WRFH/Radio Free Hillsdale 101.7 FM - I've Got Aux: "Look At Us Now (Honeycomb)" by Daisy Jones & The Six

Episode Date: April 10, 2024

Bella is on aux this week and chose "Look At Us Now (Honeycomb)" by Daisy Jones & The Six. She successfully notes Ally will not like this song, and the crew chimes in with what makes a good Fleetwood Mac-inspired song versus a bad one. We also discuss the role of soundtracks in films and whether they can be standalone works of art. 

Right, well now this is a first, never done this before, but how exciting is this on the internet? Okay, there you go. Daisy Jones and the Six was not born in a conventional way. Its creation story starts in the mind of author Taylor Jenkins Reed and became realized through her best-selling novel, Daisy Jones and the Six. The story is gripping and amazingly written in a 360-page interview, as it follows the come-up of the band and the affluence, chaos, betrayal, substance abuse, and all that frequently plagues stupidly talented musicians, especially in the 1970s. Fortunately for the book's many fans, it was adapted to an Amazon Prime series in 2023,

only growing its popularity. Although the show does a phenomenal job of capturing the essence of the book and portraying the characters and complicated relationships that gives the book its iconic tension, reminiscent and inspired by that of Fleetwood Mac, the real gem is the music.

Reed does include music in the book, referencing song titles and the occasional lyric throughout, but also including the full lyrics for 10 songs, making up the fictional band's album, Aurora in the back of the book. When it came to producing the show, producers took inspiration from the story and the essence of the at-time subpar lyrics and ran with it. Produced by Blake Mills and brought to life by artists such as Marcus Munford, Tony Berg, and Phoebe Bridgers. The soundtrack is a powerhouse of angst, raw motion, and a classic 70 sound that truly brought Daisy

Jod's and The Six to life. Daisy Jones and Billy Dunn are played by Elvis's granddaughter Riley Kew and Hunger Game star Sam Claflin and their genuine talent, along with the rest of the band, shines through. The actors truly committed, taking lessons, practicing together, even being part of the writing process. A browse of Riley Q's Instagram shows the cast jamming and laughing together in their off time, furthering the immersion. Thus, the album Aurora became more than just a soundtrack and is truly an actual, listenable piece of work outside of the show, even garnering them to play a real concert that was unfortunately canceled due to the writer's strike. The album pays a respectful homage to the rock and roll sound of the 70s while trying its best and doing a pretty good job at straying from the cheesiness

that can sometimes come from series soundtracks and modern artists trying to sound retro. Aurora is fun, vibrant, angry, forlorn, jealous, and more, following the ups and downs of life as if the story and the characters were not fiction. In a way, they aren't. You're listening to I've Got Ox on Radio Free Hillsdale, 1.1.7 FM, and this is Look at Us Now, or Honeycomb by Daisy Jones in the 6. Baby, baby. You are. Is it out of our hands? Tell me, tell me, tell me.

This far. Long time ago, is there too much we don't want to know? I wish it was easy, but it isn't slow. Welcome back to I've Got Ox. I'm Radio Free Hillsdale 101.7. So that was Look at Us Now by Daisy Jones and the Six. And as usual, I'm here with Gavin and Ali, and I believe Allies are blind listener today, which is awesome because I didn't know if we'd have one. And I'm very, very curious.

So initial thoughts. Okay. So I haven't heard this song, and I only made it past the first episode of Days in 2006, but I read the book. So I'm coming partially blind, one might say. Don't hate me. I did not like it. I liked it. Okay, I was not interested at the beginning.

I didn't think you'd like it. Really? Wait, that's funny. Because it had me for a second. I really, really liked when her voice came in. And there were some really pretty harmonies. And I was like, into it for a second. But then it just lost me.

And I don't know if it was just, for me, it just like, it kept, it was just too long. It kept going on and on. But in that. It is five minutes and 32 seconds. In that way, I think that might be why it's more of a soundtrack song instead of just music. Sure. You know, like, it just kind of. And for me.

it sounded simplistic and yet didn't accomplish what it was trying to do. However, in what Bella said in the beginning, was completely accurate. I think it paid an homage to like the 70s. It was very Fleetwood Mackey, but it also sounded extremely modern. So I think it accomplished that well, but I probably would never listen to that again. Yes. You know? I think this song, I was kind of on the edge and there's a couple, I think some of their other songs are better, but, But as a whole album, I was, this is what I was thinking to myself. When I first listened to it as an album and I heard it and I liked it, I was like, do I have bad music taste? Like, this is for a show. Like, do you know what I mean? Yeah. But, and this song, it's their most, it's the most famous song.

Really? From the show. Okay. So I kind of felt like, okay, like this is what people are liking. And I like it. I agree. It's too long. It gets so repetitive.

Yeah. If it was half of the song, it'd be like, oh, okay, that was fine. But it just feels like it played. over again. I wonder how much of the popularity of this song specifically is tied to the show, like the way the show plays out. Like in the show, this song is like the most pivotal song. Yeah. What can you give us? What what is the, the, where does this come from in the story? This is from a TV show for people who are just joining in. So if you didn't hear the intro, this is from a TV show. It's a fake band, which also I think is why sometimes you listen to

it and you can feel it's soulless in some ways. It lacks. dimension and it you can feel that. So it's like you're kind of in a weird stance where you're like this feels fake. Yeah. I don't hate it, but it feels fake. So basically in the show, this is this song that Billy Dunn, he writes this song. It's this whole thing about how he's writing all this music about his wife is the thing. And everyone's like, I don't want to write music about your wife. And Daisy Jones comes in and is good at what she does and writing songs. And she takes the song and she changes it because originally it was like kind of like look at us now like

we did it and we're awesome. Wasn't the original lyric like we can make a bad thing good? No it wasn't that. It was like we did it or something. I can't remember it was like I can't remember but she came in and changed it and was like we can make a good thing bad like made it this kind of like fight because

he's like fighting like for sobriety and like he cheech on his wife and he's kind of sucks but and so he was like I don't want it to be like that blah blah but basically she comes in and changes it and makes it good and they fight and blah blah blah and they have this tension but the song is interesting because it kind of starts to become about them like because they fall in love and also I do think the song is better because you never hear the entire song in the movie right in the show I mean so that's when when I come on and listen the album it just starts to feel a little bit like what are we doing right and in the show you see it like it's like quote unquote live and they're like the performance is part of it and it and it's like the performance is part of it. And it makes it better. But so like I was saying, these are, like,

they're obviously so talented. I think it's awesome. They did their own vocals. They can play all their parts. And this is like, she's like Elvis's granddaughter. So obviously she's going to have something in there. Right.

But like, I thought that was cool and awesome. They're all like doing it. Like, it's like they're an actual band. And that's why I thought this was interesting because it kind of like started to be something, you know. But still, when you listen to it, you can tell.

You can tell. it is for something. And so, again, I don't think this is the best song in the album. Some of the stuff feels a little bit more like real, but the more I listen, the more I'm like, it's because, like I kind of want to say that this song is, like I said, like paying an homage to something, but it's doing a good job of not like trying to be something that's not

because it's still like, this is for a TV show. Does that make sense? 100%. And then, but I think something. something like the river, and Gavin, you can play the clip with the first time stamp I gave you. The end, or this middle part of the river or whatever, it sounds a little bit more like, oh, we're trying to be Fleetwood Mac. Okay.

Which is not necessarily bad, I guess, because like it gives a little bit more like depth to it. You know what I mean? Can you play that, Gavin? Mm-hmm. Yeah, that sounds exactly like chain. It's, yes. It's very, it's very. That's right there.

And that, and that's also one of the shows that they offer like a live version of. I don't know what they're doing when they're like filming something live. But like it has a little bit more like. There's some spunk to it. And she's like on this like and she's so talented. Like she really, she has a great voice. Did not know who she was before to be honest. But like in there, there's a little bit of something because she's like, like you can, she's straining.

You know what I mean? Yeah. But, okay, anyways, I wanted you to do this episode because it's a phenomenon. And, like, no one has done something like this. Or correct me if I'm wrong, if any of you guys can think of something. But, like, this is in a lot of ways. I mean, okay. You're talking about, like, music standing alone.

We've talked about that thing you do, which I guess is kind of similar because there's an album for that. Like, they made up this band, blah, blah, blah. But then when I was like doing research and stuff, everything that was coming up was like musicals and this is not a musical obviously. But a major thing that I sort of thought was a star is born. Like because I was thinking of what songs have really taken off and I like shallow mostly because I go to karaoke every week. That is always sun. And so yeah, I think it's very interesting when we divorce like the art like art within art. Especially the visual, like, part of it.

Yeah. Like, that's very interesting. But this, this book and this story in particular has another layer of interest to it because it, like, the author has said that, like, this is in some ways related to Fleetwood Mac. Which is interesting because readers or watchers go into it with that assumption, which I think shapes a lot of how we're going to consume that. Yeah. Whereas maybe if we went into another music movie and we were kind of given a new group cold and we didn't have any. resting assumptions of what it was going to be like or sound like, we might have a different kind of take to it. Yeah. So I'm, as you talked about that like, like, especially like, like the star is born and stuff

like that, I'm realizing that this was a lot more common when Broadway was a more of a cultural thing. Like where you take songs that were popular from a musical and then a popular group like the Beatles, you know, they had that song until there was you off their second album, I think. and that was like a song from the music band or something like that. And then they covered it and it's a song. I've been listening to it for years, not knowing that it was, you know, I would never know. But it stands alone.

Which I guess it can be done well, which we're debating whether this hits the mark there. I guess it's also interesting because there's the question of like, does it need to feel fully real? Because we're already, like consumers are already, they're joining this. with a certainty of like they want to be entertained by a story about a band. So it's in a way it is about the music, but also in a way it's absolutely not about the music. So you don't really need it to feel are 100% real because you're already being met halfway with other elements of the story. Yeah, for sure. Because I can imagine this song, like the way that they're looking at each other on stage.

Yeah. Like in the plot, maybe they fought right before they went on. And then they're like looking at each other. And so I'm not really paying attention to the fact that like they've repeated the same line six times. I'm like, oh, she's mad at him. 100%. For those of you who just jumped in, you're listening,

I've got Oxam Radio Freehillsdale 101.1.7, and we're talking about... Daisy Jones. What's the song? Look at us now. Look at us now. I picked it, but I just forgot the title. Song for the soundtrack.

But yeah, I definitely think that the visuals, which is why I was interested in, first of all, I'm really, I mean, I'm glad that Ali said, She didn't like it because that was my prediction. I wasn't going to say it to you. But I was like, and I think it's interesting because she's read the book, but she hasn't seen the show. And she hasn't heard really the music.

I don't think much of it. But she knows a lot about music. And I was kind of like, I know. My thing. Sorry. No, no, you go. Well, I really was excited for the show. And then I say this not trying to be a hater because almost famous is like one of my favorite movies.

but sometimes movies, like even in almost famous, there's that line where she's like, when I feel lonely, I just go to a record store. And it's like music, when it's that kind of like, not even pretension. It's just like annoying. I immediately tune out. Especially, like even Nick Hornby, high fidelity, I get so annoyed because it just plays into these stereotypes of music lovers, which are absolutely true and that irritates me. So like I couldn't even enjoy this show because I really, really love.

music and I think in a way it just like clashed in my brain and I was not able to absorb it properly without being the worst person in the world. A common critique of the show is that Billy Dunn and Daisy Jones are literally the two most obnoxious people in the world. Yes. Okay. Because they have to be. They have to be. And like otherwise it's not a show. What you said about like the stereotype being so true, you're like guys, it's like that is Daisy Jones. Yes. But there's like there's almost. It's kind of like we're together and it's like our love is so forbidden.

No one understands. Exactly. And the cool thing about that is Camilla, Billy Dunn's wife. She's the best character. She is the best character. And at the end, she's the hero. Yes, and at the end, Daisy Jones says something to her like, he'll always pick you Camilla and she's like, you guys are meant for each other because you both think you're so

broken and you're so different. And that was like the second to last episode or something I was like, oh. Yeah. It's like a reality time. So this is like, so then it, Then like kind of after that, you're kind of like, oh, this was all on purpose. Yes. Do you know what I mean?

So the show like with the show with the music, wow, that's awesome. But I think it's interesting how they push this thing is like a real album. And like it got traction, you know, because it doesn't deliver like, I mean, but, but that I would like to know like who's just listening to this album and hasn't watched a show like probably not a very large group. You get sucked in easily. Yeah. Yeah, but it's really interesting that they did this. And, like, I have, like, a feeling like this will become a thing, like, in some ways. You know what I mean?

And I think it's interesting because they did it and they tried. And I think they did a pretty good job. But also, it's almost impossible. Like, you know what I mean? Because at the end of the day, it's phony. Yeah, I have. And no matter how good of a phony thing it is, it's copying something. that existed and trying to make you believe something that's not true.

And I think like whenever move, like I'll just frame this in movies in particular, when movies are trying to tell you that music or art or books mean something, they have to do it in a way that is very overt. Like they are very much playing to the passive watcher who doesn't want to put a lot of effort into consuming. Like you have to make your point extremely. It can't be the subtle thing of like music infiltrates our daily lives and is the soundtrack to who we are as people.

It can be that. It has to be like music really, music is our savior. Like I think you have to buy into that when it's this level of a project appealing to this wide of an audience. Like it has to be corny to some degree. Exactly. And I think when you really, really like the subject matter, it is very dangerous to consume any art that kind of riffs off of that in any way. Yeah. You know?

I agree. I'm also just a critic. And I have no foundation for saying that. But I stand by it nonetheless. I mean, I totally agree. Because sometimes, like, even with what I, like, even when I share any opinions on music, as soon as I'm done, I'm like, I sounded like the worst person of the world. Like, even what comes to mind is, like, my radio head critiques.

It's just like, I love Radiohead, but I cannot stand Radiohead fans. And there's that discrepancy just as it is with movies, just as it is with books. Sure. And when you try to fill that space with art that kind of rifts off of that, that primary piece of art, it can get really funky. Yeah. Yeah. Well, thanks for listening.

Yeah, thanks guys. We've been talking about Look at Us Now by Daisy Jim's and the Sixth. There's a whole album though, so go do your... So go watch the show. Go give us some more. Yeah. Okay. This has been...

I've got a oxy. On Radio Free Hillsville, 101.1.1.7 FM. See you next week. Bye. Bye. Bye.