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The State News discusses issues and the cultural impact of entertainment news including TV & film, fashion, music and more.
Hello, and welcome back to House Lights, your one stop shop for everything you need to hear about this week in the world of entertainment. As always, I'm your host Liz Nas joined by my beautiful wonderful co host, Claire Donahoe. And she wanna do the intro today. It's Liz's thing. Yeah.
Liz:But, like, I kind of want like, it's the last one of the semester. I kinda wanted you to do it just as a little fun thing.
Claire:So stay tuned for next semester,
Liz:and I'll do it then. Everybody's, like, waiting. They're like, oh my god. You have
Claire:to wait one whole month for me to do the intro.
Liz:I can't wait. Well, how was your break, Claire?
Claire:It was good. Thanksgiving break? Thanksgiving break was good. Back home for about 5 days. It was wonderful.
Liz:Yeah. Saw the fam bam? Saw the
Claire:well, yes. I saw the fam bam. Oh, see, my team for never heard that phrase.
Liz:I've what? You've never heard that?
Claire:Fam bam.
Liz:The FamBam? Yeah.
Claire:I saw them all. We had a wonderful meal. I was I'm with my dog. Yeah. It was awesome.
Claire:I I participated in Blackout Wednesday as the as the Didi. Oh. As the Didi.
Liz:How was that? Did you see a lot of cops?
Claire:Well, no. Mostly friends? Mostly friends. I think we went to the bar with all the people from our high school ever. We got there, and the line was so long and cover was so high.
Claire:And I was like, I'm already feeling like I don't wanna do that. Yeah. So we decided that we would go to a different bar first and be there and then wait. Because it was also freezing, and also why would we stay on-site if we can go to a different bar? And then by the time one of the groups was ready to head over to said high school bar, we had a couple friends ready to go home, and that's where my role as a Didi really came to life.
Claire:And I took them home, and then I stayed home. So Beautiful. I did not go, long story short, to the bar with all the people that I knew and would have known from high school. And you know what? If I had, that would have been fine because that's what the that's what the holiday is for.
Claire:Right. But I was also fine not doing that.
Liz:I did not participate in Black Hat Wednesday because I don't really have a lot of friends from high school anymore, you know? You know how things just let them fall off. And then also, all of the bars near me are in Indiana. Who wants to go to Indiana? So, like, they're just they're just not in Uber distance because, like, I live right over the Michigan state line.
Liz:You'd have to go over to Indiana. That's a whole That seems like a lot. I feel like the Uber would be more expensive. And then those bars, you will either get, like, shanked or, like, flirted with by a 60 year old man. Wow.
Liz:So there's really just, like, not a lot of options. So I do not
Claire:have a
Liz:stand by accident.
Claire:So that's for the best, clearly,
Liz:to not have a with my mom. You do. That's just cool. A mark with my mom.
Claire:What's a
Liz:A margarita. Marg. I heard Mark. I heard Mark. What is that?
Claire:Yeah. Okay. Awesome.
Liz:I, you know, I really wanna theme this episode as just a conversation with Claire and Liz because really, we're just we're we don't really have a big theme tonight. And no guests. And no guests. So it's really just us just chatting. We haven't actually gotten really to talk all that much today about, like, just shooting the the ass.
Liz:Dude, okay. Shooting the ass. So this is really what we're doing. I wanted to you know, since we're talking about break, I have this thing where I kind of wait every break to, like, really get into, like, the TV and movies, and, like, also, like, books that I've really been wanting to consume. So I kind of go on, like, a media binge whenever I'm at home because, like, I'll just watch, like, usually what my roommates are watching, while I'm here or just put things on the background while I'm doing other stuff.
Liz:So I really get to sit down, enjoy some media, do some brain rot, and I wanted to give you the stars of what the things that I watched. Please. I'm
Claire:so excited.
Liz:My number one thing, I finished reading my bull riding romance, flawless. It kind it's kind of giving, like, Wattpad fan fiction. It's just like a romantic fiction. But, yeah, 3.7 stars. Okay.
Liz:I don't that's really the only one that has points on it because I I didn't really know how to write it. Because it's not good, but I like it.
Claire:And that's honest and true of you to say. Like, it's not good. More people admitting that when they discuss media. No. That's not good, but I like it.
Claire:I was talking to because it's all subjective anyway.
Liz:I was talking to Theo Shearer and Brendan Mullen of the state news, and we were talking about music taste and stuff. And I said that I felt like I had a bad music taste, but I didn't really care. And Theo's like, you don't really see a lot of people, like, say that their music taste is bad. And I'm like, I just think it might be a little basic and just, like, not for everybody. And I'm like, is that so wrong
Claire:No. To say? And I know that my book Self aware.
Liz:My book taste is not pretentious. It's not classic. It's very much, like, I just read so like, I just read so much for, like, work and stuff. But, like, I just don't I just wanna be able to unwind.
Claire:Fine. And that's what many books are there for.
Liz:Yeah. And it was great. Good. Like, I was like once I got really into it, I was like, oh my god. Is he gonna fall off the bull?
Liz:He did one time. And then Read a
Claire:whole book about bull riding and he fell off one time.
Liz:Well, yeah. He's really good. He was, like, the star.
Claire:Hence, the 3.7 stars. 60s they were Yeah.
Liz:That's I took off all the bull star just because he only fell off once. Okay. Alright. But it was a really dramatic scene. Whatever.
Liz:You don't get it. I rewatched Bombshell. I gave that 4 stars. Okay. I watched oh, man.
Liz:If I can give you a recommendation,
Claire:my old ass. Dude, Jade was just talking about this, my roommate, the lovely Jade Vargo. She has told me multiple times, I need you to see this movie so you can talk about it. So good. You to watch it.
Claire:You have to see it. Oh my god.
Liz:Okay. Aubrey Plaza is someone's like, they're like, the older version
Claire:of the school. Version of a younger girl. She, like,
Liz:she this girl gets her see her eat, like, she's about to, like, leave after high school.
Claire:I'm ready.
Liz:She, goes on, like, a shroom. She, like, takes shrooms and then she sees her older self And she gives her advice. But there's also a beautiful love story in it and, like, a real Not really them though. No. Right?
Liz:Okay. No. But, like, a really charming, like, really charming love interest in it. K. And the the old ass is not a fan and she can't figure out why I won't spoil it.
Claire:Yeah. Please don't. But yeah. Great. Great.
Claire:Great.
Liz:Great. Amazing. Wow. And then I watched Mean Girls the Musical for the first time. Isn't that crazy that it took me, like, a year and a half to watch the Mean Girls musical?
Liz:Yeah. Two stars. Awful.
Claire:I didn't like it either. I saw it at Wharton.
Liz:It was so no. No. No. No. No.
Claire:The doors. No. No. No. No.
Liz:The Mean Girls musical. The Mean Girls The Mean Girls Musical on stage is great. Oh,
Claire:I did. 5 stars. Oh, I wouldn't have said 5.
Liz:Mean Girls The Musical movie, TikTok ified, they cut way too many things. They cut way too many songs, and all the songs that they kept were, like, a bad choice.
Claire:Is this new? Did this
Liz:just come out? It was written with Renee rap. It came out,
Claire:like, last year. Pardon me.
Liz:Yes. You didn't like Mean Girls Musical on stage? I saw it on Broadway, original Broadway cast. Go ahead. Okay.
Liz:I saw
Claire:it at the Wharton Center across from McDonald House.
Liz:Me too.
Claire:And it was good. I think and we'll get into this when we talk about Wicked later. I like musicals just okay. I think it's extremely unrealistic for someone to just be to just roll your eyes in me. Just be talking 1 on 1 and then just start singing their words.
Claire:Is that right? Because I break in the song.
Liz:Yeah. I'm about to say, you are, like, number 1 break in the song.
Claire:Right. Right. But I understand that's what a musical is. So I take that with a grain of salt, and I just remember thinking that Mean Girls That
Liz:could've been a song that you just said.
Claire:That Mean Girls I just remember thinking. Yeah.
Liz:You literally just did it.
Claire:That Mean Girls the Musical in the Wharton Center, there was no talking. The plot was entirely moved through song, which is impressive and good, and yes, there's a musical.
Liz:The Mean Girls the Mean Girls the the musical has
Claire:There was not compared to, like It wasn't in opera. Other shows where there's more stretches of dialogue, I find.
Liz:Like, Mean
Claire:Girls was, like, song after song after song, which is fine. Great even. Lovely. But I think that was my main I remember that being
Liz:my main scene. See, and maybe that's, like, a personal dress because, like, I personally listen to, like, the ones that are, like, sung all the way through. Like, I which is technically an opera. So there's, like, Natasha, Pierre and the Great Khan of 18 12 is, like, my favorite musical. That's all singing.
Claire:It's just
Liz:Falsettos is all singing. It's another of my favorites. Yeah. Into the Woods. Actually, no.
Liz:Into the Woods is not all singing. I lied. I just lied. Yeah. Bear a pop opera?
Liz:Anyone know that one?
Claire:No.
Liz:Cold classic?
Claire:So, yeah, musicals that don't leave a lot of room for them to literally catch their breath and talk. You just find it,
Liz:like, unrealistic? They're just not for me. Musicals are unrealistic, though.
Claire:Yeah. I feel like I'm coming across as, like, like, I can just hear someone being, like, that's what a musical is. I know that, and it's well executed.
Liz:I'm saying it. That's why you can hear it.
Claire:It's like I okay. I just said that. It's like I understand that I don't know. I'm not even gonna be able to defend myself because people that passionately love musicals are gonna be like, well, then just watch a play. And I would've.
Claire:But Mean Girls was a musical, and that's what was showing at the Warner Center. And I lived in McDonald Hall, and I wanted something to do. So that's what I did.
Liz:College night. Yeah. College night out. I watched Trap with M Night Shyamalan, 1 star. I wish I could give it 0.5, but I would never do that to a movie.
Liz:That's really One star. Okay. I won't explain more. Okay. Rewatched The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes, another kind of kind of musical.
Liz:Hunger Games movie. I mean, there's a lot of music in it. Yeah. Five stars. I might just have a bias.
Liz:And that's okay. Wicked, which we'll get back to. Give 5 stars. And you said it was just okay. You know what?
Liz:Let's just do this now.
Claire:Okay. Let's just do this now. I also saw Wicked over Thanksgiving break in theater with my grandmother. And I had seen
Liz:sawing my mother.
Claire:The musical on stage, also at the Wharton Center, about maybe 2 years ago, and I had no idea what Wicked was about. I have a really good friend who loves Wicked, and she's seen it multiple times. She loved the movie Yeah. Obviously.
Liz:So I long story not know what Wiccans are about.
Claire:Like, long story short, I just knew I mean, I knew generally that it was related to, like, Wizard of Oz and that, but I didn't actually know. I just knew that the masses loved it. My friend Delaney loved it. So I go see it at Wharton. I loved it.
Claire:I loved it. It was incredible. At the end, I was like, oh my god. This is genius. This is so smart.
Claire:I loved the songs. I loved the the ratio of song to dialogue. It was a wonderful It is.
Liz:Yeah. That one has a good record. Genius.
Claire:Big ratio.
Liz:All the
Claire:little bread crumbs, and all of a sudden, you know, you start to see these characters will show up later. Yeah.
Liz:Like The
Claire:Wizard of Oz. K? Super super great for someone like me who didn't know that was happening. Right.
Liz:Are you a Wizard of Oz fan?
Claire:Yeah. I like The Wizard of Oz.
Liz:Yeah. I can't imagine someone's like, oh, I don't like The Wizard of Oz.
Claire:So then I go see it in theaters. And and it was it was good. It was very good. I don't think I would maybe reach to see it again, or I'm not gonna be the friend in the group that suggests we put it on type of thing.
Liz:I would watch I would watch it again.
Claire:It was very long, and I I've just felt myself for some reason feeling long. Like, pissed off when it ended, and it said to be continued knowing what was supposed to be left. And as I told you before we started, I just felt like they maybe had 30 minutes left that they should have just No. And they're gonna
Liz:they're gonna they're gonna make
Claire:it a whole movie, which I'll be interested to see how they do it, and I'll probably go see it.
Liz:I was interested in how they stretched out act 1. I mean, act 1 of Wicked is longer than I feel like a normal act 1 of a musical. It's like it's pretty, like, stretched. Like because, you know, a lot of musicals are trying to do half and half, but, like, Wicked definitely takes a lot of liberties with their act 1 Yeah. And act 2.
Liz:I don't know how they're gonna make a new normal movie. But I was, like, sitting there thinking, like, god, how did they do this? Because honestly, I felt like it was pretty by the book, the musical in the I think there were some things that there were some things that were changed, but I wouldn't say that there were many things that were, like, elongated. So I was, like, surprised when we got to the end, and I was, like, oh, like, they didn't really add that many scenes.
Claire:Yeah.
Liz:They just sort of changed some things, and, like, I think they made Dancing With Life a little bit longer. Mhmm. But yeah.
Claire:Yeah. But I thought it was good. I'm coming across really as a hater of musicals and all things in this way. I liked Wicked, everyone. I think I was just nothing could beat both the experience and feeling I had watching it for the first time
Liz:Oh, yeah.
Claire:On stage. And I just think by the end of the movie, I was like, okay. Cool. Cool. Great.
Liz:And there's so to sort of show a contrast of that Please. The girl next to me was crying at the end. So that see, like, I don't get that.
Claire:So that is the thing. I think also alongside my own personal knowing what Wicked was from that first experience that I had, I also have been hearing all the hype about this movie
Liz:Right.
Claire:And seeing TikToks of people crying after Wicked. Me before Wicked, me after. I'm like, woah. This I'm expecting something It's uplifting. Right.
Claire:But I was expecting something so different from what I remembered the on stage performance to be. And then as you said, I just felt like it was very similar, just adapt to screen, and it was wonderful. And the acting
Liz:was Which I am pretty ashamed because I love especially after I watched Mean Girls the Musical, which changed so much, I love a good just stage to screen. And I feel like my kid's the perfect thing to do that because it already has this beautiful, like, you know, sort of world created. You don't need to do a lot of world building. I mean Mhmm. It's it's just it's it's a perfect move.
Claire:I actually did hear that the I think it was the director or someone who was putting the movie together said that you. They wanted to do as little CGI as possible. So a lot of the literal scene is real. Like, they made those lakes. They made the, like, land around it look like that, and they did a bunch of I mean, obviously, the talking goat had to have been
Liz:No. That was a goat.
Claire:CGI. No. He did that. But then it just got me thinking, like, what in this set is real? It was I mean, it was It
Liz:was it was really beautiful. Like, the cinematography was absolutely gorgeous.
Claire:Yeah.
Liz:People are saying that Ariana Grande is gonna get the supporting actress nom for the Oscars. What do you think? I thought she was good.
Claire:I thought she was good.
Liz:I didn't think. I don't
Claire:know. Really tell. That was another thing about the movie. I think I was focused too much on watching Ariana Grande and just being like, I can't believe this is her doing this. I know.
Claire:And forgetting that she kind of was an actress before.
Liz:She's, yeah, fully an actress.
Claire:I knew her as a singer. Too.
Liz:Yeah. As a child?
Claire:Is it really? Yeah.
Liz:I didn't know that. She and Liz Gillies both, you know, did she write down the stories. They were both in 13 the musical stage.
Claire:Oh my god. I did not know that. So, yeah, I thought she was good, though. I thought, Cynthia was amazing. Oh.
Claire:Chills many times in the theater.
Liz:Oh, yeah. Many minutes. Me, I mean, if I were someone that, like, didn't know the musical and was, like, not expecting or that I'm maybe I'd get a little choked
Claire:up with that last note. I so, yeah, back to that. I think and it reminded me of what happened with Everything Everywhere All at Once, which I really loved Mhmm. And saw again and would see again, but I did not cry or have the reaction that I think I was expecting to. And I'm a pretty big movie crier.
Claire:Mhmm.
Liz:So I
Claire:kinda thought that would happen. So I guess it was kinda the same thing, which all is to say, don't watch too many videos of people reacting to the latest movie before before you go see it.
Liz:Yeah. Because then it's just gonna, like, ruin your efficiency. And also also, like, there's this, like, deep seated, like, thing in me where I'm, like, oh, like, I'm gonna be I'm gonna be that cringe musical kid if I, like, cry in Wicked. Because it's like I have this, like, deep seated shame of, like, being a theater kid I feel like a little bit. So I'm like, oh, I can't, like, be a theater kid in the theater and cry in Wicked.
Liz:So I think that might have moved into it as well. That'll be something I talk to with by my therapist with.
Claire:Yeah. I have a steep sea maybe this is why I don't like musicals because I did theater in high school, and I was in the plays.
Liz:And then But not the musical.
Claire:Auditioned for a musical. I'm not really much of a not really much of a singer.
Liz:You're a great singer. I hear you, little
Claire:singer everywhere. Not in, like, a in that context. You know? I I I've never yeah. No.
Claire:But I auditioned for it. And to make matters worse, I auditioned for uncle Fester of the Addams Family, who sounds almost exactly like his name and is a bald man, like, waddling around, and I didn't get it. It sounds like his name. Like, he he he sings the way you would expect someone named uncle Fester to sing, if you've never seen the Addams Family.
Liz:For
Claire:uncle Fester. Because it was the only role I thought I could get. That was a main role that didn't have to sing beautifully. And I didn't get Fester. And that's when I was like, if I couldn't land Fester, I can't sing at all.
Claire:And then you know what I was cast as? The hand. That's how bad my audition must have been.
Liz:You're a
Claire:lot I was literally cast as the hand and also a nun. I played 2 parts because what was that? You couldn't see the rest of my body for my first part, the hand. I did the snapping. I was the opening scene.
Claire:And then you know what else happened?
Liz:I was the opening scene. COVID. No, baby. Your hand was
Claire:the opening scene. COVID happened the night before we were supposed to open. So even if it had been fester, I wouldn't have even it doesn't. It's in the past. Maybe this is where, like, my musical grudge kinda comes from.
Claire:I love The Addams Family. That's a wonderful musical.
Liz:That's a
Claire:great musical. Absolutely. Mamma Mia, wonderful musical.
Liz:Did you guys do that too?
Claire:After I graduated, they did it. Oh, okay. Yeah.
Liz:Yeah. We did a lot of, like, Disney find ones. Like, we did Shrek the musical, Little Mermaid. I was in pit for Little Mermaid. Oh.
Liz:Maybe I can be on stage. I can be down stage. I'm anywhere.
Claire:I'm anywhere.
Liz:I'm anywhere.
Claire:Yeah. We did some, like, interesting ones. Only after I graduated, I think, did they start doing the more
Liz:Like, normal ones.
Claire:Yeah. We we never had enough guys in the past.
Liz:Oh, yeah. No.
Claire:People would ask for the movies.
Liz:Movies. Oh, yeah. No. We had, like, 3
Claire:3 men for news.
Liz:3 men that were good, and that's it. So no. So no.
Claire:But, yeah, that's maybe shed some light on our relationship to To musicals. To musicals and the arts in that way.
Liz:I wanna before we move on from Wicked, I wanna bring up the Wicked press tour Okay. And just, like, the crying and
Claire:The holding space.
Liz:The holding space. And thank God. I'm so glad you did that. But
Claire:I know enough.
Liz:It's just like I I I have nothing else actually to say about it. I just had to bring it
Claire:up
Liz:because it, like, it just makes me laugh every time.
Claire:Also kind of set my expectation a little bit high because I saw a lot of the press clips before actually seeing the film. And then
Liz:I'm like, this must be life changing.
Claire:You see that with videos of people sobbing? People who had seen the musical on stage
Liz:Yeah.
Claire:Prior. So I was like, wow. Yeah. This this time, it must be really transformative. And it it wasn't for me.
Liz:Just the musical. It was great. Okay. It's a great musical. Not even Stephen Schwartz's best, but that's what I'm saying.
Liz:I'm a this is cringe. I'm a really big Pippen fan, but, that's just me.
Claire:That's just me.
Liz:That's just me. So, well, tell me a little bit about what you were doing over break.
Claire:So media I consumed over break was wicked, and also lots of Yellowstone. I've been watching Yellowstone.
Liz:Are you feeling cowboyified?
Claire:I'm not sure that I would use that word, but I definitely
Liz:I'm not sure who would use that word.
Claire:Like the show more than I thought I would. I on the walk over here, I told Jack that I was watching Yellowstone and he laughed out loud. He goes, are you serious? I said, yeah. He goes, I just he's like, that's so awesome.
Claire:I just did not think you would watch that show. And I didn't think I would either or like it as much as I had. So, yeah, it's run now? Of Yellowstone? Yeah.
Claire:Okay. Yellowstone is about I was hoping you'd ask. Yellowstone is about this family, the Dutton family, who owns a humongous ranch or, like, farm
Liz:Mhmm.
Claire:In Montana. And the show kind of follows their family and all the drama. And, like, they're all just a little bit, like, screwed up for various reasons, And then they share land with, like, a Native American reservation. So there's some conflict there because they're trying to build on, you know, the whole concept of what land is mine and owning land, which is, you know, okay. And then it's just so fascinating how they okay.
Claire:I think I like it so much because I like it the way that I like suits. I'm never gonna be a lawyer in New York City. So watching this is just like, wow. I'm never gonna be a cowboy in Montana to my knowledge.
Liz:It's true.
Claire:So watching it, I might
Liz:I love how you added to my knowledge about being a cowboy, man.
Claire:Because I said that to one of my family members.
Liz:New York City.
Claire:Well, I said that to one of my more,
Liz:like, realistic
Claire:That's true.
Liz:Rather than
Claire:I said that to one of my family members. I was like, I'm never gonna be a cowboy in Montana. And they're like, you never know.
Liz:I was like Oh, okay.
Claire:Where your life could take you. So yeah. But it's it's a drama, which I also wasn't expecting it to be as, like, emotional as it is. I don't know. I'm on season 2, and I love it.
Claire:I feel like the writing's really great. The acting's great. I'm hooked. She's hooked. I I woke up and watched an episode.
Claire:TV in the morning? Holy holy crap. Yellowstone in the morning, no less. I don't know. But I do a
Liz:little news in the morning.
Claire:Yeah. Well, you're better than I. I'm watching people years old? People herd cattle in fields. Before we
Liz:end our conversation, I wanna talk about your Apple Music craft. Oh, yes. We planned something very exciting
Claire:Yes.
Liz:Where Clare would open her Apple Music rewind on camera Yes. Live react. Let's go. So excited. And then we'll predict what's gonna be on my Spotify rant.
Claire:Yes. So to lead into this, I've been listening to a lot of the the third thing that I've been consuming a lot of was Oh, yes. Dijon. Dijon. I've literally never listened to this music.
Claire:He is a singer, and his album that I'm pulling up right now, which is called Absolutely, is wonderful. Specifically, the song The Dress. That's what really got me into all of this. And I'm an Apple Music person. And so now we must look at what else is on my
Liz:Apple Music. Like Apple Music is lesser, but No.
Claire:Okay. Well
Liz:I like this. I'm not
Claire:getting into that. Not getting into that. Yeah. Okay. So top artists of 1,466 total artists.
Claire:Number 1, classically Matt Maltese. Oh, of course. Number 2, Gracie Abrams. Oh. Number 3, Miss Lizzie McAlpine.
Claire:Number 4, Odie Lee. And number 5, Phoebe Bridgers. I mean That that was Sums it up. Sums it up. Sums it up.
Claire:Okay. Top songs. Either Way by Odie Lee. Coulda guessed that. Coming in second, Jesse by Jake Minch also could have guessed that.
Claire:Number 3, hot wings from the Rio soundtrack, And it's not even that far behind number 2. Fitting. Number 4 is Free Now by Gracie Abrams. Oh, wow. And oh, god.
Claire:I was not expecting this because this kind of just came out. Number 5 is pushing it down and praying by listening to God. Before we started rolling,
Liz:she said that's the worst thing that ever happened to music. Well, no. I said it was one of the worst things these 2 weird.
Claire:Okay. Top albums, The Secret of Us by Gracie Abrams, older by listening to Galpin. Great on. Carrier Pigeon by Odie Lee. Oh my god.
Claire:Love for Rent by Smedo. Was not expecting that. And Koyn's newest album.
Liz:Koyn. Haven't heard that name in years.
Claire:Okay. Top john genres? Alternative pop, hip hop, singer songwriter, rock. Why is singer song song. Yeah.
Claire:Why is singer songwriter a genre?
Liz:Alright. That was, like, all the genres that Oh. Have existed.
Claire:My god. They updated it. You can do your top artists by month, top songs by month, top albums by month.
Liz:You've been digging a lot lately.
Claire:Lists? Yeah. Okay. Wow. A lot of Matt Maltese just keeps coming up.
Claire:Just so much of it. Oh, wow. Milestones that I've closed out. 50,000 minutes listened. That's super awesome.
Claire:1,000 artists played, and 2,500 songs played.
Liz:That's kind of, like, a lot of minutes. Like, you kinda listen to the same song.
Claire:I reached that midyear, though, so it's gotta be something else. Okay. Oh, and it will compare it for you. Guys, my song last year I still think about this every time it comes on shuffle. My number one song of 2023 was vampire by Olivia Rodrigo.
Claire:And I just I had such an issue with that for some reason because I like to predict about midway through the year what I think my top song is gonna be. Yeah. Which is why I made those comments when I read them out loud because I knew those 2 were gonna fight for spots
Liz:Yeah. 1 and 2. I can't believe hot wings was
Claire:Yeah.
Liz:I can. I can.
Claire:And I can. I'm surprised it actually wasn't number 2. But vampire by Olivia Rodrigo. Every time that comes up in here, I just I don't know.
Liz:This doesn't seem right.
Claire:My top album is always depressing. Last year, it was Boy Genius. It's the record.
Liz:I would like to call record that last Yeah. Year my Spotify wrapped was every single song was Lady Gaga art pop.
Claire:Oh my god.
Liz:Every single so every single song was Lady Gaga art pop. And then I wonder what my top album of the year was. Like, that did it come out in 2013? Like, what's wrong with me? Like, I just like going back and, like, listen to our public every single day.
Liz:I think so beautiful wrapped. I would also like to say that I you know, for my predictions, Lizzie McAlpine will definitely be my top artist. I think Lee Gaga will be my top artist. I I think Charli XCX is making it or Troye Sivan. Maybe both.
Liz:Who knows? I actually think that Charlie xCX might beat Lady Gaga this year.
Claire:I feel like I agree.
Liz:Which is, like, kind of weird.
Claire:You really love Charlie xX. I really love Charlie xX.
Liz:And it
Claire:was her year.
Liz:It was her year, and Abrams definitely climbed up the list for me. I'm a little I don't think it'll happen, but I'm a little scared that Nickelback will be on. It's okay. Because whenever I'm feeling, like, in a weird mood, I'm like, I know it'll put me in a better mood if I just, like, scream a Nickelback song. And then I just, like, okay.
Liz:Moving on. Alright. Back on my day, and I'm in a weird mood every day at some point, probably. I have a good mood sometimes. Yeah.
Claire:And if Nickelback I mean, there are far worse things to have as a quick fix in life. So I'm glad Nickelback is
Liz:It's like that and, like, a extra hot vanilla latte.
Claire:And yeah. It could be hard drugs or being really mean to everyone around you. There are far far worse things. So it's okay if Nickelback shows up on your I'm a little worried. It's okay.
Liz:I also think And
Claire:it's also okay to be worried because
Liz:Some jazz might show up because I listen to jazz when I'm, like, reading or something. Okay. So it's always weird. Last year, I didn't post mine because I was, like, weirded out that oh, I'll tell you why. Because I I forgot that this is why I didn't post it.
Liz:I went through a phase in January of 2023 of relistening to old Bo Burnham songs Liz. In January 2023, and then it showed up on my Spotify rant. And I was like, when's the month that you mostly because, like, that's what's like, when's the month that you most listened to? And I was like, January 2023, and I was like That is And it ruined my entire Spotify rant. 1 month.
Liz:1 month of being nostalgic will do that to you and more. Wow. But that was the biggest one.
Claire:What what's your favorite boat burn I'm
Liz:so I don't wanna talk about it. Okay.
Claire:Yeah. I know. Off camera.
Liz:I'm off camera. Yeah. I'm not talking.
Claire:Alright. Well, I'm hoping that everyone has a good Apple replay I hope that everyone feels okay. Spotify wrapped, and I hope no one's shamed for posting it. I feel like, oh, this is something we were gonna talk about. We as we kind of segue into what Liz has called the burning questions of today's podcast episode.
Liz:Says, Claire and Liz, answer your burning questions. I wrote these questions. There's no audience interaction. This is for us to just chat.
Claire:Yeah. And the first one is when am I posting too much on my private Snapchat story? What about my Instagram story? And I think this ties into what we're about to see with people posting their Spotify reps and Apple replays, and I'm all for it. And I wanna see it.
Claire:This is coming from someone who even I don't wanna see it or don't care, I want you to feel liberated to post that because
Liz:That's so true.
Claire:It doesn't matter. If you if if someone doesn't like what you post on your Instagram story, they can unfollow you or they can scroll. It's so easy. It's a story. It's built for you to just Boom.
Claire:This is coming from someone who avidly at the end of every month jumps, like, 20 photos and then doesn't do anything
Liz:else.
Claire:Yeah. No. It's amazing.
Liz:When you were at Brainiacs, you're like, oh, because my question my question was, when am I posting too on trying to crime
Claire:You were Snapchat
Liz:because I have a I have a very dearly beloved private Snapchat story that is just, like, it's just my incessant need to hear my thoughts out loud. But I think that it's funny. Vlogmas day 2.
Claire:I think it's funny too as
Liz:a great. As an avid Vlogmas day 2 watcher Yeah. Love. Yeah. But, yeah, the Instagram story, I feel like you make up for your 20 posts by, like, not posting anything else.
Liz:Like, you don't post often, and you just do your dump and then you move on. And I'm like, that's so classy. Claire, I think you have a very classy, so like, social media and Internet presence.
Claire:Thank you so much. That means a lot to me.
Liz:And I think mine is just like No. I like I like yours a lot
Claire:as well.
Liz:Thanks. It's a lot of just like a random picture song. Yeah. I got you know why I brought, posting too much of my Snapchat story? It's because I keep posting about music, and I'm like, does anyone care what
Claire:I'm listening to? Does anyone care? See, that's what I'm saying. And, hopefully, your close
Liz:friends, yes.
Claire:But here's the thing. The hard truth is that some people don't, but that's not on you. That's not on you. Some people actually don't care. There are plenty of Spotify raps I'm gonna see on Instagram that I'd be like, I actually don't really care just as you don't care about mine, but I'm glad you posted it.
Claire:And your close close friends will care. I always care when you post a song.
Liz:Claire Claire slid up last night.
Claire:Exactly. Feel better. Also, I think a private story is different. Oh, yeah. Oh, I
Liz:am not spanning my my post story.
Claire:Because you're well, yes. Because you're monitoring who's on there. I don't know. That's the whole other
Liz:My private story is, like, very much, like, I'm just gonna post as much as possible. Like, as much
Claire:as I I'm just gonna max it out
Liz:right now. Max out in Vlogmas Day 2 until, like, people don't care anymore.
Claire:That will never happen. I will always care. If if Vlogmas Day 2 has 0 fans, I've died. She said it best. And then Claire,
Liz:I had a question. Do you guys like talking about your dreams?
Claire:Oh, this was supposed to be my tangent in the beginning. I had us okay. Before I do this, much like posting a bunch of things, we're like, oh, is are people gonna care if I post this? In that same vein, nobody really likes to hear people talk about their dreams because I disagree with you. It it can be boring for lots of people, but that has never stopped me once from doing it.
Claire:If if I wake up and I'm near anyone, I'm telling them what I dreamt about. I'm going downstairs to tell my roommates. And today is is relevant because I had a state news dream last night, and we were all at a state news party or, I'm just gonna say function of some kind because it wasn't really a party because
Liz:Who's the name?
Claire:There was a skunk and I don't think skunks are in my party. I know. That's not skunk. And we were and we were kind of inside, kind of outside. The opening context is blurry.
Claire:I'm sure we were all having a good time and then suddenly I was outside with a couple of our co workers and suddenly there was a skunk and suddenly it was my job. And then suddenly there were 2 very close together walls. And rather than run the opposite direction of the skunk, I just continued to let myself be chased by it. And then I jumped up onto the walls, like, 2 hands, 2 feet, kind of like making a star above it. That's awesome.
Claire:The skunk runs beneath me, looks up at me, turns, and sprays. And I was in the line of fire. I've never had a dream like this. And I wasn't like Do you think that signifies? I don't know.
Claire:And we weren't at work, but it was all of our coworkers, and we were almost in, like, an arena slash, like, game set. Like, we weren't anywhere that I had to
Liz:go to. Oh, you
Claire:were not at the zoo's
Liz:pool. No.
Claire:No. We're at, like, a, like, a, like, a stadium because then after I was sprayed after I was sprayed by the skunk, I I kept telling people I needed to go to the hospital, which then led me to believe after I woke up that perhaps it bit me too or something else happened. And one of our coworkers drove me to the hospital and awaited my diagnosis of you were sprayed by a skunk and then I was obviously released. I went back to that stadium, except then it had morphed into I was playing soccer in a very commercial way. It wasn't an actual game.
Claire:It was, like, very showy, like, almost like we were dressing up as Shai. Oh, for me. Almost as if we were dressing up as soccer players for a huge stadium of people. Almost like we were actors, like, acting as soccer players. And all of the state news, I look up into the crowd in the top back corner.
Claire:Everyone is in, like, a yellow or blue a bright colored T shirt, and that's how I remember knowing it was you guys. I was like, oh, there are my friends, and you're all sitting in, like, this, like, neon blob. And I didn't care about the skunk anymore, and I didn't care about the party. Well, you
Liz:went to the hospital. You didn't Yeah.
Claire:And and I that was, like, see that was, like, act 2 almost of the dream. And then that was when other friends not affiliated with the state news were there, and we were all playing soccer. And I think my family showed up, and it was much more tame and nothing was chasing me that shouldn't have been chasing me. Like, a soccer player would have been chasing me. But okay.
Claire:That's besides the point. But, yeah, I woke up and I was like, wow. That was a crazy time. But everyone, in the state news was very supportive of my outrunning the skunk. I mean, had someone had to be sprayed by it.
Claire:I can't remember who shouted or started chasing it so that it would be afraid and spray because I was running
Liz:from it.
Claire:I mean, no. It wasn't me. I was running from the skunk. This has gone on far too long. But, yeah, shout out to, Brendan who was the one that drove me to the hospital in the dream.
Claire:He was like, I'll take you. And I was like, thanks. Because everyone else was like, ew. You smell smelly. Anyway.
Liz:Brendan's just that kind of guy.
Claire:Yeah. You
Liz:know? So did you guys like talking in a dream? Comment down below.
Claire:Yeah. So anyway.
Liz:That was really good.
Claire:That's how lots of my dreams go, and I I tell people that people's
Liz:dreams because they they're just so crazy.
Claire:See, you're gonna regret saying that to me because I'm gonna tell you all of them now.
Liz:Gonna text every day.
Claire:My roommates are very polite, and they always make very, very enthused faces even when I, in hindsight, know that they just weren't that enthused. I I, like, have to say them.
Liz:Don't tell me your dreams unless you want me to psychoanalyze what that means. Yeah. Yeah. Although, I really can't psychoanalyze the being an actor and playing soccer. Yeah.
Liz:I don't
Claire:really know. I mean, like, I used to play soccer, so I thought we were playing a real game. But there were other people there acting. Well, there were other people there that's it seemed very, like, almost like circus soccer. Like, we were, like, doing, like, tricks since we were playing a game.
Liz:Oh, you were doing tricks?
Claire:I we were like like, the opening ceremony of the game, it was so weird, you guys. I mean, that's not weird. But in the context of the skunk, it's all weird. Okay. I don't know.
Claire:I usually don't remember my dreams because if I remembered all of them, I'd be going insane by now.
Liz:My mind would be That'd be awesome. I would love to remember every dream I remember.
Claire:I heard if you wake up and you either say them out loud or you write them down, that helps you, start to get into the habit of remembering them more. I used to be really into dream. I don't wanna say dream theory.
Liz:Dream dream.
Claire:I just Yeah.
Liz:Dream dream. My notes.
Claire:I don't wanna say dream theory, but, like, kind of, I guess. I sometimes would look up what I dreamt about. And I had, like, a little dream bible thing going on for a while, like definitions and such.
Liz:There's, like, an old one. I don't even know.
Claire:Yeah.
Liz:I can't So Whatever.
Claire:I have a very
Liz:I don't remember my dreams.
Claire:Oh, yeah. Yeah. I have a couple that I have in here.
Liz:That's awesome.
Claire:And they range in detail. This one just says, so many tubes of slide. My friend snigged a drove a motorcycle. We're at
Liz:a resort. So many no. Because the problem is, like, you wake up and you Yeah. Put it in there, and then you read it the next morning, and it makes absolutely no sense. Yeah.
Liz:Alright. Should we end this episode?
Claire:Oh, god. These are, yeah, these
Liz:are weird. They're so funny. You're weird, bro. Like
Claire:okay. Yeah. Anyways We should do a dream diary episode
Liz:one day.
Claire:Should. That has nothing to do with, like, pop culture, but
Liz:You know, we've kind of fallen off. This was literally a conversation with Claire and Liz. That was what this episode
Claire:was about.
Liz:So We're just catching up. Typically a podcast. So We're
Claire:just catching up and then we're gonna
Liz:go you guys would be here.
Claire:We're gonna go on winter break for a very, very long time, and then we're gonna come back and
Liz:And then we'll be back.
Claire:So much media to have to discuss.
Liz:Oh my god. I'm gonna have so much media to discuss. We're gonna have to do a whole episode about it.
Claire:And in the meantime, enjoy your Spotify and Apple wrapped. See Wicked if you're into that, and don't think about skunks Don't. Too hard.
Liz:Actually, Claire, before we end, hold my hand. What? Hold my hand. This is the best semester of House Lights that has ever happened, and I truly believe that. I've done I've done House Lights for many a semester, and I thank Claire, you, and, of course, our amazing podcast coordinator, Taylor.
Liz:I wish we
Claire:could turn the camera so everyone can see Taylor.
Liz:Just insert a picture.
Claire:Yeah. Taylor.
Liz:And, seriously, best semester ever of House Lights, and I can't wait to come back and do it one last time.
Claire:I agree. I agree. Bye, guys. Bye.