SmartLess Presents ClueLess: Episode 203 – “Bot Bops”

Guests: Max Silvestri & Gabe Liedman
Host: Elliott Kalan
Date: November 24, 2025

Episode Overview

This rapid-fire, puzzle-filled episode tests guest co-hosts Max Silvestri and Gabe Liedman on two main challenges: identifying the common link in a set of mysterious three-letter words, and playing “Bot Bops”—a game in which an AI “bot” recites pop song lyrics in robotic style, prompting the guests to guess the song title and performer. With humorous banter and plenty of playfulness, Elliott leads the way as Max and Gabe aim to best this episode’s puzzles and prove themselves as true ClueLess champs.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Opening Puzzle: The Three-Letter Word Challenge

[00:30–05:53]

• Elliott shares a (silly) story about expanding his vocabulary by eating a dictionary and now only being able to “burp up” three-letter words: Den, Sea, Can, Mad, Sin, Lax, Bog.
• He challenges Max and Gabe to deduce the common characteristic connecting these words.

Solution Discovery:

• Max: “I believe that these are all airport codes.” [02:13]

• Elliott confirms: “These are all three-lettered IATA airport codes for major airports. Excellent work.” [02:16]

• The hosts then attempt to match each code to the respective airports (with plenty of comedy and digressions):

  • LAX – Los Angeles [03:02]
  • DEN – Denver [03:17]
  • SEA – Seattle Tacoma (SeaTac) [03:51]
  • SIN – Singapore Changi [04:13]
  • MAD – Madrid [04:24]
  • BOG – Bogota, Colombia [04:38]
  • CAN – Guangzhou, China [05:21]

Highlights:

• On LAX:

  • Gabe: “I think that’s going to go ahead and be Los Angeles, folks. Beautiful town, wonderful airport.” [03:02]
  • Elliott: “The best part of the city. Don’t leave.” [03:08]

• On DEN (Denver):

  • Max: “That’s gonna be the famous Illuminati airport. Denver.” [03:17]

• On CAN:

  • Elliott (joking): “It would be very funny if [Canada] did [have only one airport], though. And it’s right in the middle.” [05:09]
  • Solution: Guangzhou, China [05:21]

2. Main Game: Bot Bops

[07:25–16:08]

Elliott introduces “Bot Bops”: the AI bot reads lyrics in its monotone style. The guests must identify the song and the original artist. Points are awarded for correct guesses.

Bot Bop #1

[08:11–08:52]

• Lyrics: “Love can touch us one time and last for a lifetime… near, far, wherever you are…”
• Guess:
  • Gabe: “I think it’s My Heart Will Go On by Celine Dion. And that was actually her demo, right?” [08:41]
• Bot: Confirms correctness.

Bot Bop #2

[09:09–10:21]

• Lyrics: “Won’t you come see about me… don’t you forget about me…”
• Guess:
  • Gabe/Max (jokingly): Unsure of the artist.
  • Elliott: “By Anonymous.”
• Bot: “Don’t You Forget About Me by Simple Minds.” [10:21]
• Gabe: “I just saw them live last night…it’s so crazy. And they didn’t play that.” [10:27]

Bot Bop #3

[10:50–11:43]

• Lyrics: “His palms are sweaty, knees weak, arms are heavy…”
• Guess:
  • Max: “I think this is Lose Yourself by M and M’s.” [11:37]
• Bot: “Lose Yourself by Eminem.” [11:43]
• Elliott (joking): “Full credit even though you use the plural.” [11:45]
• Fun exchange about songs about “mom’s spaghetti.” [11:22–11:34]

Bot Bop #4

[12:08–13:16]

• Lyrics: “No, I never felt like this before, yes I swear it’s the truth and I owe it all to you…”
• Guess:
  • Gabe: “I’ve Had The Time of My Life by two musical artists on the Dirty Dancing soundtrack, was, I believe, their full name.” [12:39]
  • Max: “…by Patrick Swayze and Jennifer Beals. Yeah, that’s who sung.”
  • Gabe: “Jennifer Beals. We’re so sorry. Jennifer Grey, literally.” [12:59]
• Bot: “I’ve Had The Time of My Life by Bill Medley and Jennifer Warnes.” [13:16]
• Gabe (joking): “Now what’s kind of screwed up there is that Medley is a collection of songs, not a last name.” [13:20]

Bot Bop #5

[13:48–14:59]

• Lyrics: “I get low and I get high and if I can’t get either, I really try… whether you’re a brother or whether you’re a mother, you’re blank blank blank… staying alive, by the Bee Gees.”
• Guesses:
  • Gabe: “Is that Dancing in the Streets by… David Bowie and his friend Mick Jagger?”
  • Max: “I thought it was the Ghostbusters song…”
• Bot: “Stayin’ Alive by Bee Gees.” [14:57]
• Elliott: “Didn’t recognize the lyrics? Ha ha ha ha. Ahaha.” [15:02]

Score Recap:

• 6 out of 10 possible points (1 point each for correct song/artist pair).

3. The Mega Clue

[16:08–17:24]

Challenge:
Elliott: “I need you to tell me, what is the common theme that connects all of these songs? And can you name another song in that same category or theme?” [16:11]

• Gabe: First guesses “anthems of survival,” then pivots.
• Elliott: “I want you to think less about the content... and more about the use of these songs.” [17:01]
• Gabe: “They’re all soundtracks. They’re all songs from soundtracks.” [17:05]
• Max: Offers “I Just Can’t Wait to Be King” from The Lion King as another example. [17:11]
• Elliott: Confirms: “All songs made famous being in movies as movie themes.” [17:19]

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• “Sometimes when we do a word game, it’s not about what the words mean. It’s about some other thing about them.” — Elliott [02:16]
• “His palms are sweaty, knees weak, arms are heavy, there’s vomit on his sweater already, mom’s spaghetti.” — Bot [10:50]
• “People write songs about love, they write songs about sadness, and they write songs about mom’s spaghetti. Those are the three main subjects.” — Elliott [11:27]
• “Didn’t recognize the lyrics? Ha ha ha ha. Ahaha.” — Elliott, after the Bee Gees reveal [15:02]
• “That might be the only song so far where, like, there was some real magic lost in the Robo cover.” — Max, after “Stayin’ Alive” [15:39]
• “I’ve had to use the bathroom for the past 15 minutes. So before I do permanent damage to my kidneys, I... Let’s bring this show to a close.” — Elliott [17:54]

Important Timestamps

• [00:30] – Introduction of the “burped-up” dictionary puzzle
• [02:13] – Puzzle solution: “They’re all airport codes.”
• [03:02–05:21] – Rapid-fire airport code ID game
• [07:25] – Start of “Bot Bops”
• [08:11] – “My Heart Will Go On” Bot Bop
• [09:09] – “Don’t You Forget About Me” Bot Bop
• [10:50] – “Lose Yourself” Bot Bop
• [12:08] – “I’ve Had The Time of My Life” Bot Bop
• [13:48] – “Stayin’ Alive” Bot Bop
• [16:08] – Mega Clue: Guess the theme of all five songs

Tone & Language

The episode maintains the series’ signature blend of clever wordplay, casual irreverence, and inside-joke humor. The guests and host riff constantly (sometimes digressing or throwing out ridiculous guesses), but ultimately return to the challenges with good-natured competitiveness and self-deprecating laughs.

Takeaways

• Puzzle-solving is more than definitions—sometimes you need to look at words differently (in this case, as airport codes).
• “Bot Bops” is both a guessing game and a showcase for just how much soul is lost when a bot reads pop lyrics.
• Movie soundtracks produce some of the most iconic pop songs—knowing their origins is itself a trivia skill.
• The back-and-forth banter and zany guesses are as much fun as the correct answers.

For fans of playful trivia, quick wit, and pop-culture deep cuts, this episode is a fast-moving treat.