Pod Insights Las Culturistas with Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang "We're Gonna Dance" (w/ Lady Gaga) (RE-RELEASE) About this episode A re-release of the iconic Las Culturistas episode with Lady Gaga.
This episode was selected as one of Apple Podcasts Best Episodes of 2025!
We will be back with new episodes on 1/7/2026. Happy holidays!
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Transcript 16,701 words · 9 speakers
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0:53 Speaker 01 Look, man.
0:53 Speaker 02 Where?
0:54 Speaker 01 Oh, I see.
0:55 Speaker 02 Wow.
0:56 Speaker 01 Bowen, look over there.
0:57 Speaker 02 Wow, is that culture?
0:58 Speaker 01 Yes.
0:59 Speaker 02 Oh, my goodness. Los Culturistas.
1:02 Speaker 00 Ding dong, Los Culturistas calling.
1:06 Speaker 01 It's tough to be speechless on a day when you have to record a podcast because the art form requires you talk.
1:12 Speaker 02 It feels unfair. Like, I don't want to be at work right now because I'm very much like transcending existence, like physical space.
1:21 Speaker 01 Right.
1:21 Speaker 02 It's all, it's all really kind of led up to this.
1:23 Speaker 01 Honestly, Bo, maybe this has to be the series finale of Los Cult.
1:27 Speaker 02 This is the last episode of Los Cult. Thank you all so much for the nine years.
1:31 Speaker 01 For joining us all these years. It had to end this way. We'll always remember us this way.
1:37 Speaker 02 We'll always remember us this way. And you started off the show saying speechless, too. You're really.
1:42 Speaker 01 Oh, wow, we did. Let's, we have to say a third.
1:43 Speaker 02 You're rattling them off. Um, third, let's see.
1:47 Speaker 01 Our pop.
1:47 Speaker 02 There you go.
1:48 Speaker 01 We nailed it.
1:49 Speaker 02 We nailed it, we nailed it.
1:50 Speaker 01 This is, why don't you say how you feel?
1:53 Speaker 02 I mean, this is one of the most important people to me, one of the most, I said this at the Radio City Show for SNL 50, my favorite artist in the world. I left my body, well, we'll talk about this. I left my body because you said hi and then you turn around and go, wait, Cher's onstage.
2:11 Speaker 01 Hearing that, you guys watched Cher together was a huge moment for me even.
2:15 Speaker 02 Yeah, for everybody. But, I mean, we're just so happy she's here. The album Mayhem might be out already.
2:23 Speaker 01 Oh, it's out, depending on when this comes out. So you have to have grace, everybody, because we've listened to the album one and a half times. We were brought to a secure location where we were basically told, okay, we're gonna listen to this. And if we want to go back, we can listen to parts.
2:39 Speaker 02 Yeah, it was in a bunker. It was like where they keep all the designated survivors in case of like nuclear fallout.
2:44 Speaker 01 We're the Mayhem designated survivors, essentially. But it is perfect. We were ecstatic listening to it. And as you all know at this point, it's brilliant. We think it's our guest's best work, which is saying something and a half.
2:58 Speaker 02 A lot. She's a 14-time Grammy winner.
3:03 Speaker 01 Academy Award winner.
3:04 Speaker 02 Academy Award winner. So many more accolades on top of that. Everyone, please welcome into your ears Lady Gaga.
3:12 Speaker 03 Thank you so much. I am so, so happy to be here.
3:16 Speaker 01 This is the joy of our lives.
3:17 Speaker 03 I, no, it's the joy of mine. I was so excited to see you both. And I just want to say also, congratulations to both of you.
3:24 Speaker 02 Thanks.
3:24 Speaker 03 You are doing such amazing things. It's amazing to watch. And seriously, you've had an amazing year. And I'm just like really excited to be here. You're also wearing a JoAnn era t-shirt. This is really killing me.
3:36 Speaker 02 I've had, I feel like I've only ever like dry cleaned this shirt because I want to preserve it so.
3:42 Speaker 03 I don't think I dry cleaned anything during JoAnn.
3:45 Speaker 02 You still got the Bud Light on you.
3:47 Speaker 03 Yeah, not even the hats.
3:48 Speaker 02 Not even the hat?
3:49 Speaker 03 No.
3:50 Speaker 02 Those are, those are being sold at auction in like 20 years.
3:52 Speaker 03 Someday.
3:53 Speaker 01 You have to tell Gaga about your JoAnn tour experience.
3:57 Speaker 02 Oh, okay. So you played MetLife here?
4:00 Speaker 03 Yes.
4:01 Speaker 02 It was pouring rain. I don't know if you remember.
4:03 Speaker 01 Rain show.
4:04 Speaker 03 I love a rain show.
4:05 Speaker 02 I love a rain show too. So Diana Ross. I was, oh, because I remember you said at the show, "It's free production."
4:13 Speaker 03 Yes, exactly. You don't pay for the rain.
4:15 Speaker 02 You don't pay for the rain.
4:16 Speaker 03 No.
4:16 Speaker 02 And the rain kind of follows you because I feel like Mary the Night, it was the same thing too. The video for that, it was like.
4:21 Speaker 03 Oh, yes. That was, I was, I can't believe that I got away with that. We were exploding cars on the roof of a building.
4:28 Speaker 01 Production value.
4:29 Speaker 03 And it was raining and they were like, you know, we have to stop production because it's raining and cameras. And I said, "Roll the camera." Let's go. We're gonna miss it.
4:36 Speaker 02 You had a Vivo interview. This is a throwback to Vivo. And you were just in an amazing outfit. You had sunglasses on. You're telling this anecdote about Mary the Night. And at one point, you just pull your glasses down and go, "We got free rain."
4:50 Speaker 03 Yeah, it's a big deal.
4:51 Speaker 02 Roll the camera.
4:51 Speaker 03 Well, because you know, when you're putting a music video together, there's so many things you want to do. I mean, and everything is, you know, adds to the budget and I'm trying to like weigh what thing is more important than the other. And that wasn't actually supposed to be a rain scene at all, but then it happened.
5:07 Speaker 02 Then it happened that way.
5:08 Speaker 03 Like rain on fire. Come on.
5:10 Speaker 01 Yeah, no. Too much, too much like Universal Studios-esque things happening.
5:15 Speaker 03 Yes, it was exciting. And then naturally, I thought it would be a good idea to hang upside down from the, the sunroof of the car, the Trans, yeah, the Trans Am.
5:23 Speaker 02 The Trans Am.
5:24 Speaker 03 Yeah.
5:24 Speaker 02 That was a gorgeous Trans Am.
5:25 Speaker 03 Thank you.
5:26 Speaker 02 I was sick as a dog.
5:29 Speaker 01 He was so sick.
5:30 Speaker 02 That Cityfield show.
5:31 Speaker 03 Oh, no.
5:31 Speaker 02 I said, why did I say MetLife? I said, I meant Cityfield.
5:33 Speaker 03 Okay.
5:34 Speaker 02 It was Cityfield.
5:34 Speaker 03 But I agreed to MetLife.
5:37 Speaker 02 Because we've also seen you there.
5:39 Speaker 03 I, well, but I, you know, I, when I play shows, like I get so tired on the road that like sometimes I forget the venue for which tour.
5:45 Speaker 02 Of course.
5:45 Speaker 01 Yeah.
5:46 Speaker 03 You know.
5:46 Speaker 01 I would imagine it's like one of those schedules where it's like, you don't want this to happen, but you could yell out Barcelona and you're in Brussels.
5:52 Speaker 03 No, we can't do that.
5:53 Speaker 01 No, it'd be horrible.
5:54 Speaker 03 That is not good.
5:55 Speaker 02 No, no, no. We've seen you, gosh, we've been lucky to see you in multiple venues now because it's Cityfield, MetLife. Uh, we saw one of the shows with Tony at Radio City.
6:02 Speaker 01 Radio City, the last show. We were there.
6:05 Speaker 03 What? You know, it's so funny. At the SNL 50 concert the other night, I was nervous. To do Dick in a Box.
6:12 Speaker 02 Yeah.
6:13 Speaker 03 Because like, I feel like, you know, if you're a comedian, being asked to do who's on first is probably like, you know, so and to me, Dick in a Box is a classic.
6:21 Speaker 02 Of course.
6:21 Speaker 03 So I was like, oh, my God, why did I agree to do this? And then I was, you know, walking through the theater and I remembered that I had been, the last time I'd been there was with Tony and I was like, you know, Tony would have just said, don't be nervous. Or if you are nervous, it's because you care and I do care.
6:37 Speaker 02 Absolutely. Okay, but a comedian doing who's on first is like you, it's like, it's like you singing La Vie en Rose or something on film. It's like, I feel like you've inhabited all of these classics for your entire life. I feel like you were playing Rachmaninoff at four or whatever the fuck. Like you've been doing this your whole life.
6:56 Speaker 03 I have been, I have been and it's, it's, but I love so much being a part of entertainment. Like in like the truest sense, I don't, I don't mean any more than the thrill of the good old fashioned hard work. With other actors, other musicians, stage designers, costume makers, makeup artists, wig makers, the lighting. And like backstage at SNL 50 was insane. We were all like getting ready to go on and then like, you know, a human squid would walk by. And like then the B 52s would be there and then, you know, someone would be getting their, you know, wig thrown on. And it was just, I don't know. I think that that's my favorite part of show business, right? Is the, is the show of it all.
7:39 Speaker 02 The show of it all. Because something about that concert, which we talked to Kevin Mazer, who, by the way, photographer.
7:45 Speaker 03 Yes.
7:45 Speaker 02 You want to hear something?
7:46 Speaker 03 Yes.
7:47 Speaker 01 My mom's boyfriend from high school. Can you believe?
7:50 Speaker 03 Oh, that's some piping hot tea.
7:53 Speaker 01 I'm from Long Island. He took my mom to prom and every time I see him now, mad, he comes over like he's just, he's, he's, he's the guy.
8:00 Speaker 02 He's the guy, but y'all, readers, Katie's, Pulp's, the finalists, Kyle's, Kevin Mazer, the like live event photographer.
8:06 Speaker 03 I've known him for so long. Can I ask your mom his name?
8:09 Speaker 01 Katrina.
8:10 Speaker 03 I'm so, you know, I see him and I feel like, so I heard about Katrina. She's gonna love it.
8:14 Speaker 02 Katrina Claritas, she had an iconic high school name.
8:17 Speaker 03 That's sweet.
8:18 Speaker 02 I was checking with him on Sunday, I was like, oh my god, Friday, what was that about? I go, you go to all of these things, Kevin, where does that rank among your nights? And he was like, that is one of the top three events I've ever done.
8:30 Speaker 03 It was one of the greatest nights in entertainment.
8:32 Speaker 02 Absolutely.
8:33 Speaker 03 And I heard it took two years to plan.
8:35 Speaker 02 Yeah.
8:36 Speaker 03 And I felt really emotional, I couldn't figure out exactly what I wanted to say on stage. I ultimately decided to shout out Mark Ronson and The Roots because Mark and I wrote Shallow together and The Roots were playing it with me and I love them so much. And I almost said, and thank you to Lorne and SNL because thanks for giving me a shot on the show years ago, because SNL also helps break artists and it's a huge deal. I don't know, I mean, I know that people know this, but I don't know that they know how much it means to the artist when we get booked for the show.
9:09 Speaker 02 Yeah.
9:09 Speaker 03 I mean, to this day, when I got called to do-
9:12 Speaker 02 To double duty.
9:13 Speaker 03 To do double duty in a couple of weeks, full panic tears.
9:17 Speaker 02 Oh, God.
9:19 Speaker 03 Yeah, so, so happy, so elated, I couldn't be more proud. It was the thing that I wanted to do the most.
9:24 Speaker 02 Yeah.
9:25 Speaker 03 To promote my record and to just make people happy.
9:28 Speaker 02 Yeah, it's gonna happen. We're recording this before SNL. Yes. We're coming right off of the celebration, the 50th, but I mean, when they told me that they booked you for double duty- You're gonna be incredible. The scream I scrumpt, I just-
9:41 Speaker 03 The scream I scrumpt. I was so excited. To me, I say to people, I'm in the business of making people smile and that is 100% how I feel about SNL.
9:51 Speaker 02 Yeah.
9:52 Speaker 03 It's just, it is a night devoted to making people laugh at home and I'm all about it.
9:57 Speaker 02 But you literally embodied and captured that in the last time you hosted, which was that jazzy applause cover. I still watch, it's like a pitch perfect, it is everything the monologue should be.
10:09 Speaker 03 Thank you.
10:10 Speaker 02 It sets the tone for the show, it introduces, not that you needed introduction, especially at that time, or now, but it's like, that was the perfect- Way to build confidence for the audience that the show is gonna be great.
10:22 Speaker 03 It was like such a privilege to do that and I'm a theater kid from New York. So doing the SNL monologue is a big deal. It is a huge deal and you know, I just, I don't, I don't know that I ever imagined that I would end up doing that. I think I had a lot more confidence that I would, you know, just be a songwriter, singer, producer for as long as possible. But I didn't know that I would get embraced in that way. And it's, and that's what's cool about, you know, hosting and doing musical guest too is being the host, the monologue. The monologue is separate from being an actor in the skit.
10:54 Speaker 02 Absolutely.
10:54 Speaker 03 And then that's also separate from being the artist onstage as a musical guest. So it's like, I get to kind of do all the things that I love. Yeah.
11:01 Speaker 01 I'm just thinking about how like, you talk about what an amazing moment that is as an artist to be asked to do that show. And even in Star is Born, it's almost like an emotional like moment in the film when Ally is told, you're doing SNL. It's like that and getting a Grammy nomination are both moments for that character in that movie.
11:18 Speaker 03 Yes.
11:18 Speaker 01 Did anything from that experience influence the decision to do Shallow on SNL 50? Because you have so many songs you could have done, but you chose Shallow.
11:28 Speaker 03 Well, first of all, one of the reasons that that was included in A Star is Born is because a lot of A Star is Born was inspired by my real life. And I worked really, really close with Bradley and Eric on making sure that like the story of these two musicians felt real. And so that kind of feeling around SNL and around a Grammy is that's just like how it actually felt.
11:50 Speaker 01 Truly important to you and so that's reflected in that.
11:53 Speaker 03 And Shallow to me is the song I wish I had done on SNL.
11:56 Speaker 02 Oh.
11:57 Speaker 03 And when Andy and I started talking about doing Dick in a Box, he came to me and he said, I have this idea that we started off and you start with Shallow. And I started and it's like, doesn't sound good. And then you say, you know, and we did the whole thing. And, and when I watched the rehearsal, I was like, oh, like, but now maybe they kind of, they might want to hear it.
12:17 Speaker 01 They might want to hear it.
12:19 Speaker 03 As we started and it doesn't go. So I thought, I thought it would be a chance to do that and also to kind of. Put some of my best work forward on a show that deserves your best work. You know what I mean? Like, to me, when I see artists perform on SNL, like, we all try to put our best foot forward. And so, yeah, I just, I wanted it to be like a heartwarming moment, hopefully for people at home, too. I mean, I do like lots of different things. You know, I'm also into the dark arts and the poetry of pop music. And "Shallow" is very different than a lot of the music I've done in my career, but it's an important song to me because it helped me to connect with people that otherwise maybe didn't know if they could connect with someone like me. Like, maybe they didn't relate to me as much,
13:03 Speaker 03 or maybe they didn't know someone like me in high school. So, you know, "Shallow" is an important song to me for that reason. And it just felt like the right one to do.
13:11 Speaker 01 I remember the Chromatica Ball, like, that which was such a party, but we went with like 15 of our friends. And when you started "Shallow," we all were like checking in with each other, like, this is really happening. Like, we're hearing "Shallow." It is like a high point of culture.
13:24 Speaker 02 60,000 people at MetLife, a hush fell. You know what I mean? Like, you could hear a pin drop, you know? It was just one of those sublime moments. And I think I remember like looking up at the crowd, just being like, I was shooting a movie in Charlotte. I flew back for that show. I was like, I'm not missing Gaga.
13:41 Speaker 01 No, never.
13:42 Speaker 02 It was just a culmination of like, that era, which was like, kind of, was a glorious era that got kind of messed up by the pandemic. And like, it just felt like this victory lap and this like culmination of like what everybody wanted to celebrate together with you.
13:56 Speaker 03 Thank you. It was a really special tour to me. I hadn't seen my fans really on tour since I had to stop the joint world tour. And I was like really not well during that time. And it totally broke my heart to have to cancel. And that was the, that was the second tour that that happened on. So I was a little bit nervous about going out for Chromatica. I was like, am I gonna be able to do it? And am I gonna be in pain when I'm on stage? What's it gonna be like? And It was amazing. I had the best time. Also, my amazing partner, Michael, was with me. He came with me the entire tour. We were together during the prep for the tour. We lived in Leeds while we put the tour.
14:41 Speaker 03 Which is like very funny, having a brutalist stage in the middle of Leeds with that music.
14:46 Speaker 01 That was incredible.
14:47 Speaker 02 So good.
14:47 Speaker 03 Thank you. But it was, you know, it was special and healing. And I think in a way, it kind of set me up for this next time.
14:54 Speaker 01 Yeah.
14:55 Speaker 02 I gotta say, just hearing you talk about being in service of the idea of entertainment, I think it means to me, what I hear is that like, for a while, I always thought about you as like someone who was perpetually being a student to the concept of fame. But I think what it's very quickly become, and like even sooner than I realized, was you are a student of entertainment. And it's not the same thing, obviously. You know what I mean?
15:22 Speaker 03 Yeah, thank you. I mean, I think you're right about earlier. Earlier in my career, I was a student of fame and I was fascinated with it. And it was a part of my art. And I studied it. I was like really, really fascinated with Andy Warhol. And I tried to sort of take the spirit of Warhol into my pop shows, like even like the choices of, you know, the music with the lighting and a, you know, a piss yellow wig that would have been one of, you know, his screen prints. Like, it was all about this idea that anyone could become a star if they, if they studied how. But the thing that I didn't know what would happen was my fans. Like, I didn't know who they would be.
16:03 Speaker 03 I didn't know how it would make me feel. I also did not anticipate, but I'm so glad that I did, hear the stories of people all over the world. I mean, I, I would stop outside of my hotel rooms and I would talk to fans. I would invite fans backstage after the shows. I would play demos for fans years before I released music. And like, what do you think of this? Let's talk about it. What's your home life like? And, and they would tell me about their lives and. So I've grown up, it's almost been two decades in the public. It's definitely been two decades for me as a recording artist. But I kind of grew up and I changed. I was a student of fame, but I ultimately decided that the reason I want to do this is to make people happy with art.
16:48 Speaker 03 And then like now, I mean, I don't know if my fans really know this about me now, but I warm up my voice twice a day and I practice piano every day. And I am like working harder than ever in the dance studio. So I like keep up my chops.
17:03 Speaker 01 Yeah.
17:04 Speaker 03 Because to me, that hard work is what my fans deserve. And also it's to me, that's like the privilege of being an artist is that you you get to work on your craft. And I want to be able to say that I'm getting better at it, not that I've done it already. And and that's that.
17:20 Speaker 01 You know what? We have to talk though about your vocals on this new album. Like we we we listen to it like we said. I turned to Bobby, I was like, how do you do it? It is it is so Olympic what you do with your voice. And I would imagine you said you're warming up twice a day. I would imagine your vocal warmups are what like a half hour long? So you're really in the pocket on this, like the rock vocals that are not easy to do, the passion with which you sing. When you're recording and you're putting songs like these together, do you go back and back and back vocally? Or how can you do that?
17:58 Speaker 03 Yes, I actually poor, poor Andrew and Circuit in the studio and Kasafelstein. When we were doing vocals, I would sometimes do like 50 takes.
18:09 Speaker 01 Wow.
18:10 Speaker 03 And they were very, you know, supportive and it was fine. But the reason is because when I'm writing music, I I'm sometimes imagining someone else is singing it.
18:21 Speaker 01 Of course, yeah.
18:22 Speaker 03 Because it helps me to kind of embody the the spirit of a superstar. Because I know I didn't like always feel very confident as a kid and that stayed with me my whole life. So during the writing process, like when I wrote Born This Way, I was actually thinking about Whitney Houston.
18:37 Speaker 01 Wow.
18:39 Speaker 03 So, I love that you knew that. No, but I, so I was thinking always about different people. But then, when I, when I get there to sing it, I'm like, okay, I could sing this in a lot of different ways.
18:51 Speaker 01 Right.
18:51 Speaker 03 How should I sing it? So, take one, I do it one way. Take two, I do it another way. By take eight, I've sunk into it differently.
18:59 Speaker 01 Yeah.
18:59 Speaker 03 Take sixteen, I go, I'm gonna try something completely different, scratch it all.
19:02 Speaker 01 Yeah.
19:03 Speaker 03 And so, I think what you are hearing on this album is that I was actually pretty, pretty bossy, actually, in the studio about, about getting the best possible vocal and also pushing myself to do things that I've never done on a record before. I don't think I sound on this album like I sound on any of my records.
19:22 Speaker 01 So many vocal discoveries on this. And so many, this is crazy to say because you're always so many different characters in your music, which you're, you're speaking to, but so many more than ever, and new characters that we're hearing.
19:32 Speaker 03 Yes, and which character is gonna tell that story?
19:35 Speaker 01 Yeah.
19:36 Speaker 03 And why?
19:36 Speaker 01 Yes.
19:37 Speaker 02 Yeah. I mean, I remember there was this very early, early interview of yours where it was for V Magazine, it was like you were in, like Mario Testino made you get all like tanned and, you know, it was a very like Testino look and it was incredible. But I think it was someone, I think it was, um, John Norris at Fuse, who was asking you about like, or you brought up Faith No More.
20:01 Speaker 03 Yes.
20:01 Speaker 02 And I was like, okay, this is not what I expected Gaga to like love and like zero in on. This is like the real musical taste that she has. And then it would shift to like, oh, but then this bitch knows The Great American Songbook like the back of her hand. And then it's like, wait, and then she also like, and she's like a classically trained pianist and she like fucking knows like all of these, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to call you a bitch. I'm sorry.
20:29 Speaker 01 No, you said this bitch.
20:31 Speaker 02 No, no, you know what I'm saying.
20:33 Speaker 03 No.
20:34 Speaker 01 And go from New York.
20:34 Speaker 03 Don't apologize.
20:35 Speaker 02 I know, I know, but I was like, wait, hold on. My soul is on my body. This bitch knows, this bitch knows The Great American Songbook.
20:42 Speaker 03 Yes, I do, thank you.
20:43 Speaker 02 Period. And like, I just think the characters are not so much characters as they are. The knowledge and this and being the student of music, of entertainment, like you embody all of these things. And so I think with Mayhem, I think with this album, it's like Bobby was saying that this is probably the most authentically you album you've ever put out. That makes me think, well, then there's something to Gaga being an amalgamation of all these different things and these genres and these studied, detailed musical exercises, I guess. But like, that's who you are because I couldn't boil you down to one thing and I'm sure you couldn't either.
21:18 Speaker 03 No, I mean, I am definitely all of these things and that's what Mayhem is. It's a celebration of all of that. And you know, it's so funny, as you're talking about this too, I'm like thinking about this moment where Michael was in the studio every day. Michael Executive produced the record with me. And there was at one point, I was like really into this electro grunge sound, like on Perfect Celebrity.
21:42 Speaker 02 Perfect Celebrity, it's like Hole, it's.
21:43 Speaker 03 We were saying Hole, we were saying Garbage. So I'm like, I'm like, okay, we're gonna make the whole album like this and I'm gonna change everything. And he was like, no, you are not, you can't do that. Because, but he was right because I am all of the different genres, all of the different approaches, all the different processes. That's why it ultimately is Mayhem is because if you're stepping really far back, it like doesn't make sense. But when you put it all together, it's me. And I appreciate you seeing that in me. I feel like since the beginning of my career, there was always some type of criticism coming from somewhere of like, but who are you?
22:25 Speaker 02 Right.
22:25 Speaker 03 You know, and like, what is Lady Gaga? And can you explain it to me? And what's your style? And you know, what genre really is it?
22:34 Speaker 02 What should I call you?
22:35 Speaker 03 What should I call you? Like, what's your? What are we supposed to feel? What do you really like? Yeah. You know, and I think that, first of all, I was terrified to make a pop record again. And I decided to do it and I felt very supported in doing it by Michael, by my family, by, you know, everyone around me. But feeling like people think you're chaotic is, there's something, there was a joy in that for a while, but there was also like a pain in that too.
23:03 Speaker 02 Is that what the fear was coming from?
23:05 Speaker 03 Yeah, well, it's like, especially as a woman, people are like, you're chaos. Like, it's kind of like. Part of me is like, uh huh, you know? And then the other part of me is like, but what, like, what do you mean by that?
23:15 Speaker 01 Right.
23:16 Speaker 03 Right?
23:16 Speaker 01 Yeah, it's dismissive.
23:17 Speaker 03 It's kind of like, um, you're a mess.
23:19 Speaker 01 Hmm.
23:20 Speaker 03 And like, you're a mess because I can't figure out how to organize you.
23:23 Speaker 01 Right.
23:24 Speaker 03 And I don't know how to think about you. And I think what I want my fans to know is like, that's other people's problem. That's not your problem. You can be the whole you. And that was, that was a part of this record. And I felt, I felt excited as a female producer too, like just doing whatever I wanted, when I wanted to, in the way that I heard it. And I'm so happy, like even before we started, that you brought up Killah, because it's like my favorite record on the album.
23:55 Speaker 01 Yeah, it's amazing.
23:56 Speaker 03 Thank you.
23:57 Speaker 01 But you're gonna die tonight. Well, no, you don't even know. People are gonna lose their minds. We've heard it twice and we've been like grabbing onto that in our brain. Like this whole album, let's talk about the album. Like, it's like face melty, brain scratchy, heart screamy, pop dance with this theme of mortality throughout. Decay, chaos. Yes, and I wanted to, I know you've said before, like you listen to a horror, you watch a horror movie every night before you go to bed. I don't know if you're in that zone now, but the theme of death and like dancing in the face of it is obviously all over this. What I've always wanted to ask you though, is how much are you laughing while you're creating? Like, how much is joy and humor and laughter a part of your creative process when you're making music?
24:40 Speaker 03 It's all of it.
24:41 Speaker 01 Yeah.
24:41 Speaker 03 It is, there's a lot of humor, on Killah especially.
24:45 Speaker 01 Yes, we're laughing.
24:45 Speaker 03 What a funny record.
24:46 Speaker 01 Yes, hilarious.
24:47 Speaker 03 Right, what a funny record. I'm like not that confident. The person that wrote that record is confident. But I would say also though, that it's like, the process is a little bit manic because I also get really serious and I know I can be difficult to work with because like, I'm a very warm-hearted person, but when I'm like songwriting, I get like-
25:06 Speaker 01 You want what you want.
25:06 Speaker 03 I'm like, I'm trying to listen to what I'm hearing and get it out as fast as possible. But then maybe I'll, you know, yeah, the lyric, "I'm a killer and boy, you're gonna die tonight." And like, right, and then that's funny and then that comes out. But then I get serious again because I'm trying to figure out if the guitar lick is right. And I'm like, no, it's not that one, it's this one, do it again. Like, it's kind of a, yeah, the process is chaotic. And I'm, I'm not also a very linear thinker. I'm very tangential.
25:33 Speaker 01 Love it, love it.
25:34 Speaker 03 And sometimes if I can't get one part of the song right- I will need to stay on it for three days.
25:41 Speaker 02 Gotcha.
25:42 Speaker 03 Like a bassline or a guitar riff. And then other times I will move on from it and go, I'll go like, no, no, let's go to the pre chorus now. You know, it's, it's sort of, um, it's a very nonlinear process and, and I love it.
25:56 Speaker 02 That's true.
25:57 Speaker 03 And I love it. I'm so like, also appreciative that my partner, like he, you know, the first few years that we were together, I wasn't in the studio. And when he saw me start to make music, he was like, oh my God, I've like, I've never seen you happier than when you're making music. And that, and that was, I felt very seen by that. And I think why it is so important to me is when you grow up in the public eye, as you know, there's things that people grow to like about you, but there's things that they don't know about you. Like they don't know the you that's like maybe deep in reflection at home, working on something. They know the outward facing you. So it feels really nice to be seen by someone for the thing that,
26:42 Speaker 03 the thing that you do alone that makes you special, that's your gift, right? Like the thing the world doesn't see.
26:49 Speaker 02 Yeah. I mean, I think you even alluded to this in the Oscar acceptance where you were just like, this is hard work. There are sacrifices that need to be made to get to this point. Like the reason I'm on this stage is because I worked so hard. And that is the essential thing about you, Lady Gaga, is that you're like,
27:11 Speaker 02 I can't believe you're here.
27:12 Speaker 03 Yeah, I love being here. I love, but I, I love also community. So like being with you and talking with you and bonding over music is like, this is the thing I'm probably missed the most from my time before I became famous. I, I did an interview downtown last week and I picked the location and I was like, we gotta go to this bar that I used to write music at. And we, we did the interview there and I like cried during the interview, talking about all my friends down there.
27:46 Speaker 02 What bar?
27:47 Speaker 03 Welcome to the Johnsons.
27:48 Speaker 02 Nice.
27:48 Speaker 03 And I, I went to like, there was a lot of bars down there that we went to, but that was just one of them. And I used to go there during the day, like I'd go at like one o'clock and like order a, you know, Pabst Blue Ribbon and a shot of whiskey and right on the napkin, but. Living around artists, being around writers, songwriters, comedians, photographers, actors, musicians, go-go dancers, club promoters. You know, we were all like, we were all like our own little group.
28:21 Speaker 01 Yeah.
28:22 Speaker 03 And we supported each other and it was actually really hard to go to Hollywood and do what I was doing there because it was just not like New York at all.
28:33 Speaker 01 It's so commodified.
28:35 Speaker 03 And I know you guys, you know about New York.
28:36 Speaker 01 Yeah.
28:36 Speaker 03 So this is actually hugely like a deep, a deep joy for me to be here because we get to, I get to like do the thing that made like, it's part of who I am.
28:45 Speaker 01 Yeah.
28:45 Speaker 03 It's like talking about it all.
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28:56 Speaker 02 Time for some prep wisdom.
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29:04 Speaker 02 Especially your situationship. And just like people, injectable prep options, not all the same.
29:10 Speaker 01 That's why you need to talk to your doctor and know what to ask. So here's some prep wisdom.
29:14 Speaker 02 Did you know there's more to consider about long-acting injectable prep options than how often you get it? Also, why you want to take it matters. Your lifestyle matters, your routine, your chaos level, your I might forget my own birthday energy, all of it counts.
29:27 Speaker 01 Basically, talk to your doctor. Have the conversation, ask the questions, be a little nosy about your own health. It's allowed, encouraged even. Okay, did you write all that down? No? Don't worry.
29:37 Speaker 02 Just head to getprepwisdom.com to learn what to ask your doctor. That's getprepwisdom.com.
29:43 Speaker 01 Hey, Bowen, point of order. It feels like nothing is what it says it is anymore.
29:47 Speaker 02 Point of answer, it's because everything has a catch.
29:50 Speaker 01 Hey, or it turns out to be something else entirely.
29:52 Speaker 02 Like a total catfish situation.
29:53 Speaker 01 Exactly, Bo.
29:54 Speaker 02 Except for hotels.com.
29:56 Speaker 01 Yeah, that one's pretty literal.
29:57 Speaker 02 Because it's hotels.com, it's in the domain. You go there, you book hotels, hundreds of thousands of them.
30:03 Speaker 01 And hold up, that's it?
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30:09 Speaker 01 Every stay?
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30:22 Speaker 01 Does that mean no weird restrictions?
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30:30 Speaker 01 So the name is honest, you're saying, and the rewards are too?
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32:23 Speaker 02 Well, talk about your current community, which is like, what, Circuit, Gassafelstein, which by the way, Killa, when I see Killa featuring Gassafelstein, I'm like, well, I think I have an expectation with this song, it did not, was totally blown away by it.
32:35 Speaker 03 Didn't he flip the script on everyone?
32:36 Speaker 02 Both of them did.
32:37 Speaker 03 Yeah, thank you, thank you. Gassafelstein is very, very talented, he's very specific. I won't give away any of his secrets of how he works, but I loved working on that record with him. And it's so funny, every time we talk to each other, we always go like, oh, man, I love this song, oh, man, this song. It's a very special one. It's an industrial funk song.
32:58 Speaker 02 Yeah.
32:58 Speaker 03 The only live instrument on it is the guitar.
33:01 Speaker 02 I was gonna ask, because everything else is electronic.
33:03 Speaker 03 That's right, that's right. It's just really, it's so different for me, and I think there's areas of mayhem that are the tip of the iceberg of where I might even go next. You know, like, that was some of the joy of making the album, was going like, oh, I'm not done with this.
33:19 Speaker 02 Right.
33:20 Speaker 03 You know, now I have to take this further.
33:22 Speaker 02 Talk about sequencing this one, because I feel like that was its own process.
33:26 Speaker 03 Sequencing the album was, I mean, Michael was like worried about me. He was like, are you okay? And I said, no, like, I just kept listening to the songs in every conceivable order.
33:37 Speaker 02 Right, oh, wow.
33:38 Speaker 03 Yeah, lots of permutations. Because there's versions, it's, you know, do you do it by BPM? That's like the most, to me, the most obvious first version is like for it to feel like one night at a club, right? And then there's the other version where it's like, okay, but do you do it based on the story? And like, is there a story that I'm telling here, which there is? So I did kind of a mixture of both of those things. And the album kind of starts out with like, the devil on your shoulder whispering to you like, would you like to make some bad decisions tonight?
34:06 Speaker 02 Right.
34:07 Speaker 03 Because like, I'll help you.
34:08 Speaker 02 Yeah.
34:08 Speaker 03 Like, I can fix this feeling that you're having. And by the end of the album, you know, you've gone through joy, you've gone through partying, you've gone through anger, I mean, Perfect Celebrity is maybe the most angry song I've ever made.
34:21 Speaker 02 I think so.
34:22 Speaker 03 Then Vanish Into You is a song about wanting to disappear into someone. It's a happy love song, but it's also dark, we're happy just to be alive. And then Killa keeps the party going, but it's like that, it's that moment at the party when you're like a little numbed out.
34:37 Speaker 02 The end, the end of that.
34:39 Speaker 01 We love it.
34:40 Speaker 02 You're fucking whale. Yeah, the outros are fucking.
34:43 Speaker 01 Incredible.
34:43 Speaker 03 Thank you, thank you. I am a very big, a fan of the outros too. We actually had a, a thought to release the outros like two days before the album, just, but I, I don't think I'm gonna do it.
34:54 Speaker 02 Yeah, what's the hesitation?
34:56 Speaker 03 Yeah, just because I feel like when you hear them as an actual outro.
34:59 Speaker 02 You're right, right.
35:00 Speaker 03 Then, then it's an outro, but if I give it, then it's a snippet.
35:03 Speaker 02 But then it's a snippet and then it kind of is decontextualized from the actual work.
35:08 Speaker 03 Yeah, I mean, Killa, you really experienced that outro because of the beginning.
35:11 Speaker 02 Right.
35:12 Speaker 03 Like it, we kind of need the beginning. Cinderella's gotta walk up the stairs before the glass sliver, you know?
35:17 Speaker 01 Before she can leave in a hurry. Yeah, yeah, yeah. The other song that I feel like was like, we, we listened to several times and the build on this one is just amazing, but it's so different for you, we feel, is How Bad Do You Want Me? We love How Bad Do You Want Me.
35:32 Speaker 03 Oh my God, I almost didn't put that on the album.
35:34 Speaker 01 No, we're so happy you did because it's like throwbacky for you because it's, it's very pop. It really very much is.
35:41 Speaker 03 It's like a total hyper pop song.
35:42 Speaker 01 But I was like, I hear like a high school girl singing this with her ripped up, like you're, you're, how bad do you, like?
35:48 Speaker 03 Yeah.
35:49 Speaker 01 Bad, like it just, it feels, you know what I mean? Like we can, we can see and hear the character in this, like, tell us about that song.
35:56 Speaker 03 Okay, so very funny story is I, Michael and I started that song at home, but I had, I started it first. And he heard me singing it and he walks in from the kitchen and he goes, is that about me? And I was like, no.
36:14 Speaker 03 And then he came on in and we started to like finish it together and you know, that song embodies a feeling that I've had probably my whole life, which is that I always felt archetyped as the bad girl. And it's why the lyric is kind of funny. You like my hair, my ripped up jeans. It's like, that's like so stereotypical, like the girl with ripped jeans is bad, right? It's so, it's so kind of silly and humorous. Um, so, but, but I've always felt this kind of like. I don't know, shame that I'm, I've always been at war with this feeling that if I am, you know, interested in someone, that like, they're actually longing for a good girl.
36:54 Speaker 02 Gotcha.
36:55 Speaker 03 But they're stuck with me.
36:56 Speaker 02 Hmm.
36:57 Speaker 03 And I'm who they really want, but like, we're in this like three-way relationship and there is no actual other good girl, but the good girl's like in their head and they're, and they're kind of comparing me the whole time.
37:09 Speaker 02 That girl that you like ain't real.
37:10 Speaker 03 Right.
37:10 Speaker 01 How bad do you want me for real?
37:11 Speaker 03 Yeah, exactly. Oh my God.
37:13 Speaker 02 We love it.
37:14 Speaker 01 No, what I'm telling you, we've been like just texting it to each other, like, how bad do you want me for real?
37:20 Speaker 03 Yeah, the good girl in your dreams is mad you're loving me. I know you wish that she was me. How bad do you want me?
37:26 Speaker 02 Yes.
37:27 Speaker 03 And I like, I, it's so funny too, cause it's a fun pop song, but I cried when I wrote it. Like, was like-
37:33 Speaker 01 My favorite kind of song, emotional pop.
37:35 Speaker 03 I have a, I have a, um, I have some voice recordings of it somewhere that I have like from the original, but yeah, maybe I'll just drop those one at some point.
37:43 Speaker 02 That's, that's the tease, I guess.
37:44 Speaker 03 But I also was also not sure I should put that on the record and Michael was like, you have to, like, your fans are gonna love that song.
37:51 Speaker 02 What was the hesitation around that about?
37:52 Speaker 03 I just, I don't know. Sometimes when things are really super pop, I get like, I don't know, I get a weird reaction.
37:58 Speaker 02 Yeah.
37:59 Speaker 01 Where do you think that comes from?
38:00 Speaker 03 I don't know. I felt this way about Just Dance. Thank God I didn't listen to myself then.
38:05 Speaker 01 Wow, wow.
38:05 Speaker 03 Yeah.
38:05 Speaker 02 Cause I was gonna, I was gonna ask, is it about the prior work? But I think there's something about this current team around Mayhem between Watten Circuit and Paris, it's like, these are all people who understand what came before, but are facing and have a vision for the future for you.
38:22 Speaker 03 Yes, I mean, Andrew, what was great about working with him is he also plays a lot of different instruments and I know how to write on all those different instruments. So if I, if we were in the studio, I would just be like, okay, like play the guitar this way, do the bassline this way, then we would do it over and over and we would riff back and forth. Circuit is an amazing musician also. He's also like the fastest producer, programmer that I've ever seen it ever. He's wildly fast. He also does amazing analog synth work. We had like every iconic analog synth possible in the studio. Andrew also had a mechanic there that was working on the synths to kind of like bring out the low end in certain areas and like, sort of like tailor the instruments to be unique for the album.
39:08 Speaker 03 And Giselle Stein, I will share nothing.
39:11 Speaker 01 Okay.
39:12 Speaker 03 The man is a mystery and I'm gonna, I'm gonna keep it that way. He shall remain. Yeah.
39:17 Speaker 01 Also, "Die With A Smile" at the end of the album, it's this beautiful moment of like, first of all, the first line being, "I just woke up from a dream," really kind of works after what's happened. And then it does feel like a beautiful cinematic, like, credits roll.
39:30 Speaker 03 Well, it's nice.
39:31 Speaker 01 The waltz, too, which I love.
39:32 Speaker 03 Thank you. I, you know, as a personal choice, I really wanted the mayhem to end.
39:39 Speaker 01 Ah, that's beautiful.
39:41 Speaker 03 You know what I mean? Like, because "Blade Of Grass" is a beautiful song, but you don't get the feeling that the mayhem is over.
39:49 Speaker 01 No, I got you.
39:50 Speaker 03 With "Blade Of Grass." "Blade Of Grass" is a song about saying, "I'm gonna spend the rest of my life with you, but I just want you to know that now that you've asked me to spend the rest of my life with you, all I can think about is how hard it was to get here."
40:00 Speaker 01 Wow.
40:01 Speaker 03 So, I did make the decision that I wanted there to be a message of hope on the record. Because I, and like, I don't, I feel nervous about speaking about mental health issues at this stage in my life. I think only because I talked about them so much for so many years. And I'm so passionate about mental health and people getting help. But I'm also like, I like deal with my own sort of nerves about people only talking about me in that way.
40:32 Speaker 01 Right.
40:34 Speaker 03 Like, I don't want to be defined by that time in my life. But I will say that, like, having personal mayhem and like, struggling mentally, that is a very particular kind of chaos that I hope that people who do struggle, like, hear this record and then know that there's peace at the end of it.
40:52 Speaker 01 Yeah.
40:52 Speaker 03 And that it can get better, because it truly got better for me. And I, I just really wanted that to be a part of it. And, and also, in working with Bruno, who, like, 100% collaborated with me.
41:08 Speaker 03 Like head to head musician to musician. And I'm usually the only woman in the room when I'm making music. And to be treated with that kind of respect really meant a lot to me. And it felt, it felt like, it felt like the, the only way to put a period on the end of the album, if that makes sense, like, like that I, and, and also that, I'm sure you've heard the phrase reheating your nachos.
41:32 Speaker 02 Yeah, of course.
41:33 Speaker 03 I had never heard that. And I was like, what is this? It's running rampant.
41:36 Speaker 00 People are really using it.
41:38 Speaker 03 Yeah, it is. But I have to say, like, there's something beautiful in it because I think being a female artist, there was always pressure on me. What is she gonna do next? How is she gonna reinvent herself? How is she gonna change? Well, you know, she's gonna do the same thing forever. And then I would reinvent myself and I would change. And they'd be like, we wish she was like, you know, she used to be, right? And I think what I realized making this album is there is a sound and a style. And a, a way of creating music that I did come up with. And I'm owning it on this album. And it's, it's, to me, I did it in a new way. And I also took myself to musical places that I'd never been to before.
42:22 Speaker 03 And I was a student of music. But I think it's okay for anyone to own their own inventions and be like, this is me. And I'm, you know, I'm the creator of me. And a lot of female artists, we know this, that people say, well, that record was successful because of this producer. Or that this thing was successful because of that.
42:43 Speaker 02 So unfair.
42:43 Speaker 03 And it's not fair to, to women to do that. It's, we, women are creators as well. We are the creators of our lives and, and it's our vision. And, you know, we weren't made. We made ourselves.
42:56 Speaker 02 I think out of all your albums, this one stands as like a true artistic statement for you. It is your, you're painting with every color on the palette, you know? It's like, I don't think you should ever, well, first of all, I don't think you will ever be defined by any of the mental health conversation. It's only been helpful to people. You, you have literally. You've saved my life. I would listen to "Marry the Night" in very dark times. I still do. Oh, my God. Tuesday night, writing it at SNL. Sometimes I'll just, I'll hit that track. I gotta marry the fucking night because it's 4:00 a.m. and I gotta, I have a sketch to finish. You know what I mean?
43:32 Speaker 03 I do.
43:32 Speaker 02 Like, it's, I completely understand this relationship you have with the people, the way people talk about your life and what you've gone through. It is only enriching what the work is.
43:43 Speaker 03 Thank, thank you. I, thanks for sharing that. I'm so sorry that you go through those times. I, I think it's, you know, it's like something I have to work through because it really was true that for a while, and I don't know if you can relate to this anyway, but it's sometimes when you get to that place, talking about it is the healthiest thing for you.
44:03 Speaker 02 Yeah.
44:04 Speaker 03 And like, you have to get it out. And if you don't get it out, you're just living in silence about it. And it's like this secret that is making you feel more sick. So, yeah, I'm, you know, I'm a work in progress. It's like, I'm just, you know, I'm not an authority on anything, really. I just am a person and I, I love making people happy. And I, I hope that people will put on mayhem, start to finish, and just have a good time. Because it's ultimately meant to, to be a celebration of you. But I think I did make it for those that feel like maybe they don't always know how to make sense of themselves. And I'm saying like, that's cool. It's okay. You don't have to make perfect sense of it.
44:46 Speaker 02 That's what the sequencing is about in the end. That's probably why you landed on this order of songs. Because that's the statement.
44:53 Speaker 03 That's right.
45:00 Speaker 01 This ad is sponsored by Vive Healthcare.
45:02 Speaker 02 Time for some prep wisdom.
45:03 Speaker 01 But first, some common sense, people. Everyone is different. Every one. Yes, even you. Yes, even your situationship.
45:10 Speaker 02 Especially your situationship. And just like people, injectable prep options, not all the same.
45:16 Speaker 01 That's why you need to talk to your doctor and know what to ask. So here's some prep wisdom.
45:21 Speaker 02 Did you know there's more to consider about long-acting injectable prep options than how often you get it? Also, why you want to take it matters. Your lifestyle matters. Your routine, your chaos level, your "I might forget my own birthday" energy, all of it counts.
45:33 Speaker 01 Basically, talk to your doctor. Have the conversation, ask the questions, be a little nosey about your own health. It's allowed, encouraged even. Okay, did you write all that down?
45:42 Speaker 02 No?
45:43 Speaker 01 Don't worry.
45:43 Speaker 02 Just head to getprepwisdom.com to learn what to ask your doctor. That's getprepwisdom.com.
45:49 Speaker 01 Hey, Bo, and point of order. It feels like nothing is what it says it is anymore.
45:53 Speaker 02 Point of answer, it's because everything has a catch.
45:56 Speaker 01 Hey, or it turns out to be something else entirely.
45:58 Speaker 02 Like a total catfish situation.
45:59 Speaker 01 Exactly, Bo.
46:00 Speaker 02 Except for hotels.com.
46:02 Speaker 01 Yeah, that one's pretty literal.
46:03 Speaker 02 Because it's hotels.com, it's in the domain. You go there, you book hotels, hundreds of thousands of them.
46:10 Speaker 01 And hold up, that's...
46:11 Speaker 02 It? That's it. And when stays are booked as a member, rewards are earned every time.
46:15 Speaker 01 Every stay?
46:16 Speaker 02 Every stay. No tracking or managing, just rewards that can be used like cash on future bookings.
46:21 Speaker 01 Which, by the way, already feels nicer than most rewards programs, okay?
46:24 Speaker 02 Yeah. Members can also get up to 20% off bookings, so savings start right away.
46:29 Speaker 01 Does that mean no weird restrictions?
46:30 Speaker 02 And no blackout dates. Book what works, when it works. It's actually really fitting of real travel.
46:37 Speaker 01 So the name is honest, you're saying? And the rewards are too?
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46:48 Speaker 01 I'd say M&M's are one of those truly iconic snacks.
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47:44 Speaker 01 Well, we have the central question of our podcast that we ask everybody, that we're gonna ask of you, Lady Gaga, which is what was the culture that made you say, "Culture was for me"? This can be anything from a film you saw that moved you in a certain direction, a song, an artist, something environmental. If you could think, I became something close to Lady Gaga, if not full-on Lady Gaga, in this moment.
48:08 Speaker 03 I have a few different ones, I feel like.
48:10 Speaker 01 We love that.
48:11 Speaker 03 I think the one that is the most important to me is I had gay friends in high school, and I didn't have a lot of friends in high school. And I went to an all-girls school, which means that when school was over, I used to walk, like, eight blocks away to the boys' school, and they weren't out yet, but we were friends, and we would do the musicals together, and I found my people. And then later in my career, when I started performing out, and I had LGBTQ+ fans, I was like, "Oh, that was, this is the community that loved me when I was a child, and this is the community that I'm meant to be a part of now." And so, I don't think I would be Lady Gaga without the queer community.
48:51 Speaker 01 Wow. You're such an important friend in the life of a gay person when you are that person. You know what I mean? Like, that's like such a silly way to sequence those words, sequencing. But I'll just never forget my safe spaces when I wasn't out, when I was in high school, when I felt like I could talk about my influences, talk about the music I wanted to talk about, you know? Like, telling all the boys in my school that I liked Limp Bizkit and all love to them, but I wanted to talk about Christina Aguilera, and then finding the girls and being like, "Don't you love the last track, 'Obvious', on the self-titled"? You know what I mean? Like, it's just like, being able to share a language and share a humor, and you have grown into such a maximum version of that.
49:35 Speaker 01 And it was, I mean, jumping around, we just have to say, it was so beautiful. And thank you so much for saying what you said on the Grammys, for speaking to our community and speaking to the trans community and people that need it the most.
49:48 Speaker 03 That was my absolute privilege, and I promised myself that if I won a Grammy that night, I was gonna say something that was in support of something that is so... So important, which is to be protective and loving to a community that is experiencing violence.
50:05 Speaker 02 Yep.
50:06 Speaker 03 It's my privilege to be a part of this community. And it's the language that we speak to each other. And it's also like, thank you for teaching me so much about the world. I couldn't be the person that I am without the stories of all of the people that I've met.
50:24 Speaker 02 Totally.
50:25 Speaker 03 And the authenticity and the realness. Like, I have so many gay friends that like, just share with me their truth.
50:31 Speaker 02 Yeah.
50:32 Speaker 03 And that's a real gift. Like, how many people do you meet that don't do that?
50:36 Speaker 02 Right.
50:37 Speaker 03 Everybody. Right. And it's like, that can be also not a great way to move through the world. So, you know, to me, this is my privilege to be a part of it. And I know I wouldn't be the same. And, you know, I think, like, Born This Way for me was, it's like, easily my favorite album that I, that I ever created. And what's interesting is, the second answer to the question that you asked me, if I could think of another culture, it would be that culture of friends on the Lower East Side. And Born This Way was a mixture of the inspiration of the queer community, my love of the queer community, as well as like, this like techno-rock, electro-rock, underground New York metal
51:21 Speaker 03 scene that I was a part of. So, you know, all of those things, like, that blender.
51:28 Speaker 02 Yeah.
51:29 Speaker 03 Is like, truly what makes me, me. And it, and it still is. And I, I think this is an important time for us all to be real with each other and ask for what we need from each other.
51:38 Speaker 02 Well, something about that night where you won the Grammy with Bruno, that was so impactful, because I was just watching at home, kind of just, because a couple of hours had gone by in the show already, and I was just like, I guess no one's really addressing what's going on in like, a real, important way. And you were, you broke the seal on that, and then the immediate response from the audience and from people at home was, thank God you said something.
52:01 Speaker 03 Yeah, so grateful.
52:02 Speaker 02 Because...
52:04 Speaker 02 I will always think about the way you handled the rumors and the way you even talked about it with Anderson Cooper, which was like, would that be such a bad thing? Like, the fact that you were even talking about this recently, where you're like, you had to decide whether or not you would, quote unquote, "fix" the rumor, but how would that make someone feel if they were trans? And why would you inject more shame into that situation? Because I think there was some turning point in Lady Gaga as an artist who was studying fame, because that's a moment where, I don't know, we experience this on such a smaller scale than you, obviously, but it's like, there's nothing more frustrating than someone saying something about you that isn't true. Right. And you don't have the opportunity to address it, or you're not, and all you want to say is, "That's not true." But for you to flip that on its head and be like, "If it were true, who fucking cares?" Yeah.
52:49 Speaker 02 It's huge.
52:50 Speaker 03 Yeah, well, I think that was probably the most responsible I ever felt for, like, the words that were gonna come out of my mouth.
52:58 Speaker 02 Yeah.
52:59 Speaker 03 At that point. Like, I really kind of did understand that the way that I would react to that would, I thought, be meaningful, but to be frank, I didn't think about it for very long.
53:12 Speaker 02 Even better.
53:14 Speaker 03 No, but seriously, it was outrageous to me that, it was also kind of a weird thing, like, "So how do you feel about these rumors?" I'm like, "What are we talking, like, what are we talking about? These are people's lives. These are people's real lives." And that's what makes me so upset about it today, is when I see, when I see people peering down at others and making it, making it, like, socially acceptable to peer down and to say that the trans community should be treated this way, is wrong. It is wrong, it's violent, it is everything I hate. It is everything I hate.
53:55 Speaker 02 To just go after the most vulnerable people.
53:58 Speaker 03 Yes.
53:59 Speaker 01 That's why community is so important, though. Because had you not been exposed to community and had you not like had this understanding of people's humanity, someone may have been put in that situation as like a pop star that's being rocketed to fame and like, you know, aggressively trying to be defined by this thing that the media is like, you know, inherently saying is like some negative thing, but because you had that exposure to community and because you knew the reality that these are people's lives, you were able to be in that position and be so gorgeous and responsible.
54:31 Speaker 03 But that's the blessing.
54:33 Speaker 01 That's important.
54:33 Speaker 03 The blessing is when, when I was accepted by the queer community, that was the gift to me because then I get to learn and I get to, I get to experience and have real relationships that change my insides. And sometimes, you know, people ask, you know, how can I do this better? Can you explain this to me? Like, people want to learn more. And I, you know, I always have the desire to say like, be friends with more people in the queer community. Like, that's the best, the best way to learn is to just be a part of the world.
55:03 Speaker 02 And it's quite easy. We're all pretty friendly.
55:05 Speaker 03 That's right. The best.
55:09 Speaker 02 I mean, you are, you're so, you are such an important part of that conception for people because I think I had come out of the closet again when Born This Way came out because went to conversion therapy, obviously didn't, well, did not work out.
55:24 Speaker 03 I didn't know that.
55:25 Speaker 02 Yeah, yeah. And so Matt had come out in college, so we've known each other since college. Matt had come out around the same time. We were both doing comedy. He was in the sketch group. I was in the improv group. Born This Way came out the same, the single came out the same week as this college comedy festival. We were driving from NYU.
55:39 Speaker 01 Skidmore.
55:39 Speaker 02 Up to Skidmore. And we were just blasting that song for 48 straight hours, being wasted, just like in some like tool shed.
55:51 Speaker 01 Grungy, grungy, grungy.
55:52 Speaker 02 Grungiest, just like that is.
55:54 Speaker 01 And he felt emboldened to come out that weekend.
55:57 Speaker 03 That's really special. That's really, really special.
55:59 Speaker 02 You're so important to a huge swath of people who only want the best things for you and for each other. And if there is community in this world, it is fully embodied in that sector, but also those people need leadership and you've always been that leader culturally, artistically.
56:20 Speaker 02 In so many ways, you have always been that person.
56:22 Speaker 03 I appreciate you saying that, but you know what? I more than being a leader, I just want to do my part. And like, I really believe that like, we can all do our small part. And then when we all do our small part, it like, makes a big part.
56:38 Speaker 02 Yeah.
56:38 Speaker 03 And, and, and I believe that we will continue to show, show people that are filled with hatred and ignorance, that they should be looking up to the queer community and following, and learning about love, learning about grace, learning about kindness. I really believe that, and I, and I'm not giving up.
56:58 Speaker 01 No. No.
56:59 Speaker 02 No, no, no.
56:59 Speaker 01 And we know, and neither are we, and it's, it's so interesting that the answer that you gave to the question was almost like the very simple, beautiful answer that felt like was coming out in the results of the election and everything, is people were just saying one word, "Community."
57:17 Speaker 03 Yeah.
57:18 Speaker 01 Look around you, water the flowers.
57:20 Speaker 03 Right.
57:20 Speaker 01 Build those connections, maybe find new connections.
57:23 Speaker 03 That's right.
57:23 Speaker 01 Community, that is really what it's all about. And exposure to the humanity of everybody.
57:29 Speaker 03 That's right, and I know that it feels important for me to say too, that yes, I say these things publicly, but like, it's actually even more important to me that I live them in my life.
57:40 Speaker 01 Right.
57:40 Speaker 03 Like, that, that is the work.
57:41 Speaker 01 Yeah, yeah.
57:43 Speaker 02 The category is dance or die. The only way forward is to just, is to be joyous and just celebrate each other in that way, because like, I think Abercadaver is like, my interpretation of it is, it is this duel between, it's death or love. It's the only alternative.
58:02 Speaker 03 There's really only one option in that video.
58:05 Speaker 02 Really?
58:06 Speaker 03 Like, she, she announces the category, but like, you kind of know, like, no, we're gonna dance.
58:11 Speaker 02 We're can't, we're gonna die.
58:12 Speaker 01 Yeah, it's an easy choice for me.
58:13 Speaker 03 Yeah, we're gonna dance.
58:15 Speaker 01 Speaking of dance, okay, so, we'll be at Coachella. I'm going weekend one, Bowen Astorik, he's gonna go weekend two. I think I may go again.
58:23 Speaker 02 Is there, because we're listening to the album and we're like, oh my God, in the desert, this is gonna be insane. Could you-
58:30 Speaker 03 Drink some water?
58:31 Speaker 02 Yeah, of course.
58:32 Speaker 03 A towel for your face?
58:33 Speaker 02 Yes. So, how long have you been thinking about that performance?
58:39 Speaker 03 All night, every night, since I said yes. And also, you know, before then, I mean, I didn't really get a chance to do Coachella the way I wanted to.
58:48 Speaker 01 Because you heroically filled in.
58:50 Speaker 02 Yeah.
58:51 Speaker 03 You know, it was great. It was actually great for A Star is Born 2, because Coachella agreed to let us use the stage to film the movie. As you know, making movies and production, like having, you know, places to film is a positive thing. It was great for the film.
59:05 Speaker 02 Yeah.
59:05 Speaker 03 I had like three days to get ready for it.
59:08 Speaker 02 Oh my God.
59:09 Speaker 03 Which is absurd.
59:10 Speaker 01 Yeah, it's not fair.
59:12 Speaker 03 But for this, I am just putting everything that I have into it, and I'm really excited. And I do, but I don't want to give anything away, because I truly want it to be like big, a big surprise.
59:23 Speaker 02 I feel like I have heard you say in recent interviews that you have been moving in the direction of something slightly more stripped down, because there was a time in your, in your career where, you know, the set pieces would be like unmanageably big. You know what I mean? And now you are thinking in terms of sustainability and in terms of like-
59:40 Speaker 03 I do.
59:40 Speaker 02 Yeah.
59:41 Speaker 03 I do think a lot more now about like not wasting and not overproducing things, because when I was younger, I used to get like so nervous that we would like run out of props, you know? Or run out, or costumes would get ruined, or something wouldn't work well, so we would have a backup. But now, you know, I have an archive with a lot of like costumes from all my previous tours and TV shows. And so now I try to reuse those and repurpose them. And in the Abracadabra video, we did some of that, as well as like the white cape that I'm wearing.
1:00:15 Speaker 02 Wedding dresses?
1:00:16 Speaker 03 It was all vintage wedding dresses.
1:00:18 Speaker 02 Oh, that's so cool.
1:00:19 Speaker 03 Yeah. So, you know, I'm trying to, yeah, I'm changing.
1:00:22 Speaker 02 I don't think you need the overproduction, obviously, which is what you're saying. It's like, people will just be fucking gagged to see you in any kind of-
1:00:30 Speaker 01 It's gonna be nuts.
1:00:31 Speaker 02 Stage picture. You know, the thing about the Radio City show with Tony Bennett, it was like, we were with our friend Sudi, and we just, the three of us kept saying, she just always knows her stage picture.
1:00:40 Speaker 03 Thank you. But you know, I do, I do believe when it comes to stage performance, and this is probably has to do more with me, like, loving theater so much too, is that- You can do a lot with like a black box theater and a spotlight.
1:00:55 Speaker 02 Yeah.
1:00:56 Speaker 03 You're like, it's how it's lit. It's your pose. It's the way that you say the first line. You know, more adornment and more money doesn't necessarily mean better.
1:01:06 Speaker 02 Certainly not.
1:01:07 Speaker 03 It's like how you think about it and how you bring it. I think simplicity is actually like very, very powerful. But that also is not indicative necessarily of what Coachella will be. So I.
1:01:19 Speaker 02 Sure, I just brought that up as a maybe a little.
1:01:21 Speaker 01 You were talking on Hot Ones, actually, about like performing at the Slipper Room way back when.
1:01:27 Speaker 03 Yes.
1:01:27 Speaker 01 Which is crazy.
1:01:28 Speaker 02 Because we've done shows there.
1:01:29 Speaker 01 We've done shows there and like, I was just thinking to myself when you were talking about that. Some of my most formative, memorable, like theatrical experiences have been in rooms with like seven or eight other people. Watching someone create fantasy.
1:01:44 Speaker 03 That's right.
1:01:44 Speaker 01 When you shouldn't be able to, but yet it is the, it is like lighting choices, the way things sound in rooms like that.
1:01:51 Speaker 03 That's right. It's the stage.
1:01:53 Speaker 01 Yeah.
1:01:53 Speaker 03 It's like the magic of the stage that that, because when you do things like, I mean, there are clubs where people perform, right? Like in the room, like on the floor.
1:02:03 Speaker 01 Right.
1:02:03 Speaker 03 But to me, the context changes on a stage, you know?
1:02:07 Speaker 02 It's elevated.
1:02:08 Speaker 03 It's elevated and you know, like, I'm gonna see a show and there's gonna, something's going to try to move me.
1:02:14 Speaker 01 Yeah.
1:02:14 Speaker 03 And I do find in New York, actually, at some of those downtown clubs that like, there is immense talent.
1:02:20 Speaker 01 Yes.
1:02:21 Speaker 03 Immense talent and it's so much fun. And I, and I've always like also been so in awe of the drag shows in New York.
1:02:29 Speaker 01 Oh, the best.
1:02:30 Speaker 03 It is unreal. And I've been watching some of the recreations on TikTok.
1:02:35 Speaker 02 Yeah.
1:02:36 Speaker 03 Of the video and it's just like, it's, I mean.
1:02:40 Speaker 02 Yeah. Oh, it's Jan, Jan did it with, yeah, the next day after the, after the video.
1:02:45 Speaker 03 Oh, wow.
1:02:46 Speaker 01 Yeah, I mean, well.
1:02:46 Speaker 03 How?
1:02:47 Speaker 02 They just, I mean, they just got all, they just got all of like the.
1:02:49 Speaker 03 No, but also like the lacing is perfect on the corset and then the hat. And then, and like, I saw people making like the spiked hat out of plastic and then hands, brain painting it. Cranberry.
1:03:02 Speaker 01 Cranberry. I mean, when you came to Drag Race and did that workshop with them, that was just taking it the extra mile. And I think that telegraphed to everyone that it is about the details. It is, I mean, like, that is such a, of course, it's about so much more than that, but the details do matter. You were so detailed in the way that you walked through with those queens.
1:03:19 Speaker 03 I mean, I loved being a part of Drag Race. That was so much fun and also a privilege. I loved it so much. I mean, I think that I have, like, just the ultimate respect for drag as an art form. I also think drag very often does it so much better than we do it on red carpets, honestly. Like, I think it's just on another level.
1:03:41 Speaker 01 Yeah. How much of what you do do you think of as drag?
1:03:46 Speaker 03 I mean, that's interesting. I probably wouldn't use that word just because I do feel like it's a very specific art form that I don't, like, do. But there is, to me, also a drag element in what I'm doing. But I don't think that, you know, wigs and makeup and costumes always mean drag. Like, I think, like, it is a very beloved and specific art form and, but not no.
1:04:13 Speaker 01 Not no. Certainly not no.
1:04:14 Speaker 03 But certainly not no. It's kind of like, sometimes people, you know, you know, ask me that. And I just, like, it's hard to say yes because I would never want to, like, take away from someone that's devoted their life to it.
1:04:27 Speaker 01 Sure. You're coming from a place of respect for what they do.
1:04:30 Speaker 03 Yeah, exactly.
1:04:30 Speaker 02 That's my sort of rationale whenever someone's like, what would your drag need be? I'm like, I don't know because I have not, I've not thought that far because, and I honestly think it's because I love the form so much that I'm like, I don't want to insert myself in that without earning my chops, without like...
1:04:46 Speaker 03 Well, if I was gonna do it, I would have to, like, step it up in a big way.
1:04:51 Speaker 02 Right. So there you go.
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1:07:25 Speaker 01 To speak on another art form, because we went to NYU here. You did a semester at CAP 21.
1:07:31 Speaker 03 Yes.
1:07:32 Speaker 01 So we had a bunch of friends in CAP 21. We were there and that was like legendary that you had graced that studio for even a second. Is there still a part of you that would do musical theater in like a mainstream sense? Like, would you go and do Broadway? And if so, is there a role?
1:07:49 Speaker 03 I think so, yes. I think I would love to write a musical.
1:07:53 Speaker 01 Well, of course.
1:07:54 Speaker 03 I think that.
1:07:54 Speaker 01 A new one.
1:07:55 Speaker 03 Yeah, a new one.
1:07:56 Speaker 01 Yeah.
1:07:56 Speaker 03 Yeah, I think, I mean, that would give me the ultimate joy of like crafting all the music.
1:08:01 Speaker 01 Yes.
1:08:02 Speaker 03 Working with amazing writers on developing the story and the script. And then, you know, the stage design and the costumes.
1:08:08 Speaker 01 Yeah.
1:08:09 Speaker 03 And then maybe I'd be in it too, but you know, just like the idea of writing one, that sounds really, I mean, that's, I mean.
1:08:17 Speaker 01 Come on. The Cyndi Lauper bag.
1:08:19 Speaker 03 Because all my albums basically want to be musicals.
1:08:24 Speaker 02 You're in the pocket already, so why not? Okay, we're gonna close things off with, I don't think so, honey. This is where we take one minute each to rail against something.
1:08:32 Speaker 01 I'm trying to think if there's anything else I want to ask you.
1:08:35 Speaker 02 Oh, I know, I know, I know.
1:08:36 Speaker 01 I have one more thing.
1:08:37 Speaker 03 Okay.
1:08:38 Speaker 01 Okay, so you talk about when you do films.
1:08:41 Speaker 03 Yeah.
1:08:41 Speaker 01 Your commitment to that and like your, I don't know if, have you described yourself as method? Yes.
1:08:48 Speaker 03 No prob, that sounds like something I would say.
1:08:50 Speaker 01 Yeah.
1:08:51 Speaker 03 That embarrassingly remembering, yes.
1:08:52 Speaker 01 No, but I want to know because your performances are so brilliant. I mean, you and Star, I saw Star Wars four times opening weekend.
1:08:59 Speaker 03 Thank you.
1:08:59 Speaker 01 I, I love House of Gucci. I mean, like, I wonder, have you approached acting now in a way that you can feel is, is sustainable? Or how do you feel when you are approaching a role now? In terms of what you've learned and what you've done, because you've done such incredible stuff.
1:09:18 Speaker 03 I think, thank you. I think that I love making films.
1:09:22 Speaker 01 Yeah.
1:09:22 Speaker 03 I love being an actor. It's been a privilege working with such amazing actors.
1:09:26 Speaker 01 Yeah.
1:09:27 Speaker 03 And actresses in like every film that I've been a part of. I learned a lot working with Joaquin, actually.
1:09:33 Speaker 01 Yeah.
1:09:33 Speaker 03 It was a very, very enriching experience.
1:09:37 Speaker 03 I would say, I don't know that it's acting. You're really feeling it when you're doing it, and it's real. So I would say the thing I've learned the most is like to put yourself fully in the moment and to really be in it, you know, as if it was real life. And that it is a performance, but that it's not pretend.
1:09:58 Speaker 01 Right.
1:09:59 Speaker 03 You know, I was actually working with, it's really sorry to interrupt you, but I was working with my niece on something related to Wicked.
1:10:07 Speaker 01 Oh.
1:10:08 Speaker 03 She sings, and I was talking to her about, you know, thinking of a moment in her life where it made her want to cry because she felt so changed inside. And what I want to say about acting is it's not far from singing. You know, that you, you have to go to a place where you're really, truly connecting to what you're saying.
1:10:33 Speaker 01 Yeah.
1:10:34 Speaker 03 And it's, it's not just about the words on their own, it's about like the human being behind it.
1:10:38 Speaker 01 Right. But when you, when you play characters that go through so, like such harrowing stuff.
1:10:44 Speaker 03 Yeah.
1:10:45 Speaker 01 Yeah. Do you think that going forward, like, I don't know if you have anything on the books or whatever, but would you ever do, because you love comedy so much, like, does the lightness appeal to you in terms of that art form?
1:10:56 Speaker 03 It does, it actually does. Michael's always like, can you please?
1:11:00 Speaker 01 Instead of absolutely punishing yourself.
1:11:02 Speaker 03 Yes, I would love to do a more lighthearted film. I would, but I, you know, I love the dark stuff too.
1:11:08 Speaker 01 Yeah.
1:11:08 Speaker 03 That's me.
1:11:09 Speaker 01 Yeah, that is.
1:11:10 Speaker 03 Mayhem.
1:11:10 Speaker 01 It's mayhem.
1:11:11 Speaker 03 Yeah, it's mayhem. You know, I'm like, I'm like a pretty soft person that adores intensity. So I don't, I don't really know where that comes from. I always thought it was funny when I was making this album, because like I would, you know, like I'm at home, like making breakfast for me and Michael and then go to the studio and I'm like, kind of soft spoken and like just being myself. And then like the music was so hard. And it's like, it doesn't really make a lot of sense, but you know, I guess that's the way that I deal with myself. It's like the way I deal with my anger, it's the way that I deal with my intense feelings.
1:11:47 Speaker 01 Yeah, got it.
1:11:49 Speaker 02 God.
1:11:50 Speaker 01 We just love you in all forms. Like, oh, it's just, anyway, I, we, this is amazing having you here, but we're gonna do our silly little segment now. I don't think so, honey. And I guess I'll start it out. I do have something. Last night, I sort of was like, I had nervous energy, so I was like, I wanna take myself on a YouTube wormhole that I've never experienced before. I want a new educational experience, and I got one.
1:12:14 Speaker 02 I'm excited to learn. This is Matt Rogers. I don't think so honey's time starts now.
1:12:17 Speaker 01 I don't think so, honey. People don't respect elephants. You don't understand how complicated their communication is. This is a fact. Elephants can communicate from miles away with each other without seeing each other. They speak, and it is speaking, at a decibel that is so low. Do you understand? I don't think so, honey, you understand. They, it can't be heard by the human ear, but they are always speaking. Elephants have processes they go through for their grief. They honor their dead.
1:12:47 Speaker 02 Thirty seconds.
1:12:47 Speaker 01 They will walk in succession and grieve, and there is different ways of communicating. They're in a matriarchal society. People don't know that. And get this. It's not just mom. It's mom and all her friends raising a child. Community.
1:13:01 Speaker 02 The aunties.
1:13:03 Speaker 01 It's the aunties, it's the friends. They will mimic what it is to feed a child, even if they're not feeding it, just to give the child comfort. Elephants are unbelievable.
1:13:12 Speaker 02 Five seconds.
1:13:12 Speaker 01 They are not just gorgeous, and think about their trunks. That is amazing. Can you do something like that? I don't think so, honey.
1:13:20 Speaker 02 That's one minute.
1:13:22 Speaker 01 You gotta get on my level when it comes to YouTube at this point. I've never been so connected to the animal world, and you know sometimes I fear animals.
1:13:28 Speaker 02 Yes, you do.
1:13:30 Speaker 01 Just the wild ones.
1:13:31 Speaker 02 But the elephants are important.
1:13:33 Speaker 01 But these elephants, have you really gotten into elephant culture? I am dead over that rant. That was, no. Have you been to Africa to see them? Yes. You're very lucky.
1:13:44 Speaker 03 I, oh my god.
1:13:47 Speaker 01 No, I'm telling you.
1:13:47 Speaker 03 That was amazing.
1:13:48 Speaker 01 Thank you so much. I just wanted to give them their shine because, and I actually almost came in here today. I, you know, I changed my outfit six times Gaga and landed in a white polo. But I was gonna wear a red sweatshirt with a panda on it.
1:14:01 Speaker 03 Oh.
1:14:02 Speaker 01 And I just, cuz they're my next target. I need, I was like, I need to find out what's happening with them. There's a lot.
1:14:06 Speaker 03 Oh my god.
1:14:07 Speaker 01 And by the way, elephants, when they say they never forget, they really don't. And that's why it's so important to keep them safe because when they are attacked or they have a The trauma. Family member attacked, the trauma lives in them forever.
1:14:18 Speaker 03 Oh my god.
1:14:19 Speaker 01 And they remember it and they won't go places where they've
1:14:21 Speaker 03 That's so sad.
1:14:22 Speaker 01 It is so sad, but it's, but the knowledge will, will embolden us to protect them.
1:14:26 Speaker 03 Thank you for your service to the elephants. That was beautiful.
1:14:30 Speaker 01 I just care for them so much and they're so tender and emotional. Absolutely. Yeah. Okay. So with that, Bo Yung, do you have an I don't think so honey on today? I do. Okay. Wonderful to hear. I love when that is true. This is Bo Yung's I Don't Think So Honey. It's time for it's now.
1:14:46 Speaker 02 I don't think so honey, hot ones. You made Lady Gaga cry. And you're gonna give this woman de-bomb? I've had it. I, I had the privilege, quote unquote, of tasting de-bomb. And it is battery acid rancid stuff. Just kidding, Sean Evans, we love you.
1:15:04 Speaker 01 Love Sean Evans.
1:15:04 Speaker 02 First be feast. One of the funnest things I've done personally, you were a champ. It was, it did not feel right to make you suffer in that way. While you were trying to talk about the album, while you were trying to talk about your career. I, I can't, you, we need to put respect on Lady Gaga's time in her promotional bag. She needs, you can't be making this woman chomp on plant-based wings. I think you need to Do it off camera. Just say, Sean, how about this? Say, before we recorded, we had Lady Gaga try these wings.
1:15:39 Speaker 01 Five seconds.
1:15:39 Speaker 02 We're not gonna put the indignity of her sweating and crying and, you know, chugging down milk on film for you. That's not for, some things are too precious and that's one of them.
1:15:50 Speaker 01 And that's one minute. Bo Yung said, fuck your show.
1:15:52 Speaker 02 No.
1:15:53 Speaker 01 Change the format so that we can
1:15:55 Speaker 02 No, but you were amazing.
1:15:56 Speaker 01 You were incredible on it.
1:15:57 Speaker 03 Oh my god.
1:15:58 Speaker 01 What was the process of it like?
1:16:00 Speaker 03 Oh, what?
1:16:00 Speaker 01 No, you, you're still, you're still absorbing that.
1:16:03 Speaker 03 I know, I can't. It's, these are, like, this is amazing.
1:16:08 Speaker 01 No.
1:16:09 Speaker 03 Yes. This is amazing.
1:16:10 Speaker 02 Speaking from the heart.
1:16:11 Speaker 03 It's, it's special.
1:16:12 Speaker 01 You blown away by I don't think so, honey is.
1:16:14 Speaker 02 So funny.
1:16:15 Speaker 03 I am.
1:16:18 Speaker 01 You're gonna be great. You're gonna be great. Just, it's not harder than Hot Ones.
1:16:22 Speaker 03 Okay.
1:16:23 Speaker 01 I mean, but Hot Ones, was it a good experience?
1:16:26 Speaker 03 Yes.
1:16:27 Speaker 01 Yeah.
1:16:27 Speaker 02 I had a great time. I'm just kidding, by the way.
1:16:28 Speaker 03 It was spicy.
1:16:29 Speaker 02 It was spicy.
1:16:30 Speaker 01 But do you, and you, you do spicy.
1:16:33 Speaker 03 I do. I do do spicy. Yeah. I mean, what I thought was funny was that I did like seven and they were sort of fine and then eight out of nowhere.
1:16:40 Speaker 01 Yeah, to bomb.
1:16:40 Speaker 02 Eight out of nowhere kills you.
1:16:42 Speaker 03 I was like, what a sneak attack, though. Like, at least let me know at four and six.
1:16:46 Speaker 02 Totally.
1:16:46 Speaker 03 This is gonna get bad.
1:16:47 Speaker 01 Have you not seen the show?
1:16:48 Speaker 03 No, of course I have. I just, like, I don't know if I'd seen, like, you know, thirty episodes.
1:16:52 Speaker 02 Right, but watching from home, you're like, oh, like, I guess it's a linear curve.
1:16:56 Speaker 03 I thought it would be. I kept laughing at myself because I was like, it's like not actually a contest.
1:17:00 Speaker 02 It's not a con- no, it's not a contest.
1:17:01 Speaker 03 I'm like, am I winning? But like.
1:17:03 Speaker 01 If you get to the end, you win. And you won.
1:17:05 Speaker 02 You do win. You won.
1:17:06 Speaker 01 Yeah.
1:17:07 Speaker 02 I love that you totally forgot. You were so in the heat of the moment, literally, that you forgot to promote the album. You were like.
1:17:12 Speaker 01 Oh, yeah. You were like, oh, that was fun.
1:17:16 Speaker 02 What am I here to do? That was amazing. That was one of my favorite episodes. And I, again, purely in jest, that is one of the favorite, my favorite things I've ever done. He's gotta do it.
1:17:24 Speaker 01 I'll do it one day.
1:17:24 Speaker 02 You gotta do it.
1:17:25 Speaker 01 I'm manifesting it.
1:17:26 Speaker 02 It's gonna happen. But he really, what we're doing.
1:17:28 Speaker 01 Doing the versus.
1:17:28 Speaker 02 We're doing, we're doing versus. Not, not gonna do the one where you face, where that is a game, a contest where you face off against each other. But, um.
1:17:34 Speaker 01 He's gonna win.
1:17:34 Speaker 02 Well, I think it's so sweet is that he mirrors you. Is that he, he'll drink if you drink. He, he eats the wings the same, the same time that you do. I think that's lovely.
1:17:41 Speaker 03 I mean, he was really nice.
1:17:42 Speaker 02 He's so nice.
1:17:43 Speaker 03 He was really, really nice. Yeah, he was so sweet and I just, I was expecting more spicy.
1:17:49 Speaker 02 Yeah.
1:17:50 Speaker 01 Until.
1:17:51 Speaker 03 Until, until I was praying for it to stop.
1:17:54 Speaker 02 Until you were great.
1:17:55 Speaker 03 Yes.
1:17:55 Speaker 02 Absolutely. Well, anyway, I just had to put, take them to task. And, um, it's, it's now time for yours if you'd like to do one.
1:18:02 Speaker 03 I'm so afraid this is gonna backfire.
1:18:04 Speaker 01 No, it's not. You just say, I don't think so, honey, then the thing, and then you just kind of let it go.
1:18:09 Speaker 03 Let it go.
1:18:10 Speaker 02 One minute goes by fast. This is Lady Gaga's I Don't Think So Honey.
1:18:14 Speaker 01 That sentence.
1:18:15 Speaker 02 And her time starts now.
1:18:17 Speaker 03 Basically, I don't think so, honey, that you guys are putting me on the spot to do this. I don't think so. I don't like to rant. I hate ranting. I hate confronting people.
1:18:26 Speaker 01 You're really good at it.
1:18:26 Speaker 03 I feel super uncomfortable. I, right now, I'm shaking. Seriously, I like, would, would love to just like go on stage and sing.
1:18:34 Speaker 01 Yeah.
1:18:34 Speaker 03 And change my outfits and pick my wigs and write songs and make albums and go on tours.
1:18:39 Speaker 01 Period.
1:18:39 Speaker 03 But I do not want to rant about anything.
1:18:41 Speaker 00 Oh, no!
1:18:43 Speaker 03 It is so scary to me. I feel scared. I want to cry.
1:18:46 Speaker 00 No, please don't cry. Thirty seconds, you're halfway through.
1:18:48 Speaker 03 But I don't think so, that you're putting me on the spot. I can't, I'm just gonna do whatever you say, whatever you ask me to do it. When you tell me to do things, it makes me want to cry. It makes me insane.
1:18:57 Speaker 01 We shouldn't have done this.
1:18:58 Speaker 00 We shouldn't have done this.
1:18:59 Speaker 03 I love you so much and also, I don't think so don't you ever put me on the spot ever again, but I love doing this podcast. Thank you so much for having me here, but please, please, please don't make me get angry about anything in public.
1:19:12 Speaker 00 Oh, and that's one man. And Lady Gaga, we're so sorry.
1:19:16 Speaker 01 Hot Ones, you should have gotten rid of your hot sauce. Lost Coach, we should have not done, I don't think so, honey.
1:19:20 Speaker 02 I mean, we have to, we're, the show's done. We're, we're, we're, this is the last episode ever.
1:19:24 Speaker 01 This is it.
1:19:25 Speaker 02 How can we beat this?
1:19:26 Speaker 03 Cool, is that funny?
1:19:27 Speaker 02 Yes! Are you kidding me? I thought you have to ask. Gaga, you're, you're, you're.
1:19:33 Speaker 03 So, with the, with the.
1:19:35 Speaker 01 Did you break in a sweat?
1:19:36 Speaker 03 I, yes.
1:19:38 Speaker 01 Gaga, come on.
1:19:39 Speaker 03 I, you know what? I like to plan.
1:19:42 Speaker 02 I know, you do.
1:19:43 Speaker 03 I'm such a control freak. I like to plan everything. I like to know every line.
1:19:47 Speaker 01 They were told about, I don't think so.
1:19:48 Speaker 03 I know, and I panicked then and now.
1:19:52 Speaker 02 We're so sorry, but you look.
1:19:53 Speaker 01 That's okay.
1:19:54 Speaker 02 On a real level, you crushed it, so there you go.
1:19:56 Speaker 01 You know, all the best I don't think so honeys have been the one that kind of drags us. Tina Fey.
1:20:00 Speaker 02 Tina Fey dragged us.
1:20:01 Speaker 01 Yeah.
1:20:02 Speaker 02 Truly, the people who come after us tend to succeed, so well done.
1:20:05 Speaker 03 Thank you.
1:20:05 Speaker 02 Very well done.
1:20:06 Speaker 03 I think I got, like, my voice got very high and loud.
1:20:09 Speaker 01 You're warmed up now.
1:20:10 Speaker 02 You're warmed up.
1:20:10 Speaker 01 No, you haven't done it before.
1:20:11 Speaker 03 Not yet, not yet.
1:20:12 Speaker 01 Even on days when you don't perform, you do your warm up?
1:20:15 Speaker 03 Yes.
1:20:15 Speaker 01 Yeah, it's fun, right?
1:20:17 Speaker 03 Yeah.
1:20:17 Speaker 01 Yeah.
1:20:18 Speaker 03 It's nice, it's grounding. And then, and like, then sometimes, yeah, I can't, I can't give too much away.
1:20:22 Speaker 02 Okay.
1:20:23 Speaker 03 Can't give too much away. I'm in like the danger zone with Coachella, where like, it's gonna start slipping soon.
1:20:28 Speaker 02 Totally, because it's, it's, it's getting closer, it's happening, you, you're seeing the visuals. Um, we cannot fucking wait.
1:20:34 Speaker 03 I'm so excited. Are you both coming?
1:20:35 Speaker 02 We're coming.
1:20:36 Speaker 03 Yay, we will take care of you.
1:20:37 Speaker 01 Oh, no, no, no. I'm coming weekend two, he's coming weekend one.
1:20:40 Speaker 02 But I will go again because I have to be there with him to watch it. I'm not missing this for the fucking world.
1:20:45 Speaker 01 So literally what it was, was we had, well, I had tickets for the first weekend and he was like, I'll just come Sunday and on the odds-
1:20:50 Speaker 02 Cause I'm working, cause I'm working on Saturday.
1:20:52 Speaker 01 Famously, on the odds that she's performing on Sunday night, I'll just come. The Friday announcement, we love it. You're gonna kick off the weekend so incredibly well. But I was like, okay, now I'll go back the second weekend so that I get to go with you.
1:21:03 Speaker 02 Thank you, my friend. Mayhem is out March 7th.
1:21:06 Speaker 03 That's right.
1:21:07 Speaker 01 Two days after my birthday, by the way. This kicked off Pisces season in the best way.
1:21:10 Speaker 02 Oh, yeah.
1:21:11 Speaker 01 It's February 19th, deep in the feels. This is really, really good stuff.
1:21:15 Speaker 02 Yeah. Thank you so much for coming on.
1:21:17 Speaker 03 Thank you so much for having me. I loved this so much. I love you both so much. Thanks for being so kind to me and it was such a nice hang, too.
1:21:25 Speaker 01 It was.
1:21:26 Speaker 03 It really was. Yeah. I hope that we can do it again without microphones.
1:21:29 Speaker 01 Oh, yeah. We'll get rid of these things.
1:21:31 Speaker 02 Love that. Um, we do end every episode with a song.
1:21:34 Speaker 01 Killer. I'm a killer.
1:21:38 Speaker 02 And we're gonna die tonight.
1:21:40 Speaker 01 Killer, killer, killer, killer.
1:21:43 Speaker 02 For more of that, listen to Man. Bye.
1:21:50 Speaker 02 Lost Culture Research is a production by Will Ferrell, Big Money Players, and iHeartRadio Podcasts.
1:21:54 Speaker 01 Created and hosted by Matt Rogers and Bowen Yang. Executive produced by Anna Hosniye.
1:21:59 Speaker 02 And produced by Becca Ramos. Edited and mixed by Doug Bame and Monique LaBord.
1:22:03 Speaker 01 And our music is by Henry Kowalski.
1:22:10 Speaker 01 This ad is sponsored by Vive Healthcare.
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1:23:06 Speaker 05 She's been thinking about this sleepover all week, but I think about her food allergies all the time. Fortunately, her doctor prescribed Zolair, omalizumab. It's proven to significantly reduce allergic reactions if a food allergy accident happens.
1:23:19 Speaker 06 Zolair 150mg is a prescription medication used to treat food allergy in people one year of age and older to reduce allergic reactions due to accidental exposure to one or more foods. While taking Zolair, you should continue to avoid all foods to which you are allergic. Don't use if you are allergic to Zolair. Zolair may cause a severe, life-threatening allergic reaction called anaphylaxis. Tell your doctor if you ever had anaphylaxis. Get help right away if you have trouble breathing or if you have swelling of your throat or tongue. Zolair should not be used for the emergency treatment of allergic reactions, including anaphylaxis. Zolair is for maintenance use to reduce allergic reactions, including anaphylaxis, while avoiding food allergens. Serious side effects such as cancer, fever, muscle aches and rash, parasitic infection, or heart and circulation problems have been reported. Please see zolair.com for full prescribing information. Ask an allergist about Zolair. This is an advertisement for Zolair,
1:24:04 Speaker 06 paid for by Genentech and Novartis.
1:24:08 Speaker 07 What's that?
1:24:08 Speaker 02 My fresh detector.
1:24:10 Speaker 07 Uh, your what?
1:24:11 Speaker 02 There it is.
1:24:12 Speaker 07 What is it detecting?
1:24:14 Speaker 02 Fresh produce, fresh meat.
1:24:16 Speaker 07 Okay, what happens if it detects something really fresh?
1:24:22 Speaker 02 Apparently, we celebrate.
1:24:24 Speaker 08 At Food Lion, you can count on fresh food at fresher prices when your fresh detector is going off. Head to your local Food Lion or shop at foodlion.com. This is an iHeart Podcast. Guaranteed Human.
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