Matt Connarton Unleashed: Say Drake!
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Speaker 1: By the way, speaking of amazing concerts, we should talk about So, you know, obviously for the past I don't know, almost a year and a half, you know, we don't do politics on the show anymore, but we might have another subject we can discuss that is not really not political, but we'll still make some people angry, which is fun. Very divisive issue is the surprisingly the Super Bowl halftime show.
Speaker 2: You like, one of the very few people that was like, why are you guys? Upset?
Speaker 1: Like I don't, I know, Well, my post on social media that night, Wow, yeah, I said, I'm trying to remember verbadeh what I wrote. I said, are Jenny and I the only white people our age who actually enjoyed Kendrick Lamar's halftime performance, Because from what I'm seeing on social media, a lot of you would have preferred they wheeled out Grand Funk Railroad or something, and and.
Speaker 2: I don't get that, And I mean, I really don't.
Speaker 3: We were sitting there watching it, and one of my first reactions was I loved the dancers.
Speaker 2: Yeah, And I was like, oh, that's awesome.
Speaker 3: They're not a bunch of scandily clad women like they got some. I loved the dancers I loved the way they were dressed. I loved the American theme. I loved the the just the whole sequence of the way they were dancing and how they were floating across the stage, and I thought it was so odd. I really loved it. I enjoyed it.
Speaker 1: Samuel L. Jackson as Uncle Sam seriously perfect, right, which I'm sure bothered some people. Why, well we know why. But I thought it was cool. But I thought it was pretty cool.
Speaker 3: No, I love it, And I loved how you called out the world too, don't be too get.
Speaker 1: Us and by the way, too loud, and by the way, I do want to clear up one thing, though I didn't mean any in my post. I didn't mean any disrespect to Grand Funk Railroad. I hope no one takes that wrong. I mean, look, I was, They're an American band, They're coming to your they'll help you party down. They're an American band, So not disrespect. I just uh no. But but actually, so it turns out though there are quite a few uh just looking at the responses to my posts, there are quite a few white people our age and older who did, in fact enjoy Kendrick Lamar's performance, but but a lot of people, a lot of people didn't be you know, some people, uh just don't like hip hop, which is fine, you know, it's okay to not like hip hop.
Speaker 1: But some people got got really carried away when some people go so over the top with their criticism and that they're like, oh, it was a political statement and that, which which, by the way, it was not. It's certainly not overtly in my mind. No, you know, you can, you can read into it whatever you want to. But I mean, really a little bit.
Speaker 3: I think people missed the missed the punchline in part with Serena Williams. Yeah, it's not just that she's an ex of Drake. Yeah, her doing a kriv walk was a big deal because when she was at Wembley when she won goal, she did that and was absolutely poo pooed on across.
Speaker 2: People were mad.
Speaker 1: Everybody was, how dare she do that kind of dance? Oh yeah, you.
Speaker 3: Know when they do it in the end zone and football is fine, but you know she did, she did a happy dance for winning it. They were just all over her. So her I think her doing that was more than just I'm Drake's ex. It was taking back her power as a woman as doing what she did, saying, yeah, I I earned every bit of the.
Speaker 2: Respect that I should have. She did. She's an amazing athlete.
Speaker 1: Oh absolutely. I don't know if it is okay to do that in the end zone in football? Can you? I dance? Isn't that? Isn't that against the rules? I thought they had dancing. I don't know. Touchdown I think they somebody, somebody in the chat room can tell us. I might be wrong.
Speaker 2: I thought they were allowed to do like the victory dance when they score a touchdown.
Speaker 1: I don't think I think that's considered a show voting or something. I don't think we're supposed to do that portball sportsmanship. I might be wrong. I might be completely wrong.
Speaker 3: I think football is kind of the birthplace of the and the touchdown down.
Speaker 1: Jenny and I are not We are not fans of sports ball, so we could be wrong about these things. Just to clarify for people, we didn't. It's not like we actually sat and watched the Super Bowl. We were not. We we just we just went back and watched the halftime show later. And yeah, I'm not a football were we really enjoyed it? You know a lot of people just don't. If you don't like hip hop, then you're you're not gonna like it. And that's fine. You're allowed not to like. And I like hip hop, Yeah, I do too.
Speaker 3: I like almost all genres of music. The one genre I'm not a particular fan of I'm not gonna say because I respect all the artists and everything. They're coming here and and really it's different when it's live. Let me just say, oh, but huge difference. But I I loved the sequencing. I like how they blended into each.
Speaker 1: Song, you know, and it all built to something. Oh, it built which will, which will, which we'll talk about in a second. But Nathan Hill, who's in the chat room, who's a very talented musician, he's gonna be coming on the show soon, really looking forward to that. Nathan Hill says, only a little dance and can't be a whole group taunting type thing. Okay, So as long as it's relatively restrained, just a little, a little dance, they're allowed to do that. Yeah, Okay, that makes sense.
Speaker 3: Sure, But again, like that's the invention of the birthplace of the happy dance.
Speaker 1: I scored a touchdown.
Speaker 3: That's football. Is the birthplace of it, you know what I mean? She was, she was happy in the moment. She has won light the greatest achievement possible in her industry, in her in her chosen field, and.
Speaker 2: She got really attacked over it.
Speaker 3: So to have her come on the super Bowl and take back her power and do that dance and say I'm proud of everything I've accomplished, I think it's more than just she's.
Speaker 1: Drake's ex girlfriend.
Speaker 2: Yeah, I think the people.
Speaker 3: I mean sure, I'm sure that played a little bit of a role, because good for her man he was so rotten to her.
Speaker 2: She deserved every moment of that too.
Speaker 3: But I don't want to cheapen the fact that we're talking about an Olympian here who earned every right to do her touchdown chance.
Speaker 1: Yeah, oh absolutely, that's my opinion.
Speaker 3: I don't understand why everybody's so angry. I don't get the anger of it. I thought it was cool that there was so much. I mean, it was patriotic as heck. Yeah, got the American flag built out with the dancers. But they see why why doesn't that? Why isn't that? I thought I was pretty pretty patriot.
Speaker 1: I thought, well, like I said, you know, some people just don't like hip hop. But also but some people just just like I said, some people just go way over the top with it. And they they see they see this overt political statement, they see it a threat, as a threat to them, and maybe you feel uncomfortable, maybe you need to look. They clearly prefer kid rock or something, you know, And and I will say this though, I I do want to defend like people who didn't like it just because they don't like hip hop, or just because they didn't like the mix and they felt like they couldn't hear him clearly enough or whatever, that's all valid.
Speaker 1: I do want to I do want to defend those people a little bit because because the other the other thing that happens, unfortunately is you know, everybody, everybody gets ramped up on both sides. And so then you have you have the people who that just isn't their thing getting attacked automatically being labeled as racist because they didn't like it. And that's not cool. Either. You're allowed not to like it, you're allowed not You're allowed not to like that kind of music. You're allowed not to like that kind of performance.
Speaker 1: That doesn't make you racist, which is not to say that some of the what I saw online, some of what I saw online people angry about it, who did go way over the top. Yeah, there's clearly something and more, you know, a mirror. Yeah yeah, yeah, so some some of them. Excuse me, I'm gotting worked up. So some of those people, Yeah, especially the people who believe that it was like, uh, you know, some sort of really overt aggressive political statement. Yeah, those people, I think there's something going on there.
Speaker 1: But but I don't. But I don't want to paint everybody that way. Some people just don't like Look, if you don't like rap music, you're not gonna like that. And that's and you're you're allowed not to like that. I liked it, and you liked it.
Speaker 3: And when they did, when they did it before, and it was like, Eminem up there, I didn't hear so much. I feel like I didn't hear as much complaining about it.
Speaker 1: I don't know what he's saying. Well, yes, that so, although although.
Speaker 3: It's where my head's like, you all got a different reason for not liking it.
Speaker 1: Although interestingly Eminem, though I will point out, he does he does his style and his flow, he does enunciate although he's sometimes it's hard to tell what he's saying because he's so fat. He can go very fast, but he does enunciate his words clearly.
Speaker 2: So does Lamar.
Speaker 1: Yeah, but not not not as much eminem. Eminem is very precise. We could have a whole other conversation about that. But but yeah, so so you know who, Oh boy, don't later, I am struggling. Let me take another gulf of water here.
Speaker 2: Like I crave it on Saturdays, I have to have my sushi.
Speaker 1: You know who else really enjoyed it, because he said on Facebook and he texted me about it too, is my dad. And it's funny because people who don't know my dad, or people who only know my dad online from his political posts and stuff, might be surprised. But but I actually was not surprised. My dad liked it a lot.
Speaker 2: And your dad's military, like.
Speaker 1: Yeah, he's a he's a veterinarian. But the thing about my dad is he's always liked hip hop. I remember when when they did.
Speaker 2: The I remember you talking about that a few years.
Speaker 1: Ago when they had who was It? They had Doctor dre and fifty and you know legends and hip hop. That's oh yeah, Yeah, that's what we're talking about.
Speaker 2: Are you to hear complaints after that?
Speaker 1: No, No, well, I with some people, some people did, but although not to this extent. But I remember my dad texting me about that, saying how much he likes seeing doctor Dre there and everything. So my dad's always liked hip hop. But my dad's always been someone too who really enjoys hearing new music. So you know, like you know, growing up a lot of people they have that generational thing with their parents where you know, their parents only like old stuff, you know, from their youth, and they don't understand the right My dad was never like that.
Speaker 1: My dad even now at his age. You know, he lives on the Sea coast and he loves listening to w u n H, the great college station there because he loves hearing new music.
Speaker 2: Great place to hear artists, by the way.
Speaker 1: Absolutely not just rock, but hip hop too. He likes hip hop.
Speaker 3: So tune into the college stations. You will be amazed at some of the artists you can hear. Yeah, it's definitely worth it, definitely worth it. But yeah, I remember you talking about your dad. All is like being interested in new music and bringing that into the house, which is awesome, Like you got to kind of grow up well rounded musically. Yeah, you know, it wasn't like a particular genre that was.
Speaker 1: Like, yeah, exactly.
Speaker 2: I grew up with like.
Speaker 3: The top one hundred you know, Casey Caseam was on in our house, the top one hundred Rock and roll hits of the day or whatever it was. I remember my grandmother winning a Rolling Stones album off of w b Z. Yeah, she's loved those little contests.
Speaker 1: So the other thing that I love, and you seem to be very into it as well, is the a good old hip hop beef. Yes, when people are beefing, oh now now the only time. Now, I'm always fascinated by that kind of thing, always have been. As long as it doesn't end in violence, that's bad, right, you know, because you know we've you know, of course in the nineties we lost Tupac and Biggie because of that. Not that I think I feel like I am struggling. I feel like we're I feel like we're past that. I feel like we're past all that though, in the sense that you know, nobody's in danger, Like neither Kendrick Lamar nor Drake are in any danger from any of them.
Speaker 1: I hope not.
Speaker 3: I don't think like this this is all a verbal thing or what have you. But I'll tell you what. I keep go ending up on rabbit holes of watching other people reacting to when he finally because the build up is crazy. He keeps giving little little teasers about the song, and it's like, is he gonna play? It?
Speaker 1: Is gonna play.
Speaker 3: You watch some of these reaction videos and you'll see people like, he'll do a tease and people are like, Ah, he's.
Speaker 1: Not gonna do it.
Speaker 3: He's not gonna do it like I want him to do it, and then suddenly he starts it and people just go craze.
Speaker 1: Yeah, those are a great moment.
Speaker 3: And then you can see people like holding their breath when it gets right to the park he's about to do it, and he just looks.
Speaker 2: That guy has got the killer grin.
Speaker 1: I love the way the way grins when he looks into the camera and says, say Drake, oh my god, yeah, it was really good. That kills me.
Speaker 2: He has got the best. He does that grin more than once.
Speaker 3: Yeah, he's got this side eye grin that's just freaking awesome. Right into the camera, say Drake, and he just goes on and yeah, oh my god, and the whole Super Bowl, all these people a minor chorus, that lawsuit, he just might as well drop it.
Speaker 1: I mean, come on, what are you gonna do? Yeah, for those who don't know about that part. So this particular hip hop beef has escalated, though legally, because Drake is suing UHL, he's suing the label and I think they're both on UMG. So Drake is like Limbiscuit is suing Universal Music Group. So is Drake, but he's suing over the Kendrick Lamar song because he's actually claiming definition of character, which it's just kind of like that's like the ultimate B move, right, and by B, I mean you know I can't say it here, but you know what I'm saying, right, actually actually file a lawsuit over a dis track?
Speaker 1: Like who does that? Has anyone else ever done that? Usually you just respond with another distract and you keep going as this thing between them has gone on for a decade.
Speaker 3: Yes, however, Devil's advocate here, Yeah, he does literally accuse him of being a pedalle Well yes, yeah, so.
Speaker 2: That might cross that line.
Speaker 3: This a little bit further than a general dis track right, although I mean at this point it's run how many Grammys?
Speaker 2: How many awards? Is the song one?
Speaker 3: Oh?
Speaker 2: Yeah, She's the guy's even gotta freggin. What is it?
Speaker 3: He's got something crazy? Is not a Peace Prize or is it Pulitzer Pulitzer?
Speaker 1: Does he? Yeah? Well I got he.
Speaker 3: Got something that was like never been done before and rap for this song.
Speaker 2: He has won so many awards.
Speaker 1: For this song. It's crazy. Well not only but this just happened. The BBC is reporting Kendrick Lamar earns first UK number one with Not Like Us, So it's now it is his first number one in the.
Speaker 3: UK and people are doing like TikTok dances and stuff, and they're doing like Serena's dance.
Speaker 1: Yeah, it's just crazy.
Speaker 3: To watch the videos, Absolutely crazy to watch the video.
Speaker 2: I wonder if that.
Speaker 3: Family that you guys played last night did it the Mother and Son the Mother and Son cover.
Speaker 1: Oh from Yeah, I don't remember what they from Retrospectrum right now.
Speaker 3: Yeah, Miriam was looking them up and it was really interesting to see the mix their old and news style.
Speaker 2: I wonder if they've done that song.
Speaker 1: But a lot of people do it now I've been a Kendrick Lamar fan for a long time. Yeah, I like him the only uh because I remember when we used to be on weekly afternoons during Black History Month. I would play some of his tracks, which it is right now February. But I've as far as Drake, and I have nothing against Drake, but I don't dislike Drake. But the only the only track by Drake I can think of that I really like. It came out like what maybe five six years ago? Nice for what I and I played that on the show once too.
Speaker 1: I don't remember why that never play.
Speaker 2: It's for me that song has been played.
Speaker 1: It's so catchy though, very very catchy. Great book I Got You.
Speaker 3: Yeah.
Speaker 2: No, I've never been a Drake fan all that much myself and.
Speaker 3: Never really followed Kendrick all that much, but I yeah, I love this song. Actually, I loved the entire metally everything that they did was really great.
Speaker 1: Yeah.
Speaker 3: I liked the slowdown part and having her come out, and I really felt like everything they did was very well done, very tight, excellent performance and see any issues and boy, can we just say the Super Bowl show has had so many issues over the years, But I think they're now saying like this is the most watched one. He's beat everybody on the most watch super performance in history. All the viewership is insane, absolutely insane. But if you really want to laugh, you got to watch some of these reaction videos of people watching it.
Speaker 3: Snoop Dogg did one. There's a reaction video there Snoop Dogg watching it live. Oh yeah, well yeah, they're from the same area to supporting each other.
Speaker 1: Yeah, it's it's fun. No, so uh yeah, it'll be interesting now to see if.
Speaker 2: What happens with the lawsuit, right, Yeah.
Speaker 1: Well, I'm also curious who, like what happens with this beef, because it seems like this is, like, to put it in wrestling terms, this was the WrestleMania main event between them, you know what I mean? Like this was because I don't see how Drake recovers. I don't see how Drake recovers. Yeah, to me, this was the final nail in the coffin.
Speaker 3: I agree, I agree. I mean, I don't see how he could possibly top us.
Speaker 1: Yeah, I don't know. If there's another example that I'm not thinking of, if somebody performing, especially a disc track at the Super Bowl halftime show.
Speaker 3: And they have it goes so viral. Yeah, I don't know, the most viewed ever.
Speaker 1: I don't know how you top that.
Speaker 3: Still going crazy around the world. One a bunch of different awards. He's won a bunch of awards for it. Yeah, huge amount of awards for it. There's just no recovering from this. I'm sorry. Yeah, just put it to bed, leave it alone, move on. That's what Jake should do. Just just let it go, move on. Nothing good can come from him keeping it in the light and suing him.
Speaker 2: All he's gonna do is keep the attention on. He's better off letting it go and walking away cut his losses well.
Speaker 1: But can't he do that? Or does that look even worse if he if he walks away now, I mean, now he's put now he's in a no win situation. I mean, he looks like a bee for filing the lawsuit. But won't he also looked like a beefer if he just drops it and walks away, won't that look like he's conceding, like he's just uh uh, surrendering. Maybe he should, though, Yeah, I don't.
Speaker 2: Sometimes you gotta pet your loss, accept your loss.
Speaker 1: And move on. Yeah, I don't know again, I don't know what else he can do, you know, unless he finds a way to make peace with with Kendrick. But I don't know. That's not gonna happen.
Speaker 2: No way that's gonna happen now.
Speaker 1: Yeah, not after this, I don't know.
Speaker 2: I mean, and then SNL picks up on it.
Speaker 1: Yeah, they left out.
Speaker 2: Drake's name, but they left in all the other words.
Speaker 1: You know, it can't happen though. I mean, people didn't think that jay Z and nas whatever. I mean that that got pretty pretty vicious with the distracts back and forth. What's that not this level?
Speaker 3: Well, not like it's walking around with statues because of it.
Speaker 1: I don't think. Yeah, I don't think anyone performed ether at the Super Bowl.
Speaker 2: Ads on your own, No, I know, Pedophile.
Speaker 1: I know there's really no reason for for them to make peace.
Speaker 3: I guess I don't see it happening.
Speaker 1: Oh hello to Tom Siracusa, of course if Syracusa, Sorry, Tom, I'm never sure how to say your last name from day to attend. By the way, their name came up again last week on the show when Ricky Mapleton was here and he mentioned he was at that show at the Aura in Portland seen Day to Attend open for Ace Frehley and had wonderful things to say about Day to Attend. However, Ricky Mapleton did not have wonderful things to say about Ace Fraley necessarily because apparently Ace took a sweet time getting to the stage.
Speaker 2: But oh yeah, didn't they say it was like was it three hours? It was hours?
Speaker 1: It was like midnight by the time he said the stage. But yeah, Tom says, good money and rivalries. Yeah, well that's true. That's the thing though about about any kind of beef, whether it's whether it's in hip hop or whether it's podcasters and radio hosts beefing with each other. You know, it does, uh, it does get a lot of attention and publicity. It does generate interest. You know, if you think about if you kind of pull back and think of it this way, would either Kendrick Lamar or Drake be As let me put it this way, take the beef out of it.
Speaker 1: We wouldn't probably be having I mean, woul Kendrick Lamar even have been had the opportunity to perform at the Super Bowl.
Speaker 3: Because not necessarily because I don't know, I mean, I don't know I mean, not that he wasn't popular, but this particular song has really changed his world.
Speaker 1: Yeah, but it but in a broader context.
Speaker 2: I mean what you know when he's hit Drake before and other songs.
Speaker 1: Oh yeah, oh yeah, oh yeah, they both have. They both have back and forth quite a bit. Yeah.
Speaker 3: Was it there a period of time when they were almost doing it daily, like they were coming out with thungs back to back against each other.
Speaker 1: Yeah, this isn't recent. This has been going on for a decade.
Speaker 3: Yeahter then they peel off the scab and do it all over again.
Speaker 1: But but there is good, you know it. And the thing is too if you play it right, everyone kind of benefits in the sense that everyone everyone involved benefits from the the interest that is generated.
Speaker 3: People are looking Drake up too, so you've got to be getting some benefit ont of it that.
Speaker 1: Way, right, right, that way, and people who like Drake better, especially probably in Canada because Drake is Canadian. I'm sure there's a lot of Canadians who are mad at Kendrick.
Speaker 2: I didn't realize he was Canadian.
Speaker 1: Yeah, he lives in Toronto.
Speaker 2: So does it become a Canadian American thing? Because that's going.
Speaker 3: On Oh maybe maybe, I don't know.
Speaker 1: By the way, Tom in the chat room from day to attend says, remember the early two thousand Super Bowl Aerosmith Brittany and saying Mary J. Blige, no best halftime shows ever, no drama. Well, well, Janet Jackson, there was drama.
Speaker 2: Drama and they really went after her. And it wasn't her fault.
Speaker 1: I'm still not. There were so many different explanations about what was really going on there.
Speaker 2: And he got poo pooed all over and he's the one that ripped it off of her.
Speaker 1: So but that one moment, though had But Lewis Black had the best take on it when when he said, uh, you know, we love Lewis Black, the comedian. When he said, uh, he watched, Well, I have to I have to edit how I say it, but he just it's funny when it's not gonna be funny when I say it, I don't have his delivery. But when he said, you know, he talks about watching his country lose its collective mind over over over that that the Janet Jackson incident at the Super Bowl.
Speaker 2: Look at the world today, But that had.
Speaker 1: All of a sudden you know who who that had a surprising effect on was the radio industry, even though it had nothing to do with radio, because all of a sudden, so that happens, people are losing their minds, as Lewis Black put it, and people were losing their minds, so they.
Speaker 2: Literally stood on the stage and stripped naked.
Speaker 1: Well, and then so and then you know, there's these questions about while is the FCC going to find whoever? The super Bowl and all that and all this stuff, and but all of a sudden things got much much more uptight at radio.
Speaker 2: Yeah, and it was just I mean.
Speaker 3: They were taking it out on her as if she had, you know, jumped on the stage and intentionally stripped herself.
Speaker 2: She was mortified, horrified.
Speaker 1: But all of a sudden, the backlash from that, though, it splashed onto onto radio shows like like Howard and and Opie and Anthony, and all of a sudden they're all being told, you know, whether it was by an Imus too, whether it was by CBS Radio or or Infinity Broadcasting or whoever, all of a sudden, the executives are telling them whoa the FCC is really you know, looking at everybody now not just you know, not just again, whoever was carrying the Super Bowl that year. They're looking at everybody, so we need to tighten up.
Speaker 1: It was. It was weird, the chilling effect that it had on talk radio, which had nothing to do with what happened. Well, no, this was no, not Reagan Gore her Well, No, that was the you're you're thinking of the eighties, Tipper Gore and the PMRC. No, this was this. I don't know why. I don't know why this happened when it did. It was just strange. I mean, it's one thing for people to be concerned. And look, I under I do understand it. I don't have any kids, but I understand if you're sitting there with your your kid and all of a sudden you see this and you know you got to explain it.
Speaker 1: And I don't know, but I'll tell you what.
Speaker 2: Well, my kid was young.
Speaker 3: I was more worried about him seeing somebody's head get chopped off.
Speaker 1: Oh yeah, yeah.
Speaker 2: Violence, Like nobody it's all about how you teach a kid.
Speaker 1: Nobody right, nobody ever, because nobody ever worries about, you know, their kids being exposed to violence constant.
Speaker 3: Yeah, I mean I worked in medicine. Well, I believed in teaching anatomy.
Speaker 1: But but but but just but the way it affected the radio industry was very very strange. And you know, because that was the era, you know, especially the early to mid two thousands or even into the late two thousands. But I mean that was kind of the era of the shock jock, which has now become sort of an an arcade and outdated term. Uh and shock jocks are kind of considered dinosaurs now. But but it had it really kind of shut down the shock jocks all of a sudden, this this moral panic over what happened at the super Bowl that affected things not related to the super Bowl halftime show.
Speaker 1: It was it was very, very, very strange.
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