Teaser // Brian Wilson: IN THE KEY OF DISNEY

Summary

Jokermen Podcast: Teaser // Brian Wilson: IN THE KEY OF DISNEY

Date: March 12, 2026
Hosts: Jokermen

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Episode Overview

This teaser episode of the Jokermen podcast sets the stage for a deep dive into Brian Wilson: In the Key of Disney. The hosts riff humorously on the album’s unusual cover art, muse about the aesthetic and existential impact of AI-inspired visuals, and digress into a lively, detail-filled discussion about new soda flavors, beverages, and personal wellness in 2026. The tone is playful, irreverent, and full of the hosts’ characteristic banter.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Album Art Impressions: Is It Brown or Orange?

[00:39–03:13]

• Hosts open with reactions to the fascinating cover of In the Key of Disney. It’s described as a “beautiful album cover” with a look that “anticipat[es] the aesthetic of AI 15 years in advance done by human beings.”

  • “There is a specific AI look or a few specific AI looks. You know?” (A, 01:16)
  • The cover evokes an artificial, plasticky quality:
    “That horrid, lifeless sheen... it’s too perfect. It’s not... It’s plasticky.” (B, 01:22)
  • The iconic color debate ensues:
    • “They’re calling it the brownest album of all time.” (B, 01:58)
    • “It’s giving Street Legal a run for its money... in terms of brown levels” (A, 02:03)
    • “Where does brown... brown end and orange begin?” (B, 02:12)
    • “I always have kind of thought of this record as orange... but it is closely brown.” (A, 02:26–02:38)
  • Closer inspection reveals “wood grain” at the top, adding a textured look (B, 02:46–02:56).

• They riff on the inclusion of the “Woody” car and a surreal “sunset of the mouse”—their nickname for the stylized Mickey Mouse sun on the cover.

2. Bit of Absurdist Lore: The Mickey Mouse Sun

[03:04–04:52]

• The hosts joke about “Michael Mouse” as the formal name for Mickey, drawing comparison to William Joel (Billy Joel).
  • “He’s Michael Mouse.” (A, 03:16)
  • “That’s not someone who exists.” (B, 03:25)
• They indulge in wild speculation about a cosmic apocalypse if our sun became a Mickey Mouse face:
  • “Just imagine like the cosmic event that this would be, like if the sun somehow turned into a Mickey type shape... we’d be in for quite a fright.” (A, 04:05–04:17)
  • “It’s the instant before all life on earth is incinerated by this endless blast of nuclear sun power, finally come to wipe us all away once and for all. In the key of Disney.” (A, 04:41–04:53)

3. Soda and Beverage Talk: New Flavors and Modern Habits

[04:53–11:32]

• The conversation shifts to sodas, with the hosts comparing new Coke flavors, especially the “cherry float” Coke Zero.

  • “I got a soda... New Coke... cherry float flavor.” (A, 05:01–05:08)
  • “[Cherry float] is them combining vanilla and cherry Coke.” (B, 05:15)
  • “Now they’re providing it to you in one bottle.” (A, 05:44)
  • The hosts lament the saturation of “gimmicky flavors,” so-called “slow hanging fruit.”
  • Curious and skeptical: “Why is this not just vanilla Coke plus cherry Coke?” (B, 05:22)
  • “Trader Joe’s tonic water.” (B, 10:00)

• They note recent trends in sodas:

  • “There’s 7Up, Shirley Temple flavor... eight flavors of Mountain Dew... Dr. Pepper cherry. I thought Dr. Pepper was already kind of cherry, but they have Dr. Pepper cherry...” (A, 06:47–07:05)
  • “Pepsi is even selling one of the poopy sodas now... with the probiotics and the fiber.” (A, 07:10)

• Discussion on specialized sodas, like Coca-Cola’s Japanese “Coke Plus” (with dietary fiber), and the unique qualities of these international variants:

  • “Coke Plus... has dietary fiber added to it, apparently. You can notice there’s a noticeable pop when you unscrew the top...” (B, 07:34–08:41)

• Taste testing and wellness angle:

  • “Coke, cherry float, One star. Tastes like cherry Coke mostly with just, like, a little bit of vanilla... I’m on a bit of a cut program at the moment.” (A, 08:51)
  • “I’m telling you that Coke Zero is not bad.” (B, 09:17)
  • “I will probably drink this whole bottle instead of... Diet Coke I would just let it sit...” (A, 09:43)

4. Non-alcoholic Beverages and Lifestyle Choices

[10:03–11:17]

• Discussion pivots to hop-flavored seltzers as a beer alternative for those abstaining from alcohol:
  • “You ever have one of these? The Hop Waters Lagunitas?” (A, 10:03)
  • “Oh, those are delicious. I can’t get enough of that.” (A, 10:11)
  • “You got to kind of stick with the classics... but the hop flavor... has got sort of a depth and sort of an earthiness, but at the same time, it’s sort of citrusy.” (A, 10:31)
• The health-conscious, calorie-cutting mindset:
  • “If I’m gonna cut out the getting drunk part, then I wanna cut out the calories also.” (A, 11:01)
  • “We’re all trying to better ourselves here in 2026. As the flaming mouse sun encroaches ever further upon this planet...” (A, 11:17)

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Notable Quotes & Moments

• Existential dread meets Disney:
  “It’s the instant before all life on earth is incinerated by this endless blast of nuclear sun power, finally come to wipe us all away once and for all. In the key of Disney.”
  —A, [04:41–04:53]

• Art versus AI:
  “There is a specific AI look or a few specific AI looks. You know?... this. It’s plasticky.”
  —B, [01:16–01:22]

• On soda innovation:
  “Coke, cherry float, One star. Tastes like cherry Coke mostly with just, like, a little bit of vanilla. Although I am drinking... the zero sugar type... I’m on a bit of a cut program at the moment.”
  —A, [08:51]

• On the album’s visual identity:
  “Where does brown end and orange begin?”
  —B, [02:12]

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• AI/Album Art & Color Debate: [00:39–03:13]
• Mickey Mouse Sun & Comic Apocalypse: [03:04–04:53]
• Soda, Cherry Coke, New Flavors: [04:53–07:36]
• Japanese Coke Plus & Soda Rituals: [07:36–09:43]
• Cutting Calories, Coke Zero Discussion: [08:51–10:03]
• Hop Water, NA Alternatives, Health Kick: [10:03–11:17]
• Return to Main Topic: [11:17–11:32]

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Style & Tone

The episode is rich in playful, off-kilter humor, underscored by deep fandom for Brian Wilson and a constant sense of irreverent fun. The hosts’ banter combines surreal speculation (the apocalyptic “flaming mouse sun” of Disney), critical takes on aesthetic trends, and relatable asides about personal habits and contemporary beverage culture. This teaser delights in digression while promising more in-depth exploration of In the Key of Disney in future episodes.

Transcript

[A]

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[B]

What a beautiful album cover.

[A]

Right. As we discussed with Ray, sort of proto AI

[B]

but the thing is, it's simply not AI but done by exactly

[A]

anticipating the aesthetic of AI 15 years in advance done by human beings.

[B]

Well, that's kind of how AI works. AI just anticipates what the entire history of art and things being made was, and then just it. It funnels it through its guts.

[A]

There is a specific AI look or a few specific AI looks. You know?

[B]

And I know what you mean. That the horrid, lifeless sheen, the feeling that it has. It's too perfect. It's not. I don't know, this. It's plasticky.

[A]

Yeah. There's a sheen to it. There's a simplicity to it. Everything seems like it's got sort of some gauze or Vaseline over the lens a little bit. And that's very much what we have going on on the COVID of Brian Wilson in the key of Disney.

[B]

But this is real artwork. This is the real art.

[A]

I love it.

[B]

Made by human hands. It's the brownest. They're calling it the brownest album of all time.

[A]

That's right. It's giving Street Legal a run for its money in terms of. Or actually, it's giving Slow Trend Cummin a run for its money in terms of brown levels.

[B]

Well, the brown levels are off the charts. Because it's really asking a kind of question of you as the viewer of this piece, this piece of artwork. Where does brown. Brown end and orange begin?

[A]

Yeah, I was gonna say. I always have kind of thought of this record as orange on the COVID Boy, this is a great line of conversation already. What color is the album cover?

[B]

Okay, sure, yeah, it's orange.

[A]

I almost imagined it as. Right, I've kind of imagined it as orange. But I'm looking at it now, and it is closely brown. You're right.

[B]

Not just brown, but take a closer look at the top section especially. That is a wood grain.

[A]

Yeah, yeah.

[B]

There. This is like a. As if. As if you're looking deep into the side of a Woody.

[A]

Of a Woody.

[B]

And that's exactly what we have on the COVID is a Woody staring at

[A]

a beautiful sunset of the mouse himself. Michael across Michael.

[B]

That's not his name. That's not what.

[A]

He's Michael Mouse.

[B]

That's just not what his name is.

[A]

It's same way that Billy Joel is William Joel. He's Michael Mouse.

[B]

Actually Billy Joel is more William Joel than Michael Mouse has ever been. That's not someone who exists. That's like you just did a Charlie Brown head hoes. You know, people just say anything.

[A]

I'm just trying to have fun.

[B]

Well you don't need to try to have fun when you've got Mickey Mouse. He's. His presence is fun itself.

[A]

That's right.

[B]

Even if it's just alluded to generally by this stylized son. If this was really happening, by the way, something just imagine like the cosmic event that this would be like of

[A]

the sun somehow turned into a Mickey. Mickey type shape instead of a sphere.

[B]

Yeah. If there were two other suns coming protruding out of the top of our sun,

[A]

we'd be in for quite a fright.

[B]

I think we would probably be only alive for a few more moments.

[A]

Probably.

[B]

I think that's what this, this picture is of. It's. It's. It's actually one. It's 1 million degrees right now on in this picture that the sea is boiling and there's a skeleton in the front of this Woody.

[A]

It's the instant before all life on earth is incinerated by this endless blast of nuclear sun power finally come to wipe us all away once and for all.

[B]

In the key of Disney.

[A]

In the key of Disney. That's right. I forgot to say also I've got a soda to drink here. I meant to. I got a.

[B]

What?

[A]

I got a soda.

[B]

What kind?

[A]

Not a root beer. New Coke. Have you seen the new Coke?

[B]

What do you mean which one?

[A]

I mean the new Coke.

[B]

Look at it. See it? Is it berry?

[A]

It's cherry float Coke. Cherry float flavor.

[B]

I don't really feel like that's a new Coke. I feel like that is them combining vanilla and cherry Coke.

[A]

There's literally. Do you see? Do you see the bottle I'm holding? There's a big, big circle right on there that says new. So I'm going to trust the Coca Cola Corporation.

[B]

What about this is different? I'm curious. I'm open mindedly curious. Why is this not just vanilla Coke plus cherry Coke I think that basically

[A]

is what it is. But that's not typically a flavor that is sold. I don't think there's vanilla Coke, there's cherry Coke. But vanilla Cherry Coke, you'd have to mix that up yourself. Now they're providing it to you in one bottle. They're calling it, like I said, cherry float. It's pretty good Cherry vanilla.

[B]

I'm just wondering if there's any difference. Like. Or if they just. Yeah. Bottled what any. Any man on the street. Any person, I should say can do on the freestyle machine.

[A]

Well, look, we don't all have freestyle machines in our kitchens. I don't know. I guess you do. Apparently you can just mix up whatever particular concoction you see fit. But some of us have to go to the grocery store and buy our Coke the old fashioned way in a

[B]

bottle just seems kind of like. Like a release that doesn't. It's not very exciting because it's not really introducing anything that we haven't heard of before. It's just kind of slow hanging fruit.

[A]

I have noticed the sodas. There's all sorts of new sodas out there these days. Have you. Have you seen. Have you seen this?

[B]

Tell me more.

[A]

I mean, just all the different flavors. There's. There's 7Up, Shirley Temple flavor. There's 7Up. Like tropical summer citrus punch. There's like eight flavors of Mountain Dew. There's Dr. Pepper cherry. I thought Dr. Pepper was already kind of cherry, but they have Dr. Pepper cherry on top of that.

[B]

Yeah, isn't it already. See, this is what I mean. We got to get. This cherry thing is not.

[A]

Pepsi is even selling one of the poopy sodas now. Pepsi poopy with the, with the probiotics in it and the fiber. That's got to be terrible.

[B]

Is it actually a. Like a. They own that brand now?

[A]

No, I think it's a different brand. But that's the thing is like they're imitating that brand because they apparently.

[B]

See, you're not saying that there is. That's actually poppy or brand Pepsi.

[A]

No, but it's that type of thing which.

[B]

Okay, because that's. I'll vouch for a soda that I like. Coca Cola has a Japanese version. I've talked about this before. Coke plus, which comes in a white bottle, plastic bottle. And that, that one has dietary fiber added to it, apparently.

[A]

Does it have that weird like, piss like flavor that the other sodas have?

[B]

No, it's not. There's no like prebiotics. It's just like it happens to have dietary fiber, I guess, but it's. It's got. It's just like a really good version of Coke for some reason. It's. It's just good. Like, one cool thing about these, and I'm sure I've mentioned this before, but the Coke plus, you can find them at, like, a Asian grocery store or Japanese supermarket sometimes, but you can notice there's a noticeable pop when you unscrew the top of just the plastic bottle. It's like a really firm, like, cracking pop that regular Coke doesn't have.

[A]

That's great to hear.

[B]

I don't know why, but it's.

[A]

I'll pick that up. I.

[B]

So I think that what we're seeing with Pepsi there is. It's Pepsi imitating Coke Plus.

[A]

Well. Well, in any case, it's gotta be terrible. Coke, Coke, cherry float, One star. Tastes like cherry Coke mostly with just, like, a little bit of vanilla. Although I am drinking. I'll have you know, I'm drinking the zero sugar type today, which I. Which I chose willingly of my own accord here because I'm on a bit of a cut program at the moment. And so I'm trying to avoid too many extraneous calories. Honestly, it's not that bad. I don't know if I'm getting.

[B]

I'm telling you that Coke Zero is not bad.

[A]

I'm. I don't know if I'm getting. I might be getting more of a taste for.

[B]

No, no, no.

[A]

The fake shit.

[B]

It. They've gotten better at it. Like, they've definitely improved what Coke Zero sugar is now versus what it used to be and definitely versus what Diet Coke is still like. I. I think it really is, like, hard to tell the difference.

[A]

Yes. I mean, I can still tell the difference, but it definitely, like, it's drinkable. I will probably drink this whole bottle instead of, like, if it were the Diet Coke type flavor, I would just let it sit and, you know, have had the sip, but. Interesting. All right, well, I'm just drinking more new Coke.

[B]

Trader Joe's tonic water.

[A]

You know what else I've been drinking recently? I don't know. You ever have one of these? The Hop Waters Lagunitas?

[B]

Yeah, I have that sometimes.

[A]

Oh, those are delicious. I can't get enough of that.

[B]

They're not bad. I like hoppy things.

[A]

Hoppy things, exactly.

[B]

Yeah.

[A]

I mean, you know, I will just crush seltzers and Lacroix and stuff, you know, all day, but they get a little boring. And a lot of the, like, kind of Berry flavors or like the. The, like gimmicky flavors are not so good. So you got to kind of stick with the classics in many cases. But the hop flavor has got. There's just something to it. It's got sort of a depth and sort of an earthiness, but at the same time, it's sort of citrusy. It's very. I find it very satisfying.

[B]

It's hops, I think. Enjoy this other drink, beer.

[A]

Well, that's what I'm saying is I'm on this pro. I'm not drinking beer right now. I can't drink beer. And so rather than, you know, some people will do, like, the N A, no alcohol beer, the Athletics and so on, and that's fine too.

[B]

It's like the same thing, virtually.

[A]

Well, yeah, that's the thing is, like, if you're gonna drink that, like, you're getting. Not the benefit of beer, which is it makes you drunk, but you are getting the detriment of beer, which is the calories. And so if I'm gonna cut out the getting drunk part, then I wanna cut out the calories also.

[B]

Sure, sure.

[A]

We're all trying to better ourselves here in 2026. As the flaming mouse sun encroaches ever further upon this planet with each passing day.

[B]

In the Key of Disney album is what we're talking about.

[A]

By the way, this has been not root beer report.