Every Single Album - 'Take Me Home' | Every Single Album: One Direction

Episode Date: April 14, 2022

'Up All Night' was a huge success and not even a year later, One Direction came back with their second album, 'Take Me Home.' Nora and Nathan talk about the band's breakneck speed when putting out new music and how it affects this album (1:00), the boys starting to try out songwriting (34:45), and some of their favorite and least favorite songs from this album (51:03). Hosts: Nora Princiotti and Nathan Hubbard Producer: Kaya McMullen Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Joanna, do you ever wish you could definitively prove that you have the right opinions about movies? Uh, yeah, Neil, because I do have the right opinions about movies and television, right, Dave? No, because I'm more right about those things, and I demand trial by content. Oh, boy, what is trial by content? Each week, we'll take on a huge question. Each of us will bring a choice and combine with listener submissions and your votes, we will come to a decision. It's trial by content every Tuesday on Spotify, the ringer.com, wherever you're listening right now. Don't let Neil win.

Don't let Dave win. Hello and welcome to every single album One Direction. I'm Nora Pinciotti. I'm here as always with Nathan Hubbard. Nathan, how are you doing? I'm great. Do you know why? I'm glad to hear it.

Why? We're going to talk about Taylor Swift on this podcast. We're sick. We are sick. Okay, fine. We can talk about Taylor Swift. We are also going to talk about Take Me Home, which is One Direction's second album.

And it was released on November 9th, 2012. which was just nine days before the one-year anniversary of their debut album up all night. And this is going to be a recurring theme, which is just the breakneck pace at which they were putting stuff out at this point. And we talked about it a little bit on the debut album episode, but it's really sort of kicking into that high gear here. And I'm curious, Nathan, if there's anything that you can come up with to compare the rate at which they were working to just in terms of another band, another artist. I mean, the thing that comes to mind for me is Taylor in quarantine. However, it just doesn't really work because definitionally she was not touring the globe while coming up with folklore and Evermore. Right.

She was not playing 123 shows between February. and November, which is just an insane pace. I mean, they were playing a show every other day in that year. Now, in 2012,

leading up to it, they hadn't played quite as many shows, but even that tour in 2012 was, you know, 50 plus shows. They played the 1-800

Ask Gary amphitheater in Tampa, which was like one of the biggest venues that they played on the whole tour, I don't know what happens if you, what you need to ask Gary about, but those were some slim days. Anyway,

I'm scared to ask, what is 1,800 ask? I don't know. I don't know. Was that like Ask Jeeves? It's like the Florida version of Asked Jeeves? I don't know. We've got to ask Gary what the hell is going on there.

But I mean, look, this band is working really at an unprecedented rate, right? You said like this, this album debuts at number one in the U.S. They are only the second, group, well, they're the latest group to have their first two albums start at number one after Danity Kane. Incredible. What happened to that group? My God. But that gives you a sense, like, they, the pace at which they're producing content is truly insane because the first album

did not come out in November of 2011 in the U.S. It came out in March of 2012. So here we are, basically eight months later and we've got an entirely new album that's out and the hysteria around this band is just building building building we really haven't seen anything like it before and while that seems terrific if you're a fan because you're being fed this content

behind the scenes what we know is that you've got a bunch of young guys who have not been home yet and who are caught up in this whirlwind machine and it is a machine because there are so many people, Nora, who worked on this album. They basically divided up into teams of people,

SWAT teams working on these songs, and then they had to chase the boys down through 2012 to whatever hotel room they were in and get them to record. And this album, to a certain extent, feels like something that got cranked out as quickly as possible and was in service of building up

the brand around these boys. Everything is three minutes to three and a half minutes. These soaring chorus ideas, right? No less than five songwriters per song. How did this album feel to you in the moment versus today as we look back on it as part of the catalog? So it's funny. In the moment,

the song that I really clung to on this album when it came out was she's not afraid. Great song. Shocked me when I went back and was like, that was a bonus track. Yeah. Which I think speaks to the fact that, okay, I was a freshman in college in the U.S., right? So that is a different customer to be sinking her teeth into, you know, the 14th track that you would hear only if you had a bonus version or we're listening online. then we talked about in the debut album where a lot of the concerns were,

okay, can we dabble in some stuff that might break them in the U.S., but really have to stay true to the bread and butter of being appealing to mostly a European audience because that's safer and we're more confident in that. This, as you said, and you can see it in, you know, the number of tour dates, the places they're playing O2 Arena, they play Madison Square Garden on the tour that supports this album. They played for the Queen of England. This is an album where all of that branding and all of that sort of production and support of the machine is for a machine that is global, that is massive.

We got a Pepsi commercial. Come on, kid. I'm Drew Breeze. And I'm Harry. Who? From One Direction. Blatnam album. Dudes. Won the Super Bowl. On the cover. MVP. Oh yeah? We got Our Moment perfume coming out.

Hey guys. So today I'm going to be doing a review on the Our Moment One Direction perfume. Yes, I have it. I purchased it. I mean, we're just cranking out the corporatization. And for some reason... Do you think anybody's going to have our moment? Oh, for sure.

You can still get it online. Don't forget. It's one of four perfumes. There's that moment. Well, I still have a few vials of wonderstruck. Oh, God. Clanking around in my room somewhere. So maybe this is the start of a collection. By the way, 1-800-asked Gary is a lawyer and medical accident helpline.

Well, hopefully they called it after the snowmobile accident, but we'll get to that. Okay. But I think that's a good place, just the conversation. we were just having as a good sort of way to frame our discussion of this album, because again, the floor and the ceiling are just so much higher when it comes to this second record than it was with up all night. They know they have it, don't they? They're just cranking it into gear.

They know they have it. How much blood can we get from the stone? Right. And in some places, I'm going to argue that the fact that they knew they had it was kind of limiting because there are places where it feels like they just said, okay, we have it. So let's do it again. Right. And you have to kind of dig and look for the places where they actually start to push themselves.

Interesting. Okay. So I think that's sort of a good context setter for us. And we can get to our categories. Would you agree with me that Live While We're Young is the biggest hit on this album? Yeah. It is. I mean, I say that with chagrin because it has, I mean, this thing rips off,

should I stay or should I go by the clash. Darling, you got to let me know. Should I stay or should I go? It's hard for me across a number of the songs on this album to not see and hear the roots that were pulled up. probably quickly, and integrated into the Max Martin factory of good melodies to deliver for these boys as quickly as possible. So this was, yes, it was the biggest song. The fact that you got into, she's not afraid, tells me that there was a lot of dissemination of things further down this album outside of the singles. It did not do, as a...

well as a single as the singles from the first album did. And in fact, Kissy was released and Little Things were released. I'm in love with you and all these little things. The Kiss You video did terrific, but these songs as singles didn't quite reach the heights of some of the songs from the last album. But I think it is Live While We're Young. Let me just say this. Are you bothered by all of the songs?

the double entendre sexual innuendo lyrically across this album. I mean, like, I listen to the song, I'm like, hey, settle down, boys. Aren't you supposed to have to say that, though? Like, isn't this sort of like a necessary stage in the life cycle of a boy band

made up of young, adolescent men? Budding men. Yes. Yeah, but look, the Kiss You video, they are still budding, aren't they? They're not, their shirts off, they're not totally fully developed, you know, dudes yet. But this song, I mean, again, you got Cotec, you got Falk, you got Yacup, like, who are the threesome who are going to do a ton of the production and writing across this album.

They're going to be sort of a common thread with a bunch of others. This one feels like a continuation. Those are the guys that Kotega in particular was their vocal coach on the X Factor. Those guys all come out of the Max Martin school. Yes. And I want to just establish that because this is the album where, I mean, I remember we talked about this with Taylor working with Nathan Chapman. That at a certain point, the initial collaborator group kind of gets stale. And you just have to outgrow the first life cycle.

Yeah. I think there's some of that happening on this. album where those guys are still like the shepherds of a lot of this and know them the best and have such a pedigree, all of those Swedish shit makers. Right. And they have an idea and so far it's worked really well. And I think there are a lot of places on this album where to borrow a phrase, I know you like to use a lot, they're getting to the edge of the forest in terms of how far that can take

them. Yeah, they get to a place where you can feel the guys themselves are pulling them musically into a different place. I mean, most of the extra stuff that wasn't on the original version of the album feels like these three guys throwing the boys a bone and working with them on songwriting. And we talked about this in the last episode, but one of the reasons why everybody says Max Martin is a master craftsman is he was able to. teach the craft and had this long, you know, family tree of people underneath him who were also able to turn around and teach this craft. And coming into this, these five boys were not songwriters. They barely picked up and could play an instrument. It's really only Nile who understood that, how to play guitar at all. But they taught them. And the back part of this album feels a little bit

like the outros of their songwriting process. And if nothing else, these guys end up being very important booster rockets that carried the precious payload into space before sort of burning out and falling back. Okay. So you and I might actually be setting up for a little bit of an argument later. But I hear you. And I think that makes a lot of sense. And they were definitely sort of the people who'd known them the longest and had the established relationships. And also, as you said, had that process and also had some, you know, big time people to call in. And now part of that is that a lot of songwriters and producers really, really wanted to work on this record based on the fact that the first one had been so successful.

But our guy, Shelback shows up in the credits of this album. Dr. Luke shows up in the credits of this album. And those are guys who still come out of that tree, but actually were more of the heavy hitters than some of the guys who, you know, I don't know that Shelback was necessarily going to be working on the X factor before doing this. And that's how they got hooked up with Sabin. Yeah.

So they get the bigger fish from the Max Martin Pond on this as well as a bunch of other people. But since we're talking about Live While We're young, I do think it's, I think it's a great song. I think it's really fun. I love listening to it. but I do think it's emblematic a little bit of both the fun of this album, but also its limitations where tell me exactly how this is all that different from a lead single,

like what makes you beautiful, except for the fact that I would argue it lacks a little bit of charm and wit. Tonight, let's get some. And live while we're young. I suppose it's fitting. really it fits their age range and there's going to be a musician whose name rhymes with

Ted Schmiren who I don't think always fully understands that so there's something to be said for that but it is the biggest song I mean as much as I remember really latching onto she's not afraid and I think I really liked I would initially

too oh my God I still love that song I would What is wrong with you? It's so fun. What's with all the spelling on this album? That's what bothers me about I would. L O-V-E. So, and you can't argue that with...

And rock me R-O-C-K. Like, why are they spelling it out? You can't argue this with, or I can't argue this with I would because it's not that has other producers. The other thing about some of the sort of innuendo that pops up in some of these songs, particularly in Live While We're young and some of the stuff that they did with,

the Swedes, those guys do have a little bit of a track record of putting lines in songs that don't totally make sense. So I do think that you have to take it with a grain of salt. It's melody first for a reason. Always, that's right. I mean, but Savin helped write

if you seek Amy for Britney Spears. So maybe that's where all the spellings. came from. I don't know. I just like to spell. It's kind of cheeky. I think it fits them. I'm not upset by the spelling at all.

All right. But I would, was it the 27 tattoos thing? I mean, the boys start trying. It's really funny. They start trying to keep up with 27 tattoos.

They're still not fully tanned out. It's just Zane and Harry in the video. In the Kiss You video, they haven't really started to fully turn their, their chests into canvases. Yeah, although within a year, probably collectively, they were getting closed.

Right. Not individually, though. Right. I do, I can make a more fully-throated argument for that song later on, but I do really like that song. Okay.

Well, then, since you've shared with me some of what is not your favorite, would you like to tell me what the best song on this album is, Nathan? I would, and I can't. This is the hardest time I've had through our entire time

podcasting together, making the call on what I really think is the best song in the album because I actually think a lot of the stuff on here excluding the bonus track stuff which absolutely we can rock it into the sun.

But that it's all like, it's all good. You know, there's nothing that like, I also don't think there's anything that's great. For me, it's something between, Come on, come on.

Which, she's not afraid. And then they don't know about us. It's those three songs, and I'm really having a hard time picking between the three. Where did you come down? I will pick for you. It is they don't know about us. Okay. I think it is far in away the best song on this album.

It is also my favorite song on this album. It also sounds like Dick in a Box. It does. Okay? And look, the Louie part in the bridge is tough and kind of weak. And then Zane kills it coming out of the bridge. And I get uncomfortable with the difference between those vocal performances. But I mean, I'm telling you, this is the Saturday Live sketch. I think I might quit this podcast right now. I love this song. This song is so special to me. You've ruined. You've completely ruined it. I still love the song. It's a great sketch. Oh, man. It's they don't know about us.

This is tough. This is tough. Okay. I'm going to try to carry on. First of all, I think the fact that they are able to return to using, at least in some cases, some sparser instrumentation

on this album is really, really promising and ends up being very, very valuable. Because that first album, and a lot of the second, but that whole first album, for the most part, you are getting wall of sound after uninterrupted wall of sound.

Synths and then power guitar to cover up the fact that everything else is synths. Yeah. Totally. And a little twinkly piano, something that's really, really sweet, but a little bit more restrained, ends up being important

because, and we talked about this with the Ed Sharon's stuff from the first album, the fact that they could make small-sounding things really, really big is the skill that this band has that I don't think anybody knew they had when the first album was being created. And maybe at this point, too, right? Because it's not as though this was a single. Right.

And the fact that they start to be able to do that more and more often, I think ends up being really, really important and carries through to some of what will be my favorite songs in future albums. But they're able to do that on the verses when it's a little bit less supported by just like thick walls of sound. And then something about the mix on the chorus

to me where they're all singing and they're all harmonizing, it really, really gets it right. The other thing is this is a song that feels age appropriate to me. And that's not like a, you know, pearl clutching statement. but you want to believe it, right? Like, you want to believe it when anybody's singing anything,

when anybody's putting whatever they're putting in front of you in front of you. And the idea of being young and in love and feeling like, why don't people understand that this is the most meaningful thing I've ever felt and I'm not just a kid and you're never going to get it, mom, is a really authentic feeling. And I buy it from them. And I think that's important too. Yeah. It also is a nice little sort of thing for the fan base, too.

Like, they don't know about us, right? People who didn't understand the phenomenon. Totally. I do want to say, give a few shoutouts, though. Like, Summer Love is a really good song. A hundred percent. And they all get a writing credit on it. The chorus sounds like Don Henley singing the Boys of Summer to me.

It sounds like very eagles. And that's got to be the inspiration, especially with some of the Harry and Zane stuff here. But at least it's, crafted in a little bit of a break from the cookie cutter stuff on the rest of the album. It's, it is a totally different song from I want, but it had the same effect for me, which was, oh, this is something different than what by song 13 has become a homogenous set of songs that have a lot of the same melodies. And you could convince me are all the same song if I squint, you know.

Totally. And there's good writing on that song. There's lyrics that I like. remember on that song. It's also another one where I totally buy the story. And it feels like something that was building to them spreading their wings a little bit more as songwriters. I mean, just to return to come on, come on. I mean, there's a lot of 80s rock. We talked about Don Henley slash Eagle stuff. Come on, come on. The chorus sounds like love bites by Def Leopard to me. and it's the start of, not the start, it is the continuation of, look, I love it.

I love that these guys found this niche, but their songwriters were pulling from a lot of back catalog for me, right? Rock me, which is a great song. But it's totally, definitely a rip-off of We Will Rock You by Queen. And this is a big, nice plane in the street-gun-up. And this is the problem with copyright law. Like rock music generally being out of ideas.

Like maybe we can't prove it. But, you know, as they said, come on, come on. Like, Dr. Luke is in on this production. This feels like it was lifted. I love the song. But to your point, like sometimes they say some weird shit. Like, heavy metal, show me you care. Like, what?

Heavy metal music is not about caring for other people. Like, what? I don't know. They're not the highly crafted lyricist that we might have reviewed in some other seasons. Well, I mean, nor do I think they particularly care to be, frankly. Like, they're incredibly open about the fact that they come up with a catchy melody first. They come up with a hook first. If anything, they look for sort of like a groove and a beat second.

And then, I don't know, let's make alphabet soup and throw in some syllables that work. And it seems like no mistake, given that those were the guys who had the longest track records with them, that it takes until later in the album where it does seem like some of the stuff where there was allowed to be a little bit more craftsmanship and just a greater emphasis on other elements of creating a song that gets to come through a little bit. To your point about the copyright thing, live while we're young literally has like one note different than the clash. Yeah. Which one has to imagine

that was a let's not get sued decision, which... Yeah. It happens, but yes, there are some pretty close... It's sprinkled throughout the rest. Like, on Kiss You, there's a lot of the life as a highway, Tom Cochran, and then later Rascal Flats.

stuff in the guitar. Heart attack has pretty heavy-duty Miley Cyrus party in the USA vibes for me. Yep. Yep, yep, yep. And never mind that Nile's singing the owls throughout the entire song is so awesome. He's like popping up like a little lepricons

singing the owls through that whole song. But it's great. And then there are a few other places where you feel like, I feel like I've heard this before. Back for you. It's Kelle. Clarkson since you've been gone, but the start is head over heels by the go-goes, that little

guitar thing. Loved you first. I get Raise Your Glass by Pink. Oh, interesting. Yeah. So there you go. I mean, it's sort of all over this album where, and you understand the creative process was, holy shit, this thing is huge.

We have got to take advantage of it while they're still young. Pardon the pun. and pull as much out of this fan base and this band as we possibly can, therefore we need an album, therefore everybody bring your ideas. And in a crunch period of time like that, it's just impossible not to think

that people are going to pull from past experiences, things they've overlooked at, right? Like, nobody compares. I mean, they use, you're tearing up my heart. Like, we've heard that an about boy band before, and if you're going to steal the Shnade O'Connor,

Prince idea of the chorus, you better kill it. You know, they don't really, right? Truly Madly Deeply is Hey There, Delilah. Should I put coffee and granola on a tray in bed? Wake you up with all the words that I still haven't said. Hey there, Delilah, what's it like in New York City? I'm a thousand miles away, but girl, tonight you look so pretty.

And they stole the Savage Garden song title. it's like, get the fuck out of here. We're not fooled. Magic is like recycled. Live while we're young. It's got every little thing she does is magic. Like, how does Sting feel sitting here? Like everything, I don't know.

You can see then this animosity that starts to build up, which we'll talk about because they actually have some spats with some other bands who kind of take some shots at them, including like some legit indie rock artists who look at their stuff and start to say, this is sort of processed, and we've heard it before and nobody's getting the credit. Speaking of which,

there's some Ed Sheeran on this album and it sounds like you have thoughts about it. Aye, aye, aye. Well, shall we talk about collaborators because I feel like that's going to be a big piece of this? Okay. And we can talk about Ed in that respect. I'll say as precursor,

I am very clear that they don't know about us is my best song in this album. Okay. The B tier of songs that I love is I would heart attack. she's not afraid. Come on, come on. Summer love.

I would put live while we're young up there. It just has good energy. And I love irresistible. What? It makes your lips so kissable. And your hair is uninsible. I love irresistible. No.

Yes. It's like a weird. game of rock paper scissors. Do eyes beat lips? Lips beat fingers? Fingers beat eyes. Like what? I totally adore that song. I feel like that song is a bridge that they needed to get to story of my life, which is like one of my top five one direction songs. Okay. It got stuck sort of at the end of the expanded thing. It does feel like, so it's a bridge for you. It's sort of their rough draft that they tore up and left on the floor as they were getting in that direction. I can love with that.

I think the melodies are really pretty. I think it's subtle. And I think the call and answer at the end is really, really compelling. It really gets me in my feels. Interesting. So give us a collaborator because I'm holding off on the edge here and questions for you. I need to know. Okay.

Okay. Well, so we've talked about Sobun and the Swedes, right? So let's group the Swedes. Yeah. And they are responsible for, in varying combinations, live while we're young, kiss you, last first kiss, heart attack, change my mind, back for you. And that's kind of nobody compares still the one. then because there was so they brought in the you know the shellbacks and the heavy hitters from that group but there was also just as I said earlier a lot of competition to get on this record and two of the

people who ended up succeeding in that were a pair of guys named Julian Benetta and John Ryan two American guys who had done some work with the US version of the X Factor and pitched come on come on to be on this album and on the strength of that song got to come over and do a little work and craft a few more songs for the band.

In the Sweden song camp. Melody Camp. In Melody Camp. They got to go to Melody Camp. And they also ended up doing, I would, they don't know about us, she's not afraid,

and loved you first either as writers, producers, or both. And that is a pretty close list. to what I just said were a lot of my favorite songs. I see. On this album. And I think I don't want to discredit the Melody Camp band leaders for their work here

because they were the ones who knew the guys and still guided a lot of the biggest stuff here. But I think that some of the fresh ears and those two. Julian Benetta and John Ryan in particular Right. Seemed to have understood where they could go that was a little bit different from where they'd been before.

I think those songs have more going on dynamically. They're a little bit less attached to those just like huge walls of sound all the time. I want to talk about come on, come on because I think it's a great song. And they had the piano on they don't know about us. People say we shouldn't be together.

And they do end up being two of the main collaborators with the guys going forward. One, because they did really good work, also because they were a little bit younger and earlier on in their careers, and they could actually go on the road with the band.

And they could just like camp out and go hotel to hotel and city to city and grab 30 minutes in a hotel room with mattresses pushed up against the walls to influence the sound and make it okay to record in some random hotel room when guys like Savan had families and weren't able to do that. So they didn't collaborate on the bulk of this record, but I would argue that they are the most important collaborators because I think on the whole they did the best work.

And I also think that they found a way to like start pushing it forward a little bit on an album where I would say it's greatest weakness is that it just doesn't, it often doesn't advance on the previous album really at all. Well, I agree with you on the last point. I had the Swedish melody, Swedish melody mafia. Although seven is, seven is not Swedish, but he studied under the Swedes. Carl Fogg and, I mean, I had them just because I just think, I think turning out two albums like this in a year with a band constantly on the road is damn near impossible. And somebody has to sort of heard the the cats on that. And under the pressure of an album that really, as you described in the last episode,

was not originally made for the U.S. to then have to follow it up under the, you know, burning hot light of the internet and a fan base that was similarly on fire is not an easy, easy task at all. So I gave it to them as their most important collaborator, but it sounds like you did not give it to Ed Shearin. No, absolutely not. So Ed Shearin wrote Little Things and over again. Little Things being the song of the two that was, you know, it's at the top of the record, it comes right after Kiss you in that third spot, which is sort of like, okay, we think this is a big song. I cannot stand it. Why? First of all, if I'm saying that I don't have all that much of an issue with the

slightly provocative lyrics in live while we're young. The entire construction of a song around the idea of, oh, all these things that you hate about yourself are actually why I love you is so barfy to me. I've never loved your stomach or your thighs. The dimples in your back at the bottom of your spine, but I'll love them endlessly. I really cannot get over it.

It actually makes me physically ill. Yeah, I mean, we're tiptoeing around some body image issues in front of a lot of young girls on this song. It's so weird. And it's also, right. It's like half of them, like, really don't even probably know that, like, dimples on your back are supposed to be a thing that you're worried about. Second of all, it would be cringy if a 50-year-old saying this, but, like, they're way too

young for the, it doesn't make any sense. It is so weird. All right. What my thing about all these Ed Sheeran songs is that they sound like Ed Sheeran songs. Correct. It's impossible to divorce it from

the writer. Ed loves to jam all these words and cadences. That is great. It's Ed. But like, this is only acceptable, I guess, in that this started as a cover band, and so maybe it feels better that they're playing effectively a cover song on this? I don't know. I mean, look, when they go on the road, they're playing some cover

songs. They played one way or another. They played teenage dirtbag. Maybe this passes as them covering some Ed Sheeran songs, who, you know, was a huge star in the moment. I like Over Again. I don't mind Over Again. I don't know. know that I love it. The chorus is good. I mean, again, Louis at the end of the second verse, yikes, it's not great. I can make your tears far down like the showers that are pretty. Whether we're together or apart, we can both remove the mosques and admit we regretted from the start.

But the outro is like a musical. Like the song is like the progression is like B, G, D, A. and then right at the end of the song at like the 230 mark or something they do this drop down that feels a lot like something you do at the end of a Broadway song where they then drop to G, A, B, and then down to the F sharp.

And I love that outro. It's awesome. They sing the if you're pretending from the start stuff over it. So I enjoy the way that that song was crafted. It feels a little bit different and a departure from the plastic pop stuff that we got across the rest of the album. I just can't get out of, hey, this is an Ed Shearhan's song.

Now, I'm saying that after I've just gone through a bunch of the other songs and said, well, this sounds like a Don Henley song. Well, this sounds like a Kay Perry's or, you know, or this is a Kelly Clarkson song and this is a Queen song. This is a clash. And the truth is, they are those songs that they're being pulled from. So to a certain extent, I don't mind that they're just effectively covering song here. But the Ed stuff, I'm ready for the Ed stuff to stop.

It's kind of how you feel about the Taylor and Ed collaboration. I am not the world's biggest Ed Shearhan fan. I just should probably, except in certain instances where I love some of his songs. I don't know. But yes, I don't know that I think Ed Shearin must be really nice and really fun to hang out with

and a smart guy and a cool guy to collaborate with. All those things are true. Because it seems like a lot of people really want to do it. I just don't think that what he does, because it's so specific, I don't think it always transfers over as well as it seems like it might. I think you're right. But I think people like to work with him.

Yes, he's at the peak of his powers in this moment. And I think he's a fellow countryman and they're looking at him. And he is a fellow countryman, which means he has no excuse for being Swedish for whole in the middle of my heart like a polo. Whole in the middle of my heart like a polo. What are we doing? Red Shearining. You know, one thing...

We're shearing. Yeah, we're sheerning. I mean, I think a thing of note about all of these songs that gets lost, like, if we contextualize them in terms of what's happening in the music business, right?

This is the slow start of the digital streaming age. And while these singles come out and they're not, these songs come out and they're not, number one hits. They're not selling physically more than anything, although we should add that the DVD that they put out in 2012

sold more copies in its first week than John Mayer's album did, which is pretty eye-popping and just another great poop on John Mayer moment. Their DVD outsold what was the number one album in John... Yeah, tough scene. Tough scene. But I think the reason that you heard

they don't know about us is because all of this stuff was streaming. And so it was much more easy to discover. And I mean, that's why, you know, Live While We're Young wasn't a number one single, but it was a number one digital song. And this is a fan base that's inherently embedded in the internet.

They streamed this album for a week before it came out on iTunes. So they really were testing the limits on the digital side. And it had the effect of broader discovery of these songs. in ways that for the Backstreet Boys and these other sort of what we would argue were vessels for other people's feelings in the form of a boy band or a female, you know, girl band, we really only remembered those singles that were pushed hard at radio. Because of the technology moment that

we're in, there's pretty broad discovery of the catalog here. Right. Right. No, that's, it made it really easy to get to those deep cuts, which is good. Because I think there's really some more than worthwhile stuff there. And it helps being able to access that if you're feeling like, okay, I hear this first single and it's fun and it's peppy and I'm happy to listen to it. But what are, what are these guys offering that they haven't already offered before? Right. Some of that, by the way, was intentional.

Like Sovan's spoken pretty openly about having the idea that you do the first two albums kind of is the same thing. You're kind of trying to offer people what they're used to. two and then you switch for the third one, I do think that particularly, maybe it has something to do with how quickly they came back to back. There's just something about, okay, we're doing a lot of one thing here, which is why I feel like they had gone to... In a short period of time. Right. To the end of the forest. But it's not as though that was totally accidental. A lot of that was entirely intentional. Yeah. And by the way, those are rules, those are rules for when we are making a band and

and crafting it and shaping the clay, you know, as opposed to, hey, this is an artist who's developing naturally, right? I mean, what's interesting here, this band is the precursor to BTS is a pretty interesting case study for me. And I know we'll talk more about this as we get through it. But in a lot of ways, BTS is sort of treated as an employee, a bunch of employees right now. And thought of that way as sort of the larger hybe, you know, hype machine. Here, it's, it's, somewhere in between, isn't it? I mean, the boys are being work like their employees. They probably don't know any better. They have all the enthusiasm

and energy. They all come from modest upbringings where their parents I think were just happy to have suddenly... I mean, this tour made $120 million plus. That's a shitload of money 18 months after they left the house to go audition for some TV show

and Harry walks out of the bakery, right? Right. Well, I mean, you see, like in the in the movie Liam's mom buys the cardboard cutout Liam at one of their tour dates and it's sort of a joke but it's a little bit like I'm going to bring my son

home except that it's a cardboard cutout of him and a green polo with shaggy hair I always believe that Liam would make it but never this big and every more wildest dreams we don't think he could be it goes away for some Sorry. And it's just going to sit there until, you know, however many months later,

he's actually able to get a day off and take a breath. So it's pretty intense. Yeah, there's something sad about the underlying assumption with which it appears most of these business decisions were made is that this is not going to last. It's almost like there was a predetermination that it couldn't go on forever. so we have to go as fast and do as much as possible. And they might have been right about that, okay? But there is a little bit of tragedy underneath it

because you know that in the grand scheme of time and history of music, this is going to be a fairly episodic, short, ephemeral fleeting moment. But also an incredibly prolific one. And I don't put this on the songwriters, and producers necessarily so much because, first of all, the patterns and the established conventions that they were following

had worked in a lot of cases and in a lot of ways worked in this case. But in a strange way, I feel like they were underestimated on this record because they're probably not, to the extent that some of these guys become fully formed as songwriters,

they're probably not, not there yet, but I think you can hear them trying. You can sort of hear them taking the steps later on. And I don't know that that was really the goal. It just seems like sometimes there's this idea where it's like, oh, we're going to turn out another one of the last one and why would we even try to do something else? That's why I sort of highlight the partnership with Julian Bonetta and John Ryan, because it seems like there was a freshness there and just an understanding that it could go to a different place. But I may be being too generous,

but we'll find out. Look, there was some staleness on this album, especially in the bonus tracks, I would say. So what would we have cut? Well, I would cut little things. I won't let these little things slip out of my mouth. Holy shit. I would cut it and blast it into the song.

Really? you surely you see the functionality of that song it makes me ill oh that's how it functions do you think you're like what percentage of the fan base do you think would agree with you on this probably a small percentage but that is a hot take

also by the way just so that we can have like a little bit of a nice moment between the two of us before we we fight to the death about this song um i want to go on record I should have kissed you slaps. That is such a good song. You were so right. Thank you very much.

So, so, so, so, so right. I went back with fresh ears and it just like really blew my mind. So hats off to you, Neath and Hubbard. Now I reiterate, little things is terrible. I'm not going to, I'm not going to like argue for little things. In the line that makes me the sickest comes from little things. And we'll talk about that in a second. But I just think it serves a purpose.

And the only other options for that like let's slow it way. baby, girl, you know, slow it way down ballad shit is basically the Ed Shear and songs and those didn't work because they're Ed Shearin songs. So I would have taken, I truly would take irresistible in that place on the album. If it makes you feel better. 12 times out of 12. Okay, well, you're crazy. But if it makes you feel better, by the time they get to stadiums, they drop little things from the set list because they have some other things that can work as ballads, including one that you alluded to earlier. Well, and because they didn't want people to have to clean up the throw up.

Yeah, fine. Would you keep all these bonus tracks? Nobody compares truly madly, deeply, magic. I guess you'd keep irresistible. I would have shot all that shit into the sun. I don't really need Still the One. Although I have a theory because some of the guys, including Harry, get writing credits on this. And Harry just, like, absolutely loves.

Shanaya Twain. Yeah. I think that might have something to do with it? I do too. I mean, Harry, Liam, and Louis get a writing credit on Still the One. But I still think, I think nobody compares still the one, truly madly deeply, magic, irresistible. Get out.

Get off my mountain. I can part with magic. You want to swap irresistible in little things, and you would cut some of these. Yeah, and I could definitely part with magic, and that's totally fun. I do think Louis and Nile have some very pretty harmonies on the bridge of Truly Madly Deeply.

It's hey there, Delilah. That's okay. That's a nice song. I'm not fooled by this. I'm not going to let you fool me into it. We know Louis likes that song. All right. I mean, I honestly, I could part with back for you.

But only because of my, again, Kelly Clarkson. Kelly Clarkson! No, Kelly Clarkson! I'm into it. I think it's nice that it's kind of a fan tribute. I also think Zane has the big, like,

for you at the end of the bridge that's nice. Everybody, but Zane gets a writing credit here, though. True. There's a little bit of space emerging. All right. Well, this is a moment where, we really need to get into a very important thing from this era. And that's into the headline of P. Carey.

But I guess I want to hear what your P. Carey is. So my P. Carey is the bridge and come on, come on. Which I just adore. Yeah, totally. I mean, I like his vocal in the pre-chorus of Change My Mind. He gets a lot of finishing lines. He's really sort of rapidly becoming the closer. Let me kiss you.

Well, he's the closer and he also. also gets to, he gets all the lines that are like, yeah, that have kiss. Yes. Yeah, all of the like stare you down girl. It's not fair. Live while we're young. At the end of over again, he's the voice. But like,

he is becoming the closer of the group. And I can't believe that your peak hairy moment is not that he began dating Taylor Swift in late 2012. When this album comes out. By the looks of it, Harry Styles is the next guy, Taylor Swift could potentially pen a new song about him. The One Direction member and the country gal were spotted together at NYC Central Park Zoo Sunday afternoon. And that they break up in early 2013. He's 18 years old. She's 23.

Supposedly the temper trap song lyrics that are wrong, wrongly tattooed on his arm. She actually gets the originals or assigned version of them that she didn't give to him because they broke up so quickly. they get in a giant snowmobile accident that is the subject of one of my favorite songs across the entire Taylor Swift Cannon which is out of the woods what else how is this not P. Carey for you?

Well, I was going to bring it up. Don't worry. I wasn't going to let this go undiscussed. This is the era that brought us sad boat girl, Taylor, leaving the vacation where they broke up in the Virgin Islands. Just, I hate, I hate that she's ever had to feel sad at any point in her life, but it's an iconic image,

and we can all just acknowledge that. They went skiing with Selena Gomez and Justin Bieber. Oh, man. Yeah, they went on a couple's trip to Park City. I think Taylor skied without a helmet, too, which is something that I really don't condone. But the Haler glory days were, you know, they lived life on the edge. They did.

They lived while they were not young. I look my thing on this is I really think Taylor got a lot of shit for this right this relationship A because he was a little bit younger I mean whatever Well and and Harry was actually

In an odd way Harry got a lot of shit for dating older women too Harry likes older women Let's be clear This is not the last older woman That he's going to date By the way she's not old She's 23 I mean he's going to date a lot of older women

But you know to each their own I think that discourse was in moments a little cringy when he was like really young, although to be fair, yes, it has borne itself out as something that seems not to have been manufactured. Although maybe some of the alleged relationships were not real. But anyway. I just would say this relationship became a lightning rod for the Taylor recycles through dudes in short periods of time. Can't keep a relationship down. And in fact, you know, every now and then I have a little birdie about some of these things.

And in fact, in fact, there are multiple little birdies who would say it was Harry who was not in a position to be in a relationship, which at this moment in time, as an 18-year-old when he's a global superstar, and he hasn't been home since, you know, he was in the bakery. And now, like, of course, of course he's not available. Like, that was a bad life decision to date this 18-year-old kid in that moment. But I think in hindsight, it was Harry who was maybe moving very rapidly through relationships at this time and unable or unwilling to be in one sustainably. And in fact, if you track the Taylor Swift relationships after this one, she does seem to have a rethink and get into more longer-term relationships, finally ending in the one that she's in now.

But for me, this is peak hairy because, you know, there's nothing really bigger than dating a rock star in terms of elevating your own profile. And it's quite a hairy moment. Right. I think, look, there's a messy nexus of celebrity and real relationships. But the fact of the matter is this was the most famous person that a member of One Direction had been publicly associated with. and that has an effect. A very famous state at the Central Park Zoo cannot go uncommented on. Right. In the fall clothing.

We just don't know enough about this snowmobile accident, do we? There are some angel ER staff out there who kept it quiet. And it's like the only time in the history of the world that a famous person has gone to a hospital and it hasn't immediately been plastered

across the front page of TMZ, right? Yeah, totally. Somebody did them right. It's pretty remarkable. Yeah. It was incredible at the time. And someday we'll get a better story around that for those who are ridiculously curious. But there is a wonderful arc from this moment.

Fast forward to the Grammys in 2021 when they're seen after Taylor wins the Grammy for folklore, Harry's there for Fine Line. And there was what appeared to be a very friendly conversation between them happening that certainly put to rest any sense that while this relationship, ended and there were feelings on both sides, the animosity did not carry over roughly nine years later. I don't quite know what to make of this, but it has not gone unnoticed for me

that both Harry Stiles and soon Taylor Swift have songs called Carolina. She's got a family in Carolina. So far away, but she says I remind of home. Hmm. Just, just food for thought. Just, just curious. Okay.

Something that I'm keeping my eye on. Watch this space, as they say. Okay. Well, she's going to be a category throughout, throughout this journey. We're not there yet, though, because we have not even discussed Peak Louis. Now. Okay. Talk to me.

So, I agree with you that there are still some shaky points for Louis on this record. However, it is the one I believe where he starts to kind of find, find his voice. He gets to start. to change my mind, which is the first time that he's gotten to start a song. The end of the night, we should sing goodbye. And then he has, after Liam gets to do the little like, go Tomo go in the background, he gets to sing one of the greatest lines on this entire album, which is, I can't compete with your boyfriend. He's got 27 tattoos.

Yeah, okay, there we go. He has zero tattoos at the moment, I think. Well, that's why he can't. Yeah. What's he going to do about it? I still struggle with some of the lyrical things. My peak, Louis, is that he just cannot hold his tongue ever, but especially on Twitter.

And in this case, he gets into it with the guys from the wanted. And in this case, RIP Tom, who passed away sadly recently, but he goes after Tom on Twitter. But it started because Louis got caught making fun of Jake Bug for going to the Wanted. We get nipslip references from the girlfriends. We get our first reference to Larry. We get Zane calling Max George Climidia Boy. There's all kinds of things happening on Twitter with Louis.

Yeah, well, and the thing with The Wanted and with Tom Parker's passing, which is obviously incredibly sad, did they end up having the career that One Direction had no, but they were initially kind of the positioned rival. And that was because they had some really good songs. And they didn't end up having the depth of the catalog. But I listened to Glad You Came over and over again at one point. And you don't end up in a Twitter feud if there's nothing to feud about. Right. And so. I guess we can just take that as sort of evidence of a boy band life well-lived. I do think that some of Zane's particular choices of phrase here were rose to the level of high comedy.

Louis just cannot hold his tongue. Louis is definitely, you know, the pen over the sword type because as he goes on to really be uncomfortable with a lot of the Larry Stylinson, rumors is not even the right word, but just that whole fan fiction, little corner of the internet, he tells you how he feels. He does. He does not tend to be afraid to throw a tweet out there. And I respect that. Sometimes I think more harm than good, but I still, I respect it as a behavioral choice. We'll revisit the Larry stuff later on. But for now, peak Liam for you is what? You really taught me in the last episode. You changed my perspective on Liam. I need to understand in this moment in this album, what's Peak Liam? Well, so my peak Liam here is much more trivial, although I do still believe that he's a real grounding force for them. But Liam just had excellent concert hijinks.

Okay. Most notably, when they went on tour, playing at O2 Arena, he pulled Harry's pants down on stage. Yes, yes. It's astonishing that Harry's undergarment stayed up. That's a real danger. Like, I'm not a conspiracy theorist, which is why I think that was an incredibly lucky moment. Okay, yeah. I was going to ask you,

you sure that one wasn't planned? Because, I mean, look, these guys really like to be in their underwear. Nile sings in his underwear. Harry gets pantsed. stories from this era where Nile moons people. Nile seems to really enjoy. Well, and he records in his in his boxers. Speaking of boxers, my peak, Liam, is that he live tweeted a girl breaking into his balcony in Australia and stealing his boxers.

I mean, what? Nothing says more about how that platform, not that platform, but all of these digital social media platforms are screwing us up. It's like, dude, Liam, you need to run. There's a crazy Australian trying to break into your hotel room right now. And he's under the covers live tweeting it as she runs off with his red boxers. Yeah. So he tweets, Strangest way I've ever been woken up when you're in bed, butt naked and someone is trying to force open your balcony.

This is going to be strange. Then he tweets, so happy I woke up, because that shit would have been so unfair. Then, hmm, somebody stole my boxers. I'm so embarrassed. Then, so how this happened, I went in the sea in those, and the hotel staff put them outside to dry. Someone climbed on and stole them just to set the scenes.

I went in the sea. I went in the sea. Classic. Nabokov. But then the final one, he hashtags, break into someone's house and steal their underwear day. Right. I'm off to Scarlett Johansson's house.

Perfect. Incredible. And who knows? He really is. He's an enigma, this guy. Yeah, he's a funny one. Yeah, it's being of enjoying the being in the, I mean, he sleeps with no clothes on. He does a lot just in his boxers.

That is Nile. We see him repeatedly recording his best vocal takes in his boxers. It's interesting that he doesn't have any concern showing off his knees because my peak Nile is this guy really fucks up his knee. And it's a problem. He's a jock and a soccer fan, but he had to have knee surgery later on. But there's a moment in Toronto where Liam tackles him and definitely hurt him. The Liam stage hijinks took Nile down. And in some way, it's a problem. In others, like a lot of times it keeps him out of that dreaded boy band pyramid where they all get on top of each other on stage and make a pyramid. A lot of times,

he's out of it because his knees can't hold it. He's like my 75-year-old father. He's like, oh, I'd like to come over, but my knees hurt. I'd love to get in the pyramid with you, boys, but my trick knees locked up. Anyway, this is going to be a problem. But, like, I don't know, he's a little leprechaun with bad knees at 19 years old.

There's actually kind of a lot of knee injuries. Yeah. With these guys, it's sort of funny, and like they're all... Right. Like, it's a little bit charming because they're just this silly, boisterous bunch that can't stop, like, running all over each other. There's a moment where Liam changes the lyrics and change my mind to as I walk towards the door, my knee hurts me even more. Because during a concert, Louis is like sitting on a staircase because he can't move because his knee is hurt. And it's all very silly. At least that's how it sort of outwardly comes across. And they're really funny how they change lyrics to stuff too. Like, Nile does the baby if you say you want me to drive to KFC or a couple other locations.

Or Louis would change the line and over again, I can make your tears fall down like the showers that are British to different countries. I think the other one was in little things. You can't go to bed without your cup of tea. Sometimes he would say Susan Boyle's tea or without raisins in your sheets. So they moved around with that stuff like all the time. The only thing is, and look, teenage boys hurt themselves doing God knows what all the time. there is this little kernel of like, yeah, they were performing all the time

and they weren't sleeping enough. And like, yeah, it's a little scary. Yeah. And particularly when you sort of know that when they got hurt, they just had to go perform the next day. Like, yeah. There wasn't a lot of, oh, we'll take a step back and let this happen.

And again, it's hard to see a guy that age feeling like, oh, shoot, you know, I have to go sit in bed because my knee hurts. I'm sure in some of those instances, they at least didn't feel like they wanted to do that. But when you're sort of taking a bird's eye view, it's like, should an adult maybe have stepped in here? There were no, their parents were at home, like, getting checks, I think.

I don't know. Right. What's your peak nile? My peak nile is the owls in heart attack. Yeah, heart attack. Yeah. So good. awesome. It's a great moment for him.

It's really the most prominent he's been featured in a song to date. So good for him. And it has so much personality. And I think that's really important. Okay. Let's get on to peek Zane. Zane's getting engaged already. Yes.

What do we think of this? He's got, I mean, in the, in the, in the Kiss You video, there's some shots where he's now got, like, he's got the skunk stripe going in the hair. He's really, he's really starting to do some Zane things. Yeah. And it's already, like, I think there's a, it might be Jimmy Kimmel. They're on. And it might have been a little bit later than right when this album came out. But he's talking about being engaged, but they're sort of playing. who's most likely to do X, Y, Z? And one of the questions is, who's most likely to disappear for a couple days and have nobody here from him? And everybody turns to Zane. And it's just like, oh, it's you.

Which of you is most likely to disappear for a couple of days without contacting the others? Right. So Perry Edwards is a singer-songwriter. She's in the girl group Little Mix. Right? So she was in this relationship with Zane And you just sort of get the sense

That in all these boys' lives Like they suddenly hit fast forward And like so many of these young stars They have to grow up very, very quickly And it feels like they grab on to whatever is around them Now this relationship does not last, does it? No. And it doesn't feel like they, when it speeds up, I don't know that you get a ton of the sense that there were people trying to slow it down to the extent that that was possible. And it never would have been totally possible. But we've had this conversation about Taylor Swift, right? Where can you do it? No, you can't actually make it happen. But in a lot of instances, there's real effort to, let's try to manufacture normalcy

as much as humanly possible and you don't get the sense that that was happening very often. It seemed like, you know, celebrity relationships ones, like, and this is impossible to know the truth of, but like, did Harry date Nicole Scherzinger?

I don't know. Probably. But even just the possibility that that was a sort of manufactured tabloid storyline. Oh, I see. think speaks to the information universe that they were living in and just kind of... Yeah.

The fact that the guardrails were not up. Every time we talk about Zane, I start to get sad. And, you know, big picture, he's here and it's, you know, it's all okay. But there's that scene and this is us where he's bought his mother a house. And again, it feels like in a lot of cases these boys, you know, their parents are, their parents, you know, they're almost the parents now in that they've had broader life experiences and their parents say as much in the doc. Yeah.

They've had broader life experiences. There's very little that the parents feel like they can offer them. They're holding on to cardboard cutouts almost like idol worshipry in its own way. And I say this not throwing stones at the parents because I think the parents are the best that they possibly could, of course, but you just can't avoid it. It's the problem with young people becoming gods. in the eyes of millions of fans because you don't have much

that's real around you. And so in this case, he's buying his mother a home. He doesn't really have parents who can help him anymore. He has this relationship with Perry. It's something that feels real. It's something that feels like he can hold on to.

You can see how he just would hit the fast forward button and get engaged. Now the good news is, you know, they didn't get married and they separated in 2015 later on. But this is the start of, it feels like Zane holding on to something that to him feels consistent and sustainable and real. Yeah, and then maybe just a little sort of lost or just out of a ton of options to live life in a way that's sort of normal and grounded.

Right? Because even if like picture yourself as the parent of a kid in a situation like this, even if you knew what, to say, which you sort of couldn't possibly, you're just not even there to say it 98% of the time. And I don't know. Sometimes I feel like we've had this conversation before. Sometimes it just seems like a miracle that anyone who's ever been in a situation like this gets out of it even moderately okay. And maybe that is to varying degrees. True. But yeah, there's a lot of life that's happening in a pretty intense manner. That said, the Pigsane is his face in the one way or another video just before David Cameron comes out of 10 Downing Street when they're dancing.

You have to see this thing to believe it. The video's made for comic relief. First of all, the video itself is ridiculous. They're like singing, I'm going to get you, get you, get you around a bunch of poor African kids in like rural areas of... It's really weird. It was a really weird choice. But his face, when he's...

quasi dancing is just tremendous. Yeah. So that music video is strange. There was an idea behind it that was, I imagine, well-intentioned. They were, instead of having a set and a fancy music video, they were going to give the money

that they would have spent on those things to a charity that I believe helped educate kids in Africa. Red-nosed-day. Yeah, comic relief. Yes. So then But then they went and made the music video there with a bunch of the kids. And it was a little odd. It doesn't look right.

It's just a little weird. Yeah. Anyway, Zane's face before they pull the prime minister of the United Kingdom out of his domicile is terrific. Did you have a peek? Yeah. I just have that he owns the chorus if she's not afraid. Just like smashes it into the stratosphere. IMO.

Well, I agree with you. I think he smashes a lot of this album. I think we can fast forward through are any of these songs about Taylor Swift because we know that they had not started dating by the time this album was in the bag, right? Correct. But this was where I was going to mention

that things were percolating. Okay. Nothing important for March 25th. Tiger Woods got back to number one in the world. Very important. Got it, got it. Who won the album? Well, I was going to ask you.

I think it's Zane. I think his voice stands out on this album. I think it was building on the last one. I do think Harry's being positioned to be heartthrob central. And what we know is that that may be as much as Harry being cooperative, more cooperative than Zane was around these things. but Zane's voice and all of these very, the extent to which there are special vocal moments on the album,

he is really starting to soar. Yeah, so he starts summer love, loved you first, little things. Come on, come on, has the She's Not Afraid chorus, just crushes that I want to tell the world that you're mine, girl, that we talked about at the end of they don't know about us. Yes. Also has all those gorgeous echoes on the last chorus of that song, which is another thing that I just absolutely love about it.

I think on the first album, I still go to Liam just because I think he was, he was the one who was sort of ready. By the time we get to this one, Zane has some natural qualities to his voice that are the most impressive, I think pretty clearly at this point. And he just has a lot of the most sort of beautiful

and I love the sound of that moments on the record. Well, we're at the point where you tell me the swooniest lyric and I tell you the shittiest lyric. There's a lot of swoony shit on here, but it also could double as the shittiest shit. So what are we doing? I do, well, I'll go on your side to begin with.

Yes. I do think that Nile should have taken legal action for having to sing the words drool down their chin-chin-chins. Yes. They actually actually In fairness, they at least had a conversation about this. And they were a little self-conscious about it.

They at least identified it could be an issue. And they decided to go with it. And I think it fucking sucks. All right. Well, I'll tell you something that I think is spectacular, which is my favorite lyric from Summer Love. Feels like snow in September. But I always will remember you were my Summer Love.

That feels like a Taylor Swift song. That's why you make it. I agree. I agree. Yeah. Taylor Swift writes great songs. Yeah. Great with analogy. Okay.

Beautiful metaphor. I actually did not think, drool down their chin-y-chin-chins. Like, I can get the sort of tongue-and-cheekness of that. And I think the way that Nile sells it in the video is actually redeeming of it. So I said it fucking sucks. I don't love it. But hey, at least they had a conversation. was a choice.

I think the shittiest lyric is you never want to know how much you weigh, you still have to squeeze into your jeans, but you're perfect to me. Which Harry sings on little things. If you never want to know how much you weigh,

you still have to squeeze into your jeans, but you're perfect to me. I can't believe that that was a thing. thing that they decided to sing. I'm actually, I'm like uncomfortable that it's even going to be on our podcast. You still have to squeeze into your jeez. What?

What are you saying? Like, that's not a loving thing to say. It's not a thing to say. So this is really beside the point. Buy different pants. Harry can afford it at this point. I don't know. It's that.

That was a. a big miss. I agree. I have a hard time just to wrap up your episode really devoted to shaming little things.

I really have a hard time with the song. I have a hard time with the album in some ways because this was an important song that they put out there as like a strategy

to be balladeers and crooners. And this thing stayed stayed on there. Oh, Lord. Great it, great it, woman.

Here we are. The end of a lovely journey. This is an interesting album, isn't it? Because I think that the quality of hooks across this album is really strong. And frankly, it's stronger, front to back.

In some ways, the hook in the choruses are stronger than the first album. Agreed. There are more songs that clear a higher bar

on this one than the last one. If you grate it with a slightly more critical eye, which I think is fair because one thing you want in a follow-up album is some growth,

then I think it's fair to look at it and go, they were at the proverbial edge of the forest that we love to talk about. I think

that evens out for me, and it's a B. Wow. I have B plus in my mind because now that's an upgrade from you from the last album. Well, I ended up giving the last one a B. Okay, so you did. So you went same. So we both went samezies for these first two albums. I just, again, I love I should have kissed you so much on the last record that it's hard for me to like this one better. I like the hooks here better. I think I like the songs.

less overall because that's where the entirety of the front to back song writing, some of the lyrical choices, some of the recycled melodies, some of the lifting from songs from the 80s and 90s and 2000s that we've heard before, that all feels a little more manufactured to me, even though I understand that up all night was written in haste after these boys exploded. they were out touring singing cover songs and the band's management was like we gotta have real songs let's pull it together there is a bit of haste

in the synthetic nature of these songs in this album for me it's still a B plus because I can hum eight of these songs in my head without thinking about it totally and then what also matters to me

is that they don't know about us is I think the first One Direction song that for me is one of those songs where it's just a really important song to me. It's just a song that I really, really love and am fully confident that I'm going to really, really love forever for the rest of my life. I just adore that song. It's my day in a box. Oh, God, stop. You're ruining my life. That's the way you do it.

Regardless. I will still love it forever. It is very important to me in a way that's a little closer to my heart than I think anything on the first album. Though, not as much as some of what is to come. This has been every single album, One Direction. I'm Nora Prince Yati. He's Nathan Hubbard. We will be back next Monday with a look at One Direction's third album, Midnight Memories.

As always, thank you to the spectacular. Kaya McMullen for producing this episode. And thank you to you all for listening. We'll talk soon.