Matt Connarton Unleashed 5-2-26 hour 3

Speaker 1: W m N h rip the nobles.

Speaker 2: We're back from the brains.

Speaker 3: And sing your sister lately on commercial road which you trade first sas for money whispers stand the phone. But that's not your business man, So what's your disease? You can't stand for nothing but your names stand told by five Range, Strange choging fad.

Speaker 1: Fa Range.

Speaker 4: Can you see a compent baby, a commercial boat? We're allicly thespigs who what fanacy bloats?

Speaker 1: So what's not your business? Baby?

Speaker 5: Carry out to say.

Speaker 3: You don't see nothing of your names? Strange joy fad.

Speaker 6: Fada Range, Strange jo the fad fad selling Range, Strange, old in five thizle the range, Strange old fast salimage double down two and buy a commercial world to bagels as wind salting the dub wains.

Speaker 1: With both goals no billion five fast.

Speaker 3: In stems, sacred billion boats dublendillions again.

Speaker 1: Strange old in five.

Speaker 6: Fizo Range Changel Range.

Speaker 1: Strange.

Speaker 2: I love it. That is called commercial road, and that is the noise who runs. And we're gonna be talking in just a moment with Ian Pickering from the noise who runs. Really looking forward to this. I love this project but welcome everybody. We have entered our number three New Marrow trace of Matt Connor toon Unleashed and we are live from the studios of w m n H ninety five point three FM and Glorious Manchester, New Hampshire. And of course you can stream the show from anywhere. Go to Matt connorton dot com, slash live for all your live streaming options, social media links, contact and Fosho archives, et cetera, et cetera for our live listeners.

Speaker 2: Today is Saturday May two, twenty twenty six, and let me get this mic up here. And Ian Pickering has joined us to be on Microsoft Teams. Hello Yan, Hello Mat, how are you good? Good, Welcome to the show. I'm very very excited to talk with you. I love I love the noise who runs and I was a fan of the Sneaker Pimps too. Do you does that project continue?

Speaker 7: Is this?

Speaker 2: Is this an addition to that or has I don't know if Sneaker Pimps is still active or.

Speaker 7: I don't know if I don't know if there was there was the Square in the Circle album in twenty twenty one. Yeah, Sneak Pimps. Yeah, I don't know. Uh, that's always that's always the decision of Liam and christ with the sneakers. Sure they're doing something, you know, then then I'll happily get involved in the project again anytime, you know, right right, But I don't know if that was a line drawn under it. And then they went back to doing their own separate things again. It was a nice moment. I thought it was.

Speaker 7: It was nice to work with everyone again and do that. But the ball is not in my court, if you like, I'm not the I'm not the brains behind the operation.

Speaker 2: Understood, understood? Yeah, well I love I love this, I love the noise who runs I listen to the whole thing. Of course, the album read gen X, this just came out? Did this just come out on the eighth or it's coming out on the on the eighth rather, I'm sorry, Yeah, absolutely, it's coming coming out on the I'm experiencing some time distortion. I think.

Speaker 1: It's like that.

Speaker 2: But what's the response been over there where you are to this so far? Because it's not it's not a light listen in the sense that I mean it's light in terms of the production of some of the songs, and you know, it's electronic, it's sort of some of its sort of poppy and whatnot. But the lyrics are not light. I mean there's some you're tackling. You're tackling heavy stuff with the lyrics.

Speaker 7: Uh yeah, I mean I came to music from the angle of the lyrics. I think for me, that's the most important thing. That's the thing I like first and foremost. I'm a writer. Yeah, it happens to be songs. I don't think that makes any difference. It could be poetry, novels, it could be journalism. You know, I'm a writer and music is the way I do it because that's always what That's just always how it's been. And even when I try and do something different in a different form of writing, music comes back within three months or a year or two years and it wants something from me.

Speaker 7: So I'm stuck with it, you know, right, Really it's a pleasure. But you know sometimes it's like it's always music, isn't it. I just happened to do it in three four minute pop songs, and you know, and not.

Speaker 2: Only that, but so tell me if I have this right. So you're you're a songwriter. Obviously you're a vocalist, but you also play multiple instruments.

Speaker 7: Correct, I play multiple instruments good enough to make a record because I can. I can retake and retake and I can I can do the guitar parts and cut them up, you know.

Speaker 2: Sure.

Speaker 7: No, I have to learn to play live, you know. I have to learn the songs like a session musician. Again.

Speaker 2: I write very fast, okay, I.

Speaker 7: Record fast, and then I start to mess around with everything else about it. You know. So if I I want to take the project live now, I really do, but I'm going to have to learn everything again, just like everyone else who comes into the project, you know, right right, that makes sense, play a little bit of everything.

Speaker 2: Well, that makes sense because it's it's sophisticated. It's not you know, you're not in a three chord punk band here, you know, where you just go out and jo just go out and wing it. And it's not that there's anything wrong with that.

Speaker 7: I mean, you know, yeah, No, I had training as a child on piano, and Chris Corner really he taught me the guitar more than anybody else really. Yeah. Yeah, when we when well when we were still teenagers. Yeah, you know, but I didn't really develop any brilliant virtuoso skill on any instrument. No, okay, I'd stuck with a lyric all the time. That was always my thing.

Speaker 2: Okay, okay, Now on the album is this all you?

Speaker 7: Are?

Speaker 2: You playing everything?

Speaker 7: Yes, that's the first time that's happened actually, so yeah, yes, I don't know why that makes me so happy. I think, you know, it's it's just it's an achievement in itself. It is just to have done everything.

Speaker 2: So what what what led to that decision to take that on, because that's I mean, obviously I would think it would be a double edged sword. On the one hand, it's probably very liberating because you're in full control. But on the other hand, that's a lot of pressure you literally have to do everything.

Speaker 7: Well, it's quite arbitrary, weirdly. The decision to do it is I had stumbled across an artist, a Newcastle artist called The Blonde, maybe three years ago, okay, and I think she's amazing, you know, I think she's absolutely brilliant. Music she makes is stunning. And the last album she had she said, Oh, I'm really proud because I've done everything myself and that's the first time I've done it. And I thought, oh, I could do that, and that's the only reason I did it.

Speaker 2: Okay, okay, yes that was Yeah.

Speaker 7: I got influenced by some by you know, a young artist who I discovered as I just found out by chance.

Speaker 3: Yeah.

Speaker 2: So, as you're making the album, was there ever any a point where you thought, I don't know, I don't know if doing this all myself is really going to work out. Maybe I maybe I do need to bring somebody in for this part of that part. Did that ever? Did that ever happen? Or were you able to just kind of do this and just enjoy it and uh, you know, and and make something great just just sticking to your plan?

Speaker 7: Well? I did send. I sent the songs to a friend, Philip, who plays guitar. He's been playing guitar for project since twenty twenty, and I said, okay, do you want to do the guitars then? And he kind of listened to it, and after about a month he sent it back. He said, there's not really anything to do because it all sounds fine,

Speaker 7: which makes me sound like Donald Trump. Suddenly, I did it very well, brilliantly me.

Speaker 2: Many people are saying it, but yet and I just thought okay, and that was a bit.

Speaker 7: That's what. It took a long time for me to think about whether that was a good thing or not, because I thought maybe I should ask someone else to do it in that case, or but no, I just in the end, I just left it. I thought I played around with it a little bit, tried to do it a little bit better, but it's almost you just want some extra security for some reason. Sure, it's like having a security blanket. I'll send it, I'll send it to Colin and he can master it, and it turns out not good enough, I'll do it again.

Speaker 2: Right right, No, that makes sense. How long did it take to make the album? I would imagine this took a while or maybe not.

Speaker 7: Well, I think all the songs pretty much. All the songs are written by the end of twenty twenty three,

Speaker 7: but I have periods of big activity, so the album was there in all its form. It basically comes down to me recording the vocals, and I wasn't getting on with it because basically I wrote another album. And I keep writing rather than doing other things because writing is my big pleasure.

Speaker 2: Okay, okay, I've.

Speaker 7: Got a backlog of material, you know, really there's like four albums waiting, and I keep writing new stuff all the time. I'm always playing catch.

Speaker 2: Up, right, right, I mean it's a good problem to have in one sense, right, It's better to have too much material than not enough. Better better to have too much than to have writer's block.

Speaker 7: But well, well yeah, whenever, if I if I ever have writer's block, it's not really going to be a problem so much to say.

Speaker 2: There you go. It'll be a chance up.

Speaker 7: Literally, I'm going to be doing it till the day I die.

Speaker 2: So the vocal tracks came last, obviously, after everything else.

Speaker 7: Yeah. Yeah, I went back to the Northeast, Okay, back to the Northeast in it, back in England to do it for two weeks. I went to see my mom and my brother. You still live up there, so yeah, so yeah it was nice. It was nice, and I kind of wanted I kind of wanted to feel I wanted to visit my hometown where there'd been some riots and stuff the year before, Okay, so I just wanted to see that and get a sense of the mood, right, and that kind of helped. It's helped informed a bit of the vocals, okay, you know, giving it a bit of anger in there somewhere right right.

Speaker 2: Yeah, there's a lot of that. I mean you can kind of hear that edge throughout the album. And I wanted to ask you about you know, we played Commercial Road the new single, and I wanted to ask you about that specifically too. What does that song represent to you lyrically?

Speaker 7: Lyrically, it's I mean, it really started off. I mean, firstly, it's a very old song and the title is very old.

Speaker 2: Okay.

Speaker 7: I wrote that in nineteen ninety six in Birmingham. Oh, but I never had any lyrics apart from having seen your girlfriend baby on Commercial Road. That's all I ever read, okay, And I just felt like it was I played it for no reason, you know, just one day on the guitar and I thought, oh, it's pretty good. I like the melody. I used to write better melody. And so I just started thinking about everything that's going on. And I think it was probably about the time that you know, they overturned Row versus Wade, you know, that was back in the news for some reason, and that had set me thinking, you know, about how people like Kirk Cobaine, he wouldn't be having this, would he'd be standing up against that instantly, and nobody's doing that much anymore, you know.

Speaker 7: And I've done that all the time, and now it seems like people are catching up. But it's basically just about the complete exploitation of women in all countries under all guys. Is equality is not complicated, you just do it. So that's my main angle, you know, and then it's just got a lot of other stuff thrown in. It's a snapshot of it's a snapshot of capitalist society falling apart, right right?

Speaker 2: Fair to say that that's kind of a theme throughout the album.

Speaker 7: Yeah, yeah, yeah, I think things are reaching. We're definitely in an end game situation. The whole ball game has actually changed. And I guess Generation X so the last people to straddle the analog and the digital.

Speaker 2: That's true. I say that all the time, Yeah, because I'm Gen X. Yeah, you know, our generation is the last generation to grow up without the Internet.

Speaker 7: And so is it that it's just hard to understand the generations who would never have gonna known anything other than social media. I don't know whether it's us, What do you think is it us not able to understand that this is just the evolution of how it is or should we rightly be very afraid that this is control and manipulation on a massive global level. Yeah, billionaires, Oh of course, yeah it is.

Speaker 2: It is easier than ever for that mass manipulation to happen, absolutely, and and in the grand scheme of things, any technology that you know, it's not that the technology itself is bad, but it can be used for nefarious purposes obviously, and there's always bad actors who will do exactly that.

Speaker 7: Yeah. Yeah, I mean, and that is that is, isn't it? You just it's it's not just fundamentally you cannot get the balance is everything?

Speaker 3: You know.

Speaker 7: Yeah, if we don't like it, it doesn't mean it's not part of the beauty of it's you're good and evil, right right? So yeah, I guess it's like that, you know, it's it is it a early for philosophy? And men?

Speaker 2: Have you have you written things like this before? Like get well, let me put it this way. Have you done a project like this in terms of the lyrical, uh, content and concept prior to the noise? Who runs prior to this project? Or is it is this kind of the furthest you've gone in that direction.

Speaker 7: It's the it's the it's the hardest it's ever it's the most overtly kind of socially where that it's ever been. It's more, it's more direct, and this album is more direct again, you know, yeah, I think but it was it almost existed in the sneak of Pimps. It existed that. You know, a lot of it was that Splinter was about the troubles in Ireland. You know, my mum's background is Irish. You know a spin Spin Sugar that was originally it was supposed to be a sonnet, and it was an anti capitalist sonnet.

Speaker 7: And everyone thinks it's a massive, like sleezy sex kind of son which is which is yeah, that's because but no, I think there's always been a love kind of politics there. But you can take everything two ways with my lyrics. I think Sneakers particularly is that you can look at it very personal in terms of a relationship, or you can look at it as a sort of a social thing in terms of a section of society. And I think I'm becoming X with Sneakers. It was very much it was I think us more than anyone else in trip hop.

Speaker 7: The lyrics nailed the kind of the under barely culture at the time. You know, it was sneazy because that was what life was like. You know, I was on the dole im Portsmouth at that point, right in those lyrics, you know, have to finish in a journalism college and not being able to get a job.

Speaker 2: Oh wow, Yeah, it was like that.

Speaker 7: But everything was you know, you're young. Everything was you know, try everything at least twice, three times, four times. Yeah, I think it was very It was just like that. But you could see where politics was and you could see where it was going to go.

Speaker 2: Mmm.

Speaker 7: I think becoming X quite it's quite a preemptive strike on what happened to the world. Okay, people people said it was cynical. I said it was, But no, I don't think it was cynical.

Speaker 2: I think we were right right right, No, that makes sense. That makes sense a couple of the other And when we in a little bit, when our conversation concludes, I am going to play the other two singles on the show today, Bang Bang, and I'm particularly fond of the bodies are under the Bus again and the Yeah, the anti war theme of that. But I mean that was that song? When was that song? Written because in some ways it seems so especially relevant right now. And yeah, you really could have I mean, you could really write an anti war song anytime, because there's always war.

Speaker 2: It's sort of absolu you know what I mean, there's always war.

Speaker 7: No, No, you're quite right, yeah, no, no, I wrote that. I think that was twenty that was twenty twenty three four certainly the Yeah, the music was done and I had the idea the bodies are under the bus again. Yeah, yeah, that's yeah. But it's just basically how it is. I think maybe it was. You know, there is a lot of.

Speaker 3: It.

Speaker 7: There's a lot of trouble in the world. I don't really know what it is. It's just it just seems like there's always an exploitation. Nothing is ever genuine, right, And it just seems like there's billions of us. So why isn't Why don't things run the way we want? Why are we still sitting here like the peasants revolts under Richard the second and we get promised something and they steal it back.

Speaker 2: You know, it is remarkable when you think about it that way, how we don't learn much, you know. And and war, I mean it's it's so obvious, you know, to those of us who are conscious and thinking about it. It's it's a business really, but uh, but we just keep letting it happen because there's I mean, I know here in America. You know a lot of people here love war. You know, they they see it as patriotic and they believe what they're told and they don't question anything. And I mean obviously not everyone, but there's there's a large swath of the American population that is like raw rah, yeah, let's go, let's go kill some bad guys.

Speaker 7: I think that's true, all right, that's true all around the world. Yeah, absolutely, Yeah, Yeah, I think it's yeah, it's it's a business. Uh. But I just think in every way, like you know, yesterday was what it was, International Workers Day? Yeah, no, And I understand there's a lot of activity with the unions in the U s A. There is you know, uh, which which which is which? You know, which is how it's meant to be? That's what America is all about.

Speaker 2: I think should it should be?

Speaker 7: Yeah, I think that's the point. It's just on every level, on every level, the majority gets stiffed and it just doesn't make any sense.

Speaker 2: Right, but we accept it.

Speaker 7: Yeah, I don't know how we keep doing it.

Speaker 2: It's it's yeah, it's it's it's pretty frustrating. So so that raises a question, Uh, like, what what's the response been. I mean, from from what I've read, it sounds like the response uh to to these to the singles and again the album comes out May eighth, but it sounds like the response so the singles has been pretty positive.

Speaker 7: Right.

Speaker 2: But but I'm wondering, I mean, when when when people tell you they like it, I mean, are they do they just like it sonically? Are they connecting with the messaging of it. I mean, I imagine it's a mix. But I'm curious what kind of feedback you're getting.

Speaker 7: Uh, most of the feed most of the feedback is about is kind of about the lyrics. And I'm always very I'm always very I've always very touched when people like like the songs musically. So you know, a lot of people, a lot of people are really really enjoying the bodies are under the Bus again, which I'm quite surprised because it seemed quite lightweight and out of place. You know, it seems so very electronic and pop. It's the only one where there's no guitars, right, I think. But I've had a lot of good a lot of good sort of feedback about little bits and bobs of the music in all in different songs.

Speaker 7: Oh I like this bit synth, I like this big keyboard. So that's always It's always really nice when people like the musical parts, or they see something or they hear something and it's, oh, yeah, I did do that. It's funny. But all these things just happen naturally, don't they true? But yeah, I mean, I think I'm just people have been really positive. I think it. I think it's probably I think the production and everything about it is very tight on this record, so I think it's more accessible because it's just everything has been done very well, possibly for the first time in the hole of the Noisy Runs.

Speaker 7: Yeah, No, I know, yeah, I think. Yeah. Everything else has been a bit shambalic and a bit schecky on my path. You know, I've been in a rush. I've got balls. I'm just going to use the drums like this, and no, no, I make atrocious decisions.

Speaker 2: Well it's ourd I mean, you know, it's certainly not supposed to be perfect, right, No.

Speaker 7: Yeah, no. I think this time. This time it was everything seemed to be like a like a well oiled machine, maybe because I just did it and pleased myself.

Speaker 2: Any plans for a follow up? I mean, obviously you're writing a lot of music. Do you have any plans for a follow up to this? Specifically, will you continue to release music under the name The Noise Who Runs? What's kind of your your long term plan or do you know?

Speaker 7: Yeah? Absolutely, yeah, The Noise He Runs is basically is basically my kind of like a non de plume, So I go under this name regardless. That is now the project I do is Ian Pickering my thing when it's not Sneakers or it's not Ryan for someone else. Sure there is a follow up album? Yes, Oh, it's pretty much done once again. I've got to do the vocals. That is called Signals in the Static.

Speaker 2: Okay. Oh, that's an interesting title, and I.

Speaker 7: Think it's kind of like a follow up to this.

Speaker 7: It carried on, the writing carried on and spilled over. But it's very bizarre at the moment. You know, I've done things with guitars that you shouldn't do.

Speaker 2: Okay, that's intriguing, that's intriguing.

Speaker 7: And basically I've also just finished writing some songs with a French guy, a French guitarist who just happens to write songs and kind of make up words over the top, and so he comes with guitar and a melody and we just wrote some songs. So I'm thinking about what to do with them, okay, And basically I really want to play live, So that is my immediate plan is trying to figure out how to put that together so that maybe next year I can do some shows.

Speaker 2: Oh yeah, absolutely, Do you have any idea? I mean, would you just try to put together a full band to play these songs live? Or would you use loopers? Or I mean, do you have you thought that far into.

Speaker 7: It or I've thought about both ways. At the minute, I thought about whether I could do it just by myself, whether I could do it as two people, three people, and then you get into the point where it's I'm going to have that many people, I might as well have a betend and an orchestra. But so I do like it very stripped down. I like the kind of two three people using a bit of technology, you know.

Speaker 2: One hundred person I think it kind of.

Speaker 7: Suits the next for the project. Maybe I don't know.

Speaker 2: Well, by the way, so I didn't ask you the obvious question yet, What does the name mean? The noise who runs? What is the meaning of the name for you?

Speaker 3: H ah?

Speaker 7: Well, in there's a it's a French phrase that means gossipy. Ah, so I think it's a breaky cor breeze noise. And basically there was a restaurant called this that we went to once when I first arrived in France. My girlfriend took me to this restaurant and I said, what's the name? And she said, doesn't mean anything in English? It's the noise who runs. And I went, oh, I quite like that,

Speaker 7: because basically I took it to mean more like word of mouth spreading right right, which is I think what that's That's the one thing we have, you know. Ah, I'm not particularly interested in selling records. I'm interested in the world getting better, you know. So if I could, if I can do a show, and if I can put shows on for free, I would, yeah, yeah, more than you know, that's what I want. I'm not seleting dion. I'm not going to come back from the brink and then charge three grand for a ticket.

Speaker 7: What's that about? Right?

Speaker 7: Should be giving it for free? It should be grateful, you know, if only yeah, if only yeah, because ticket prices that's a joke.

Speaker 2: Now, Oh it's it's way way way out of control. Absolutely, absolutely, yes, So Ian, where's the best place for people to go online to keep up with everything that you're doing with the noise who runs or anything else that you're doing that you want people to know about?

Speaker 1: Uh?

Speaker 7: I guess, I guess the website is the best place. And band Camp band camp. Paul is band Camp order website Okay, she's just ww dot the noisweruns dot com.

Speaker 2: Absolutely, I'm a big fan of band camp, by the way, and I am looking at that you've got yeah, you've got the uh, you've got the album on there. Band Camp is the reason I I like to talk about band camp is just because not everyone realizes that with band Camp, if you get the music from there, you get a higher quality file than you do if you're just say streaming it on YouTube or even or even Spotify. You know, band camp you get a really high quality file, which is important. I mean it, or it should be important.

Speaker 7: See I didn't know that. I mean I'm sitting there uploading all the web files and everything, but I never even thought about that. Yeah yeah, okay, yeah, I should really direct people to band camp all the time.

Speaker 2: Oh absolutely, yeah. Yeah. I'm a big, big fan of a big fan of band camp. So well, Ian, this has been wonderful. It's great to talk with you. We'll we'll conclude our conversation in a moment, and then I'm actually gonna play. I'm gonna play the Bodies Are under the Bus again because we talked about it. But I'm also gonna sneak in Bang Bang because I think those are both both just great singles. Absolutely absolutely, and I want to remind people, of course. The album comes out May eighth via t n w R Records.

Speaker 2: What is that t n w R Records? Is that a Is that an independent label? There? Maybe that's your label, I don't.

Speaker 7: Know it basically my label. You have to you have to give it a name when you register the songs.

Speaker 2: Oh, I just realized I'm a little I'm a little slow sometimes. I just realized t nw R. The noise who runs it didn't even occurred.

Speaker 1: It didn't even hurt me.

Speaker 7: Yeah, I just had to give it a name. I think before that at some point there's Rogue Noise Recordings as well, which, oh that's a cool name. You just have to give it an arbitrary name.

Speaker 2: Yeah, yeah, I like that Rogue Noise Recordings. But yeah then w R Yeah, I'm staring at those letters, and it finally dawned on me. Oh the noise who runs?

Speaker 2: Took me a minute. It's still morning here. I haven't had enough caffeine, I guess.

Speaker 3: But.

Speaker 2: But I got I got there eventually. But yeah, we're gonna play both of those, so we'll we'll let you go for now. But when the you know, when you've got the next single ready to go, if you're gonna keep releasing singles from the album after the album is out, please you know, we'd love to be kind of your your conduit into American radio here. Love what you're doing. It's a great project. And uh, I can't wait to hear and when the next album comes out too, I can't wait to hear that. So so all good stuff.

Speaker 7: Thank you, Thank you so much man, really genuine it's been a big pleasure. Thank you. I hope everyone has a good day.

Speaker 2: Absolutely absolutely, thank you so much for joining us Ian Okay, we'll talk to you soon. Take care, all right, thanks, by bye bye, all right. That is the great Ian Pickering of the Noise who runs. He is the Noise who runs. It is his project after all. And we're gonna play let's see. Yeah, we're gonna we have time, we can seek both of these in. So we're gonna play this. This is an important song and that's why you know we spend some time on it. The bodies are under the bus again, Uh, great anti war song.

Speaker 2: And we're also gonna play Bang Bang after that. Another great single from the album, which does come out May eighth, so it will be the full album will be available everywhere very shortly. But here it is. Check this out. The bodies are under the bus again by the Noise who runs.

Speaker 1: Maybe the pave the remains of it's.

Speaker 2: The first streets.

Speaker 1: The bodies are ruined, those boots to be on the next rise, and all was out of.

Speaker 8: The rooms, the town of streets, the bodies a run of the boats.

Speaker 1: And how come we don't call that murder?

Speaker 3: Not?

Speaker 1: How come we don't call that murder?

Speaker 8: The set I've been off factory and constituent standard standing the backbone of Christ time the left empty handed.

Speaker 1: Just be on the next to rise, and all the side of the bridge fell on the street. The bodies are round the folks, maybe on the leaf pad, but there were maids of beach, but a folk street. The bodies around the folks at street and out the best and tens and space to school.

Speaker 6: That's cold.

Speaker 2: While out in the wrote the children.

Speaker 1: Played in filter again, And how come we don't call that murder?

Speaker 9: Not?

Speaker 1: How come we don't call that murder?

Speaker 8: The kids must now as a confessed and best have been damaged like creative smoke screams and once sas with also all the language.

Speaker 10: It stands alizing, this always becoming, it's mas morizing, this.

Speaker 1: Also consuming lay left. Thanks can roll it out and take the quick down and bedsley.

Speaker 8: Away from nightmares to beat us quick quits too much caut.

Speaker 1: These cigarettes, happy attitude.

Speaker 3: Bets suspected me jerk cheap turks one down alone to fill a cue?

Speaker 2: Who I bring it back?

Speaker 1: Who I'm ringing back? I saw the lines, I smashed the mob. Who I give it back? Who I give it back? These days I always knocked the black cage man. You see the.

Speaker 3: Pump pancakes heat Waves, Quicks, milk Chicks, Mosla.

Speaker 1: Can you get running a lot.

Speaker 7: Of the tack?

Speaker 1: Looking at small messes? Oh club looks sick to baddons? Wh drawn to fall the juice?

Speaker 2: Why bring it back?

Speaker 1: Who I'm bringing back?

Speaker 2: I saw the lines, I smash the mo.

Speaker 1: Why give it back? Who I give it back?

Speaker 3: What?

Speaker 1: Troll the load?

Speaker 3: To fall the Cube?

Speaker 1: Who I bring it back? Who I bring it back?

Speaker 2: I saw the lights, I smashed them home?

Speaker 1: Who I give it back?

Speaker 2: Who I give it back?

Speaker 6: So the five in between the home each his best swatcher f.

Speaker 1: To loone on troll home to fall the Cube?

Speaker 7: Who I bring it back?

Speaker 1: Why give it back? What job? It's a fall a cue? W bring it back? Why bring it back? I saw the lights. Let's SMSs the.

Speaker 3: Mom Why give it back?

Speaker 1: Who I give it back?

Speaker 2: That is Bang Bang from the Noise Who Runs? One of the great singles from the album, re gen x from the Noise Who Runs? And thank you again to ian Ian Pickering for joining us via Microsoft Teams all the way from the UK to talk about this amazing project, and I definitely recommend the full album. I've heard the whole thing obviously already. It comes out May eighth and on streaming platforms everywhere. But I really enjoyed talking with Ian and I was glad he was able to join us today. A couple a little more, a couple of bits of music news before we begin to wrap up today's show.

Speaker 2: This is Matt Connorton Unleashed, and of course we are live from the studios of wm n H ninety five point three FM, I Heartmedia and Serious x M possibly merging. This is a big deal.

Speaker 3: You know.

Speaker 2: We've seen in the radio industry so much consolidation over the past twenty twenty five years, and it looks like there's about to be even more of it. If you're not familiar with Sirius XM, of course, I mean they had merged. Used to be at one time there were two satellite radio companies, Serious and XM. Serious Satellite Radio and XM, and then they merged and became Serious XM and now iHeartMedia, which used to be what did they used to be? Starts with a C clear channel, took me a second clear channel, ended up becoming iHeartMedia.

Speaker 2: They're the biggest largest owner of radio stations across the United States, so they're a big deal. They also have a podcasting platform. But iHeartMedia is in talks to be acquired by Serious XM holdings. I'm surprised it's not the other way around. But let's take a look at this. You know, Serious XM they've been in a lot of financial trouble for a long time because the thing about satellite radio and what was it, you know, early two thousands when it became a thing. The thing about satellite radio is great idea.

Speaker 2: You know, you've got you've got satellite radio transponder in your car, and then you've got all these different channels you can listen to. And of course the big draw for Serious XM is Howard Stern, the biggest draw, or at least was. I don't know if he still is, but but he very well maybe. And uh so you could listen to all this stuff uncensored because it's satellite, so it's not not controlled by the FCC in terms of regulating what you can say and can't say and the music that you play and in terms of profanity and so forth.

Speaker 2: So it's completely uncensored and uh commercial free, or at least when it launched. That's not the case anymore. But but you know, it was Uh, I don't know where that tone came from or if the if that showed up on the recording, that ding anyway, somewhere on this computer, something's making a noise, but regardless. So the problem though that satellite radio ended up running into that I guess nobody saw coming was the rise of streaming and podcasting. So the internet has kind of of I think for especially for younger and younger generations who are listening to terrestrial radio much less and less and are listening to streaming streaming platforms or watching streams and podcasts and so forth.

Speaker 2: That's why everything that we do, you know, the shows that we do here at WM and H, of course, just like every other radio station, they also are podcasts. They're streaming live as we do them. You know, you're not just listening into your car. Obviously, we have listeners all over the world because they stream the show and then after I get off the air today, I will upload the podcast. Then it becomes a podcast and you can stream the podcast on demand, you can download it whatever, so you can watch it online on social media.

Speaker 2: So you know, so the radio industry has had to adapt in that way. But it kind of the rise of streaming and podcasting really took a big bite out of the whole appeal and the whole point of satellite radio, right because now everyone streams in their cars. So well, here's what's happening right now. And I'm almost surprised that nothing like this has happened or been talked about sooner, at least that I'm aware of. But it says here, and this is from Music Businessworldwide dot com, which again is a great site.

Speaker 2: I read an article from it earlier in the show Great Side for Music Industry News. It says, iHeartMedia is reportedly in preliminary talks to be acquired by Serious XM Holdings in a deal that would bring together two audio giants under pressure from on demand streaming platforms. And again that's what I was talking about. On demand streaming has really just taken a huge bite. Obviously it's affected radio terrestrial radio AM and FM radio, but it's also had a huge effect on satellite radio. This is according to Bloomberg, which reported over the weekend, citing people familiar with the discussions, that the talks are still at an early stage and may not result in a deal.

Speaker 2: Representatives for both companies to climb comment to Bloomberg, Music executive Irving Azoff has been working with Apollo Globe Management on proposals to merge the two companies. The report said a combined entity would generate more than twelve billion dollars in annual revenue. According to Bloomberg on Tuesday, April twenty eight, iHeartMedia shares rose Well, I don't want to get into the numbers. I'm gonna skip down a little bit. iHeartMedia operates more than eight hundred and sixty radio stations across one hundred sixty markets.

Speaker 2: That's how big. Again, it used to be Clear Channel. Clear Channel used to be at the Giant. Then it became iHeartMedia. I don't remember how it became iHeartMedia. I don't remember if there was a merger and they needed a new I don't remember the details of that, but it just it used to be Clear Channel, if that makes sense. But again, they operate eight hundred sixty radio stations across one hundred and sixty markets across the country, while SiriusXM, which operates a satellite radio service primarily for in car use, although you can you can put the app on your phone or any mobile device, a streaming app, and the Serious XM podcast network reaches a combined monthly audience of about one hundred and seventy million listeners, So the subscriber base for satellite radio is still very large.

Speaker 2: I mean, one hundred and seventy million listeners is a lot. It says here, Bloomberg said, both companies, despite being the dominant players in their respective businesses, are struggling to attract new customers and compete with streaming platforms like Spotify and Apple Music. To better compete with these digital service providers, SERIOUSXM in July twenty twenty five launched a new lower priced, ad supported tier called Serious XM Play, priced at less than seven dollars a month. That same two years after SERIOUSXM launched a nine to ninety nine a month Spotify challenger.

Speaker 2: The reported merger comes as more people listen to podcasts daily than to talk radio programming, Bloomberg said, citing Edison research. Both companies have tried to adapt, with Serious XM acquiring online radio service Pandora in twenty eighteen for three and a half billion billion with a b, introducing a new app, and locking up exclusive distribution rights to podcast like SmartLess and Call Her Daddy. iHeartMedia has also built on its own podcast operation, distributing shows like My Favorite Murder, The Breakfast Club, and Las Culturistas.

Speaker 2: The company's podcasting revenue grew twenty six percent in twenty twenty five, while radio revenue fell four percent. In December, iHeartMedia partnered with Netflix for an exclusive video podcasting partnership that includes all new episodes from the company's podcast lineup. The company carries about five billion dollars in total debt following a bankruptcy in twenty eighteen, said Bloomberg Waite, who's oh iHeartMedia. So iHeartMedia has five billion dollars in debt following a bankruptcy in twenty eighteen.

Speaker 2: And by the way, for anyone who's confused about the bankruptcy thing, bankruptcy doesn't mean you go out of business necessarily. It may mean that your debt becomes restructured, but you continue. There's different types of bankruptcy and so forth. For anyone who's puzzled by how can they have gone through bankruptcy and still be operating, it says here. The continued growth in the podcast business prompted other digital service providers and social media platforms to expand their presence in the market.

Speaker 2: In October, Netflix and Spotify struck a deal for Netflix to stream video podcasts from Spotify Studios and The Ringer starting this year. Earlier in March, Spotify partnered with hibe to put ari is that how you say that? Hybe hib to put I'm not familiar with it, to put original K pop video podcasts on their streaming platform. In January, Spotify launched a new podcast studio in Hollywood. Okay, so this is all this stuff they've been doing. But anyway, the point is this merger, it's very early, may not even happen, we'll see.

Speaker 2: But more consolidation, my opinion is more consolidation in the radio industry is not particularly a good thing, but inevitable. There's sure been a lot of it. And one more quick story before we run out of time. This is from Digital Music News. AI generated Taylor Swift, Rihanna, and Kim Kardashian scams are surging on TikTok, so beware if you are on TikTok, beware of AI deep fakes. And this is of course going to become a larger and larger problem. It says here and again. This is from Digital Music News.

Speaker 2: Online scammers are using AI deep fakes of celebrities like Taylor Swift and Rihanna to trick TikTok users into signing up for fake rewards programs. Over the past month, TikTok has experienced a rise in videos of AI generated celebrities, including Taylor Swift, Rihanna, and Kim Kardashian, encouraging users to sign up for fraudulent rewards programs or other malicious services. Fortunately, this is synthetic celebs aren't very convincing and feature a lot of uncanny facial movements and a synchronious audio a synchronous audio sorry I added a syllable there a synchronous audio, meaning the audio is not properly SYNCD, but that doesn't stop scammers from baiting the hook.

Speaker 2: According to copy Leaks, besides just scammy ads, the deep fakes also include hyper sexualized ads promoting non consensual face and body swapping or digital undressing. Examples of the clips include a digitally altered Tailor Swift advertising a so called TikTok pay feature, and a similarly altered Rihanna pushing a views for reward program. Usually the celebrities appear in red carpet interviews or on podcasts or talk shows, where it's easier for bad actors to take real footage and manipulate it using AI.

Speaker 2: The clips have realistic sounding voices, which more easily trick users into believing the footage is legitimate. Many of the clips use TikTok branding and ad textured filter filters, seemingly to bypass the platform's AI detection tools. If users click on the videos, they will be redirected to third party sites that solicit their personally identifiable information that should be a giant red flag. The timing is notable since Taylor Swift recently trademarked to protect her voice and likeness from AI misuse following repeated incidents with deep fakes, but the problem is widespread and shows no signs of slowing down.

Speaker 2: Meta was recently hit with a class action lawsuit filed on behalf of the Consumer Federation of America with allegations that the company profited from Facebook advertising scams like the ones proliferating on TikTok. Similarly, the FTC noted that scam ads are one of the top methods used to push shopping related scams on social media, and AI is only making that problem worse, by the way, just to editorialize a little bit on that. If you are, that's the end of the article. But if you are, if you're on TikTok and you see a major celebrity like Taylor Swift, who's like the major celebrity, and you see her hawking some weird rewards program or something, that should be enough to stop you in your tracks, no matter how realistic it might look, because here's what you got to do.

Speaker 2: When you see something like that, The question you have to ask yourself is why would Taylor Swift be doing this? Is like, this is like a TikTok version of a paid infomercial like you used to see and maybe still do on cable television late at night. Why why would someone the status and caliber of celebrity of Taylor Swift lower herself to doing this kind of thing, to selling some rewards program. Well, you know, that's what you have to ask yourself. That's where you have to be really discerning. Does it make sense that a celebrity of this magnitude is doing this?

Speaker 5: Now?

Speaker 2: Apparently to a lot of people, it makes perfect sense, because that's how they get away with these scams, because people aren't questioning it and they're putting in their information and they're getting ripped off. But you got to ask yourself, why would this celebrity even be doing this? And if you have even the slightest question as to why a celebrity of this caliber would be doing such a low rent thing like selling memberships to a rewards program on TikTok, if that question enters your mind at all, then you must know this is a scam.

Speaker 2: Avoid close that tab, don't do anything more with that. So that's just my that's my advice, you know. And it looks too good to be true. It probably is and all of that, you know, all the sayings and adages and all of it. So anyway, that's my little public service announcement regarding that particular subject. That's it. We're out of time. I want to thank everybody who joined us today. Of course we hadcats in the first hour of today's show, and we had Ian Pickering in the third hour from the Noise Who Runs, And of course in the second hour we had Craig from the band A Blue Light Effect.

Speaker 2: Had a lot of fun today on the show with all of our guests, and we had some great world radio premieres, and I think I'm going to close out today's show with one more time. I'm going to play the new single from because Jay might be listening, Hi, j if you're listening to Jay Bellow from the band Chasing the Devil, because I love this song. It's called Wired, and I messaged him on Facebook yesterday and I told him, I said, the lyrics to this really really connect with me. I'm feeling this one, I really am.

Speaker 2: So I think we're going to close the show with that. If you miss any part of today's show, it'll be up in just a little bit at WM andhradio dot org and in my website, Matt Connorton dot com. You can go to Matt connorton dot com slash Unleashed for all the information about the show. And if you go to Matt Connorton unleashed dot com, a brand new website that we have, you can get access to the entire archive going all the way back to summer of twenty eleven when the show originally launched. And of course we just celebrated our nine year anniversary here at WM and H. We started here in April of twenty seventeen, so but there's been various iterations and permutations of the program over the years.

Speaker 2: And to those of you who have been with me through all of it, thank you so much. And of course, Matt connorton dot com is my website. If you want to know more about me, if you'd like to schedule a hypnotherapy appointment, it's you can do that all right through the website. And thank you all for joining us today. And we're going to close out with this once again, brand new from the band at Chasing the Devil. I love this song. This is called Wired. I'll talk to you a little bit later by everybody.