STEPHEN TO ANNE MARIE:

SB: What is your favorite song?

AM: redveil’s WHEW LAWD! Oh lawd, what a song. But also, I feel like each year you have an MVP list where all the tracks are all stars and I love a bunch of them… and I think July is the one.

SB: Have you heard any of these tracks before?

AM: Just Glass Animals track… Can’t believe it was still open season on them.

SB: I was recently at a pool and somehow got handed the keys to the playlist and like any observant DJ, started playing 90s pop because that’s what everyone at the pool kept vibing with. I’d play a few modern jams and they’d be head bobbing but then I’d play an old NSYNC classic or Return of the Mac and all of a sudden they’d sing every lyric. So it got me thinking…what artist would you say you know the most lyrics to? That you could recite without fail each time you heard it played?

AM: Oooooooooo great question! Funny enough it might be that era because that’s when we didn’t have access to endless streaming and songs… The first thing that popped into my mind was Usher’s 8701 or Confessions albums? Also — while we’re on the topic, I went to a tacos and tequila festival and saw Ying Yang Twins perform (oh boy!) and we got stuck in the parking lot after in standstill traffic and I got picked to DJ… and I hit them with Lloyd’s Get It Shawty, some Usher, some Jeremih, some Miguel, some Ne-Yo, some Dr. Dre, they went wild. So there’s something to be said for knowing your audience… even when you might want to play Young Gun Silver Fox. :)

ANNE MARIE TO STEPHEN:

AM: What is your favorite song?

SB: Man, you started off with a mic drop and I almost just gave the Oracle Sisters the crown on first listen, but going back through a few times, I’m leaning Bad by BARii. Just a vibe.

AM: Have you heard any of these tracks before?

SB: Nope, nada one.

AM: I’ve been trying to avoid the trailers for Gladiator II but they keep finding me. One thing I noticed is that they are using No Church in the Wild for the musical backdrop of the trailer, and immediately I’m taken out of it and thrown back to Luhrmann’s The Great Gatsby trailer. I’m curious if you’re having the same reaction, or if there are times you see a track used in two different types of content and you’re able to keep them separate and enjoy both?

SB: It’s such a good observation and I think equally as difficult to land that plane. There are the films that just use it awkwardly in a trailer like G2 (and we’ll see if it makes it into the film), then there are movies that adapt classics but in a new way to fit the era and then at the far end of the spectrum is A Knight’s Tale with medieval folks dancing to David Bowie. For me, I’m not crazy for it and it kinda comes off as lazy. Last Gladiator was scored by Hans Zimmer and Lisa Gerrard. That’s a hard jump to make from that to No Church In The Wild. All that said, imo they show wayyy to much in the G2 trailer. Just feels like they’re throwing the kitchen sink at you hoping something will resonate. The first felt more intimate and personal and then when you were in the theater and it had a large-scale epic moment you were blown away. Given how much it’s anticipated, you don’t need much to get people to show up.