Ira and Louis discuss whether or not “Espresso” is song of the summer, Maya Rudolph on SNL, the controversy surrounding Baby Reindeer, movie prequels we don’t need, and how Eurovision became a disaster this year. Michelle Buteau joins to discuss her new film Babes, diversity in comedy, and more.

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TRANSCRIPT

 

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Ira Madison III And we are back with an all new episode of Keep It. I’m Ira Madison the Third.

 

Louis Virtel And I’m Louis Virtel, and we will get into a conversation about song of the Summer candidates choices, who we’re actually already listening to. But I have to tell you, there’s a surprise contender in this market, and it is that damn song that Maya Rudolph sang on SNL last week, the the I Am Your Mother parody of Call Me Mother by RuPaul that also has a little bit of a Vogue rap in it. It was just a normal parody of a song. I still am hearing it in my head. I didn’t even watch it twice. How did this happen? Why is it a single to me?

 

Ira Madison III You should get that checked out.

 

Louis Virtel I don’t know what happened to me. I wish I could explain it. I think it’s the Vogue rap in which they inserted a bunch of old SNL characters, which I first of all, really appreciate it. Okay, because it was just a rundown of old. They took the, you know, Greta Garbo and Monroe part out of Vogue, and they put in, like The Sweeney sisters and Baba Wawa and Mary Katherine Gallagher. And actually, that’s a good question. Who do you think is the greatest female character in the history of SNL?

 

Ira Madison III You know, I did love Mary Katherine Gallagher.

 

Louis Virtel I mean, like, if you are, you know, a girl on the spectrum, I’m sure you felt a little bit seen by that. You’re like, ignoring the social cues, just pure passion.

 

Ira Madison III Most gay people we know.

 

Louis Virtel That’s right. You think Louis Fertile wasn’t on that screen there? Oh, a Catholic upbringing to shed.

 

Ira Madison III When they talk about the spectrum, I’m just sort of like, you know, maybe Kinsey knew a bit about that, too.

 

Louis Virtel That’s right. Lots of spectrums intersect. Yeah. There’s an X and y axis, if you will.

 

Ira Madison III You know who I have really gotten into lately, and I had never really, paid attention to this character when I was younger, probably because I was too young. But I had been watching a lot of Ellen Cleghorn clips from I.

 

Louis Virtel Fucking Love Ellen Cleghorn. We gave her a TV show at the time, like she was supposed to be. Kind of a bigger thing.

 

Ira Madison III Yeah.

 

Louis Virtel Click here. Yes.

 

Ira Madison III Zoraida. She’s employee at SNL who’s constantly stopping, celebrities. But wait, let let me talk to you for a minute. Let me ask you something. That’s, I don’t know. I was high one night and, like, scrolling through an SNL thing, and I guess she popped up and I clicked on it, and then I went through every sort of sketch.

 

Louis Virtel She at the SNL 40th, which is now, oh, my God, ten years ago, she did. She was part of some bit where she jumped up and asked a question. She was one of the most hilarious people of the whole night. And also, it’s like she’s the rare person who was really a stand up when she was on SNL, as opposed to a lot of those people who are, you know, Groundlings type sketch artists. I fucking love Ellen Cleghorn. Would love to see more of her in the world.

 

Ira Madison III Yeah. She’s just, like, was so funny to me. This one with Joe Pesci, which is top notch.

 

Louis Virtel That’s exactly who should be interacting with Zoraida. I remember she had a stand up joke, which was, I feel like this has been ripped off 100 different ways, but she was the person who had the stand up joke. She goes. My friend just bought a dog. I said, you give me $500, I’ll shit on your carpet. Oh, come on jokes.

 

Ira Madison III Who else did we like on SNL? Female characters.

 

Louis Virtel Well, I am very Cheri Oteri oriented because I found everything about her extremely, there’s no other word for it. Risky like she was. It was never about being endearing. It was somebody who had no control over how they interacted in any given situation. They were I mean, here’s a word. We’ve heard a thousand different ways. Shrill. But at the same time, they were so unhinged that they were enjoyable. First of all, her version of Barbara Walters was one extremely funny. Didn’t sound like Barbara Walters at all, and it was great for that reason. But I love her character, CAS Van Rye, who hosted the Morning Latte sketch with.

 

Ira Madison III Will Ferrell.

 

Louis Virtel Yes. Like that’s something that kind of doesn’t really need to be lampooned anymore. The idea of a morning talk show host like that, they’re not as much in the ether as they used to be, but at the time, the mocking sincerity mocking how they didn’t really know anything about the news on a given day, but they had to pretend to be interested. She was like, whoa, there’s a war in the news today. Just anything. I loved that I thought that was so funny. That’s probably one of my favorite sketches in SNL history, and I miss when Will Ferrell’s superpower was working with female comics. Like almost all of his best sketches on SNL involve, you know, like the, the middle school singers with, Ana Gasteyer, with the Spartan cheerleaders. Yeah, with Cheri Oteri. He would do Mary Katherine Gallagher sketches, etc..

 

Ira Madison III I mean, Sherri, I really loved when she was bouncing off of well, to like that was a great SNL duo. I just I don’t know how many duos this show really has now. Bowen and Ego are funny when they’re in scenes together, but they don’t really have paired sketches, you know?

 

Louis Virtel No. Not really. Yeah, yeah, it feels like SNL is a little bit more oriented towards the guest star nowadays. Like it’s not really about building up. And yeah, individual kind of duo is like that anymore. Oh, recurring characters really.

 

Ira Madison III You know now Debbie Downer.

 

Louis Virtel Of course, Tony nominee Rachel Dratch.

 

Ira Madison III I will never not think about the fact that she was supposed to be Jenna Maroney.

 

Louis Virtel It is so weird because on 30 Rock, the character of Liz Lemon and Jenna maroney are utterly different, like they did go to like, some sort of Second City style, comedy thing early in their careers together, but they have nothing in common. Whereas on this show you can see why they would have been best friends initially. Obviously, Rachel Dratch and Tina Fey have a bit of a rapport anyway, but no, it would have been a totally different show had, Rachel Dratch been at the center of it.

 

Ira Madison III Yeah. And then one of my other favorite SNL characters is, Chloe Fineman walking her dog. Because I’ve realized she’s my neighbor.

 

Louis Virtel Oh. How nice. If we’re talking about accurate impressions. She does do accuracy. Sometimes I feel like I take is missing, but if you’re going to be that accurate, that does count for something.

 

Ira Madison III Can we do another take. Get out of my eyesight.

 

Louis Virtel Is that you’re Faye Dunaway.

 

Ira Madison III That’s my fades out away which they did with by over it off this week on the show. of course that clip of Fades Away has been circulating online in the past week.

 

Louis Virtel I believe she’s filming either it’s like a commercial or something. And I just want to say. The reason it went viral is because she stops herself midway through and tells somebody off screen. Can you leave the room? You’re in my eyeline like that. And that’s obviously very funny. But before they even get to that, the way she’s interacting with the camera is so fucking hilarious and scary.

 

Ira Madison III She’s a tiger.

 

Louis Virtel Yes. Right. It’s very, ferocious is the way I would describe it.

 

Ira Madison III The other part is there are several takes that you see in this clip, and the before she even kicks someone out because they’re in her eyeline. The fourth take that she does is actually perfect.

 

Louis Virtel Yeah.

 

Ira Madison III And then he gets.

 

Louis Virtel To the chair. Yeah. Yeah, that’s. She knew they were wasting our time. That’s what was going on.

 

Ira Madison III Yes. I also love her being the just the epitome of what you think an actress like that would be. Because she she comes out, she starts to say, and then she stops. She’s like, we got to take it again. She’s just like two lines and she’s like, no. Yes, we’re going to take it again.

 

Louis Virtel And like, she’s emerging from doors. Yes. You know, everything is extremely grand. It’s always a good week when a Faye Dunaway clip emerges. Yes, for me, Louis.

 

Ira Madison III I cannot wait for that documentary. We’re going to get a lot of clips.

 

Louis Virtel I am shocked that exists. There’s going to be a Faye Dunaway documentary, which I believe is called Faye. And first of all, in the description, they say it goes to her battle with quote unquote, bipolar disorder. I believe that’s new information. I don’t believe that’s ever been disclosed before. I’ve certainly not read about it like a formal diagnosis like that. And she’s participating. Her son is participating. I wonder how many film directors will be participating. How many costars will be participating? Because let me tell you something, and I’m going to get into this today when I guest host, love it or leave it. You can go up to anybody in LA who is over the age of 50 and I mean anybody. If they’ve lived here for 20 years, they tell you their name, their job, whatever. They could be a florist, they could be a professional basketball player. Whatever you say to them. Do you have any Faye Dunaway stories? Oh, you fucking better believe they do, because Faye Dunaway is out with the people and anti-social behavior. So like, I met like somebody who worked at a salon one time, said she’d worked there for like 20 years. I was like, you have any Faye Dunaway story? She goes, I worked on a commercial where she didn’t want to wear what we gave her, and so she purposely rubbed red lipstick on her white velour pants so that I would have to dry clean them. Faye Dunaway is, hair raising, and I think we’ve only learned the tip of the iceberg, so I’m very excited for this documentary.

 

Ira Madison III Well, I hope that little gay boy is in it. But he’ll be an older gay boy at this point, right? The assistant that you referred to his little game for.

 

Louis Virtel Little homosexual boy. Yes. She was. Yes. They were in rehearsals for a play about Katharine Hepburn. It’s actually a it’s an older play. I think Kate Mulgrew played, Katharine Hepburn in this Once Upon a Time. But Faye Dunaway was going to play Katharine Hepburn, which is a crazy choice. And she did get into an altercation with a assistant and referred to him as little homosexual boy, which, come on, diva. Yes, absolutely refer to that. I don’t care if it’s harassment or whatever.

 

Ira Madison III Okay, last question. Not Chinatown and not network. Favorite Faye Dunaway.

 

Louis Virtel And not Bonnie and Clyde, just to eliminate all the.

 

Ira Madison III I know about it either. Yeah.

 

Louis Virtel Barfly is good. I’m going to go Three Days of the Condor with, Robert Redford. Okay. When he had flat, it’s like a spy. And, the fabulous, Max von Sydow is in it, too, a wonderful performance. But he has fluttery blond hair, and he looks exactly like Martina Navratilova in it. Ira, what’s your choice?

 

Ira Madison III Can you guess mine?

 

Louis Virtel Oh, it Faye Dunaway, not Mommie Dearest.

 

Ira Madison III No, it’s kooky, though.

 

Louis Virtel I know what it is. It’s me. Lois. I’ve got it. Eyes of Laura mars. Of course. Damn. Yes. Roger. Yeah. Come on. Yeah. A photographer is like, possessed.

 

Ira Madison III Yeah. Yes. A photographer who is? It’s my. I can see the future. And she could see murders, visions of murders. And there’s all these crazy scenes of her taking, you know, photos of models and the the person who’s directing it is. It’s just like models dead and splayed about armored cars and everything. I don’t know, my grandmother had obviously so many movies. I feel like I discovered as a kid where my grandmother had a VHS of them just off the shelf, and sometimes when I was home alone, I would just go through the VHS and watch one. And the Eyes of Laura mars cover is so striking. It’s like in black, almost. And then her face is black, too, but it’s sort of like a lighter shade of red. It’s just these. These cat eyes glowing, staring at you.

 

Louis Virtel Right? No, it’s like one of the few movies to really capture how, frightening Faye Dunaway as, I mean, just like that needs to be captured on film. It’s not a great movie, but I love all her looks. In the original Thomas Crown affair to. I didn’t know hair could be piled up like that, especially, frankly, on a white woman. I just don’t know how they do it.

 

Ira Madison III I just sort of love that era of thriller, because, you know, you see, like a bad thriller now and you think, okay, that’s just a dumb Hollywood movie being made or whatever, but then you remember that all the actors we love who are sort of icons now, did things like that, too.

 

Louis Virtel Oh, absolutely. Well, I mean, once upon a time, thriller was a more, you know, like legit genre, like it was half of movies, basically.

 

Ira Madison III I mean, The Morning After with Jane Fonda, another one of my faves.

 

Louis Virtel One of the rare movies where you can almost just see Faye Dunaway having done it instead of Jane Fonda.

 

Ira Madison III Jane Fonda, Jeff Bridges, she wakes up with a dead man.

 

Louis Virtel And the violins are off and running. The minute she discovers that that body, like the drama, is heightened. If I next time I run into Jane Fonda, we’re talking about that movie. That’s it goes underrated in her catalog. It’s her last Academy Award nomination, actually.

 

Ira Madison III Wow. She was nominated for that.

 

Louis Virtel Yeah. Isn’t that a wild choice. Like it’s in that era where things like Sigourney is getting nominated for aliens. Like there’s some genre shifts happening at the Academy Awards.

 

Ira Madison III See that’s what I mean. Can we bring that shit back like I want? Well, first of all, we need to make thrillers that are that interesting again. Yes. And good. You know.

 

Louis Virtel Speaking of which, do you know what I just watched for the first time this week and I’m sorry I had not seen it before. Have you watched Jagged Edge recently with Glenn Close?

 

Ira Madison III Yes. I love Jagged Edge.

 

Louis Virtel Okay. It’s her and Jeff Bridges. And did he do it? Didn’t he do it? Okay. Thriller. It’s written by Joe Eszterhas, who did, Basic Instinct, etc.. But anyway, Glenn had been nominated the previous three years World According to Garp, natural, The Big Chill, not in that order. 85 is Jagged Edge. She is amazing in it and should have been nominated.

 

Ira Madison III I think I told you about the time that I was at Cafe Clooney and the West Village, and Glenn Close was sitting next to me. Right. That she was sort of like, do I recognize you? And I was like, you definitely do not, ma’am. Unless she’s watching the YouTube. Yeah, right. She’s watching out. But I’m like. But I’m also like, Glenn, if you’re watching, keep it on YouTube. Why aren’t you coming on Keep it?

 

Louis Virtel All right? Please. I have too many questions. And we’re starting with Dangerous Liaisons badge.

 

Ira Madison III Yeah, but I told her, that I was obsessed with this movie of hers when I was a kid, and she was like, oh, 101 Dalmatians. And I said, no. And this is going back to my grandmother having VHS in the house and me just watching one of them. I said, ma’am, it was Jagged Edge, and she was like, you’re watching Jagged Edge as a kid. And then she said, you know what? That was really good. Great script. And I love what an actor. Yeah. However, just looks at you and says, great script.

 

Louis Virtel The guy who wrote that, Joe Eszterhas, he did him another movie years later with Jessica Lange called Music Box. I have never seen this done before. It is the same movie as Jagged Edge. Down to the twist is the same, down to a little instrument in the movie reveals a clue, as in, I didn’t know you were allowed to do that. Diablo Cody is not like here comes Juno again. Like it’s just like, what?

 

Ira Madison III Yeah. Maybe she should.

 

Louis Virtel I know, wait. I guess it’s available. Okay. What’s happening on the show? I’m so sorry. We got real up and faggy with this intro.

 

Ira Madison III We are going to discuss song of the Summer because the songs. They’re coming fast and the coming furious baby. And they’re Tokyo drifting.

 

Louis Virtel And there’s definitely a lead contender right now. So there’s a lot that the other girls have to fight with if they’re going to get radio play.

 

Ira Madison III Yeah, there’s a lead container and then there’s a lead contender on the charts, too, which I feel like I’m listening to more than Louis. But we’ll get into that.

 

Louis Virtel All right. Oh, okay. Sinister.

 

Ira Madison III Yeah. Yes. And then also, we’re finally going to talk about this baby reindeer shit.

 

Louis Virtel Right? I don’t know how it really slipped past us because I watch this entire show, like, a month ago, but, this will inevitably lead into a conversation about stalker cinema, which is exciting.

 

Ira Madison III Well, we had a lot of hot topics popping up in the past few weeks, you know, so we couldn’t really get to the baby reindeer of it all. But lo and behold, this bitch is still stalker.

 

Louis Virtel These people rarely tire, you know what I mean?

 

Ira Madison III She is the scarecrow at midnight from goosebumps. Okay. She walks, she stalks.

 

Louis Virtel But that was always a scary, goosebumps cover. We’ll rank all the goosebumps covers in terms of scariness soon, too.

 

Ira Madison III Oh, please. Our video editor, is salivating at that right now. Okay. Game is like I’m booking the studio time now. Also, our guest this week is truly one of the funniest people. Oh, yeah. TV, and in films, I love her. Michelle Buteau, is here with us this week.

 

Louis Virtel And also, she’s so funny. And yet, if she were the lead in a drama, I’d totally believe it.

 

Ira Madison III We asked her about what other roles she’d like to do, and I love how she’s still like, I would love to direct, and produce a movie myself. And I’m like, okay, first of all, girl, that is going to happen probably within my two years. You know, like it’s you. But I was really trying to get at is finding out if she wants to do, you know, sort of a Mo’Nique role. You know, like, I love what a comedian. When when somebody strips down, they do their precious. Or shall I say, at least around during their monster of like, a mash up, which I would probably kill that.

 

Louis Virtel Oh, yeah. I think she would be. It can be awfully commanding and intimidating, imperious in certain roles.

 

Ira Madison III Yeah, a misery reboot. But she’s not Annie.

 

Louis Virtel Oh. That’s fun. You think she’s James Caan in the bed, and she’s wearing a killer heel when she gets that sledgehammer. Yeah, and.

 

Ira Madison III Maybe it’s one of her fans.

 

Louis Virtel All right, look at us. Just pitching free shit. People are going to steal this, damn it.

 

Ira Madison III Well, we could just rewrite misery. Let’s try something else. All right. All right. We’ll be back with more. Keep it.

 

Louis Virtel [AD]

 

Ira Madison III Sabrina Carpenter’s Espresso has been dominating our summer playlists. I wake up and I don’t pour myself espresso anymore. I pour that me espresso.

 

Louis Virtel Oh, I see, it’s branded now. You can just get it that way.

 

Ira Madison III Yeah. Three espresso, as I call it.

 

Louis Virtel Oof! Okay. That’s why you got that extra zeal today.

 

Ira Madison III But last weekend, several other popstars came to take the crown. We’ve got Megan Thee Stallion sampling Gwen Stefani. What are you waiting for? We’ve got Charli XCX, with another A.G. cook, bop and more artist release other new music. So, Louis and I are going to pick our faves and discuss what we think the song of the summer is, and exactly how you craft a song of the summer.

 

Louis Virtel Well, first of all, I think we have been starved for a true song of the summer for years and years. Now, this. An exception to this rule is that last year we did get Padam. Padam. But can I say something about Padam? Padam? It is like we were existing in a corner of the universe that was utterly invisible to everybody else. Padam. Padam did not get near the hot 100. I was not invited. We have AC insults at it and forced it away from the charts. Even though it did get the Grammy for Best Dance Recording.

 

Ira Madison III Eventually they didn’t even air that category. That’s how much it didn’t matter, right?

 

Louis Virtel Precisely, precisely. She was up against people like Troye Sivan, other people who routinely. We know all their songs and they’re not on the hot 100. So for espresso to not only seemingly be the song of the summer, but actually be in the top ten immediately is not always a given and testament to how quickly this song is dominating everything. It is still, to me, our main contender for song of the Summer, in that it’s so appropriate for every summer environment. If you’re on a beach, if you’re at a house party, if you’re at one of those summer occasions that are 4th of July, whatever a barbecue, it feels correct. For all of those occasions, it’s immediately puts everybody at ease. You can feel how hot it is. It’s almost like the song is being sung by a sunflower with sunglasses on. It’s that summer oriented.

 

Ira Madison III Oh, stormy.

 

Louis Virtel No. Yes.

 

Ira Madison III Yeah. Listen. Graduations, weddings and funerals. Okay? Yeah. The song. And I do want to point out to some people, well, they’ll never see this because they only ever see keep it clips on, Cricket media’s Instagram account. But people accusing us of hating the song just when they were making fun of the lyrics. Yeah.

 

Louis Virtel And also, excuse me. You know, the Crooked people did me dirty with that one. You know, they were like.

 

Ira Madison III They set you up.

 

Louis Virtel They’re like, we’re a little click poor this this month. Let’s see what happens when they throw a queen under the bus.

 

Ira Madison III It happens once a year. The last year was Barbie.

 

Louis Virtel Yes. Right. I have to go down in flames at least once a year. And this time it was for a special song I truly love. Yeah.

 

Ira Madison III Yeah. I mean, imagine us not liking espresso. It’s it’s it feels so classic pop. It feels. Emily K was tweeting about this song and saying, it’s not just that. It’s a good pop song. This there’s the vocal layering in it. There’s the ad libs, there’s if you’re listening close like, and you hear like the other like the background vocals on it too. There’s, there’s so much going on in this song that sounds like it’s sumptuous, like it’s it’s fun to listen to, to be honest. There’s even like a little bit of, like panting on some of the beat that sounds like I’m a slave for you. It is giving classic pop music. And speaking of it being on the charts, I was going to say the song that I’m listening to a lot is number one on the charts. Kendrick Lamar is not Like us, which is coming from the whole, Kendrick and Drake beef that we talked about last week. And honestly, it’s a hip hop song that a lot of people are listening to. People are listening to it in the clubs. They’re very enraptured in this Kendrick versus Drake thing, and it feels so classic. 2000 is to me that the charts again are, like hip hop and 2000 sounding pop music.

 

Louis Virtel Yes. Right, right, right. Now, quite 2000s. Agreed, agreed. Also, by the way, I just want to voice a darkhorse contender, and I know this probably won’t happen, but, Mr. Charles Puth announced that he will be having a new record soon.

 

Ira Madison III It sounds so good.

 

Louis Virtel Yes, it sounds so good. What we’ve heard so far, I’m really into. And there are hits and misses with him. But guys, when the douche is in his bag, it’s good times.

 

Ira Madison III It sounds good. I think that, Taylor mentioning him, tortured poets department was sort of a. Get your ass in the studio, Charlie and drop song because people are talking, the streets are talking.

 

Louis Virtel It was giving both a gift and a curse. It was. Yeah. Yes. I’m shouting out Charlie Puth. I’m. I wish he were a bigger star. And yet also. Tick tock, motherfucker, tick tock.

 

Ira Madison III Speaking of TikTok, Megan Thee Stallion’s Boa.

 

Louis Virtel Yes, which I actually I haven’t even heard yet. By the way, it’s samples.

 

Ira Madison III Gwen Stefani’s what you waiting for? It samples the tick tock, tick tock.

 

Louis Virtel Which is maybe Gwen Stefani’s crowning pop moment. Speaking of songs that didn’t chart at all, that all gay people know, I fucking love what you’re waiting for. And it’s also, of course, co-written by Linda Perry, formerly of For Non Blonds, who wrote things like Get the Party Started by Pink and Beautiful by Christina Aguilera, a song I hate.

 

Ira Madison III Beautiful.

 

Louis Virtel Yeah. I don’t like songs about.

 

Ira Madison III Oh it sucks. Yeah. Oh.

 

Louis Virtel I’m such a fucking loser. Oh no, I wish I were beautiful. Oh, luckily I looked in the mirror and I am no matter what or something. Shut up.

 

Ira Madison III So you do. You hate the razor creep?

 

Louis Virtel Yes, I hate, and by the way, credit to my brother, Jim Vernal. He also makes the song creep. And when the. And when someone brings up how much they love that he goes. There’s only one good song called creep, and it’s by TLC. Come on. And ally.

 

Ira Madison III Yes. Okay, okay. Some good things going out of that house, some flavor. You’re right.

 

Louis Virtel You don’t like this salt and vinegar I’m bringing?

 

Ira Madison III Yeah. Okay. Speaking of two, y’all see them? I feel like this song would fall into the category of songs that you hate because it’s about being a loser. Unpretty. But I think that the lyrics are just so goofy. Yes, you kind of have to love it.

 

Louis Virtel And it’s also sort of not. It’s not so self-pitying because it’s just you made me feel unpretty as opposed to I am unpretty, you know? And it’s like, I don’t know. It’s like sorting through insecurity. That, to me is okay to be the subject of a song, but just blindly yelling, I’m beautiful no matter what. Do you know what else I fucking hate? Songs about being beautifully broken or perfectly imperfect. Are we five years old? I hate that sentiment.

 

Ira Madison III So you hate the essence of the song.

 

Louis Virtel Beautifully broken. That’s the one. Yeah. Kelly Clarkson’s one like that too.

 

Ira Madison III The one thing I will say about a pretty, though is if you are our age, you all remember where you were when. You saw that girl running out of the plastic surgeons office in that music video yesterday? The breast implants? Oh that’s right.

 

Louis Virtel And also, it’s really played in slow motion, like for drama. And it’s one of the biggest things you’ll ever see or experience. I would love to knock over a tray of breast implants, though. I think that would be satisfying just to hear them.

 

Ira Madison III Beautiful sort of. And fan mail. Great album that people should revisit. There’s a lot of bangers on that. Silly how I’m good at being bad.

 

Louis Virtel I can’t explain why I was doing this. I was looking up Lisa left eye Lopez. Footage from after she died. Just what people were saying or whatever. People did not really even give her the credit for being as singular as she was. I’m not saying she was like, technically she wasn’t. She wasn’t like a Busta Rhymes, like technically the best rapper ever, but like character off, like the group would not have succeeded without her.

 

Ira Madison III Yeah. I mean, she was always inundating our minds with intentions to turn us out. Yeah. Is that right there? I don’t think I’ve ever put that together, Big Willie. Could I be a silly ho?

 

Louis Virtel Not awesome when they play that in the club and there’s no rap, why are we allowed? What? Excuse me. You did this to me.

 

Ira Madison III That’s nasty behavior. You know, it’s like they’re the people who know the rap. Know the rap? Okay. Let me give you something to think about. Right? Anyway, obviously I’m wearing a Charli XCX shirt now. Party girl, from her boiler room set, and, I was unintentionally featured on her Instagram yesterday because she shared my friend Lennox’s Instagram reel, which was playing a clip of her song. 360 and I’m in the background of it. I did not realize that she was recording this for the purpose of tagging Charli XCX. So it just popped up in Charli’s Instagram, and that was startling because I was like, I was in the club drunk, and dancing, and no one needs to see that. But I will say that her new song 360. Is really fun. I love it, and I’m really kind of loving this whole Charlie era because I feel like Charlie, you know, the internet would say that she’s, teetering on queer.

 

Louis Virtel Yeah.

 

Ira Madison III If you if you know what a queer is for our listeners, that doubt. I learned this phrase recently. It comes from a meme where someone’s crying because they met the rapper Killa. Kiah.

 

Louis Virtel Above my neck. My back. FAM.

 

Ira Madison III Yes, yes, my neck, my back. Kiah is also on So Excited by Janet Jackson, from her album 20 Year Old, which came out in 2006. Very underrated album. I love that. On Janet’s last tour she did a whole medley of songs from that album and she was like, I never really got to perform these songs for you.

 

Louis Virtel Amazing impression. And then she thanked the fans for it in the next 30 minutes, because that’s all she does.

 

Ira Madison III There’s a photo of her with a fan and someone’s crying because they met her. The caption is this motherfucker crying because they met Kaia? Now it became a popular meme, and younger kids on the internet who don’t know how to pronounce the kyr think it’s Kia, and they think it’s funny that someone’s crying over someone who’s not that famous to them. And so now Kia has become a catch all term for basically flat pop stars.

 

Louis Virtel Got it teetering on the cup or so being parked.

 

Ira Madison III The Kia Asylum is where they say that all of these people are at. The internet says this, but I weirdly feel like Charli XCX is. I don’t know. Maybe in this Kylie era of just she’s very important to gays, but also important to sort of alternative straight people, you know?

 

Louis Virtel Oh yeah. Yeah, yeah. No, I mean, there’s like, a pop loving concert going straight community and I. Yeah, I can’t know them. I just see them from afar. Put me on the other side of, like, Stella Dallas. I’ll watch them through a window.

 

Ira Madison III I first discovered that when there were straight people at Carly Rae Jepsen concerts back in the day. Post call me maybe, like just singing along and I’m like, straight men two. And I’m always wondering what their vibe is like, how they’re listening to this music.

 

Louis Virtel My two other brothers, Mark and Greg, went to a Carly Rae Jepsen concert with no homosexuals in sight, just them. And you know this exists. I don’t know, my family is really representing this week. I can’t explain what we got into us.

 

Ira Madison III Yeah, that’s all to say that Charlie has always been sort of on the fringes with that music. And then she, of course, had the crash album when she was declaring her pop era, and she was doing know and I really loved a lot of songs from that. But she seems to have gone right back to giving club anthems, you know, and club rave anthems. And I love it. I love the music for the rave is giving me sort of what, we need in that post Renaissance era. Okay. Now we had we had to like the house revival and now hear sort of that, like techno, hyper pop, sort of, metal, Nine Inch Nails sort of sound. And I’m into that.

 

Louis Virtel Also, the people you’re talking about, like everyone from Kylie Minogue to Carly Rae Jepsen to Charli XCX, I would include people like Kim Petras or Slater. I think something that’s essential about this group of people, and maybe they’re not dominating the charts. They come up with music that is exactly right for a party. And so when you know, like gays go out or whatever, it’s not just, oh, I’m a fan of these people, put them on because I’m a fan. It’s like, this is the correct vibe for us hanging out together, you know, and and I think that’s a little bit different than what is usually, for instance, on the Billboard Top ten.

 

Ira Madison III I would actually say. Yeah. And it is. It’s so interesting because. There are plenty of songs by a lot of major pop acts that get on the top ten that I like, right? And for instance, I like Taylor Swift. Sometimes there’s a time and a place for a Taylor Swift song, right? And what do you experience as gay men who like different pop artists? But also there are some gay men who really sort of catch a vibe better than other people. I’m telling people now, as the summer is approaching, tortured poets department songs are not going to be the vibe. No, do not ask me to put a Taylor Swift song on at the party. Don’t ask me to quit. If you want one. It better be something like bad Blood. You know, like maybe even the remix with Kendrick. It’s like it’s never. There’s this thing about specifically Taylor fans, Swifties, like hardcore gay Swifties where they think that any sort of Taylor Swift song because they like it is the vibe for the party that we’re currently at.

 

Louis Virtel Right? Also right. I want to dig into that for just a second before we get back to song of the Summer. There’s something about all Taylor Swift fans where the thing they’re doing, where they’re constantly choosing her for a party environment. They’re absorbed in the fact that they think the music reflects them. They think like, oh, this, this girl is being me. This is my story. I just want to say something about that. If all you get out of art is seeing your own story in it, you’re not interested in the art. That’s my feeling about that.

 

Ira Madison III Okay. We grew up watching MTV’s diary where we were told. Yeah, you don’t know half the story.

 

Louis Virtel No. Aleah is in a Ferris wheel right now thinking about her new album or whatever she was doing.

 

Ira Madison III Maybe if gay bars still play untucked when they play the whole RuPaul episode, after, you know. You’re not getting the whole story, you know?

 

Louis Virtel That’s right. That’s right. Untucked has done a lot in terms of stories and telling them.

 

Ira Madison III I was at a party recently, I don’t know, call our friend by name, but they were just like, you know, this song 22 by Taylor Swift, let’s put it on because someone’s brother, was visiting, okay, from out of town, and they said they just turned 22. Turn it on. And I said, first of all. I don’t know the 22 year olds here, and two, I’m not putting on 22.

 

Louis Virtel And now.

 

Ira Madison III It’s two. Cute it up. So cute it up. It’s really the entire room. At the party turned around and said. What is. What is going on? Why is this playing?

 

Louis Virtel It’s two Kidz Bop for a party of a dance, I have to say. And by the way, I think the song is, like, catchy if I hear it. Whatever it is, target or something. It’s good.

 

Ira Madison III Yeah, yeah. Target.

 

Louis Virtel Target. Or as I call it, the Taylor Swift Club. Yeah.

 

Ira Madison III What are the 1 million moms going to protest that? Yeah.

 

Louis Virtel My favorite group of people, 1 million moms. Because clearly there’s nine of you.

 

Ira Madison III But perfect for a road trip. Okay, mix it in with other throwback songs. People just catch the vibe. Okay. Yeah.

 

Louis Virtel Right? Right. Yeah, yeah, yeah. You’re right. These people are outside the vibe, imposing a certain fandom on a room that is a little bit annoying. Now, here’s something in terms of, coalescing that tier of people we were talking about who routinely aren’t on the charts with people who may actually get to the top of the charts. What do we think about chaperoned this summer? Is she still Justin is only kind of I don’t know, no.

 

Speaker 4 Well.

 

Ira Madison III Lesbians. Right. But, you know, women are fagots.

 

Louis Virtel I agree. I if that’s a PSA that we can write ourselves that, you know, this is your brain on drugs sort of thing I would do. Lesbians can be fagots, too.

 

Ira Madison III Yeah, but I don’t know. I think that good Luck babe had a, like, a big spike. And there were a lot of people decided that they love chaperon, who previously did not, at the beginning of the summer. However, I think the song has died down a bit now. I don’t think it’s really gonna it’s it’s in no danger of hitting the top ten. No, but I think that this summer was really just the, you know, that Malcolm Gladwell tipping point. Yeah. So it’s she’s she’s collecting a fan base.

 

Louis Virtel Right, right. Yeah. The big move is yet to come. The teenage dream moment is yet to come. She’s in the one of the boys era right now.

 

Ira Madison III She’s bubbling under.

 

Louis Virtel Right. I always love shady chart names like that. The top 100 bubbling under the not really a hit hits.

 

Ira Madison III Yeah.

 

Louis Virtel Heat seekers. I hope they find it.

 

Ira Madison III So you’re saying it’s a missile? It’s a bomb.

 

Louis Virtel They’re ballistic, but also not to be found. Okay, great.

 

Ira Madison III Also, the only thing I’ve really been listening to lately is the stereophonic test recording.

 

Louis Virtel Okay, can I tell you something? There are a couple of songs I really like on that. I’m a little surprised not to be obsessed with it. I feel like I’m sorry to say this. The Fleetwood Mac songs themselves are a little better.

 

Ira Madison III That’s fair. Have you seen this show yet?

 

Louis Virtel No I would. I cannot wait to see it. Juliana Canfield, who we had here just a few weeks ago, was fabulous guest and and now a Tony nominee.

 

Ira Madison III I think seeing the show makes you like it a bit more.

 

Louis Virtel Yeah. Okay.

 

Ira Madison III Because you hear it and there’s the vibe.

 

Louis Virtel And also with, like, what goes into the songs, right? Like they’re writing them together and. Yeah. So yeah. Because because.

 

Ira Madison III You, you hear them make crafting these songs too. So it’s just sort of it’s fun to finally hear the full versions of a lot of these songs and get different versions of them, too.

 

Louis Virtel This musical is like the making the video of, musicals, another MTV show era I miss.

 

Ira Madison III Yeah. And, I got to meet Will Butler at the listening party for the album. Oh, how much I love Arcade Fire. So.

 

Louis Virtel All right, well, in the same way that I love Bodyguard by Beyonce, if we get, like, a kind of throwback 70s maybe in the summer, I think that’s sort of quintessentially summer. Summer vibe. So I would love more of that.

 

Ira Madison III Yeah. Bodyguard is like instantly pop classic.

 

Louis Virtel Yeah, that’s I think definitely the best song on the album and also doesn’t sound like anything else she did before, even though it’s sort of classic pop music.

 

Ira Madison III And imagine if we were in a world where that bitch released a music video.

 

Louis Virtel She is just out here to confuse us.

 

Ira Madison III Give me something.

 

Louis Virtel Stop fighting temptations to release visuals and just release the visuals.

 

Ira Madison III It’s frustrating because here you have Lady Gaga suddenly remember that she did the Chromatica tour and sheets are dropping. The tour video on HBO while on masse, in a couple weeks. And I’m like, okay, that was three years ago, ma’am. Yeah.

 

Louis Virtel Jesus Christ, I mean, it’s just true Covid era music, which is fine, but it’s just it’s it’s been a long time. Speaking of which, speaking of old music, are we aware that we’re getting Bonnie McKee’s new album soon? She’s finally putting out Hot City.

 

Ira Madison III You love.

 

Louis Virtel Her. I keep bringing her up. I, Louis, be bringing you up.

 

Ira Madison III Is she your sister? Is she a verbal like you write hard for body.

 

Louis Virtel Do you know what’s on that album? American Girl, a song from 2013. She said, fuck it. I’ll put the hit on it.

 

Ira Madison III You know what that’s giving you? Remember where they seemed like Britney Spears was really radar on every album?

 

Louis Virtel Yeah. Oh, exactly. It’s exactly like that right here.

 

Ira Madison III Here it is again. Yeah.

 

Louis Virtel Kylie Minogue had butterfly on two albums in a row. It started on light years. Then it was put on an edition of fever. Here in the States, everybody should have a song that just keeps following them.

 

Ira Madison III Yeah, well, Charlie Puth put attention on your new album.

 

Louis Virtel Why not? Yeah. How long? That’s my favorite.

 

Ira Madison III I’m excited for him to come back because, honestly, I would like to care about a man in pop music.

 

Louis Virtel I have no idea what it’s like. This is a completely unfamiliar feeling to me. Yeah. Bring it on. What was the last one? James Taylor? I have no idea.

 

Ira Madison III I mean, Harry was around for a while. If you were in, if you were and if you were invited to the house.

 

Louis Virtel I, was around. I skirted the yard and I said, I’m going to actually just go on home.

 

Ira Madison III I spun the block a few times. Yeah.

 

Louis Virtel Album of the year. Come on.

 

Ira Madison III All right. When we are back, we talk with the fabulous Michelle Buteau.

 

[AD]

 

Ira Madison III Our guest this week is an undeniable talent in comedy. From her stand up special Welcome to Utopia, to creating and starring in the Netflix series survival of the thickest, to roles in pretty much every rom com from the past five years. She truly does not stop, and we don’t water to welcome to Keep it. The star of the upcoming comedy film Babes. It’s Michelle Buteau.

 

Michelle Buteau Oh my God, are you like, my emotional accountant did we just go to IMDb? That was amazing. You forget how much stuff you do until someone does an intro and you’re like, that’s why my knee hurts. Why am I so tired?

 

Louis Virtel No, wait though. Is it like, fun to be that extremely employed? Like, do you think of yourself as exhausted? For example, when I see a bunch of credits like that, I’m like, obviously that’s the career or somebody wants. But at the same time, it just seems extremely taxing and you’re always a character, so I bet it is taxing.

 

Michelle Buteau I love it because you know what? I’m always a character no matter what. Like, I’ve been in the game for 23 years. I’ve been in the game when, like, Nicole Kidman had curly hair. You know what I mean?

 

Louis Virtel Ah yeah.

 

Michelle Buteau Like, I was doing all this stuff for free. You know what it is when you’re like, you’re first starting and you’re trying to figure out your, your creative vision and who you are and where you go and your friends. And so I’ve been doing so much more stuff for free. It’s so nice to get paid now.

 

Ira Madison III Exactly. I want to ask you about babes because I feel like, well, one, this comes after survival of the fittest, and we’ll get to that, which I love. But like we said, you’ve been in so many rom coms and you played, you know, the the character, the supporting character, the comedic relief, that we’ve needed in a lot of these films. But now you are providing comedic relief while also being the star. And so how does it feel? You know, leading babes and leading, you know, the whole ensemble.

 

Michelle Buteau I mean, it feels. I feel like Selena. I’m like, why we excited? But I.

 

Ira Madison III Mean. I want to see you at the mall. Yeah. Oh.

 

Michelle Buteau My biddy, biddy bum bums are everywhere. No, but, like, I, I love it. It also is starting to feel, like, important. You know, when people are, meeting me in the street or DMing me, you know, thick, thick baddies. Everybody’s, trans women, non-binary royalty when they’re just like, thank you for representing this and that. I’m like, wow, I thought I was just out here doing me, but I’m just realizing, realizing how important it is to have something for us, by us. And so, like, yeah, I mean, it’s, it is hilarious and it is fun and it is great to work, but I’m realizing how important it is to see diversity.

 

Louis Virtel Also want to say about the cast and the director of this movie. This feels like the best possible crew to hang out with. Is directed by the great Pamela Adlon, here with Ilana Glazer in the movie. Excuse me, Sandra Bernhard is in this movie. Has a minaj is hanging out in this movie. Oh, yeah. Talk about like, just the vibe on set. It just feels like a very ideal chill and casually extremely hilarious group of people.

 

Michelle Buteau Yeah. I mean, I like to work with people that inspire me. You know, I’ve shown up to enough, like sets where it feels toxic and people have unprocessed trauma. And Ilana Glazer has been a long time friend. We’ve never worked together, really. We’ve just been hanging out. And so when she co-wrote this with Josh Rabinowitz, she’s like, this is it. Like, this is a character that is, it’s hard, mama to trying to make it happen. And I’m like, oh, that me. And you know what I love about this movie’s a lot of things, but especially like how New York it feels, especially with Sandra and John Carroll Lynch and Oliver Platt. Like, these are like New York New Yorkers, you know what I mean? And I love when also you can film in New York because she’s a whole character in the show, too. Don’t get me no downtown Toronto or Atlanta when you know good and well New York is beautiful and a character so she can have a high rating on IMDb.

 

Ira Madison III You could say the same thing about survival of the thickest, you know, which also feels in New York, and it feels so New York and exactly what you were talking about, you know, the diversity of characters, the diversity of story. Tell us a bit about writing, literally an essay collection, and then it becoming a show because, you know, as someone who, you know, was written essays before, it is the idea of what am I going to turn into a TV show? Or did you already have the idea for a show? And it was sort of like, let me backdoor it with an essay collection, like was the chicken or the egg first?

 

Michelle Buteau Never. That’s like having sex and like expecting to have an orgasm the first time you have sex when you’re.

 

Ira Madison III Yeah, that.

 

Michelle Buteau Happened. Now I’m so lucky. Been chasing the dragon ever since. Just kidding. But, like. No, I mean, you know, when a lot of people are like, can I pick your brain about comedy? And they’re like, how do I start making money? Then? You’re not doing comedy for the right reasons, like you’re doing comedy because first of all, it’s an affliction. Like you feel like you have to and you have stories to share, and you might be trying to find your voice and your truth. And so writing a book is something I’ve always wanted to do. I don’t know why I could barely finish a book, but I’m like, I do have stories that don’t fit into straight up standup and podcasting. With my friend Jordan Carlos at our podcast adulting really sort of like inspired me to write down all these other things I’ve been through in my life where I’m like, Dan, girl, you’ve been to a lot of stuff. And so I just wrote the book to get it done because I said I would, and Simon Schuster was like, you said you would. And I said, okay, I’m going to end. So I miss deadlines. I didn’t realize how hard it was. I didn’t realize how crazy longform is. I didn’t realize how much I should or shouldn’t share. There was like so many things. I went into the book and so I could have never, ever imagined it being a TV show because that just felt like something separate. You make up a TV show and then you pitch that TV show. So I didn’t even know I. Yeah. And and and I don’t think you can know. I think you should just come from your purest rise place as a creative and just get it done and stop overthinking and telling yourself, no, this isn’t good enough when all these other these basic bitches are out here just trying to sell content, they’re like, you might as well just do. You did not answer your question.

 

Ira Madison III You did, you did, you did.

 

Michelle Buteau What’s the bamboo earrings? Come on. I don’t know what could happen.

 

Louis Virtel But I’ll just lean toward the camera. Like that meme of Adele looking at what her fans are saying. It was very endearing.

 

Ira Madison III Yes.

 

Louis Virtel Also, okay, so speaking of your television career though, and movies, etc., you’re such a fabulous host on The Circle. And I’m wondering like, these occasions where you get to just be yourself or you get to be quippy or whatever, are these the kinds of things you cherish the most as, as a performer, or have you come to like acting more?

 

Michelle Buteau I mean, I think it’s all kind of one in the same. You know, it’s like if you’re a partner, you know, that also makes you, part time doctor, part time therapist, part time cook, part time cleaner. Journey means the like once you’re a comedian, you’re like, yeah, man. Like, I just love to create stuff. And so. I realized probably way too late in the game. The more I do me, the better I am. So when people give me scripts, they’re like, we want narration. I’m like, this is okay. But I can barely get through it. Can I just say the way I always say it and, you know, finding out that I am like, like a little dyslexic and, like, have a little A.D.D. and like, a dollop of stuff, like, I don’t mean to be like Amanda Seales on club stage saying, like, diagnose myself.

 

Ira Madison III Not you went to WebMD. I’m like, yo, yes.

 

Michelle Buteau And I paid the extra 699 to find out what I really got. And so like, you know, but like, if you just see things and hear things in a different way and just lean into that because that’s your superpower. Like, we don’t always have to do it the way it’s written. So yeah, I mean, that’s one thing that I loved about The Circle. Two, a shout out to Studio Lambert. They’re a British production company. They also do traders. They do a bunch of stuff. They’re really, like good at social experiment.

 

Ira Madison III Do you want to do traders?

 

Louis Virtel Oh, yeah. Let’s talk about that. Are you going to get on that show?

 

Michelle Buteau I can’t I mean, I would go to a trip, I would go, no, I’m too anxious. Like if.

 

Ira Madison III I and.

 

Michelle Buteau We just go to see Alan Cummings. This.

 

Ira Madison III Outfit. I don’t think we’ve really asked this question before, but you are a person who is speaking of plague yourself and being yourself. You know, you’re a person who is so funny and personable that you’ve been on so many late night, so many talk shows.

 

Michelle Buteau Which better with green hat and have green nails?

 

Ira Madison III Thank you. I’m gonna. I’m color coordinating, in these, Manhattan streets. You know, I love it. But is there any show that you’ve been on in particular where you’re like, you really sort of like the vibe of being on that particular talk show, like kicking with that particular house, like, have you had, like, a really fun time on a show? You’re like, I enjoy doing this.

 

Michelle Buteau This sounds so basic, but like, I love them all. You know why? Well, I want to be an entertainment reporter. And I had a college professor told me I was too fat to be on camera.

 

Louis Virtel So what college was this? Jesus Christ.

 

Michelle Buteau International university. I already put them out there. They’ve already apologized.

 

Louis Virtel Okay, well, good. They can do it again.

 

Michelle Buteau No, this was the 90s. It was straight up like working girl or whatever. Like, stuff was so different. But I believed him because I didn’t even see myself represented anywhere on TV. Anyways, so I just went into production and so I used to work in local news. I used to be a film producer. I, I used to be an editor. I’d be in a very dark bay editing, you know, pieces about house fires and whatever. And so but I was like, probably too happy to be an editor. And I’m like, making very basic people look good. But I always knew I deserved a window. You know, I’m just like, how can we ain’t got no windows in at a bay? And so all this to say, when I go on a talk show, I’m like, let’s shake shit up. So I have fun no matter what. I don’t know what they’re doing. They’re probably like half sleeping, half away. Teleprompter Ron Burgundy, you know what I mean? But like, I love it. Like, you can give me, Hoda and Jenna any day of the week. Kelly and whatever dude she’s with in a high chair. Yes. ABC afternoon or morning? It’s like, let’s goes. Dan. Oh my God, big morning buzz with Nicholas Shay. Have you heard of it? Probably not. That’s why it’s not anymore. But live.

 

Ira Madison III I don’t know about this, but I love Nick, Masha.

 

Michelle Buteau And no one like Nick LaHaye.

 

Louis Virtel It is more like that.

 

Ira Madison III It’s still giving 98 degrees. Is it? Has it cooled off a bit or.

 

Michelle Buteau No. If anything he is giving in 99.70 okay.

 

Ira Madison III All right.

 

Louis Virtel Get the thermometer. Okay.

 

Ira Madison III Yeah. Well what’s it like sitting next to Drew Barrymore? Like, you know, because she, she like to clutch people, so.

 

Michelle Buteau Yeah. You know, I was on her show before she was clutch in. So, you know, I think it’s very interesting being in the presence of someone who was born into Hollywood. And so, you know, doing stand up for over 20 years. This does sound like. I’m interviewing to be a nanny, but when I look at the crowd and do like, I can actually, like, see people’s inner child if I really take a look. And so I see someone, who had who had to become an old soul in order to become a young spirit. And so, like, I feel for her, you know, she’s like, she’s fighting to have fun and to connect. You know, like, I don’t like my parents made me, like, do my homework and go to church. And I’m just like, do you mind? And so, like, I can’t.

 

Ira Madison III Even tell.

 

Michelle Buteau My parents to, like, get on that stage. We need money. You know what I mean? Like.

 

Ira Madison III And Britney Spears.

 

Michelle Buteau Just spinning in my living room.

 

Louis Virtel This gypsy reboot with you. Oh my God. Okay. I think the first time I ever met you, Michelle, we were at a Seder thrown by Guy Branum. Oh, yeah.

 

Michelle Buteau I love guy. Yes. Aaron Kilgore was there?

 

Louis Virtel Yes. No. It’s always like it’s a motley crew. It’s like not just comedians, but a lot of comedians. And it makes me think. Are there any comics you are surprised to have connected with really well over the years who have, like, become your friends? Who you I don’t know, if you weren’t in the same occupation, maybe life would not have brought you together, but you find yourself to be friends with them.

 

Michelle Buteau I mean, to be honest like that. That’s such a good question. But like, no, I’m not that type of person where all my friends look alike and we’re all the same age. You know, I’m the only child. Can you tell? And I happen to go, I think, like three grade schools and three high schools and two different colleges. And so, yeah, I always had, like, my foot in, like, each group because. Yeah. I mean, I think it’s really fun to have friends from all walks of life. And I think that’s what has attracted me to comedy, too. It’s like doing all these different shows, like, you know, you do the pretty shows, you do the Chitlin Circuit, you do like the Street of Comedy, clubs where everyone’s like, Is Adam Sandler coming? No he’s not. Sit down. It’s me. You’re gonna spit up on the microphone. No, no, bitch, just my titty fuck down.

 

Ira Madison III Man.

 

Michelle Buteau Like it’s just fun. I also think having friends that aren’t like you is like a great education. Besides traveling.

 

Ira Madison III Yeah, I mean, and it’s so easy to get it here in New York, you know? And that’s. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

 

Michelle Buteau You know, I mean, I’m sorry it’s such like a basic answer, but that’s how, like, I really feel because. Yeah. And oh, who wants to be around people that look like you? Although, like, if I’m going to watch porn, it’s gonna be a woman that looks like me. That’s like 15 pounds thinner. So I know what it’s going to look like.

 

Louis Virtel You do some casting before you get into the porn. Yeah.

 

Ira Madison III Yeah, yeah.

 

Michelle Buteau I don’t need a transformation Tuesday. Just let me know what it looks like on top after I lose 10 pounds.

 

Ira Madison III I want to see the Google search. Yeah.

 

Michelle Buteau It’s the movie. It’s the great movie.

 

Ira Madison III I guess glossy. You know, you. I have done so much. What what is what is something that’s still on your radar that you’re like, I still got to do this chat. Like, it’s still. It’s still my. It’s still a goal. It’s still up on the vision board.

 

Michelle Buteau I don’t know, I think I think check out. I’m, like, kind of doing it like, I, I, I always want to do more movies and have just like. A meteor roll. Like a meteor roll. As many as I am. And so I think I’m doing it. I would love to write a movie and produce it as well. I think that would be like really fun. But you know, all those things will come in time. You know what I do? I do love about, like, Joan Rivers and Carol Burnett and Marla Gibbs and like all these, like, beautiful old as bitches comedy. It was just part of their DNA. And they did or are doing it for the rest of their lives. And so that’s how I feel, too. Like I’m patient. I don’t know. I don’t I don’t know what’s going to happen in the world. If you would have told me when I first started stand up, we’re going to have a podcast, it really was that because they weren’t. It wasn’t even a thing. You know, it was like a flop.

 

Ira Madison III Yeah.

 

Michelle Buteau And so, yeah, I’m just kind of like open to whatever. As long as I stay true to myself, I will always make it funny and then always, like, advocate for people who don’t have a voice for them and get the fucking paycheck that I’m supposed to be getting. I’m good on them.

 

Ira Madison III Well, you did say Marla Gibbs.

 

Louis Virtel Yes.

 

Ira Madison III And there’s the end of her life. She was on passions, so, she played a character on passions. And speaking of other comedians, Jack, she is currently on Days of Our Lives, so maybe that’s in your future. I love her.

 

Michelle Buteau I want her to be my Christmas future. Even playing my mom. Oh my God, that interview of her dating is talking about dating is so fun and horrible.

 

Ira Madison III Horrible. Oh.

 

Louis Virtel Who made Jack that funny? It’s very crazy. She’s like one of the funniest people who ever lived. And also, by the way, Marla Gibbs never won an Emmy for The Jeffersons. And I think that is perhaps the definitive supporting performance on television of all time. So anyway, you.

 

Michelle Buteau Better let me know. Anderson Cooper, that was not okay.

 

Louis Virtel I am here on earth to provide exactly that tidbit, so don’t worry.

 

Ira Madison III I can do better. Well, good.

 

Michelle Buteau I mean, this guy Brandon’s talk show. Game show. The talk show that.

 

Louis Virtel Was so fabulous.

 

Michelle Buteau People ask me who my favorite comedians are in interviews. I’m like, it is the people that you haven’t heard of yet that are like, doing things that are writing another shows that are like out on the weekend doing six shows. It’s just like, man, oh man, I want a space for everybody to win. It’s not just the same 15 comedians you see on billboards or comedy rows. There’s like, there’s there’s a whole world of beautiful people.

 

Louis Virtel That’s why when you brought up Karen Kilgore. Griff, I thought, you know, once upon a time she was this, like, journeyman, writer, comic, whatever. And now she’s like the Beatles of podcasters. Like, it’s like it’s so shocking. Has she skyrocketed?

 

Michelle Buteau I’d say, and the Taylor Swift of podcasting. Yeah. Rightfully so. Yeah. Can I just give a quick shout out?

 

Louis Virtel You can, of course.

 

Michelle Buteau I’m taping my second Netflix special, June 6th at Radio City Music Hall. I will be the first woman ever to tape a comedy special at Radio City Music Hall because I don’t know, misogyny. And so I’m so excited to do so. So if y’all have 40 to $52, can you please come to my show and invite 2000 of your friends? And very fun. The end.

 

Louis Virtel Well, fuck yeah, the audience better be full of Rockettes. Yeah, yeah. Let’s go.

 

Ira Madison III I’m in New York, so I’ll definitely go. Oh, yeah. I would love to see that.

 

Michelle Buteau Oh, that’d be amazing. I’ll put you on the list.

 

Yeah.

 

Michelle Buteau As long as you have green nails.

 

Ira Madison III Yeah, please. I’ll get some. I’ll get some nails, especially for you.

 

Michelle Buteau Oh, I love that. Well thank you ladies.

 

Louis Virtel Oh thank you.

 

Ira Madison III Thank you.

 

[AD]

 

Ira Madison III We put it off long enough, but it’s finally time to talk about baby reindeer. The hit series, based on comedian Richard Gad’s real life experience with stalking and abuse. The show was already harrowing to watch, but psychotic fans have made it even more terrifying by finding the alleged stalker Earl, and she has somehow managed to top them. By somehow now stalking other people.

 

Louis Virtel Stalkers going to stalk, I mean, just lets you know they have the time as what I say. That’s the thing about the internet. If you’re going to mess with people on the internet, let me tell you something. They will clear out a schedule and make your life hell.

 

Ira Madison III Now, my thing is, I guess I didn’t realize that stalkers just sort of, like, moved on to a new subject. Is that common?

 

Louis Virtel That is a little bit baffling, you would think. They just have something they’re obsessed with, and their brain has sort of rewired itself to be all about that thing. But it turns out they can have multiple obsessions. Actually, we did kind of know this from Club Shalimar, who was one point obsessed with Michael Fassbender and now is obsessed with Timothee Chalamet.

 

Ira Madison III I wonder who’s next. Yeah I think it was next probably.

 

Louis Virtel But they do seem to have kind of a type. Has to have some intensity about them a paleness about them. Josh O’Connor watch out. He’s like Wallace and Gromit presents Adam Driver. I say that affectionately. He’s hot. Yeah.

 

Ira Madison III Now there was a tweet where someone said, Luca, like, really does something for making people hot. Because if I saw a photo of Josh O’Connor, I would think that that’s Arthur. And then in parentheses, the aardvark. Oh.

 

Louis Virtel Yeah. And Timothee Chalamet is like a squiggly little mealworm too. Yeah.

 

Ira Madison III Nuh Okay. This show. Well, first of all, before I saw it, I did not know what Baby Rader was referring to. So I was assuming that baby reindeer was a term for stalker. And I’ve been using baby reindeer as slang for the party.

 

Louis Virtel We’re just kind of guessing what it means. Yeah.

 

Ira Madison III We have a friend whose, ex is always around. I was like, baby reindeer is back.

 

Louis Virtel I think you did it well. That was a good fakery. Thank you. First of all, this show is off and running the minute you start. You put it on. It’s a woman who sits at this bar where this guy works, and that just refuses to leave. She takes free water. She sort of talk to them. She’s constantly flirting. And the flirting is very aggressive. But she also clearly is alone. She claims she has this career, but that can’t be true based on how often she’s at the bar. And the story gets into how, on accident, the guy sort of values how scene he feels by this person. He’s this like floundering comedian. And by the way. Something about this show that I do think I do. Bon Bon. He is way too shitty a comedian. I’m sorry. When they get to the yeah, the actual comedy of it, I’m like, I can’t look at the screen. I know it’s supposed to be unbearable. And he gets better as a comic, and that evolution is what actually leads to him writing the very show you’re watching. But Wolf, can I not watch bad comedy? And can I really not watch bad prop comedy? Oh, you better not bring a briefcase out onto the stage. Absolutely not. Unless you’re Aretha Franklin waiting to collect the check and walk out. No, you’re not bringing a bag on stage.

 

Ira Madison III Deal or no deal Island. Okay. Yeah. Prop comic is always giving, class clown to me.

 

Louis Virtel Yeah, yeah, it’s like Carrot Top, etc., but it’s like, we we still have Carrot Top. That doesn’t need to be a second one of him. Yeah.

 

Ira Madison III He’s somewhere in aisle five or six. Where? Where? Carrots. Shit.

 

Louis Virtel That’s a Vons joke for everybody. Okay.

 

Ira Madison III Yes. The show is, first of all, very harrowing. And I want to say that we’ll talk about the stalking and the finding the alleged stalker IRL stuff. But I do think that all of that has gotten away from the fact that the show is very good and it’s very powerful and it’s very hard to watch, to be honest, not even just because of the, aggressiveness. And obviously there’s, lots of spoiled babies, but he meets, an older television writer, who sort of takes him under his wing and drugs him and abuses him. But it’s just hard to watch episode to episode even before that, because I’m just feeling so despondent and sad for these people, you know?

 

Louis Virtel But in a way, like, she’s obviously sad because her whole life is oriented around this stranger she meets, and she just picks him and starts messaging him all the time. But it’s like, we know what a stalker is like. That’s a sort of familiar sight. But him, yeah, he’s very aimless and very like for somehow kind of driven. But also nobody is encouraging him to be driven. So it feels you’re right. Despondent is the word. You’re like, what kind of future is there for you? And like, of course, you kind of need this horrible, desperate person in your life to make you feel like there’s that you have any chance whatsoever.

 

Ira Madison III His vibe was very walking Phenix at the beginning of Two Lovers.

 

Louis Virtel I’m very specifically there. That’s a yes. Also. I mean, like Joker is not out of the picture either, so.

 

Ira Madison III Baby reindeer two. He’s a stalker.

 

Louis Virtel But, I want to say it was, of course, very easy for people on the internet to find the stalker, because this is in the era of Twitter. And of course, she tweeted at him 10,000 times and, they found a couple of those tweets. And then seemingly within minutes, she was appearing alongside one of the worst figures in pop culture, Piers Morgan’s show off. You know, you’re at your lowest when you’re taking that phone call.

 

Ira Madison III I always forget that he exists. It’s how some viral interview pops up and that I remember that people in the UK deal with him every.

 

Louis Virtel Day right now. Once upon a time, like ten, 13 years ago, he was in that class of people where if they’re trending on Twitter, one, that means there’s no real news. And two, they said something stupid. It’s like an culture or something. Oh, you said something that annoyed somebody and now people are trying to dunk on it or whatever. Not real news. Just just the rodeo clowns of the internet.

 

Ira Madison III And it’s never because they’re dead.

 

Louis Virtel Right. That always just upset it. You’re like, fingers crossed I’m going to click. Oh no, wait. You’re wrong.

 

Ira Madison III And here’s my question about the finding the alleged stalker URL. Right. People have come out against Netflix saying that they didn’t do such a good job of changing, you know, identities and sort of masking things so that people couldn’t find it. But my question is, if you were stopped. And you did a series about it. Or even if you involved it in your standup, right? Or you wrote a book about it. Are you do you have like an obligation to protect the identity of the person who was stalking you?

 

Louis Virtel I have questions about that myself, because also, I think one of the horrible things about stalking is you feel like you’re alone with that. Mike. They keep finding their way towards you and like, wheedling their way into your life. I have, I’m not sure about that myself. You’re right. Also, especially if they make themselves known publicly on Twitter.

 

Ira Madison III Yeah. I will also say that because some people can’t tell the difference between fantasy and reality. I mean, you get that when people run into evil people who play characters on TV and they think that person’s evil, you know, just because it’s your mind does that to you. I will say that the actor who plays, the writer who, drugs him in the series, has been like, harassed by people because they think that’s actually him, which is crazy.

 

Louis Virtel That’s very weird.

 

Ira Madison III You can’t do anything about people being. I don’t know, off the roster being Nurse Betty, I don’t know.

 

Louis Virtel Right. Such a great reference. Not enough people have seen Nurse Betty. Maybe Renee at her best. Crazy. She took that. Yeah, actually.

 

Ira Madison III Chris Rock needs to rewatch that movie. And remember when he was doing good things?

 

Louis Virtel Yeah. Oh, God. No. Netflix is a joke in certain bad ways these days. You know what I’m saying? Yeah. Yes. No. To get to how harrowing the show is. Yeah. Like this. It becomes a show about assault, etc.. And by the way, nothing leads you. It takes a turn like this show becomes basically three different shows over, its limited series. The one thing I will say about this show, I hated the final ten minutes of it, because they get into why the words baby reindeer are the title of the show, and I’m going to spoil this. So if you still haven’t seen it, first of all, you’re behind. I can’t believe you’re listening to this podcast. But second of all, I’m going to spoil it. Which is, she confesses in some voicemail or something, that she had a baby reindeer when she was a kid and she had a horrible childhood. And like, that baby reindeer was like all she had. The thing that I hate about that is they pretend that you haven’t considered for the first time that this woman has emotional problems. Anybody watching the show would know that there’s something wrong with this person. Has thought a little bit about their background, and it was just it it was too easy to end the show by being like. But she has feelings too. It’s like, obviously she does, but she’s also psychotic, like I, you know? Anyway, I thought that was too pat.

 

Ira Madison III Especially because I think it’s just sort of weird when you open the series with her saying, you look like a baby reindeer. I like, that’s why I like you. I think that’s fine.

 

Louis Virtel Yeah, yeah. Yes, totally. We weren’t looking for resolve on this issue. Yeah. And also, does he really look like a baby reindeer? Maybe. Debatable, but yeah.

 

Ira Madison III Yeah. Sort of like a like a meerkat.

 

Louis Virtel Sure. Yeah. Something in the savannah.

 

Ira Madison III And I talking. Eichner.

 

Louis Virtel The new Timon. Yes. I just saw him recently. Apparently they’re doing some live Lion King thing. And by the way, Jeremy Irons will be a part of it. Okay. I’m seated. Does this man sing? I want to know.

 

Ira Madison III I think Jeremy Irons can do anything. Okay. I mean, first of all, his family has an ironing empire. It’s right there in the name. Yeah. Doing clothes. You know, I will say that one aspect of the show that I liked where this became part of the series, too, were the interactions between him and his parents.

 

Louis Virtel Yes. Right. Which is surprising. They come in a little bit later in the show.

 

Ira Madison III Yeah. And, when he talks to his dad about the assault, there’s a moment where his dad sort of who’s who’s sort of been a distant father figure. He’s not very like, I give my son hugs, etc.. But there’s a moment where he mentions, you know, I grew up in the Catholic Church, and it’s sort of letting you know that they have a connection. They see each other. And I thought that that was a beautiful moment in the series.

 

Louis Virtel I also want to add, like, obviously like the dynamic between the stalker and this guy is very strange, and he’s sort of disappointed in himself that he gets kind of, I don’t know about a kick, but like a relief, a satisfaction that somebody could be that obsessed with him. Basically. And it kind of reminded me of the bloggers Tom and Lorenzo. Once upon a time were talking about how, like, they started the blog because they needed the money, but they in this one post, they explained that over time, as they were, you know, becoming successful, the commenters on that website became literally more important to them than family because, you know, like when you’re in that world, like doing your best to make it or, you know, hoping for any kind of success, knowing that there are people out there who see you and are validating in any way something you’re doing is just essential to life. You know what I mean? You have to feel like your purpose is, you know, has credit to it in some way. So I, I think just the point of the show is just so interesting and something that has never, ever been attempted before. I’ve not I can’t think of another movie that’s like that. And by the way, I love stalker type things. I could talk all day about single white female and how it’s way better than you expect, even though there’s a plotline in it where they hear things through event in a building. Who invented that? That just does not happen. Words don’t tumble out of a vent into your living room like that.

 

Ira Madison III I get that, Tom Lorenzo thing I read just to take it to a step of. It’s a nice to read YouTube comments on the show. Sometimes.

 

Louis Virtel Oh sure.

 

Ira Madison III You read Reddit. I don’t do that. But, even before, when I used to be on internet forums and what I did fan fiction, right? It was nice before I had any sort of writing career in high school and college, seeing comments from people who had never met, people whose faces I did know they could be anybody, be walking down the street with no thing. Yeah. But then being like, I love your work or your writing, you know, and I’m like, that’s that is stuff that does fuel you. It does propel you to keep working. And I can get the impetus in sort of being a little titillated by having a stalker at first. You know, it is it is a little fun at first to imagine someone is very obsessed with you. I will say, when I found out that she was one stalking, then instance was stalking the parents at the end and then also. She was interviewed by someone, the IRL person. Was interviewed by someone before Piers Morgan and that interview. That reporter alleged that she started stalking them. And I’m like. At what point are you like a feeling? A little un special? Oh. I’m pretty. You were stalking me. And now you’re stalking every Tom, Dick and Harry. Like, what’s. What’s really going on? Oh.

 

Louis Virtel Right. You just want somebody to follow? Basically, yeah. You’re just a groupie. Yes.

 

Ira Madison III Yeah, but people who follow the dead, like they’re not all of a sudden switching it up, you know, and going to Janet Jackson concerts.

 

Louis Virtel No, I wish they would. My God, the world would be a better place.

 

Ira Madison III Than Janet would really be saying. Y’all smoking up in here? You’re. The first time I smelled weird was when I was working at Summerfest, in Milwaukee. And I worked a Grateful Dead concert because they played at the Milwaukee Amphitheater there. And the smell of weed in that theater was the first time I had ever inhaled it.

 

Louis Virtel Nothing could be less my culture than everything. You just described one marijuana to those people. Three. Those people dressed that way for that music. By all means, jam. But when I jam, it involves apricots. Bitch.

 

Ira Madison III Okay, well, first of all, you look like an extra in Reefer Madness most of the days so.

 

Louis Virtel Thank you so much.

 

Ira Madison III Yeah, you know what Fonz put on the jukebox?

 

Louis Virtel Oh, that’s me, right? I’m, 1:00, 2:00, 3:00, 4:00. Rock. Those are my people. I actually kind of looked like I was in a white doo wop group in the in the 50s called, like The Students. Me and my pals gathered around a garbage cans, clapping.

 

Ira Madison III I should rewatch Happy Days.

 

Louis Virtel Oh, it’s so much fun earlier. Oh, yeah.

 

Ira Madison III Rewatch it. Since I used to watch reruns every night on Nick at night. Like I was obsessed with Happy Days, so it’s one of my favorite TV shows and it’s a lot of great episodes.

 

Louis Virtel I full context, I was talking about how Happy Days is one of those shows that was on forever, and by the last season, the cast members who are on it are completely shocking. It’s like Johnny’s exes football coach. Just people who don’t belong are suddenly like in the main cast and working at the restaurant or whatever.

 

Ira Madison III Yeah. Was it a kind of like, did they all go to Johnny Loves Chachi? Then it was canceled. Then they came back.

 

Louis Virtel Aaron Moran and Scott Baio went there and. Yeah, yeah, came back in time for the finale, which was, I believe, 1984.

 

Ira Madison III Yeah, that’s that’s a long ass time for a show to be on the air.

 

Louis Virtel Especially when it’s retro. So the show ends up running into the original era where it was produced some.

 

Ira Madison III 40 was so cool.

 

Louis Virtel Still is.

 

Ira Madison III There’s an essay that Chuck Klosterman wrote, and I can’t I don’t get it. Remember sex, drugs, and Cocoa Puffs, but it posits the theory that Fonzie had to be a virgin for some weird reason.

 

Louis Virtel For as cool as he was that he did get women, like, there was always women on his arms, but the vibe wasn’t really. I’m absolutely, you know, hitting it with everybody in sight, though. I love me some pinky Tuscarora and I love me some leather Tuscan. Oh, yeah. Yeah, Susie Quatro. Come on.

 

Ira Madison III I feel like maybe he had those women. And then he was just, you know, just necking with them.

 

Louis Virtel Right? Necking things people did in the 50s because, you know, like the seats don’t really recline yet in the car. So we can only do this stuff.

 

Ira Madison III Okay. Because this is another thing I want to say about straight people. They have a completely different understanding of the word hooking up than we do. Yes.

 

Louis Virtel Right.

 

Ira Madison III Go off because to them, their friends will be like, oh my God, you hooked up with that guy last night and it was their friend made out with a guy at the bar for five minutes. The baby. Excuse me. That’s a hello. Yes.

 

Louis Virtel As our friend Chris Liker said, the sanest weekend of a gay man’s life is the craziest weekend of a straight person’s life. That’s just the truth. You did what? You were standing where? What happened?

 

Ira Madison III I was I was startled by the fact that people still say that because someone said that to me. They’re like, oh, you hooked up with my friend, and I said, what? And they said, well, you made out with them at that party. And I said, oh, yeah, that’s not what that means, sweetie.

 

Louis Virtel Webster, can we get the dictionary up? Because it’s not that. Yeah.

 

Ira Madison III Speaking of, like, the Tiki Prescott toasted arrows of the world’s. This is one last diversion I’m going to make. Did you see that tweet where Sarah was talking about how the gays absolutely would have went up for that? Who? That older woman in Greece who shows up with John Travolta.

 

Louis Virtel Is that shot? Is it cha cha cha? The dancer at Saint Bernadette’s.

 

Ira Madison III Who looks 40.

 

Louis Virtel Yes. Oh, no. And she’s. And she’s very obsessed with winning. And she’s like Uma Thurman in Pulp Fiction. She’s like, and I’m coming for the trophy. Yeah. People whose only ambition in life is to win. Whatever. I agree with those people. Yes.

 

Ira Madison III Yeah, yeah. Anything else to say about baby reindeer?

 

Louis Virtel A fine entry in the canon of limited series and, Stalker cinema. Swim Fan Deluxe, if you will.

 

Ira Madison III I have been waiting forever for a swim fan series when they were making the, Basic Instinct show and all these other things like rebooting, like, those thrillers into limited series.

 

Louis Virtel Fatal Attraction, right.

 

Ira Madison III Where? Yeah, I said, Where is Swim Fan? Because that would be sexy.

 

Louis Virtel Also, just have Jesse Bradford again. Gorgeous man.

 

Ira Madison III I’m sure he still looks good.

 

Louis Virtel Yeah, I see him in Silver Lake sometimes. I know he’s around.

 

Ira Madison III Yeah. So swim fan the TV series, you know, Pretty Little Liars adjacent.

 

Louis Virtel Yeah. Of course. No, this works out.

 

Ira Madison III Yeah. All right, well, we’re back. Keep it up. Okay, we are back for our favorite segment of the episode. It is. Keep it. Louis.

 

Louis Virtel Yes.

 

Ira Madison III What are you saying? Keep it two.

 

Louis Virtel I’m literally almost two baffled to even put this into words, but it’s keep it this week to two different prequels. We are getting a legally blond prequel. Motherfucker. You mean she went to high school? She discovers she wants to go into law at the beginning of the movie. There can’t be a precursor to that where she thinks about law school for three years, or whatever this show is or thing is. Anything gets greenlit that is even just closely related to one thing people kind of remember from 22 years ago. It’s just, I know this is like a very common complaint, but a prequel, I mean, let it just add onto the story. Do red, white and blue and all the other colors we haven’t gotten yet to yet on this show. Whatever.

 

Ira Madison III I think she’s just stupid. No.

 

Louis Virtel The show is called She’s Just Stupid.

 

Ira Madison III And yeah.

 

Louis Virtel We find out all the ways in which she becomes blond. Like, what could possibly happen on the show?

 

Ira Madison III A legally blond? It’s her getting her visa.

 

Louis Virtel Oh, I say she’s from Slovenia or something in common.

 

Ira Madison III Yeah.

 

Louis Virtel So that is just shocking, and I don’t understand it at all. And then also we are getting God help me, a Rosemary’s Baby prequel. Apartment seven A is an upcoming American psychological thriller film directed by Natalie Erika James, starring Julia Garner. Now, let me say this Rosemary’s Baby is about trauma. And as we know, Julia Garner almost got the Madonna biopic. And I just want to hear the psychiatry bills on that one. I’ve read them out loud to me because I’m sure that was drastic. But again, how can you have a prequel to Rosemary’s Baby? Oh yeah. Now that you mentioned it, we did meet this other devil I love in Rosemary’s Baby when there’s the anagram of all of them witches, because Satan works through word play in this movie like he works in the New York Times or something. Bitch, stop. What? Just tell me what the message is. Lucifer.

 

Ira Madison III Well, let me tell you. The woman who does connections for the New York Times, she’s got a little devil in her.

 

Louis Virtel Oh, please. The connections are still too fucking easy. It’ll literally be like four fruits, and then people add up the fruits. They’re like, can you believe I got all the answers right? I’m like, yes, I understand that apple and quince are fruits.

 

Ira Madison III What I do want to say to wider Lu who does connections? I do enjoy when you can figure out the purple one because you say sometimes they’re too easy. But I feel like that the first three will be. And then the purple one is impossible. And it’s sort of, I don’t know, it’s sort of is just defeats the purpose of the game. To me. If I’m always figuring out the top three and then the four is just inevitable because it’s the last four left, you know?

 

Louis Virtel Yeah. Right, right, right. Though you have to be strategic about that. You want to figure out the ones where there’s like 5 or 6 overlaps, sort of on the earlier side, so that you’re left with the two that fit into another category at the end. Right.

 

Ira Madison III I played codename for the first time this weekend.

 

Louis Virtel Oh, such a pleasure. I love it and will end friendships over people who are bad at it. So how about.

 

Ira Madison III That? Yeah, try playing that game on mushrooms. It’s very fun.

 

Louis Virtel After, the one time in my life I ever did acid, we played, quiplash, which is about writing jokes and, voting on the best joke. Oh, I love Quiplash. Excuse me? The idea of making sense on acid was so traumatizing to me. None of my joke making mechanisms were available. I don’t even know what I wrote down. I feel humiliated even having been a part of it. I hate hallucinogenic.

 

Ira Madison III Drugs, and also there are plenty of other things to make prequels for that kind of work. I mean, Bates Motel ending at Marion Crane’s arrival, that kind of works because Norman Bates was obviously crazy and killing people before that. You know.

 

Louis Virtel There’s a story there. In fact, the whole movie is about what is going on in this house. So there’s something to investigate there.

 

Ira Madison III Yeah, fine. Movies with like a mystery, something that you don’t know. And then maybe go back to that. It’s just where’s the creativity here.

 

Louis Virtel Yeah. Right. Again, it’s just it’s tacking on something to a story that was already complete. It’s like having a prequel to bring it on. Like they actually did some cheerleading before this, you know, like, whatever. Like, it’s very annoying.

 

Ira Madison III It’d be big Red stealing the chair. Yeah, right. You know, what movie I will say deserves a prequel? Salt.

 

Louis Virtel And what exactly is going to happen there? She buys a trench coat.

 

Ira Madison III Fuck you. And it’s a wigs. It’s. It’s basically her training as a spy, obviously.

 

Louis Virtel Okay, well, it’s funny that you bring her up because we’re apparently getting a Tomb Raider series with, Phoebe Waller-Bridge, which I am excited for. They have not officially set a cast on this movie yet, but if Phoebe Waller-Bridge is above, can she please play Tomb Raider? That I would love to see. I would love to see a ripped Phoebe Waller-Bridge.

 

Ira Madison III You want her to be the Tomb Raider? Yes. Yeah. I love using the phrase running through my house like two. Radar, which is a Megan Thee Stallion lyric, and I always use it when someone is run through something, you know, like people in your house too long or sort of like the party’s been run through when you get there, just like Tomb Raider.

 

Louis Virtel And I continue to dress like her, however I can.

 

Ira Madison III Really do is it’s not going to be Halloween this year.

 

Louis Virtel And it’s also going to be Summer Baby or Christopher Robin. Yeah. That tomb. Those are my two looks. IRA, what is your keep it this week.

 

Ira Madison III My keep it this week goes to basically all of Eurovision.

 

Louis Virtel Yeah I feel the same way. I did not pop off this year.

 

Ira Madison III But first of all, who even won Switzerland? Switzerland dressed like Celine Dion.

 

Louis Virtel Which is very Eurovision. Go ahead.

 

Ira Madison III And I don’t know, the songs weren’t giving this year. The politics definitely weren’t giving, because, you know, Eurovision was doing this whole if you bring up Palestine, you will be shot or removed from the competition. I know that when people are trying to make a point online, they love false equivalencies. And try to trick you into believing that one thing is the same as the other. But when people were protesting Israel’s involvement in Eurovision this year because of what they’re doing in Gaza and Rafah, currently, not wanting Israel to be a part of the competition and then not wanting Eden, who was singing for Israel to be a part of the competition does not suddenly mean that you’re anti-Semitic. No one was wrong. Wing her and wanting her out of the competition because she is Jewish, because she is Israeli. It is because we did not want the country, you know? I mean, Flo Rida could have been singing for Israel and I still wouldn’t have wanted him in the Eurovision competition.

 

Louis Virtel That said, it did kind of blow my mind. Like, why weren’t people just protesting Eurovision instead of going to this person’s hotel or something like it’s Eurovision decision to keep these people in, like when they banned Russia, they I mean, they did that successfully two years ago, you know.

 

Ira Madison III Well, I think the thing is that these countries were protesting Israel being in Eurovision, but they wanted to have their cake and eat it too, because they wanted to still be in Eurovision. Because if you’re protesting Eurovision, just don’t perform that year. How about that?

 

Louis Virtel And also I mean, it’s like I mean, Eurovision is important. We need a place for like gender queer Romanians to dress like Power Rangers villains. I totally get it. We absolutely do. But that said, yeah, I just didn’t feel like we got the surplus of great bops this year. The the song that almost won, which was from Croatia, sort of had a vibe like, what does the Fox say where it’s this like aggro beach and sort of faux mask, jokey kind of novelty record, but like, that can’t be the one that almost wins, you know what I mean? Like, that should be a mid-pack entry. I do have to say, in recent years it feels like to me the songs that win Eurovision are like usually in the B range, just like not things that like, I go back to time and again. I love that song toy from a couple of years ago, thou.

 

Ira Madison III Oh. Netta Israel.

 

Louis Virtel Yes, precisely. Yeah.

 

Ira Madison III See I can shout them out. Yeah. Okay. I can, you know, see, Netta has just. She’s my Netanyahu, okay? Like I love her.

 

Louis Virtel I need to absolutely. I’ve gotten up. This is my last episode. Thank you.

 

Ira Madison III Yeah. No, the bangers in Eurovision are always ranked three. You? Yeah. 3 or 4.

 

Louis Virtel Mid tier or like, seven or something. Yeah, right. Like Switzerland was getting votes dropkicked at them. Like that was not my choice for the best song that year.

 

Ira Madison III I will say it was kind of funny seeing UK get zero votes.

 

Louis Virtel And it’s a star. It was Ali from years and years get zero audience votes. Really weird.

 

Ira Madison III Because people don’t like the UK, I guess.

 

Louis Virtel Yeah.

 

Ira Madison III They’re still thinking about Brexit. They’re still thinking about them not really saying anything about, the whole situation this year or two. So I think people are like, okay, UK, we don’t care about you.

 

Louis Virtel And then of course there’s also the food.

 

Ira Madison III People have been coming for UK Foods neck on TikTok lately. it’s deserved because. Right. I don’t want to eat British food.

 

Louis Virtel You can’t have it be mushy and gray. I’m sorry. Pick a vibrancy. Pick a texture.

 

Ira Madison III Bangers and mash. I’d rather do the monster mash. All right.

 

Louis Virtel Which was a graveyard smash, I have to say.

 

Ira Madison III So a couple things about Eurovision two. Italy. I believe their votes leaked and they had voted sort of like 40% for Israel. And so this is the cake and eat it two thing. Israel being so torn apart by this whole Eurovision thing that, you know, they went outside and sang imagine.

 

Louis Virtel Oh, no, not the Gal Gadot thing.

 

Ira Madison III Yeah. Imagine. Goodfellas version.

 

Louis Virtel Kristen Wiig remix. Yeah.

 

Ira Madison III And then the. Other thing about your vision, which I want to say is that. A lot of people were trying to say that having Palestinian flags was too political. You know, but having LGBTQ flags, is it political because the LGBTQ community has embraced your vision, your vision, embraced them, etc.? I want to point out that just because you know the gay flag, the gay pride flag has become so commonplace that we’re selling that on shit at target. It is still a political flag.

 

Louis Virtel Yes.

 

Ira Madison III And I feel like we’ve had so much. A pink wash. I guess you know where it feels like. Not that big of a thing anymore. But if you’re going to air the gay pride flag, then you can air the Palestinian flag because they’re both political. And to imply that one is not is, I think, a little silly.

 

Louis Virtel And if I’m not mistaken, I believe all the gay merch for pride this year has been taken out of target due to pressure from outside groups. So, I mean, we’re still out there, unfortunately existing and pissing people off.

 

Ira Madison III Yeah, I mean, to get into that too. It’s just every time you see someone talking about Gaza on the internet too, there’s always someone in the comments saying, well, you know, they hate gay people or they kill gay people. And I want to say, welcome to the United States.

 

Louis Virtel Yeah, exactly.

 

Ira Madison III They don’t love us here. You know, and our politicians certainly don’t. And they would love to take all of our rights away from us. I mean, just look at certain states like Florida where you can’t even exist as a gay person or a trans person. So, the tit for tat doesn’t really work for me.

 

Louis Virtel No. Absolutely not.

 

Ira Madison III Anyway. Eurovision next year. There’s not a war going on. Can we have some bops?

 

Louis Virtel Yeah. How about that? Yeah. Max Martin, I know you have the time.

 

Ira Madison III All right. That’s our show this week.

 

Louis Virtel Thank you to the fabulous Michelle Buteau for delighting us over zoom.

 

Ira Madison III Yeah. Go see her show at Radio City Music Hall on June 6th.

 

Louis Virtel You heard her. Bring all your goddamn friends.

 

Ira Madison III Yeah. As TLC said. What about your friends?

 

Louis Virtel Yes.

 

Ira Madison III Invite them to the Radio City Music Hall.

 

Louis Virtel Tandem over the I.

 

Ira Madison III Do you see Camila Cabello throwing condoms at the crowd at heart in WeHo over the weekend? Well, she and Lil NAS X were there.

 

Louis Virtel I was there early on and I waited too long, so I went to high tops down the street and she threw those condoms. And those gays said, what are these?

 

Ira Madison III She should have thrown Prep bottles.

 

Louis Virtel Yeah, right. Please. With a little G at the bottom. Be considerate.

 

Ira Madison III Imagine her throwing prep bottles at gays. Now that would be funny.

 

Louis Virtel Yeah.

 

Louis Virtel That’s an icon.

 

Louis Virtel Yeah, right. Thinking of others.

 

Ira Madison III All right. We’ll see you next week. For us. Don’t forget to follow Crooked Media on Instagram, Twitter, and TikTok.

 

Louis Virtel You can also subscribe to Keep It on YouTube for access to full episodes and other exclusive content. And if you’re as opinionated as we are, consider dropping us a review.

 

Ira Madison III Keep It is a Crooked Media production. Our producers are C.J. “Siege” Polkinghorne and Chris Lord, and our associate producer is Kennedy Hill. Our executive producers are Ira Madison III, Louis Virtel, and Kendra James.

 

Louis Virtel Our digital team is Megan Patsel, Claudia Shang, and Rachel Gaieski. This episode was recorded and mixed by Evan Sutton. Thank you to Matt DeGroot, David Toles, Kyle Seglin, and Charlotte Landes for production support every week.