"Acoustic Covers" w/ Tim Platt

Summary

Podcast Title: StraightioLab
Episode: "Acoustic Covers" featuring Tim Platt
Release Date: November 12, 2024
Host/Authors: George Severis and Sam Taggart
Guest: Tim Platt
Produced by: Big Money Players Network and iHeartPodcasts

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Overview

In the "Acoustic Covers" episode of StraightioLab, hosts George Severis and Sam Taggart delve into the intricate relationship between acoustic music and straight culture, with special guest Tim Platt joining the conversation. The episode explores how acoustic covers serve as a medium for vulnerability among straight men, the cultural implications of such musical expressions, and the broader societal perceptions surrounding them.

Key Discussions and Insights

1. The Role of Acoustic Covers in Expression

The episode kicks off with a candid discussion about the prevalence of acoustic covers in straight culture. George introduces the topic by highlighting his personal connection to acoustic guitars, describing it as "an instrument for comedy, an instrument for my soul" (42:58). The conversation swiftly moves to how straight men often resort to acoustic covers as their primary means of expressing emotional or artistic depth.

Notable Quote:

• George Severis (42:58): "There are a lot of straight men in this world who believe an acoustic cover is the only way they can be emotional in any public sphere."

2. Stereotypes and Authenticity

The hosts and Tim delve into the stereotype that associates acoustic guitars with a certain prescriptive form of masculinity. They critique the notion that performing acoustic covers is a socially sanctioned avenue for vulnerability among straight men, often leading to "bad acoustic covers" that flood platforms like YouTube without adding genuine artistic value.

Notable Quotes:

• George Severis (43:25): "There's so many YouTubes of bad acoustic covers. Why?"
• Sam Taggart (47:05): "It's a shortcut to seeming like, in the eyes of the beholder, it's just seeming more interesting than you are."

3. Cultural Implications and Gentrification of Music

A significant portion of the conversation revolves around the cultural implications of acoustic covers, particularly how they can lead to the "gentrification" of original music genres. The discussion touches upon how acoustic interpretations of genres like hip-hop and rap can strip songs of their original flavor, making them more palatable—or trivial—in a different cultural context.

Notable Quote:

• Ryan Seacrest (60:55): "You're gentrifying a song."

4. Personal Anecdotes and Experiences

George shares personal stories from his high school years, reminiscing about playing guitar in public spaces and the mixed reactions it garnered. These anecdotes serve to illustrate the challenges and societal expectations placed on straight men when they attempt to express creativity through acoustic music.

Notable Quote:

• George Severis (63:18): "I would just play it in the hallways of my high school."

5. The Evolution of Musical Expression in Straight Culture

The hosts discuss the evolution of musical expression within straight culture, noting how platforms like TikTok have changed the landscape for acoustic covers. They observe that what began as a genuine form of expression has, over time, become a trend that often prioritizes virality over authenticity.

Notable Quote:

• Sam Taggart (58:33): "It's like you're taking something and you're, like, getting rid of the flavor."

Conclusions and Final Thoughts

As the episode wraps up, the hosts emphasize the importance of celebrating genuine creative expressions rather than ridiculing or stigmatizing them. They advocate for allowing individuals to explore and express their creativity without the burden of stereotypes or societal expectations.

Notable Quote:

• George Severis (65:26): "I think that is actually a very special thing."

Segments and Highlights

• Straight Shooters: A rapid-fire segment where Tim Platt engages in quick questions that highlight his familiarity and complicity in straight culture.

  Example:

  • Ryan Seacrest (32:28): "Truffle fries or muffled cries?"
  • Tim Platt (32:39): "Muffled cries. Truffle fries are a scam, in my opinion."

• Shout Outs: The final segment pays homage to traditional radio shout-outs, where the hosts mention friends, films, and personal favorites, fostering a sense of community and connection with listeners.

Notable Quotes Compilation

• George Severis (42:58): "People are too hard on people doing acoustic covers."
• Sam Taggart (60:55): "You're gentrifying a song."
• Ryan Seacrest (63:18): "I would just play it in the hallways of my high school."
• George Severis (65:26): "I think that is actually a very special thing."

Conclusion

"Acoustic Covers" is a thought-provoking episode that dissects the nuanced relationship between music, masculinity, and cultural expression within straight communities. Through humorous banter and insightful discussions, George, Sam, and Tim Platt challenge listeners to reconsider their perceptions of acoustic music as merely a stereotypical form of emotional expression, urging a more authentic and appreciative approach to creative endeavors.

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Time Stamps Reference

For quick navigation, here are the time stamps referenced throughout the summary:

• 42:58
• 43:25
• 47:05
• 60:55
• 63:18
• 65:26
• 32:28
• 58:33

Note: The time stamps correspond to specific moments within the transcript where notable quotes and discussions occurred.

Transcript

[George Severis]

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[Sam Taggart]

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[George Severis]

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[Sam Taggart]

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[George Severis]

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[Tim Platt]

They're from dsw.

[George Severis]

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[Tim Platt]

You know, like the sneakers that make.

[Ryan Seacrest]

Office hours feel like happy hour, the boots that turn grocery aisles into runways.

[George Severis]

And all the styles that show off the many sides of you from daydreamer to multitasker and everything in between.

[Ryan Seacrest]

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[George Severis]

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[Tim Platt]

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[Sam Taggart]

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[Unknown]

Whether you're ordering wings for the game, whipping.

[George Severis]

Up a seven layer dip or ordering.

[Unknown]

Pizza, there's something about football that makes you want to eat. And this football season, UberEats has the.

[Sam Taggart]

Best deals on game day food no.

[Unknown]

Matter what you're craving from two for one Pizza.

[Sam Taggart]

To buy one get one Wings.

[Unknown]

Uber Eats will be dropping new deals each week all season long.

[Sam Taggart]

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[George Severis]

Terms and conditions apply.

[Unknown]

See app for details. Hootie Hoo everyone, this is your weekly show Update. If you are in New York City, you can see me, George Severis do an hour of standup comedy at the legendary Joe's Pub on November 14 and November 25, and the first show is almost sold out, but there are a few tickets left for the second one. It is a genuine dream come true to do Joe's Pub, So I would really love to see some glamour girls in the crowd. And you can get tickets to both of those shows@public theater.org and if you're in the beautiful Canadian city of Toronto, we are at long last doing a Stradiolab Toronto show on Saturday, November 23rd at the Paradise Theater. And tickets to that show are available in our Instagram Bio and on linktree.com Stradolab and they're, I have to say, already going fast. So I would act now. Enjoy the show.

[Ryan Seacrest]

Okay, podcast starts now. I. Welcome to the show Stradia Lab, the podcast. We are once again coming at you from a beautiful bicoastal world.

[Unknown]

Sam, you look incredible.

[Ryan Seacrest]

And we were having. Thank you. You look amazing as well.

[Unknown]

Is this shirt new?

[Ryan Seacrest]

No, it's actually so old that it's new again. I've had this shirt for roughly 11 years.

[Unknown]

Wow, it looks incredible. I've never seen you wear it.

[Ryan Seacrest]

Yeah. Cause I stopped wearing it. Cause I was like, I wear this shirt too much. And that was maybe five years ago.

[Unknown]

Wow. So it was before we started our acclaimed podcast, Radiolab.

[Ryan Seacrest]

Yeah.

[Unknown]

This named the number one podcast of 2020, I want to say, by New York Magazine.

[Ryan Seacrest]

God, what an amazing year. God, what an amazing year.

[Unknown]

That was a really great year for podcasting. It's been pretty downhill since then, honestly.

[Ryan Seacrest]

Well, not for all.

[Unknown]

No, not for us, obviously. But, you know, I just think that this, you know, the environment, the media ecosystem has changed. You know, back then you could do anything.

[Ryan Seacrest]

George, you said, let's you. Can I say this out loud?

[Unknown]

Sure.

[Ryan Seacrest]

You proposed that we lie. You propose that we lie to our listeners and say this was recorded before the election, when in fact we are recording on the Friday after the election.

[Unknown]

Here's what I proposed. I want to say it is 4:20. Okay, let's light them up. It is 4:20pm on a Friday.

[Ryan Seacrest]

Correct.

[Unknown]

Okay. It's been a horrible week.

[Ryan Seacrest]

Yeah.

[Unknown]

Four for all. I mean, I guess not for some, but for us, and I presume many of our listeners, I feel not at my most sharp. I would say cerebrally, it's this sort of Friday afternoon slump. And so my suggestion was we record this episode, don't mention politics at all, and then later record an intro lying to our listener, saying, hey, guys, this. This episode was recorded before the election, but just wanted to send out positive Vibes to everyone and just thinking of all of you and hope everyone's staying safe and doing the best you can to cope and then just play an episode that did not mention the election. That was what I suggested. I was immediately rebutted by Sam. I'm sorry, but you're. Who is it George Washington or Abe Lincoln that can't tell a lie?

[Ryan Seacrest]

I think that was Abe.

[Unknown]

Yeah, Honest Abe, they called him.

[Ryan Seacrest]

No, it's not. Tim. Is it not. Is it George?

[Unknown]

It's definitely George Washington.

[George Severis]

It's George Washington because of the cherry tree.

[Ryan Seacrest]

Oh, my God. Okay, okay, okay.

[Unknown]

But then is there also Honest Abe?

[George Severis]

Well, I'm also Honest Ape, but I think you can tell a lie.

[Ryan Seacrest]

I'm capable of telling lies, but no, you're not.

[Unknown]

Sam, I don't want to attack you, but every single time I have suggested, like, massaging the truth in a tiny, tiny way that is. You are so shocked, George.

[Ryan Seacrest]

That is not massaging the truth at all. That is fully lying. I wanna say it's also like, this is our. The entire point of a podcast, in my mind.

[Unknown]

No, I know.

[Ryan Seacrest]

Is addressing the times you are in. I think what is great about this podcast is that it literally started in Covid. You can hear the beginning of COVID You can hear us get out of COVID sort of. You can hear the confusion. You can hear all of that. And we address it as we're feeling it. And I think, no, it's true. And I think we have a good tone when we're not self serious. We're not like, we're sort of allowed to be little stinkers about it and be just like, cranky. And I was shocked that you wouldn't want to face this moment head on and share your feelings.

[Unknown]

Here's what I'll say. Here's what I'll say about that. First of all, it's not that I don't want to talk about it. It's that I don't feel quite ready right now. In fact, I almost texted you this the other day. I was like, would it be crazy to do a Patreon episode? You know, where it's like, just the two of us to our most loyal listeners, and we just like commiserate and talk and talk through our feelings in real time, but in a way that's not like, clipped for Instagram, and we, you know, sort of like have a nice little therapy session. I think in just a few days, I will be ready to do that. I'm not saying like, oh, I want to just Be completely apolitical and be literally like Reese Witherspoon posting, like, okay, y'all vote, but no need to tell anyone for who. Like, I don't. That's not what I'm saying. But I think I just need a little more time. But you know what? I think you're right. I think it's nice to get those feelings out, raw and real, and have it live forever on the Internet. What I thought at 4:30pm the Friday of the election, have my most depressed.

[Ryan Seacrest]

I mean, sort of. I sort of like, that is sort of what I like. I don't. I don't want us to be NPR and be like, have like the smart, amazing take. I want us to have the Sam and George take, which can be. What's so amazing about comedy is that we can. We're allowed to be unpolished, I feel. But I know what you mean. It's obviously like, it's complicated. I feel that what's confusing to me, among many other things about this time, is the rehashing of everything where I don't want to fall into the same trappings that we fell into in 2016. And I feel the same genuine surprise, the same sort of isolation and the same like, oh, I guess I really don't understand how the world works, but I. But I don't want to. But it's not the same because I've done it already. And so it's confusing because I'm like, how do I like. The knowledge doesn't. It's almost like how we talk about self awareness and how there's a limit to it is I feel that, like, this is a time where we are all really self aware of how we all acted in 2016, but we can't shake ourselves from sort of acting the same way. And I don't know the right way to act.

[Unknown]

Yeah, I was talking to Tim about this before, before you got on. There was something galvanizing about 2016. Like, everyone just like, had this really deep desire to, in whatever their own way was, whether it was productive or unproductive or like genuine or completely cynical and dishonest, but everyone felt the need to, like, participate in some way. And what I have noticed, both in myself and in other people I've talked to this time around is just a general numbness and a general sort of, I don't want to say feeling resigned. It's not like I want to be completely complacent and never do anything or anything like that. But it's completely unclear what the appropriate Response is. And it's also like, I don't know. I don't feel shocked, to be honest. I don't want to be one of these people who's like, well, I always knew he was going to win, but I have felt very confident that this is how it would turn out for months. And I, like. So I almost think that the first time around, the shock was almost like you could focus on the shock in a way that was almost a balm because then you didn't have to focus on the actual substance of what happened. And now without the shock, all you're left with is just feeling completely deflated, depressed, heartbroken and scared. There's not even the, quote, unquote, excitement of we are living through a historic. I'm not saying excitement in a positive way, but just your heart is racing because you're living through this crazy historical moment. I don't feel that way. I actually feel like it's almost boring. It is. It's like. It is like you're watching tapes of something that already happened and you're sort of like, wow, that's crazy.

[Ryan Seacrest]

Yeah, shock would almost be healthier. Yeah, I agree that I don't feel. I think I really did try to prepare. Like, I tried to be like, I know this is a real possibility. I'm not gonna be 2016 again. I'm not gonna be like, there's no way in hell. But I guess I am. There just is still a small element of surprise for me where I' like, just the sort of. It's like someone finding out, like, one plus one actually equals three. Like, I'm like, But like, I know, like, in theory how this works out, but in practice, I'm like, but how? Like, it really. Yeah, I don't know. Makes me feel a bit crazy. But that's mostly what I wanted to say. I mean, your thing about the excitement also, and this is just to take shots at our peers, the Daily podcast, of course, yeah, we're equal in reach and value and as recline and as recline. But I was actually the most 2016 thing I did was listen to the Daily on Wednesday after the election, which really did make me feel insane because it was like the way that the New York Times and News is so zoomed out and sees everything from a historical perspective actually is starting to piss me off, where it's like. Like, the New York Times was like, you know, journalist, how do you feel about this? And this woman is like, you know, there's nothing to say except that this is amazing. This has never happened before. And this is, like, generally, like, something that is really notable. And, like, sort of, like, you have to look at it. It's magnificent in a way. And it's like, can you, like. You want, like, literally a bomb to hit Columbus, Ohio, so you can be like, I lived through it. I was there. And it's like, calm down. Like, you're like, bloodthirst for, like, a moment of excitement in a way that is disgusting to me.

[Unknown]

Have you seen the Joan Didion documentary?

[Ryan Seacrest]

No.

[Unknown]

So, you know, in one. In. Of course, I'm now not remembering what essay it is, but in a very famous Joan Didion essay where she is writing about the hippies, like the Haight Ashbury hippies in San Francisco, in a sort of. Through a pretty conservative gaze, I would say, you know, she had her conservative streaks. There is a very famous scene where she describes a baby, like a small child that has been given lsd. And this is meant to be this, like, portrait of a. This, like, lost generation, of these people that, like, just are depraved hippies that have, you know, that have nothing to offer, basically. And. And it's just like, God, look at what America has come to. Obviously, I'm oversimplifying, but. Okay. And so in the documentary, you know, the interviewer, who I believe I think it's her nephew that made the documentary, is asking her, like, what did you think when you saw that baby on lsd? And she pauses for a second, and then she's basically like. I mean. I mean, it was incredible. Like. And she's basically, like, so excited that she gets this scene that perfectly encapsulates the argument that she is trying to make. And I think that's sort of what you're describing. Obviously, I think I have mixed feelings about it because I. I think that in order to be a good. I think in order to be a good chronicler of the world, whether that's through journalism or through documentary filmmaking or through writing or whatever, I do think you have to actually be slightly sociopathic and slightly shut off that part of your brain. I sort of am not interested in someone who's, like, trying to describe what's happening and constantly, like, breaking down in tears because of their empathy. You know what I mean? Obviously.

[Ryan Seacrest]

Well, yes, I just think there's words like magnificent and amazing and, like, where I'm like. You can say, like, notable. Like, you can say, like, this is large. This will have a great impact.

[Unknown]

No, of course.

[Ryan Seacrest]

But, like, there's something so, like, you're like, Foaming at the mouth for it with some of these words.

[Unknown]

No, it's true. It's funny. Like, we're doing. This is like the classic thing that you do in a state of shock, which is rather than focus on whoever the actual real big picture enemy is. Not you, all of us.

[Ryan Seacrest]

Sure, sure, sure.

[Unknown]

It's so much easier to be mad at. For me, it's so much easier to be mad at people online saying stupid things. Like, people that, you know, journalists that chose a wrong headline that makes me think they are biased in some way. You know, a podcaster. Like, I'm even. I'm thinking, like, One of the reasons why I didn't. I'm not necessarily in the mood to, like, express my very unformed opinions right now is because I don't. Because I know that if I was at home listening, I would also be, like, primed to be mad at, like, some dumb gay guy that's offering his first thoughts. Like, it's so much easier to be mad at that proxy for the real thing you're mad at than to actually be mad at the systemic.

[Ryan Seacrest]

No, I think that's true.

[Unknown]

Issues also, Tim, you can. You can come in at any point.

[Ryan Seacrest]

Okay. Should we introduce Tim Platt? Sorry, Please welcome. Is this an amazing time to be introduced, Tim?

[George Severis]

Well, first of all, I do want to say just being privy to the conversation before recording and this. I think you guys did a great job. I think you really covered. I think you did not do George what you were fearing to do. And Sam, I think you really well articulated why it's fun. Not fun, but why it's good to talk about these things in the moment. And I thought you were both very. I feel what both of you were saying, and what I will say is that my first reaction was, I need to get off TikTok and Twitter stat. Because I was feeling so angry. And George, like you, I had so many targets in my brain. And the first thing I saw were these. My podcast feed became the daily stuff. And every people. Re. Everyone reacting. People were relitigating stuff in the moment. People were dunking on each other still. And I was like, I. There's. I am. I remember when this happened in 2016, I, like, joined a bunch of groups and went out for a bunch of stuff that I could not sustain. I need to get, like, this stuff out of my head before I'm able to realize what my body can handle doing, you know? And I think, like, my. These last few days of being like, not on TikTok, not on Twitter, for the first time in my goddamn life, I'm not doing this. I'm leaving it in the room. I'm not going to the bathroom with my phone, which has become my big TikTok time. I think move one for me was I need to get out of the discourse machine or nothing is going to happen or nothing can occur for my life.

[Ryan Seacrest]

Yeah, yeah, no, I think that's a good point. It'syeah. The conversations around it. I even feel I almost missed that part of 2016 is like having Twitter was a real place still. Yes, it was nearing the end, but it was like there were more ways of, I don't know, talking about things. I mean, it was. I'm looking with rose cuddled glasses, I'm sure, but I don't know.

[Unknown]

Well, there was a sense of, I have to say. See, it's funny, I'm interpreting all of this with such a paranoia because I'm like, and I need to stop doing that. I need to be okay with the fact that whatever, we're having a conversation, if someone doesn't like it, that's fine. But even now talking about this, I can just imagine someone being like, okay, these three extremely safe white guys are talking about basically self care and oh, what to look at on your phone so you don't feel the stress of the election. It's just, there's no, there's no way for that not to sound like ridiculous in the grand scheme of things, but whatever. Since we're on the topic, I do think to your point, Sam, I felt at the time like there was some form of like digital town square that you could, that you could like opt into when you wanted to feel part of a mass of people interpreting events in real time. And often it was incredibly toxic and often it was incredibly counterproductive, I would say more than 50% of the time. But it made you feel less, not even less alone. It just made you. It was almost like everyone was participating in this collaborative thinking through of reality and sometimes you would contribute to it, and sometimes you would be quiet and listen to other people and you would see people that had different opinions than your own and maybe it would change. Also, we were all much younger, we were all in our 20s. So I think that also was a part of it, is that I was genuinely still to some extent forming my worldview and that helped with that. And I do think that this time I don't feel, I think on the negative side. I don't feel like I have that on the positive side. I actually want it less. And I'm much more okay with only talking to people that I actually know in person and people and just like my close community of family and friends. And I don't feel the need to go out there and be like looking for answers among strangers that you know, whose bios are like, you know, something, you know, bylines here, here and here.

[Ryan Seacrest]

Yeah, totally. No, that's true. I, yeah, I, I understand your self consciousness also about things getting taken out of context. But I think, you know, we got to just try, I think because we can't control it.

[George Severis]

Hey comedy fans. The funniest comedians in the world are on tour and you can get tickets to see them live near you laugh with the biggest names in comedy like Atsuko Okatsuka, Brian Regan, Chelsea Handler, Corey Holcomb, Dane Cook, Sarah Milliken, Matt Matthews.

[Sam Taggart]

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[George Severis]

All kinds of shows, all kinds of venues, all kinds of funny. Head to livenation.comcomedy to get your tickets today.

[Sam Taggart]

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[Ryan Seacrest]

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[Tim Platt]

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[Ryan Seacrest]

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[Sam Taggart]

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[Ryan Seacrest]

Shop in store and online for participating.

[Unknown]

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[Sam Taggart]

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[Unknown]

Stock up on self care favorites like.

[Sam Taggart]

Pantene shampoo, Gillette Fusion and Proglide razors, Tampax Tampons, Aussie Base, Hairspray and Pampers.

[George Severis]

Swaddlers diapers offer ends December 31st.

[Ryan Seacrest]

Restrictions apply.

[Sam Taggart]

Promotions may vary. Visit albertsons or safeway.com for more details.

[Unknown]

I have a story that I think will bring us out of Election Talk.

[George Severis]

Great.

[Unknown]

Okay. All right. So the morning after, the morning after, as you said, there's this experience if you subscribe to various sort of newsy current events politics podcast, you open your podcast app the next day and it's all like, what happened? What the Democrats can learn, how Trump won Pennsylvania, what to do about blah blah, blah. And I was looking through that and I was like, I'm not at a place where I can consume any of this. I need to click the one thing that isn't this. And the one thing for me was Saoirse Ronan on Fresh Air. I was like, I looked at, it was like, saoirse Ronan like talks about her two new Oscar films. And I was like, saoirse, I'm counting on you. You better. This better be such a good interview. Like, you better be giving me everything I need. You better say all the right things because if you don't, I will break down. And so I will always remember, you know, it's like There are certain things I remember about the first time around that, like, are really, really sort of burned into my brain. And I think this time what I will remember is the next morning, just like, listening to an interview with Sir Sharonan and just telling myself, just focus on this. Just for this. Just for this 45 minute. Of course, afterwards, you can process it. Of course, afterwards you can, like, move on with your life and think about how you want to be of service and think about how you want to exist in the world and read about other people's experiences. But right now, right now, for the next 45 minutes, it is Saoirse.

[Ryan Seacrest]

Well, did she. Did she nail it?

[Unknown]

I honestly think she did nail it. I was like, you know, she's had an interesting life. I didn't know that she was born in the Bronx because her parents came here from Ireland and she was born in the Bronx and they moved back when she was still a kid, which is why she has an Irish. Irish accent.

[Ryan Seacrest]

Well, this is actually an amazing addendum, Tim, to your celebs are hiding. I think celebs are hiding, except Irish celebs. For some reason, Irish celebs are thriving in a way that is so crazy.

[Unknown]

That's true. Well, there's something about Ireland that's like. It's so. What's the word?

[Ryan Seacrest]

Well, there's sort of like a poster child right now for morality.

[Unknown]

Yeah, exactly. Yes, exactly. That's what it is in both a positive way and a negative. Like, in the positive way in the sense that, you know, in fact, a lot of these Irish celebrities are very charismatic and have good politics and bring a different perspective. But then there's also a way in which it's like, oh, look, it's. It's kind of like, you know, it's still a white person, so it's safe. Like, it's actually not like there's something very weird happening.

[Ryan Seacrest]

Yeah.

[George Severis]

And also with all the craft of their English, of their English neighbors, and which we love.

[Ryan Seacrest]

We love that.

[George Severis]

We love the English, we love the craft of the English actor, but we don't really like the English much anymore. Isn't that crazy?

[Ryan Seacrest]

Yeah, we love the rough and tumble politics of the Irish.

[George Severis]

Exactly.

[Ryan Seacrest]

Oh, those actors are having their cake.

[George Severis]

And eating it, too, with the diction and the accent study and the textual study of, of course, the English tradition.

[Unknown]

Yeah, well, it was funny. Saoirse was saying that for so long in her career, she had to master all these other accents and she was like, you know, a few years ago, I just. I just Realized, like, I. I just want to do more roles using my own accent, like I want. And it was like this self. This, like, empowering thing. And I was like, this is such a perfect empowerment narrative that does not challenge any American norms. Like, it's like. You know what I mean? It's like, insert other identity here. It would suddenly make us question our own biases and make us question American society. But it's like, oh, perfect. Saoirse Ronan, like, beautiful blonde white woman. Like, thin blonde white woman who was in Lady Bird. She feels empowered because she doesn't have to fake her accent. That's something we can all get behind.

[Ryan Seacrest]

Yeah, that's really amazing. I actually was around someone recently who was reading Saoirse's name and didn't know how to pronounce it, and I was like, where have you been? Yeah, point. We all know Saoirse.

[Unknown]

Yeah. I. I have to say, it is like people that were up until election saying Kamala, and I was like, you are. You need to be, like, held, like, chained down and made to watch one minute of political news.

[George Severis]

But, yeah, but don't you think that it's unfair that we have to do so many accents if we want to exist at a high level in the entertainment industry?

[Ryan Seacrest]

I think it's completely unfair.

[Unknown]

We're implicated now.

[Ryan Seacrest]

I think it's completely unfair. I'm on Tim's side.

[Unknown]

I've never considered that.

[George Severis]

I think it's really unfair. I saw this movie, Death of Stalin. I saw this movie, Death of Stalin. I thought it was a very funny movie. I liked it a lot. All these people playing Russians, but they all used their natural accents and they were able to activate what made them each interesting performers at the same time. Very collaborative movie.

[Unknown]

I actually completely agree.

[Ryan Seacrest]

I mean, we also. House of Gucci, which, you know, everyone is supposed to be in Italian, and yet we're hearing accents of all stripes.

[Unknown]

No, House of Gucci is perfect. If you're gonna do accents, do House of Gucci. What I don't like is when it's, like, almost there, but then occasionally you'll get that and it takes you out of it. House of Gucci never took me out of it because I was like, this is a cartoon.

[George Severis]

I just watched Conclave. I just watched Conclave, the Pope movie.

[Unknown]

Okay, now that's.

[George Severis]

And there are people, and everyone's just doing their natural accent, and they just make it work. They make it work in the script. And so now we're seeing two different movies here. I'm talking two different movies. I'm talking conclave. They make it work in the script. Script. And I'm talking death of style. And they don't even mention it in the script. Both allow actors of specific voice qualities to just do their thang, which is something I would like to be done for me.

[Ryan Seacrest]

Yeah, I would actually love for someone to just let me do my thing. I think that's one of the biggest problems in Hollywood today is that no one's letting me do my thing.

[Unknown]

Tim, as an American man, you are complaining preemptively about someone making you do a punch.

[Ryan Seacrest]

Yes, pretty much. I mean, George, not to be a bitch, but that's why Trump was elected, Tim.

[Unknown]

That's true.

[Ryan Seacrest]

That's true.

[Unknown]

Okay, let's do our first segment, get it out of the way and then I want to get into the topic. How does that sound?

[Ryan Seacrest]

That sounds amazing, Tim. Our first segment is called Straight Shooters, and in this segment we're going to ask you a series of rapid fire questions. It's basically this thing or this other thing to gauge your familiarity with and complicity in straight culture. The only rule is you can't ask a single follow up question or we will scream at you and that's final. So are you ready to start?

[Unknown]

Yes, Tim. Everybody poops or nobody wants this.

[George Severis]

Everybody poops.

[Ryan Seacrest]

Wow, Tim. Truffle fries or muffled cries?

[George Severis]

Muffled cries. Truffle fries are a scam, in my opinion.

[Unknown]

Totally don't speak by no doubt. Or is that a beak or a snout?

[George Severis]

That's a really good question. I'm gonna.

[Ryan Seacrest]

Ooh.

[George Severis]

Oh, dang. Oof. I'm gonna go beak snout.

[Unknown]

And by the way, that was dedicated to Tim's debut comedy album, Teeth Like Beak out on all platforms now from Absolutely Reckless.

[George Severis]

Thank you so much, George.

[Ryan Seacrest]

Okay, Tim, Reservoir Dogs or Remember Pogs?

[George Severis]

Remember Pogs?

[Unknown]

They got banned Urine loathing.

[Ryan Seacrest]

They got banned, folks.

[Unknown]

What's pogs?

[Ryan Seacrest]

You're Greek. George.

[George Severis]

Pogs were these circular cardboard collectibles and that you would stack them on top of each other and slam on them a metal circular collectible known as a slammer.

[Unknown]

I like yelling out the reason. I don't know, like, yeah, that's what I'm saying. Like, I'm not disagreeing, George.

[Ryan Seacrest]

You had to be there.

[Unknown]

Okay, Tim.

[George Severis]

Yes.

[Unknown]

Fear and loathing in Las Vegas or the cashier is closing in the bodega.

[George Severis]

Oh, gosh, I'm gonna go New York through and through.

[Ryan Seacrest]

Okay, Tim, Shrimp tempura or Ace Ventura?

[George Severis]

Ace Ventura.

[Unknown]

I worry about the youth or this McFlurry is satisfying my sweet tooth.

[George Severis]

I worry about the youth period.

[Ryan Seacrest]

Yeah. Okay. The winter of our discontent or this quarter, we're really focusing on TikTok content.

[George Severis]

Winter of discontent. I love plays.

[Ryan Seacrest]

Of course.

[Unknown]

You know, Tim, we normally rank our guests on a scale of 0 to 1000. Dubs Sam. It's interesting. Entering a new Trump era. I'm like, I feel the need to symbolically change.

[Ryan Seacrest]

Well, first of all, I feel the need to change everything. But for this rating scale, I 100% agree. I wish Gaga's new album was out so we could pull something from it. Because right now I'm rating you on a scale of disease to not disease.

[Unknown]

Yeah, that's a good rating.

[Ryan Seacrest]

More binary.

[Unknown]

Yeah, more binary. Just as it's pass fail, it's disease or not disease.

[Ryan Seacrest]

And I think I'm gonna say disease.

[Unknown]

I think disease.

[Ryan Seacrest]

I think you're very sick. I think, oh, you're very sick.

[Unknown]

Which is good.

[Ryan Seacrest]

Which is good.

[George Severis]

Okay.

[Unknown]

You're the illest as someone. As some might say.

[Ryan Seacrest]

Some might say. Yeah.

[Unknown]

Where do you think that comes from? Using sick. Using illness as a metaphor for. In a positive way, like sick, ill. Like, why is that?

[Ryan Seacrest]

You know, George, you can't ask us questions we just don't know the answers to.

[George Severis]

Just not knowing exactly where. Like, all the terms and all the words are, how they are valenced. It was funny to me to come onto this podcast as a straight man and just whatever you all say and be like, huh? Oh, yeah, okay. Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah, I'm sick.

[Unknown]

You know what, Tim, what you're describing now, that is out.

[George Severis]

That's out.

[Unknown]

Second Trump era.

[George Severis]

That's right.

[Ryan Seacrest]

Yeah.

[Unknown]

There's the idea of, like, self flagellating as a progressive straight man. That's over.

[George Severis]

So just being like. I don't know what you mean.

[Unknown]

No, just truly, like, I. Here's what I think. I think at its worst. Of course, at its worst, what that means is being, like, in the manosphere. Okay, sure. And being like, violently toxic. But at its best, what it means is there's no more of this self flagellating if you're in a more privileged group and you just actually talk to people person to person. You know what I mean?

[Ryan Seacrest]

Sure, sure. Like, that's a positive read, I think.

[Unknown]

That's a positive read.

[Ryan Seacrest]

I think.

[Unknown]

Yeah, we got there.

[Ryan Seacrest]

Yeah. I mean, there's something to it. Okay. This is hard, you guys. It's hard.

[George Severis]

I know, George.

[Ryan Seacrest]

The reason I want to talk up top about it is because I'm like, I don't know what else to talk about. It's so top of mind that it's really hard for me to think of literally anything else to talk about. And it's hard for me to even have normal conversations without thinking of it through the lens of.

[Unknown]

Of course. Of course.

[Ryan Seacrest]

This happening this week.

[Unknown]

Of course.

[Ryan Seacrest]

And so I'm trying to be tasteful, but I am like, I'm finding myself pausing more because I'm like, well, I don't want to say that. Well, I don't want to say that.

[Unknown]

I know, I know. And. And maybe the perfect is the enemy of the good. And it's okay that we're, like, imperfectly and very kind of impulsively saying whatever's on our mind. I just. As someone. I'll say this as someone who has avoided this kind of thing this week in my own media consumption, I'm imagining pressing play on a comedy podcast that I want to take my mind off of things and then hearing us stumble through what we think about Trump. You know what I mean?

[Ryan Seacrest]

So you didn't listen to Robbie Hoffman on Marc Maron yet?

[Unknown]

Nope.

[Ryan Seacrest]

You know my ass at play on that. I'm a whole different person here in la.

[George Severis]

I listen to. I wanted to know.

[Ryan Seacrest]

I wanted to know.

[George Severis]

I wanted to say I was curious.

[Unknown]

Wait, what did you want to know.

[Ryan Seacrest]

About what Mark would say?

[Unknown]

Yeah, I was just curious about what Trump.

[Ryan Seacrest]

I want to know what Mark's going to say.

[George Severis]

I wanted to know what Mark's going to. Here's what I'll.

[Unknown]

You know what? Actually, this is my big point. And then, because this is actually, like, what it comes down to, and I think this is what a lot of my confusion is about. I just. So I do have, like, specific views on what the Democratic Party could do better. What I think is missing. I don't think I'm the person to verbalize them, and I don't think they're complete thoughts. And so it's just. I'm not gonna do it, but I'll say this. Something that is very concerning to me is that there is no major thinker that I am craving looking towards right now. It's like, I just think in a different era, there would be a writer who I would be excited about seeing what their big essay about it would be, or a public figure or a public intellectual that I would know, like, all right, in a couple of weeks, their big thought, their big take on it is coming. And I feel like the lack of leadership within, let's say politics, is mirrored by a lack of leadership Like a lack of moral and, and intellectual leadership outside of politics. Universities are like a husk. There's no academics that I trust. There are no everyone on cable news and everyone that's supposed to be commenting on the news. A complete hack. You start to see why there's this vacuum that has been filled by people like Joe Rogan.

[Ryan Seacrest]

But see, this is why you need to be speaking, because that's actually a really good point. I haven't considered this yet. And it's like I. But don't you think I fully agree that Even in like 2016 I would be like, okay, I wanna read what this person's saying. I wanna read what this person's saying. This is incisive. Now I'm like, I don't trust anyone because I know everyone's just trying to sell a book. Like I really.

[Unknown]

And also everyone's trying to sell a book.

[Ryan Seacrest]

They only get that book because they got more Twitter followers because they were more insane for the two weeks after the election. It all is false. And because there's no quality control, it's just who has the most numbers, everything. I don't trust anyone.

[George Severis]

This is why. And I know this is like that sort of self care thing you were talking about, George, but it is a reason why I was like, I need to get off these platforms now. And that needs to be my step one is because I'm impressionable. I want everyone who I follow during this time. I don't want to hear from them because I feel really played. I think I developed a naive optimism about this that like my experience and my knowledge tells me it's not true. And I allowed a lot of, of Internet talk to like, get me pushing in different directions. And I do feel like I think that's 100% true. There's like no one. Everyone who I was like sort of checking to see what they were saying about every moment of the election coming up, I'm like, I don't want to hear from them. I don't care what they have to say. And I know, I know what happens when I follow down that path. And it's like there's a version of like whatever answer I'm going to find, it's not going to be on those platforms. And I need to like practice being away from them and practice what it means to be engaged without consuming this type of stuff. Because I've been consuming since 2016, I've been consuming obsessively since 2016.

[Unknown]

There's a pandemic of consumption. If there's One thing we're all doing, it's consuming.

[Ryan Seacrest]

We cannot stop consuming that. Actually, there used to be points in people's lives where they weren't consuming back in the 90s, and now we don't have that. Tim, I have a question. As someone who is silly.

[George Severis]

Sure.

[Ryan Seacrest]

Do you feel that it was a trap for this to be your episode?

[George Severis]

So my first thought was that I was on Las Coltristas, like, early after the election of Trump in 2016.

[Unknown]

Oh, my God, no way.

[George Severis]

I was. And I remember being like, I guess we just got a call every day. We got a call every day. Our son's got a call every day. And I was like, this is. This is just sort of. This is sort of what's been happening. I think I'll get on, like, these parallels. Yeah, there's like a. And. And I mean it, because these are, like, high. And for. For my work, high profile podcasts, you know, where I'm like, oh, great. I want to do well on these podcasts because they're so funny and fun and we get to be thoughtful and then. Oh, I guess got the.

[Unknown]

Oh, my God, Tim, we're, like, fucking you. No, no, no, no.

[George Severis]

I.

[Unknown]

No.

[George Severis]

Can I tell you what I thought you were talking. I was thinking, and Sam will appreciate this. I was like, this is just. I gotta take it as a suggestion. I gotta take it as a gift, as an improv gift. I gotta find a way to respond to it.

[Ryan Seacrest]

The improviser spirit came through.

[Unknown]

All right, Tim, this is. I, you know, we simply must ask you what is your straight topic and what is straight about it?

[George Severis]

I'm so glad to talk about this today. I am so glad to talk about this today. And I will say for the last time, I think you guys have done a great job talking about this, at least for my little years.

[Ryan Seacrest]

I think you've done a great job as well today.

[George Severis]

Thank you so much. I wanted to talk about acoustic covers.

[Ryan Seacrest]

Acoustic covers.

[George Severis]

Acoustic covers. And I want to talk about acoustic covers because I've done a lot of acoustic covers in my life. I love the acoustic guitar. It's like my. It is an instrument I use on stage. It is an instrument I use for comedy, is an instrument I use for my soul. And I think A, people are too hard on people doing acoustic covers, and B, I do.

[Unknown]

Oh, so you're defending them?

[George Severis]

Well, I do defend.

[Ryan Seacrest]

For acoustic covers. Wow.

[Unknown]

Well, I do defend Trump's America, literally.

[George Severis]

I defend the hate. But I also honor. No, I don't honor the reason why I Want to bring it as a straight topic is because I think there are a lot of straight men in this world who believe an acoustic cover is the only way they can be a, artistic or c. Emotional in any public sphere. And it drives them crazy. So they'll do it like the Barbie movie famously lampooned. They'll do it at a party. They'll do it at a, you know, a fire. They'll do it out of. No, they'll do it when it's unwanted, but it's because it's coming from a place of. This is my only way. This is the only time that I'll be able to share anything emotional, artistic, or creative in their goddamn lives. And I think it's a very straight. I think there's plenty of people who do acoustic covers very artfully, but that sort of impulse to do, like, I have to do a bad acoustic cover and post it on YouTube. Like, there's so many YouTubes of bad acoustic covers. Why? Yeah, that's interesting to me.

[Ryan Seacrest]

Well, there's something about being straight where you're like, well, I did it, like, didn't. You didn't think I could do that. And I did that.

[George Severis]

Yes.

[Ryan Seacrest]

And I think it's, like, very. You're like, I'm just a normal gu. And look, but I did the guitar. And everyone's like, you're like, people need to see that I can do this.

[George Severis]

Yes.

[Unknown]

Yeah. There's a certain. Of course, this is adjacent to the quest for authenticity. Like, it is. You know, you think by stripping down a song and not including all the various, like, technological, digital elements, you are making it more pure. And, of course, you think you are the right person to make it more pure. I think you're absolutely right that it is one of the most, like, socially sanctioned ways for a straight man to be vulnerable. I'm trying to think of what other ones are. I think, like, you know, I think my mind is going to, like, travel essays or something. Like, there's something like, what is a way you can retain your masculinity while doing something creative? It's like, you know, it's a certain kind of poetry, perhaps.

[Ryan Seacrest]

Certain kind of cooking.

[Unknown]

Certain kind of cooking.

[George Severis]

Yes. Barbecue. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Unknown]

Literally barbecuing.

[Ryan Seacrest]

Barbecuing.

[Unknown]

Like, acoustic covers are the barbecuing of music.

[Ryan Seacrest]

Yeah, yeah.

[Unknown]

Because barbecuing is also in a similar way. There's no, like, oh, you're not fussy. And using different. And using, like, different cute little spices and, like, sauteing. Like, you are Just taking a slab of meat and then bursting it with heat.

[Ryan Seacrest]

Yeah.

[George Severis]

And this also. So another topic I texted Sam about this. Another topic I thought about doing, which now I'm realizing is connected, is being actually into something. So they're being like, I actually think that's pretty cool. Or like, I'm actually kind of into fiction right now. Like, that sort of feeling of. Of caveat. And so it's like, I think acoustic covers and barbecuing, they are like, a caveat. I'm allowed to do a very normal thing. You know, it's like, I'm allowed to be persnickety about the spices I use on this barbecue. I'm allowed to be persnickety about, like, I'll be artful about how I want it to look. I want that char. Oh, now I'm allowed to let you look at me for three minutes for this song. I'm allowed to look. This all comes from watching. Love you. I'm allowed to look at the camera and smile for the first time in my life. This thing will allow me to be expressive in a way that is actually very normal, but feels like it needs to have a caveat to actually be said.

[Ryan Seacrest]

Yeah. The actually caveat also is like, there's something. So you probably didn't think I was like this. There's a defensiveness to it that feels very straight to me, where it's like, why I could have thought that.

[Unknown]

Well, it's also a shortcut for depth. It's like, okay, so it's like, oh, I don't know how to actually form a sentence saying how I feel. But actually, it's even more deep that I'm pulling out my guitar and doing an acoustic cover.

[George Severis]

Yes.

[Unknown]

Like, it is. It's like a shortcut to seeming like, in the eyes of the beholder of the acoustic guitar, it's just seeming more interesting than you are.

[George Severis]

And it's also an expectation and an entitlement to glory and applause. You can see in the craft as, like, standups. I think you may be connected this.

[Unknown]

That.

[George Severis]

It's like when you fail so much doing comedy, you get like, you. It sucks. It's horrible. It's not fun. But you do, like, develop a way of managing that and an understanding that you could bomb at any moment. And even if you're doing really well. And it's funny to me to watch other crafts where bombing isn't a thing, even though you can do badly. But, like, there's all these different barriers for not feeling that. And I think you see, I think acoustic guitars are a really vulnerable way for people to express that. Like, you can see them clenched up. They're not loose. They're like, if someone, after they did the COVID was like, that sucked. Like, you're, you should have. Why didn't you tune your guitar before you did this? It's, you can see there's no preparation for that. And as a comedian, I, I, I'm very interested to see who is, who knows how to, like, move around a performative flailer a for a performance failure. And there's like, seemingly no space for an acoustic guitar to be a performance failure. Except later when you're like, I can't believe I saw that person do that.

[Unknown]

Yeah, I think, yeah. So in that sense, it's interesting what you're, it's like, on the one hand, it is a sign of vulnerability, or it is, it has been prescribed this connotation of vulnerability. On the other hand, as you're saying, it's actually the most guarded you can be because the acoustic guitar is like a, you know, a protection against criticism. Like, actually, if you're playing the acoustic guitar and if you're doing an acoustic cover, everyone is required to be silent and just sort of like, vaguely looking at you.

[George Severis]

Yes.

[Unknown]

There's no, except for a few exceptions, it's not going to be amazing or terrible. It's going to be sort of down the middle. It's not a huge risk because you're not playing some crazy instrument or doing some crazy thing with your voice. You're usually like, sort of going right down the middle. So it is like, it's based on this, like, essential lie.

[Ryan Seacrest]

Here's something I'm thinking about. Like, before there was a practical use of, like, an acoustic guitar at the campfire. It's like there's, you know, we don't have speakers out here in the woods, so, like, maybe for some music, we can play guitar by the campfire. With the advent of the Bluetooth speaker, the wireless waterproof Bluetooth speaker, do you think that, that acoustic guitars will go extinct?

[George Severis]

That's a good question. That there is actually not really, at least in my life, a legitimate space for anyone to be like, hey, can we play a few songs for you? There's like, oh, let's play together. We all play, we all sing. But the idea of, like, let me play a song for you in a casual setting, that only seems like tyranny to me. That only seems like a grave misstep.

[Ryan Seacrest]

Yeah.

[George Severis]

Which is why I see more of it on YouTube. And that becomes a whole media thing than I actually see. Cause, like. And even, like, even so, like, I'll have my guitar and someone be like. And there have been times where people were like, oh, will you play a song? And I'm like, I don't know songs I don't like. I haven't learned songs. I can do my act. But, like, do you.

[Ryan Seacrest]

You don't know Wonderwall?

[George Severis]

I know Wonderwall. I know.

[Ryan Seacrest]

Lying bitch.

[George Severis]

I know. I wanna play Wonderwell.

[Ryan Seacrest]

Unbelievable.

[George Severis]

I know I play Wonderwall.

[Unknown]

Okay, but the Wonderwall thing, I wanna address something which is is this happens a lot on this podcast, which is so often emblems of heterosexuality become so cliched as things one criticizes that it almost is more toxic to criticize them than to not criticize them.

[George Severis]

George.

[Unknown]

I feel this way about people making fun of the book Infinite Jest. It became this symbol of, like, a book boys read. And it's like, actually, by the way, many women have read that book, and there is a reason why it's popular. And you can, like, debate it, but like, it, it. We have. We have gone so far away from the initial thing being criticized that it actually is now just a cop out, if you want to sound interesting, to just use it as a reference.

[Ryan Seacrest]

This is such a great point. This is such a great point.

[Unknown]

I think the acoustic guitar thing, something I struggled with, honestly, during the Barbie movie, which I had to get over myself because ultimately it's for children and who cares? But in the moment, I was like, this is the oldest, most hack possible joke you could put in here.

[George Severis]

I.

[Ryan Seacrest]

Well, so they did it well, that joke. I did it well, though.

[George Severis]

I have a few thoughts.

[Unknown]

No, it did. It did.

[George Severis]

I have a few thoughts about all of that. First of all, I completely agree that there are all these templates of criticism that become hack because you can tell someone wants the glory of razzing somebody without the thoughtfulness. And you're like, okay, well, sure. What I'll say more about Wonderwall is that I've been feeling the way you've been feeling for a while. Because this other side to my feeling about the acoustic guitar is that, like, if this is the first time someone's ever been able to express themselves in their mind and Wonderwall was the way, that's a good thing. That's a fine entry point to life. I'm sorry you had to hear it at a time you didn't want to. I really think that sucks. That's bad. But as a song, it invited people towards it in a way that I actually think is kind of special and cool. And I will go as far as say that a reason that I like talking about this is because I like. I do think guitars, ukuleles, these instruments that we have to suffer through so often, are many people's first experience not only being creative, but also playing music and performing it at all. And I think being creative and performing and playing music are all really wonderful things. And if these are low level ways to get into it without having to be experts. And I think that is actually a very special thing. I felt. I gave some guitar lessons to some friends during COVID and that was very moving to watch them learn a few chords and start playing stuff on their own. And I, like, found myself talking in this way that, like, oh, that's what's so special about the guitar, is that you can really take a few things and then you can. And then you can start writing your own songs. And I like. And I do think that's true. You can learn very limited things and then start making something which I think is worthy of being celebrated. And lastly, I think the Barbie part was funny because it was so many people doing it at once.

[Ryan Seacrest]

There were so many people doing it at once. And that was funny.

[George Severis]

That was funny.

[Unknown]

That was always funny.

[George Severis]

And I will go as far to say that, like, I found the Just Ken song, I'm Just Ken song to be a real dud because it came after what I found to be a very funny musical comedy moment of all the guitars. And then we have an actual written song that I actually didn't like very much. So how about that?

[Ryan Seacrest]

First of all, I love that. I love the point that we should almost celebrate people experiencing creativity for the first time rather than make fun of them completely. Because it's like, what would you rather have them do? Commit mass violence? No, let them read a book or play guitar or whatever. And this, Tim, I think, is also what you're so good at, is you are someone who plays a acoustic guitar and is like, knows the bad version of the guy who plays the acoustic guitar at the party. But it also is, you are that guy, but you aren't that guy. And you can like sort of dip in and out of being this guy.

[George Severis]

Yeah, I appreciate that. That took, frankly, a lot of work to figure out on stage how to do that. And there was a lot of like. And there was. Honestly, a big part of it was just saying, I know, I know you have a guitar. You say, I know a few times and sort of feeling it's actually very. It's very clowning. Just go, I know, I know, I know we're gonna do it. And then also doing very short songs proves to people that you're not trying to waste their time. Because I think, like, a gripe I have about musical comedy generally is that it often doesn't respect people's time. I think. I think there's a few people who do it really, really well. But we've all been the thing where it's like, okay, well, after we heard the chorus that the joke's done. I don't want to hear verse two. I don't want to hear the second chorus again. Like, I think just short songs prove to an audience that, like, you're not going to push it. Because audiences are very defensive against acoustic guitars, which I get.

[Ryan Seacrest]

Of course. Of course, of course. Yeah. I'm like, I want to know, like, when you were less self aware, is there, like a time when you have brought out the acoustic guitar that, you know, in retrospect you're like, damn, that is so embarrassing, because I have one.

[George Severis]

Oh, what's yours?

[Ryan Seacrest]

Well, needless to say, in college, me and my boys were acoustic guitar heads. Okay. I was horrible at it, but I, you know, I knew some chords. Yeah, yeah. And literally, like, I have one night in particular that I think about, and it makes me feel so shameful where we went to, like, the, like, a public part of campus at, like, you know, 9pm and it was, like, dark and we just, like, played and like, you know, people, like, some people came and sat and just watched for a sec and then they'd sing along and they'd walk away. And I left that night being like, man, college is amazing. This is what community should be. And I find it now. I wish I could remember what songs we were singing, but they were certainly Wonderwall adjacent. It wasn't Wonderwall, because even then, you know that that's cheesy. But it was like, close.

[Unknown]

I just want to defend Wonderwall for a second because here's the thing. One thing we haven't touched upon is the acoustification of, dare I say, hip hop and other genres of music. Because talk about a certain kind of straight valence is thinking you are, if not improving upon, then, like, sort of fucking with, you know, literally a, like, Run DMC song by making it acoustic and being sort of, like, cheeky about it. There's this. It's this very, like, 2000s 2010s.

[Ryan Seacrest]

I'm thinking Ben Folds Pentatonix, which is Ain't shit. I'm thinking.

[Unknown]

Yes, exactly.

[Ryan Seacrest]

The dancing on my own cover. Yes.

[Unknown]

The dancing on my own cover. Even, like, there's. I feel like there's so many acoustic covers of Toxic by Britney Spears. I feel like people were doing that for a while.

[George Severis]

The Heyya. The famous Heyya cover.

[Unknown]

Oh, my God, yes. So to me, and I don't want to limit people's creativity because I do think it's interesting to hear something and hear a different take on something. But I'm like, why are we stigmatizing Wonderwall when that's, like, what the acoustic guitar was built for?

[George Severis]

And you know what? I think that. So that very thing I remember very clearly. I would play in bands in high school where, like, the other acts were people who were just doing acoustic covers of rap and hip hop and getting a lot of attention for it. And what I think that cultural moment did was tell country music that it was okay to, like, start incorporating this talking, like, the Florida Georgia Line type stuff. Cause now. Now so much country music is hip hop influenced. Their production, their beat, their vocal cadences, like, you know, even the sort of, like, type of speak rapping that happens in country music happens a lot more than. Lin Manuel Miranda isn't the only one bringing hip hop to different forms. Country music is, like, they want that. That became very much a huge part about current country music, I think. And I think that is straight up, because people doing these cute covers show that, like, if we just sing it like that, isn't that amazing? If we sing Gin and Juice like this, it's actually a beautiful song.

[Ryan Seacrest]

Yeah, yeah.

[Unknown]

Well, I think this is also. And again, this feels a bit, you know, a bit Obama era as a critical modality. But there is something about acoustic guitar that is like. Like, it is, you know, considered, like, straight and white. Okay, so then when you use it to cover a song that is not that, or when you use it even to cover a song that, like, normally would be more electronic or poppy or whatever, it is a way of, like. It's that, like, kind of. It's like making unseasoned food. Like, it's like. It's that kind of thing. It's like you're taking something and you're, like, getting rid of the flavor.

[George Severis]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Unknown]

And I think that was the reaction against it when it became such a common enemy.

[Ryan Seacrest]

You're like, gentrifying a song.

[Unknown]

You're gentrifying. Yes, that's exact. Yes, that is very well put. Yeah, you're gentrifying a song And I think like, I think currently what's happening is like a re evaluation of that kind of critique, wouldn't you say? Like now if someone was like, oh, so and so is gentrifying a song, I'd be like, well, that sounds like a pretty vacuous critique. Let's like look into that a little bit more. Like, why are you reacting this way? This seems like something that is like a statement that is perfectly made to like go viral on social media. But what are you actually saying? Ultimately? Nothing.

[George Severis]

Well, that's true. And that's something I've been thinking about recently with. With TikTok being a huge platform for distributing music, is that, you know, Mi espresso is a novelty song. Like, that's part of the re. The big songs on TikTok tend to be, in my opinion, sort of like, they're pop. They're pop songs, but like, they are also novelty. They are made with an air of joke. They're made with an air of jest. They're made with an air of a clever turn of phrase. They're made with an air of like, can you believe someone put this to music? There's a lot of people who I silently don't like on TikTok who make music which are all like, can you believe we're like being kind of gross while singing in the style of a pop song? We're really talented musicians, but we're talking about like sort of poopy and peepee. Haha. And I think like the idea of the novelty song is. What am I trying to say? I think that novelty songs exist as like a separate form. Form that has like sort of like infected. Not infected, but that TikTok has allowed to sort of get into all these different spaces of. To our public consciousness where it's like, where it's not even novelty song anymore. It's just like, that's just how we. That's the songwriting people do at a consistent clip because you can post stuff at whatever I just said a consistent clip on these social media platforms where people are hearing music for the first time rather than the radio or the campfire with your friends. And to answer your question, Sam, I actually think I got a lot of attention from playing guitar often. So I'm not embarrassed by a lot of it because at the time I knew it was the juice I needed to get what I wanted. But I would just play it in the hallways of my high school.

[Ryan Seacrest]

Wow, you were playing it in high.

[George Severis]

School for no one. Yeah. Yeah.

[Ryan Seacrest]

That is so I see It. I can see it all so clearly.

[George Severis]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Legs.

[Unknown]

Here's my call to everyone out there. The harp. Oh, we need. We need to replace the acoustic guitar with the harp. If I'm at a campfire, bring a harp.

[George Severis]

I'm gonna send you some clips of Harpo Marx right now, and I want to see how you react to it.

[Unknown]

We. Florence in the. We're in a Florence in the machine. We need a Florence the machine renaissance.

[Ryan Seacrest]

I want to agree with you, but here's what I'm. I want to go in a more. A different direction. I'm ready for stomps and claps. I want to be sitting around the campfire and people to be sort of patting on their knees and doing little sort of nursery rhyme style songs. This, I think, is accessible to all. You know, there's no economic barrier of entry. And you can never forget your hands and knees.

[George Severis]

I'm gonna take.

[Unknown]

I'm taking class analysis.

[George Severis]

I'll take you a step further. I'm taking a step further. I would like to see more single woodwinds used in a collective.

[Unknown]

I'd like to see everyone take out a recorder, and I want everyone to harmonize at the campfire. Everyone with their own recorder.

[Ryan Seacrest]

That sounds amazing. Actually.

[George Severis]

You know, what was the joke? I tried to do a lot in stand up. That never worked because it's a bad joke. So I know the saxophone is a woodwind. Why is the most brass fucking song woodwind I've ever fucking heard in my fucking life. And that's that. That rhythm was very important to what I thought was success of the joke.

[Ryan Seacrest]

Damn, that's good. I get it.

[George Severis]

Sam, I think you're maybe one the only people who will appreciate.

[Unknown]

I hate to say this, but, you know, we're running out of time here. So any final thoughts or. Sam. On acoustic guitars, covers.

[George Severis]

Final thoughts on acoustic guitar covers. I would just have to say I think they're best when you're alone. I think they're best when alone. I will, like, sing songs to myself alone. And I think that's a very special experience. And I hate that I fucking talk like that about it.

[Unknown]

But what about potentially, you know, you're married to a woman potentially in a romantic setting.

[George Severis]

She does not like your music. She likes my music. She just doesn't need it all the time. And she hears it through the. Hears it through the walls. She's got her own thing going. There was actually one time recently when I was like. I wrote a new song. Can I show it to you? And she said, okay, and then did something else for a little while. And I was like, hey, I actually asked you to listen to the song. And she was like, I had something else to do. And I was like, but now I've just been waiting here with the guitar. And she was like. And she was like, you're acting like a diva right now. And I said, yes, I am. I don't. And I was like, I never asked you to listen to my music. And this is the one time I did. And we had a little conversation about it.

[Unknown]

And you know, there are other men that would have that experience and it would take them immediately to the manosphere. And I just want to say, thank God for straight men like Tim Flack.

[George Severis]

Wow. Here I have no choice but to. I have no choice but to accept. Wow. How about that?

[Ryan Seacrest]

Well, should we do our final segment?

[Unknown]

I think we must.

[George Severis]

Hey, comedy fans.

[Sam Taggart]

The funniest comedians in the world are.

[George Severis]

On Twitter and you can get tickets to see them live near you laugh with the biggest names in comedy like Atsuko Okatsuka, Brian Regan, Chelsea Handler, Corey Holcomb, Dane Cook, Sarah Milliken, Matt Matthews.

[Sam Taggart]

Nick Swartzen, Sebastian Maniscalco, and so many more.

[George Severis]

All kinds of shows, all kinds of venues, all kinds of funny. Head to livenation.comcomedy to get your tickets today. That's livenation.comcomedy.

[Sam Taggart]

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[Ryan Seacrest]

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[Tim Platt]

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[Sam Taggart]

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[Unknown]

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[Sam Taggart]

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[George Severis]

Offer ends December 31st.

[Ryan Seacrest]

Restrictions apply.

[Sam Taggart]

Promotions may vary. Visit albertsons or safeway.com for more details.

[Unknown]

Tim Our final segment is called Shout Outs. This is a segment where we pay homage to the great straight oral tradition of the radio. Shout out. You're at Z100, shouting out your friends back home. You're on TRL. And so we're all gonna go and do one. We think of them on the spot. That's the rule. I don't have one. Sam, do you have one?

[Ryan Seacrest]

Do I have one? That is a tough question.

[George Severis]

This is a hard game for today.

[Unknown]

It's one of the hardest.

[Ryan Seacrest]

This is a really hard game for.

[George Severis]

Today, but we can do it.

[Ryan Seacrest]

Okay? What's up, freaks, losers and perverts around the globe? I want to give a shout out to my brain and my memory and my ability to see pattern. I think growing is amazing and it's so cool. So for election night, you start watching the news and you're like, I feel this pit in my stomach that I felt before and it's like, actually I don't have to watch this shit. In fact, I can just turn this off and just like try to sleep. And yes, I'll be uncomfortable and yes, I'll like be a little stressed, but it's like so much better to know yourself and to know that trying to make yourself suffer to feel more in control is actually not more in control and actually more out of control. I find myself we're seeing a pattern here. We're seeing some repetition and it's fun to sort of be like, okay, I've done this before. What do I do this time? I feel, I feel more prepared and I feel the same amount of bummed out, but I think I'm better equipped for it because of my brain and learning and pattern. X.O.X.O. sam.

[Unknown]

What's up? Freaks and losers out there? I want to give a shout out to. It's been mentioned already, the film conclave. Oh, baby. When I tell you this is what I like to call a perfectly middle brow film. I went in I. It massages your brain the exact, the exact right amount. So you are activated, you are thinking, but you're not challenged too much and you're also not insulted or condescended to. It is. I cannot recommend it more. I don't know how it'll hit post election because it is of course famously about an election where there is a Trumpian figure. But I'm telling you, I watched it last week and I had the time of my damn life. Ralph Fiennes is one of our great actors. Even though he's always been there. I don't think of him when I think of my top five actors. But honey, he's up there. Silly Tucci, great actor. I don't think this is his best performance, but he's pretty good. Isabella Rossellini has this Tilda Swinton esque vibe where she just is herself playing a character at all times. But it works. It doesn't take you out of it. You're just like, oh my God, isn't it so funny that that is Isabella Rossell in a nun costume. And I don't know, you know, I wanna. Maybe this is how we save Hollywood, is adapt more like middle of the road airport novels, but elevate them just enough to make them Oscar movies. Don't make them Netflix movies. Like try to elevate them, but make them accessible to everyone.

[Ryan Seacrest]

We need to ban Netflix movies. Let's start there.

[Unknown]

Ban Netflix movies unless, you know, wants to get in touch, but otherwise ban them.

[Ryan Seacrest]

Otherwise ban them.

[Unknown]

I completely and shout out to the Catholic Church because you guys are doing incredible, amazing work.

[George Severis]

I completely agree. I think Ralph Fiennes is fantastic. I think his performance in Grand Prix, the Best Hotel is one of like my top tier. I think it's so funny and has so much dignity. And mixing those two is really hard. I will say the one. I have a few quibbles about Conclave, but the one made. But all I understand are to create the piece that it is. Though what I will say about Conclave is that I do think the politics of the Pope, of the cardinals, bishops of the Conclave were veered a little too close to modern, sensible political brands. And I do. I'm into Catholic shit for weird Catholic opinions. I would have liked a little more strange Catholic perspectives than ones that we could be like, well, those are the liberals and those are the conservatives.

[Unknown]

But that's what I mean about it being perfectly accessible.

[George Severis]

Exactly.

[Unknown]

It's like you literally have to know. Know nothing about the world that it's portraying, which is like, what makes it so middlebrow. It is not. It doesn't challenge you. Like, it is. It is like a very interesting and moderately well written and exciting and thriller esque hour and a half at the moment.

[George Severis]

Yeah. I just wish there was like one person at one time who was like. And also, let's get rid of all the relics in the papacy. No more promoting the relics.

[Ryan Seacrest]

Pieces of.

[Unknown]

Well, Tim, you can't have it all.

[George Severis]

That's true. That's certainly true.

[Unknown]

All right, Tim, whenever you're ready.

[George Severis]

Fuck. Damn. Hold up.

[Ryan Seacrest]

Yeah, totally.

[George Severis]

Give me one second. You know what? I want to shout out my little notebook. Every morning I open up my little notebook and often I don't write in it. But recently I've been writing in it every day. Because sometimes to actually have like a focus point away from everything else and to actually write nonsense or your literal feelings or your little lists of things to do and you, when you time it, that's like fun. And you can put a sticker on top of it and you can, like tile them on top of each other. And you know what? And maybe. And maybe. And just maybe if you start writing that notebook every day, you could write your very own Conclave. And just maybe if you write in your notebook every day, you can start writing down patterns you see, and then you go back. I believe it was a character in the Importance of Being Earnest, who said, of course I have a notebook. One must always have something exciting to read on the train. Now, I'm not gonna go that far. I'm not gonna read a notebook that much. Not more than I'll read fiction, which I adore, but I think the beginning of all of it starts in the simple pages of your local notebook.

[Ryan Seacrest]

No, I love that. And I. Sometimes I am like, ooh, I would love to go back and read that journal entry. I bet. It's so juicy. Then I go back and read it and I'm like, that sucked.

[George Severis]

No, I barely finished that. It's like all clauses that jump to different clauses that are different voices.

[Ryan Seacrest]

Yeah, it's not amazing work, but hopefully one day it gets published posthumously.

[Unknown]

Ring the Joan Diddy.

[Ryan Seacrest]

Well, Tim.

[Unknown]

Well, Tim's debut comedy album, Teeth Like Beak, is now out on all platforms. I was lucky enough to perform at the release party for it in Brooklyn's. In New York's Brooklyn borough.

[Ryan Seacrest]

Yeah.

[Unknown]

And everyone should go listen to it on Bandcamp or Spotify or wherever. Especially Spotify. So tim can get 0.000001 for it. That would be really great.

[George Severis]

You can buy it on Bandcamp and if you're just gonna. You can also stream it on Bandcamp. But if you're gonn. I get it.

[Ryan Seacrest]

Yeah, it's. It's easier. But you guys buy it.

[George Severis]

Seriously, buy it.

[Ryan Seacrest]

Well, thanks so much, Tim. This has been a real treat.

[George Severis]

Thank you for having me. I appreciate it.

[Ryan Seacrest]

Sorry the timing's bad.

[George Severis]

I appreciate being here with you both. I think you're both smart and funny and so it was. It was nice to be here. And here.

[Unknown]

We think you're smart and funny and we wish we could all be in the same room.

[Ryan Seacrest]

Yeah, that would be nice. Yeah.

[Unknown]

Would have been. Been nice to, you know, feel that physical closeness at a time like this.

[Ryan Seacrest]

Now more than ever, what with everything.

[George Severis]

Going on, now more than ever is not going away. That's staying.

[Ryan Seacrest]

It.

[Unknown]

I'm saying it earnestly and fully now more than ever.

[Ryan Seacrest]

I mean, I'm back to saying like, you know, with everything. With everything.

[George Severis]

Yes.

[Unknown]

Wow.

[Ryan Seacrest]

Which is so. I'm disgusted with myself. But that's neither here nor there. We love podcasting through it all. Bye. Podcast ends now.

[Unknown]

Want more? Subscribe to our Patreon for two extra episodes a month. Discord Access and more by heading to patreon.com Stradiolab and for all our visual learners.

[Ryan Seacrest]

Free full length video episodes are available on our YouTube.

[Unknown]

Now get back to work.

[Ryan Seacrest]

Stradiolab is a Production by Will Ferrell's Big Money Players Network and iHeart Podcasts.

[Unknown]

Created and hosted by George Severis and.

[Ryan Seacrest]

Sam Taggart executive produced by Will Ferrell Hansani and Olivia Aguilar co produced by Bay Wang Edited and engineered by Adam.

[Unknown]

Avalos Artwork by Michael Fails and Matt.

[Ryan Seacrest]

Grubb Theme music by Ben Kling.

[George Severis]

You wake up, put on your Ray Ban Meta glasses. You're living all in. You realize you need coffee so you say hey Meta, how do I make a latte?

[Unknown]

Brew two shots of espresso.

[George Severis]

After Meta AI gets you caffeinated, you're ready for some beats. Hey hey meta Play hip hop music. You head to meet some friends but can't remember the place. Hey Meta Call Eva Ray Ban Meta Glasses, the next generation of AI Glasses. Just say hey Meta to harness the power of Meta AI, shop now at meta.com smartglasses hey comedy fans. The funniest comedians in the world are on tour and you can get tickets to see them live near you. Laugh at the biggest names in comedy like Atsuko Katsuka, Chelsea Handler, Jimmy Carr, Kathy Griffin, Matt Matthews, Matt Wright, Sarah Silverman, Sebastian Maniscalco, Stavros Helkias, Wanda Sykes and so many more. All kinds of shows, all kinds of venues, all kinds of funny. Head to livenation.comcomedy to get your tickets today. That's livenation.comcomedy.

[Sam Taggart]

Hate has been winning for too long. It's at an all time high and too many people are facing too much hate all over this country. To turn the tide, we have to stand together as a united team. We can change the momentum. It's time to take a timeout Against Hate. Visit standuptoallhate.org to help. Join us in calling for a hashtag timeout against hate by following or posting the blue square emoji at Ameca Insurance, we know it's more than just a car. It's the two door coupe that was there for your first drive.

[George Severis]

The hatchback.

[Sam Taggart]

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