Now That’s What I Call Music vol. BOP

Summary

Bad On Paper: "Now That’s What I Call Music vol. BOP" – Detailed Summary

Hosts: Becca Freeman & Olivia Muenter
Release Date: March 19, 2025
Episode Title: Now That’s What I Call Music vol. BOP
Book Club Pick: Deep Cuts by Holly Brickley

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1. Introduction to the Episode's Theme

Becca and Olivia kick off the episode by connecting their book club selection, Deep Cuts by Holly Brickley, which delves into the profound impact of music on its characters' lives. They express enthusiasm about exploring their own musical histories to set the stage for an in-depth discussion of the book in the upcoming episode.

Becca Freeman [00:22]: "Our book club pick this month is Deep Cuts by Holly Brickley, which is so much about the impact that music has on the characters' lives."

Olivia Muenter [00:43]: "Listening to songs as I went was one of the highlights of my month, if not year."

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2. Personal Highs and Lows

Olivia's Highs:

• 32nd Birthday Celebration [01:28]: Olivia shares the joy of celebrating her birthday with the vibrant spring weather and blasting "Dreams" by The Cranberries, marking a day filled with happiness.

  Olivia Muenter [01:28]: "I went into my cottage this morning. I blasted Dreams by The Cranberries, full volume, and I just was so happy and excited."

• Memorizing Poetry [02:11]: Olivia discusses her initiative to memorize a Mary Oliver poem displayed as her laptop wallpaper, finding it a wonderful mental warm-up each morning.

  Olivia Muenter [02:11]: "I was like, what if I just tried to memorize this? So every morning I'll just try to memorize one line."

Becca's High:

• Upcoming Trip to Paris and Bordeaux [04:16]: Becca is thrilled about planning a long-anticipated trip to France, highlighting her excitement and the meticulous planning involved.

  Becca Freeman [04:16]: "I booked this trip to Paris and Bordeaux... it just made me so excited to start to dig into the possibilities of it."

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3. Musical Memories Across Life Stages

A. Childhood Music Memories

Becca:

• Cher’s "Shoop Shoop" [08:52]: Becca reminisces about listening to Cher’s music in the car and the nostalgia it evokes.

  Becca Freeman [08:52]: "The first thing I remember is listening to Cher cassette tapes in the car and specifically really liking the Shoop Shoop song."

• Billy Ray Cyrus’ "Achy Breaky Heart" [09:55]: Fond memories of dancing to this country hit with her family.

  Becca Freeman [09:55]: "I loved listening to that and my mom hated it."

Olivia:

• Eiffel 65’s "Blue" [12:50]: Olivia’s first song memory, highlighting its catchy and simplistic appeal.

  Olivia Muenter [12:50]: "My very earliest song memory is of the song Blue by Eiffel 65."

• Enya’s "Only Time" [14:12]: A vivid memory of hearing Enya while traveling, finding the song haunting yet captivating.

  Olivia Muenter [14:12]: "I remember we were driving through these winding roads and this song came on the radio... this is the weirdest thing I’ve ever heard."

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B. Tween Years

Becca:

• Spice Girls and Backstreet Boys [24:00]: Becca discusses her obsession with these pop groups during middle school, reflecting her evolving music taste.

  Becca Freeman [24:00]: "My biggest musical obsession in middle school was probably the Spice Girls and the Backstreet Boys."

Olivia:

• The Beatles to Avril Lavigne [26:00]: Olivia shares her transition from classic rock to punk-inspired pop, illustrating her diverse musical influences.

  Olivia Muenter [26:00]: "I went straight from The Beatles to Avril Lavigne... I had great aspirations for myself to be punk."

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C. High School Music Memories

Becca:

• John Mayer at Sunfest [32:43]: A memorable concert experience crafting personalized merchandise to show her fandom.

  Becca Freeman [32:43]: "I think I'm pretty sure it was going to see John Mayer at Sunfest... we made shirts that say I heart JM."

• Backstreet Boys Concert [25:28]: Enjoying the height of boy band fame with friends, emphasizing the communal concert atmosphere absent of modern distractions.

  Becca Freeman [25:28]: "Going to a concert at the height of Backstreet Boys was incredible... Just locked in, like 13-year-olds aren't on TikTok."

Olivia:

• Need to Breathe Concert [34:13]: Olivia recounts attending small indie concerts, fostering unique connections with band members via social media.

  Olivia Muenter [34:13]: "We would go to so many random shows... and I became friends with them on Facebook for years."

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D. College and Early 20s Music Memories

Becca:

• OAR Concert in Providence [51:02]: Navigating post-concert logistics with friends, highlighting the camaraderie and spontaneous adventures of college life.

  Becca Freeman [51:02]: "We made a plan to go to an OAR concert in Providence... asked a woman to pick us up at 1 AM."

• Studying Abroad and New Music Discoveries [53:09]: Exposure to international music scenes and discovering hits like Rihanna’s "Umbrella" upon returning.

  Becca Freeman [53:09]: "I remember coming back from studying abroad, and it was the year that Umbrella by Rihanna had just taken over."

Olivia:

• Electric Feel by MGMT [54:33]: Establishing a signature song for dorm life, symbolizing the unique bond created through shared musical tastes.

  Olivia Muenter [54:33]: "We could not have a night out until we played Electric Feel by MGMT. It was just our song."

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4. Favorite Songs and Emotional Connections

Becca and Olivia delve into their all-time favorite songs, each tied to profound personal memories and emotions.

Becca:

• "Silver Lining" by Rilo Kiley [66:34]: An enduring obsession reflecting her journey and personal growth.

  Becca Freeman [66:34]: "It's an excellent pick. So good."

• "Dog Days Are Over" by Florence + The Machine [66:36]: Represents transformative emotional moments during significant life changes like moving to New York.

  Becca Freeman [67:25]: "It was the soundtrack to me moving to New York... blasting this song and being like, it's gonna be okay."

Olivia:

• "The Mother" by Brandi Carlile [62:21]: A song that deeply moves Olivia, eliciting strong emotional responses.

  Olivia Muenter [62:21]: "This song will actually make me weep. It is endlessly, timelessly beautiful."

• "Gravity" by Sara Bareilles [71:34]: Evokes a profound emotional connection, making Olivia feel her body sink down.

  Olivia Muenter [71:34]: "It makes my whole body sink down when I think of it. It's so deeply beautiful but sad."

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5. Dream Concerts

Both hosts share their ultimate concert experiences—past and desired.

Becca:

• Harry Styles in Paris [67:45]: Describes the electrifying experience of seeing Harry Styles live, appreciating his showmanship despite being in the stadium's nosebleeds.

  Becca Freeman [67:45]: "Seeing Harry Styles in concert was incredible. You could feel the magnetism off of him."

Olivia:

• Frightened Rabbit in Sicily [69:34]: Olivia expresses a heartfelt wish to witness a live performance by Frightened Rabbit, especially after the tragic passing of the lead singer.

  Olivia Muenter [69:34]: "My dream would be to see Frightened Rabbit live... It's a really special band."

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6. Rapid Fire Musical Questions

In a spirited segment, Becca and Olivia engage in rapid-fire questions about their current musical obsessions, songs tied to specific moods, and cannot-stop-listening tracks.

Examples:

• Song to Get Ready to Go Out:

  • Becca: "Too Much" by Carly Rae Jepsen
  • Olivia: "Dancing on My Own" by Robyn

• Song for a Perfect Spring Day Drive:

  • Becca: "Real Love Baby" by Father John Misty
  • Olivia: "Dreams" by The Cranberries

• Songs They Can't Stop Listening To:

  • Becca: "Knock the Wind Out of Me" by FEA James
  • Olivia: "Cowboy Gangster Politician" by Goldie Bouthillier

Olivia Muenter [70:59]: "I just screamed it as I drove. And that was a big song."

Becca Freeman [72:00]: "Any Florence + The Machine songs... Dog Days Are Over."

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7. Conclusion and Book Club Tie-In

Wrapping up the episode, Becca and Olivia highlight their upcoming book club discussion on Deep Cuts by Holly Brickley, emphasizing its themes of friendship, love, and the enduring influence of music. They provide listeners with ways to join the conversation through Instagram, their Geneva group, and Facebook.

Becca Freeman [86:58]: "Deep Cuts is about two people who meet in college at Berkeley in the year 2000, bound together by music... extremely accurate."

Olivia Muenter [87:13]: "You can follow me on Instagram @oliviamentor or on Substack."

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Notable Quotes with Timestamps

• Olivia on Memorizing Poetry:

  [02:11] "Every morning I'll just try to memorize one line and see how far I get."

• Becca on Paris Trip Excitement:

  [04:16] "It just made me so excited to start to dig into the possibilities of it."

• Olivia on First Song Memory:

  [12:50] "My very earliest song memory is of the song Blue by Eiffel 65."

• Becca on First Concert:

  [17:38] "John Stamos came right up to the edge of the stage and he kissed both of our hands and gave us each one of his drumsticks."

• Olivia on Favorite Song to Prepare for the Day:

  [07:04] "This is the most chaotic playlist Spotify has ever known."

• Becca Reflecting on Music and Friendship:

  [25:28] "Going to a concert at the height of Backstreet Boys was incredible... Just locked in, like 13-year-olds aren't on TikTok."

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Final Thoughts

This episode of Bad On Paper offers an intimate look into Becca and Olivia’s musical journeys, intertwining personal anecdotes with broader reflections on how music shapes and reflects our lives. From nostalgic childhood tunes to the transformative experiences of live concerts, the hosts provide a relatable and engaging narrative that resonates with listeners who share a passion for the power of music.

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Follow the Hosts:

• Becca Freeman: Instagram | Geneva Group | Facebook Group: Batonpaper
• Olivia Muenter: Instagram @oliviamentor | Substack | YouTube - Shadow and Jackie the Eagles

Join the Discussion: For those interested in delving deeper into Deep Cuts by Holly Brickley, follow the hosts on their social platforms and join their community groups to participate in the upcoming book club conversation.

Transcript

[Becca Freeman]

Hi, everyone. Welcome back to Bat on Paper podcast. I'm Becca Freeman.

[Olivia Mentor]

And I'm Olivia mentor.

[Becca Freeman]

And today we're talking all about music. I felt very top of mind because our book club pick this month is Deep Cuts by Holly Brickley, which is so much about the impact that music has on the characters lives. And so we wanted to discuss some of our own musical references and backstories before that episode so that we could actually discuss the book in that episode.

[Olivia Mentor]

Yes. This episode topic was suggested by actually more than one listener. And I was like, I don't know if that will be interesting, but I have to say, putting this together, going through the outline, and like, listening to songs as I went was one of the highlights of. Of my month, of my year so far. It was delightful. I don't know about you, Becca. We haven't talked yet about this, but. Oh, my gosh.

[Becca Freeman]

Yeah, I did this yesterday and it took longer than I expected to. In a good way. It was just such a nostalgia bomb. Going through old playlists and time traveling almost.

[Olivia Mentor]

Yes. Oh, well, I hope people get something out of it too. But first, let's talk about some highs and lows.

[Becca Freeman]

Yes. Tell me your high. A timely high.

[Olivia Mentor]

Yes. My high is that, as we record it, is my 32nd birthday. Happy birthday, Earth, for 32 years. Thank you. I'm having a really good day. It's like it's turning into spring outside. It's gonna be 60. I went into my cottage this morning. I blasted per this outline, Dreams by the Cranberries, full volume on my little speaker. And I just was, like, so happy and excited. Yeah. So it's a good day. It's a very good day.

[Becca Freeman]

I told you that I was a little late getting my card out, but I'm very excited for you to get it because I feel like you'll get a kick out of it.

[Olivia Mentor]

I'm excited and curious. Thanks for doing that. And then I have one other high. It's my birthday, so I'm doing two highs.

[Becca Freeman]

Absolutely.

[Olivia Mentor]

I wrote about this briefly in a newsletter, but when I got my new laptop, I randomly made the wallpaper a Mary Oliver poem, as one does.

[Becca Freeman]

Sure.

[Olivia Mentor]

And every morning when I open my laptop to work and I have it on my monitor, it would just be, like, staring me in the face. And I was like, you know, I'm really into the idea of learning more this year. What if I just tried to memorize this? So every morning I'll just, like, try to memorize one line and see how far I get. And so this week I memorized the full poem. It's quite short. It's why I Wake early by Mary Oliver. And I don't even know the last time I tried to memorize something, like maybe high school. But it was such a nice way to start my day. Every morning, like I go into my office, I'd light my candle, I'd open my laptop, I'd stand in front of my window and just recite as much as I could. And I actually think it was like a lovely way to turn on my brain and get it like powering up, you know, it's kind of like Sudoku. How older people are like, gotta keep the mind fresh.

[Becca Freeman]

Well, gotta keep it full of poetry.

[Olivia Mentor]

Yeah. So I'm gonna choose another one and.

[Becca Freeman]

I was gonna ask, I was like, what happens next? Do you just bask in your background now being a poem that you've memorized or do you change it every month? What happens?

[Olivia Mentor]

I think once I memorize the full thing and I can recite it from memory, start to finish, I'll choose another one. So I just finished this one. It took me about two months actually, but I'll probably do another one next. I have like a little folder on Pinterest of poetry that I'm gonna choose from. So I have some contenders. I'm excited to just be able to have a skill that is useful to absolutely no one except for myself in the quiet of my own office.

[Becca Freeman]

I don't feel like you're gonna wanna do this, but I feel like at the end of the year you should host a poetry reading and you should recite all of the poems that you've learned.

[Olivia Mentor]

I would love to. I would love to. It's a very self centered activity. But come one, come all, to hear me recite poetry I did not write. Anyway, enough about me. Tell me about your high.

[Becca Freeman]

I am just in the anticipation phase of a big trip. So I had said that I booked this trip to Paris and Bordeaux at the beginning of the year and then it kind of fell off my radar. It was just kind of in the background. And last Saturday I sat down and I just did trip research and planning all day, which is my favorite thing.

[Olivia Mentor]

It made me so happy, so fun.

[Becca Freeman]

It made me so happy. I booked us some things. I created this big Google Doc of things that we might want to do. See, try. It just made me so excited to start to dig into the possibilities of it.

[Olivia Mentor]

How many people are you going with again?

[Becca Freeman]

So we're going to Paris from Friday to Tuesday and there's four people who are going to be on that part of the trip and then going to Bordeaux just with one other person.

[Olivia Mentor]

Are they cool with you just being the trip planner? Okay. Ideal for you. Yes. You're thriving.

[Becca Freeman]

It's great.

[Olivia Mentor]

Well, France in the spring I'm sure is going to be absolutely gorgeous. Paris in the spring. So I'm thrilled for you.

[Becca Freeman]

I literally wake up every morning and the first thing I do is I check the weather there to see what the next day that's been added to the 10 day forecast is. We're not quite into the trip yet, but it's the same as New York basically right now and I want it to be just a scooch warmer.

[Olivia Mentor]

Well, fingers crossed for you.

[Becca Freeman]

It doesn't look like either of us has low based on this outline. Anything to whine about?

[Olivia Mentor]

No, I think this music episode really just put me in a splendid state of mind. So I'm feeling good.

[Becca Freeman]

Good.

[Olivia Mentor]

Before we get into all things music, let's take an ad break. The show is sponsored by BetterHelp. For me, the past couple years have been full of changes, both big and small. This is the first year, I think, since we moved that I feel truly settled into our new home, our new town, and my career as an author. And I finally feel like I have the space to invest in myself again. And that's why I have made a point to start going to therapy weekly this year. Therapy can feel like a big investment, I know, but I kind of think of it like going to a workout class for just, you know, my overall emotional state. And it is just something that is always worth it to me. Plus, BetterHelp makes therapy more accessible and affordable than you might assume.

[Becca Freeman]

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[Olivia Mentor]

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[Becca Freeman]

All right, birthday girl, you're our guide today.

[Olivia Mentor]

Oh, what a gift. I do wanna Preface all of this by saying that I have taken it upon myself after we finish recording this, to make a Spotify playlist with all of these songs.

[Becca Freeman]

Oh, it's gonna be wild.

[Olivia Mentor]

Which I think will be the most chaotic playlist Spotify has ever known.

[Becca Freeman]

Yeah.

[Olivia Mentor]

But there's nothing that would make me happier than to bring the nostalgia to all of you. So we'll link that in the show notes.

[Becca Freeman]

Imagine a random person searching something on Spotify and just discovering this playlist. Imagine Terence listening to this playlist and thinking it's a representative sample of anything.

[Olivia Mentor]

It starts with Blue by eiffel65 and ends with Dochi. I'm pretty sure, so. And in between, there's a lot of country and a lot of Christian for me, surprisingly.

[Becca Freeman]

Wow.

[Olivia Mentor]

So anyway, let's get into it. I kind of broke this down by time periods of our lives, so starting with childhood music and childhood music memories.

[Becca Freeman]

Yeah.

[Olivia Mentor]

I want to know what is, like, the first song for songs you remember loving or just having an emotional reaction to as far back as you can go.

[Becca Freeman]

The first thing I remember is listening to Cher cassette tapes in the car and specifically really liking the Shoop Shoop song. Do you know that song?

[Olivia Mentor]

I don't.

[Becca Freeman]

I think you would. That's not a good title for it because I'm not gonna sing it for you.

[Olivia Mentor]

Are we gonna start out with singing? We should.

[Becca Freeman]

No, we can't. I can't do Cher.

[Olivia Mentor]

Listen, I'm gonna add it to the playlist, so I'll listen to it then.

[Becca Freeman]

Great. So Cher, I feel like, was a very early musical influence. I've talked about this before. I loved the movie Mermaids. I always used to rent the movie Mermaids every weekend. It was so age inappropriate for me as probably a 7 year old, but I loved it. I loved Cher, so that's the earliest thing I remember. I also have a very specific memory of having the Achy Breaky Heart cassette tape by Billy Ray Cyrus and dancing to that. Making up dances to that in my living room, like probably being six or seven.

[Olivia Mentor]

It's very wholesome. Yeah, it's kind of a good song.

[Becca Freeman]

I don't know that I'd go far.

[Olivia Mentor]

It's catchy. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Becca Freeman]

And then another one I really strongly remember listening to in the car a lot because it was in the Venn diagram of things both my mom and I liked was Celine Dion's Falling into youo album, which was the album that had It's All Coming Back to Me now on it.

[Olivia Mentor]

Oh, that's A good one.

[Becca Freeman]

Yeah. So just being a seven or eight year old, just experiencing Celene's heartbreak of her dead lover, her ghost lover.

[Olivia Mentor]

We all go through it at one time or another. Titanic. Yeah. It's a rite of passage.

[Becca Freeman]

And then the two music memories that I have of being a kid and really breaking with my mom's tastes in having my own music taste was when no Doubt's Tragic Kingdom came out. I was in fourth grade and I remember having the CD for that and playing it in my bedroom and being so into it. And then also I had the single for Glycerin by Bush on cd and I loved listening to that and my mom hated it.

[Olivia Mentor]

The playlist is already so chaotic. Completely discernible standards.

[Becca Freeman]

Yeah, yeah. And then the last kind of childhood music memory that I dredged up was in fourth grade for the talent show. Me and my best friend Alyssa did a choreographed dance to the song I Swear by all for One, which was kind of a. I do remember that song. Boys to Men, R and B, men's group.

[Olivia Mentor]

Can you remember any of the choreography?

[Becca Freeman]

No, unfortunately I can't. But I do remember that we were wearing matching ring tees that had a big smiley face on them. Oh, and bike shorts.

[Olivia Mentor]

So outfit choreography. You performed on stage in front of your peers?

[Becca Freeman]

Yeah, and my mom hired one of the assistants at the dance studio where I took dance classes who would have just been a high schooler to choreograph it for us. So it felt very.

[Olivia Mentor]

Oh, my gosh.

[Becca Freeman]

It felt very important.

[Olivia Mentor]

That's professional. That's. Did you win or do you just. No prizes? I don't know.

[Becca Freeman]

I don't remember there being winners in this. Okay, so that either means I didn't win or maybe there truly weren't winners.

[Olivia Mentor]

Based on purely the outfit and the professional assistants. I think you won.

[Becca Freeman]

We took it very seriously.

[Olivia Mentor]

I expect Nothing less for 79 year old Becca, however old you were.

[Becca Freeman]

What about you? It's very funny because our age difference means that we were at very different ages when these songs came out. Because I have memories. Some of these I don't know at all, but some of them I do know. And I was like, oh, we were in a very different place.

[Olivia Mentor]

Yes. So my very earliest song memory is of the song blue by eiffel65, your poor parents. As I was going through this, I think, like, it worked. It was like the baby shark of our time. But in regards, like, it was so simple that I think it permeated from like adult culture to children's Culture because it was just basically nonsense. It was just the word blue. And so it was very easy for me to like be entertained by it. So I remember really being obsessed with that song. Also one Headlight by the Wallflowers, which is still one of my favorite songs, but I think my parents had the CD or something. And there's a line in it about Cinderella and I was always like, oh, Cinderella. I love this one. Of course, Lucky by Britney Spears. Like the whole. Where did the necklace go? It fell into the bottom of the ocean. Like the whole spoken word. Yes. Isn't it?

[Becca Freeman]

No, that's. Oops, I did it again.

[Olivia Mentor]

Is it positive? Okay. I trust you because you're older. In my head, they've all kind of blended together well, both of those.

[Becca Freeman]

I feel very certain about this, both because of my own self appointed Britney Spears historian credits, but also because Lucky is on my playlist for my current book that I'm working on. So I hear it very frequently.

[Olivia Mentor]

Might be getting confused. Is there sort of a spoken word, like, portion of the song in Lucky as well? Like a phone call or something?

[Becca Freeman]

Yeah.

[Olivia Mentor]

Okay, so I think that might be where I'm getting confused. But I had the cd, I remember, in my childhood bedroom in Cranberry, New Jersey, just listening to it excessively. And then another song that I had such an intense visceral experience with growing in a very different direction. Here is Only Time by Enya. So I must have been seven.

[Becca Freeman]

Were you alive for the era where there was the infomercials to buy the CDs and Enya was in the commercial and it was just inescapable.

[Olivia Mentor]

Yes, I do remember those. With this song, I have this vivid memory of being in the backseat of my mom's Land Cruiser. We're driving through. We must have lived in the Northeast, because I remember we were driving through these winding roads and this song came on the radio. And I remember even at 7, being like, what the fuck is this? Like, this is like, this is the weirdest thing I've ever heard. But it's haunting and I love it. And even now when I listen to it, I'm like, how the hell did this break through to mainstream radio in the year 2000? I don't know. Enya lives in a castle, by the way, in Ireland. And it's probably just like reaping all of the royalties. So those are some of them. And then in general, finally, I will conclude with just early 90s to mid-90s, late 90s country music is just part of my soul. Like Who I Am by Jessica Andrews. I was black. Do you know that?

[Becca Freeman]

No.

[Olivia Mentor]

Rosemary's Granddaughter. No. Okay, yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Becca Freeman]

That's the name of the song.

[Olivia Mentor]

No, it's who I am, but it's like, I am Rosemary's granddaughter. The spitting image of my father. Well, I listened to that this morning. Just as like a birthday song, I was like this.

[Becca Freeman]

That's a good screamer.

[Olivia Mentor]

It still hits. It's still very good. Don't know what happened to Jessica Andrews, but hope she's doing well.

[Becca Freeman]

Wow.

[Olivia Mentor]

So far we've hit a variety of genres.

[Becca Freeman]

We really have. Okay, what was your first concert that you went to?

[Olivia Mentor]

I barely remember it, but it was the Chicks.

[Becca Freeman]

What a cool first concert.

[Olivia Mentor]

Very cool, very cool. I don't know, I was really young. I think the only thing I can really remember is that they lost their luggage. So they said like that during the show. And for some reason that stuck with me. I don't remember any concerts before that. So it was probably eight.

[Becca Freeman]

Okay.

[Olivia Mentor]

Well, no, I was younger because it was before we moved to Florida, so maybe like seven. Wow. Six'seven Great.

[Becca Freeman]

Lord.

[Olivia Mentor]

What about you? Yes. So good. Holds up.

[Becca Freeman]

Mine was the Beach Boys. I loved the Beach Boys.

[Olivia Mentor]

It's also pretty good.

[Becca Freeman]

And in my memory, my mom brought a friend and I brought a friend and I was in fourth grade, so I was nine. And as you can imagine, there are not many nine year old Beach Boys fans at a concert. And so no, we'd gone up to the front near the stage and the security guard just let us go inside the barrier. Cause he was like, yeah, you're nine. Like, who cares? You're enjoying this. Do whatever. So we got right up next to the stage and this was the era. I tried to look this up yesterday. I'm positive this happened, but I do not know why it happened. But John Stamos was touring with the Beach Boys, so John Stamos was their drummer at the time. Like, somebody must have been in rehab or. I don't know.

[Olivia Mentor]

This does feel like a fever dream. But I believe you, I'm positive.

[Becca Freeman]

And John Stamos came right up to the edge of the stage and he kissed both of our hands and he gave us each one of his drumsticks. And I remember being like, I'm never gonna wash my hand. Uncle Jesse kissed my hand. It was such a big deal.

[Olivia Mentor]

Yeah, because that was it. Around the time, like was Full House going on at the same time. Had it just happened?

[Becca Freeman]

Oh, no, it was ongoing. I'm the same age as the Olsen twins. So if I was nine, they were nine.

[Olivia Mentor]

Yeah. So it was like the height of John Stamos.

[Becca Freeman]

Oh, yeah.

[Olivia Mentor]

And his fame.

[Becca Freeman]

Oh, yes.

[Olivia Mentor]

Hotness.

[Becca Freeman]

Absolutely.

[Olivia Mentor]

Although he has age very well. Just as a blanket statement, but. Wow. I love that. That's, like, kind of. It's an iconic first concert. It's hard to top it.

[Becca Freeman]

Truly. Truly.

[Olivia Mentor]

You got a concert and TV star.

[Becca Freeman]

What did I do with that drumstick? Where did that go?

[Olivia Mentor]

It's a great question. It's at a Goodwill somewhere and no one knows the story.

[Becca Freeman]

It's probably in the trash. You can't give one drumstick to Goodwill.

[Olivia Mentor]

Let me tell you. I have been to Goodwill many times, and you can give anything. Okay, well, including food and medicine. I don't know if it's legal, but in my Goodwill, they're just like, we will price this at $10. So. Huh. If I see a drumstick, I'll think of you.

[Becca Freeman]

A single drumstick? Yes.

[Olivia Mentor]

This kind of goes back to your talent show portion, but I wanted to pause here to discuss musical talent because one of the things I love about girlhood that I think is specific to girlhood is just the innate sense that we are either good at song or dance, and that, like, it has to be one of those. And just assuming that we are. Did you ever feel that way? Like, was there any point where you were like, maybe I am a singer, maybe I am. Well, you danced growing up, right?

[Becca Freeman]

Like, I did. Yeah.

[Olivia Mentor]

For sport. Okay.

[Becca Freeman]

Yeah. I think I knew that I wasn't a good singer, but I think I also had this vision of being discovered. Not being discovered to become famous, but just somebody singling me out and being like, oh, my goodness, you have such talent. So I was in chorus. We had to take music in middle school. We had to either do chorus or band, and I did chorus. I remember we had to audition for solos and, like, kind of knowing that I wasn't good, but also having this expectation in the back of my head that maybe someone would be like, oh, my gosh, the talent that's so real.

[Olivia Mentor]

And I think you're like, maybe I'm wrong. Maybe I'm actually a hidden gem. Yes.

[Becca Freeman]

And I think so much of that. I don't know if the years actually line up on this, but. But I remember that episode of Dawson's Creek where Joey enters the talent competition or something, and she sings On My Own by Les Mis, and nobody knows that she can sing, and it's beautiful. Like, I think I thought that maybe it was just finding the right song Right. And then it would unlock my angelic voice that I do not have.

[Olivia Mentor]

That's a real thing. When you're a young girl, I think I'm right there with you.

[Becca Freeman]

How would you rank your vocal skills?

[Olivia Mentor]

Bad.

[Becca Freeman]

Bad. Oh, okay.

[Olivia Mentor]

Bad.

[Becca Freeman]

Did you always know that so deeply?

[Olivia Mentor]

I think I always knew that. I also. One of my. My best friends is, like, quite a good singer, naturally, like, she can carry a tune, if you will. And so I felt like maybe I have it in me, too. I just. It was the pinnacle of, like, success to be Mandy Moore in a walk to remember. And, like, that where she's doing, like, the. I wish we had video so I could show she's constantly, like, prayer dancing prayer motion in front of her body. Like, at the time, she's literally dying of cancer. But I was like, I want to be her. And, yeah, I just. I fantasized about it all the time. When I was really young, my dream career was to be a country music singer. Oh, wow. How different your life is of it all. It's really gone a different path. But I do still love that era of country music. And do you remember when songs about Jane came out? The Maroon 5 album, Songs for Jane?

[Becca Freeman]

Yeah. Yeah.

[Olivia Mentor]

I had something, like, I was obsessed with it, and I was a little bit older, so maybe like, 11, 12, 13. And I would listen to it with one headphone off so I could, like, hear myself sing, like, convinced that, like, I was almost there. But, yeah, no, I'm not good, unfortunately, you, other talents. I mean, I can't do it all, you know, it's like, I don't want.

[Becca Freeman]

To move on yet.

[Olivia Mentor]

Okay.

[Becca Freeman]

I would like to hear. In this outline, there is a sentence that says, told everyone I had Britney Spears phone number. And I'd like to know more about that, please.

[Olivia Mentor]

Sure. Yes. So vivid memory. I am in elementary school, Cranberry Elementary, New Jersey. I'm on the monkey bars. Actually, not on the monkey bars. I was never athletic, so I'm probably just, like, standing by them. And for some reason, it occurred to me to lie and say that I had Britney Spears, his phone number. And it was like, a core memory for me because I was like, they believed me so easily. They just bought into this to the point where I wrote the number down.

[Becca Freeman]

Did you have any backstory how you got it?

[Olivia Mentor]

No, of course not.

[Becca Freeman]

Okay.

[Olivia Mentor]

Or at least not that I remember. Like, I probably said, like, my dad, like, knew someone or something, But I think they just took it at face value. And it was my first, like, moment of really Lying and being like, oh, people just. They're eating right out of my hand here at the monkey bars, just causing chaos. And, yeah, it was not true, as you can imagine, but Britney Spears was very formative to me. Although clearly I mixed up the songs. But, yeah, liar. I must have been. I only lived there until I was in first grade, so I must have been really young.

[Becca Freeman]

Wow.

[Olivia Mentor]

Kindergarten, maybe. Wow, really young.

[Becca Freeman]

Just starting the hustle early.

[Olivia Mentor]

Yes. I. I don't tend to lie in my normal life. Just FYI, if everyone's like, what is the truth now? Just, I'm more truthful.

[Becca Freeman]

Thank you for that.

[Olivia Mentor]

I mean, in case you were worried.

[Becca Freeman]

You were like, no, I. I mean, thank you for sharing the story that I. I needed to detour back to.

[Olivia Mentor]

Yes, yes, yes.

[Becca Freeman]

I just needed to know the context.

[Olivia Mentor]

It's important. What about tween years? This is a specific state of life, if you will. What were your, like, tween musical obsessions deep in middle school? Were you a popular middle school kid or were you, like, awkward?

[Becca Freeman]

No, I was awkward. I. In sixth grade, I got basically an accidental bowl cut. There was this girl who I thought was so pretty. Her name was Deanna, which I thought was a very pretty name too. Had a Bob. And I was trying to explain it to my hairdresser, but I didn't know the word Bob. And what I ended up with was basically a bowl cut.

[Olivia Mentor]

Wow, That's. It's hard to live beyond the bowl cut. You know, like, once it's there, it's just.

[Becca Freeman]

You have to grow it out.

[Olivia Mentor]

It's formative.

[Becca Freeman]

Yep.

[Olivia Mentor]

For sure. Well, sorry. Sorry that happened to you.

[Becca Freeman]

Thanks. So picture me with a bowl cut. My biggest musical obsession in middle school was probably the Spice Girls. Spice World, the movie came out when I was in sixth grade and it was six. Such a phenomenon. Like, I feel like that took the country by storm. So I feel like that was big. And then also the Backstreet Boys. That is the first concert I remember going to with a friend. You had to call the 1-800-number for Ticketmaster and, like, wait on hold to get tickets. And we got Backstreet Boys tickets, and her dad took us. And I, like, owe this man, Michael Greenberg. I owe you a thank you note because he sat with us, and anytime there was any silence in the stadium, I don't know where it was, we would be like, nick Carter, will you marry me? Just screeching the entire concert.

[Olivia Mentor]

I was also obsessed with the Backstreet Boys and Nick Carter specifically. And I'm So jealous that you went to a concert at the height of their powers. Because it's interesting, because it's like not a time or a phase of music that is that far away. But imagine yourself at that concert in like whatever year. Not that many cell phones. Like no one's filming. Everyone is just locked in. Like 13 year olds aren't on TikTok.

[Becca Freeman]

No.

[Olivia Mentor]

Just. What, I would love to time travel back to that.

[Becca Freeman]

No, I didn't have my first cell phone until 8th grade and it was one of those like Nokia bricks that didn't do much. You weren't texting. Cause it cost too much to send a text.

[Olivia Mentor]

Yeah, it was a simple story.

[Becca Freeman]

There's no camera.

[Olivia Mentor]

That's the key.

[Becca Freeman]

What are your like, key tween musical obsessions.

[Olivia Mentor]

So I went through a phase in fifth grade where I was like really obsessed with the Beatles. And I don't quite understand this and I truly cannot imagine anything less cool than like a 12 year old being obsessed with the Beatles.

[Becca Freeman]

It comes for all of us. I went through that in high school.

[Olivia Mentor]

Okay. I think it was partially like, this is fun music and partially like this is signaling that I am interesting, which is really all teenage music in a way. Then somehow I went straight from the Beatles to Avril Lavigne, like basically in the same time period. Very similar musically. That album, that first album from Avril Lavigne was a phenomenon. Like it was everywhere. It was everything skater boy. Like, I loved it.

[Becca Freeman]

Did it inform your clothing aesthetic? Were you in a skater phase or you just liked Avril Lavigne's music?

[Olivia Mentor]

I think I did eventually get very into like punk dressing because I was really into Green Day at one point as well. Shortly after this simple plan, all of those bands and like I had the vans and the belt with like the grommets. Like, I had great aspirations for myself to be punk, but I really wasn't at all.

[Becca Freeman]

I know you've declared yourself to be in your big pants era and I really associate like the JNCO jeans, the big jeans, with kind of that skater aesthetic. So maybe you're looping back to it. You're in your skater era now.

[Olivia Mentor]

Yes, definitely. This is like, I'm punk now, but with very bright colors. It's really melding all my neopunk. And then towards the end of my tween years, going into teenage years, I became like really enamored with Gavin de Gras to a degree that is very terrifying. And then that kind of shifted into like my singer songwriter sort of phase.

[Becca Freeman]

But not quite into your beard phase yet? Because I remember Gavin degras being clean shaven.

[Olivia Mentor]

Yeah. This was like more mainstream pop and then I got into the more niche and niche singers. But yeah, I was obsessed with Gavin de Grafter. I don't want to be.

[Becca Freeman]

So if you're time traveling via music to your tween years, like, what are the songs that bring you there?

[Olivia Mentor]

I feel compelled to share that I went through a soft Christian rock phase around this time as well. I went to a evangelical school and it was probably informed by my desire to be a good student and a good girl or whatever. Have you ever heard I Can Only Imagine by Mercy Me?

[Becca Freeman]

I don't think so.

[Olivia Mentor]

I listened to it yesterday just to bring me back. I couldn't get through it, but it's very, you know, like Lifehouse. Yeah, that. Like kind of soft rock. Like it's that, but like about Jesus.

[Becca Freeman]

Okay.

[Olivia Mentor]

And also this song, There's Gotta Be More to Life by Stacy Arico.

[Becca Freeman]

That's not Christian, is it?

[Olivia Mentor]

Yes.

[Becca Freeman]

Wow. I didn't know that.

[Olivia Mentor]

But it's like you couldn't really tell that much. You know, it was. That was the Christian music I liked. Like Switch Foot, which it's Christian, but, like, you don't actually know.

[Becca Freeman]

I know.

[Olivia Mentor]

So it felt safe to me. Oh, yeah. Mercy Me is like straight Christian. But There's Gotta Be More to Life by CeCe Arrico. I stand by it is good. It is like JoJo. It's catchy. I enjoy it.

[Becca Freeman]

I feel like I listened to that recently. Like it came on a Pandora station or a SiriusXM station. And I was like, oh, what a jam that was.

[Olivia Mentor]

It's good. Yeah. That Switch Foot album, the Beautiful Letdown, also that loose Back to A Walk to Remember. Cause it is on that soundtrack. It like that album is. I mean. Oh, my God. I like. I think I got the CD for my cousin, which is such a strange, specific click. Like, I love this cd. I'm gonna give it to you. You know, it's interesting. That doesn't happen anymore. You don't gift people music. It's kind of sad.

[Becca Freeman]

A very formative piece of my music history was when you were part of the Columbia Record Club and you ordered your CDs through a catalog.

[Olivia Mentor]

Oh, really? That was before my time.

[Becca Freeman]

Yeah.

[Olivia Mentor]

I love that though. There's something really like.

[Becca Freeman]

And we had a subscription for five a month or. Or however many. And I remember, like, I had to negotiate with my mom of who got to get what CDs do you remember.

[Olivia Mentor]

Like one you were the most excited about.

[Becca Freeman]

I remember being really excited about the Cardigan's is the song just called Kiss Me.

[Olivia Mentor]

Oh, like, wait, the one by Sixpence.

[Becca Freeman]

Sixpence on the Richard. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Olivia Mentor]

That's great song. Great song.

[Becca Freeman]

Yeah.

[Olivia Mentor]

Well, what about you? Like give me your songs where as soon as you play them, you are transported to tween bowl cut.

[Becca Freeman]

Becca, Spice up youp Life. Definitely came up twice in two weeks. Just brings me back another one. I feel like it's like the one hit wonders mostly that like bring you back a little bit. So not quite a one hit wonder, but truly Madly Deeply by Savage Garden. Yes, I'm there. I'm just back in time. Also. You get what you Give by the New Radicals. I remember specifically in 8th grade being invited to. I can't even remember her last name. Her first name was Emily Somebody's bat Mitzvah. And as the party favor, she gave out a mixed cd and she was very cool, iconic. And I remember this song being on it and it was the first time I heard it and I was like, emily, so and so, who at the time I thought was so cool and now I can't remember her last name, likes this song. And so now I like this song and feeling I never heard it before. And I was like, wow. And then the other song that brings me back is sometimes by Britney Spears because my best friend Francesca and I were always choreographing dances specifically to this song.

[Olivia Mentor]

What age was that at, would you say?

[Becca Freeman]

Probably like seventh grade.

[Olivia Mentor]

Okay. Prime choreography years. But you were also some of their 8th grade great picks. For a second I thought that you get what you Give was also on the A Walk to Remember soundtrack. But it's actually a different song by the New Radicals. I had to look it up because I was like, what are the odds that this is the connecting factor of most of this music? Well, let's move on past the bowl cut.

[Becca Freeman]

Yeah.

[Olivia Mentor]

To high school and talk about high school music. Because I feel like there's so much to unpack there.

[Becca Freeman]

Oh, yeah.

[Olivia Mentor]

Do you remember your first solo concert experience in high school?

[Becca Freeman]

So I think I'm pretty sure it was going to see John Mayer at sunfest, the Palm Beach Music Festival. And we made shirts. I would have been like 16. We went to Michael's and got iron on letters and big sequin hearts and we made shirts that say I heart jm.

[Olivia Mentor]

Love that. Yeah, his early stuff is so good. Like, is it room for Squares? No.

[Becca Freeman]

Yeah, it was probably like one Album past that, because I think Room for Squares came out when I was in early high school, and this would have been the second half of high school, so I think he probably had, like, a second album by then.

[Olivia Mentor]

I was also very into John Mayer in high school, and I saw him in concert at some point, but I went with my mom. I remember.

[Becca Freeman]

What about you? What was your first solo concert experience? Like? I'm picturing Christian rock, but I jam.

[Olivia Mentor]

It out for Jesus. Need to Breathe concert in high school, which is a Christian band I don't. You've probably never heard of, but it's one of those, like, Christian bands trying to be. It's like switch foot 2.0, basically. But, like, my friends and I had this habit of going to really small concert venues and seeing a band like need to Breathe and then finding all. This is so embarrassing. And then finding all the people in the band on Facebook and becoming friends with them.

[Becca Freeman]

Stop it.

[Olivia Mentor]

And so need to Breathe is one where I friended one of the guys. His name was. They're all. Probably all deeply problematic now and, like, definitely Trumpers. I don't know, like, who knows what's going on with them? But there's this one guy, and he had, like, long hair, and I friended him on Facebook. We were friends for years. And then like, four years, five years later, after college, six years. I don't know. I was in a Starbucks in Manhattan standing in line, and I. And I made eye contact with this guy, and we both looked at each other. Like, why do we know each other? And it's because he was in the band. And we had been friends on Facebook for, like, seven years.

[Becca Freeman]

Are you still Facebook friends?

[Olivia Mentor]

I don't know. Probably not. He was probably so scared. And then we would get in poke wars with, like, the. I know this is really. Christian musicians sometimes not Christian. It wasn't. It was also, like, the bands that would open for the bigger people. Like, I was really into. I think it's pronounced Rayden. Joshua Raiden. I don't know if you ever listen to it.

[Becca Freeman]

Oh, yeah, I know who that is.

[Olivia Mentor]

He performed at Ellen DeGeneres wedding. So niche. Another kind of whisper rock guy. And there was a band that opened for them that I still really love, and I was friends on Facebook with them for years. And it just. This was our thing. This was also when I first discovered the power of, like, the feeling of being in a concert and being like, are they looking at me in the crowd? Like, is this bassist looking at me? Have you ever experienced that? Like, in a small venue, when you're like, a teen or in your early 20s and you're like, this is my moment. This is my moment. This is how I fall in love. It's a very powerful teenage experience, I.

[Becca Freeman]

Think, wow, I'm not over the poke wars, and I don't know that I will be.

[Olivia Mentor]

Yeah. I won't name names of who it was because, like, we were for those that. Should we explain what poking on Facebook is? But no, we don't have any listeners below, like, 25, probably.

[Becca Freeman]

I think we'll just let them think the worst.

[Olivia Mentor]

Yeah, I. We really just friended anyone and everyone. But it's kind of nice because I've, like, followed their lives. I'm like, oh, two kids. Cool. Not doing music anymore. Nice. Okay, what about most played songs from high school? Similar, like, to middle school? Like, you listen to it and you're like, oh, I'm 18 sitting in a parking lot.

[Becca Freeman]

So this is so hard. There's definitely some I remember, but all of my high school music was on burned CDs, so it is all kind of lost to time. Okay. When I was trying to brainstorm the things that came to mind early high school, like, maybe my sophomore year of high school, the first Dashboard Confessional album came out.

[Olivia Mentor]

Yeah.

[Becca Freeman]

The Swiss Army Romance. And I have so many memories of listening to screaming infidelities, specifically in the car aspect. Classic. I remember Buddy Holly by Weezer being a big one. And this was definitely in my phase of liking music that boys liked because, you know, high school boys, of course, you just always have the best taste. And so it was a lot of, like, listening to. This was when I went through my Beatles phase, like, listening to music that I maybe secondhand adopted a preference for as opposed to actually liked. And so definitely, like, listening to a lot of, like, brand new, like, emoji.

[Olivia Mentor]

Cohen, Cambria.

[Becca Freeman]

Yeah. Another one that I remember is Play Is gonna play by 3 LW. That being a big one.

[Olivia Mentor]

That's not the same ones that did. Same ones. Did they do Laffy Taffy?

[Becca Freeman]

No, I don't think so.

[Olivia Mentor]

Okay.

[Becca Freeman]

I think it was, oh, my gosh, what's her name? They went on. One of them went on to form the Cheetah Girls.

[Olivia Mentor]

Okay. Unfortunately, when you Google Laffy Taffy, by the way, it just comes up with the candy, which is Do Laffy Taffy.

[Becca Freeman]

Song I just did.

[Olivia Mentor]

Yeah. D4L.

[Becca Freeman]

No, I said 3 LW.

[Olivia Mentor]

Oh, sorry. Am I dyslexic?

[Becca Freeman]

No, I get why you confused them, but different. Different letter Number combo.

[Olivia Mentor]

Oops.

[Becca Freeman]

Also, I remember being obsessed with the Josie and the Pussycat soundtrack from the movie.

[Olivia Mentor]

Oh, yeah. Yes. This is a thing.

[Becca Freeman]

I couldn't remember any of the songs. So yesterday I went back and I googled it and I found it on Spotify and I played the number one song on it, which was the song called Three Small Words, which I couldn't have pulled out of my brain at gunpoint. And the minute I played it, I was like, oh, my God, this song.

[Olivia Mentor]

I can't wait to add it to the Spotify playlist and listen to it.

[Becca Freeman]

And then I also. I mean, I liked Britney Spears. Britney Spears. Like, that was my high school era, was Britney's rise. And I specifically really remember loving I Love Rock and Roll, which I absolutely did not know at the time was a Joan Jett cover. Like, I had no idea. I just thought it was, like, really badass of Britney. Yeah.

[Olivia Mentor]

Is that in the Josie and the Pussycat soundtrack as well? Could be, yeah. Because isn't she in it? The movie?

[Becca Freeman]

Don't know. Don't remember. I have this very disconnected memory of a scene in that movie where they're, like, running down a stairwell.

[Olivia Mentor]

Yes, I know what you mean. Yep.

[Becca Freeman]

But other than that, I remember next to nothing about that movie.

[Olivia Mentor]

Same. I remember renting it.

[Becca Freeman]

What about you? What were your most played high school songs?

[Olivia Mentor]

So this is, like, towards the latter part of high school that I was, like, really into, like, indie music. Bearded, tattooed musicians. To this day, if you play the Girl by City in Color, I don't know if you are familiar with this song.

[Becca Freeman]

I don't know if I am. I'm gonna have to listen to this once you pay. Taylor. The playlist.

[Olivia Mentor]

Very good. It's very good. It's still good. But, like, the first 10 seconds of that song, it's like I'm being sucked through time and space. Oh, that's. I don't like that phrase. But I am traveling through time. It is so deeply nostalgic for me. It's overwhelming. Also, Rootless Tree by Damien Rice, basically all Damien Rice. I just was sitting in Tampa, Florida, very angry. The small Irish man was like, fueling my rage. Heartbeats by Jose Gonzalez. Still a good song, but it's. I listened to it the other day. I was like, I really got a lot out of this song that basically just has three lines. I really was feeling it. Also, this band which I have rediscovered recently called Margot and the Nuclear so.

[Becca Freeman]

And so's have never heard of them.

[Olivia Mentor]

I know they're from maybe Ohio or something. Anyway, the song called Skeleton Key, I was just. I loved it.

[Becca Freeman]

Isn't that fascinating, though, about in high school, how you get obsessed with things that you don't realize are niche but end up being incredibly niche and you just have an encyclopedic knowledge about them? Like, you probably thought this was like. I mean, I guess you had more Internet than I did in high school, but you were like, these people are huge. Everyone knows them. And then you, like, talk about them and you're like, oh, that was just me.

[Olivia Mentor]

Yeah, yeah. No, I think it was actually just me. Although I did share about them on Instagram recently and someone was like, oh, my God, I forgot about this. But so I think it was like they were in this set of, like, indie musicians. Like, if you listen to one band, you listen to this band kind of thing. Slightly different vibe. But I loved Paulo Nuttini and I listened to Jenny Don't Be Hasty, like, so many times.

[Becca Freeman]

Okay.

[Olivia Mentor]

It's just. It's a very singable song and I still love him so much. And then, like, going outside the genre. What? Why are you laughing?

[Becca Freeman]

Because I've already read what they are, and it just is so incongruent with anything else you've said.

[Olivia Mentor]

I know, I know. So I discovered the song Allure on Dance by Stromay in high school, which is like a club.

[Becca Freeman]

It's like a French rap.

[Olivia Mentor]

I don't know. It's like a friend. Yeah. Yes. I always have love for, like, rap. Not in English, so I guess that checks out. But for some reason I found the song and I was like, this is the most catchy thing ever. And I would just listen to it in my room, just again and again. And then also Paper Planes by Mia. I remember before I could drive, I had my mom drive my friend Jessica and I around and Alyssa, just so we could play this song a full blast. Driving through the suburb of Westchase in Tampa, Florida. It's such an embarrassing memory.

[Becca Freeman]

But wow. Kim should be nominated for sainthood.

[Olivia Mentor]

It's true. I'm sure she really enjoyed that. Although both of these songs I listened to while making this are still really fun. Really fun. Do you have any other, like, musical, like, memories tied to music from high school that you love?

[Becca Freeman]

Well, I feel like I had like a very visceral memory of driving around in my first car. A hand me down Acura Legend to accurate legend. Yep.

[Olivia Mentor]

I've never heard of that.

[Becca Freeman]

Here we are. It was like a two seater. It was like a two door.

[Olivia Mentor]

Okay.

[Becca Freeman]

I don't know it was from it sounds fun.

[Olivia Mentor]

For High School.

[Becca Freeman]

1992 Acura Legend Listening to Tom Petty's Greatest Hits for reasons I'm unsure I can explain or to.

[Olivia Mentor]

Was this like a Beatles thing?

[Becca Freeman]

Yeah, probably.

[Olivia Mentor]

Okay, good choice. Good choice.

[Becca Freeman]

I also really remember my high school best friend Jackie and I would listen to this song Smoke on the Water by Deep Purple. It's from the 70s. I know when we were about to do something like mischievous or that we weren't allowed to be doing, or if we were driving by a boy's house or if we were going to a party that we shouldn't have our parents wouldn't have wanted us to go to, that was always our song when we were trying to be stealthy and doing something bad.

[Olivia Mentor]

That's a good choice. Elevated.

[Becca Freeman]

And then. Oh my gosh, it's so interesting because I remember listening to a lot of something corporate in high school and specifically Constantine and Me and the Moon Again were like two songs in heavy rotation. And I ended up referencing the song Constantine, which is a nine minute song that I think it was like never on a CD at the time. So, like it was definitely downloaded on some sketchy music streaming site. I referenced it in the Christmas Orphans Club. And I will say that was one of the things that like got the most intense response from people. Like I would get so many DMs, or even when we were on submission, like editors would write back and be like, oh my God, that song. Like, I didn't realize how important important that was or how pervasive it was, despite the fact that it was kind of like a weirdly niche thing.

[Olivia Mentor]

Yeah, I've never heard of this.

[Becca Freeman]

Well, you can listen to all nine minutes when you put it on the playlist.

[Olivia Mentor]

I surely will. I surely will.

[Becca Freeman]

And then the other thing I really strongly remember, this is probably early high school was how important TRL was like coming home every day after school and turning on TRL and seeing what the number one song is. And this was very much the bye bye bye era of NSync. This was like say My Name by Destiny's Child. It was girl bands and boy bands battling it out on the charts. What a time, what a time. What are your music memories that a song is so directly tied to sucking you back through time and space, to use your phrasing.

[Olivia Mentor]

So I love Tegan and Sarah loved. And there is a song called 19 and I used to just volume all the way up in my white Volkswagen Jetta. Brother in the passenger seat. He's like 14 the seats all the way flat asleep, me screaming the lyrics. Just like neither of us existing to one another. Deep memory. Also, if you thought we were gonna make it through this podcast without me referencing the iconic Robert Pattinson single. Actually I don't even think it's a real single. I think it just leaked called Let Me Sign. You were wrong because it was informative to my high school experience and I remember so strongly listening to the worst LimeWire downloaded version of it in my Jetta in the school parking lot with my friend Kirsten after school just laughing.

[Becca Freeman]

Hysterically because you weren't like a fan. You thought it was embarrassing.

[Olivia Mentor]

It's kind of both because he's actually quite a good singer and like musically it aligns with some of my taste. But like you cannot make out a single intelligible sentence in this song. Like it's just like he's mumbling the entire time and it's so, so funny. But it's very Robert Pattinson. Like he's just such a strange person and it fits in perfectly. And then I listened to whatever album the song Mykonos was on by Fleet Foxes. I listened to a CD every single day, driving to the mall to work at J Crew every single day before, after constantly. And I loved it.

[Becca Freeman]

This is very fun. I cannot wait for this unhinged playlist.

[Olivia Mentor]

I'm so excited, to be honest.

[Becca Freeman]

All right, a few more music memories. But first, let's take an ad break.

[Olivia Mentor]

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[Becca Freeman]

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[Olivia Mentor]

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[Becca Freeman]

Getting into our second to last era, college, early 20s. Do you feel like your music tastes changed when you got to college?

[Olivia Mentor]

Yes and no. I mostly think that I just drank a lot more once I got to college, slash drank at all. Like I did not party in high school even a little bit. So, you know, it doesn't really hit the same way to drink Pinnacle Whipped Cream Vodka to Damian Rice. Like, that's just not. That's. It's a dark.

[Becca Freeman]

That's a pairing. That's a pairing that may not have ever been paired before.

[Olivia Mentor]

Talk about a cry for help. Like, that is. You have hit some sort of a low point. But yeah. So I mean, I was listening to a lot more party music, I guess, but I still really deeply loved like the sad indie music of it all. What about you?

[Becca Freeman]

I mean, I feel like basement party rap definitely really came into my fold. Like, I'm don't love the phrasing. Like, I strongly am remembering candy shop by 50 Cent, like apologize by Timbaland. Like a lot of. Yeah, like just like basement rap that you could dance to. And then I also feel like I adopted a lot of other people's high school obsessions because again, like, this was the era where you still had to illegally pirate songs or you had to pay 99 cents per song on itunes. So music was just less available. So it was like, oh, my roommate was really big into. I feel like I picked up other people's high school jam band obsessions like OAR and Dispatch, and it was just like, oh, well, this is what this person listened to in high school. So they have it all on their computer. So we're listening to this.

[Olivia Mentor]

Yeah, I remember like discovering Kid Cudi in college. Cause like a lot of people in my dorm listen to it. I was like, oh, this is great. Yeah.

[Becca Freeman]

Yeah.

[Olivia Mentor]

Much better than Mercy Me.

[Becca Freeman]

Yeah.

[Olivia Mentor]

What are your favorite college music memories? Songs? Moments.

[Becca Freeman]

Moments with songs I very specifically remember. Freshman year, like the fall of freshman year, a bunch of us made this plan to go to an OAR concert in Providence, Rhode island. And I went to college in Boston. So we took the train and the last train back was at, I don't know, 10 or 11 or something, and the band had just gone on. And I remember my friend Betsy, who I'm still friends with, was like, guys, it's no problem. My mom will come pick us up and bring us back to Boston. Betsy's mom lives in Greenwich, Connecticut. So we asked this woman to come pick us up in Providence, Rhode island, at one in the morning and drive us to Boston and then drive home to Greenwich, Connecticut.

[Olivia Mentor]

Did she do it?

[Becca Freeman]

Yes. And also there were way too many of us that would fit in her car. Like, I remember her driving a. I don't know, some kind of, like, station wagon or suv. And there were just like, six people crammed in the way back.

[Olivia Mentor]

Oh, my God. Was it a good concert?

[Becca Freeman]

Yeah. And it was also with such random people looking back, because it was early freshman year, before groups had really gelled. So I remember thinking back and I was like, I don't know if I ever saw that person again. But, like, we went to that OAR concert that Betsy's mom picked us up from.

[Olivia Mentor]

We shared a moment. Yeah.

[Becca Freeman]

And then. Oh, another big college music memory was I remember coming back from studying abroad. So I studied abroad in Spain in 2007, and I guess just like, because of the era of the Internet, Spain was, like, still in the early 2000s, music wise. Like, it was still like, BSB, NSync, Britney Spears, and, you know, they had their own local music too, but, like, current American pop music was, like, very delayed getting there. And so I remember coming back from studying abroad, and it was the year that Umbrella by Rihanna had just taken over. And I'd never heard it before, and I remember hearing it for the first time so good and being like, what is this?

[Olivia Mentor]

Ella. Ella.

[Becca Freeman]

A. I also, I very strongly remember my friend John Glynn, who is now an author and book editor himself. He's like a very respectable human being. Used to make. He was, like, famous for making his musical power hours. Oh, you know, where it's like, I love this. Did you ever do one where it's like the song changes every minute and you have to take a shot of beer?

[Olivia Mentor]

Okay. Yeah. I was like, this involves alcohol, right?

[Becca Freeman]

Yeah, yeah. But he would curate playlists, and so he would have, like, themed playlists. He would have, like, Disney ones or he would have, like, boy band ones or something. He was like, always had the best curated musical power hours. I also really remember this era of going to kind of, like, smaller indie rock shows. And so one of my best friends Molly, who's still one of my best friends, had an older sister who was a bartender at the Paradise Rock Club in Boston. And her sister's boyfriend, who's now her husband, was one of the bouncers. And so we would go there when we were 19, before we were old enough to drink. And we would have exes on our hands that we weren't allowed, but then her sister would serve us anyway. And so we would go. We would just go to so many random shows.

[Olivia Mentor]

That's the best when you're just showing up and who knows what will happen? Who knows who will be performing?

[Becca Freeman]

What are you listening to in a dorm room of your memory?

[Olivia Mentor]

I vividly remember my roommate and I could not have a night out until we played Electric Feel by mgmt. It was just like, this was the song. I don't know why we chose it specifically us. And we were like, this is our song. And it still is so great.

[Becca Freeman]

I think that's one of my very key post college memories that came out the summer I graduated. And I remember kind of in that weird summer where it's like, some people have jobs, some people don't. You're going to all these graduation parties. We would always listen to this. It was like brand new. And we were like, this is the coolest song ever.

[Olivia Mentor]

It's the best song because it's like the easiest song to hear in your head immediately. Like, the beginning chords is just. It's so good. We were also totally different vibe. Really obsessed with the song if Only by Fink, which is honestly still one of my favorite songs. Fink is also like a random bearded musician that most people have never heard of. But really great. Still great. Incredibly sad. I think one of my most, like, formative memories is I was in college when the song Somebody that I Used to Know by Gautier, which I did have to pronounce. Look up how to pronounce that. And I remember driving from Tampa to Gainesville with that song on repeat for the entire two and a half hours. Like, just again and again. Like, there was something about it. I don't know if there was somebody that I used to know, like, and it felt like, who is it might have been like. This really speaks to me personally. I can't remember, but I just remember the entire drive, I just screamed it as I drove. And that was a big song. That was a huge song.

[Becca Freeman]

I remember it being a huge song. I remember the cultural moment. But two and a half hours on repeat is something.

[Olivia Mentor]

It's like psychopath behavior. But I still do that. Not for two and a half hours, but I do. I don't know.

[Becca Freeman]

I put a song on repeat sometimes too.

[Olivia Mentor]

Yeah.

[Becca Freeman]

Two and a half hours.

[Olivia Mentor]

Not for two. Two and a half hours is a lot.

[Becca Freeman]

Yeah. It's stretching.

[Olivia Mentor]

Well, it was probably like I made a mix cd and would it have been a mix CD by that point? Yeah, probably. And I just like would hit again and again because there's only so many songs on the mix.

[Becca Freeman]

Sure.

[Olivia Mentor]

What do you think were your most played songs?

[Becca Freeman]

Okay. We didn't invent the drinking game, but we rechristened this Drinking game. I don't know, I'm not positive. The real name of it, I think it's called Slap Cup. You have to bounce a ball into a cup and if the person next to you gets theirs first, they can slap your cup away and you have to drink from a new cup.

[Olivia Mentor]

Oh. Not to be confused with Flip Cup.

[Becca Freeman]

No different. But we rechristened this Mileyball. It is still known as Mileyball in our friend group today. Like, sometimes when we go to Maine, we'll play Mileyball. I don't like to play it because you have to drink so much and it's like, it just. I'm not cut out for it anymore. But we would play the song See youe Again by Miley Cyrus on repeat.

[Olivia Mentor]

Yeah.

[Becca Freeman]

And play this drinking game. It was a key facet of this drinking game.

[Olivia Mentor]

That's an intense song to have on repeat.

[Becca Freeman]

Yeah.

[Olivia Mentor]

I feel like the beat is like so, like fast paced.

[Becca Freeman]

Yeah.

[Olivia Mentor]

Just Get Trashed brings me right back.

[Becca Freeman]

I have a very strong memory of listening to Girl Put yout Record on.

[Olivia Mentor]

Your records on another song that you could not escape for like an entire.

[Becca Freeman]

Year by Corinne Bailey Ray. We lived in this falling down apartment in Cleveland Circle in Boston. We had this back porch that overlooked the tea yard. It was not a great porch. And I remember listening to that on that porch. I also very much remember my friend Peter and I got Paris Hilton's first and I believe only cd. And we were obsessed with Stars Are Blind Original edition. Of course, I already said like summer After College. Time to Pretend by mgmt was big. And we also, me and my friend Molly got so obsessed with Passion Pit. I don't know if they're from Boston or if they have any like connection there, but they played in Boston all the time. I remember seeing them like 8 million times and I feel like their big song, their first big song was like Sleepyhead. But I really liked this song called Moth's Wings that I was obsessed with the song Sometime Around Midnight by the Airborne Toxic Event. I've mentioned this in the podcast before. Like, that is a. I can't wait.

[Olivia Mentor]

To listen to the song when I make the playlist.

[Becca Freeman]

That is the car from Back to the Future for me. Like, it just. That song will take me somewhere else. And then I got really obsessed right after college with. Did you ever listen to Mike Snow?

[Olivia Mentor]

No.

[Becca Freeman]

Mike with Two Eyes. It's not a person. It's like a Swedish electronic DJ trio.

[Olivia Mentor]

Oh, yeah. Not usually my was really obsessed with them. Okay.

[Becca Freeman]

And then. Cause you said this was like, through our early 20s. I feel like the song that is the end cap on this era for me is Anything Could Happen by Ellie Goulding, which I know I just made fun of you about listening to somebody I used to know for two and a half hours. This song was the soundtrack to me moving to New York. I lived in San Francisco at the time, and I took a red eye flight. And I probably listened to this song on repeat from leaving my apartment in San Francisco, taking BART to the airport, through getting to New York. So that is probably 8 to 10 hours just blasting this song and being like, it's gonna be okay. This is a good idea.

[Olivia Mentor]

This is actually a perfect song for that because it has, like, the deeply satisfying emotional build. I think I have actually also done that or a version of it with this song because it is so good. I went through a phase with it as well. Yeah, it's perfect.

[Becca Freeman]

Yeah. What about you? What are some of your. Oh, there's one in here that I also have a very strong connection to.

[Olivia Mentor]

Yeah. So the three that first came to mind, the song Medicine by Daughter. That whole album. I talked about Daughter on here recently. Like, I was so into this band in college. Like, when I studied abroad my freshman year, my sophomore year, like, beyond my early 20s, like, now. Loved it. And similarly, I was really into Ben Howard. I don't know if you ever listened.

[Becca Freeman]

To him, but no, that is not our moment of overlap.

[Olivia Mentor]

I kind of figured it was the third one, which is my more shameful admission. But I loved the song Old Pine by Ben Howard. I still love that song. So the final song that really makes me think of college and that I just loved was Dark Horse by Katy Perry. And I want to say Juicy J. Juicy J.

[Becca Freeman]

Correct. Yep.

[Olivia Mentor]

Yes. Thank you again. Like, as soon as I hear the name, I just hear the beginning. It's like my brain is, like, clocking into gear. Oh, my God. I couldn't get enough of this stupid song with its weird serial killer reference, which is really. I still find inappropriate. But what is your memory with this song?

[Becca Freeman]

I was going to say here's a big age gap moment. So this is a college song for you. This is deeply associated with me for my friend Emily's destination wedding.

[Olivia Mentor]

What says wedding? More than I'll Eat yout Heart. Like Jeffrey Dahmer.

[Becca Freeman]

It was in Jamaica. And this song, it must have just come out. And we listened to this song so many times.

[Olivia Mentor]

It's really like, it makes me want to start jumping up and down right now, actually. Like, it makes me want to just rage in my cottage. It's like terrible, but catchy.

[Becca Freeman]

Oh yeah. Let's zoom forward. Let us to today. To today. But also more macro. Yeah, this actually gave me a small panic attack when I saw this in the outline. But if you had to pick some of your all time favorite songs, what are they?

[Olivia Mentor]

Yes. This is a really tough question. So, you know, I think we're doing our best. But much like the top three episode, it is possible that we will wake up in a cold sweat, think of something we forgot. Okay, so one of my very favorite songs I just adore is the Mother by Brandi Carlisle. This song will actually make me weep. Like at any point. Like I could be anywhere in the world and I would just instantly start crying. It is so gorgeous. Basically any Brandi Carlisle song is great, but this one, I just have such a soft spot in my heart for I think it's just endlessly, timelessly beautiful.

[Becca Freeman]

So wait, this is a sideways related tangent. So I saw this clip recently of Brandi Carlisle on the table manners podcast. The. Do you know the British podcast, they talk about food?

[Olivia Mentor]

I don't think so.

[Becca Freeman]

Anyway, Brandi Carlisle was on it recently and she was talking about how she lives on this compound. Do you know about this?

[Olivia Mentor]

No, but I really want to hear more because I'm obsessed with her.

[Becca Freeman]

I need to listen to the full episode because it's. This sounds fascinating, but she lives on this compound in Washington state with her wife and children. But then her band and her. I think two people in her band are married to her wife's sisters. Like, it's all very incestuous where like everyone lives on this compound. But then the punchline was that they all also have the same therapist. And so one of the guests was asking like, do you guys ever get in fights? And she was like, yes. And then I guess I think their therapist's name is Pam. And she's like, and Then we're like. When it happens, we're all like, gotta call Pam.

[Olivia Mentor]

I do know that two of the members of her band are twins.

[Becca Freeman]

Yep.

[Olivia Mentor]

They live on the boat, so that's actually even more identical twins. Or at least they look identical. That's very interesting. Yeah. I am fascinated by that.

[Becca Freeman]

Yeah. I've got to put that on my weekend listening to. Listen to the full podcast episode.

[Olivia Mentor]

I think she's, like, one of the greatest, like, artists of our time, like, Joni Mitchell level. But anyway, some other favorite songs. A couple songs that were from my wedding, which are always, like, really important to me. That's How Strong My Love Is by Otis Redding. And then Simple Life by the Weepies, which. The Simple Life was our first dance song. The Weepies are a husband and wife duo who have since divorced, which kind of adds. But I love the song still. It's just. It really, like, encapsulates, like, what I want for, like, Jake and I's partnership in our life. And I actually. In my. My veil, I had the lyrics embroidered into the bottom of it.

[Becca Freeman]

Oh, my gosh.

[Olivia Mentor]

Yeah, it's. I still adore it.

[Becca Freeman]

I don't know if I know this song. I think I'll have to. This'll have to be one of the ones that I'll listen to on the playlist.

[Olivia Mentor]

Yeah. It starts out with can I wake up in the morning, Put the kettle on, say hey to the birds. I mean, it's just very like me. And then also most of all by Brandi Carlisle. We did, like, a joint father, daughter, mother, son dance. Cause I was like, can we limit the amount of time that I have to like that we have to just, like, spin around in front of people is, like, actually my nightmare. So we combine them. And this is a song about her parents and also will make me weep hysterically. And also probably the Joke by Brandi Carlisle. I don't know if you ever watched her performance of this at the Grammys, like, six years ago.

[Becca Freeman]

I don't think I have.

[Olivia Mentor]

Stunning. And it's so inspirational. I just. I love her. And then finally, all too well. 10 minute version. Chef's Kiss. Perfect.

[Becca Freeman]

I was really stressed out by this question. I kind of took it to mean the songs that I've had an enduring relationship with and that still come on today. And I'm always excited to hear them. Like, I don't know how one defines one's favorite songs for you. It sounds like a lot of them have, like, personal emotional memories attached.

[Olivia Mentor]

I think you could. You could answer this Question a million different ways and it would totally be valid. So I could literally keep going.

[Becca Freeman]

It's stressful to pick favorites as an adult. You're like, I have so many options.

[Olivia Mentor]

We'll call them like gold star songs. Like this is a song that like, I mean, I think it's higher than the rest.

[Becca Freeman]

I came up with a list, so first one long enduring obsession with the song Silver Lining by Rilo Kiley.

[Olivia Mentor]

This is an excellent pick.

[Becca Freeman]

Excellent song.

[Olivia Mentor]

So good. You know, they're getting back together.

[Becca Freeman]

I think I saw that. I think I saw that hard. It races by Dr. Dog, which is an architecture and Helsinki cover. Love this song. The original song is not that good, but the COVID of it is great. I was trying to figure out what song to pick by Florence the Machine, which is been a very important artist to me and I can't really pick one. So I just picked Dog Days are Over, which also was a part of the Christmas Orphans club. It was very fun to get to put some of my own musical memories into that book. But there are so many Florence songs that have been very intertwined with emotional moments in my life. And then I felt like I needed to pick a Taylor Swift song too. And I think my song would probably be delicate.

[Olivia Mentor]

Interesting. Do you have a runner up Taylor song?

[Becca Freeman]

Maybe the one I like that.

[Olivia Mentor]

Those are kind of niche picks. Ish. Mine is very basic. I'm glad that Taylor made it on here though.

[Becca Freeman]

Yeah, I felt like she needed to.

[Olivia Mentor]

Is there a dream concert for you? Either one you have been to or one you would like to be at in the future.

[Becca Freeman]

Okay. So my two dream concerts that I've been to, my like best peak concert experiences I think were probably seeing Harry Styles in Paris. I was a medium Harry Styles fan and seeing him in concert was incredible. Like he just has such a showmanship to him. Like there is a reason that he is a star. And we were in the third to last row of this stadium and you could still feel it like we were in the nosebleeds.

[Olivia Mentor]

Ooh. That makes me want to see him live like a lot.

[Becca Freeman]

You should. You should. And you know, I was also pretty high up for eras and it didn't have this like with Harry Styles, you were like. You could feel the magnetism off of him. Eras just. And I think that's probably because it's a bigger venue too. It was like it was more about the crowd energy there versus like Taylor's performance. But I did see Reputation. I did see that tour and that was like a dream concert. I saw it in San Francisco. And then as far as, like, dream concerts that I want to go to, I want to see Florence and the Machine live or Florence Welch. I know it'll be great. Which she's touring under right now, but I would love to see.

[Olivia Mentor]

She's very interesting live and, like, clips I've seen. It's so witchy and fun.

[Becca Freeman]

Yeah, it's very like Fleetwood Mackie, kind of.

[Olivia Mentor]

Yeah.

[Becca Freeman]

So I would love to see that. I heard this week that there's a rumor that Harry Styles is in talk to do a 35 concert residency at the Sphere in Vegas. I would buy tickets for that. I would, like.

[Olivia Mentor]

That would be so fun.

[Becca Freeman]

I would drop some real money on that.

[Olivia Mentor]

I've heard the Sphere is amazing.

[Becca Freeman]

Me too. Me too. Okay, what about you? What are your dream concerts that you've been to or want to go to?

[Olivia Mentor]

ERAS Tour, to me was like a singular concert experience, like you said. It's more about just the overall being in a crowd like that. I don't think I'll ever experience something like that again. That was great. I saw Paolo Nuttini at an old ancient Colosseum in Sicily. That was incredible for €30. But my dream, I think, would be to go back in time, this is imagined, and to see this band that I have loved from high school, college on called Frightened Rabbit. It's a Scottish band. I've loved them for so long. Very sadly, the lead singer died by suicide. Oh. A little bit ago at this point, which is terrible. It's a really special band and he's a special person and it makes me sad. But I would love to have seen them live.

[Becca Freeman]

All right, shall we end it with some rapid fires before getting into some ED matter?

[Olivia Mentor]

Yes. Okay. An important one to me is a Pisces song that will make you cry every time.

[Becca Freeman]

I don't know if I have this, but if I try to think of the saddest song I can think of, it's the song called I Can Feel a Hot One by Manchester Orchestra.

[Olivia Mentor]

It is very sad.

[Becca Freeman]

Deeply sad.

[Olivia Mentor]

Like, even the tone of the singing voice is just like, whoa. Yeah, it's really sad. It's a good one.

[Becca Freeman]

I feel like you're more of a crier to music, though. What's bringing you to tears?

[Olivia Mentor]

I did cry this morning listening to who I Am by Jessica Andrews because I was like, it's my birthday. Life is good. I have friends and family that are great. Like, it's sunny. So. Yeah. So the Brandi Carlisle songs I mentioned 100%. There's something about her lyrics that just, ugh, get Me if Only by Fink, which I've mentioned because that really speaks to my like, pining for a different life nostalgia, which always makes me cry. And then finally, deeply sad. Just the first two piano notes. Gravity by Sara Bareilles. Have you heard this song?

[Becca Freeman]

I'm sure I have, but I can't call it to mind.

[Olivia Mentor]

It makes my whole body sink down when I think of it. It's so deeply beautiful but sad.

[Becca Freeman]

We're gonna have a lot of different moods represented on this playlist.

[Olivia Mentor]

Are you feeling manic? Turn on the Playlist by Becca and Olivia. Bad on paper, yeah. Okay. What about this is a fun one. A song to listen to while getting ready to go out. A prime experience of womanhood.

[Becca Freeman]

Okay. Too Much by Carly Rae Jepsen off of her underappreciated second album. I think it's a great song. I think an always song that just makes me feel like, happy and like dancey and excited as I Want to Dance with Somebody by Whitney Houston.

[Olivia Mentor]

Great.

[Becca Freeman]

And then I am having a moment with this song right now, which is probably two or three years old, but Single soon by Selena Gomez, a very forgettable single that she put out, has great getting ready energy.

[Olivia Mentor]

Okay. I'll have to check that out when I make the playlist because I don't know if that comes to mind immediately for me.

[Becca Freeman]

What are you getting ready to always.

[Olivia Mentor]

And forever call your girlfriend or Dancing on my own Robin. Yep, it's good. And then any Florence like in the machine. Just all of it. Dog days are over. Whatever. All of it. So good.

[Becca Freeman]

What about a song to play on a perfect spring day, driving with the windows down.

[Olivia Mentor]

As I mentioned earlier at the top of the episode, Dreams by the Cranberries again, I turn the song on. It's like I'm spinning in a field of daisies. Like I'm running around with my arms wide open wearing a big flowy skirt. Just sun shining on me. Like, you know the scene in the Teletubbies at the beginning with the hills.

[Becca Freeman]

Yeah, that's you.

[Olivia Mentor]

I'm running across those hills, like bouncing around, skipping. Great. And then also, this is specifically for the car, but I did listen to it this morning as well.

[Becca Freeman]

It's quite a warning for the fact that we got on here at 9:10am.

[Olivia Mentor]

I'm feeling like so jazzed. It's a problem. But Heads Tales California by Jodi Messina is a great car sing along song. What about you? Tell me yours.

[Becca Freeman]

I think this Might be because I specifically associate it with a road trip I took. I drove cross country when I moved to San Francisco when I was 24. Pretty Girl Rock by Kerry Hilston will always be a car song for me.

[Olivia Mentor]

Okay.

[Becca Freeman]

And then in terms of just like the weather of this prompt, I Feel like Real Love Baby by Father John Misty is just like everything is good. We're driving, we're on back roads. We're not on the highway for that.

[Olivia Mentor]

Oh yeah, Teletubby Hills. But like the roads going through the.

[Becca Freeman]

Yeah, exactly. Yeah.

[Olivia Mentor]

Are there any songs you can't stop listening to right now?

[Becca Freeman]

There are a couple. I really like the song called Knock the Wind out of Me by FEA James. And when I was looking on Spotify, you know how it tells you the number of listens the artist has in a month? This one is like 20,000. Which then made me self conscious that. Have you read any of those articles about how Spotify is trying to like pump up AI music or royalty free music so that they don't have to pay out artist royalties? I was like, is this a real artist?

[Olivia Mentor]

I don't think so, but that's really disturbing.

[Becca Freeman]

Yeah. So I was like, have I tricked by the algorithm? But I really like this song that's really dark. I'm also very into Del Water Gap right now. And there's this song called Glitter and Honey that is on my 2025 playlist that I really am into. And then my last one is kind of the whole album in general. But if I was to pick a song, it would be Nonchalant by Suki Waterhouse. I think I dismissed Suki Waterhouse, Robert Pattinson's wife as a beautiful artist made.

[Olivia Mentor]

It onto the playlist.

[Becca Freeman]

But I was really. I listened to her album, I was really into it. And I went with two girlfriends to a concert of hers in December. And the concert was mind blowingly good. Like a top concert that I've been to.

[Olivia Mentor]

I remember you talking about this. She has a lot of just natural charisma.

[Becca Freeman]

She does. She is playing small venues. So you know, in terms of there's not choreography, it's just kind of her vamping around the stage is designed really cool. She brings out a lot of guests and the vibe of this concert was so good and it just made me fall so much harder for this album.

[Olivia Mentor]

I'll check it out.

[Becca Freeman]

What can you not stop listening to right now?

[Olivia Mentor]

I love the song called Then youn Can Tell Me Goodbye by Betty Swan. I think this is quite old. I have absolutely no Idea how I came across it, but, like, the tone of her voice at the beginning of the song is ethereal. It's gorgeous. I love it so much. Also, no idea where I found this song. Cowboy Gangster Politician by Goldie Bouthillier. Great name. She sounds exactly to me like Stevie Nicks. This is a really fun song.

[Becca Freeman]

I am going to have to listen to both of these. These are ringing Nobels again.

[Olivia Mentor]

I have no idea where they came from, but I love them both a lot.

[Becca Freeman]

Do you listen to your Spotify Discover every week?

[Olivia Mentor]

Not every week, but I try to. I would say it's like 20% and I'm like, oh, yeah, great, I found something. But I love both of these. And then a more recent honorable mention goes to Anxiety by Sleepy Hollow and Dochi, which is like, I don't even know how I would really describe it. Like rap, but also not. I don't know, it samples. I'm 90% sure. Somebody that I Used to Know by Gaultier.

[Becca Freeman]

And it all comes back to Gaultier.

[Olivia Mentor]

I love all the different threads connecting here. We have spouses, we have Robert Pattinson. We have Dochi, Gaultier. Anyway, it's a really fun song and especially fun to work out to.

[Becca Freeman]

All right.

[Olivia Mentor]

What a playlist.

[Becca Freeman]

We've built a jaunt down memory lane.

[Olivia Mentor]

I've had so much fun.

[Becca Freeman]

But we still have more. We have n matter.

[Olivia Mentor]

What are you obsessed with?

[Becca Freeman]

Okay, this weekend, when I was planning my trip to France, I all of a sudden had this panic. I don't speak French, but I know some polite French and some phrases. And I was like, I'm so rusty on my French. And so I redownloaded Duolingo and I haven't had Duolingo in a few years, probably. And it has gotten so much better. I signed up for the Max one, which is like the highest, most expensive subscription. And they now have this feature where you have fake video calls with a cartoon person. It's so helpful for actually practicing conversation.

[Olivia Mentor]

That's so interesting.

[Becca Freeman]

Yeah. And then they have another feature where you listen to, like, a fake podcast of two people talking about something. Then you have to. So it's like, at speed, kind of more regular conversations than the type of beginner phrases that you would be learning. I was really impressed by some of the changes that they made to their app.

[Olivia Mentor]

That's the example of, like, AI used for good. Like, let's help us become smarter in a way that doesn't destroy our creativity and the planet, please.

[Becca Freeman]

Yeah, I'm on the free trial still, but I Think I'm gonna let it go to the full subscription because I'm going to Sicily at the end of August. And I was like, oh, so then I'll just switch to Italian after my trip.

[Olivia Mentor]

Nice. And there's probably a lot of overlap with those two languages.

[Becca Freeman]

I actually find Italian much easier because I can sort of speak Spanish. I was fluent at one point. I wouldn't say that anymore, but I feel like Italian and Spanish are much closer versus I find French and especially pronunciation very difficult.

[Olivia Mentor]

Same. I mean, we all listen to the Isla episode, so I really do struggle as well. That sounds fun.

[Becca Freeman]

It's your birthday week. You don't have an obsession.

[Olivia Mentor]

I do. I take this back.

[Becca Freeman]

It said na in the duck, and I was like, what?

[Olivia Mentor]

No, I didn't have one. But this morning I discovered something, and I need to talk about it.

[Becca Freeman]

I was actually. Sorry to keep cutting off. I was actually wondering if it was gonna be your pink Gap pants and if you were gonna go three for three weeks on big pants.

[Olivia Mentor]

I am obsessed with those Gap pants. Like, deeply. But no. My obsession this week is two bald eagles named. Two bald eagles named Jackie and Shadow that live in Big Bear, and they have a live camera.

[Becca Freeman]

How do you know about them? Through Instagram or the Internet?

[Olivia Mentor]

I don't actually know. I might have seen it on somewhere.

[Becca Freeman]

I thought they were gonna be more local to you.

[Olivia Mentor]

No, no. Like, this morning, I was. I was watching Jackie sleep for, like, 10 minutes in the live camp. Cause it's like, 4am I guess it's in California. Anyway, they have eaglets, and they protect them, and they, like, ward off these ravens. And you can watch them at any time. Like, I'm gonna. Hold on. I'm gonna tune in right now and tell you what they're doing.

[Becca Freeman]

Where does one tune in? Do they have a website? Is this on social?

[Olivia Mentor]

YouTube? Look at this. Like, she's holding it up to the.

[Becca Freeman]

Screen, and it's just an eagle sitting in a snowy hole.

[Olivia Mentor]

Well, yes, but first of all, her name is Jackie, and she has babies under her, and she just watches out for them at all times. I just love that. Like, in three hours, I can be like, what's Jackie doing? Where's Shadow? How are they?

[Becca Freeman]

So you're developing a strong parasocial relationship to two eagles is what you're telling me?

[Olivia Mentor]

Yes. It's just really wholesome. Like, I just love that at any point, I can be like, what's Jackie up to? And I can just check in. Anyway, Jackie and Shadow love you guys.

[Becca Freeman]

What about on the reading front, I.

[Olivia Mentor]

Finished three books this week. The first is, yeah, I don't know, between the Eagles and Pants. I'm just doing a lot over here. But I read the Ghostwriter by Julie Clarke, who I think her most popular book is the Last Flight, and this is her third. It's about a ghostwriter who returns to her estranged father's home to, like, write the story of a famous murder that he was involved in as a child or a teenager. This is a good thriller. I did. I liked. I was kind of medium on it. Grace loved this, so I was like, I'm going to give it a try. It was definitely just a pretty standard, great thriller. If you love kind of publishing industry stuff, you'd really like it. It didn't blow me away, but I still enjoyed it. I also read the Three Lives of K by Kate Fagan, which one of my best friends raved about.

[Becca Freeman]

I've heard a lot about this.

[Olivia Mentor]

It's very good. I loved it. It's very Evelyn Hugo. I'll just say that it was really an interesting read, like, as a writer, because all of the choices the author made are things that I would never think to do, but it just works so perfectly. So it's just. It's different. It's great. I loved it. And then I also read the Art of Vanishing by Morgan Pager, friend of the POD NYC book girl.

[Becca Freeman]

Oh, my gosh. So excited.

[Olivia Mentor]

July. It's really charming. It's about this woman who is a janitor at a museum, which is based on, I believe, the Barnes foundation in Philadelphia, which is a lovely place. And she figures out she can go into the paintings and she ends up falling in love with the subject of one of them. And if you love art, I think this will be 100% for you.

[Becca Freeman]

I'm so excited. This is in my near term. Next up pile. But I was complaining before we got on here that I'm doing a very poor job of reading because I think I need to stop watching so much Lost.

[Olivia Mentor]

It's all consuming. I get it.

[Becca Freeman]

It really is.

[Olivia Mentor]

Well, I still see you've read something I did.

[Becca Freeman]

Well, I listened to something. I listened to. Did not see this coming for me, but I listened to Greenlights, which is Matthew McConaughey's memoir. People love this, Olivia. It's really good.

[Olivia Mentor]

My brother, like, sings the praises of this book. And I was like, okay, first of.

[Becca Freeman]

All, it's really short. It's six hours. He talks so fast. It's the only time I've ever listened to an audiobook on 1x speed. He has a fascinating childhood. Like I was saying to one of my group techs, I was like, if you put Barbara Kingsolver's name on the COVID this would have a Pulitzer. Like, it is so specific and so bizarre.

[Olivia Mentor]

Like, I know a little bit about his childhood, and it kind of like, makes more sense when you consider him.

[Becca Freeman]

I didn't know anything about him. I had very much prejudged him as being a hot, dumb jock. And so I was really, you know, like, I've. I've watched obviously his romantic comedies, but I was very surprised by hearing him talk about his own life and experiences and his thoughtfulness. It was just. It was very unexpected for me. And so the book is like, part memoir of his life. It's part, like, kind of motivational, inspirational. He has a lot of, like, calls them bumper stickers of, like, words of wisdom and then there's Hollywood gossip in it. He talks a lot about his career. I devoured this.

[Olivia Mentor]

Did it make you more or less likely to vote for him if he runs for office one day?

[Becca Freeman]

It depends what he runs as.

[Olivia Mentor]

Okay, I'm gonna keep this one on my radar. I've only heard good things.

[Becca Freeman]

I feel like it would be a great road trip book too, like, if you and Jake were driving. Because it's like, I do think it has crowd pleaser energy.

[Olivia Mentor]

Okay, noted.

[Becca Freeman]

All right, that is what we've got. Basically this whole episode was a warmup for next week when we are doing our book club discussion about Deep Cuts by Holly Brickley, which is so entrenched in the early aughts indie music scene. It is about these two people who meet in college at Berkeley in the year 2000, who are bound together by music. He is a musician, and she is, I guess, kind of like a music critic or just has very strong opinions about music but no musical talent of her own. And they develop a friendship with a tinge of is there more there? And the book follows them over the next eight years kind of as they go through different phases of their life and kind of how they come in and out of each other's lives. I saw this described as indie sleaze Tomorrow and Tomorrow, and I think that is deadly accurate. So if that appeals to you in any way, I think you'll like this. I also did a book event conversation with her last week, and she said her two references were high fidelity meets normal people. Again, very accurate. So if any of that appeals to you, I would love for you to join us next week. For our book club discussion. You can follow us on Instagram batonpaper podcast. You can join our Geneva group, which is basically like a chat room app. By downloading the app and searching for batonpaper. You can join our Facebook group. We're on there. Batonpaper. Lots of great discussion happening there recently.

[Olivia Mentor]

You can follow me oliviamentor on Instagram or on Substack. And you can follow Shadow and Jackie the Eagles at Big bear Lake on YouTube, because I know that's the one question you have after all of this, you're like, where can I find the eagles?

[Becca Freeman]

I don't even need. I cede my time to Shadow and Jackie. I don't even need to plug myself. That's what we've got for you. Happy birthday, Olivia.

[Olivia Mentor]

Thank you. Bye.