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How hard would it be to be in that family and not want to do what your father did?
he asks over the sound of intensifying melodic synths.
And you gotta be like, No, I just want to dance!
sampled and spliced across it as a refrain.
SALTWATERis part of a long tradition of entertainers blending comedy and music, often to mixed results.
There are performers who write comedic songs, likeBo BurnhamandCatherine Cohen.
There are acts who play musical instruments while telling jokes, likeZach GalifianakisandDemetri Martin.
There are funny musical productions, likeThe ProducersandThe Book of Mormon.
SALTWATERis a unique entry into the canon.
Why did you want to create a musical score to accompany this stand-up material?
At the time, it was very much cutting and copying the stand-up and the music together.
WithSALTWATER, it was a way more deliberate process of making music alongside the comedy measure by measure.
SH: We were very intentional about that.
Like on Mitch Hedbergs albumStrategic Grill Locations, theres that little bass behind it, which sounds really good.
So he brought some vision to it that made that part a little bit easier.
For me, I just associate that with that key in of music so much.
Thats one way in which the stand-up informed the tonality of some of the music.
I wanted to piggyback on that walking-on-eggshellsfeeling with the music and create something that sounds hesitant in the beginning.
Its the bit I was most excited to tell because it felt so specific to me and my perspective.
What we were able to build music out of was the escalation in the tension offeelinglike its tentative.
I have to perform that Im tentative saying it, because the concept of it is so weird.
Its emotionally colored, so its already going to feel a lot more authentic.
What was it like to get the Twitter endorsement from Conan?
Because its not like he really answers my texts, you know?
Who would not be excited by that?
NJ: Skyler texted an image of that to me.
I opened it on my bike and I nearly crashed into a fence.
But I found out I dont like New Wave music played over my stand-up.
And thats actually what motivated me to hit it.SH: Yeah, we talked about that tweet.
Its very funny, because this is so much what the internet is.
We were like, Hey, we made a sandwich!
And then someone replies and goes, I dont like sandwiches!
But thats what it is!
NJ: I was interested that it got called New Wave.
Where did that come from?
I guess everyone has a different interpretation.
