Episode 22 - The Dancing Rooster

Join us for a lively conversation blending humor, film insights, and personal stories. We explore the impact of costumes on personality, the quirks of ice cream trucks, and the fascinating worlds of Werner Herzog and Metallica. Join us as we explore Karan's recent trip to Cabo, Mexico (just kidding, we forgot to, but we definitely will in the next episode). 

Transcript

SPEAKER_03 0:19

Good morning, Vietnam.

SPEAKER_05 0:24

Good morning, Vietnam. I haven't seen that movie, but Robin Williams. I mean, I've heard that that quote has been I've has been used in enough popular media that I know what that movie uh about that movie.

SPEAKER_00 0:37

Robin Williams is a wonderful comedian from the 1980s and 90s.

SPEAKER_04 0:45

Yeah.

SPEAKER_05 0:49

I love Robin Williams. Like he his movies as a kid were great. Like I used to I used to like every time uh they would put on like Mrs. Doubtfire, I would probably watch it as a kid.

SPEAKER_03 0:59

Yeah, I saw Mrs. Doubtfire playing recently in a doctor's office on the screen. And I when they called my name, I didn't want to go in. I was like, I gotta I gotta finish Mrs. Doubtfire.

SPEAKER_04 1:11

Hold on, Mr. Doc.

SPEAKER_03 1:13

Yeah. Give me a minute, Doc. This is a good scene.

SPEAKER_05 1:17

You know, come join me.

SPEAKER_03 1:21

Yeah, pull up a chair.

SPEAKER_05 1:22

Marlene, cancel my appointments.

SPEAKER_03 1:27

Yeah. I love those like secretary names.

SPEAKER_05 1:32

Yeah. Marlene. Vicky. Vicki. Yeah, there's you know, d do certain names predispose you to become a secretary? I don't know. You know, I don't know if some research on that.

SPEAKER_03 1:47

That's so true. It's kind of like if you it's like if you if you uh have a certain kind of personality, you're predisposed to certain jobs, like a gym teacher or a although as we discussed or a cop, all the which might be the same personality. Although as we discussed when we talked about gym teachers, um it might more so be the the reverse where once they apply become a gym teacher and they put on those stupid short shorts and and the reflective short shorts and the and the whistle, at that point they are retrofitted to be to have the the disposition of of a gym teacher because they all have the same disposition. So it could be that it's either I don't know what came first the chicken or the egg, what came first the the whistle or the personality.

SPEAKER_05 2:34

Yeah, it's kind of like the Stamford prison experiment, except like it's like something happens, like when you put on those shorts, something snaps. Your personality just like molds into the shorts. It's like the shining example gym shorts.

SPEAKER_03 2:51

Yeah, and it happens like immediately. It's like the first time you put it on.

SPEAKER_05 2:55

Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 2:56

You're just like, why do I feel like yelling at a kid right now?

SPEAKER_05 3:00

Yeah, yeah. And it's like when you wear like certain reflective sunglasses, you just want to grab some chewing tobacco, take a fishing rod and go um fishing for Marlin of like the cook.

SPEAKER_03 3:12

It's so true. The way that's so true. The way you dress, the things you wear, the things you put on, sunglasses, necklace, whatever. I don't at least for me, it makes you feel like getting into character of whatever that is. Matter of fact, John Paul Paul I almost called him, I almost called him John Newman. Paul, Paul, Paul Newman, not his lesser-known stepbrother John Newman, John Newman, who was a plumber. Um the best looking plumber they'd ever seen. Yeah, I would say. Yeah, really. Old blue eyes.

SPEAKER_05 3:49

Yeah, but yeah, cool hand Luke over there. Cool, cool, cool plunger Luke over there. Cool plunger, John.

SPEAKER_03 3:59

Oh, this has gone downhill fast. Um, we're off to a rip roaring start. That's what Cabo will do to you. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Which we're gonna talk about your trip to Cabo that you just gave. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I want to hear all about it.

SPEAKER_05 4:14

I have that as part of my updates.

SPEAKER_03 4:16

Um But anyway, but real quick, so Paul Newman, not John Newman, not to be confused. Uh Paul Newman used to say that uh that uh he just really had to get into costume in order to truly be in character. Right, right. Which must have made auditions particularly tough for him. Yeah. No costumes in that realm, but once he was on set and in that king's robe or whatever may have been the case at the time, yeah. Um uh and you know, they're not gonna cast Paul Newman as like, you know, uh a frickin' electrician. I mean, they're gonna cast him as a king or a a prince. Sure. So he's gonna be wearing a rather or or ornate uh outfit, probably in many cases, which is gonna get him right into character by his own description. Anyway, um and I so Kern, please, uh cut on. Cut on I when I used to call when I used to say your name like that uh when we lived together on Haskell Street in Boston or in Austin, uh you used to say that it would really startle you when I would yell that outside your bedroom room to get your attention because you thought it was your dad. Yeah. Um and that he was like yelling at you to get out of bed or like mad at you or something. Is that true?

SPEAKER_05 5:36

Yeah, uh yeah, yeah. I mean, you know, it's like it's the equivalent of like when your mom calls you by your full name, you know, like you know, by your first name, middle name, last name, like you know, she means business, right? Yeah, that's that's that's that was that was it was something about the tone and the way he's he said it that you know, like um, you know, we're all kind of we've all been there as kids where like your your mom or dad wakes you up for school and you're like, yeah, 10 more minutes, and then you just like pass out on the fucking my parents get me up for church every Saturday morning. All right.

SPEAKER_03 6:09

That means you're Jewish. I'm not, it's a Seventh-day Adventist. We've been over this. Go to church on Saturdays. When my dad would try to get me up for church, it was always a task for him, and that was a task for me too. I didn't want to go to church. And I mean, look, it's like uh it was awful. It was it was horrible.

SPEAKER_05 6:30

As a kid, like you know, you can probably think of many things you'd rather do than go to church. No offense to religion, it's just kids would rather do many other things than go sit in church and hear somebody talk, right?

SPEAKER_03 6:40

Oh my god. I know it was like, listen, this is like one of my few days off from shitty school, and now you're getting me up at the crack of dawn. I mean, we would get up at 7 30 or 8. I think it was like 8 a.m. And on a Saturday, that's way too early. If it's on a day off, I mean, I don't know. Do you still on a day off that you have, like do you still sleep in or do you not get to do that because with Zoe?

SPEAKER_05 7:10

Yeah, I don't have that luxury right now because of Zoe. She's she's pretty much I I because I mean uh I do sleep in a little extra because usually for because of my my work, I have to wake up at 5 30 every day uh on work days, but when on weekends I can sleep until like six thirty-seven because that's usually when Zoe gets up and if I'm lucky seven thirty. Um but yeah, it's it's it's crazy. I've I've gotten so quick how crazy how quickly you get used to things. Um I'm yeah kind of used to it now. But yeah, yeah. I mean I guess she gets older it'll change because you know uh I know f from myself being a kid, like when I was like I think after seven or eight, I would like to sleep in later, you know. Yeah. So yeah, like I I'm sure it'll change.

SPEAKER_03 7:57

Yeah, when when you and I uh uh and Meg's lived in LA together and room together, we would usually sleep in. Um, but that was you know, we had a lot less responsibilities and bills and stuff. And I mean also to be fair, um just I speaking for myself, I just hadn't developed the pattern of getting up early yet in life, uh at least not like really rigidly or regularly. And I mean, what really changed that for me was one day realizing or not really I heard someone's uh this clinical psychiatrist or psychologist uh saying that it's better for your mental health if you get up at the same time every day. Oh, okay. And um, you know, it's like I have enough you know, like resting, I have enough, I don't know, anxiety to deal with without adding things onto it. And so um plus my brain's a little chaotic because I have it um, you know, I mean look, I have ADHD, you know, it's a little more chaotic up there. So for me to have any kind of structure, it can be really good for me. And that was a huge positive change actually for my life and I think my mental health, which was starting to get up at the same time every day. Okay. And I've been doing that, but I I still take, I've been doing that for a few years now, but I still take off, so I get up at about seven every day, um, sometimes slightly earlier, but sometimes seven fifteen. But yeah. Um uh but on a s I I will I do sleep in on a on a Sunday, uh we s we do sleep in. Nice so and I guess that's a luxury, I guess that's a luxury of not having a kid or not having kids. Yeah. But yeah, but but I know what you mean. Like it's not like that that example specifically is not a major sacrifice to not get to sleep in. Because once you get used to getting up at a certain time, it's not that hard to just do it every day.

SPEAKER_05 10:00

Yeah. And you know, you do it does, like I said, it it it will change. I mean, uh what what we have now is uh you know, any parents listening to this will agree is is better than when she was just born, where um I would we would I would have to like wake up in the middle of the night to give her some, you know, her bottle to drink because you know she that's how it works for kids. Like they can't when they're babies they can't have a lot, so they they feed in like four hour intervals or something, you know. So like that I I d at the time I did it. Um I didn't think much about it. I did it, but now I don't have to do that anymore. Now she sleeps through the night. So I just gotta keep getting better and better, like you know, but that's yeah, it's it's part of having a kid. And um another thing I think a lot of parents will agree is that for some reason you don't feel it, like you get you you know, you kind of get like weird energy from your kids, like you know, like just seeing them interacting with them, it kind of like gives you um energy in a way that is almost borders on mysterious to me. Um like interesting. I feel like you know, I I sometimes when I if I when I put this on paper, my schedule, I'm like, I should be way more tired and way more exhausted, but just for some reason I'm not. Like, you know, I've just like you know, it's it's like they they you get something in return from them, you know. I I I don't know.

SPEAKER_03 11:16

At the end of a word, I what c um when you say energy, you just mean uh just uh just not feeling tired, yeah, yeah physically and mentally.

SPEAKER_05 11:25

Yeah, yeah, you don't feel like that exhausted, you know. You don't feel uh like like if I write it on paper, you read it and you're like, oh my god, man, you must be exhausted every day. And I'm like, oh no, yeah. I'm not like I am oddly not. Like I feel like I I agree with you. I should I should be more exhausted, but I'm not. Like I feel I feel pretty happy most of the time, you know?

SPEAKER_03 11:45

That's really nice to hear, and that's really cool. Is it uh is it like um why do you think it is?

SPEAKER_05 11:53

Uh that's a great question. I I mean I I think it's like I don't know, something about like uh you know having like just like taking care of a child.

SPEAKER_03 12:03

It's just um, is it is it does it are you energized because taking care of a child gives a sense of positive purpose that that gives you because I've noticed that the happier I am, the more energetic I am.

SPEAKER_05 12:19

Yeah, yeah, yes. That's a that's a good point. I think it could be something along those lines because you know when you something flips in you when you have a child where in your brain, at least, you know, I can't say this for everybody, but I'm I would say most parents, like in your brain, like something switches where you are no longer the priority in your own brain. Like your child is the priority, like their well-being is the priority, their sleep, their food, you know, how their disposition is.

SPEAKER_03 12:44

Which is probably good for your mental health, especially if prior to that you may have been too in your own head or sort of dwelling on things. There's nothing better to shake you out of that than worrying about someone else's needs rather than your own, right?

SPEAKER_05 12:58

Yeah, yeah. And that that's why I think like when you're when you know, it's a big thing when kids go off to college because they kind of like leave a bit of a void in your life because now you know you've done everything, you've got them ready for the world. They're out there in this kind of like semi-real world setting, which is college, you know, getting used to uh you know the real world, so to speak. And um, yeah, a lot of parents at that time they kind of like get a little lost, but a lot of them also rediscover themselves. Like I'm sure you've noticed, like, you know, parents after their kids go to college, they start taking up hobbies, they start doing all kinds of things because you know, for like 18 years, like you were doing everything for your kid, and now suddenly you have time for yourself again.

SPEAKER_03 13:39

Yeah, you know. Oh, yeah. I mean, you know, my uh my mom took up a hobby, which is Fox News. No, I'm I'm kidding. She she uh it does a lot of gardening too. Um no community service that I'm aware It's a bit late.

SPEAKER_05 13:57

I had to do that, I had to use it. It's kind of like it was almost funnier that it was late. That was some that was some late night talk show kind of like timing, right?

SPEAKER_03 14:10

Foxes take that woman who loved me and raised me. It's a it's a joke. I don't know if she'll hear this or not, but it's a joke, mom.

SPEAKER_05 14:21

Uh I mean she'll probably take it in stride, and she'll be like, oh Matthew. I think so.

SPEAKER_03 14:27

She takes a lot of things in stride. She I think she would take it in stride if I were a murderer or a heroin addict. Um she's very, very like um unconditionally loving toward towards me and towards I would say most people. But um uh uh yeah, there but there is a lot of Fox News over there, and uh it gets thick. But uh uh but uh yeah but uh but that's more due to her retirement than her uh because she's retired now. Um yeah, but anyway, what to what you as to what you were uh to what you were saying, I would imagine it can really leave a void because they have this sense of purpose and and it's feels and it's important like you're taking care of another life, you're you're shaping and molding another life. It's a it's a high calling and it's a worthy calling. Um and look, let's face it, some people really take it head on and and take it seriously and do a damn good job, and other people not so much.

SPEAKER_05 15:27

Um it goes back to what I would say before, which is that you know, it's you know, it's uh good to have a kid if you want a kid. Like, you know, I know some people like it's they can't they don't always choose. They get you know, sometimes they get uh you know, women get pregnant when they don't plan to. Uh sometimes being a parent is thrust upon you. Uh in those cases, like yeah, it can suck because you know, maybe you don't you feel like this is not what you chose, but yeah, for for us, like we chose to have a kid and we were lucky enough to have a kid when we chose to have it. So for us, like we we it doesn't phase us, like, yeah, there are times when you're like, Oh my god, I kind of miss my whole life where I didn't have to worry about all this shit.

SPEAKER_03 16:10

I'm sure, I'm sure there's those moments. Yeah, do you think that before you had a kid that you knew how much work it would be?

SPEAKER_05 16:17

No, no way, no way. You're like, yeah, you would we would see kids sometimes, and like you'd be like, Oh yeah, that looks fun, that looks fun, yeah. But like, you know, look at them playing in that stream.

SPEAKER_03 16:30

Oh, but it's like that all the time.

SPEAKER_05 16:32

Yeah, it's no, it's not it's like yeah, it's like it's it's like it's like having a monkey that's like that's I'll tell Zoe you said that when she's 18. The best part is she can hear this. That's true.

SPEAKER_03 16:49

She's totally gonna listen to all these.

SPEAKER_05 16:51

Yeah, yeah. I guarantee it. Yeah, I love it. I love it. I love this for that reason. It's like no matter what happens, one she she has she will have a record of me talking about her in all of these forms, you know.

SPEAKER_03 17:03

Yeah, and by then I'll be dead, and she'll be like, Who was that guy? And you'll be like, Well, sit down, let me tell you about this guy, Matt.

SPEAKER_05 17:11

I mean, I don't know what you have in mind, Matt, but that's only 18 years away. I think you're gonna live a lot longer than that. I hope at least I hope so. I hope so. Yeah, I don't know what you have in mind.

SPEAKER_02 17:22

Fingers crossed.

SPEAKER_05 17:24

It's like you're gonna take up like great white shark diving or something in like 10 years.

SPEAKER_03 17:30

I've got my eye on that ice cream truck that comes through my neighborhood. He speeds up every year, and I don't know when he's gonna hit me. I dodge, dip, and dive past him. Um you know the that ice cream trucks are really freaking funny because they they it's just like the most incredibly depressing. Everything about them, it's just they're this okay. The truck is covered in all these happy colors and pictures of ice cream, all these things that evoke joy. Yeah, and and but then the the music that they play is so depressing and weird. Like, and it'll be this like down-tuned, out-of-tune, old recording. I don't know where they get those recordings. Is there an online database of ice cream truck recordings for them to download from? I doubt it. I don't know what they're doing, but they're blasting these weird, out-of-tune songs out of these speakers from a truck. And it's never, I swear to God, the other day um I heard this ice cream truck coming through, and it wasn't even the typical, like, you know, kind of kind of happy tune, and and it's never happy, even when it is a happy tune because it's all downtune and grainy. But this ice cream truck was like, you know, colorful, happy-looking ice cream truck coming through to give kids joy, and it was playing, it was blasting this like weird, this bizarre, like uh out-of-tune, like Johann Sebastian Bach melody that was really sad and minor key sounding, and it was just kind of this, you know, and it was just like what the f like about like ice cream, like Yeah, is this supposed to get these children excited? And what what uh what is the what is your game here? I'd be like, stay away from stay away from that particular ice cream truck with the Bach music, you know. I don't know. I mean I love Bach, but not in that context. It's like I'm trying to just get some ice cream here and yeah, it's it's weird. That was a tangent, but yeah, um Yeah, ice cream, you know.

SPEAKER_05 19:49

Yeah, I I I wonder I think I I think I would say like an ice cream truck had way higher quality and standards probably back in the day. Like, you know, it was um uh at least in popular culture, was always depicted as like a savior on you know, on like hot days when the ice cream truck would roll around. Ice couldn't be able to do it. It didn't sound depressing, it sounded joyful, it sounded like something out of a Disney movie. Yeah, but now it's like you know, it's almost like it's being directed by Quentin Tarantino. It's like kind of like totally happy.

SPEAKER_03 20:21

Yeah, it's like uh Werner Heritzog is directing it, or you know, and you're like, okay, kiss your dreams, goodbye, children. Welcome to the real world. It's like, what? I just wanted a chocolate bar, and now I'm thinking about existence. I'm thinking about human and society and stuff. I'm like, get out of here, get out of my neighborhood.

SPEAKER_05 20:43

Would you rather go go to an ice cream truck driven by Robin Williams or Werner Herzog?

SPEAKER_03 20:49

I can take a guess which one has the Bach music coming out of it. And it ain't Robin.

SPEAKER_05 20:56

Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 21:05

Yeah. The limitations of joy.

SPEAKER_05 21:11

Everything out here is designed to kill you.

SPEAKER_01 21:17

In the jungle. In the jungle.

SPEAKER_05 21:22

I love that. I love that clip of him just sitting in the standing in the middle of the jungle with his mustache, just lamenting about how everything there is designed to kill him.

SPEAKER_03 21:32

It is not a place of joy, it is a place of suffering and misery.

SPEAKER_01 21:38

Where they are compete to surviving, and you will you will surely die, but I love it against my better judgment.

SPEAKER_03 21:50

It's like Werner, you're in an ice cream truck, man. You're driving driving a bunch of chocolate bars around. What are we do what are you saying to these kids?

SPEAKER_05 22:01

You know the the the the thing about um the thing about about about um Werner Herzog what's trippy about him is yeah he is kind of like that like he's looks very serious very like kind of like almost like a killjoy but then he does these things that kind of like trip you out like he for example he he voiced like a character in Rick and Morty uh the show uh I forget which season it is it's it's I think it's like season two and his voiceover is genuinely funny like it's really really funny in in that show he delivers it exactly in his voice like you can when you the minute you hear you're like is that Werner Herzog? Um and I had to look up I was like it sounds like it maybe somebody did an impression, but no, it's actually him, and it's really funny. So I was like clearly he loves comedy, like he agreed to do this show knowing all about it, and he did it, and he did it really well.

SPEAKER_03 22:54

Um so well he really has a I mean he has a great sense of humor. I mean he has a great sense of like dark humor. Yeah. Um uh which you know, I mean, he literally in his movie Strozek, there's a scene towards the end where or at the very end when this uh after Strozjak uh kills himself. Spoiler. Sorry. Oh sorry, that's okay. I there's this long sh still shot of a rooster like dancing, and uh it goes on for like five minutes with this weird, you know, kind of like weird like circus music behind it. And uh and this is an otherwise very sort of realistic, gritty, serious film, but Werner Herzog has the whole last shot is just this dancing chicken. And and he's got this whole philosophy about you know what he was intending. He's very intentional uh with the things that he does. Right, right, yeah. And he he'll explain it. Like if you not every director will, you know, Stanley Kubrick never wanted to explain himself. He hated when people asked him to do it. But Verner is happy to sit down and he'll walk you through the exact reasons in his mind, you know, why he filmed a dancing bear for 10 minutes or or whatever it is, dancing chicken in this case. And he'll you know, he'll he does this funny thing in his documentaries that I actually love because it's it's so awkward, but it's it forces the the subjects into a place of awkwardness that I think Werner is hoping will sort of shake something out of them or yeah, reveal bring something to the surface that they don't want to reveal or or weren't planning to reveal. And so he creates this space for that to happen. And it's funny because nothing ever happens, they never say anything, like nothing ever bubbles out verbally, but he'll just keep filming, he'll just keep filming their face for like you know, 18 seconds after the la after they've already answered the final question, and he'll just sit there with like a handheld camera, like continuing to film them 10 inches away. He'll just see their eyes like awkwardly darting back and forth with like this this like half smile, like they're trying to look normal.

SPEAKER_02 25:15

It's so awkward. I love it.

SPEAKER_03 25:18

Oh, I love it.

SPEAKER_02 25:19

Yeah, delicious.

SPEAKER_05 25:23

Oh well, I mean, clearly, like he, you know, he he is a very successful movie director, like a lot of people know about him.

SPEAKER_03 25:30

Strangely, he is. I I don't know how he somehow found any form of commercial success, but I'm so happy he did. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Because I really like his stuff. I mean, it's it's bizarre and it's like kind of intentionally awkward. Yeah. And I love those things about it, but I wouldn't expect most people to love those things about it. Then again, maybe when he really got going, you know, in the 70s or whatever, when when he launched with movies like Agira the Wrath of God, you know, with Klaus Kinski, maybe at the time the awkwardness and the strangeness, maybe the strangeness of it was just so unique that it caught on, or or and maybe and I mean the film scene and the entertainment industry scene was so completely different, and the means of access to entertainment were so different and much more controlled back then. Controlled oftentimes in a good way, actually, because it would force kind of typical it would it would f force more folks to be exposed to bizarre things that in today's world, those same type of folks would have the freedom and the luxury to simply uh immediately look past and skip because they'd be on their streaming service and they see some picture go by a movie called Agire the Wrath of God, and it's got like Klaus Kinski's you know, crazy face on it in a helmet, and they're just like in a in a in a conquistador helmet, and they're just like, uh yeah, Skip, you know, Skip, thank you very much. Not interested. Where's Kim Kardashian? You know, but in those days there was no Kim Kardashian, there was no reality TV, and there was no streaming ser there were no streaming services. So guess what? If you're someone in your city produced some amazing new independent film, uh you might really hear about it. It might be in some theaters, it might be in the new in the press, in the newspapers. Anyway.

SPEAKER_05 27:35

And like suppose you're sitting on Saturday night, you want to watch TV, you have like four channels to deal with, and one of those channels has the news, two of those are you know, just grainy footage of something, and then the fourth one is a girl or wrath of God. So you're like, okay, let me watch this for a few minutes, and then you find yourself like being like, okay, hey, I'm kind of liking this. Let me keep watching. Totally. Um, by the way, if you guys are listening to this and you like you don't know who Werner Herzog is, you don't know who Klaus Kinski is. Uh, there's a documentary called My Best Fiend for the Word. Then get the fuck out. I'm just kidding. Well, Matt is a lot less merciful than me. Yeah, but yeah, you can watch my My Best Fiend. It's a great documentary. Um, I didn't know either of these two guys uh when Matt showed me that documentary, but boy, was I edited. It is really oh yeah.

SPEAKER_03 28:29

My best fiend. You're talking about my best fiend. Yes, yes. I I wanna I'm gonna I but I'm so I'm I'm at a loss. I'm stumbling over my words because certain things just get me excited, and my best fiend is one of them. And man, what a one of a kind. You know, I'll tell you this. Probably my two favorite documentaries of all time, as I as I think about it now. I think my I think maybe my two favorite doc docs, docs documentaries of all time might be My Best Fiend and Um Saint Anger, what's that one monster, some kind of monster about Metallica.

SPEAKER_04 29:10

Oh my god.

SPEAKER_03 29:12

Those two documentaries could never be made again under any circumstances. They're a one-off. It was a time and a place, yeah, and and uh the way they were made and the subject matter they were made about, and just the passion with which they were made. Yeah, it's just they're such one-of-a-kind pieces.

SPEAKER_05 29:33

Yeah, and the windows they provide into the creative process or the work that went behind these works, the dynamic of the individuals involved. That's that's the thing. That's the thing that they both have in common. It shows you the dynamic that Metallica had as a band and the dynamic that Klaus Kinski and Werner Herzog shared um when they went about their stuff.

SPEAKER_03 29:54

That that dynamic is just I don't know if it's the top off. Anybody out there and it never goes back on either. To anybody out there listening, if you have even a fraction of a soul, um not everyone does, but if you are one of the ones who was cursed with a soul, it's not a good thing to have in the cat in this capitalistic world. It really holds you back. But if you are one of the ones who was unfortunate enough, it's great for everyone else around you, by the way. They love it, but it'll hold it'll definitely destroy your life. But if you have a fraction of a soul, you need to see those documentaries. I mean, if you're just out there watching the Kardashians or the, I don't know, what's a less cliche example of a soulless show? Um, because I mean, you know, some people could watch the Kardashians just because it's white noise, it doesn't mean they're soulless. But if you're if anyway, yeah, if you have a soul of any kind, see some kind of monster. It's so hilarious. It is a hilarious, nuanced, idiosyncratic, awkward, real, gritty, again, to you hilarious to say again documentary. It is a one-of-a-kind. And so is my best fiend. Um, especially if you're a Werner Herzog fan to begin. My best fiend is especially good for you. But um, but uh both are so good. I mean that therap, that like group that uh corporate therapist, that that uh that psychiatrist or psychologist that they bring in in in some kind of monster to like to like counsel the band Metallica because their personalities are clashing, and he they bring in this dork who's like a uh a therapist, and he he's like a therapist for you know high-paying, high, high like the elite, basically. You know, and like labels, like music labels will like bring him in to like talk to you know, like a lead singer who's fighting with a drummer or whatever it is, and and kind of work them through it. By the way, I don't remember actually seeing anything that man did in that entire documentary payoff. Like, I don't remember anything he told them that helped them, but I could maybe I'm not remembering something properly. But I remember James Hetfield in that doc. He was going through kind of a rough patch, uh kind of an interesting patch in life because he was kind of an I think a known alcoholic leading up to that. Yeah, yes, he was. He was would really pound beers sometimes, even on stage, he would like pound a beer right in front of the mic and be like, This one goes out to Houston, and then sing his next tune, you know, and throw the beer can out.

SPEAKER_05 32:44

Jump into Master of Puppets, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 32:45

Yeah, probably hit somebody in the mohawk. And he and so he was a really he was a known alcoholic and he it was a struggle for him, but he wanted to clean up his life. So this documentary, they're like in the midst of making this new album, Saint Anger. Yep. Um is it a good album, by the way, Kern?

SPEAKER_05 33:04

It wasn't wasn't well received. It was that they I think they experimented with their sounds, but a lot of like it. I I would say in terms of success, it probably wasn't one of their best ones. Um it still you know made them money and stuff, but because you know they had a because they had such a massive following already. Yeah, and it didn't, but it didn't it didn't destroy them either. I think it's one of those albums that was like just forgotten. Um, but they also experimented a lot with different sounds, uh different song structure. So, which by the way, like if you're an artist and you're successful you're successful, go ahead, do your thing, like do yeah, try what you want to do. But in terms of like how it was received, no, uh it wasn't it.

SPEAKER_03 33:46

But I mean, in terms of longevity, it definitely has been proven to be important for for established artists to continue to switch up their style. Yep. So, but anyway, but so this documentary some kind of monster, it really goes in uh intimately into the recording and writing process of this album that Metallica was doing at the time, Saint Anger. Saint Anger. And it um but the band was really struggling at the time um because it was just this big dynamic shift. I mean, they were they were bringing in a new bassist, uh true Trujillo or uh Trujillo um and uh and auditioning him, and he he seems like quite a cool guy, quite a mensch.

SPEAKER_05 34:34

Yeah, yeah. They went through many bassists, and uh, I think they they picked him. He was I mean he he had come from like uh he I think he played with like suicidal tendencies. Like he was a bassist who had done a lot with a lot of bad popular bands, and then he uh I think they liked him because he just came and he was just like able to play whatever songs they had like very quickly, pick her up really fast. So he was a very talented bassist. But yeah, the their long-running bases. He also looks cool. Yeah, yeah. He's he's just a big American or something.

SPEAKER_03 35:06

Either that or Mexican, I think maybe Mexican, although a lot of Mexicans are part Native American, so it could be you know inter uh both. Yeah, but yeah, cool. Uh just uh seems to have a lovely personality. He helped produce that documentary about um that famous bassist, um uh Jaco, Jaco Pastorius, I think is his was his name. Um that is yeah, there it was a that's another actually very interesting documentary, more more depressing, but still very, very nuanced and interesting. And and he was kind of this free wielding, he made the bass like a main instrument, basically. Like he he, you know, the way we think of Flea in the Chili Pe Red Hot Chili Peppers as being, you know, uh kind of a uh bringing to the mainstream this like very frenetic style of bouncing all over the strings and playing way more bass notes than are necessary, but still make the bare minimum doing more than the minimum. Yeah, yeah. Jocopastorius inspired guys like Flea. Okay. Um, because he was just for for any bass player, apparently in that generation, he was incredibly inspiring to a lot of bass, aspiring bass players.

SPEAKER_05 36:19

Okay. Speaking speaking of bass players, uh, somebody who uh I was I I always knew about this band, but I never listened to them much. But I have been more in the last month is uh Les Claypool.

SPEAKER_03 36:32

What a character, dude.

SPEAKER_05 36:34

What a character and what a bassist. Like I was I was blown away when I saw him play. I was like, wow, yeah. You know, I was like, yeah, just a quick aside, I just since we're talking about basses.

SPEAKER_03 36:46

Were you very familiar with um Les Claypool's bass playing like before recently? Or did you just start getting into it, or how did that work for you?

SPEAKER_05 36:56

Well, uh, you know, I had when I was in college, uh, I I was very into like, you know, I just come to America. I for me rock music was how I met people because I love rock music, and I would always like one of my first questions when I met anybody in college was like, Hey, what kind of music are you into? Uh and so once I met this guy who had a very cool bass, and I was like, Hey, what kind of music do you like? He's like, I he's like, I'm I'm a big Primus fan. And that's that was my first introduction.

SPEAKER_03 37:22

Spoken like a true bassist. Spoken like a true bassist.

SPEAKER_05 37:25

Yeah. I mean, if you're a bassist of any kind in rock, then you should know Primus. Yeah. Um, but I never actually listened to their music uh until a few years later when I heard the song uh those damn blue collar tweakers, which uh which which was the first moment I was like, wow, that bass is bumping. It's like that's this amazing sound he's getting out of that out of that out of that bass guitar. And then I taught I told you about it, and you were like, Have you heard my name is Mud? And I was like, Hey, that's a cool song. And I listened to it, I was like, Oh, this is nice, but I never got into it until like a few months ago. I just um uh by chance uh My Name is Mud live performance came on and I saw how he played it and I was like, Wow, that's that's amazing. Like he like he the intro is so cool the way he slaps the bass, and yeah, I was like yeah, I don't know what he does for his bass sound.

SPEAKER_03 38:20

I haven't researched it, but I do you know if he like runs it through a guitar amp or is it through a bass amp?

SPEAKER_05 38:26

Like I I yeah, that's that's where my knowledge ends. But I do know that uh he has uh quite a long episode with Rick Biotto, which you if you want, you can you guys can if you're interested in that, if you guys are interested in that question, uh watch that. I'm sure they cover it for sure in that um in that it's like an hour-long episode. I started listening to it, but I never finished it. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 38:48

Um is an esteemed championer of um of all uh layered or interesting or musically interesting uh music. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_05 39:01

So you just believe he probably asked him that question. So that sounds like a Rick Beatto question. Yeah, I'm sure he answered that question.

SPEAKER_03 39:10

Yeah, that does actually sound like a Rick Beat question.

SPEAKER_05 39:13

And a quick aside to anybody who's who who wants to know, uh Primus's bassist, Les Claypool, they played the intro and the outro to South Park. The South Park team is played by Primus. Um, so yeah, the intro is a sped up version of what they played, and the outro is the actual version of what they played.

SPEAKER_03 39:33

Oh, no way. Yeah, yeah. That's a great fact, Karen. Um, it is because I didn't know that, and so now I want to go and immediately I want to pull up the outro.

SPEAKER_05 39:44

Yeah, there's there's a live performance of them playing the intro, uh, with uh Trey Parker and Matt Stone actually singing the uh South Park um part, yeah. The the the uh characters uh from South Parks and Liz Cape will play the bass. Yeah, it's uh it's a fun story. He said like they uh they approached him to play it, and he played something um that was like really slow, and they were and he they sped it up for the intro, uh, but the outro is a way slower version, so yeah, that's the real version of what was played. But yeah, go check it out, guys. It's that's really interesting. If you like South Park, it's a fun thing to look at, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 40:23

That's so cool. I will check that out. Um, but but yeah, so with with uh regards to that documentary about Met Metallica some kind of monster, yeah. It was in the middle of uh James Heffield trying to quit drinking and um kind of going through this mental health phase of his life of like trying to improve his mental health and deal with certain demons. Occasionally goes to the go-kart track and drives a go-kart around to blow off some steam. And um uh I think it's I think he owns the go-kart track, by the way. He's uh uh they're all rich, uh of course. And um, but it's just so funny because the you know, it's like a lot of music documentaries are made of a band while they're sort of coming up or struggling, yeah. Or maybe in their I don't know, it's like but this one is made while they're kind of at the height of their fame. Yeah, um, and um and so like Lars there's like a scene where Lars almost said Lars Vontrier Lars Ulrich is too many Danes where Lars Lars Ulrich is um uh trying to sell this Basquiat painting of his that's worth like 15 million dollars um or whatever, and he's at this auction with his like wife, you know, and he's trying to sell this thing, and he's like all nervous, so he has to drink some wine to kind of calm down. I'm nervous, I don't know what price it'll fetch. It's so bizarre and hilarious to just see these guys who at one time were this super gritty, kind of you know, gnarly, um feral rock band. Yeah. And now they're sort of a little more domesticated, uh at least in their external beings and lives, and to see the houses they live in, the things that they do, um and the little petty quarrels that they have, even as grown men. James is going through his stuff, so that's why they brought in that like corporate therapist. And the therapist is always there sitting in on their sessions, and Lars like complains, like, why is this guy here? You know, and they kind of quarrel about that. And sometimes when the therapist leaves the room to go get some water, they'll like huddle together and be like, What do we think of this guy? Just uh like, do we like this guy? Is he helping? And James will be like, Well, you said you'd give it a chance, Lars. You know, it's just like it's so and you can never tell if it's intentionally hilarious or not. I don't think it is, but I mean, there's one part where Lars's dad, who's this old Danish dude.

SPEAKER_05 43:11

I love that part. I love that part.

SPEAKER_03 43:14

He's got the a beard down to his knees, the longest white beard you've ever seen. He looks like a wizard, literally. Um he like comes into the studio because Lars wants to show him their recent track they were working on, and yeah, he like he's he's like, you know, I always show stuff to my dad, you know. It's like I trust his judgment, you know, his judgment, it's always solid, you know. And so he like sits his dad down, is and his dad like says nothing, he's like quiet. They play the whole track for his dad, and his dad's just sitting there listening to it, like stroking his long white beard, just listening. And Lars is kind of like side eyeing him, like, I wonder what he thinks of it. I hope he's gonna I hope he likes it. I can't tell if he likes it. And then at the end, his dad. Dad is just like quiet and he's still stroking his beard, and Lars is like So Dad, what what what do you think? What did you think of the track? And his dad is just like I think you know it's I would say I think you should delete that. I I would I would I would delete that or something like that. Like his dad just like hated it. He thought it was a piece of shit. And he's like, you should delete that. I mean, I don't know. I guess I'm literally dictating the whole documentary as if people can't watch it for themselves, but it it made such an impression on me.

SPEAKER_05 44:42

But anyway, I remember that part distinctly. Uh because they they were using a different kind of snare sound. It was a if you listen to Saint Anger, and if you have listened to Saint Anger compared to the other songs of Metallica, there the snare used in Saint Anger is very distinct. It's like kind of like a uh I think it's like a wood snare or a steel snare. I don't know the technical term, but it sounds distinctly different.

SPEAKER_03 45:05

Uh and I think different than their other albums, than their other albums, yeah.

SPEAKER_05 45:09

Okay, yeah. Um I think that that struck probably I think that um music clip you listened to had that snare in it, and he was just like, yeah, he wasn't feeling it. Um but I mean, hey, I guess that's why he shows it to his dad. So his dad doesn't hold back.

SPEAKER_03 45:28

Yeah, I don't I I I mean I I would be I wish I could ask his dad, like, was the snare the only thing holding you back? Or was it did you just not like the whole track? But um because you you're gonna get the truth out of Lars's dad, apparently.

SPEAKER_05 45:42

He's not gonna hold back, like not holding any punches. You don't get a beard that big by holding back.

SPEAKER_03 45:48

They don't let you grow your beard that long when you're spouting nonsense. They're gonna put a put the kibosh on that much earlier.

SPEAKER_05 45:57

Well, I don't like what he said, but that beard is just very persuasive. Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 46:03

Or yeah, again, maybe it's a retrofitting of truth, you know. Maybe like the gym teacher thing, you may maybe when you have a beard that's that long, you start telling the truth and spout spouting wisdom.

SPEAKER_05 46:14

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 46:15

You just have to grow the beard first.

SPEAKER_05 46:17

As a as a guy, I can definitely say that when I have a beard, for sure. Um, yeah, he my kid listens to people as opposed to when I shave it off. It makes sense. They're more like, hey, this guy's my friend. Like, you know, it's like, yeah, we can't. Oh, yeah. It's like it adds some authority too to what you're saying for some reason.

SPEAKER_03 46:38

Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, totally. A lot of times my beard just makes me look unkempt and um less attract less attractive. But it uh but it depends how you grow. If it's it depends on the guy and it depends how you grow it. If I if I let it get too long, it's bad. There's a sweet spot, you know.

SPEAKER_05 46:57

Yeah, yes. Um absolutely there is a sweet spot when it comes to guy beards, uh, not too long, not too short, just the right amount. Um, and you know, kudos to the guys who can maintain that sweet spot. I certainly can't. Yeah, whenever it's working to do it. Like I have a good trimmer and everything, but whenever I try to do it, it looks like I, you know, cut my hip, buzz my yeah, buzz my face with like a table fan or something. It's it's really bad. A ceiling fan. Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 47:26

This should work.

SPEAKER_03 47:28

Picturing you spinning around attached to a ceiling fan. Trying to like get it pry it loose from your long beard. That could be that could be a real issue for Lars's dad. I mean, if your beard is down to your knees and you're walking around a lot of ceiling fans, you've gotta if a breeze comes and blows that thing up, I mean you've got to keep an eye out.

SPEAKER_05 47:47

Yeah, you've got to be, yeah, you can't.

SPEAKER_03 47:49

You could be swinging from the from the rafters if you're not careful. But uh, but but but yeah, the the um uh I can't do any hairstyle or beard style that's too much consistent consistent maintenance. Yeah. Um, so for me, it's a lot of times a choice of either long or somewhat short. Um, and when it's in those in-between stages of growth, some of the phases look good, some of them don't, but it's kind of like I'm not getting a haircut every month. Like that's not happening. It's too much time, it's too much scheduling, it's too much money. I don't want to mess with it. So no, I'll go in, I'll get it cut pretty short, and then I'll kind of grow it for eight months, and it's pretty long, and I go and get it cut again.

SPEAKER_05 48:39

That's my strategy too. Um but my hair is is pretty hard, it's pretty tough to maintain. After it starts gets beyond a certain point, it's like you know, each strand goes in a different direction. It's pretty bad. Like I look very unkempt. So uh usually like, but I that's my strategy too. I go in, I get a cut short, and then I don't go back in for a few months where whereas I should be going like you know, at least a few at least I would say every month and a half to make sure to keep it like clean. Yeah, I definitely grow it to a point where whenever I walk by a barber shop, they're just like, this guy is coming in here for sure, and I don't you know go in there.

SPEAKER_03 49:18

They're like trying to wrestle you inside.

SPEAKER_02 49:25

No, no, no, no. Somebody give this Yeti a hand. Grab those shears, set him down. You're like, I'm just trying to buy ice cream from the ice cream truck.

SPEAKER_05 49:38

Today we spotted Bigfoot on walking around the streets of Port Moody.

SPEAKER_03 49:42

Today we spotted Big today today.

SPEAKER_00 49:52

Today today today we spotted the uh Bigfoot uh buying some ice cream from a truck.

SPEAKER_05 50:08

Well well one second, man. Now you'll have to you'll have to cut this part out, but we're at like 53 minutes. Do you want to do like a uh outro and then like we just go into like a new episode after that?

SPEAKER_03 50:21

Let's do that. Yeah. Okay, all right, okay. All right, here we go.

SPEAKER_05 50:24

Action two one action. Okay. Hell oh my god, we so we totally lost track of time and we like totally didn't talk about Mexico or anything.

SPEAKER_03 50:35

Yeah, I know. In my head, the entire time I was like, Cabo, Cabo, Cabo. I was like, I won't ask Kern about Cabo.

SPEAKER_02 50:42

Uh go ahead and tune into the next part as soon as you can.

SPEAKER_05 50:46

In that sense, we it's Matt and I calling it, and we will see you on the next one.

SPEAKER_03 50:52

Yes. Have a good life between now and when you start listening to the next one.

SPEAKER_05 50:59

And watch out for those ice cream trucks. Please watch out.

SPEAKER_03 51:03

Yeah. Okay, guys. Take care.

SPEAKER_05 51:05

Oh, hold on, hold on. We can't let them go without our theme.

SPEAKER_03 51:08

Yeah, yeah. Oh, yeah. Wait, look, can let's try playing a different let's try a wild card. Like so I wanna be surprised. Okay.

SPEAKER_05 51:19

Uh okay, here we go. I haven't played this one.

SPEAKER_01 51:22

Oh boy.

SPEAKER_05 51:28

Hey.

SPEAKER_03 51:30

I love it. That was a good choice. That felt good.

SPEAKER_05 51:34

Awesome, awesome. Nice.

SPEAKER_03 51:35

All right, guys, stay tuned.