98: Obscure References and Sadness
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I i should tell you the title of this
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episode is going to be obscure
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references and sadness because allah
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says that's that's your stock and trade
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apparently but it's absolutely true
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absolutely good the incomparable Todd
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test number 98 july 2012
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hi there I'm Lex Friedman i'm joined by
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three very very cool people and they are
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in no particular order
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John siracusa likes Scott McNulty hello
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and Greg moss either
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hello and tonight we are all talking
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together about Jonathan Coulton the man
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the myth the internet legend who I guess
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in most of the press I seabed jonathan
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coulton or joko to his fans these days
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they sort of describe him as a geek
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I don't know if you guys would accept
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that label or not but I'm seeing it
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applied to him more and more but we're
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going to talk about his music and his
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over and some of our favorite Colton
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songs and why we like him so much
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so why don't we just to sort of get
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kick off by discussing how you first
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became aware of Jonathan cold what your
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introduction to him was and I pic Scott
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McNulty to go first
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ah alright i have prepared this because
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i knew that i had blogged about when i
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first heard about Jonathan Coulton so i
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googled myself and jonathan coulton and
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read my blog post so i could remember
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what how is this show is so he did a
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cover of a baby got back
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as we all may remember and so someone
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linked that on their blog and a so this
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was what in 2006 i guess so that's when
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he first came across my radar and then
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he started doing a bunch of other things
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that got more attention and he did the
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thing weak stuff and then he did the
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portal song and got very popular and and
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so that's my story and I'm sticking to
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excellent job not surprisingly my first
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encounter with him was also the baby got
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back song and I don't even remember
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where I got it from was one of those
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things you get floating around the
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internet and I'd I didn't make any
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connection of an artist with it because
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you know when you get songs on the
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internet and I go hey listen to this one
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song let's do you like an yeah it's nice
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I and then you forget about it all right
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but just one for whatever reason like I
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did basically forget about it and they
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were like oh there's this guy doing this
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thing where he's going to record a song
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every week and his name is not say Frank
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although you might get them confused
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initially a micro yeah i think i saw the
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guys didn't even notice guys doing music
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and it's like a new one every weekend
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starts up i want to his website and I
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said hey that's the guy who did the baby
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got back think so he went from a one-hit
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internet wonder immediately to a guy
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whose name I should remember and watch
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for and I watched thing week with
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varying levels of interest because it
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still is still at that point I'm like
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alright so we did this cute cover and
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he's trying to these songs with some of
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them are kind of crazy but you know I
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you know I might come together but
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probably he's doomed to failure but as
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we all know he did not fail and he just
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continued to grow in stature and I'm I
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following of him became more and more
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rabbit overtime culminating in today
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great was baby got back your
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introduction as well I it might have
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been but the only the first conscious
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memory I have Jonathan Coulton is code
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monkey i bet there was a period where
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people sensitive singer-songwriters were
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recording various rap songs i have and i
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don't remember her name but she's a
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sensitive singer-songwriter who recorded
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straight outta compton and I really like
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that and so I remember looking for
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others and finding a couple and I maybe
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baby got back was among those but the
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first time I remember the name jonathan
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coulton was codemonkey late comer
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understood you know I for me was not it
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wasn't code monkey and it wasn't baby
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got back but it was during I i had a
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friend a longtime friend and
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collaborator who i would write songs
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with Goofy songs with all the time and
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it was the week but it is baby got back
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was part of thing a week 1 which I guess
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we could talk a little bit about more
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than a couple minutes but the week
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before baby got back was released
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release the song called shop vac and it
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was my friend Seth sent me links to look
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at this guy he's trying to do a song
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every week for a year
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why didn't we think of that that's
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certainly we don't have the talent or
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musicianship or even you know any of the
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the brilliant sensibilities that that
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Colton has but so I heard that song shot
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back and I had to go back and listen to
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the first couple of songs that he had
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done and then I was listening every week
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and you know they're at at one point at
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first I was just going to his blog where
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he was posting these songs as you record
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them each week and then I would at some
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point he put made them available for
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purchase on his website and when he made
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them available for purchase
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he had go to the website and such a way
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that was very easy to get all the songs
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without paying for them which I did and
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then felt terribly about and then I went
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and paypal him and his amnesty program
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to make up for my wrongdoing and i still
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feel bad about it which is why I'm
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admitting to it publicly now you're a
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disappointment to us all
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yeah well so I i asked everybody to come
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prepared with their three favorite
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jonathan coulton songs with it was for
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me that was a very difficult decision
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was I think probably even harder than
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sophie's choice but she's never there
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was some there was some debate before
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the show about whether this was going to
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be draft style meeting each long curly
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picked will be picked once or not and I
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have made the executive decision that
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multiple people can pick the same songs
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because I want them to be true to their
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three favorites and because he
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disapproves of that approach
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I'll let Jonathan siracusa go first
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Jonathan they tell us your first of your
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three favorite songs that need not be in
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any particular order a call me Jonathan
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because it's jonathan coulton reference
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because you think my name is actually
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Jonathan I guess was because i was
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thinking of cold and I was looking at my
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Jonathan cold notes inside all right
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well you know job just pretend to
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Google's I i we had this is an ordered
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list or unordered this is unordered list
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this is ul alright i guess i'm going to
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start with probably indeed takes the
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throne for all time favorite but it
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wasn't my original favorite so it's kind
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of like my current favorite but i think
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it will be tough to knock off of this
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person that it's not a particularly
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unique or interesting favorite and about
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other people have picked it but there
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it is the future soon which is a song
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that's about as straightforward as a
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gentleman called the song can be it's
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about a disaffected nerdy youth and
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robots and cyborgs and all those sorts
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of things you would imagine a parody
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jonathan coulton song will be about
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last guy no llores it said I love you
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signed anonymous friend turns out modern
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the way things that maybe
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just and the reason i like it took a
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while to grow on me because a lot of the
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songs first listening to him i tend to
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listen to music listening for the music
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first and lyrics second and so I didn't
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really listen to what the lyrics are
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about my god just kind of like a
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mid-tempo rocky kind of song whatever I
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and then as I listened to it a couple
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more times I actually listened to the
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lyrics with sound strange talking about
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Jonathan Coulton song I listen to lyrics
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but it's just the way things tend to
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grow on me and the thing I love so much
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about the story is that it starts out as
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a kind of clichéd like oh I'm a nerd
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and you know I have a crush on a girl
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but she doesn't like me and I'm sad
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right you know that that's not going
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anywhere right but it quickly turns into
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a story about all right well that's my
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life now but things will get better
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later because i will use my big nerdy
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brain to do these awesome things and
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maybe i'll work on my own you know race
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of a robot android army that might
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destroy the world and then i'll go and
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talk to her and you know we'll finally
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get together potential realize I'm the
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guy who destroyed the entire rent so
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it's it it's an elaborate fantasy spun
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out by this nerdy guy and it doesn't end
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and hey i will have this elaborate
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fantasy and in the end of my fantasy I
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will get the girl and I'll show them all
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it ends in a self-destructive conclusion
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where despite his best efforts or
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because of his best efforts he ends up
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you know destroying the things that he
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loves totally consumed by bitterness and
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enslaving this girl that he's after so
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it's I loved it so much because it's it
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nicely captures the feeling of when
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you're you know a nerdy kid that even in
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your fantasy scenarios things and
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horribly for you and it's all because
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it's all because of your own instincts
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and you're like you know like this the
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sentiment underlying it all that you
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know all these awkward things about me
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we'll go in the future and I'll be
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better but this the realization that you
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know wherever you go there you are like
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I'm gonna have to become okay with
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myself otherwise things are going to
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turn out nicely in the end and that that
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kind of bittersweet pessimistic
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optimistic you know cliche but counter
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cliche thing is like the perfect the
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perfect formula for that Jonathan
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Coulton in my mind that's that's my
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it's you know and for me one thing i
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like about that one specifically is just
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the the phrasing of the the title and
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thus the course you know that I just
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feel like the that term that is going to
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be the future soon as a a clever way of
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phrasing that conceit yeah i mean that
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the title is a little he's very good
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with the word play like his songs are
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like the most straightforward like
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they're not too clever but they're just
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a little bit off and he's just very
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tight and very concise with with the
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music and the lyrics it's his is a great
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songwriter I'm really surprised that you
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listen to the music before you listen to
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the words just in general
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well like you know just knowing you're
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auditioning songs like especially when i
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was doing things a week it's like let's
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see what he's got this week and you
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listen to it's like some of them like
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the music production quality is not
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great and and some of the things a week
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things and you never know which one is
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going to come out and like he has really
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good pop sensibilities with hooks but
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sometimes the one with the best hooks
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have the least interesting lyrics you
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know and and it was one every single
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week and i was paying you know kind of
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tangential attention so that's that's
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how i came to this and I circle back
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around eventually and and and the future
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soon you know when to the top of verses
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my second choice which I listened to the
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lyrics right off for some reason and
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that was my old favorite so we'll get to
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that next you know I just want to ask
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have you ever heard John the i fight
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dragons cover of the future soon i
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probably have at this point i've heard
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many covers of many developing called
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songs but I don't recognize the the
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it's aight i didn't know the artist
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before that cover but it sort of I don't
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know that if the writers like a chip to
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notice it's got a video game sound ya to
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it it's very well done anyway i Fight
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Dragons the cover the future student if
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the future soon is like a robot
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apocalypse version of an it gets better
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video right but doesn't get better right
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it gets worse it gets better the says
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that he does get to destroy the world
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and no one else did but he still doesn't
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get what he wanted
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there's nowhere you can hide yeah yeah
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yeah that that is going to be a theme i
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think of this discussion but you can't
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always get what you want but if you try
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sometimes you just might find that you
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yeah I think that's right in my
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introduction colon remains my favorite
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which is code monkey going to get up.get
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copy good monkey go to job code monkey a
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boring meeting boring manager Rob very
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diligent but its output this elegant
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good monkey fake
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because I it's a song that of course is
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about a nerdy guy who can't get the girl
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which has a particular relevance to my
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life prior to my marriage but there's
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also it was the first song that my kids
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really took to that wasn't the kids song
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you know they listened to a whole bunch
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of crap that was aimed at them that was
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marketed at them you know that was
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designed for five-year-olds and code
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monkey was the first song that we they
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didn't I listen to that they asked to
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have played and like my eldest son he
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would take a sheet of eight and a half
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by 11 paper and he latched onto the line
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big fuzzy secret heart and he drew a
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heart the size of the page
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Andrew very fine hairs around the
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outside of it and put a classified stamp
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over it and hang it on the fridge and so
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because i have very literal-minded
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children so it'sit's I associate the
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song not only with really enjoying it
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and it having relevance to me but also
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that Mike kids came into an age when
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they started growing up when they
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stopped being kids and they started
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looking at a wider world and finding
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things that that I could enjoy that they
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could also enjoy the same time it's the
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very transitional phase and it will
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always stick with me because of that you
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know what I think of that song I think
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of him sitting was I don't even remember
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that was a thing of weeks on but all the
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songs i think of him sitting there and
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saying okay I gotta write a song so we
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got our song always need a reason so
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come meet me an idea i come to the idea
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◼
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of you know okay you ready i can't get
[TS]
◼
►
the girl kinda to that already but hit
[TS]
◼
►
the idea that makes them go you know now
[TS]
◼
►
I got it is that ok I'm going to the
[TS]
◼
►
lyrics like in like monkey speak right
[TS]
◼
►
now so it's so it's you know it's double
[TS]
◼
►
like I could just do this is a
[TS]
◼
►
straight-ahead song but i'm also going
[TS]
◼
►
to do them you know codemonkey get up
[TS]
◼
►
get coffee like and caveman speak and
[TS]
◼
►
that's it that once you have the idea
[TS]
◼
►
then it's off to the races and that that
[TS]
◼
►
is a great idea and it adds like a an
[TS]
◼
►
extra you know level of difficulty to
[TS]
◼
►
undo the song but the challenge myself
[TS]
◼
►
since I've done these nerdy songs i'm
[TS]
◼
►
gonna do it as a monkey and it makes it
[TS]
◼
►
10 * better i also think it works on two
[TS]
◼
►
levels both as monkey speak and as
[TS]
◼
►
yep that works well and it was thinking
[TS]
◼
►
we could stay a week 3 what I always
[TS]
◼
►
think about with code monkey is
[TS]
◼
►
you know Jonathan Colton's job before he
[TS]
◼
►
decided I'm gonna quit and start doing
[TS]
◼
►
this thing a weakling photo year it was
[TS]
◼
►
a coder and he's you know he said that
[TS]
◼
►
this song is not exactly he said that
[TS]
◼
►
the boss part is how to fire a graphical
[TS]
◼
►
but the the pining after the specific
[TS]
◼
►
woman was not but I mean I was once a
[TS]
◼
►
code monkey and I just I hated I mean
[TS]
◼
►
there's things about programming that i
[TS]
◼
►
like but doing programming where
[TS]
◼
►
specifically doing one of the persons
[TS]
◼
►
building and you can flex any creative
[TS]
◼
►
muscle i understand that monkey
[TS]
◼
►
mentality and not wanting to be the
[TS]
◼
►
I don't know that that's always what I
[TS]
◼
►
think about him working in that job and
[TS]
◼
►
there's also the my children really
[TS]
◼
►
adoring the line goddamn login page they
[TS]
◼
►
took particular delight in that just
[TS]
◼
►
singing the song dad that's interesting
[TS]
◼
►
that he's able to communicate like I you
[TS]
◼
►
know I don't know if I knew he was a
[TS]
◼
►
programmer at the time I listen to that
[TS]
◼
►
but I said he is using the correct
[TS]
◼
►
vocabulary modified by the monkey speak
[TS]
◼
►
/ pseudocode to express a sin to make
[TS]
◼
►
with the correct language like I a
[TS]
◼
►
counterexample this would be kind of
[TS]
◼
►
like a weird al's all about the Pentiums
[TS]
◼
►
which you can tell we're down two tons
[TS]
◼
►
of good research to get his lyrics to be
[TS]
◼
►
technically accurate but you could also
[TS]
◼
►
tell that weird al is not a programmer
[TS]
◼
►
right i mean whereas in this one he
[TS]
◼
►
there are very few technical words in it
[TS]
◼
►
all but the monkey speak yet you know
[TS]
◼
►
right god damn log in page himself
[TS]
◼
►
that's how managers would talk about
[TS]
◼
►
things we need to login page on this
[TS]
◼
►
like if you were working on the web as a
[TS]
◼
►
programmer during that time that lingo
[TS]
◼
►
coming from bosses talk to you know
[TS]
◼
►
spitting it back at them you know rings
[TS]
◼
►
true and I think I feel like even the
[TS]
◼
►
the tab mountain dew work and the other
[TS]
◼
►
that they wouldn't necessarily be it i
[TS]
◼
►
don't know that that weird i would have
[TS]
◼
►
gone to tab mountain dew
[TS]
◼
►
I mean I really like we don't feel like
[TS]
◼
►
that's but that's that's that's an
[TS]
◼
►
insider knowledge not those are Insider
[TS]
◼
►
E sodas but just to know that that that
[TS]
◼
►
level of caffeine is what's important to
[TS]
◼
►
certain app code monkeys i think is good
[TS]
◼
►
all right Scott hit us with your first
[TS]
◼
►
okay well I i am a person who does not
[TS]
◼
►
enjoy Christmas generally but i do enjoy
[TS]
◼
►
Christmas songs and i also enjoy
[TS]
◼
►
Christmas socks that are mostly
[TS]
◼
►
inappropriate for Christmas and so
[TS]
◼
►
Jonathan has a number of these songs in
[TS]
◼
►
him and my favorite is a chiron beta
[TS]
◼
►
prime this here is there a crazy party
[TS]
◼
►
here the council had a Spanish
[TS]
◼
►
merry Christmas from chyron beta pride
[TS]
◼
►
which tells the story of a family who
[TS]
◼
►
has been captured or sent to a planet
[TS]
◼
►
where they are mining things and you
[TS]
◼
►
know being punished and they don't they
[TS]
◼
►
can only tell it's Christmas because
[TS]
◼
►
they have scrawled in their cell the
[TS]
◼
►
number of days it has been since they
[TS]
◼
►
were captured and so they they're
[TS]
◼
►
singing they sing the song to uh as a
[TS]
◼
►
christmas greeting to their friends and
[TS]
◼
►
then they try to slip in a plea for help
[TS]
◼
►
but then Jon Coulton cleverly put in a
[TS]
◼
►
robot voice that says message redacted
[TS]
◼
►
so you don't hear that part of the song
[TS]
◼
►
and so it just lights me to play the
[TS]
◼
►
song during christmas so that i can ruin
[TS]
◼
►
everyone else's Christmas when you're
[TS]
◼
►
the guy who kept voting for grandma got
[TS]
◼
►
run over by a reindeer on dr. Demento
[TS]
◼
►
where yeah that was but yes you know I i
[TS]
◼
►
had chiron beta prime on my backup list
[TS]
◼
►
you know since I couldn't live with
[TS]
◼
►
myself 23 at first but I i will say and
[TS]
◼
►
I really really like the song i have i
[TS]
◼
►
have complaints I know
[TS]
◼
►
here are my complaints and i have put
[TS]
◼
►
two number one first I think you know
[TS]
◼
►
the first verses i think are very
[TS]
◼
►
brilliantly know the lyrics are really
[TS]
◼
►
brilliantly done you know that you know
[TS]
◼
►
that the the hardships their enduring
[TS]
◼
►
having undermine their holiday cheer and
[TS]
◼
►
you know did I say overlords I mean
[TS]
◼
►
protectors i really like when singers
[TS]
◼
►
correct themselves during a song you
[TS]
◼
►
know because it's as if the song is
[TS]
◼
►
happening right then live you know I
[TS]
◼
►
like that but my two problems are one
[TS]
◼
►
with that message rejected line which is
[TS]
◼
►
a great joke the whole thing is a song
[TS]
◼
►
and its it all Rhymes and I cannot come
[TS]
◼
►
up with a realistic line that could have
[TS]
◼
►
gone there that would have run before
[TS]
◼
►
they rejected the message and I don't
[TS]
◼
►
like that i want to know what they're
[TS]
◼
►
going to say and then to is just two
[TS]
◼
►
lines later he makes the Soylent Green
[TS]
◼
►
joke and i think that the Soylent Green
[TS]
◼
►
joke is below beneath him and beneath
[TS]
◼
►
the song i like good soil green joke so
[TS]
◼
►
i will allow it I only can criticize the
[TS]
◼
►
song because of how much i love I the
[TS]
◼
►
this doesn't to track for my overall
[TS]
◼
►
enjoyment of the song but because I have
[TS]
◼
►
such you know fandom for it I feel like
[TS]
◼
►
it's important for me to voice these two
[TS]
◼
►
can separate it you've done a service
[TS]
◼
►
for the world likes don't worry anybody
[TS]
◼
►
else want to weigh in on chiron beta
[TS]
◼
►
prime this is I think the first time
[TS]
◼
►
we've mentioned it's not from being a
[TS]
◼
►
week directly right well maybe it was
[TS]
◼
►
never my number on it from think a week
[TS]
◼
►
to my nokia cool i know nothing i'm
[TS]
◼
►
curious to see if anybody pics anything
[TS]
◼
►
from artificial heart i have two
[TS]
◼
►
selections from artificial heart people
[TS]
◼
►
into the onion on your main list on your
[TS]
◼
►
mind on my main list i have my have one
[TS]
◼
►
from artificial heart as well so my
[TS]
◼
►
first pick is not from artificial heart
[TS]
◼
►
and it is one of the few songs i think
[TS]
◼
►
that I could say that I love that has a
[TS]
◼
►
colon in the title and that is read your
[TS]
◼
►
hey Tom it's bob from the office down
[TS]
◼
►
good to see you buddy have you been
[TS]
◼
►
things have been ok for me except that
[TS]
◼
►
i'm a zombie now really wish you
[TS]
◼
►
the guys big for all of us
[TS]
◼
►
going to say I understand
[TS]
◼
►
y-you my desert submit to our
[TS]
◼
►
we haven't discussed yet you know how
[TS]
◼
►
you would classify jonathan coulton you
[TS]
◼
►
know I think that too many people he's
[TS]
◼
►
you know a human musician a comic
[TS]
◼
►
musician and I think you know some
[TS]
◼
►
people he might even they might even
[TS]
◼
►
apply the novelty label to him I i don't
[TS]
◼
►
think any of those really apply I think
[TS]
◼
►
he's a musician who happens to also be
[TS]
◼
►
very funny and to inject many of his
[TS]
◼
►
songs with humor but i enjoy some of his
[TS]
◼
►
seriousness as much as i enjoy the
[TS]
◼
►
humerus ones rear brains is I is pretty
[TS]
◼
►
much a straight comedy song which i
[TS]
◼
►
think is an exception for him overall
[TS]
◼
►
but i really like it
[TS]
◼
►
read your brains is told in the form of
[TS]
◼
►
sort of that a memo or a series of memos
[TS]
◼
►
from one co-worker to another and
[TS]
◼
►
clearly these workers who didn't get get
[TS]
◼
►
along well before the zombie apocalypse
[TS]
◼
►
and now that one of them is hiding
[TS]
◼
►
inside a ball and the other is the
[TS]
◼
►
zombie and the dictator of the letter
[TS]
◼
►
expressing his his desire to get inside
[TS]
◼
►
and eat his former colleagues brain and
[TS]
◼
►
his inability to do so yet but i really
[TS]
◼
►
i think this song is it's funny because
[TS]
◼
►
it like we mentioned earlier you know
[TS]
◼
►
John you said that you always like to
[TS]
◼
►
listen to the music first and then you
[TS]
◼
►
go to lyrics I'm very much the opposite
[TS]
◼
►
with all the music i listen to for me if
[TS]
◼
►
I don't like the lyrics than the song is
[TS]
◼
►
of no interest to me I think that your
[TS]
◼
►
brains uniquely has a very I don't know
[TS]
◼
►
the best work for compelling is that it
[TS]
◼
►
but very cleverly implemented chord
[TS]
◼
►
structure and I think the lyrics are
[TS]
◼
►
also just really i think they concede
[TS]
◼
►
there can only be as far as I'm
[TS]
◼
►
concerned they're going to be one song
[TS]
◼
►
told from the perspective of a still
[TS]
◼
►
very coherent zombie and jonathan
[TS]
◼
►
coulton wrote it and owns it and I just
[TS]
◼
►
I think it's excellent that the
[TS]
◼
►
brilliant thing about the song is that
[TS]
◼
►
like like his other songs that he's he's
[TS]
◼
►
got an idea like a letter from a zombie
[TS]
◼
►
right but that the entire song is a a no
[TS]
◼
►
parodied statement against office
[TS]
◼
►
culture for is in a way that's not so
[TS]
◼
►
distant from actual office culture you
[TS]
◼
►
know like but with the zombies you know
[TS]
◼
►
your colleagues who uses stupid business
[TS]
◼
►
speak are like one centimeter we removed
[TS]
◼
►
from being zombies so to see them as
[TS]
◼
►
zombies it's like not that much of a
[TS]
◼
►
stretch and the things they say that
[TS]
◼
►
things they say are you know with the
[TS]
◼
►
exception of the part about eating
[TS]
◼
►
brains every other word in this song
[TS]
◼
►
they come out of their mouths in the
[TS]
◼
►
course of a normal office day because
[TS]
◼
►
they're just crazy
[TS]
◼
►
sociopaths that you have to work with
[TS]
◼
►
and then they just finally admit you
[TS]
◼
►
know I'm not a monster Tom well okay
[TS]
◼
►
technically I am
[TS]
◼
►
that's one of his strengths is that he
[TS]
◼
►
takes solid I mean all the songs we've
[TS]
◼
►
mentioned so far have been really high
[TS]
◼
►
concept there's something in the title
[TS]
◼
►
that tells you what the song is going to
[TS]
◼
►
be about but the song itself isn't just
[TS]
◼
►
that joke repeated over and over and
[TS]
◼
►
over there again more layers to it
[TS]
◼
►
that's it that's definitely right
[TS]
◼
►
the title is not the only joke and it's
[TS]
◼
►
not the only meaning promise isn't the
[TS]
◼
►
only joke lyrics like everything
[TS]
◼
►
everything builds on itself and most of
[TS]
◼
►
his songs kind of like Bruce Springsteen
[TS]
◼
►
most of his songs like go somewhere you
[TS]
◼
►
know like a story and you know it's it's
[TS]
◼
►
interesting because you know i mentioned
[TS]
◼
►
that i i'm i'm a big fan of Al Yankovic
[TS]
◼
►
when you talk about that song like it's
[TS]
◼
►
all about the Pentiums he has a tendency
[TS]
◼
►
to do what he even classifies as a list
[TS]
◼
►
song you know here's my funny concept
[TS]
◼
►
and i'm going to give funny example
[TS]
◼
►
after fun example and I think that great
[TS]
◼
►
you nailed it that is not the approach
[TS]
◼
►
that that's not the approach to that
[TS]
◼
►
Colton takes he definitely tries to
[TS]
◼
►
build and to not just build on jokes if
[TS]
◼
►
it's a funny song but you know to build
[TS]
◼
►
somewhere and just that the actual
[TS]
◼
►
office speak that he puts in that song
[TS]
◼
►
and that fits so naturally coming out of
[TS]
◼
►
the zombies mouth is just so perfect
[TS]
◼
►
night table table this for now I'm sure
[TS]
◼
►
we get the common ground
[TS]
◼
►
you know you've heard these in any
[TS]
◼
►
anybody who's ever worked in corporate
[TS]
◼
►
America has or these terms and I i enjoy
[TS]
◼
►
the part where they are trying to talk
[TS]
◼
►
about of the lock himself in a room
[TS]
◼
►
writing is like who
[TS]
◼
►
no one's going to eat your eyes to worry
[TS]
◼
►
we know that this want to bring a great
[TS]
◼
►
for like they're supposed to be you know
[TS]
◼
►
using their smooth business speak but
[TS]
◼
►
they just they just matter-of-factly say
[TS]
◼
►
why don't you will come to a decision
[TS]
◼
►
are compromised will be you open the
[TS]
◼
►
door welcome and then we'll eat your
[TS]
◼
►
brains and I didn't realize their you
[TS]
◼
►
know this that there the zombies is
[TS]
◼
►
taking over there just coming right out
[TS]
◼
►
and saying what they wanted trying to
[TS]
◼
►
get some really hot i don't know how
[TS]
◼
►
many of you that I know that John has I
[TS]
◼
►
don't have any of you seen Jonathan
[TS]
◼
►
Coulton live but when he performs
[TS]
◼
►
rearrange live the first thing before
[TS]
◼
►
the song starts as hell and he'll ask
[TS]
◼
►
the audience to practicing the course he
[TS]
◼
►
wants the audience to perform the zombie
[TS]
◼
►
portion of the chorus and generally
[TS]
◼
►
speaking the audience will sing it well
[TS]
◼
►
and then he'll correct them afterward
[TS]
◼
►
say no no remember you are the undead
[TS]
◼
►
Tommy's you must sing it much worse than
[TS]
◼
►
that and that he encourages the audience
[TS]
◼
►
to sing it much more horribly instead I
[TS]
◼
►
always enjoyed that experience this is
[TS]
◼
►
the one public forum in which my singing
[TS]
◼
►
abilities are valued and appreciated
[TS]
◼
►
finally finally I have a reason a
[TS]
◼
►
command to sing very badly and yes I can
[TS]
◼
►
yes I've seen my many times all the
[TS]
◼
►
times I am yelling at the top of my
[TS]
◼
►
lungs and horrible totally off-key
[TS]
◼
►
zombie saying it was like god that guy
[TS]
◼
►
is so good at this army thing
[TS]
◼
►
yeah give us a sample no thank you
[TS]
◼
►
what happened we're not Jonathan Coulton
[TS]
◼
►
and I am NOT a giant audience right but
[TS]
◼
►
yes you should go to show so you two can
[TS]
◼
►
participate in this ritual i have i've
[TS]
◼
►
been lucky enough to go so let's go
[TS]
◼
►
around to John you got to start round
[TS]
◼
►
one so you get to start round two as
[TS]
◼
►
well so this was my original favorite
[TS]
◼
►
jonathan coulton song and it is kind of
[TS]
◼
►
like you know the beginners fisher price
[TS]
◼
►
my first jonathan coulton song because
[TS]
◼
►
if you don't know who he is and you're
[TS]
◼
►
not sure you write this type of thing
[TS]
◼
►
you get the song and it will introduce
[TS]
◼
►
you in a gentle way to what he's all
[TS]
◼
►
about its i crush everything like to
[TS]
◼
►
swim getting dizzy in your way getting
[TS]
◼
►
have to touch you
[TS]
◼
►
so the premise of the song is not
[TS]
◼
►
apparent on first listening this is kind
[TS]
◼
►
of a nice thing and you know i crush
[TS]
◼
►
everything is kind of like Oh what was
[TS]
◼
►
me everything I touch gets destroyed or
[TS]
◼
►
whatever and that's what you think the
[TS]
◼
►
first 12 times you listen to it because
[TS]
◼
►
you just like our least if you're like
[TS]
◼
►
me you're like la-di-da fine whatever
[TS]
◼
►
but then if you actually listen to the
[TS]
◼
►
lyrics that it's like they don't seem to
[TS]
◼
►
be making any sense of what the heck are
[TS]
◼
►
they talking about
[TS]
◼
►
I very little if you pay just the
[TS]
◼
►
smallest bit of attention what this song
[TS]
◼
►
is about will reveal itself to you know
[TS]
◼
►
deep thought required no deep cultural
[TS]
◼
►
knowledge of anything it's about a giant
[TS]
◼
►
squid and what he does is he can't help
[TS]
◼
►
himself but pole shifts down and you
[TS]
◼
►
know to destroy them because that's what
[TS]
◼
►
giant squids do is stereotypically and
[TS]
◼
►
he feels bad about it and every lyric in
[TS]
◼
►
the song is like I'm going to you know
[TS]
◼
►
this is this look seems like a simple
[TS]
◼
►
song listen to for a second it's about
[TS]
◼
►
giant squid and it's not obscurely about
[TS]
◼
►
giant squid it's straightforwardly about
[TS]
◼
►
giant squid like you know doesn't say
[TS]
◼
►
hey I'm a giant squid but it does
[TS]
◼
►
everything but I and I love the
[TS]
◼
►
sentiment of you know sort of a nice
[TS]
◼
►
kind of a self tonight and I can't
[TS]
◼
►
believe we have to pick three songs i
[TS]
◼
►
can pick up a hundred songs but it's
[TS]
◼
►
kind of like it yeah it was me kind of
[TS]
◼
►
song like in a big bad world one or
[TS]
◼
►
something like that
[TS]
◼
►
I very simple and straightforward but
[TS]
◼
►
the fact that it's about a giant squid
[TS]
◼
►
just tickles me and turns the song on
[TS]
◼
►
it's a year and that was that was my
[TS]
◼
►
favorite before the future soon
[TS]
◼
►
surpassed it i've said this once before
[TS]
◼
►
and been wrong but I can now say with
[TS]
◼
►
conviction this is the first song we've
[TS]
◼
►
selected that is not a thing of weeks on
[TS]
◼
►
this was from his his album where
[TS]
◼
►
tradition meets tomorrow it'll just flow
[TS]
◼
►
that wasn't the future soon also from
[TS]
◼
►
yeah attractions near our house the
[TS]
◼
►
future soon and I crush everything
[TS]
◼
►
well I never said I was good at all
[TS]
◼
►
right you guys still remember what songs
[TS]
◼
►
come from what albums i don't know why
[TS]
◼
►
I've been looking on the wikipedia page
[TS]
◼
►
i actually bought physical kind of kelly
[TS]
◼
►
cds and they came and they are but
[TS]
◼
►
they're just jumbled into a random
[TS]
◼
►
shuffle and I told her I never even
[TS]
◼
►
opened because i had the songs before
[TS]
◼
►
that that's the thing about like I i
[TS]
◼
►
crush everything you do it anytime i'm
[TS]
◼
►
introduced to a new subculture new
[TS]
◼
►
artist i assume that the song
[TS]
◼
►
sure about giant squids and then usually
[TS]
◼
►
I'm disappointed but it's all these
[TS]
◼
►
songs that I've heard people say that
[TS]
◼
►
about Jonathan Coulton is you can tell
[TS]
◼
►
how experienced the listener is by
[TS]
◼
►
whether they laugh or whether they're
[TS]
◼
►
sad because the songs i'll start out
[TS]
◼
►
with jokes i mean there are definite
[TS]
◼
►
jokes here but as you get deeper into
[TS]
◼
►
the sentiment of the song there's real
[TS]
◼
►
profound sadness at the core of a lot of
[TS]
◼
►
them yet or like or ironic poking at
[TS]
◼
►
your own sadness again big bad world one
[TS]
◼
►
you know where it's it's it's that we
[TS]
◼
►
should get this when we get to more
[TS]
◼
►
general comments about John Caldwell
[TS]
◼
►
okay well if we're gonna have we're
[TS]
◼
►
gonna get to those that i will move us
[TS]
◼
►
along at a slightly more rapid clip Greg
[TS]
◼
►
your second song my my second is going
[TS]
◼
►
to be Skullcrusher mountain and i know
[TS]
◼
►
its high concept and I know there's a
[TS]
◼
►
lot of jokes in there but i just-i i
[TS]
◼
►
adore the pony verse this have money at
[TS]
◼
►
monkey monster to please you
[TS]
◼
►
like it what's with
[TS]
◼
►
all screaming you like my be like me
[TS]
◼
►
and it just specifically one line or he
[TS]
◼
►
says what's with all the screaming that
[TS]
◼
►
that reaction is so perfect and so I
[TS]
◼
►
mean again it's following the same
[TS]
◼
►
template as future soon and code monkey
[TS]
◼
►
is your sad little man wants the girl
[TS]
◼
►
but the the setting of the song and then
[TS]
◼
►
of course when you're in love with
[TS]
◼
►
somebody and they don't reciprocate
[TS]
◼
►
you're going to build them a half pony
[TS]
◼
►
half monkey monster
[TS]
◼
►
I mean that just makes sense and then
[TS]
◼
►
when wench the she has the normal
[TS]
◼
►
reaction the deed
[TS]
◼
►
what's with all the screaming I don't
[TS]
◼
►
understand why you would react that way
[TS]
◼
►
I always and maybe this is my own lack
[TS]
◼
►
of imagination but I always listen to
[TS]
◼
►
school crusher mountain is being the
[TS]
◼
►
future realized by the title character
[TS]
◼
►
in the future for the best for the
[TS]
◼
►
future soon hopefully this this is what
[TS]
◼
►
I think it's more gothic less
[TS]
◼
►
science-fictiony that's fair i was
[TS]
◼
►
thinking i was like the James Bond
[TS]
◼
►
villain in the volcano lair
[TS]
◼
►
yeah I don't think yes this is another
[TS]
◼
►
song we're like the song doesn't come
[TS]
◼
►
out and say hey I'm dr. evil i'm in my
[TS]
◼
►
volcano lair but just straightforwardly
[TS]
◼
►
this is even less obscured then i crush
[TS]
◼
►
everything we're remember if you listen
[TS]
◼
►
to anything lyrics as alright well this
[TS]
◼
►
is obviously some kind of super villain
[TS]
◼
►
and here's what the supervillain wants
[TS]
◼
►
and he behaves in the way the
[TS]
◼
►
supervillain does who is acclimated to
[TS]
◼
►
being a supervillain surrounded by yes
[TS]
◼
►
men who and doesn't understand the way
[TS]
◼
►
you operate in polite society of you
[TS]
◼
►
notice that genuinely surprised and that
[TS]
◼
►
turns the turns of phrase or anything
[TS]
◼
►
like maybe I used too many monkeys like
[TS]
◼
►
it's just an ingredient uses in his
[TS]
◼
►
normal it isn't it enough that Hebrew
[TS]
◼
►
and a pony making a gift that's it's the
[TS]
◼
►
thought that counts as far as that he
[TS]
◼
►
will he will mix in sentiments from
[TS]
◼
►
adult relationships again from his life
[TS]
◼
►
I've imagined this time we kill me kill
[TS]
◼
►
you to be civil like that I've been
[TS]
◼
►
patient I've been gracious it's a line
[TS]
◼
►
right out of you know typical you know
[TS]
◼
►
cutting to adulthood relationships and
[TS]
◼
►
marriage or whatever just only was in at
[TS]
◼
►
that time just mixed in you know like
[TS]
◼
►
that he has is having the same squabble
[TS]
◼
►
the women the woman is abject terror but
[TS]
◼
►
he thinks he's in a domestic you
[TS]
◼
►
well that's did in that verse splits it
[TS]
◼
►
exactly in half reading from the lyrics
[TS]
◼
►
you know it isn't easy living here on
[TS]
◼
►
skull crusher mountain maybe you could
[TS]
◼
►
cut me just a little slack
[TS]
◼
►
would it kill you to be civil I've been
[TS]
◼
►
patient I've been gracious and then
[TS]
◼
►
and this mountain is covered with Wolves
[TS]
◼
►
to hear them howling my hungry children
[TS]
◼
►
get switches right back into and that
[TS]
◼
►
that's the way I spoke to my game yeah
[TS]
◼
►
right i like how he tries to calm her
[TS]
◼
►
down by saying listen the voices inside
[TS]
◼
►
my head that control me tell me I
[TS]
◼
►
shouldn't kill you yet
[TS]
◼
►
yeah that's love is what you know when I
[TS]
◼
►
was speaking about the recorded version
[TS]
◼
►
of that song I never heard that yet and
[TS]
◼
►
of course live you hear that yet because
[TS]
◼
►
you know he's singing and he can
[TS]
◼
►
enunciated i think i like to better
[TS]
◼
►
without that yet saying the voice in my
[TS]
◼
►
head said I shouldn't kill you as if
[TS]
◼
►
that's reassuring like the fact that
[TS]
◼
►
you're listening to the voices in your
[TS]
◼
►
head that they're advising on who you
[TS]
◼
►
should or shouldn't kill is disturbing
[TS]
◼
►
enough that you don't need to yet i
[TS]
◼
►
think we get your right is very subtle
[TS]
◼
►
in the record so what side it's a
[TS]
◼
►
falsetto the note that rises at the end
[TS]
◼
►
yep that John would you perform their
[TS]
◼
►
fruits that is not yeah my duty as a job
[TS]
◼
►
audience Scott Scott share with us your
[TS]
◼
►
second song i am going to pick some a
[TS]
◼
►
fairly straightforward song that perhaps
[TS]
◼
►
many people would not pick but i am an
[TS]
◼
►
odd fellow so i'm going to pick the
[TS]
◼
►
presidents Washington came first news
[TS]
◼
►
John and skips out with friends
[TS]
◼
►
Jefferson me to Louisiana
[TS]
◼
►
Madison chicken British in hand changing
[TS]
◼
►
Quincy and the very straightforward song
[TS]
◼
►
wow it is he just sings about the
[TS]
◼
►
president's a little fact about them i
[TS]
◼
►
enjoy a couple things about this song a
[TS]
◼
►
I like history and songs about history
[TS]
◼
►
I'm a junkie I enjoy the fact that he
[TS]
◼
►
uses a toy instruments in it
[TS]
◼
►
yes that amuses me greatly and I like
[TS]
◼
►
the fact that so it was written in 2005
[TS]
◼
►
so he gets to the end and of course
[TS]
◼
►
George W Bush is the president then he
[TS]
◼
►
wasn't there i should say might get my
[TS]
◼
►
texts correct and so he's talking about
[TS]
◼
►
george w bush and he says he goes
[TS]
◼
►
through you know the countries in a bad
[TS]
◼
►
position and nobody knows what's
[TS]
◼
►
happening and I don't like to make
[TS]
◼
►
political statements and then there are
[TS]
◼
►
a couple of beats there so he just
[TS]
◼
►
doesn't say anything and then it goes
[TS]
◼
►
back to the the verse and chorus i
[TS]
◼
►
should say so it just amuses me greatly
[TS]
◼
►
it's a very straightforward song not
[TS]
◼
►
that deep or layered but sometimes you
[TS]
◼
►
just want a song that lists all the
[TS]
◼
►
president's give you a fact about them
[TS]
◼
►
after after codemonkey might buy made a
[TS]
◼
►
Colton playlist for my kids and they
[TS]
◼
►
really enjoyed the president's but then
[TS]
◼
►
I started asking questions particularly
[TS]
◼
►
about the Clinton cigar line we gave an
[TS]
◼
►
internal cigar right yeah and I left
[TS]
◼
►
first of May off that list as well and i
[TS]
◼
►
like that the the fact that he chooses
[TS]
◼
►
to say about some of the president's
[TS]
◼
►
like you know grover cleveland serve
[TS]
◼
►
another term so there you go that's all
[TS]
◼
►
good and at this is that we write some
[TS]
◼
►
of the descriptions are you know fairly
[TS]
◼
►
accurate and it's hard to get a full
[TS]
◼
►
history of a president a single lyric
[TS]
◼
►
you know but saying Jefferson made the
[TS]
◼
►
Louisiana Purchase is good and then you
[TS]
◼
►
get like Nixon was a filthy dirty liar
[TS]
◼
►
you take this is also fairly adequate
[TS]
◼
►
description it I i do like the
[TS]
◼
►
juxtaposition of the or I think my my
[TS]
◼
►
favorite lyric I do like that that pause
[TS]
◼
►
that you reference got but Lincoln save
[TS]
◼
►
the Union that he died i like sex is
[TS]
◼
►
like that that's the history of lincoln
[TS]
◼
►
as you say the Union and they're dead
[TS]
◼
►
i laughs I laughs at Lincoln said that
[TS]
◼
►
every time and that
[TS]
◼
►
suit suit laughs well my my second
[TS]
◼
►
selection does come from artificial
[TS]
◼
►
heart and I think it's okay if we if we
[TS]
◼
►
take a parallel track here because I i
[TS]
◼
►
think my inference here is the greg koss
[TS]
◼
►
is not necessarily as a narrative
[TS]
◼
►
artificial heart as you might be the
[TS]
◼
►
rest of the cold and cannon I'm not
[TS]
◼
►
putting your words your mouth so you
[TS]
◼
►
will have a chance to prove me wrong I'm
[TS]
◼
►
disagree you know it i'm disappointed in
[TS]
◼
►
myself that I don't like it more I don't
[TS]
◼
►
want to box him in as an artist and I
[TS]
◼
►
realize he's he's reaching here he's
[TS]
◼
►
extending but unlike some of the
[TS]
◼
►
experimental stuff like bacteria I can't
[TS]
◼
►
stand but I am disappointed that i don't
[TS]
◼
►
like it because I know what he's trying
[TS]
◼
►
to do and I don't want him to keep doing
[TS]
◼
►
the same thing for the next 20 years but
[TS]
◼
►
I it just it's not the same for me
[TS]
◼
►
should give it a chance because I kind
[TS]
◼
►
of felt the same way when I first got
[TS]
◼
►
the album but it is totally like some of
[TS]
◼
►
them are it's kinda like thing week
[TS]
◼
►
where some of them are just forgettable
[TS]
◼
►
and you're like okay that didn't work
[TS]
◼
►
but other ones are real growers as they
[TS]
◼
►
call them and they have really easy up
[TS]
◼
►
several these could have made my top
[TS]
◼
►
three lies adjusted there's so much back
[TS]
◼
►
catalogue history we move the other
[TS]
◼
►
songs that none of these have been in my
[TS]
◼
►
in my heart long enough to crack the top
[TS]
◼
►
three for you so just for the
[TS]
◼
►
uninitiated uninitiated artificial heart
[TS]
◼
►
is Jonathan Colton's first full band
[TS]
◼
►
down produced by John Flansburg they
[TS]
◼
►
might be giants and it's you know it's
[TS]
◼
►
every other song that he had released
[TS]
◼
►
essentially had been done by him at home
[TS]
◼
►
generally with his acoustic guitar and
[TS]
◼
►
electronic drums in whatever keyboards
[TS]
◼
►
he could finagle and so this is you know
[TS]
◼
►
full band playing with him and so the
[TS]
◼
►
first of my 22 artificial hearts
[TS]
◼
►
elections is alone at home i am glad
[TS]
◼
►
shopping here I will kill you first
[TS]
◼
►
which is another one where I think it's
[TS]
◼
►
it gets extra credit for being great to
[TS]
◼
►
me in both the lyrical sense and in the
[TS]
◼
►
you know just the the music itself I
[TS]
◼
►
think is excellently arranged but I her
[TS]
◼
►
loaded home live when Colton was opening
[TS]
◼
►
for they might be giants at the stone
[TS]
◼
►
pony in New Jersey and then you know
[TS]
◼
►
that because the the album only launched
[TS]
◼
►
two days later them and I don't know if
[TS]
◼
►
that added to my affection for the song
[TS]
◼
►
because hearing it unveiling live to me
[TS]
◼
►
for the first time was exciting but this
[TS]
◼
►
song is a song is very that the singer
[TS]
◼
►
is very angry and hateful toward his
[TS]
◼
►
wife or significant other in my view and
[TS]
◼
►
you know first easy the first verse
[TS]
◼
►
you know it's kind of gig already and as
[TS]
◼
►
we said you know it's it's another one
[TS]
◼
►
where it kind of keeps building things
[TS]
◼
►
you know where I'm going to sit here on
[TS]
◼
►
this chair while you're shopping and
[TS]
◼
►
I'll watch your person I'll take care of
[TS]
◼
►
it while you do your thing and it's fine
[TS]
◼
►
because i'm alone at home and I you know
[TS]
◼
►
much of the lyrics of the song i think
[TS]
◼
►
are straightforward i feel like the
[TS]
◼
►
chorus is open to interpretation what he
[TS]
◼
►
exactly means my saying he's alone at
[TS]
◼
►
home i think is up for debate but I
[TS]
◼
►
don't know that as that song builds and
[TS]
◼
►
he says he'll make room for your stuff
[TS]
◼
►
when you buy stuff the canvas or and
[TS]
◼
►
that he'll pretend to be nice to your
[TS]
◼
►
parents when you visit them you know
[TS]
◼
►
it's he clearly has fallen out of love
[TS]
◼
►
and I i think that whole thing I think
[TS]
◼
►
it's a hilarious thing to write a song
[TS]
◼
►
about at least in the way that he did
[TS]
◼
►
and the cryptic chorus keeps me coming
[TS]
◼
►
back and i really like the the the the
[TS]
◼
►
way he sings the chorus very energetic
[TS]
◼
►
and then and catchy i think yes I think
[TS]
◼
►
he has nice access again as a by this
[TS]
◼
►
time Mary person nice access to the
[TS]
◼
►
kinds of small things that can magnify
[TS]
◼
►
in a marriage to get on your nerves and
[TS]
◼
►
the you know he has a limited number
[TS]
◼
►
words in these verses so he's got the
[TS]
◼
►
chosen very carefully and this is what I
[TS]
◼
►
think makes him a brilliant as a linear
[TS]
◼
►
system connecting with people like me
[TS]
◼
►
particulars were that bit where he says
[TS]
◼
►
we can talk about plans for your
[TS]
◼
►
cousin's birthday if you haven't been
[TS]
◼
►
married married no sense
[TS]
◼
►
was that you know something that you're
[TS]
◼
►
bitter or angry about but sometimes like
[TS]
◼
►
you just you know your your wife will be
[TS]
◼
►
way more interested in talking about
[TS]
◼
►
plans for cousins birthday then you are
[TS]
◼
►
and the fact that she's interviewed want
[TS]
◼
►
to talk about it will be annoying to you
[TS]
◼
►
and that's something that you you know
[TS]
◼
►
you wouldn't have had access to if you
[TS]
◼
►
weren't in that situation yourself and
[TS]
◼
►
couldn't relate to it that that's good
[TS]
◼
►
I think it's a mystery John that you
[TS]
◼
►
said sometimes your wife is more
[TS]
◼
►
interested in your mind is always were
[TS]
◼
►
just talking about those kind of terms
[TS]
◼
►
of the most compelling lyric that you
[TS]
◼
►
know and John you made the point a
[TS]
◼
►
couple times that it feels like it's
[TS]
◼
►
coming from his real-world experience is
[TS]
◼
►
the entirety of the bridge
[TS]
◼
►
you know I don't want you to make it up
[TS]
◼
►
to me I just wanted everyone to see the
[TS]
◼
►
way we are over this way can we just not
[TS]
◼
►
make this a thing all of which feels
[TS]
◼
►
like pulled from maybe I I mean not
[TS]
◼
►
every conversation I've had with my wife
[TS]
◼
►
but yeah it was magnified like he's
[TS]
◼
►
actually has access to those feelings
[TS]
◼
►
he's not actually in that situation but
[TS]
◼
►
he can take that and say I know that
[TS]
◼
►
exists now map it onto this character in
[TS]
◼
►
this song because it's coming from a
[TS]
◼
►
real place it's not not autobiographical
[TS]
◼
►
he's doing a great songwriters do you
[TS]
◼
►
don't have to live through this horrible
[TS]
◼
►
experiences you just have to understand
[TS]
◼
►
how they could come to be and so now I i
[TS]
◼
►
can write something that's true about
[TS]
◼
►
people who are in this situation
[TS]
◼
►
well let's do a the third and final
[TS]
◼
►
round before we get to our broader
[TS]
◼
►
Colton discussion
[TS]
◼
►
Jon you're up again yeah it's a tough
[TS]
◼
►
choice because again just limited to
[TS]
◼
►
three is killing me and i'm already
[TS]
◼
►
sneeze making it mentions of other ones
[TS]
◼
►
but i'm going to pick this one because
[TS]
◼
►
it's the least like the other ones it's
[TS]
◼
►
a very simple song that i really started
[TS]
◼
►
to like the first time I heard him live
[TS]
◼
►
and he played it I guess I figured you
[TS]
◼
►
know he likes this song so much he
[TS]
◼
►
decides to pull out live and it's fairly
[TS]
◼
►
obscure maybe I should give it another
[TS]
◼
►
listen and and I didn't have definitely
[TS]
◼
►
grown me it's I'm your moon
[TS]
◼
►
invented reason that's why it stings
[TS]
◼
►
they don't think you mad
[TS]
◼
►
because you don't have to keep telling
[TS]
◼
►
you I don't care
[TS]
◼
►
which is a very straightforward not
[TS]
◼
►
funny at all song that doesn't have to
[TS]
◼
►
be about anything other than what it
[TS]
◼
►
seems to be about which is like a
[TS]
◼
►
relationship with the moon analogy but
[TS]
◼
►
is actually about Pluto and its moon
[TS]
◼
►
that is almost the same size as Pluto
[TS]
◼
►
and that little extra geeky twist makes
[TS]
◼
►
its i like i like how it's nice and
[TS]
◼
►
calming and it's fun to listen to
[TS]
◼
►
but knowing that it's also about Pluto
[TS]
◼
►
and its moon you at it gives it that
[TS]
◼
►
extra twist that that again tickles me
[TS]
◼
►
while I listen to it and i can i can if
[TS]
◼
►
i could appreciate strap even if it
[TS]
◼
►
wasn't about Pluto but that extra bit
[TS]
◼
►
puts it over the top
[TS]
◼
►
I think that's a great choice that would
[TS]
◼
►
have been my fourth choice i might might
[TS]
◼
►
my third choices along the same lines
[TS]
◼
►
it's very straightforward and it's sweet
[TS]
◼
►
is you ruined everything
[TS]
◼
►
I was fine the pull myself together
[TS]
◼
►
just-in-time throw myself away one my
[TS]
◼
►
perfect world was gone I and
[TS]
◼
►
and my kids were little older when I
[TS]
◼
►
first heard this song but I'd never
[TS]
◼
►
found a song that expressed the kind of
[TS]
◼
►
I was terrified of having children
[TS]
◼
►
it was this giant that undoable decision
[TS]
◼
►
and it apparently so far it's worked out
[TS]
◼
►
but there's this notion of it I am
[TS]
◼
►
irrevocably changing my life right now
[TS]
◼
►
and I'm happy it happened I I dearly
[TS]
◼
►
love my children but there's also a part
[TS]
◼
►
of me that I sacrificed for that and
[TS]
◼
►
sometimes I didn't miss it
[TS]
◼
►
that's kind of the thing they don't tell
[TS]
◼
►
you about parenthood like before you're
[TS]
◼
►
becoming a parent people only one ever
[TS]
◼
►
tell you oh you're gonna love it so much
[TS]
◼
►
you can love your kids so much all which
[TS]
◼
►
is true but no one will tell you like
[TS]
◼
►
because I guess it makes them to see you
[TS]
◼
►
seem like a bad person if you go up to
[TS]
◼
►
someone and say listen and you have a
[TS]
◼
►
kid let me tell you all the bad things
[TS]
◼
►
about it and you ruined everything again
[TS]
◼
►
must have been written by someone who
[TS]
◼
►
has actually had kids and said ready
[TS]
◼
►
tell you right there are so many great
[TS]
◼
►
things about it and the heart of the
[TS]
◼
►
song is sweet but part of you dies at
[TS]
◼
►
the lyric that gets me every time is
[TS]
◼
►
what he says I can't think of who I was
[TS]
◼
►
before you ruined everything in the
[TS]
◼
►
nicest way and that's the that's the
[TS]
◼
►
thought that echoes to me the most often
[TS]
◼
►
you know I i could I thought we had one
[TS]
◼
►
kid I thought what the hell did i do
[TS]
◼
►
before i had this kid we had to what the
[TS]
◼
►
hell do I said 1-3 what the hell that I
[TS]
◼
►
don't I said to and at neck that lyric I
[TS]
◼
►
really speaks to me in a very poignant
[TS]
◼
►
have you guys ever like after kids were
[TS]
◼
►
born you know six months nine months
[TS]
◼
►
after you're born you ever find yourself
[TS]
◼
►
like driving to work and staring at
[TS]
◼
►
studio apartments as you went by doesn't
[TS]
◼
►
have the medium that has the makings of
[TS]
◼
►
a good Jonathan Coulton song i could get
[TS]
◼
►
yes I need a futon an internet
[TS]
◼
►
connection that's the name of your album
[TS]
◼
►
be telling edit a connection that's it
[TS]
◼
►
that's the suites on
[TS]
◼
►
I like that yeah all right Scott your
[TS]
◼
►
third and final selection i am going to
[TS]
◼
►
choose a song from artificial heart
[TS]
◼
►
final selection nemec's run fast
[TS]
◼
►
first of all your enemy
[TS]
◼
►
joy it's about a never see his midst of
[TS]
◼
►
a pretty straightforward so I think
[TS]
◼
►
about the idea that it is from the
[TS]
◼
►
vantage point of the viewpoint of one
[TS]
◼
►
person who is the Nemesis or at least
[TS]
◼
►
suggesting to another person that they
[TS]
◼
►
should be in embassies so that they will
[TS]
◼
►
fulfill each other's lives basically
[TS]
◼
►
because I wouldn't i won't seem as crazy
[TS]
◼
►
you won't see him as crazy if we are
[TS]
◼
►
competing with each other and trying to
[TS]
◼
►
you know kill each other basically and i
[TS]
◼
►
will constantly be following you lurking
[TS]
◼
►
in the shadows trying to support you but
[TS]
◼
►
it will all make sense because we're in
[TS]
◼
►
embassies so that will we will complete
[TS]
◼
►
each up so it's an interesting kind of
[TS]
◼
►
strange song I think and I i enjoy
[TS]
◼
►
collecting embassies myself so it speaks
[TS]
◼
►
there can only be one bearded
[TS]
◼
►
singer-songwriter on the Internet
[TS]
◼
►
well this is this situation where
[TS]
◼
►
someone has wants to be someone else's
[TS]
◼
►
nemesis I and perhaps the other person
[TS]
◼
►
doesn't know that that person really
[TS]
◼
►
wants to be their nemesis so badly
[TS]
◼
►
yes you're pretending you don't even
[TS]
◼
►
know my name well played all part of an
[TS]
◼
►
all-party am right nut
[TS]
◼
►
it's another foil love song isn't it and
[TS]
◼
►
it's a duet with John Roderick whose is
[TS]
◼
►
whose great this was my introduction to
[TS]
◼
►
him as a singer and it's very
[TS]
◼
►
interesting mix of voice sounds that do
[TS]
◼
►
it and that's actually interesting
[TS]
◼
►
element of artificial heart is that
[TS]
◼
►
there are is it three tracks for tracks
[TS]
◼
►
where Jonathan Coulton is not the lead
[TS]
◼
►
vocalist which is kind of unusual when
[TS]
◼
►
you buy a an album from someone you
[TS]
◼
►
think they're going to sing all the
[TS]
◼
►
songs and never cease
[TS]
◼
►
now i'm an arsonist the third version of
[TS]
◼
►
stay up still alive
[TS]
◼
►
yeah but he makes up for it work with
[TS]
◼
►
nobody loves you like me where Jonathan
[TS]
◼
►
Coulton at nine times so for my last
[TS]
◼
►
song it like i said it does come from
[TS]
◼
►
artificial heart night I far be it for
[TS]
◼
►
me to casualty list of songs that didn't
[TS]
◼
►
make the cut but they were very close
[TS]
◼
►
like curl not about you blew sunny day
[TS]
◼
►
today with your wife and good morning to
[TS]
◼
►
sign but the song that i picked was it's
[TS]
◼
►
it's I guess like Scott's caveat i'll
[TS]
◼
►
say you know it's it is cut
[TS]
◼
►
a very superficial song but i think it's
[TS]
◼
►
so brilliantly crafted and unlike any
[TS]
◼
►
song i had heard previously and yet so
[TS]
◼
►
obvious that this kind of song should
[TS]
◼
►
exist when you hear it and that is just
[TS]
◼
►
sweet Rick Springfield neighborhood
[TS]
◼
►
he's got back yet
[TS]
◼
►
share the quad coming no share hey rama
[TS]
◼
►
nam provide just explain
[TS]
◼
►
it's very very simple very simple melody
[TS]
◼
►
and really a relatively simple concept
[TS]
◼
►
all although still with a little bit of
[TS]
◼
►
ambiguity where the singer is the singer
[TS]
◼
►
either claims to be or is in fact Rick
[TS]
◼
►
Springfield and apparently in France or
[TS]
◼
►
in some other french-speaking location
[TS]
◼
►
reminding people about his greatness and
[TS]
◼
►
assuring them he that he is indeed Rick
[TS]
◼
►
Springfield but doing it all in French
[TS]
◼
►
and then even questioning his own
[TS]
◼
►
friends I guess it kind of goes back to
[TS]
◼
►
one thing that I like this you know
[TS]
◼
►
where he's correcting himself or he's
[TS]
◼
►
trying to verify that he was pronouncing
[TS]
◼
►
the French words or phrases the French
[TS]
◼
►
words correctly in song and i like that
[TS]
◼
►
i like when singers second-guess
[TS]
◼
►
themselves in within a song and I don't
[TS]
◼
►
know something about that song i can't
[TS]
◼
►
help but rock out to it in the car no
[TS]
◼
►
matter who's looking in the windows and
[TS]
◼
►
it's i don't know i think it's great
[TS]
◼
►
yeah that the nice thing about just
[TS]
◼
►
rework Springfield for me is that I'd
[TS]
◼
►
the language i took in high school was
[TS]
◼
►
french so i could actually more or less
[TS]
◼
►
understand the lyrics the first time I
[TS]
◼
►
heard the song and that's the case where
[TS]
◼
►
I was training very hard to understand
[TS]
◼
►
it because when I when I saw this I saw
[TS]
◼
►
him he was auditioning the artificial
[TS]
◼
►
heart songs in Boston he came up and did
[TS]
◼
►
a small show with the band was the first
[TS]
◼
►
time I'd seem to the band was way before
[TS]
◼
►
the element come out and one of his
[TS]
◼
►
instructions like hey here's an
[TS]
◼
►
excellent off the new album was not
[TS]
◼
►
released yet and it's all in French it's
[TS]
◼
►
like okay let me get out my high school
[TS]
◼
►
French listening years and that made me
[TS]
◼
►
listen listen to the words straight and
[TS]
◼
►
it's it is very kind of high school
[TS]
◼
►
French structured you don't it's not
[TS]
◼
►
sophisticated french i think he was
[TS]
◼
►
using his high school French to right
[TS]
◼
►
thing and so that that was interesting
[TS]
◼
►
and also now when he doesn't like he has
[TS]
◼
►
a middle section where he does a little
[TS]
◼
►
bit of Jessie's Girl which blends nicely
[TS]
◼
►
into the song very cool so let's let's
[TS]
◼
►
go a little bit broader in the time
[TS]
◼
►
we've been permitted for me i would say
[TS]
◼
►
the jonathan coulton is very much in
[TS]
◼
►
keeping with other artists listen to you
[TS]
◼
►
know my other favorite bands are bands
[TS]
◼
►
like they might be giants and Al
[TS]
◼
►
Yankovic and I don't know Moxie frutos
[TS]
◼
►
or barenaked ladies all of which I think
[TS]
◼
►
have that other people might define
[TS]
◼
►
their commonality differently for me but
[TS]
◼
►
what is what i like about it is
[TS]
◼
►
but they all appear to take what they do
[TS]
◼
►
take their craft very seriously but not
[TS]
◼
►
take themselves very seriously and then
[TS]
◼
►
let that show in in the kind of music
[TS]
◼
►
they create which I really appreciate
[TS]
◼
►
whatever reason he speaks to me so i
[TS]
◼
►
would say that he's you know old news is
[TS]
◼
►
one of that genre and in keeping from me
[TS]
◼
►
but my I throw the equation everyone did
[TS]
◼
►
you feel that this is he typically the
[TS]
◼
►
kind of music you listen to
[TS]
◼
►
i would say no for me he is up i had a
[TS]
◼
►
little bit of they might be giants
[TS]
◼
►
mostly for the kids
[TS]
◼
►
I was never really particularly into
[TS]
◼
►
them except for the few low you know
[TS]
◼
►
breakthroughs like you know a triangle
[TS]
◼
►
man or whatever that was on MTV when I
[TS]
◼
►
was a kid but I was no never really into
[TS]
◼
►
that weird out i had very few weird al
[TS]
◼
►
songs you know thrown into my collection
[TS]
◼
►
but never bought any of his albums was
[TS]
◼
►
never into it and I think the reason he
[TS]
◼
►
broke through for me is no it's kind of
[TS]
◼
►
why nerds get obsessed with other things
[TS]
◼
►
made by nerds like you know firefly or
[TS]
◼
►
other series on television that are you
[TS]
◼
►
know the JJ Abrams stop using that are
[TS]
◼
►
clearly made by nerds who we relate to
[TS]
◼
►
because with music as for the bands that
[TS]
◼
►
I like and I like totally generic
[TS]
◼
►
run-of-the-mill bands anyone my age like
[TS]
◼
►
oh you like Bruce Springsteen you to REM
[TS]
◼
►
and radiohead well that's novel right so
[TS]
◼
►
you know everyone likes their
[TS]
◼
►
middle-of-the-road bands but you have
[TS]
◼
►
the sneaking suspicion that the people
[TS]
◼
►
these famous people who make this music
[TS]
◼
►
that you love and I really do love those
[TS]
◼
►
bands as cliche as they are for me to
[TS]
◼
►
like them you have the suspicion that if
[TS]
◼
►
you were to hang out with them you would
[TS]
◼
►
have nothing in common because they're
[TS]
◼
►
not like they're not your people I there
[TS]
◼
►
they're not into the things you're into
[TS]
◼
►
they wouldn't they wouldn't understand
[TS]
◼
►
your humor they wouldn't have the same
[TS]
◼
►
cynical view of the world they're just
[TS]
◼
►
they're just different and you love the
[TS]
◼
►
partially because it's different they
[TS]
◼
►
can talk about things that you don't
[TS]
◼
►
experience but when Jonathan Coulton
[TS]
◼
►
came along he was here love joy here is
[TS]
◼
►
this person to you felt like there's no
[TS]
◼
►
way that this person could know this
[TS]
◼
►
stuff about my secret heart if he didn't
[TS]
◼
►
also experienced some of these things
[TS]
◼
►
and so I think he appeals because his
[TS]
◼
►
two major touch points are obscure
[TS]
◼
►
references and sadness
[TS]
◼
►
yeah well it's not just that like it's
[TS]
◼
►
not that's the thing that's I think
[TS]
◼
►
about him I think of another artist came
[TS]
◼
►
out and they did these similar songs so
[TS]
◼
►
these every one of these songs could
[TS]
◼
►
bad turn for example you I you ruined
[TS]
◼
►
everything that song would not be a good
[TS]
◼
►
song it was like a song like oh these
[TS]
◼
►
kids they ruin everything that's not
[TS]
◼
►
what the song is about at its heart it's
[TS]
◼
►
it's sweet you know what i mean and so
[TS]
◼
►
many on something on a Razors Edge of
[TS]
◼
►
being crappy versions of themselves and
[TS]
◼
►
he never goes there and so all these
[TS]
◼
►
songs like finally yes this person he
[TS]
◼
►
under you know he seems to understand me
[TS]
◼
►
and I felt like I hang out with this
[TS]
◼
►
person then we would have something to
[TS]
◼
►
talk about it it's it's almost 11 of us
[TS]
◼
►
broke through like a nerd was made who
[TS]
◼
►
actually have musical talent who
[TS]
◼
►
understood lyrics pop music you know
[TS]
◼
►
hooks and enough music manship to to get
[TS]
◼
►
through and it's like yeah one of ours
[TS]
◼
►
made it in the same way that there's
[TS]
◼
►
much more of those making movies and
[TS]
◼
►
television out in the music around there
[TS]
◼
►
so so few that might be giants probably
[TS]
◼
►
qualifies but they never quite broke
[TS]
◼
►
through to me but around the Colton's
[TS]
◼
►
lyrics and music where such a connection
[TS]
◼
►
with like what's deep down inside of me
[TS]
◼
►
that I just immediately latched on it
[TS]
◼
►
you know it's that that last point for
[TS]
◼
►
me i think is is really good i like I've
[TS]
◼
►
said repeatedly now i'm a big fan of
[TS]
◼
►
weird al's but you know one of his i
[TS]
◼
►
think one of his highest charting songs
[TS]
◼
►
of all time was white and nerdy apparent
[TS]
◼
►
song ridin by chamillionaire which I
[TS]
◼
►
would imagine most people who like weird
[TS]
◼
►
i had never heard of before he parried
[TS]
◼
►
it but it you know he's constantly made
[TS]
◼
►
reference to with white nerdy it was a
[TS]
◼
►
song i was doing research for my whole
[TS]
◼
►
life but he's not the same kind of nerd
[TS]
◼
►
that I think you're referring to you and
[TS]
◼
►
you know he's making relatively try
[TS]
◼
►
jokes about you know Star Trek and
[TS]
◼
►
pocket protectors and and stuff they're
[TS]
◼
►
editing Wikipedia there's not a core of
[TS]
◼
►
emotion that is in colton songs i think
[TS]
◼
►
that's exactly right i think that's
[TS]
◼
►
what's that I think that's the
[TS]
◼
►
difference is that he doesn't you know
[TS]
◼
►
he knows about it but he doesn't feel
[TS]
◼
►
connected to it but it i mean where I
[TS]
◼
►
like we're down but we're doubt tells
[TS]
◼
►
jokes Colton has the lyrics and the the
[TS]
◼
►
humor reflect the core of emotion and
[TS]
◼
►
without that core of emotion you're not
[TS]
◼
►
going to have the same kind of wordplay
[TS]
◼
►
the same kind of twists the same kind of
[TS]
◼
►
little you know knife under the rib to
[TS]
◼
►
the to the lyrics that you do when
[TS]
◼
►
you're just making javascript jokes it's
[TS]
◼
►
kind of like is like an SAS like if he
[TS]
◼
►
was just thinking that no musical talent
[TS]
◼
►
however and didn't write songs he could
[TS]
◼
►
be a very clever effort SAS for like you
[TS]
◼
►
know suck com or something if we want to
[TS]
◼
►
go back in time to you know or the onion
[TS]
◼
►
or something like that right and this is
[TS]
◼
►
gonna sound terrible and I was kind of
[TS]
◼
►
getting it this and my other analogies
[TS]
◼
►
but I figure my soldiers bring it out in
[TS]
◼
►
sound terrible because why not because
[TS]
◼
►
these people aren't gonna find me and
[TS]
◼
►
yell at me you it's it's the feeling you
[TS]
◼
►
have as a disaffected nerdy youth that
[TS]
◼
►
it's not fair that you're smarter than
[TS]
◼
►
everyone else but nobody likes you
[TS]
◼
►
anyway right like that being smart is
[TS]
◼
►
not worth anything and you know I've
[TS]
◼
►
never met any famous musicians but you
[TS]
◼
►
get the feeling that you know Jonathan
[TS]
◼
►
Coulton is smarter than bono Jonathan
[TS]
◼
►
culture and Colton is smarter than Bruce
[TS]
◼
►
Springsteen right eye and its and I
[TS]
◼
►
think it shows in his writing because
[TS]
◼
►
his writing is smarter is it better
[TS]
◼
►
writing doesn't make for better music is
[TS]
◼
►
jonathan coulton better than Bruce
[TS]
◼
►
Springsteen I don't think that's
[TS]
◼
►
necessarily the case but it speaks to me
[TS]
◼
►
in a way that like that that that here's
[TS]
◼
►
a guy who's using his brain in the same
[TS]
◼
►
way that I felt like I would use my
[TS]
◼
►
brain if I had any time whatsoever for
[TS]
◼
►
writing music or lyrics like yes that me
[TS]
◼
►
that's what I'm you know it's just it's
[TS]
◼
►
such an incredible connection and that
[TS]
◼
►
strange to me because i think does that
[TS]
◼
►
prevent him from ever connecting with
[TS]
◼
►
like the rest of the world the normals
[TS]
◼
►
you know because he everything he writes
[TS]
◼
►
is so unashamedly it's not just like pop
[TS]
◼
►
culture references and stuff it's like
[TS]
◼
►
insight and cynicism and and sentiment
[TS]
◼
►
all mixed together in the same soup in
[TS]
◼
►
the same way that it is inside you know
[TS]
◼
►
their brains how many mainstream pop
[TS]
◼
►
songs have actually sent required that
[TS]
◼
►
you go look something up it or taught
[TS]
◼
►
you anything because because because
[TS]
◼
►
love to learn new things so he will
[TS]
◼
►
understand medley make parts of the song
[TS]
◼
►
educational but its side
[TS]
◼
►
I when I read you know the entire
[TS]
◼
►
wikipedia entry for serious Johnson
[TS]
◼
►
because i had no idea who he is because
[TS]
◼
►
i live on the west coast or the you know
[TS]
◼
►
he put the formula for when I got a
[TS]
◼
►
wrong no but that's ok it's the Julia
[TS]
◼
►
set but but he had the formula for a
[TS]
◼
►
fractal in a song
[TS]
◼
►
well that's what I was going to put that
[TS]
◼
►
would have been another on my list of
[TS]
◼
►
like top 10 or whatever because I so
[TS]
◼
►
he's got a song about fractals so what
[TS]
◼
►
like that so you know it's cute and tell
[TS]
◼
►
some history and a little bit
[TS]
◼
►
educational but that the brilliant thing
[TS]
◼
►
about him is that he's not going to
[TS]
◼
►
settle for that i'm not going to write a
[TS]
◼
►
cute little song about fractals that's a
[TS]
◼
►
little bit educational isn't it
[TS]
◼
►
and find the song about fractals and I
[TS]
◼
►
curse he has decided he's thought about
[TS]
◼
►
it and decided there's something
[TS]
◼
►
significant about fractals and he puts
[TS]
◼
►
it in the course change the world in a
[TS]
◼
►
tiny way they did that little thing
[TS]
◼
►
change the world not in a big way but
[TS]
◼
►
some smart person use their brain and
[TS]
◼
►
change the world in a tiny tiny way
[TS]
◼
►
through and I enjoyed that song because
[TS]
◼
►
i went to see Mandelbrot to give a
[TS]
◼
►
when I was in college and I had no idea
[TS]
◼
►
what he's talking about about he
[TS]
◼
►
introduced himself and that was at the
[TS]
◼
►
after that I had no idea what he's
[TS]
◼
►
talking about but it was great to see
[TS]
◼
►
because he had so much passion and I
[TS]
◼
►
think that Jonathan Coulton also has a
[TS]
◼
►
lot of passionate about his his
[TS]
◼
►
craftsmanship and I what he's doing and
[TS]
◼
►
that shows through and i also like as
[TS]
◼
►
you know sometimes creative person
[TS]
◼
►
myself hopefully I the the idea of the
[TS]
◼
►
the thing a week really spoke to me
[TS]
◼
►
about how he forced himself every week
[TS]
◼
►
to write a new song and whether it was
[TS]
◼
►
good or bad he would do it and release
[TS]
◼
►
it and that is something that I aspire
[TS]
◼
►
to myself I don't actually do it but I
[TS]
◼
►
think about maybe getting something like
[TS]
◼
►
that but that's another that's
[TS]
◼
►
definitely a nerd thing to do like nerds
[TS]
◼
►
like I'm gonna lose weight so what I'm
[TS]
◼
►
gonna do is only eat you know this
[TS]
◼
►
amount of food and i'm going to blog the
[TS]
◼
►
entire experience and recorded and I'm
[TS]
◼
►
going to keep a journal and like the
[TS]
◼
►
scientific approach the obsessive
[TS]
◼
►
scientific approach to everything so he
[TS]
◼
►
said I want to be a recording artist I
[TS]
◼
►
do i do this i will do this you know
[TS]
◼
►
very structured and very you know like
[TS]
◼
►
you know he's keeping a notebook and
[TS]
◼
►
keeping track it you know that's that's
[TS]
◼
►
just a nerdy way to go about becoming a
[TS]
◼
►
nerdy musician and so I i think i know
[TS]
◼
►
the answer but I don't know the that
[TS]
◼
►
greg and scott way in which you say that
[TS]
◼
►
that cold is in keeping with the kind of
[TS]
◼
►
music you generally listen to i think
[TS]
◼
►
the commonality for me is that I'm a
[TS]
◼
►
lyrics first guy and so if the lyrics
[TS]
◼
►
surprise me or I find them elegant I
[TS]
◼
►
don't care all that much with the music
[TS]
◼
►
is like i enjoy particular genres of
[TS]
◼
►
music more than others but if if if
[TS]
◼
►
they're good lyrics it's a good song and
[TS]
◼
►
that that goes across pretty much every
[TS]
◼
►
band i listen to i can't think of a band
[TS]
◼
►
that i listen to that's just kind of
[TS]
◼
►
dumb rhythm driven fun i'm great at a
[TS]
◼
►
let me tell you because what John
[TS]
◼
►
listens to what I mean I i tend to
[TS]
◼
►
eventually reject the songs that don't
[TS]
◼
►
have anything interesting in them
[TS]
◼
►
lyrically but I definitely I'm music
[TS]
◼
►
first kind of personal some jonathan
[TS]
◼
►
coulton as long as I i don't i can't
[TS]
◼
►
really i'm not a music person so I can
[TS]
◼
►
gauge how good of a musician he is
[TS]
◼
►
but I I feel like his some of his songs
[TS]
◼
►
work musically really well and if you
[TS]
◼
►
took the lyrics away entirely you've got
[TS]
◼
►
a solid pop song they're you know like
[TS]
◼
►
dad that's Ted absolutely true but the
[TS]
◼
►
reason he's he's at the top of the list
[TS]
◼
►
is because of his lyrical abilities
[TS]
◼
►
yes it is obviously everybody like I
[TS]
◼
►
think I think he gets under I think he
[TS]
◼
►
gets under appreciated as as a musician
[TS]
◼
►
at least as far as I'm concerned because
[TS]
◼
►
I you know I don't know if he could make
[TS]
◼
►
it traditionally because his brain would
[TS]
◼
►
prevent him from writing a traditional
[TS]
◼
►
song but I i also feel like I'm much
[TS]
◼
►
more qualified to judge lyrics and I am
[TS]
◼
►
to judge music along the same lines
[TS]
◼
►
right but I mean it's easy to tell what
[TS]
◼
►
you like I like a lot of I mean open it
[TS]
◼
►
Radiohead the flaming lips are very
[TS]
◼
►
strange musically and I know what I like
[TS]
◼
►
I just don't know if that's like good
[TS]
◼
►
music bad music that's just you know
[TS]
◼
►
what friends are actually closed there
[TS]
◼
►
is that they're they're somewhat nerdy
[TS]
◼
►
to a little bit or maybe they're just
[TS]
◼
►
crazy it's very difficult to tell
[TS]
◼
►
sometimes who I well he fits in very
[TS]
◼
►
nicely with what i listen to generally
[TS]
◼
►
although i listen to a very strange mix
[TS]
◼
►
of things but certainly I enjoy clever
[TS]
◼
►
kind of happy songs that when you listen
[TS]
◼
►
to the lyrics you realize this is not a
[TS]
◼
►
happy song at all but it's so it sounds
[TS]
◼
►
so happy but this person is so sad
[TS]
◼
►
actually you know it's come to think of
[TS]
◼
►
it there is one John music they listen
[TS]
◼
►
to the jonathan coulton does fit into
[TS]
◼
►
and a large amount of music that was two
[TS]
◼
►
when i'm working doesn't have any lyrics
[TS]
◼
►
and it's video game music whether 8-bit
[TS]
◼
►
or orchestral or versions of it or
[TS]
◼
►
remixes a videogame music and what kind
[TS]
◼
►
of person listens to video game music
[TS]
◼
►
someone who's played a lot of video
[TS]
◼
►
games so what kind of person has played
[TS]
◼
►
a lot of video games someone who is you
[TS]
◼
►
know is a disaffected night you know so
[TS]
◼
►
all can expect the Colton but i dont
[TS]
◼
►
even list that like what kind of music
[TS]
◼
►
you like him and people ask what kind of
[TS]
◼
►
bands i don't list like you know that
[TS]
◼
►
the art of the artists that make a
[TS]
◼
►
shooters artist to make music for video
[TS]
◼
►
game soundtracks but that that is if you
[TS]
◼
►
look at like most recently played and
[TS]
◼
►
like my itunes collection you'll be like
[TS]
◼
►
wow fifty percent of music you listen to
[TS]
◼
►
his video game soundtracks and jonathan
[TS]
◼
►
what's what's amazing to me is how house
[TS]
◼
►
quickly and successfully he's ended up
[TS]
◼
►
becoming one of the dominant artists i
[TS]
◼
►
listened to in itunes because i was
[TS]
◼
►
looking at the playlist numbers and
[TS]
◼
►
things and you know its most of the
[TS]
◼
►
artists that i still listen to today
[TS]
◼
►
I've listened to for you know since my
[TS]
◼
►
childhood and he came around in the for
[TS]
◼
►
me and I guess in the early mid 2000s
[TS]
◼
►
and he's he's as prominent Miley you
[TS]
◼
►
know in every playlist that i generate
[TS]
◼
►
as something like they might be giants
[TS]
◼
►
and I think that's very impressive
[TS]
◼
►
because this there aren't I don't know
[TS]
◼
►
if it's diminishing returns or what but
[TS]
◼
►
it doesn't feel like today there are as
[TS]
◼
►
many artists coming up who are in that
[TS]
◼
►
sort of nerdy geeky zone who are
[TS]
◼
►
interested you are interested in singing
[TS]
◼
►
smartmusic and I'm glad that he's there
[TS]
◼
►
to it it's hard to believe he's been
[TS]
◼
►
releasing songs for almost 10 years
[TS]
◼
►
he's very productive like the number it
[TS]
◼
►
seems like the number of since he didn't
[TS]
◼
►
stick to the album every three or four
[TS]
◼
►
years traditional band format like he
[TS]
◼
►
just kept spewing out songs and that
[TS]
◼
►
like that a part of the reason they come
[TS]
◼
►
up so often in my little you know rated
[TS]
◼
►
three-plus random playlist i listen to
[TS]
◼
►
is because there's just so many of them
[TS]
◼
►
and when I look at my itunes usage
[TS]
◼
►
history it you know it's video game
[TS]
◼
►
music jonathan coulton and like the next
[TS]
◼
►
highest traditional band i was surprised
[TS]
◼
►
but as myself because I had to list them
[TS]
◼
►
in terms of my favorites i wouldn't have
[TS]
◼
►
listed this right next to that I was REM
[TS]
◼
►
which is like the proto nerd band right
[TS]
◼
►
where they were they were nerdy kind of
[TS]
◼
►
before we really knew what nerds were
[TS]
◼
►
about and their music was kind of nerdy
[TS]
◼
►
before energy music was popular that
[TS]
◼
►
that's like the number three after video
[TS]
◼
►
games and John they called and also
[TS]
◼
►
because i have been alive every album
[TS]
◼
►
that made they have a big catalog to
[TS]
◼
►
their you know so tends to just come up
[TS]
◼
►
a lot art school nerds
[TS]
◼
►
yeah there's all different all different
[TS]
◼
►
varieties of nerds are finally jonathan
[TS]
◼
►
coulton found the exact exact species
[TS]
◼
►
that I've longed to minus the musical
[TS]
◼
►
talent portion i will i will say that
[TS]
◼
►
none of the songs that people picked out
[TS]
◼
►
tonight you know shock to me whatever
[TS]
◼
►
like how did you pick that clunker
[TS]
◼
►
because i don't think we hurt anyone but
[TS]
◼
►
the thing that surprises me the the
[TS]
◼
►
thing that'll be left ruminating on is
[TS]
◼
►
John Syracuse's saying you know that
[TS]
◼
►
he's he's not into something like they
[TS]
◼
►
might be giants which I think has just
[TS]
◼
►
tremendous audience and stylistic
[TS]
◼
►
overlap but likes cold so now i don't
[TS]
◼
►
know i was thinking how can i how can we
[TS]
◼
►
what happened we say you know so if you
[TS]
◼
►
know if you like this then you like this
[TS]
◼
►
that what I can't really say that
[TS]
◼
►
basically said now I feel like it's
[TS]
◼
►
really you know if you like the
[TS]
◼
►
incomparable there's a decent chance
[TS]
◼
►
that you like Jonathan Coulton music but
[TS]
◼
►
i can't go to a specific artist if if
[TS]
◼
►
John doesn't consider himself with
[TS]
◼
►
aliens I've tried to introduce people to
[TS]
◼
►
jonathan coulton and it almost never
[TS]
◼
►
takes like I think you have to if you
[TS]
◼
►
haven't found to contain yourself by now
[TS]
◼
►
it's may not be may not be for you right
[TS]
◼
►
now because i'll show it to people and
[TS]
◼
►
I'll just I'll just be amazed that like
[TS]
◼
►
art your your kind of smart nerdy to
[TS]
◼
►
like how can you not appreciate that
[TS]
◼
►
some people just aren't interested in
[TS]
◼
►
music because it's too boring for them
[TS]
◼
►
and they can't get past that or they're
[TS]
◼
►
you know it's too tiring to listen to
[TS]
◼
►
the lyrics or it takes
[TS]
◼
►
they just you know it bounces off but i
[TS]
◼
►
find that kind of said that like I don't
[TS]
◼
►
want him to be a cultivated I think he
[TS]
◼
►
deserves even more success than he has
[TS]
◼
►
no see I think he's I think he's passed
[TS]
◼
►
cultus well do you think so but we're
[TS]
◼
►
less because we're all on the cult-like
[TS]
◼
►
try you know try picking a person
[TS]
◼
►
experiencing a have you heard round the
[TS]
◼
►
cold and the answer is obviously know
[TS]
◼
►
and be hey travels into the song what do
[TS]
◼
►
you think they gonna be like no it's not
[TS]
◼
►
you know it unless they're like portal
[TS]
◼
►
players right well even even that like
[TS]
◼
►
the people who are into video games i go
[TS]
◼
►
that song was kind of cute but they
[TS]
◼
►
don't you feel it I i think it's still a
[TS]
◼
►
culty kind of thing because it as big as
[TS]
◼
►
he is like I saw him into paradise a
[TS]
◼
►
couple weeks ago and that that's a room
[TS]
◼
►
like not even as big as my house he's
[TS]
◼
►
not selling out stadiums right or even
[TS]
◼
►
arenas are and are any big indoor venue
[TS]
◼
►
just a little tiny clubs and you can get
[TS]
◼
►
tickets you know up to a couple days
[TS]
◼
►
before no big deal it's definitely still
[TS]
◼
►
cold i think i will say that the thing
[TS]
◼
►
that one thing that surprised me was
[TS]
◼
►
jonathan coulton tweeted a link to an
[TS]
◼
►
interview he had done and in this intro
[TS]
◼
►
in this piece that he links to where it
[TS]
◼
►
made reference to his earning five
[TS]
◼
►
hundred thousand dollars a year now from
[TS]
◼
►
his music and i'm not saying he's like
[TS]
◼
►
is a popular I mean that is a measure of
[TS]
◼
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yeah now it's it it's fine like I'm he
[TS]
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said that he said that an NPR interview
[TS]
◼
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when he was being interviewed on NPR
[TS]
◼
►
like last year or so it was planet money
[TS]
◼
►
and the MSM him he regretted that he had
[TS]
◼
►
said anything about how much your inbred
[TS]
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►
but like they got it out of him and he
[TS]
◼
►
disappointed in an interview and so was
[TS]
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I because they kept saying internet
[TS]
◼
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musician jonathan coulton this one hit
[TS]
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►
wonder if Luke that well he got lucky
[TS]
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and related big on the internet and this
[TS]
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is not a sustained like the jonathan
[TS]
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►
coulton business model and that whole
[TS]
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thing that's like all the podcast we
[TS]
◼
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could do you know about making money
[TS]
◼
►
online sexual property of stuff but
[TS]
◼
►
financially I don't feel like bad for
[TS]
◼
►
him that he's not successfully thing is
[TS]
◼
►
just that like he's self-limiting
[TS]
◼
►
through what he does that he's never
[TS]
◼
►
going to have the broad appeal and
[TS]
◼
►
abroad and I don't think like he
[TS]
◼
►
deserves the broad appeal because it
[TS]
◼
►
needs to be fabulously wealthy more than
[TS]
◼
►
he is but just because like you know I
[TS]
◼
►
guess the same reason you think it's
[TS]
◼
►
unfair that people you think are so
[TS]
◼
►
clever and and artistically like that
[TS]
◼
►
artistic insight and cleverness and you
[TS]
◼
►
know at such such a great package and
[TS]
◼
►
just not appreciated by the vast
[TS]
◼
►
majority of the population but the
[TS]
◼
►
reason he's so deeply appreciated by a
[TS]
◼
►
minority of the population is because he
[TS]
◼
►
is specifically who he is the same thing
[TS]
◼
►
that limits his broad appeal is what
[TS]
◼
►
inspires the deep appeal
[TS]
◼
►
maybe we wouldn't be doing a podcast on
[TS]
◼
►
him if if he worked deluded enough to be
[TS]
◼
►
hugely popular well that that's the
[TS]
◼
►
thing is like is it because like it's
[TS]
◼
►
impossible to appeal but that's that's
[TS]
◼
►
the weird thing about his music and a
[TS]
◼
►
couple other things as compared to a TV
[TS]
◼
►
or movies because you can make
[TS]
◼
►
television or movies that speaks
[TS]
◼
►
directly to us nerds and we love it and
[TS]
◼
►
we just think it's so awesome
[TS]
◼
►
interesting and it's not dumb down at
[TS]
◼
►
all and yet also has broad appeal also
[TS]
◼
►
is critically acclaimed also like
[TS]
◼
►
crosses over right
[TS]
◼
►
I but with me but it's taking a long
[TS]
◼
►
time to get there and enhance but like
[TS]
◼
►
music is not very comic book movies
[TS]
◼
►
weren't big releases 20 years ago that
[TS]
◼
►
wouldn't be the example I would use but
[TS]
◼
►
i would say like yeah well I
[TS]
◼
►
specifically picked the Avengers because
[TS]
◼
►
area i think i think the general culture
[TS]
◼
►
is moving more in his direction but he's
[TS]
◼
►
way out and yes and they could they
[TS]
◼
►
could catch up to him but I've got that
[TS]
◼
►
would be a great day for the general
[TS]
◼
►
culture I think when you talk about
[TS]
◼
►
somebody who's crossed over it would be
[TS]
◼
►
like parchment who is of course closely
[TS]
◼
►
related to call out i mean his college
[TS]
◼
►
roommate y le yeah like you he was on
[TS]
◼
►
those apple and that's how people know
[TS]
◼
►
him and he is on the daily show but the
[TS]
◼
►
daily show and the books have been very
[TS]
◼
►
popular i mean i think that sound is
[TS]
◼
►
nerds is popular for book means is much
[TS]
◼
►
lower bar that commitment you know they
[TS]
◼
►
sell a couple hundred thousand copies of
[TS]
◼
►
a book but also popular for a musician
[TS]
◼
►
is the same as popular for authors and I
[TS]
◼
►
mean you have Stephen King and you have
[TS]
◼
►
REM but you know Justin Justin Bieber is
[TS]
◼
►
a popular lady gaga is popular but this
[TS]
◼
►
in so it's stephen king but that's not
[TS]
◼
►
every author whose I guess making an
[TS]
◼
►
impact on the culture but I see Jonathan
[TS]
◼
►
Coulton so I love justin bieber's books
[TS]
◼
►
but so i guess i guess my response to
[TS]
◼
►
John would be that I think you're I
[TS]
◼
►
think you're right that you can't say
[TS]
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►
cold does not qualify as a a mainstream
[TS]
◼
►
successful artist you know he you're
[TS]
◼
►
right the most people don't know who he
[TS]
◼
►
is you know my wife might pick out my
[TS]
◼
►
wife who does not fit into you know our
[TS]
◼
►
culture would not you know she might be
[TS]
◼
►
able to pick out you know a dozen or
[TS]
◼
►
maybe fewer Colton songs that really
[TS]
◼
►
speak to her but she's shy but she's
[TS]
◼
►
certainly not a fan but i think that the
[TS]
◼
►
second point and the I think maybe even
[TS]
◼
►
part of Greg's point is that it doesn't
[TS]
◼
►
matter you know and that's wonderful you
[TS]
◼
►
know the fact that he can be successful
[TS]
◼
►
and make a an excellent living and
[TS]
◼
►
entertain those who are willing and
[TS]
◼
►
eager to be entertained by him
[TS]
◼
►
regardless the fact that he's not huge I
[TS]
◼
►
think its gravity should write a song
[TS]
◼
►
about John at the person named like
[TS]
◼
►
Jonathan Coulton like you know Thomas
[TS]
◼
►
molten being born 400 years in the past
[TS]
◼
►
and nobody knows about him because he
[TS]
◼
►
has no way to make every I had no way to
[TS]
◼
►
make a living there's no internet is no
[TS]
◼
►
way that he can harness his obvious
[TS]
◼
►
talents and and spread his his art to
[TS]
◼
►
the people who would appreciate it and
[TS]
◼
►
so we just didn't he works like a
[TS]
◼
►
blacksmith and dies
[TS]
◼
►
jonathan coulton has a long tail and I'm
[TS]
◼
►
i will make this incomparable promise if
[TS]
◼
►
jonathan coulton hears this and record
[TS]
◼
►
that song John siracusa will record a
[TS]
◼
►
cover of it i would actually do that I
[TS]
◼
►
will probably do anything that Jonathan
[TS]
◼
►
Coulton ever asked me that little bit of
[TS]
◼
►
a man crush I i understand i share that
[TS]
◼
►
may crush everything
[TS]
◼
►
well I want to say thank you to
[TS]
◼
►
everybody for putting up with me but be
[TS]
◼
►
for a very interesting talk about
[TS]
◼
►
Jonathan Coulton so thank you John Scott
[TS]
◼
►
and Greg thank you thank you x
[TS]
◼
►
Thank You legs sure and that's it
[TS]
◼
►
I don't know how jason has these things
[TS]
◼
►
hey guys i happen to have the man
[TS]
◼
►
himself jonathan coulton right here with
[TS]
◼
►
me and he has something that you'd like
[TS]
◼
►
to say to you I heard what you were
[TS]
◼
►
saying you know nothing of my work I
[TS]
◼
►
mean how you got to record a podcast
[TS]
◼
►
about anything is totally amazing how if
[TS]
◼
►
only real life worked like this
[TS]
◼
►
this was a triumph i'm making a note
[TS]
◼
►
here you success it's hard to overstate
[TS]
◼
►
thank you for doing this i really
[TS]
◼
►
appreciate it you sure I'm flattered
[TS]
◼
►
that you guys did it did a whole show
[TS]
◼
►
about maybe it's very you know it's
[TS]
◼
►
flattering creepy by I was gonna say
[TS]
◼
►
it's you got for geeky people spending
[TS]
◼
►
an hour talking about you
[TS]
◼
►
I'm not sure whether that's something
[TS]
◼
►
that maybe happens to every day on the
[TS]
◼
►
internet I don't know I guess I it may I
[TS]
◼
►
you know I don't hear about it most of
[TS]
◼
►
the time I think but nobody's very very
[TS]
◼
►
very kind of you
[TS]
◼
►
very kind of you they said very nice
[TS]
◼
►
things about you oh good i prefer if i
[TS]
◼
►
responded would have asked was this is
[TS]
◼
►
there is a flame flame episode because
[TS]
◼
►
that's right i don't contribute to that
[TS]
◼
►
it really it was what's wrong with
[TS]
◼
►
jonathan coulton with where'd he go
[TS]
◼
►
wrong this backlash it's starting the
[TS]
◼
►
well somebody's got to do it you know
[TS]
◼
►
obviously I'm not insecure podcast
[TS]
◼
►
nobody knows about
[TS]
◼
►
i I just had this vision when they said
[TS]
◼
►
well we're gonna record the jonathan
[TS]
◼
►
coulton episode I said you know what
[TS]
◼
►
would be really funny as if he appeared
[TS]
◼
►
and said well as bad as if Woody Allen
[TS]
◼
►
drag him over you people know nothing
[TS]
◼
►
about what I do and I don't even know
[TS]
◼
►
why you're here but no I think I think I
[TS]
◼
►
guess is probably funniest I mean that
[TS]
◼
►
because you can get kind of could go two
[TS]
◼
►
ways you know you can either just like
[TS]
◼
►
directly quote Marshall McLuhan from
[TS]
◼
►
that movie in the hopes that people will
[TS]
◼
►
get the reference or you could have a
[TS]
◼
►
completely off the conversation but I
[TS]
◼
►
think it's better to to actually do the
[TS]
◼
►
the reference and Martin actually just
[TS]
◼
►
ask me every blast in and say say those
[TS]
◼
►
lines alright alright i can I i don't
[TS]
◼
►
know i mean it's it's your podcast you
[TS]
◼
►
tell know let's let's go let's give that
[TS]
◼
►
why not alright let's give that a try
[TS]
◼
►
and see if it works I mean you're
[TS]
◼
►
Marshall McLuhan acting briefly I know
[TS]
◼
►
mark it's not what he was most known for
[TS]
◼
►
not not real actually sometimes I wonder
[TS]
◼
►
if maybe he's more I was a comm major
[TS]
◼
►
right I did whole classes about Marshall
[TS]
◼
►
McLuhan but most people probably think
[TS]
◼
►
movie maybe long terminated my the thing
[TS]
◼
►
that is most remembered for us that that
[TS]
◼
►
little camera out
[TS]
◼
►
sad and me too when they look back on
[TS]
◼
►
the history of the world and they see
[TS]
◼
►
the st. John picoult use the game ended
[TS]
◼
►
that Marshall McLuhan reference on that
[TS]
◼
►
podcast right but that would be the
[TS]
◼
►
other way to go i was going to think you
[TS]
◼
►
know I don't know he was he wasn't he
[TS]
◼
►
was singing a song and the video game
[TS]
◼
►
didn't sing a song in a video game but
[TS]
◼
►
it's not era it's also funny the guys on
[TS]
◼
►
the podcast almost to a man said that
[TS]
◼
►
they first heard about you from from
[TS]
◼
►
no kidding and I thought wow I that and
[TS]
◼
►
that's not true for me at all
[TS]
◼
►
I i think it's a mighty my wife sent me
[TS]
◼
►
an mp3 is of skull crusher mountain when
[TS]
◼
►
it was posted and she thought that I
[TS]
◼
►
would think it was funny but they all
[TS]
◼
►
were there at the start
[TS]
◼
►
well you got sculpture mountain is that
[TS]
◼
►
that's very early
[TS]
◼
►
that's but that's before that's before I
[TS]
◼
►
didn't quit my job so I think you win
[TS]
◼
►
the prize Wow whenever they were much
[TS]
◼
►
hardcore i actually I bought your ipod
[TS]
◼
►
artificial heart after i saw you open
[TS]
◼
►
for they might be giants when you're in
[TS]
◼
►
san francisco earlier this year
[TS]
◼
►
hopefully last year and now I of course
[TS]
◼
►
have dug back into the back catalogue
[TS]
◼
►
oh good oh that's interesting thing i've
[TS]
◼
►
got a stream jr. you're going backwards
[TS]
◼
►
I came around the backside yeah I'm like
[TS]
◼
►
the Benjamin Button of jonathan coulton
[TS]
◼
►
not a thing I don't know
[TS]
◼
►
yeah i think so is alright but i can't
[TS]
◼
►
wait to like it too baby got back but
[TS]
◼
►
didn't that'll be that
[TS]
◼
►
so I think the people who get the
[TS]
◼
►
reference you're really going to enjoy
[TS]
◼
►
that I all five of them people who
[TS]
◼
►
remember I I one of the things you've
[TS]
◼
►
got a second which was just too i want
[TS]
◼
►
to list it so the idea is they did this
[TS]
◼
►
essentially is a jonathan coulton draft
[TS]
◼
►
where everybody got to pick a 33 rounds
[TS]
◼
►
of favorite songs and I want to run by
[TS]
◼
►
you just to see if any of them struck
[TS]
◼
►
you as being particularly odd i mean i
[TS]
◼
►
think you're at your favorites that the
[TS]
◼
►
fans like and I think that's pretty
[TS]
◼
►
pretty natural but just to run through
[TS]
◼
►
them alone at home coach that my Mary
[TS]
◼
►
person pick that huh
[TS]
◼
►
chiron beta prime code monkey
[TS]
◼
►
i crush everything I'm your I'm your
[TS]
◼
►
moon regarding your brains
[TS]
◼
►
which I think we've clearly establishes
[TS]
◼
►
read your brains now
[TS]
◼
►
yes Skullcrusher mountain the future
[TS]
◼
►
soon the precedence
[TS]
◼
►
wow you ruined everything
[TS]
◼
►
nemec's and it's just we were explaining
[TS]
◼
►
field and if you out of the president I
[TS]
◼
►
the president's uh I feels like an
[TS]
◼
►
unusual one for me to pick as a as a
[TS]
◼
►
favorite only because it's me you know i
[TS]
◼
►
mean it's what it's one of the sillier
[TS]
◼
►
ones musically it's a little a little
[TS]
◼
►
goofball one of our one of our panelists
[TS]
◼
►
pointed out that his kids he made a
[TS]
◼
►
playlist of more kid-friendly jonathan
[TS]
◼
►
coulton songs for his sons after after
[TS]
◼
►
they loved code monkey and one of his
[TS]
◼
►
sons drew a picture of a warm fuzzy
[TS]
◼
►
heart and then stamp intensified on it
[TS]
◼
►
so it was a warm fuzzy secret heart but
[TS]
◼
►
when they get to the president's they
[TS]
◼
►
asked what Bill Clinton did with the
[TS]
◼
►
cigar and then there was an awkward
[TS]
◼
►
silence you even when their kid friendly
[TS]
◼
►
they're not really not only so much that
[TS]
◼
►
someone is certified alone at home
[TS]
◼
►
I mean I like that one a lot too but
[TS]
◼
►
that feels like one that I'm surprised
[TS]
◼
►
somebody picked as one of their
[TS]
◼
►
not that it's not good it's a attacks
[TS]
◼
►
into some something painfully true for a
[TS]
◼
►
lot of people i think that it's a that's
[TS]
◼
►
basically what they said is that is that
[TS]
◼
►
you have those I mean exaggerated to a
[TS]
◼
►
to surgery with those moments of
[TS]
◼
►
frustration and in going i was read that
[TS]
◼
►
as being a little bit of going to your
[TS]
◼
►
it's I'm not really i'm not really i
[TS]
◼
►
remember i actually brought back too
[TS]
◼
►
many memories of going shopping with my
[TS]
◼
►
mom to the mall and and she would drag
[TS]
◼
►
me around shopping and I would say I you
[TS]
◼
►
there's a bench here i'm going to just
[TS]
◼
►
sit here and stare just yes because I'd
[TS]
◼
►
yeah yeah it's funny you mention that
[TS]
◼
►
because i actually was mostly thinking
[TS]
◼
►
about my mom once when i started writing
[TS]
◼
►
because i have the same thing I was
[TS]
◼
►
always being dragged around and my wife
[TS]
◼
►
has never once dragged me around the
[TS]
◼
►
mall and made me hold her purse she
[TS]
◼
►
knows better than that
[TS]
◼
►
and the only reason I got away with
[TS]
◼
►
actually writing and releasing that song
[TS]
◼
►
is because she she knows that she has
[TS]
◼
►
never made me do that couldn't couldn't
[TS]
◼
►
possibly be about her but with your mom
[TS]
◼
►
you're powerless but I pray you cannot
[TS]
◼
►
sorry Superman yeah well no I'm not yeah
[TS]
◼
►
well exactly but you can't exactly say
[TS]
◼
►
especially if you're a kid and you can't
[TS]
◼
►
even drive and you're you know you'd go
[TS]
◼
►
to the mall and it's like okay you're
[TS]
◼
►
gonna my multi-tool live downtown with
[TS]
◼
►
the mall so we were like an hour's drive
[TS]
◼
►
from also I nobody i knew was there i
[TS]
◼
►
would literally just there's a fountain
[TS]
◼
►
I'm gonna go sit over there yeah and
[TS]
◼
►
hopefully i went to the bookstore before
[TS]
◼
►
we got to the department store so I can
[TS]
◼
►
have a book with me too and you you
[TS]
◼
►
often find a number of other shopping
[TS]
◼
►
orphans you know you see other people
[TS]
◼
►
and even that you see husband sitting in
[TS]
◼
►
benches and in women's clothing stores
[TS]
◼
►
it's always the saddest thing in the
[TS]
◼
►
world could you know you know exactly
[TS]
◼
►
what they're going through my wife is a
[TS]
◼
►
knitter and the Knitting stories have
[TS]
◼
►
got this down they have they have soft
[TS]
◼
►
chairs and magazines it's like a waiting
[TS]
◼
►
room 444 husbands and children because
[TS]
◼
►
they know that that's exactly what
[TS]
◼
►
happens and and so we were just on
[TS]
◼
►
vacation and my wife likes to go to yarn
[TS]
◼
►
stores when she's on vacation and
[TS]
◼
►
they're always the good yarn shops have
[TS]
◼
►
appt little place for the husband's to
[TS]
◼
►
go said your wife and my wife should
[TS]
◼
►
maybe get together and do some knitting
[TS]
◼
►
knitting my wife is also also a nigger
[TS]
◼
►
and a yarn shopper I I don't mind I
[TS]
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thought I find the yarn shops very
[TS]
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pleasant there's just not really
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anything for me to do because I its yarn
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I'm not that excited about the yarn but
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they can do anything with you
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they should have when they when they
[TS]
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make it yet they should have a yarn
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store that also has a bar in a ferment
[TS]
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and that's it that's going to some a lot
[TS]
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of them have tea which is not bad but
[TS]
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the yarn the urine bar is a great idea i
[TS]
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was thinking either yarn or they should
[TS]
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comment like have a combination like
[TS]
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yarn and I'm not like comic book store
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or something just like completely just
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together with one of those little doors
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between them connecting doors
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yeah you could do a lot worse yeah yeah
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for that alright so alone at home and
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and and the president surprises this is
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surprising the other ones the other ones
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definitely feel like you know ones that
[TS]
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i would clear included on a list of the
[TS]
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most most beloved by me and my fans
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yeah but there's this dude is to feel
[TS]
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like slightly like outliers to me but
[TS]
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there were gasps when the president was
[TS]
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brought up in the podcast i will say
[TS]
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that i know i'm shocked but it's great
[TS]
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having everybody I not not to be funding
[TS]
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►
suck-up interview guy but everybody did
[TS]
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►
say that one of the things I really like
[TS]
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about your music is that there's a it
[TS]
◼
►
could very easily be really really nasty
[TS]
◼
►
and cynical and it's not that there's a
[TS]
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►
real a real genuine heart at the at the
[TS]
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►
center of things and a a song like you
[TS]
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►
ruined everything could very easily be
[TS]
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►
pointed a little bit off-kilter and
[TS]
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despite you know the subject matter it's
[TS]
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very clearly a loving story of life
[TS]
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►
rumination which we all which all
[TS]
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►
parents have gone through write some
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►
yeah yeah and I bet it's nice that you
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know my my favorite thing is when people
[TS]
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appreciate that aspect of what I do
[TS]
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►
because it's you know I tried to write
[TS]
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►
you know it's very hard to write a love
[TS]
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►
song in general and for me the only way
[TS]
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►
i can write a love song is to write a
[TS]
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love song that is as complicated as
[TS]
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►
actual love is which is to say that it's
[TS]
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►
never it's never just it's never as
[TS]
◼
►
sunny and bright as as most songs would
[TS]
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►
have you believe it's always it's always
[TS]
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►
kind of twisted and sad but i love the
[TS]
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►
rough the rough edges or give it the
[TS]
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►
definition right exactly something like
[TS]
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►
that yeah well I one last question and
[TS]
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►
then i'll let you go and thank you again
[TS]
◼
►
so much for doing this and that that is
[TS]
◼
►
a personal question and you probably
[TS]
◼
►
don't have an answer but I have debated
[TS]
◼
►
with myself literally every time I
[TS]
◼
►
listen to today with your wife i change
[TS]
◼
►
my opinion about what it's about and
[TS]
◼
►
perhaps it's just intentionally I feel
[TS]
◼
►
like you'll be asking you to spoil it
[TS]
◼
►
now even if there is a defensive end I
[TS]
◼
►
like to believe that it's a very sad
[TS]
◼
►
song about somebody who who died but
[TS]
◼
►
then then I listen to it again I think
[TS]
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►
we only it doesn't you know he might not
[TS]
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►
be dead he could be gone
[TS]
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►
or just a on inattentive or he you know
[TS]
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►
he he went out and never came back
[TS]
◼
►
but for whatever reason I think I wanted
[TS]
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►
to be just a super sad sweepy song about
[TS]
◼
►
the tragic aftermath of the of the
[TS]
◼
►
father of these kids in this husband of
[TS]
◼
►
yeah do you have a specific meaning or
[TS]
◼
►
is it really good
[TS]
◼
►
however you interpret it uh you know I I
[TS]
◼
►
think I geez it's complicated
[TS]
◼
►
you know I when I when I wrote that one
[TS]
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►
I was thinking about what i think is my
[TS]
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►
favorite song in the world which is a
[TS]
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►
song called famous blue raincoat by
[TS]
◼
►
letter telling which describes a love
[TS]
◼
►
triangle it's actually a letter
[TS]
◼
►
it's a letter read aloud and those are
[TS]
◼
►
the lyrics of the song and it's a
[TS]
◼
►
sensitive person writing to somebody who
[TS]
◼
►
there's some sort of love triangle its
[TS]
◼
►
never fully explained what happened
[TS]
◼
►
things are alluded to but he the person
[TS]
◼
►
is writing to he he clearly loved and
[TS]
◼
►
also hated and it's it's just a
[TS]
◼
►
beautiful piece of storytelling and so
[TS]
◼
►
when I the colonel for the idea of this
[TS]
◼
►
song was that i actually was out
[TS]
◼
►
somewhere and it was raining and i
[TS]
◼
►
stopped under an awning and there was a
[TS]
◼
►
friend's wife with her kids and I'm
[TS]
◼
►
she's also my friend and we chatted for
[TS]
◼
►
a little while and then the rain let up
[TS]
◼
►
and we went home and I was thinking as I
[TS]
◼
►
was leaving I was thinking about how the
[TS]
◼
►
next time I saw my friend i would say in
[TS]
◼
►
that joking leering way you know ahead
[TS]
◼
►
of had a fantastic time with your wife
[TS]
◼
►
this afternoon and then as I was as I
[TS]
◼
►
was imagining myself saying that to him
[TS]
◼
►
it occurred to me that in my circle of
[TS]
◼
►
friends which includes a few people who
[TS]
◼
►
have had their relationships and
[TS]
◼
►
marriages splinter apart in recent years
[TS]
◼
►
that's not really a funny joke anymore
[TS]
◼
►
and so then you know that was that was
[TS]
◼
►
the beginning of be writing that song
[TS]
◼
►
was using that using that line as a way
[TS]
◼
►
of pivoting into this area of incredible
[TS]
◼
►
sadness and the complications of adult
[TS]
◼
►
relationships but I also as I was
[TS]
◼
►
writing it was thinking a lot about the
[TS]
◼
►
Leonard Cohen song and wanting to keep
[TS]
◼
►
it I i noticed that there was the that
[TS]
◼
►
sort of that unclear subject was there
[TS]
◼
►
from the beginning and I wanted to keep
[TS]
◼
►
it as ambiguous as possible and as
[TS]
◼
►
secret and mysterious as possible in the
[TS]
◼
►
same with the Leonard Cohen song is you
[TS]
◼
►
your overhearing somebody taught they're
[TS]
◼
►
not talking to you at all you just
[TS]
◼
►
happen to be eavesdropping on something
[TS]
◼
►
and so i wanted i wanted to have that
[TS]
◼
►
that feel well I'd well don't answer is
[TS]
◼
►
I don't know I don't know what it's
[TS]
◼
►
truly about because I wrote I wrote
[TS]
◼
►
around it but I do know that it's
[TS]
◼
►
yes oh yeah definitely I think that's
[TS]
◼
►
why I wanted to be about somebody who's
[TS]
◼
►
died because if it's not then it's
[TS]
◼
►
really sad for tuesday really sad if
[TS]
◼
►
they if they're all still out there and
[TS]
◼
►
then these lines yeah going on like this
[TS]
◼
►
but yeah well well well done it is
[TS]
◼
►
definitely i love that I mean I i want
[TS]
◼
►
to watch a movie if I if I just sort of
[TS]
◼
►
nod and say that was fun I leave and I
[TS]
◼
►
never think about it again I'd almost
[TS]
◼
►
rather have a movie that I end up
[TS]
◼
►
thinking about for a week and deciding I
[TS]
◼
►
didn't like like Inception i ended up
[TS]
◼
►
thinking about for a weekend in the end
[TS]
◼
►
I was like you know I don't think I
[TS]
◼
►
liked it but i'm so happy that i saw it
[TS]
◼
►
because I thought about it and it's sort
[TS]
◼
►
of you have a song like that where every
[TS]
◼
►
time I listen I think well now I know it
[TS]
◼
►
sounds different and it's the same track
[TS]
◼
►
over and over but it yet it it yeah
[TS]
◼
►
there's a different meeting every time I
[TS]
◼
►
so that was definitely my experience
[TS]
◼
►
with that with that Leonard Cohen song
[TS]
◼
►
is for years i have i have listened to
[TS]
◼
►
that song and thought about it when I
[TS]
◼
►
wasn't listening to it and try to
[TS]
◼
►
unravel the story and I you know I i
[TS]
◼
►
have built up in my head all this
[TS]
◼
►
complicated backstory about what went on
[TS]
◼
►
based on that song and i think that's
[TS]
◼
►
that's that's an amazing thing for song
[TS]
◼
►
yeah that's it thank you that's nice of
[TS]
◼
►
you that's great that's great i love to
[TS]
◼
►
listen to it and ponder so yeah well
[TS]
◼
►
thank you so much for doing this i
[TS]
◼
►
really appreciate you
[TS]
◼
►
taking some time to be on our random
[TS]
◼
►
podcast and not have to listen to an
[TS]
◼
►
hour of people talking about you could
[TS]
◼
►
well as I said very appreciative of the
[TS]
◼
►
of your attention is very very kind of
[TS]
◼
►
you thank you again you very well it's
[TS]
◼
►
just all right don't get by
[TS]