TDS Time Machine | Rock Stars - Pt. 2

Summary

Podcast Summary: The Daily Show: Ears Edition

Episode: TDS Time Machine | Rock Stars - Pt. 2

Date: November 9, 2025
Host: Trevor Noah
Guests: Neil Young, Dave Grohl, Willie Nelson, Bruce Springsteen, Moby

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Episode Overview

This episode of The Daily Show: Ears Edition uses the “TDS Time Machine” format to revisit classic interviews and fresh commentary with legendary rock figures. Trevor Noah and the team sit down with Neil Young, Dave Grohl, Willie Nelson, Bruce Springsteen, and Moby, exploring the artistry, philosophy, and community behind rock music, creative longevity, and the life of an artist. The episode is a candid, humorous, and insightful journey into the heart and resilience of modern musical icons.

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Key Discussion Points and Insights

1. Neil Young on Musical Intimacy & Creative Evolution

[01:17–07:05]

• Heart of Gold and Artistic Evolution:
  Neil Young explains why Heart of Gold is his favorite concert film. It replicated the early days' intimacy when he was largely unknown ("It's like a personal moment between me and the audience like I used to be able to have when nobody knew who I was" – Neil Young, 01:52).
• Audience Reception:
  Young references backlash from fans who prefer his edgier side ("There's maybe about 400 of them [...] that hate me because of this film. Because really, it's just too nice." – Neil Young, 02:00).
• On Directing:
  He discusses Jonathan Demme directing the film and his preference for directing projects he’s not in ("It's easier for me to direct other people." – Neil Young, 03:46).
• Creative Challenge:
  Emphasizes the importance of playing new, unheard songs for the audience as a way to keep the performance vital ("Playing nine songs or 10 songs in a row that they never heard, that's a real challenge." – Neil Young, 04:47).
• Songwriting Process:
  Young describes how true inspiration finds him when he’s not actively seeking it ("I'm like a vehicle, and it comes to me and it goes through me, and I get it out there." – Neil Young, 05:43).
• Personal Stories:
  Shares affectionate stories about his dogs, King and Carl, adding warmth and humor.

Notable Quote:

• "When they come, they come really fast, and I enjoy that. I'm like a vehicle, and it comes to me and it goes through me, and I get it out there." – Neil Young (05:43)

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2. Dave Grohl and the Power of Musical Community

[07:18–13:54]

• Foo Fighters’ Sonic Highways:
  Dave Grohl explains the HBO series, designed to inspire the next generation and document the community at the heart of American music ("The intention was to inspire the next generation of musicians to fall in love with music just as much as we did." – Dave Grohl, 08:37).
• Interview Style:
  Describes conducting interviews without prepared questions to allow conversations to turn into mutual lessons.
• Songwriting Method:
  Details the unique process for Sonic Highways: spending six days in a city, piecing song lyrics together from local interviews and references ("By the end of that day, we'd have a drum track and some guitar stuff [...] then on the fifth day, I'd take all of those transcripts home, and I'd pick out words and sentences and phrases" – Dave Grohl, 10:53).
• The Value of Collaboration and Regional Sound:
  Talks about the loss and persistence of local music scenes ("There were reasons why jazz comes from New Orleans and why the blues made its way to Chicago" – Dave Grohl, 12:27), and the necessity of working with others.

Notable Quote:

• "One of the most rewarding things about playing music is doing it with other people. And communities support each other." – Dave Grohl (12:58)

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3. Willie Nelson on Life Philosophy and Universal Appeal

[14:36–19:30]

• The Tao of Willie:
  Willie discusses his book, rooted in simplicity and acceptance ("Keeping breathing is a big part of this thing. If you can manage to do that, then you've got the first TA of the Dow." – Willie Nelson, 17:20).
• Icon Status:
  Trevor commends Willie for his genre-defying credibility and universal likability. Willie attributes it to authenticity, saying there are no real secrets.
• Eastern Philosophy and Country:
  Light-heartedly connects Eastern philosophy with country wisdom.
• Travel and Touring Anecdotes:
  Tells stories from the road, sharing warmth and understated humor.

Notable Quote:

• "If you can manage to [keep breathing], then you've got the first Ta of the Dao." – Willie Nelson (17:20)

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4. Bruce Springsteen on Storytelling, Politics, and Artistic Doubt

[19:35–35:47]

• Springsteen’s Influence:
  Reflects on writing the story of America in his music, chronicling societal changes from the 1970s to now ("If someone was interested in cataloging the history of the United States since, say, 1970... they could do worse than go and dig into some of my stuff." – Bruce Springsteen, 20:42).
• Purpose of His Music:
  Explains how his work is both a reflection and a critique, preferring character-driven storytelling over direct politics.
• Misinterpretation of Work:
  On "Born in the U.S.A." being misunderstood ("...the key to some of my music is you need to be able to hold two contradictory ideas in your mind at the same time..." – Bruce Springsteen, 30:25).
• Artistic Doubt and Drive:
  Admits that insecurity fuels his creativity and progression ("Your doubts and questions and insecurities do move your work forward." – Bruce Springsteen, 32:41).
• Pandemic Life:
  Discusses adapting to the COVID era, staying creative at home, and gratitude for his position.

Notable Quotes:

• "A song can be both prideful and critical. And that idea is very central to a lot of my music, because that's how I feel." – Bruce Springsteen (30:25)
• "Your doubts and questions and insecurities do move your work forward... that’s at the key of artistic progression." – Bruce Springsteen (32:41)

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5. Moby on Celebrity Encounters and Ageing in Music

[35:51–41:22]

• Album “18” and Eccentric Video Cast:
  Discusses the production and wild casting of the "We Are All Made of Stars" video, featuring Corey Feldman, Gary Coleman, and Ron Jeremy.
• Being Dissed by Eminem:
  Jokes about Eminem calling him too old, and the irony that his last techno record was nine years before the diss ("But the thing that hurts is some of my friends [...] are troubled by the fact that we're getting older. And Eminem disses me for being too old." – Moby, 38:48).
• Humor and Self-Awareness:
  Exchanges lighthearted banter with Trevor about age, celebrity, and learning life lessons with every passing year.

Notable Quotes:

• "Eminem disses me for being too old. [...] He says, 'You're too old.'" – Moby (39:00)
• "Always keep 10 and 2. And then when you're turning, overhand, overhand." – Trevor Noah (39:33)

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Memorable Moments & Notable Quotes with Timestamps

• Neil Young on Creative Flow:
  "I'm like a vehicle, and it comes to me and it goes through me, and I get it out there." (05:43)
• Dave Grohl on Collaboration:
  "One of the most rewarding things about playing music is doing it with other people." (12:58)
• Willie Nelson on Simplicity:
  "If you can manage to keep breathing, then you've got the first Ta of the Dao." (17:20)
• Springsteen on Contradiction:
  "A song can be both prideful and critical. And that idea is very central to a lot of my music..." (30:25)
• Moby on Being Dissed:
  "Eminem disses me for being too old. [...] He says, 'You're too old.'" (39:00)

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Timestamps for Key Segments

| Timestamp | Segment/Topic Description | Guest(s) | |-----------|-----------------------------|------------------| | 01:17 | Neil Young on Heart of Gold, concert intimacy, and songwriting | Neil Young | | 07:52 | Dave Grohl on Sonic Highways, community, and creative process | Dave Grohl | | 14:36 | Willie Nelson on The Tao of Willie, life philosophy | Willie Nelson | | 19:35 | Bruce Springsteen on storytelling, politics, and creative doubt| Bruce Springsteen| | 35:51 | Moby on celebrity, ageing, and pop culture moments | Moby |

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Overall Tone and Takeaways

The episode maintains The Daily Show’s signature mix of irreverence and respect for its guests, blending sharp wit with moments of sincerity and artistic vulnerability. Through their stories, Neil Young, Dave Grohl, Willie Nelson, Bruce Springsteen, and Moby demonstrate the endurance, humility, and communal spirit that sustain not just careers, but whole genres. The conversations highlight a generational wisdom: the importance of community, the drive to reinvent, the acceptance of doubt, and the joy in making art—even as popular tastes, technologies, and times change.

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Perfect for listeners who love behind-the-scenes candor with musical legends, a dash of comedian’s humor, and a celebration of the enduring power of rock and roll.

Transcript

[Trevor Noah]

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[Interviewer/Host]

You're listening to Comedy Central.

[Trevor Noah]

Please welcome Neil Young. Neil, so great to see you. Thank you so much for coming on the program.

[Neil Young]

Thank you.

[Trevor Noah]

The film Heart of Gold is. Is wonderful. Is it? You know, you've done different concert films. Is this one your favorite?

[Neil Young]

Well, you know, I have a lot of different kinds of music I play, so this is my favorite one that I've done. Really? I think it's, it's, it's more than. It's like a personal moment between me and the audience like I used to be able to have when nobody knew who I was when I was had. Was playing for 15 people, you know, and where I had to explain everything to them, every song and kind of introduce myself. So in that respect, it's really great. And I love the whole thing. But there are a lot of, or at least a few people who like my other side of my music. And this film has totally turned them against me. There's maybe about 400 of them in the United States that hate me because of this film. Because really, it's just too nice.

[Trevor Noah]

They want the Crazy Horse vibe.

[Neil Young]

They want the worse than that. They want way they want.

[Trevor Noah]

They want the minus.

[Neil Young]

Yeah, right. Yeah.

[Trevor Noah]

Why Jonathan Demme? Why not Bernard shaky to direct this film?

[Neil Young]

Well, you know, first of all, Jonathan, he's just a master. I didn't have to worry about anything. I had to worry about zero except playing my songs and trying to sing them. And there were so many new songs in the film. The first 10 or something are new, so it was easier for me to focus on playing these songs. For the first time, for people that had never heard them before, the record wasn't out, and making the film was. You know, he wanted to do it. He called me up and he said, I really want to do something. And I said, well, I got these songs, and I sent him a list of the lyrics and everything, and he really liked them. So I said, let's try this. And over the period of a couple of months, we figured out how to do it.

[Trevor Noah]

Can you imagine if you sent him the songs and he calls you back and goes, nah, I don't really want to do this anymore.

[Neil Young]

He ought to try to get Bernard Shaky to do that one.

[Trevor Noah]

Bernard Shaky?

[Neil Young]

Yeah.

[Trevor Noah]

The famed pseudonymous.

[Neil Young]

Yeah.

[Trevor Noah]

Did you enjoy directing your own stuff, or did you feel like the pressure of it was you couldn't focus on what you wanted to focus on?

[Neil Young]

Well, you know, I really like directing things that I'm not in.

[Trevor Noah]

Really?

[Neil Young]

Yeah. Because it's easier for me to direct other people. It's hard to be objective. I mean, congratulations on your Oscar, by the way.

[Trevor Noah]

Oh, thank you. But I didn't. Thank you very much. I appreciate that.

[Dave Grohl]

That was very nice.

[Trevor Noah]

You know what I'm going to do next time? Next time I'm going to direct that show and not be in it. It'll help me focus a little bit.

[Neil Young]

That'll do it.

[Trevor Noah]

You talked about you like the intimacy, and you miss the intimacy of that, you know, and it's been a lot of years since you've been in Unknown. Is there a way to recapture that in any way?

[Neil Young]

Gee, I don't think so. I wish there was.

[Trevor Noah]

Do you find, though, that even amongst larger audiences, the affection for you is so great? That brings an intimacy like is. Does that compensate for it?

[Neil Young]

Except it's a celebration. It's not like they don't know who I am. That moment where people don't know who you are and you're playing for them for the first time, that's just like the first time in anything, you know?

[Trevor Noah]

It's good.

[Neil Young]

It's wonderful.

[Trevor Noah]

And do you feel like there are times you want to. You want to earn it again or.

[Neil Young]

It's that I do like to do that. That's why playing all the songs that they'd never heard before was so important to me to a crowd that had never heard the songs and a record had never even been out. So playing nine songs or 10 songs in a row that they never heard, that's a real challenge. And to me, that's reaffirming that I still have something to do. If I'd gone out and just done 20 old songs, I would not be really happy with myself.

[Trevor Noah]

Do you write in the same way? Is it. Do you still feel the same sort of inspiration, the same sort of drive, or. Or are there times where it's like, yeah, let me just write a song right there.

[Neil Young]

I can't. I, I. Here's one now, right? No, no, it's not the same. But I really like to get to a place where I'm totally out of touch, which isn't too hard for me.

[Interviewer/Host]

It's like falling off a log.

[Trevor Noah]

And when you do that, that's when the best stuff starts to do.

[Neil Young]

That's right. That's right. When I'm not thinking about it. If I want to write a song, if somebody's going, neil, you haven't written a song in a year, or whatever, you got to write a song. I can't do that. But when they come, they come really fast, and I enjoy that. I'm like a vehicle, and it comes to me and it goes through me, and I get it out there.

[Trevor Noah]

You know what I love is the dog King.

[Neil Young]

Oh, yeah.

[Trevor Noah]

That's one of my favorites. How old was King when King went?

[Neil Young]

King was about 9.

[Trevor Noah]

What kind of dog?

[Neil Young]

It was a blue tick hound. A Tennessee blue tick.

[Trevor Noah]

Tennessee blue tick. And truly the best dog you ever had.

[Neil Young]

Great dog. We have some dogs now. I could. Carl. If you're watching.

[Dave Grohl]

Carl, that's the show.

[Trevor Noah]

Do you feel Carl would be upset if you talk too highly about King?

[Neil Young]

Maybe. Yeah. But he might be confused because King's real name was Elvis. So I tried to soften the blow.

[Trevor Noah]

I think that was wise.

[Neil Young]

Yeah. Yeah.

[Trevor Noah]

So when you get home, you think Carl just might be sitting there in the yard like, this could be. Fetch this.

[Neil Young]

Yeah, right.

[Trevor Noah]

That sort of thing. Well, Heart of Gold is in the theaters now. It is truly just. It is, like you say, it's an intimate experience with your music, and it's a wonderful piece. Thanks to watch and I really enjoyed it, and it's lovely to come on the show.

[Neil Young]

Thank you for having me.

[Trevor Noah]

My pleasure. Neil Young, everybody. We're inviting my guest tonight, the frontman of the Foo Fighters. His HBO series, which he created and directed, is called Foo Fight Sonic Highways.

[Interviewer/Host]

I looked at my interview with Steve, like, the message of this entire project. We're all connected by something. Maybe it's a river that runs underground. Maybe it's Woody Guthrie. Maybe it's Chuck D. Whatever. That conversation became my goal. I want to talk about these people I want to talk about music, but I want to get to this nice.

[Trevor Noah]

Please welcome back to the program Dave Grohl.

[Dave Grohl]

Let me help you down.

[Trevor Noah]

You good? All right.

[Dave Grohl]

Thanks.

[Trevor Noah]

I know it's hard. I know it's hard.

[Interviewer/Host]

It's hard being what's happening.

[Trevor Noah]

How are you? I'm good. I love this, uh. This series is. It's just wonderful.

[Interviewer/Host]

Thanks.

[Trevor Noah]

It's wonderful.

[Interviewer/Host]

Thank you.

[Trevor Noah]

And it's. It's old school, but in the best possible way, without that. That patina of kind of goofy nostalgia, but of what made the music in the cities you went to so vital. I. I don't know how you avoided that trap, but you did well.

[Interviewer/Host]

You know, part of the. Part of the idea or the intention was to inspire the next generation of musicians to fall in love with music just as much as we did. So as much as I was. As much as I was digging into the history of American music, I was trying to make something that would inspire kids today to want to continue and do the same thing by showing these stories that are totally human. You know, like, if you look at any of what. All of these people have one thing in common is that at some point in their life, they were inspired to. To follow their dreams and make something of it. And whether it's Buddy Guy or Rick Nielsen or Chuck D or Ian Mackay, whatever it is, at some point in their life, they caught that spark, and they're like, okay, this is me, and this is what I want to do for the rest of my life.

[Trevor Noah]

What I thought was so good about what you capture is in each of those interactions, in each of those cities, there is a moment where you're with them, where you feel that spark. Not only is it about exploring it, but you feel that electricity. There's that moment, and maybe it is for musicians, that feeling of when you've connected on that artistic level, and suddenly it starts to crackle.

[Interviewer/Host]

Yeah.

Well, a lot of the.

Also, like, I interviewed about 100 people.

[Trevor Noah]

Yeah.

[Interviewer/Host]

And when I would sit down to interview people, I didn't have questions.

[Trevor Noah]

What?

[Interviewer/Host]

I didn't hold questions in my hand.

[Trevor Noah]

You think I do that?

[Interviewer/Host]

Yeah.

[Trevor Noah]

What is that thing for right there? I'm like, you, man. I'm rock and Rol.

[Dave Grohl]

I know you are.

[Trevor Noah]

Yeah, I know.

[Interviewer/Host]

But they became. They were conversations that then turned into lessons because there were things that I just didn't know. And so when I would talk to someone about the blues or jazz or country or Nashville, there were just things I didn't know. And I would sort of imagine Myself as the viewer. Because they'd say something that would totally blow me away. And I'd just think, okay, I gotta use that. Because people need to know that that's how it works.

[Trevor Noah]

You know, turning that into the creative process. What's so unusual here as well, is in terms of songwriting. So I'm sure you have ideas in your head and they're fragments of ideas and melodies and things. But you're saving the lyrics in these cities for when you're right before you're about to record.

[Dave Grohl]

Yeah.

[Interviewer/Host]

So basically what we did is we went to each city for six days, right? First day, we'd load in all the equipment. The next day, we'd get the microphones up and we'd start recording. By the end of that day, we'd have a drum track and some guitar stuff. And then at night, I'd go interview someone. Then the next day, do some more guitar stuff, percussion. Then I'd go interview people. I did that for four days. And then on the fifth day, I'd take all of those transcripts home, and I'd sit down and I'd pick out words and sentences and phrases, and I'd put them on this side of my journal. And on this side of the journal, I had an outline of the song. And I would just sort of cut and paste. Because the idea is that the finale of each episode is a performance of the song that you've seen us putting together. And we perform the song, and you see the lyrics on screen and you recognize all of these lyrics from references that you've just heard in the episode.

[Trevor Noah]

No, it's remarkable. I didn't realize the process was six days. I'm just gonna. On the seventh day, I'm gonna assume you rested. And the respect and love, you know, it made me yearn for that type of camaraderie. Comedians have a camaraderie and you go in. But I don't know that they necessarily have those types of regional flavors or the types of. Within music. That sharing of influences you don't often see. Like, yeah, I sat down with a prop guy. You know, I'm a Carlin guy. And I all we. And we came up with something beautiful. Like that ability to collaborate seems so inviting, so exciting.

[Interviewer/Host]

Communities are really important. It's different now because everything's so interconnected. It used to be that these places were isolated somewhat, that you would have regional sounds. You know, there were reasons why jazz comes from New Orleans and why the blues made its way to Chicago and why Nashville became a country Capital. And why all of the music from Seattle's so depressing.

[Trevor Noah]

Yeah, your map's all up.

[Interviewer/Host]

Yeah, exactly. Did I do that right?

[Trevor Noah]

I think that was New Zealand.

[Interviewer/Host]

It's Alaska.

[Trevor Noah]

That was Alaska something.

[Interviewer/Host]

But now everything's so interconnected that all of these communities have become sort of one big community. And one thing that I think it's important for people to understand is one of the most rewarding things about playing music is doing it with other people. And communities support each other. Like the punk rock community when we were young. It's like it was you and your buddies and you never really imagined that it would leave your city or your local club. It was just like your pals and you did it and you had your band play with you and you would go play at your friend's club. And I think that some people might imagine these days that you don't need that, that you can just do it on your own. But it's really important, I think, to work with other people because you get inspired by them, they push you to do other things. And the sense of community is really important.

[Trevor Noah]

And I think that. Boy, that comes through aces in the whole program. It's great. And the nice part is it's eight cities now and there's more than that. So I assume there's a season two that will go.

[Interviewer/Host]

There might be a season two.

[Trevor Noah]

I think I'd like that very much. Finale of Sonic high premieres Friday, 11pm on HBO. The album Sonic highway is on sale now. Dave, always nice to see you. Dave Grohl, my guest tonight, legendary singer, songwriter. His new book is called the Tao of Willie, A guide to the happiness in your heart. Please welcome to the show, Willie Nelson.

[Interviewer/Host]

Nice to see you.

[Trevor Noah]

Thank you. Nice to see you. Thank you for joining us. Glad to be here. Just a real honor and a privilege. The book is called the tau of Willie, you know, which also can be pronounced the dow. I got it mixed. I first thought it was the toe of Willie. The toe. The toe of Willie. Really? Now you call it. What's the actual pronunciation? Dow. Dow. And not tao? Not tao. Can I tell you something?

[Moby]

No.

[Trevor Noah]

I'm an un. And Willie. Did I get Willie right? Yeah, because that. Honestly, I've been working. It threw me too. Did it really?

[Dave Grohl]

Yeah.

[Trevor Noah]

I thought they'd misspelled toe right off. You know, this is what I'm thinking. Oftentimes country is obviously so enmeshed with Eastern philosophy.

[Dave Grohl]

Sure it is.

[Trevor Noah]

How did you the idea to do this? Because where did that come from in you Is this something you've studied? Well, someone asked me to write this book and I said, you know, what's Tao? I said, what's the view? So if I may, let me. Is your philosophy something like, hey, if they put food in front of you, eat it. I like that. I like that a lot. Yeah, that's good. Could I be in the next edition of the book? You are the most agreeable man I've ever met in my life. Well, you've been in all my movies, you know. I have been in all your movies, haven't you?

[Dave Grohl]

I'm an honest event.

[Trevor Noah]

I was. I was your co star, as I was the enhancement smoker in. In the classic Half Bake.

[Neil Young]

That's right.

[Trevor Noah]

Bit of an audience favorite, you can tell you. Here's the amazing thing about. About you in. In my mind, your cred cuts across all lines, all musical genres. Acting. Nobody doesn't like and respect. Willie Nelson, is that part. Is that your dao? Is that your. How do you pull that off? Well, I'm not sure I've completely done that. There's not. I have to say, there's oftentimes we have a guest on and people be like, oh, that'll be five minutes. But with you, people were like, have a genuine affection for you in a way that is very unusual in this business. Do you think it's. I mean, I see you as an iconoclast, as someone who literally just feels what he feels inside and that's what motivates you. And there's really no. You don't feel any other outside motivations. That's what. There are no secrets. Right. Well, that could be a very short book then. Yeah. You have to put some secrets. It's not very heavy. No. Is this the kind of thing now for you when you're on the road? Do you contemplate it or you just sort of trying to feel and experience everything as it comes to you? Well, keeping breathing is a big part of this thing. If you can manage to do that, then you've got the first TA of the Dow. So you like people to start and focus on the fundamentals, because without breathing. Let's start there. You know, Start with your breath. Did you see David Blaine in the bubble?

[Neil Young]

The water bubble? Yes, I did.

[Moby]

Was you ever worried?

[Trevor Noah]

Well, he failed Willie Nelson's fundamental rule, which is keep breathing. Which is keep breathing. He was in water. Yeah. Bad move.

[Interviewer/Host]

Risky.

[Trevor Noah]

Very risky. Very risky move. I was nervous for him.

[Moby]

I know him.

[Trevor Noah]

He's a very sweet man. And I was worried that he would drown. And he really thought he could do that. I guess after eight days, I mean, I understand. Okay. I'm going to try and hold my breath and break the world record. But why once you spend eight days in water and then at the end of it, you're going to go, oh, right, the world record. I don't think that way. You know, here's what I do. I break the world record and then I bathe for eight days. Then I. Then I relax. Yeah, then you hold your breath a little at a time. That's what I'm talking about, Willie. What's the next you're going to play now? You got some concerts upstate New York. You got some other stuff coming. We're going to binghamton for the 20th, and then nothing better than Binghamton in the spring. True story.

[Moby]

We just come out of Canada.

[Trevor Noah]

Out of Canada. Nothing better than Canada this time of year. It's lovely up there. Great weather up there. Great. We play golf courses, first day of the season and never been open that early. Really? Yeah. Now, is it surprising to you that up in Canada it's so warm this early? Yeah, it was surprising to a lot of the Canadians when the bears start coming down. Well, it's an absolute delight to meet you and we're truly honored. The book is the dao of Willie. It's on the book shows now.

[Dave Grohl]

Willie Nelson, everybody.

[Interviewer/Host]

Earlier today, I spoke with the legendary musician Bruce Springsteen. We talked about his new album and documentary, the upcoming election, and so much more.

[Dave Grohl]

The east street band makes me dream, think and write big. When I am amongst my friends I allow a certain part of my mind that seems to be reserved for only them to be set free and I dwell in a house of a thousand dreams Bruce Springsteen.

[Interviewer/Host]

Welcome to the daily social distancing show.

[Dave Grohl]

Thank you very much.

[Interviewer/Host]

It is truly an honor to have you here because you are not just an artist, you are not just a successful artist. But in many ways, people would say that you write the story of America in your music. You've been extremely su successful doing it. I mean, 20 Grammys, two Golden Globes, a Tony award, an Oscar. At this stage of your life, what do you think Bruce Springsteen is still trying to tell people through his music?

[Dave Grohl]

Just trying to keep going at 71, I'm just trying to make it to the next record in the next show, you know, But I don't know. I guess if someone was interested in sort of a little bit of cataloging the history of the United states since, say, 1970, and it's post, post industrial period in music, looking for music that dealt with some of the issues that have occurred over the past 40 or 50 years. You know, there's, they could do worse than go and dig into some of my stuff, I suppose, you know, so if I've been good for anything, maybe, maybe I've been good for that.

[Interviewer/Host]

A.

[Dave Grohl]

And then the rest of the time I'm just trying to entertain you and help you do your wash and your, your laundry and vacuum your floor and dance a little bit in the kitchen and, you know, we're here to soothe your soul through troubled times a little bit, if we can. And, and that's how I look at my job.

[Interviewer/Host]

One thing that, that makes your job so interesting, or rather the execution of your job, is that it feels like you're talking about everybody's lives, everybody's society, what you see going on. I mean, you've written music about police brutality many, many years ago, that if someone played that song today, they'd go like, oh, you wrote it about now. But when you, when you look at those themes, I've always wanted to know, like, what do you think you're trying to get across to the listener? What do you think the music is trying to achieve? Is it just to shine a light on the subject or is it to also infuse a little bit of your politics and what you, what you experience in and around the world?

[Dave Grohl]

I suppose it's a little bit of both. You know, it's the way you see things and, and how you're experiencing them. And I, I. There's a part of me that says if you were interested in knowing what it was like to be a citizen of the United States between 1970 and 2020, like I said, you know, you, that, that may be in my work a little bit. A lot of the times you're just written by the, you just write what moves you, what. And, and then, but also it, you, you write what you are able to write about. Because very often I don't, I don't operate from the conceptual, from a conceptual place first. I operate sort of internally first, and then, and, and then it becomes outward. So a song, say, like American Skin that I wrote in 1998 about the Amadou Diallo shooting is, can feel current today, you know, but it was just something. At the time I remember I was thinking we were coming to New York, I wanted to have a new piece of music, and that was, that had recently occurred and, and I was just able to write about it. So, so I did, you know, I didn't, I didn't think it was going to be particularly controversial at the time. It ended up being a little more so than I thought, but that's kind of how I approach things. The political aspect in my music is more, is through implication. I try to write good. I try to write good three dimensional character studies where I bring lives to life, you know, and create, and create breathing, living human beings that you will recognize in my music. And then I kind of let the politics speak for itself. You know, of course, some of your own comes through. But I really, I don't consider myself a topical songwriter. I don't consider myself a political songwriter. If anything, at this late age, I would say I'm, I'm a little more. I've been saying I've been a little bit more of a spiritual songwriter in that. That's what's sort of been driving my, some of my most recent work. So that's basically the way I look at my job and what I do.

[Interviewer/Host]

I think that's one of the more fascinating things about you is that you always refer to it as a job. You know, even in the documentary, I, I loved how you've reunited the E Street Band. Here you are, you know, 50 years from the inception of this idea, and you guys are jamming and you, you play for a very long time. And, and I love that you, you, you say to the, you say to the guys, you're like, guys, we, this is our job. We have a job to do. And everyone's talking about a job and it's work and it, you guys are having a great time, but it's like you're working. It's like we're working, we're getting the chords, we're doing the thing. Why do you think you work so hard? It may seem like an obvious question, but why do you think you work so hard and play for so long to make the songs what they are?

[Dave Grohl]

I just like to do it, you know, it's the way that I've. The way that I've enjoyed doing my job since I was a very, very young, young man. You know, When I was 18 or 19, I was used to playing five hours a night in a, in a bar. So I was very used to that kind of playing very early in my, in my work life. And I also felt I was desperate to communicate. And starting from when I was young, I felt there was a lot I wanted to talk to you about right now. And I don't know what tomorrow brings, but I know that this evening we're all here and we're in this room. So I'm interested in making the most of my opportunity to speak to you tonight. And that drove me more than anything else. It's something I've just always enjoyed, I've enjoyed doing. When I come off stage, I feel a release and a catharsis that occurs through that kind of work. And I don't think. And that's what's, that's just what's driven me, you know. And so it's really, it's really what drives you and how you approach your job. And I always approached it as this very sort of, I would say, joyous work, you know. I've gotten this tremendous amount of joy out of it. We're serious when we get on, when we get on the stage or when we come in the studio. So there's not exactly what I would call a party atmosphere, I suppose, you know, but it's a work atmosphere where there's an enormous amount of happiness and joy and simply, and simply what we're accomplishing.

[Interviewer/Host]

For a long time, your music has been the catharsis. You, you have seen people who have felt unseen. You have spoken about towns that are forgotten in time. You've spoken about industries and places and people that, that, that seem to have been completely forgotten. And yet at the same time, you have as big a following on the coast. You, you, you, you cross, you know, all walks of life. I, I, I wonder if you ever sit and ask yourself why you think you do so well with such a broad swath of people.

[Dave Grohl]

Well, I would say first and foremost, I'm a good storyteller, you know, and people like stories and they like stories that connect to their inner geography. Your inner geography may or may not have to do with anything you've experienced or not experienced. It's simply the geography of your emotional life. And I believe I've done well at speaking to that, you know, and our largest audience is in Europe. We have, two thirds of our, of our audience exists in Europe now. Much, much, much, much bigger than the United States. And so why is that? Think I'm a good storyteller, you know. And I think in Europe, people are very interested in America and American myth and what's going on over here. And those are the stories I've told since I, since I was a young man. But really, I believe what's at the heart of it is people like your music. They like the way it sounds, they like the way you sing, and they like the stories you tell.

[Interviewer/Host]

You tell Stories that some people cannot tell for themselves. You know, I always loved listening to your music because I felt like it took me on a journey through what people refer to as the heartland of America. What I've also been intrigued by in your music is how people oftentimes miss the meaning of your music, misconstrue your music, or have a completely different understanding of what the music is. So, for instance, a great example is, like, Born in the usa. You know, like, people play it in a way that when you listen to the lyrics, you're like, well, this doesn't seem like how people are dancing. Like, people are like, yeah, this is a song about let's take over the world. I'm born in the usa. And your song seems to be more like. It's like you're questioning this. This whole idea of what America's doing in the Vietnam War, and. And again, it can translate to what's happening today.

[Dave Grohl]

Do you.

[Interviewer/Host]

How do you feel about that when people are playing your song for, like, the opposite reason that you wrote the song for?

[Dave Grohl]

Well, in this particular case, this is my cross to bear, so I try to bear it with a smile. But I think what the issue is is that the key to some of my music is you need to be able to hold two contradictory ideas in your mind at the same time, which is sort of the measure. A bit of the measure of adulthood. So you need to be able to deal with the fact that a song can be both prideful and critical. And that idea is very central to a lot of my music, because that's how I feel. You know, I'm proud of my country. I've had an amazing life and gotten the best out of it through living here, but there's a lot to continue to be critical about. So both of those things are going into my music. It's a bit up to the listener to listen well, if you want to get the whole picture. But to do so, you've really got to be able to hold the idea. Pride and criticalness can go hand in hand.

[Interviewer/Host]

Let's talk about being critical then. You came out in an interview recently and said, if Trump wins a second term, you'll move to Australia. I don't think that's true. Right. It just didn't feel like that's something he would do well.

[Dave Grohl]

I don't think I'm gonna go there, but I'm not sure yet, so we'll see. But, you know, I'll be glad to see him go. I think he's gonna lose, and I'LL be glad to see that happen.

[Interviewer/Host]

We've got. We've got a new album from Bruce Springsteen. We've got a documentary. We've got so many pieces of material that we can enjoy of yours right now. You've got new music that's just come out. You've got a few tracks that you've previously unreleased tracks from, you know, decades and decades ago that you. That you've remade for today. It feels like you've always been sure about yourself. It feels like you're prolific because you know that you have something to say. But I wonder, when you create, do you still have doubts?

[Dave Grohl]

Sometimes any good artist wrestles with their insecurities. It's your insecurities that move you forward. If you were simply comfortable with, completely comfortable with who you are and what you're doing and where you've done, I don't know if you would have the fire in you to move forward. Issue a doubt and your questions and you are searching for new and different answers that move you forward in your work. So I would describe myself. Do I have more artistic security. Security than I had when I was 23? In some ways, but I don't believe that that necessarily had anything to do with the quality of the music that I was writing. I can look back and say, when I was 25, I was made this record, Born to Run, and it's as good as any record I've ever made. I made it, wrote it when I was 24 years old. I've got songs on this album that I wrote when I was 22 years old, before I made any record, before we recorded any. Any music. And it was three of them that ended up on this record. So. So those things. I don't necessarily influence the quality of your artistic output, but I do believe that, that your. Your doubts and questions and insecurities do move your work forward. Do keep questioning. Do keep you searching. And that's at the key of artistic progression.

[Interviewer/Host]

My final question to you is, as someone who was born to run, someone who's always been on the road, someone who has performed thousands of concerts all around the globe, what have you been doing during the pandemic?

[Dave Grohl]

I am born to sit still at the moment. So I'm doing what everybody else is doing. You know, I mean, we stay inside lot. You know, we have a few friends that were careful. We see we're social distancing. You know, we're. And lucky. Luckily enough. I have a studio at my home, which we're. I'm in right now. And I've had a variety of projects to keep me busy. I had the film, I had the album which we started pre Pandemic. And I have a radio show that I do bi weekly, basically, which I've enjoyed doing and has allowed me to continue the conversation with my audience during this strange and during these strange times. But I've been lucky that, like I say that I can work at home. That, of course, I'm extremely fortunate that I don't have some of the worries that other folks have and that as far as getting through tomorrow or the next day or next year, you know, but our circumstances have sort of been, you know, pa. You know, my family. I'm lucky enough I have my family here, so. And it's. We've just been holding on like everybody else.

[Interviewer/Host]

Well, I appreciate you. It's been a wonderful journey for me going through your body of music, getting ready for this interview. So you've got a brand new fan. I appreciate your time. Thank you so much for joining us on the show.

[Dave Grohl]

Thanks, Trevor. Welcome back.

[Trevor Noah]

My guest tonight, his last CD play was a huge smash hit. He's back now with a new release called 18. Please welcome Moby.

[Dave Grohl]

What's up, man?

[Trevor Noah]

How you doing?

[Dave Grohl]

How are ya?

[Moby]

I'm fine, thank you.

[Trevor Noah]

What are you. What do you guys think?

[Moby]

A property.

[Trevor Noah]

You got a prop?

[Moby]

Yeah.

[Trevor Noah]

You going to it? You want me to go to it right away or you want to wait?

[Moby]

I don't. You want to wait?

[Trevor Noah]

Let's wait.

[Moby]

Okay. But it's the best photo shoot I ever did. I know.

[Trevor Noah]

You took it. Now you're tantalizing me.

[Moby]

But you can't. The only thing is you can't show it on the television.

[Trevor Noah]

Oh, sure you can. Cable. Oh, sure. Yeah.

[Moby]

Really? It's the most enjoyable photo shoot I've ever done.

[Trevor Noah]

Holy smacks.

[Moby]

Isn't that remarkable?

[Trevor Noah]

They're all naked.

[Moby]

They're all naked.

[Trevor Noah]

Holy smack. Is this like a. Is this a foreign magazine?

[Moby]

It's a British magazine.

[Trevor Noah]

I consider that foreign.

[Moby]

But my question is, like, imagine.

[Trevor Noah]

Yeah.

[Moby]

Imagine if you're like the graphics editor of a magazine and you have a choice between that on the COVID or that. Which is your choice. Am I allowed to show?

[Dave Grohl]

Sure.

[Moby]

So we have that.

[Trevor Noah]

No. No.

[Dave Grohl]

All right.

[Moby]

So that's choice one. That's choice two. Choice one.

[Trevor Noah]

I'll.

[Moby]

I'll give it to the people in the audience that matches.

[Trevor Noah]

Anyone over there. Why do you think he picked him? Okay. That was nice. Do you know the fellows from away?

[Moby]

I've met them a few times now.

[Trevor Noah]

They seem very mean to me, strangely enough.

[Moby]

The singer Liam, I met him in an airport, and I think he'd been drinking straight for about 96 hours. And he was sort of catatonic, but benign.

[Trevor Noah]

Do you think that was hour 96? Because I imagine him in like hour 32 through 47 of a drinking binge. He's just a complete maniac.

[Moby]

I've never seen him at hour 32.

[Trevor Noah]

You should see him at hour 32. It's really quite something. And his brother is sort of the. He writes the music, I guess. And then Liam comes in, I guess, after the binge, sings and leaves. And leaves. It's a good gig. That's all I'm saying. How about your thing? How's you got Eminem dissed you in his song?

[Moby]

Is that amazing?

[Trevor Noah]

It's pretty neat.

[Moby]

I thought that was so cool. Has anyone heard that song?

[Trevor Noah]

Yeah, I don't know the name of it, but it's. What's the diss? Do you know? Because I have hard trouble hearing the lyrics. He says something like, nobody listens to techno.

[Moby]

Yeah, it's a little bit ironic because the last techno record I made was about nine years ago.

[Trevor Noah]

Maybe that's when he disputed.

[Moby]

But the thing.

[Trevor Noah]

Maybe he's got a backlog of material that you don't realize.

[Moby]

But the thing that hurts is some of my friends, my sort of like aging hipster friends and I are troubled by the fact that we're getting older. And Eminem disses me for being too old.

[Trevor Noah]

Really? Wait, what does he say? What does he say about how old you are?

[Moby]

He says I'm too old. There's no.

[Trevor Noah]

So he just goes for it head on.

[Moby]

No metaphor. No metaphor, no allegory, no poetic imagery. He says, you're too old.

[Trevor Noah]

Boy, I'd hate to think what he said about me then, because I'm. I mean, I'm older than you.

[Moby]

How old are you?

[Trevor Noah]

I'm 80. No, I'm 39.

[Moby]

I'm 36.

[Trevor Noah]

You're punk. You're young. You're nothing. You're wet behind the ears. Do you want to ask me any questions about life?

[Moby]

About life? Let me think.

[Trevor Noah]

I got a good three years on you.

[Moby]

It's the rascal.

[Trevor Noah]

That's the little 10 and 2. That's how you do it. 10 and 2. You understand what I'm saying? Always keep 10 and 2. And then when you're turning overhand, overhand.

[Moby]

Overhand, you'll get the hang of it. And does is depends. Just for urine.

[Dave Grohl]

All right, that Is true.

[Trevor Noah]

Now, this cd, the first song off it, Star.

[Neil Young]

Right.

[Dave Grohl]

Okay.

[Trevor Noah]

Is it my imagination, or is Corey Feldman in this?

[Moby]

In the video?

[Trevor Noah]

Yes.

[Moby]

Yeah, everybody's in the video, okay?

[Trevor Noah]

But Kato Kaelin, the whole business.

[Moby]

Kato Kaelin, Gary Coleman, Corey Feldman, JC from nsync. Tommy. It's the weirdest. Ron Jeremy, the porn star.

[Trevor Noah]

Who did you like when you sold Ron Jeremy on being in it? Did you go, come on, Gary Coleman's in it. We're like, how do you. How do you sell that guy on that?

[Moby]

I don't know. There's a casting agent who got all the extras in it. I don't know how he did it.

[Trevor Noah]

I do. He asked them. It was easy.

[Moby]

But standing next to Ron, have you ever. You've met porn stars before.

[Trevor Noah]

I've met Ron Jeremy.

[Moby]

Yeah, but the whole time you're talking to him, you're having a nice, civil conversation, and you keep thinking, wow, I've seen you naked. I've seen. You're talking about or sports, and you're thinking to yourself, I know what your penis looks like.

[Trevor Noah]

You know what's weird is that's the only thing. I'll talk to him about his penis. I'll just. I won't even do the other small talk. I'll just go, I know what your penis looks like, and I'm frightened. Well, 18 is in the record stores tomorrow. I'm sorry that we don't have much more time to talk. It's good to see you again. I haven't seen you in about a year, for God's sake.

[Moby]

Last time I saw you, we had.

[Trevor Noah]

Dinner six months ago at somebody's house. Yeah, and you beat me up. I remember that. The album is called 18 Moby, Everybody.

[Dave Grohl]

Let him hear it. Explore more shows from the Daily show podcast universe by searching the Daily Show.

[Neil Young]

Wherever you get your podcasts, watch the.

[Dave Grohl]

Daily show weeknights at 1110 Central on.

[Interviewer/Host]

Comedy Central and stream full episodes anytime on Paramount.

This has been a Comedy Central podcast.