of like a viewer or were you completely off it and like checked out? - I didn't have the app. So I was logging through the browser to check messages mostly. 'Cause there are a lot of, especially younger-- - People trying to book you. - Yeah, people younger than us. I always prefer an email, but I can't blame Jen, you know, young people. I was gonna say Jen Zeeb. Sometimes that makes me feel old. But-- - I don't like saying Jen Zee. I don't like acknowledging them directly. I think they get so much shine in a way that like I, I just, as like a proper, I'm like a proper millennial. I'm like right in the sweet spot of like millennialness. And I just, you'll know this, you'll relate to this. We just weren't celebrated. We weren't celebrated, we were denigrated. Nobody was trying to be like, oh, let me try on these new cool millennial pants. - Yeah. - It was never that. It was only we've only been met with hostility. - Right. - Even when we were in our early 20s, nobody was, the Jinx was like, oh, I can't, I'm trying to get into what millennials got going on. And now on the other side, I have like Jen Zee homies who like will describe something as millennial. And I'm like, oh, you're, you're just describing something that sucks. (laughing) It's not even really culturally specific to the thing. You're just describing something that you think is bad. (laughing) And so it's like, I'm just, I guess I have a certain level of frustration because even when we were young, everybody's like, oh, they avocado toast and they're skinny. - Super-discopation trophies. - And now the Jinxee's being upheld is like this like hip generation that everybody's trying to capture. And I just, yeah, so it's like I just, I try not to give him too much shine. - I really appreciate that. 'Cause yeah, it does feel like we just, it might also just be that like a lot of things that were peak, like peak millennial are in their, they're not in their ripest place in the trend cycle. - No, no, no, no. - Like skinny jeans and things like that might get associated with our time or like it hasn't done the whole full loop yet. So right now, it's like a lot of our stuff really seems extra lame, but give it a few years. - And some of it was. - Yeah, that's true. - But that's also, that's everybody. - Yes. - Everybody's got the lame stuff and then like, you know, I'm sure like everybody thinks the '70s was awesome now, but if you were around in the '70s, I bet you would be like, oh no, like, it's not our shit. Like, actually sucked. But once enough time passes, you, like the shitty stuff kind of gets washed away and you only pull up the stuff that was cool. - That's true. That's very true. But yeah, those, the younger people, book shows on Instagram messages. So log in just to check those, but I didn't follow anybody, so it couldn't recommend me anything. Which is also like a great strategy if you want to not spend time on Instagram. - It's actually beautiful though. - 'Cause that gives you all this stuff that has nothing to do with you, like things you would never want to click on. - Don't I know it? I'm sure I've talked about this somewhere, but somehow, some way, my feet has become mostly macaroni and cheese. - Oh my god. - It's like a bunch of, if I pull up my explore page, it's just like a bunch. It's macaroni and cheese and other cheese pulled-type dishes. - Is it recipes or is it like, go to this place that serves mac and cheese? - It's all of that. Let me see. This isn't mac and cheese, but it's just sort of like a creamy, cheesy pasta. - It looks, they dumped too much. Ooh, that looks good, but cheese pulled. - I've got a lot of. - It's like almost pornographic. - It's like, yes, it is. - It's like, it's separating all this melted cheese. - Fairly horny what's happening in the food part of my algorithm. - I mean, it does just activate something lizard-like in my brain and I'm like, I guess I need to go home and start melting cheese and making pasta. - Yeah. - That looks great. I feel like for some people, it goes straight to boobs or whatever, but you're getting, you're getting like, it's wholesome in a way. - I like to say, the titties had me in a chokehold for a time. There was a period of time where that was a big, I had to train my algorithm to stop being titties anyway. - That makes sense. - You didn't have an algorithm of any sort. - And it was, I partly was like, I don't want to be influenced by what's going on in other comedians' feeds. Like, I don't want to start catering to Instagram, but I found other ways to waste my time on my phone. - That's what I'm not better than anybody. - That's what I was going to ask. I was like, did that make you a more productive person? Because you weren't scrolling or did you just, where were you at on the internet at that time? - I scrolled other things. Like, I went through different phases of like, I go through an eBay phase. - That can get dangerous. - Definitely, because you're spending money in it. - And they got everything you want. - And yes, and it's, especially once you have disposable income. And you're bidding, bidding is. Like, that's the most dopamine, whatever adrenaline producing. - Sure. - I might as well be doing cocaine off my phone. - Basically. - But I had collected a lot of weird ash trays for a month. - That's what I was gonna ask what thing did you get into? - For a time it was, my gateway ash tray was pizza hut. It used to give you a proper glass ash tray to smoke cigarettes inside. - That's exactly the type of shit that I like. - I know. - Damn, I would like that a lot. They have a stained glass pizza hut lampshade. - One of my buddies got that. - Oh, it's so good. - Did you get one of those? - No, I did it. We just don't have that much space, but ash trays are small. So I have one from the show Cheers. That says 1987 on it. And I-- - Do you smoke? - Yes, but no, like I'm not addicted, but I do, I unfortunately glamorize it too much. - It feels glamorous sometimes. - It does. I'm a real like, into the night, 2.30 in the morning, like I'm going to the bodega and we lighting up a couple. - Oh yeah, that's kind of the best way to do it, too. - And I feel, yeah, I feel really, I feel fancy and I feel free. - 'Cause it's also expensive in New York. It's like a $20. - Have it. - Yeah, $20 a pack, probably. - Oh, you're, I was, I guess in my mind, I was asking if you were smoking weed. You're smoking a cigarette. - I will smoke both occasionally. I will, it depends on the place and time and company and these glass ashes are never out with me when it happens. - Well, that's where I was going. (laughing) They mostly have like coins and shit in them. - Yeah, yeah, of course. You put your shoes in there. - You put your shoes in there. - I see. - Habit, but wait, what do you have a, are you a cigarette person? - I am, yes. I don't really smoke weed that much. I'm not really a weed guy, just 'cause it doesn't, it doesn't agree with me. I think I'm too, in my head already. - Yeah. - That just puts me even more in there. - Totally. - In a way that I'll only smoke weed if I'm like completely by myself. - That's, so you have like your safe, you're staying in and you can like control the environment. - Yeah, and I can do exactly what I need to do when I need to, as it hits me, I kinda had to quit smoking weeding groups because I kept, I kept, I kept thinking too much about if I was being weird. - Oh, I relate to that so much. - I got into that really, I would get into that really heavy and I'd be like, is that, if I'm drinking this drink too much, is that, that's probably, I've been sipping this drink kind of a lot. And I don't think I've talked in like 30, 30 minutes. - Yeah. - And I probably, I've just, okay, so I need to say something soon. And then you say something and you're like, I don't even talk like that. - Yeah, you're like, that was not it, what I just said. - No, I'd been quiet for a whole, I took all that time just to say a thing that I really don't stand by. - Oh, this hits home for me in a big way. - I had to take a big step back from weed. - Mm-hmm, mm-hmm, but it's a lively category. - Yeah, there's lots of the category of, yeah, little ash trays. And then I moved into the real, real for a little while. - Of course, you're doing good. - A lot of buying and returning. - Sure. - And there's a fee to return. So it's-- - Some days to come to your house, were you doing it that way? - No, I would take it to like UPS or back to the store, but it's like, it creates all this drama in your life. So that one I had to like pull back. And then, yeah, it all, it all, okay, what else? Longed out of Reddit, in Reddit, but not in Reddit. - You gotta get off Reddit. - Oh, I'm not in it. I'm lurking in certain places. - Do you ever read stuff about yourself on Reddit? Have you ever? - There's one podcast I was on that has a really lively Reddit, but they're also really nice. It's like the weird corner where everyone's nice. - They're like kind of people. - Yes, but I feel like, in general, do you read stuff about yourself? - I certainly have. I certainly have. And I also, you know, when I was on SNL, it was a, as you can imagine. - That must have been so brutal. - It was not good for my mental health. - No, I'll say that, 'cause people, I mean, some people were nice about me, but so many people were mean that some of that stuff really sticks with you. And I had to really, I had to take a step back from that as well. - Yeah. - 'Cause as it turns out, it doesn't make you feel good. - Okay, does it, did they find new things for you to feel bad about or were they things you already kind of thought? - They were, sometimes I would be like, oh, I did a really good job at this thing. Sometimes I'd be like, oh, I did a really good job at this thing. I got all these laughs, and then I would go and read, and then I would see people be like, you could tell he's reading the cue cards. And I'd be like, well, yeah. That's the thing. - That's the thing. - And I'd be like, man, now I didn't realize that people thought I looked like it. Now I'm thinking about if I look like I'm re, it just, it was overall bad. And so I respect and support your decision to be offered at it. Do you look at the comments about yourself? Because now you've been promoting a special. - Promoting a special, and now I'm looking at the comments a little bit, and the ones that get under my skin that I didn't see coming were one saying that the laughter's canned. - Fuck. - 'Cause I'm like, we recorded this at Union Hall. Like the lowest, like a shoestring budget. We don't have canned laughter budget. - No. - Like there's no, we didn't sweeten anything. - Sure. - But you can't get in there and fight with them 'cause it's half the time, it's like zero followers. Like, fuck it. - No profile picture. - Yeah, private, maybe. - Or just the ugliest man you've ever seen. - Yeah, and they take pictures from under, like their profile picture's always sort of like, yeah, in their car, like up their nose. - Yeah, yeah. - So it's like, I'm not gonna-- - The sunglasses aren't hard. - Oh, yes, yes, yes, yes. And I'm like, well, I'm not gonna get, I'm not gonna get into it with these people. But, and you can't control what people think. But it's like, it is frustrating. - 'Cause you wanna say something. - 'Cause you gotta, you know what I'm saying? If nothing else is comedians, we got a lot of shit to say. - Oh, yeah. - And we've got some observations that we can make about what you got going on. - And they make a lot of assumptions about, like you put out, especially when it's in clip form. And they don't get to see the whole show or like learn other things about you that might have come before the joke or whatever. Like then they start making assumptions and like, yeah, being like, oh, Andrea, ugly. And then you're like, oh, I gotta just, I have to walk away from this. (laughs) By the way, it's a can laugh, Sandra, ugly. Like, well, there's so much to address. - Yeah. - And then you never come out feeling good on the others. I've gotten into those arguments in the comments a couple of times, and by the end of it, I'm always like, what am I, what do I hope to gain from this? - I mean, I've seen very accomplished artists I respect get into it with random strangers. And I'm always like, I have compassion for it, but it's not where you wanna be. - There's no way to win. - No, no. - But all this to say, I mean, I mean, somebody was off the internet for 12, 4 years, and then I've recently seen Imi start to poke, and I was like, we were talking about this off mic, but I was like, damn, the game got her, the game got, and the thing is, you've got a lot of, you have a good career. You've been working for a long, long time. You've got a bunch of credits. And I was like, oh, Imi beat it. Imi beat it, she doesn't have to do it. She doesn't ever have to post any clips. It's just toilet. And then I saw them clips pop up. I said, damn, we ain't, ain't none of us making it out clean. - It's, you're right. I think you're right, 'cause it's like, well, how do you get people to see your stuff? The, there used to be infrastructure in place for this. - It used to be like, oh, you get a half hour on comedy central. - Right. - Everybody can watch your thing. - And they have a marketing department and the promos department. And like, they'll push it out and people all have this channel. And now it's-- - You just have to be good at the art. - Yeah. - And that's it. - And that's, I think, what we signed up for. - Certainly, certainly. When did you start? - 2010. - 2010, I started like five years after you. - Wow. - And it, but yeah, similar time frames in that it was kind of like, yeah, you just, you get good at comedy. Everything else will work itself out. - Right. And you can join like the establishment. I mean, you did join the establishment. - In a big way. - Yeah, totally. - And I thought, I beat the game. 'Cause I also-- - I also thought you beat the game. - You know what I mean? - Yes. - I was just using my Instagram for like pictures at that point, which is what it's supposed to be for. And it was, I was just kind of posting pictures that I thought were cool for my life. Vacations. Stuff like, you know, it's-- - She pulls. - Oh my god. It's, you're right. There is something erotic about it. And I'm really, I'm hooked on it. And my phone knows. And, you know what, I hope it never stops. Whoever's listening, keeps sending me that cheese stuff. I like it. It makes me feel good. - Set the oven to 400. (laughing) We're gonna bake some, bake some ziti. - Come on, that might be my evening tonight. - That sounds really good. - I really thought I beat the game. And then I got on the show. And I was just like, oh, nope, it comes for us all. And I was like, time to start a podcast. And you know, by the way, everybody, thank you so much for listening. - Yeah, like and subscribe. - Like. (laughing) (upbeat music) - You're a Boston woman. - Yes. - You're a native Bostonian. That's the right word, correct? - Yeah, it is. - Yeah, yeah, yeah. What were you listening to as a young Emmy? - Oh, I, okay. So my first CD was TLC Crazy Sexy Cool. - Really good first album. - So, so good. - That's such a cool first album. - Thank you. I am kind of proud of that. - No, that's an awesome one. I've said this on the part of a bunch of times, but the first album I ever got was Nick Cannon's album. - Oh my God. - Nick Cannon's self titled EP was the first album that I ever purchased with like a gift card that I got from like Target. - Whoa. - And yours is better than that. - Well, I mean, okay, so I don't know, I don't know if I've ever heard a Nick Cannon song before. - His hit single was a song called Jigalot, featuring Arkelli. - Whoa. - Where the plot or the chorus was, I'm a Jigalot, spending lots of dough. - I'm a Jigalot. -So I do this. -So I do this. [ Laughter ] Wow, look at me being like, "I don't know." -We got to get that moment in. -What's the next line? ♪ Some, some, some, some, sitting on foes ♪ ♪ Some, some, some in a fresh, fresh clothes ♪ ♪ Always around about so many ♪ -Oh, yeah. -Yeah. -I do know that one. -Yeah. -I feel like it -- -That's why I bought the album. -What's it called? It walked so holiday and could run. -And those were right around the same period of time. -Yeah. -Yeah, yeah, yeah. -So I was probably listening to some of the same stuff as you. -It was a radio hit. If you were listening to the radio, you jiggle-oad came across your desk. -I was -- I was a big radio listener. I was thinking about this on the way here that, like, a lot of my, like, early music interests were because my parents would leave me in the car a lot. And the -- I would change the radio station to Jammin' 94.5, which was the Boston area, like hip-hop and R&B. -Let's go. -And I also -- There was also a good alternative rock station, 104.1 B.C.N. And so I would kind of go between those two. -I see. -I also -- that coalesced with, like, the Lilith Fair time. So, like, Atlanta's more set, "Jagged Little Pill" was big for me. The Natalie Merchant album, "Tiger Lilith." -Oh, it's Miller. -Ooh, it's very nice. -Should I dig in? -Yeah, it's good. I think it's maybe good, like, fall winter music. -Interesting. -She's a singer-songwriter. -I'm picture -- I have a picture in my head. -She's the lead singer of 10,000 Maniacs, if you know them. -I'm unfamiliar. -That's okay. That's totally okay. -The Lilith Fair -- the Lilith Fair kind of community, if you could imagine, didn't -- it didn't come across my desk. -Very understandable. -Personally, yeah. -You know, some artists were like, "Oh, I bet your music is good, but, like, you didn't make this for me to listen to." And sometimes you can't enjoy people's music that, like, wasn't made for you to enjoy. I really -- I fuck with Tegan and Sarah Heavy. -Ooh, that's great. -That's -- I don't -- I don't know how that -- Actually, I do know how it found its way to me. Like, my buddy found them on, like, my space, and was really into them. -They're great. -When we were, like, teenagers. And, for whatever reason, I was, like, these Canadian lesbians, I -- I see what they got going. I'm picking up what they're putting down, walking with a ghost. -That's such a good song. -You know what I mean? -Yeah, yeah, yeah. -It's just -- And I know they never thought that I would appreciate it. But Tegan and Sarah, if you're listening, we know that you are. -Sharatiya. -Yeah. -Sharatiya, shout out to walking with the ghosts. -I wonder how that would be as a karaoke song. I feel like that might be -- -It depends on who you're with. -That's true. And I think if you're in the Tegan and Sarah -- if you're in that zone, I think you -- I think you know that. If you're with the Tegan and Sarah, folks will appreciate it. Do you have a go-to karaoke song? -The last one I did that I felt like, ooh, that went well, was the Meredith Brooks song "Bitch," which is -- -I'm a bitch. I'm a lover. -That one. -Yeah, that's, like, super in my very limited range. And the words come back. That's a song that was big in my left alone in the car phase. So, like -- ♪ I'm a lover, I'm a child, I'm a mother, I'm a sinner, I'm a saint, I do not feel a shame. ♪ -Whoa! -See? -Wait a second. No, no, no. I'm commenting on your voice, actually. -Whoa! -Whoa! -You kind of had something in there. -It was in the pocket. -I do. I felt that's maybe the only time the song's ended and people have been like, hey, like, but it's also -- Okay, so there's a lot of keys to the good karaoke song, which is, you want to intro so that you can get the mic handed to you. -Of course, of course, of course. -You want to start on a lyric, you're going to be catching up the whole time. -To true, true. -The song has a build, like, it starts with, like, I hate the world today, like, starts here, but then by the end, she's like, ah, what? Like, there's like a big ending to it. -I like that. -So, it's satisfying, and it's also, like, I think, maybe three and a half minutes. -Which is perfect, because karaoke will really teach you that some songs that you love are much longer than you realized. -The number of times I've seen somebody unprepared choose Bohemian Rhapsody and have no clue that they're about to -- they're committing to, like, almost nine minutes. -You're going to be up there for quite some time. -Like, rock opera, are you kidding? -I'll give up. Have you ever done that at the end during the outro, when they're, like, doing the chorus for the, like, seventh time? I've been, like, all right, well, I think we did it. Who's got this next? -Oh, my God. I chose the song It's My Life, which no doubt covered. And that song is just her saying, it's my life, like, over and over again. And I could feel people being like, we're so bored of you. Like, this is -- like, yeah, it starts and ends kind of here, but I don't -- do you have a go-to? -Um, historically, I've done "Hey-A" by Outcast. -Oh, that's not a good one. -That's been a really big one. There's a calling response built-in. -Absolutely. I don't know. -I don't know it, too. It's, like, in their bones. -Do this relationship to karaoke, or it's, like, I feel, like, as a comic, I'm, like, I'm thinking about what the crowd's going to like. -Yes. -I feel like I have that really deeply. And so I'm always thinking about, like, all right, how does everybody get involved? It's not -- because some people get on, and they're, like, this is personal. I have this song that's in my heart, and I can't wait to -- I was with Alex English, and he picked some, like, deep-cut -- like, I forget. It was some -- he picked, like, a deep-cut, like, Tony Braxton, or something like that. -And it was a good song, but it's -- -That's hard. -But it's not -- and he can't sing. But someone's, like, he didn't need to be doing that. But also, like, it was just a song that I was, like, nobody knows this. And I know you liked this when you were younger, but, like, I don't know. So all that to say, I've done "Hey-A" a bunch of times, and I also have gotten -- -That's a really good choice. -Lately, I've gotten into doing -- Hold on, we're going home by Drake. Oh, that's also a good choice. That people really get involved with that. Because there's no, like, wild vocal in that. It's, like, that's right in the middle. But, yeah, it's such -- that's one of my favorite -- I'm not a huge Drake fan. I like when he sings way more than when he wraps. And that's fair, and I understand that. Is that offensive? Drake is a real central character in this podcast. He's been discussed quite a bit. I am kind of historically a Drake lover, but -- I have a complicated relationship with where he's at at this stage of his career. Yeah. He's made a lot of -- he's made a lot of music that soundtracked a lot of moments in my life. Okay. So I can't help, but I have a lot of love for him. I understand. But also, he's -- he feels lost, maybe at this stage. Yeah, we're definitely in a -- it's not -- he's too popular to be in a flop era, but it's -- No, songs are still massively popular. Definitely. Just hold on, we're going home. That one's so good. Incredible. Do you know a song called "Call It Off" by Tegan Insera? Yes. That also was -- I was listening to that song when I was like 16. Oh. Really? Like, in my -- it's a breakup song. That's -- I like that -- I would not guess that that would be -- And no one would. I love that. And no one would. And Tegan Insera, I think, would be shocked to see me and hear me say that. But the whole song's just about a -- it's basically like the lyrics are -- maybe I could have been something you'd be good at. Maybe you could have been something I'd be good at. But now we'll never know. Oh, my God. Yeah. Good writing. It's just -- it's just a good song. Man, yeah. Shut up, shut up. Shut up, Tegan Insera. Tegan Insera, if you're listening, we know that you are. Come on, the pod. Yeah, that would be super good. Let's talk about it. I think we -- I think we'd connect in ways that would surprise both of us. I was going to tell you about -- I almost brought in Tony Braxton. He wasn't man enough as a song, but had to -- He wasn't man enough for me. Yeah. Whoa, you know what I mean? Don't you know I made him leave. Come on, come on. It's a real -- that one I also was like, could I do this in karaoke? It's way too hard. That's -- she's doing some things about me that are really -- like just crazy runs. Yeah, sometimes you hear that, and it like reminds me that like, oh, a lot of these artists today like can't actually sing. So true. Sometimes you hear like stuff from like the 70s and 80s and 90s, and you're like, oh, these people are like singing their asses off. Yeah. And now it's really -- it's not a prerequisite. No, not at all. It feels like now it's like, if you're hot, seems to be the first criteria. If you're hot and you can dance. Which kind of has always existed on a certain level? I mean, there was like, do you remember "C" and "C" music factory? Did they do everybody dance now? Yes. And that was a lady saying, but then a different, hotter dancing woman was in the video, "Mountain Along." That's nasty work. Oh, yeah. That's nasty. I did not get it. It was the early 90s, so I like understand how that came to be, but I don't think it should have happened like that. No. They should have let that big lady in the video. Absolutely. You know what I'm saying? And they should have at least had her up top just so you knew who was like involved. At some point, she should have been involved, erasing her entirely. I can't stand by. And I wish I knew her name. Hey, wherever you're at, woman who's saying that song, I hope you're well. I hope you're well. And I hope you're made. Please come to the conclusion. I'm inviting. I'm inviting you. It was invited. You were nuts. I'm inviting you as well. Yeah. I hope you made a lot of money off that song. I hope so too. No, you didn't get to be in the video. I hope it wasn't something like weird music industry deal, where you got like $1,000 in the no money after that for a long time. I hope it wasn't that. I know. Probably wasn't that. There's a lot of predatory-- It's kind of the-- Yeah, it's the business. I literally-- I bumped into one of my friends who does music. And she was like-- I literally like on the way up here. And she basically was just like, yeah. She was like, I was on like a bigger label. But then like the album like critically people liked it. But it like didn't make its money back. And so now I owe the label like six figures. Oh. And I was like, oh, I didn't-- Is that how that works? Imagine if that's like if we work in TV imaginative, it was just like, all right, we spent this amount of money and we didn't make it back. So like now you owe us a million dollars. I cannot imagine. It just seems like a terrible business model. Yeah. It's like, what? Isn't that just the risk you're assuming? You're the big company. - Yeah. - Anyway. - That's crazy. - That's insane. (upbeat music) - I mean, you actually did something different than most folks was you brought us a songwriter. - Yes. - That you would like to discuss. - Yes. - That means a lot to you. - Yes. - And who is that? - Max Martin. - Max Martin. - The Swedish songwriting genius, Max Martin. - Yeah. - Are you familiar? - I am. - I am obsessed. - I read this book right here, called The Number One's by Tom Brihan, and he talks about, I'm also reading his column, which like this book, the book details like, it has like certain, like it skips around, like it'll basically be like, here's one from the 50s, here's one from 1978. It does like 20 songs or something like that from the history of the Billboard charts. He does a column that does like every single number one hit from like the 60s up until now basically. And I'm reading that. And why am I telling this story? Oh, Max Martin is a huge part of it. - Yeah. - Max Martin comes up quite a bit. So I've learned a good amount about this man. - I'm obsessed with the, so here's my big feeling about him, is it's like 30 years of like some of the most popular songs ever. I think he is about to eclipse John Lennon and Paul McCartney for most number one hits in music, popular music history and his English, like at least 30 years ago when he was starting working with pop musicians, like his English wasn't great. And he has a great ear for melody. So the lyrics don't always make sense, like the grammar's not always good. - Hey, Miss Lee, hit me baby one more time. - Yes, oh, that's the, that is the absolute like classic example. And you know, him thinking hit me, meant call me, like hit me up. - Which it could. Honestly, maybe he'd been hanging out with black people. - Ain't sweeten. - Nobody should. Maybe he'd been working in the music industry for a little bit. He'd made some black friends and maybe he heard them be like, "Hey man, hit me when you get the chance." - I think he probably listens to a lot of black music. That's, he talks about loving prints and I'm, a lot of it has like R&B influence in it. And yeah, hit me, hit me baby one more time, first shopped to TLC and they said, "We're not gonna do a song about getting hit." - Fair enough. - And wouldn't have quite, that doesn't really feel like quite their speed. - Yeah, I agree. - They were like, they were like two, they're two sultry for that. - And it's one of those things where like once you hear the hit song, you can't imagine it going another way. - Exactly, yeah, I think that's part of it too. - So like the, one of the other very good examples from around that time is the Backstreet Boys, I want it that way, which doesn't make sense. - Not at all. - And there's a great TikTok or like a video of A.J. from the Backstreet Boys being like, our best song ever makes no sense. - Yeah. - And it has a nothing but a heart. Hey, tell me why ain't nothing but a mistake. Tell me why. I never want to hear you say, I want it that way. - Oh yeah, it's not even them saying they want it that way. It is them saying they don't want to hear their lover say they want it that way. - Yes, so I do, my feeling is I really like when things that are imperfect are like beloved and popular, because I feel like I get perfectionistic sometimes and overthink things a lot. And I would be like, I would be one of these people going like, that's not right, we need to make this make sense and blah, blah. And it's like, no, the version that's wrong is right. And there's something like like life affirming and comforting to me about the imperfect thing is perfect and people love it and don't want it to be fixed. I think that's nice. - Yeah, especially in art, specifically. So much of it is like, oh, we think we are chasing a formula. We think we're chasing, all right, I need to make A plus B equals C. Sometimes I was like, oh, it's just like how a thing feels. This is all so much of it comes down to like, how does this make people feel? - Yes. - We know comics like this where it's like, oh, I mean, there are some comics that are like awesome joke writers that like don't move me at all. Like, yeah, these jokes, they do, they, yeah, that's a joke. And it's like that, the math of the joke like totally lines up but it's like there's like nothing behind it. And there's some people that I'm like, oh, you didn't really tell a joke, but you are being hilarious. - Yeah. - And you are like, I do feel, I feel what you're talking about, even if it's not, there's no real joke math to this. You're just kind of being funny. - Yes, it's like the energy and like, yeah, I also, I feel like just 'cause I've worked in like writing context a lot. - Making it really caught up on the math. - Yeah, and you can get really like stuck on the words and like, how do we make this fit? How do you make it tighter? Well, and sometimes it is just like the mess is good. Like a little nonsense is good. Human error is cool. Like, I was, my husband is a little bit anti-pop music. He's not, like if he came on this podcast, he would bring you Elliot Smith lyrics. And I mean, Elliot Smith writes great lyrics, but I was playing him, there's another Backstreet Boys song that Max Martin wrote where it's like, does his friends take all your time? It's one of the lyrics. And it's all I have to give is the song. And he's like, this is slop, this is like AI. I'm like, it's not AI, it's like super human. It's like, yeah. - It's like, this is how he hears it. And clearly something about the way that he hears things, the resonance. - Yeah, it really works here, people. - In a major way. - And, okay, so the other really, I think the other one that is great is the Ariana Grande song Break Free. - Okay. - Which has a verse where she says, "I only wanna die alive, never buy the hands of a broken heart. "Don't wanna hear you lie tonight. "Now that I've become who I really are." All four lines are like. - What the fuck is going on here? - But then you hear it and it's like, oh, yeah. It's like, whoa. - Pop music's weirdly filled with that. It's weirdly filled with stuff that it's like, when you actually drill down into it, you're like, oh, this is actually, this is nonsense. This is nonsense, but somehow I do feel you. I do know exactly, this does evoke a feeling in me. - Yeah. - Yeah. And it's like weird, yeah, if you spend too much time thinking about it, it's like, well, this is so wrong, but like, you wanna die alive? Like, the hands of a broken heart. You picture like a heart with little hands. - Sure. - Like stabbing a live Ariana dead. - Yeah, making her dead. - Yeah. - The die alive, I can almost, I can kind of wrap my head around. I wanna die alive. I can kind of get there where you're like, okay, like if I'm gonna die, I wanna die like, living my life to the fullest. Like, I'm alive. - That's a nice interpretation. - I can kind of, I can wrap my head around that part and then the rest of it, you lost me. - Right, dying dead would be like, you're in a coma and they unplug you. - Yeah, okay. - You really weren't alive when you died versus like, yeah, versus like, yeah, no, I died doing what I love. I got drunk with my friends and I smoked too many cigarettes and I died and I was really alive when I died. - That's right. - I can. - You're on the max wavelength. - I'm seeing him there. - And yeah, it sounds great when you hear it, but you know, I guess it's the sound of the words as opposed to the meaning of the words and then the feeling from the energy of it. - Yeah. - So I'm like, oh, he's like, it's he's a genius. - I wanna, Carmen brought up, I went it that way and I just wanna dig into that, which is another Max Martin song with the "Batch Reboys." - Oh, thank you. - He goes, but we are two worlds apart, can't reach to your heart when you say that I want it that way. Am I your fire, your desire? Yes, I know it's too late, but I want it that way. I'm trying to, I'm really trying to wrap my head around. I'm trying to, I'm trying to piece it together. - Yeah. - I'm trying to piece it together and I, I don't think I'm gonna find it. - It's, yeah, I think it's what AJ said. It's like, it doesn't make sense, but it doesn't matter 'cause it's perfect. ♪ Now I can see that we fall in a part ♪ ♪ From the way that it used to be ♪ ♪ Yeah ♪ ♪ No matter the distance ♪ ♪ I want you to know ♪ ♪ That deep down inside of me ♪ ♪ You are ♪ - Oh yeah. - No, it works, it just fucking works. - It does, it's pretty amazing. - I'm also looking at his credits and like, "Damn, I mean, since you've been gone." - So many good songs. - Man, bad blood, blinding lights. - Yeah, these are some of like the big- - I kissed a girl. - Yeah, it's tons, tons and tons. - I kissed a girl makes, actually, a lot of sense. That one's actually pretty straightforward. - I think so too. That one's exactly what you think it is. - Yeah, very on the level. - I remember when that song came out specifically because I like, I'd snuck out of the house where I told my parents I was somewhere that I wasn't and it's 'cause I thought, there was like a girl from another school that I thought I was gonna get to make out with and then I got there and everybody had drank all the alcohol and everybody was too fucked up to do anything and then my parents found out that I wasn't where I said I was gonna be and I had to go home, I had to go home and I got grounded for like the first half of the summer. That's what I kissed a girl reminds me of 'cause that was hot on the radio at the time. - Whoa. - So I was listening to that like on the way home, knowing I was like about to be in trouble as hell. - And you didn't get to kiss the girl? - No, and I didn't, yeah. Katie Perry got to kiss the girl. I really didn't, 'cause I was like, I got there, everybody was like, I'm like 16. girl's like she's like very drunk and I was like all right well. I'll just get drunk, and then we can make out drunk at the same time, 'cause I can't be sober. I gotta get there and then lo and behold, all the alcohols drank. We're also in Texas and it's a Sunday, so you can't buy liquor on Sundays. - Oh my gosh, where in Texas? - Austin. - Oh, why don't, I don't, for some reason I don't think of you as an Austin person, but maybe I'm thinking of today Austin. - It means a different thing now. - It means a very different thing now. - Yes. - Yeah, now you gotta say slurs, and I haven't said any, not on record. So yeah, it's hard to let me in with that. - Yeah, you're from an Austin 1.0. - Truly. - Truly, and people don't talk about that. - Wow. - Yeah. You also brought us another lyric that is not by Max Martin, but, or is it, no, this isn't a Max Martin song. - Wait, this is your second one. Wait, do you wanna talk Robin real quick? - Let's talk Robin. - Robin, show me love. - Yes. - There's a lyric in the chorus of show me love. It goes, "You're the one that I ever needed." That's Max Martin, "Handy Work" right there. - Sure, sure, sure. - But that song came out when I was, I was like, maybe nine or 10 years old, and I was like, "This is like the best song I've ever heard." Like, it's just one of those ones where you're like, "This is this amazing song." And it doesn't, again, it doesn't matter that it doesn't make sense. - It just connects. - But we got on to this 'cause I said, "Robin Show Me Love." And you said, "You were thinking of Robin S Show Me Love." - Which is also really good song. - You said, "Show Me Love" by Robin, I was like, "Oh, you got to show me love." - That's such a good song. - Incredible, like 90s house song. I was like that. And she's like, "Oh, no, no, actually, it's Robin S." That Robin S does the song that I'm thinking of. Robin with a Y. - Yeah. - Does a different song called "Show Me Love." - She spelled her name, Robin with a Y, 'cause Robin S had "Show Me Love" already. And she went to differentiate. And then the Lord is that, Rihanna, her first name is Robin with a Y. And she couldn't use that name because of this Robin. So she goes by her middle name. - Oh, yeah. - So there's like a cascading effect of Robin's all needing to change their names slightly. - This is what you were doing on the internet when you weren't on Instagram. - Yeah, this is a hundred percent. - You were learning about the history of Robbins and-- - I'm in the rabbit hole of Robbins. I'm learning who went with the I and the Y and the S and the middle name. - And buying like vintage Domino's pizza, pizza, ashtray. - You bet. That's exactly what was going on. - Somehow on the way that she enunciates it, it kinda, it doesn't even hit your ear crazy. - Yeah. - I guess that's the Max Martin thing. - I think so, 'cause that crazy Ariana verse also has that where like if you read it, it's wrong, but then when you hear her sing it, like everything has sort of like riffs on it. - Sure. - So you don't process. - It just kind of melts away. - Yeah. - So like I'm not even thinking about it. I'm just sort of caught up in the beauty. - Exactly. (upbeat music) - Okay, you brought in some, I can't believe that this has never come up on this podcast before because it is such a legendary line by a legendary artist. Why don't you go ahead and give this to the people. The Song Family Affair, Mary J. Blige. I believe it's 2001, and the lyric is, don't need no hateration, holleration in this dancerry. - Yeah. - And those are three words that I didn't know before. And I don't care if they're real or not. You know exactly what they mean. - I didn't, but I found it. Again, to the, I mean this is really the theme of the show, it didn't even matter. - Yes. - It didn't even, whatever the dancerry was, I was trying to be there. - Yes. - I knew that. And I was, this song came out when we were both children. And so it was like, there was a lot of stuff I didn't understand. - Yeah. - So like now when you don't understand something, you're like, well that might not make any sense. At that point, you're like, oh well I'm just, I'm in third grade. - Right. - That's why this is not really clocking at me. Once I get probably to the seventh or eighth grade, then-- - Yeah, once I get invited to more dancerrys, I won't even need the disclaimer to not haterrate or hollerate in there. - In that dancerry, in the dancerry. - Yeah. - Do you know the history behind this line? - I know that there's a rumor of what it was originally written as. - Do you want to tell this to the people? - I think you should do it. (laughing) I don't think it should come from you. (laughing) - You know where, and I understand, I understand why, I understand where you're coming from. Yes, the way, and the way that I have heard it, the rumor that I've heard about this line is that the original lyric, as it was written, was in this dance suarez. - Yeah. - And she read it as dancerry in the moment. - And then it's like, once you hear a dancerry, there's no going back. - And that must have been what happened. They probably heard it, and they're like, they probably at first they heard it, and they're like, we should probably let her know. And then they like, they listened to the track, and they're like, leave it at it. - Leave it at it. - Or maybe they did both versions. I bet you they did. I bet you're like, hey Mary, so just try version, we say suarez. But also there's a world in which they told her that, and she was like, I'm not saying that shit. Dance suarez, what the fuck would I be talking about that? - It's a dance suarez, just as made up as a dancerry, I would say. - I've never been doing a dance suarez. - Me neither. - That sounds like something that would happen in like Sailor Moon. - Wow, yes, or in like, great Gatsby times. - Yeah. - We're going to a suarez. - This suarez, but. - The dancerry sounds much cooler and better. - Yeah, I like to think that it's her saying, buck stops here, I'm not saying dance suarez. I'm doing it the way I did it. - The best possible version, best possible version, is she knew it was dance suarez. And she just was like, all right, that just doesn't hit my ears right. I'm going to like, freak it. I'm going to make a word that nobody's ever heard before. And I'm going to make it hot. And did she ever? - That's, I think that's the, that is the unifying theme for my lyric choices is I want somebody to freak it. - And make it their own. - Yeah, yeah. - And bring something, it's memorable if you make it up, if you make up something new, and that lyric's so good. And then I was listening to this song over and over again on the way here, and I picked up another favorite lyric in it, which is, doesn't matter if you're black or white, let's get crunk, 'cause Mary's back. - Woo! - Doesn't matter if you're white or black, sorry. Black and back have to rhyme. - It does. - Ooh, I fucked up, Mary, I'm so sorry. All please don't come from me, Mary Jane. - Run it one more time. - Okay, okay. - My other favorite lyric, my other favorite lyric in the song is, doesn't matter if you're white or black, let's get crunk, 'cause Mary's back. - Ha! - Let's get it, crunk, up on it, on it, on it, on it. In his dance area, don't need no ate a restaurant. Hologration, in his dance area. - Me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me, me. - Incredible, who produced that? - Dr. Dre. - Oh, of course. - Does it sound so much like other Dr. Dre? - Yes it does, that was all the sense in the world. - The other rabbit hole I went down was like, listen to still D-R-E or what's the difference between me and you, and they have really similar, like that sort of prodding. - And it's like, in the club, in the club, in the club. - And it works so well, I don't even mind, that it feels like the same kind of trick over and over, 'cause yeah, they're-- - If it ain't broke. - Exactly. - Yeah. - And it really ain't. - Dr. Dre, if you're listening to me know who you are, congrats on everything, man. - Yeah. - It seems like it's gone really well for you. - You didn't even need to invent headphones. - No, even without the headphones, you actually would've been completely fine, but then you hit that one and it seems like it's nice to be you now. - Yeah. - Yeah, so, you know, if you come on the part of you like, I bet you've got some very interesting stories. You've seen a lot. - I think, I hope he hears that. (laughs) I think he'd be a great guest. - Something tells me this might not come across his desk, but if it does, Dre, we'd love to have you. I know you've got all kinds of stories that people would love to hear. And I think this is the best place to tell them. Don't go to, don't go to Zayn Low. - Yeah. - Or somebody who's much more established or known or has worked in the music industry, come here to me. Thanks, ma'am. - Let me just ask you this. How did it make you feel when Mary said it doesn't matter if you're wider black? - Let's get crunk, 'cause Mary's back. - I think part of me before I heard that was like, like, I can't get crunk, 'cause I'm white. Even if Mary's back, I don't know if I'm, if the invitation to get crunk extends to me. And then I heard the lyric and was like, oh, I am allowed. Actually, I'm married. - You're in, baby. - In fact. - Mary said, I like to imagine that you're looking around to your black and brown classmates and being like, hey, y'all didn't think I could get, y'all didn't think of bitch could get crunk because of my skin complexion, did you? - Yeah. - Y'all thought I wasn't allowed to get crunk, but guess what? Mary said it's cool and then you started crib walking. - That's exactly right. - That's what I'd like to imagine you're going up. - I'm throwing my back out on the dance floor. I'm twisting. - You started fucking heartless shaking. - You're doing all the moves. - Because Mary said it's time for you to get crunk. - I'm doing the coffee grinder on the floor. - Do you still keep that with you? When's the last time you got crunk? - Like, not recently enough. - Yeah. - I feel-- - It's not too late. - No, I will, I'm open to all invitations. - We live in New York City. You could get crunk any night of the week. - That's pretty true. I feel like I'm in a sort of crunk slump right now, but I think this conversation might be exactly the inspiration I need to go find myself a dance floor and with the baseline jump in. - And even a dancer. - Oh, I would love, I would love, do you have a favorite dancer? - You know, I do, but I can't blow up my own spots. We'll have to talk about this off-mic. - Okay. - I don't-- - I feel like you're not gonna tell me off. (laughing) - If I do tell you off-mic, are you gonna go? - Yes, and I will, especially if you'll be there, 'cause then I can be like, he told me. - How many times a year would you say you're like going out dancing? - I feel like in this season of my life, it's a lot of like, like, wedding, like it has to be-- - Everybody's getting married. - That kind of dancing, but that's not the same as like, going to like a club and really like, cut and loose on the floor. Like that, I feel, maybe concerts is where I do a little bit of that. - What's the last concert you went to? - I saw Robin on New Year's Eve. - Whoa! - Did she do show me love? - Yes, and she did it as a slow jam, and it actually was what made me notice the lyric more closely, 'cause she was singing it, like, stripped down, and you could really hear the words. - But the rest of her whole discography is like pumping dance tunes, so it's-- - Yeah, yeah, yeah, dance it on my own. - Yeah. - Yeah, that's the one that really crossed over in like a crazy way, I feel like that. Yeah, that makes this way onto the dance floor. If you're in a space with a lot of white gay people. - That's exactly it. - That one's gonna make a big, big appearance. - A hundred percent, and that was a really fun, really fun show, but I'm not sure I would describe it as a punk, so it's like-- - Sure. - I might need to expand my horizons even a bit more. - We'll talk. - Okay. - We'll talk. I'll sing, well, I don't know what it's in a spot, but I don't want it, too. - What's the last concert you saw? - I just went to the CJZ. - Oh my god. - I saw CJZ at the stadium. - Was it the one Rihanna Beyoncé? Oh my god. - It was crazy, it was nuts, but it was like the secure, there was some kind of like security issue, I guess people were trying to like rush, bum rush security, and so like, and I think maybe a few people got in, and I think they were trying to like figure out is there like a security threat happening? And some people just got stranded outside. - Oh my god. - I heard, yeah, I heard mandal was like stuck. - And he'd break-- - Outside. - Oh my goodness. - Yeah, and-- - If you have a ticket to that show and you can't get in, that's so devastating. - I'm saying frustrated. I literally, I wasn't planning on going, I like CJZ, but he's not like my number one guy necessarily. - He's no Drake for you. - Not for you, and I think that's just the age thing. I think it's just about, I'm not from New York, and yeah, and I'm like under 40, so I think, yeah, Drake, just kind of, I grew up on Drake more than I grew up on JZ. - That makes sense. - Respect to the legend though. - Can I do that? - Yeah, yeah, I think that's colorblind. Don't tone up the rock. - Doesn't matter if you're white or black. - It don't matter if you're white or black. You could tone up the rock, and Mary's back. The concert was supposed to start at eight o'clock, and it didn't start till 12, 15. - Oh, wow. - Yeah. - I would be pissed. - It was, you know what, it was. - That's bedtime for me. - It was such a cool spectacle, but I will say it did. The just the amount of time that I'd been there really did put a damper on the, 'cause I just was kind of sleepy. Like you ended it like three times more. Yeah, yeah, yeah. - Okay, I had seats, which was nice, but like, yeah, that's the last concert I saw, and I saw to the, to the same point of like, using like Robin Live and like, feeling that, that, that this like feeling that like, and you know this, we both like work in the industry, like I feel no kind of like all around celebrity around anyone who's like gotten famous past when I was a child, you know what I mean? Like whoever's hot right now, like meeting them means absolutely nothing to me, but it's like, if I'm in the room with like, if I was in the room with like, Julia Louie Dreyfus, I'd freak the fuck out. - Oh, a hundred percent. That's a great example. - Queen Latifa, if I was ever around Queen Latifa, like, I wouldn't know what to do with myself. - It needs to be someone who I first met on a low definition camera. - That's what I'm saying. - And if it's somebody who I've seen hold the phone at themselves, it's like, the stick is gone. - It's ruined, it's gone. - Totally. Like, I feel like like, like the island boys, I would be, I would feel numb. - It means nothing to me. It means nothing to me. - It's the first example. - If anything, I, if anything, yeah, that is a crazy one, but if anything I'd be, - It's like a modern celebrity. - I would be, I would be so around here. It's like insanely off. - It doesn't like Jacob Alority. He was like, oh my God. (laughing) - I like that. - I was a sort of aged viral sensation. - Yeah. - Like, oh boy. - Yeah. - But I agree with the point. - Sure. - The thrust of what you're saying is correct. - I saw, he brought Pharrell out and they did a bunch of their hits together. And I got to see him and Pharrell do Fronten, which is like-- - Love that song. - One of my favorite songs of all time. And seeing that truly made it all worth it. - That's a really good song. Do Fronten and he did his verse from a big Pimpin, which is probably my favorite Jay-Z song because they brought in the Texas Legends UGK. - Oh wow. - I wish they would have done the Pimp Sea verse 'cause that's actually the best part. But even just getting to see Fronten with Pharrell and Jay-Z, the thing that I probably will never get to see again. - Yeah. - That, yeah. That really, that wore my little heart. - That's so cool. What an amazing show. - Yeah, you gotta be there from 8 p.m. till 3 a.m. - Literally. - Like a graveyard shift. - Literally. - That's insane. - It was fucked up. I mean, we gotta get out of here. But before we get out of here, we're gonna listen to a little voicemail. - We'd love to. So, this is Jackie. I am calling because I was-- - Again, hold on. Again, we've talked about this. We've talked about this before. This came up on a recent pod. What happened to the pleasantries? Some people used to come on and they used to be like, "Hey, Devon and Guest, love the pod." - Yes. - Really happy to be here. But recently, people have gotten really impatient. They've just been like, "So, here's what I got to talk about." - Oh! - And that either-- - Where is the etiquette? - You know what I'm saying? Either it's being cut out beforehand and I don't know it or people just stop greeting me. And you know-- - Can you start with a, I hope you're well? - Come on. - For the love of God. - Something. There's so much going on right now. The fruits and vegetables aren't safe. We can't eat fruits and vegetables. - The diarrhea is explosive. - You feel me? - The air is full of smoke. - Come on. - Hope that we're well. - Come on. - At the top. - 'Cause there's a odds are we're not. - Yeah. - Anyway. - So, this is Jackie. I am calling because I was today, years old. - Also, this is Jackie like-- - Oh, it's Jackie. Jackie, you know what I'm gonna say? - Like we've been friends for a long time. (laughing) This is Jackie, you know further context is needed. - Of course. - Anyway, so is the new hello. (laughing) So, this is Jackie. You know what that means. All right. - Today, years old, when I heard Duolipus IDG-A-N. - Oh yeah. - Are you familiar with this song? - Yeah, it's a fun song. - This is, I've come to find out you're a real pop girl. - I do love pop. - And yeah, so this is the perfect voicemail for her. - Very good. - Yeah, let's see what's up. - I think she entered into my favorite lyric because she said, fuck you, and it was so beautiful. It was the, fuck you, whoo. That really got me. She was a cut from this, and I got out. And I like that. I don't normally listen a little white girl. (laughing) And I know this came out in 2017. However, come, she spoke to my whole 37-year-old black lady, so with that one. And I thought it was important to share. 'Cause she was given it to her. - And I like that. - Yeah. - Have a good one. Bye. - You know what, Jackie turned that around. That's a good voicemail. - Hey, thanks, Jackie. You know what, I know I was skeptical of the way that you pulled up initially, but I'm really happy that you did that, Jackie, and thank you again for listening. Now I feel like I need to revisit this song. What do you know about this one? - I can base it. ♪ Say you da da da da da da da ♪ ♪ You know I don't give a fuck ♪ It's a good song. It's from her first album. It's, yeah, I have like not much to add to what Jackie said. It's like an anthemic FU. - Let me see. 'Cause this is 906 million views. - Isn't that crazy? So many pop songs are like so many things now that I'm not familiar with, or like billion level popular. And I'm like, whoa, like I'm in a silo of some kind. - And I didn't think I was. - Yeah, I feel. - I try to be, you know, expansive in my interests, but. - We're in the arts, you know what I'm saying? I feel like I'm around people who like know what's going on. And yeah, you know, I mean, Jackie, incredible voice mail. I similarly don't have a lot to add. She really is saying enough of you. It's a classic pop girl sort of anthem is to be like, I've put you behind me. I've put you behind me. I'm not dealing with what you got going on. You're sorry, you don't mean anything. - This goes on the playlist with JoJo's too little too late. - Or leave? - Yes, leave get out. Both JoJo masterpieces. - Sure, sure, sure, sure. Yeah, this is a real, this is a big. - Sorry, not sorry by Demi Lovato. Also similar, thematically. - Sure, it's a, I think every pop girl's got to have one of these types of songs because it is the most universal, it's the most universal thing I feel like. - Yeah. - Is to be like, you're out of my life. - Yeah. - And you wish. - It's in power. It makes you, you know, we've all felt like that on some level. And I think especially if you're a man or a woman who dates men, you've certainly felt that about someone at some point in your history. - Yeah. And she managed to do this without falling into the like, like if it was like zero fucks given, it would have aged badly. - Sure, because that's like attached to like a time that people were saying that. - Yes, but this one's from 2017 and still sounds pretty good. - 'Cause it's classic. So I cut you off, I don't need your love 'cause I already cried enough, I'd have been done, I'm moving on, so we, since we say goodbye, I cut you off, I don't need your love. Yeah, your time is up, I'll tell you why. You say you're sorry, but it's too late now. So save it, get gone. - Get gone, shut up. - Old Beyonce song, sorry, you can go on this playlist too. - I think, I'm halfway to a, sorry, not sorry themed compilation. - Yeah, you've basically got it. - Yeah, you should show, I feel like people should see what that says, that's pretty funny. - If you're watching, you can see Carmen saying, we got her rap. - This is the very polite, you know. - And you know what, she's right, she's right. - She's saying IDGF to us now. - You feel me, it's probably that time. - I mean, thank you so much. - Devon, thanks for having me. - Thank you so much for being here, I can do this all day. - You know, you've got to, you're doing a lot of, you've got to do a wealth of knowledge about this. - Way too much. - No, but that's what happens. That's what happens when you're not looking at cheese pulls on the internet. You get to learn about the different types of rapins. - Oh my god, all the different rapins. We didn't even talk about Mary J. Blanche, turned down Umbrella by Rihanna. - Fuck. - Did you know that? - I did not know that. But also the same, it's like, I can't imagine it was a Mary J. Blanche song. - No, I don't think she wanted, I don't think she could do it. - I think she was, I don't want it. - I get why she did that. - Yeah. - It might not have become that big of a hit. - That's true. - Anyway, thank you so much. Y'all be sure to go peep. I mean, special. It is out right now. It's very funny. I don't, if you haven't seen Amy on stage, she's a hilarious stand-up. So, go get involved with that. - Thank you so much. - Thanks for having me. - My favorite lyrics is a production by Discon app. If you guys like what you hear, leave a review and tell a homie about the show. And make sure to follow us at my favorite lyrics pod on all social platforms. Except for Twitter, we offer that. You can learn more about this week's guest and the my favorite lyrics team by checking out the show's notes. And thank you to the guys that made this show happen. Executive producer Lauren Mandel, producer Carmen Carrigan, our editor Nicole Lyons, French podcast, who engineered this episode. And yeah, that's all the people that I'm gonna thank for now.