Rising up in Santa Cruz, California, within the Eighties—the place the surfers had been the jocks of the college and the Grateful Useless had been newly resurgent—a younger Adam Scott was doing what most of us had been doing at a younger age: determining his id by music. His older brother revealed to him the myriad secrets and techniques of Led Zeppelin and R.E.M., whereas pop radio and MTV had been shaping his nascent style in apparent however vital methods. It was the molding of somebody who would quickly develop into an actual head—not only a Deadhead, although he tells me he did see greater than a handful of Useless exhibits—however somebody whose deep love of different music would stay alongside his profession as a dryly comedic actor of movie and tv.
When you’ve listened to his digressive, deep-dive music podcasts with comic Scott Aukermen—U Talkin’ U2 to Me?, R U Talkin’ R.E.M. Re: Me?, and, most just lately, U Springin’ Springsteen on My Bean?—you recognize that Scott is a self-professed nerd concerning the music of his life. It was a pleasure to cut it up with him about how albums got here into and stayed in his life, the way it related to his pals, household, and life as an actor, and the way tough it was to not decide an R.E.M. album for each 5 years of his life.
Scott is presently starring in Apple TV+’s sci-fi collection Severance, whose Season 2 finale aired final night time. Season 3 is on the way in which, too.
Cat Stevens: Teaser and the Firecat
That was across the time of my dad transferring out, which I don’t actually keep in mind that nicely, however I do keep in mind Teaser and the Firecat being a factor in these days. Later as a youngster, once I rediscovered the album, it was considerably acquainted to me. I even keep in mind at one level moving into that album as a youngster and being like, “Whoa, that is cool,” and my mother later telling me that once I reapproached the album as a youngster and was taking part in it in my room, she tried to get away from it as a result of it reminded her of a troublesome time. In order that’s why I keep in mind it. However they shielded me from any robust time and I simply remembered the album itself being this heat, pretty factor.
I imply, there’s “The Wind,” which was used so nicely in Rushmore. However “Tuesday’s Useless” is the one the place it actually sort of expands, and there’s this mandolin solo, and it has the sensation of a stay band sort of simply discovering itself by the track. These are objectively nice songs. And if he’s too syrupy for you, I completely perceive and I’ve definitely gone by phases of being like, “Ugh, what the fuck is that this?” And never listening to Cat Stevens for 12 years or one thing and coming again to it and being like, “Oh my God, that is so good.”
