"I swear, I Really Wanted To Make A "Rap" Album But This Is Literally The Way The Wind Blew Me This Time" - Andre 3000
Amy:
Hi, Risa.
Risa:
Hi, Amy. How are you doing?
Amy:
Well, I am buried the like official snow. We had some snow before, but it was like light and dusty.
And then it kind of went away. And like, I woke up today and like, you know, at the beginning of winter, there is that very like wonderland, you know, Christmas postcard kind of feeling. And then, But then, you know, swiftly the fantasy fades away and you realize you've got some back breaking labour to do for the rest of the day.
Pros and cons everywhere, people, pros and cons everywhere. Because you manage the snow shoveling for your family, this is your, your labor. Yes, and um, of course it's one of those things where like, it's like dominoes, like, if I don't do this, then, you know, we can't. Park the truck or, you know, we can't get to work, can't have a fire because the chimney is like covered in snow.
If I don't maintain that, you know, it's like, it's all very like domino effect, especially when you live in the country. I think.
Risa:
Yeah. We get buried quick out here, we get, I, I, I forget every year and then, and then it gets partway through the winter, I'm like, I can't see the houses on my street, the piles of snow are so high, we're not at that stage yet, but we are at the stage of the winter, for some reason, Amy and I are not far apart, but we're in these sort of slightly different weather corridors, but we are at the part of the winter where, The lake freezes overnight in patches and in patterns, and then it'll maybe thaw in the sun of the day, like it hasn't fully committed to the freeze.
And this morning, there was this big white frozen patch, kind of in the middle, because it froze and snow fell on it. And then these Shapes open in it. I don't know why, but like it melted just in these shapes inside the snow and they look like dancers or they look like stars or something. They're really beautiful.
I'll try to take a picture, although I'm sure they're already melting, but they were really kind of haunting this morning. Really joyful. I'm thinking a lot about shooting stars, but I'll try to May and Mark, for the last, like, two, three weeks, were listening over and over again to this song, Une Etoile Filante, by the Cowboy Frenguin.
And then just last week, the lead singer died, and we had been listening to this song out of the blue for no reason so much. And the song is about how, at the end of the day, we're all just, these moments are just these shooting star moments. Like, we could sit and talk about our lives and our memories. At a bar on Saint Denis or out at Carré Saint Louis and we would, what would, what would I remember?
What would I call forth if I was comfortable with you? And it was late at night. What would I tell you of my life? And in the end, that's all we are, these shooting stars. It's so lovely and really so touching. And then to have this singer who is really so important in Quebec, it's this, you know, um, chansonnier, like storyteller.
Activist, but in this really simple language, like kind of carrying you, making everyone feel included, kind of Dolly Parton ethic, you know, like, I just want everyone to be loved and let's go and make the world better. It's kind of that ethic in that, in that kind of music. So it's been a huge loss in, in Quebec and for like a singer that probably most of the world doesn't know.
But I don't know. I've just been thinking a lot about, you know, These traces we leave these bright little traces who sees that shooting star that you are, you know,
Amy:
yeah, I mean, that's the amazing thing about literally and metaphorically, you know, like a shooting star is like this amazing magical. Moment.
And if you're looking in the exact right spot in the sky, then you see it. And if you happen to be not looking at the exact right spot in the sky, you miss it. Even if you're standing next to the person who sees it, by the time you go, oh my goodness, look at that. Like it's, it's too late. So how do we, how do we make sure that we're like, again, more metaphorically this time, but like how do we make sure that we're looking at that right spot in the sky, you know?
Risa:
Yeah. Right. Or just sort of knowing that, like, you're going to be that for somebody. Like, you don't know who's going to be looking. You know, you don't know, you don't know that trace that you're leaving. But just trying to leave that bright bit of kindness somewhere, because someone will catch it. I don't know.
That's what I'm hoping. So that's my part one of my prescription. You have to listen to Les Cabois Fringants Une Etoile Filante. We'll link it to you so you don't have to try to spell it if you don't speak French. And it's, it's funny because, you know, Quebec does have, like, very much its own culture, sort of because of, like, the language difference.
There's been this, like, You know, cultural and political sort of fortification, uh, uh, and so oftentimes like acts that are huge in Quebec are like unknown throughout the rest of the world, but we're like, Oh, they're so famous. And then you leave Quebec and no one knows what you're talking about. Totally. I remember talking to, um.
A promoter here for Blue Skies Turn Black about how, like, booking for Quebec is so different than booking shows for anywhere else. Like, some artists will come to Montreal that are just, like, filling rooms in every other city, and no one comes, like, no one gives a fuck. But you bring in, like, a weird, you know, French noise act, yeah, or not, not even French, you know, but just like something really experimental and political or who knows what it is that connects and you have to change the room because tickets sold out in a day.
I don't know. It's a funny place to live. It's a funny place to be an Anglophone too. I've always felt like we're. We're in these concentric bubbles, you know, of these, the tiny world inside a tiny world inside a tiny world, you know, always in this relationality, like Canada always has sort of struggled to define itself in relation to this huge neighbor, this massively militarized neighbor with whom we share the longest undefended border in the world, all of our trade relationships.
And then Quebec has a very different relationship to Canada and then Montreal or being an Anglophone inside that you sort of are in these, these circles of miscommunication sometimes, but sometimes it also allows you to like, see, um, the big, the big picture. It's a paradigm that's hard to see when you're inside of it, because you're always sort of an outsider in a way.
Although, like, being a white English lady, I'm not really an outsider. I'm not claiming outsider status in any way, but. But there is that,
Amy:
I mean, this is why Montreal has that sort of like, small town inside a big city kind of vibe, because if you are part of that Anglo population, Then, you know, again, it's like a culture within a culture within a culture within a culture, like you were saying, but it's like, there have been so many times, even, we did our live book launch, and one of our Coven mates brought a friend of hers, and it turned out to be somebody that I knew, like, from school, you know, 15 years ago that I hadn't seen since, and it's, it's always that in Anglo Montreal, it's like, Oh, I know you, because it is like a very much like a small town, even though we're in this like massive, you know, cosmopolitan city, which is something that I love about, about Montreal.
Risa:
Yeah, me too. I love feeling that small town and I, I'll share maybe that, that video and I'll see what else we can find. If you, if you've never been to Montreal or to Quebec to see some of the architecture and the. The feeling here, I don't know, it, it pulls on the heartstrings in a way. It's, it's nice, I think, maybe to remember if you are in a large American suburb that there are other ways that cities can be, other ways we can be connected to each other.
Quebec doesn't have it all figured out. It's just different.
Amy:
Oh Lord, pros and cons everywhere. Like, every, everything we come to, snow, Quebec politics, everything ultimately is pros and cons everywhere and that's. I mean, that's life. And there's so many, um, segues that could take me to my prescription, you know, talking about experimental music, um, talking about, like, going your own way and doing something different.
I brought one of my greatest all time crushes. Um, for the prescription this week, I brought André 3000, because maybe y'all have read or seen, or maybe you're not into the music concrete scene, and so you haven't, you haven't seen anything about this, but André just released an album like last week, a new album called New Blue Sun, and André just released an album like last week, a new album called New Blue Sun, and
I mean, I just love Andre so much. Let me backtrack a little bit. So, OutKast was this, um, like, Atlanta hip hop scene that just, like, skyrocketed into fame and notoriety at a time. If you can imagine this, y'all, like in the late 90s when the hip hop scene in America anyway was very much like East Coast, West Coast, and, and that was what we were dealing.
Which coast, you know, which coast of hip hop are you into? And then suddenly we have this, like, south central, you know, like, Atlanta, just burning, and, and Outkast sort of made people look at the whole rest of the country, really, if I could kind of big up them, maybe a little bit too much, but. They had a different style that was like, nothing we had heard of before and, um, you know, no shade to Big Boi.
Big Boi is an amazing MC and an amazing musician, but I feel like the real, like, freakiness. The weirdness mostly comes from André. Maybe I'm wrong, I've never been in the studio with OutKast, but it seems to me like, songs like, um, like B. O. B. have this urgency, and, you know, I listened to an interview with André where he was like, I was trying to tap into like Rage Against the Machine, like that kind of like almost aggressive urgency, like the music that he was hearing in punk rock and rock and roll that was coming out at the time and sort of bringing that into hip hop.
And if you listen to B. o. B., it's one of my favorite hip hop tracks of all time. Um, and it is that urgency of just like, and And, but there is a line in there where, where Andre says, let me quote it exactly. Um, Andre says, I might cast you a spell. And then, um, they, they put out speaker box love below, which again is like this testament to going your own way.
It's a double album, and Speakerboxx is like, sort of more like the hip hop that we're used to. And Love Below is like this bizarre, Rick James inspired, very sexy and weird. And Love Below just blew my mind. Love Below is one of my favourite records of all time. And on this record, Andre like, implies that God is a woman, also that God is nature.
So I feel like André, like, might be a witch, and this might be something that I need to really, like, investigate further. But, the reason that I brought André this week is because he just released a new album that is, like, atmospheric, uh, flute. You know, the main character of the album is his, like, bespoke wooden flute that someone made for him.
And the album is called New Blue Sun. One of the tracks is called I swear, I really wanted to make a rap album, but this is literally the way the wind blew me this time. I'm gonna read that song to this is a song title. I swear, I really wanted to make a rap album, but this is literally the way the wind blew me this time.
And I'm like, thank you, Andre, like, thank you for... We all have such heavy expectations of the people in our lives, or society at large, or our employers, like, you have to be this, you have to behave this way, we expect this from you because, etc, etc, etc. And we even had one of our coven mates, like, started this really compelling conversation about gender non conformity, and which sort of, like, Has expanded into like a general conversation about nonconformity, you know, like your sexuality or just how you operate your life or like people in your life expect you to make a rap album, but this is literally the way the wind blew me like this is what I needed to do right now.
This is who I need to be right now. And I just kind of want to thank Andre for giving us this like. paradigm of you don't have to do what is expected of you. You can like take some time and I'll just carry on with this sort of musical metaphor like when you're in the studio say and imagine that the studio is the place where you like create your life and your identity you know not just where you record albums but like imagine like a metaphorical studio that you can go into and like mix tracks and like you know what like Um, I'm gonna like, put the volume up on my kindness a little bit and, or maybe I'm gonna like, mix my masculinity a bit higher in this mix or, you know, and we are allowed to and capable of.
Remixing our lives and anyone who has recorded music will tell you you have these parts, but it really comes down to the mix. It really comes down to, you know, the guitar is at this volume. The drums are at this volume. The lyrics, the vocals are at this volume. And then maybe again, the vocals have reverb.
The drums have gated reverb, the guitar has delay, and so not only do we have the pieces, this is my extended metaphor here, but not only do we have the pieces, but we have the opportunity to like shift and change and affect the sounds of those pieces that are the creation of our identity, and remix them.
Remix them every fucking day, like there's that quote that we always bring up that's like you're under no obligation to be who you were. five minutes ago. But Andre's song title here, like, I swear I really wanted to make a rap album. Like, I thought about my parents and like, I swear, I really wanted to, I don't know, go to law school and make you proud.
But like, I'm sorry, I'm an artist and a weirdo. And this is the way that the wind has blown me and it's blowing me. It's like, yeah. I really wanted to fill in the blank, but the wind has taken me to this place, and so I'm gonna, like, respect that and honour that. And so I'm gonna, I'm gonna put this track In the prescription, but I really want you to understand that this is not hip hop.
Um, go in with an open mind if you're an OutKast fan, because it is just like, beautiful. I don't know how many of you out there are into this kind of like, new age is usually. the term, you know, and that kind of fits for us in our weird, you know, navigation of witchcraft and so on. But like, New Age music, it's sort of called that because it is like, almost like a trance.
It's meditative. There is something that is mystical feeling about it. And so it's often called new age music. And, you know, this often is put under like the jazz umbrella or ambient, but this is what this is. This record is like Andre playing the flute with some like long, you know, synthy jazzy drones in the background.
But it's so meditative and beautiful and I want you to, like, listen to this track and think about, you know, what is expected of you, but what is like real for you and how we can, how we can navigate between those two things. So Andre, if you're listening, I love you so much. I've always loved you, but like, just when I thought it was impossible to love you more, here you are with New Blue Sun making a wooden flute record.
Thanks Andre.
Risa:
I read an interview, he said something about how New Blue Sun was about like a An era with a cooling sun, you know, it's like, it's about a time past, like, when the, when the sun moves, you know, it'll be many millions of years, but moves past its peak and it's going towards maybe dying, but it's less hot and it's cooling.
And so I've also been thinking about, like, the contrast of that, like, hot, heated. Bombs over Baghdad time, that intensity, like needing a cure for things and they aren't coming and I just want to stay on tour and like all of that, like, you know. I lived with a friend, we were in undergrad when that song was out, and she had a computer that had all the songs she'd ever downloaded from like LimeWire or whatever, and she would leave it on random all the time in the house.
And like every fourth song that the computer would put on was Bombs Over Baghdad. Oh, thanks, thanks computer playlist, buddy. I've always felt that, like, Outcast and, uh, the, the waves of the universe were deeply connected, because every time it came on, we'd be like, okay, yeah, you're right, we do need to dance to this again and think about it.
Outcast and the universe are deeply connected, indeed. There's no question in my mind. Just felt that. And then, To have this flute album come out where it feels like, yeah, that's cool. Let's cool things down. And literally be like what the wind moves through, right? Like, let's be, let's be these flutes. Let's let it move through us.
Amy:
Like, it feels like Andre is like a channel for what the, the, the people need right now. You know, like back, back then, you know, when OutKast first came out. Um, it was like really, really exciting. Even their more laid back tunes were like, this is exciting. And I feel like Andre being this channel for the emotion of the universe is like, we all need to sit down and like, think a minute.
Risa:
Yeah, I saw another interview with him where he was like, I'd like to be rapping, but what am I going to rap about now? I got a colonoscopy this week. Like, that's not.
Amy:
Yeah, he, he has talked about how the first word of hip hop is hip and when you get to be in your forties, like, you know, and it's funny because many years ago I saw, uh, Chuck D speak and it was like one of the intellectual highlights of my life.
He is just, he just is like. Again, one of my idols in terms of a contemporary philosopher. And he said the same thing. I mean, again, this was years ago, so the references aren't exactly on point, but he was like, if you're 20 and Soulja Boy is your favourite artist, then like, that's totally great and normal and fine.
But if you're like, 50, and Soulja Boy is your favorite artist, like, grow up! You know, like, that there is something about, and this is why I always say, like, whatever, the Rolling Stones can keep touring, and that's fine, like, no hate, no judgment. But for me, in my thinking, like, having having been in the music business for, you know, a lot, a lot of my life, that punk rock, rock and roll.
It's, it's a young person's game. And again, I'm not suggesting that you can't make punk rock music or you can't make rock and roll music. If you're like, you know, what was the old Who thing, like, don't trust anyone over 30 or whatever, like, I don't, I don't buy that, but there's a certain fiery naivete that comes with youth, where you really think, like, I still think I can change the world, but when I was, like, 15, I thought I could do it and I could do it in this lifetime and that, like, you know, like that.
The naivete, the urgency, the fire. The fearlessness. Yes, exactly, exactly. The like, the total lack of responsibility in your life where you can just like, I'm just gonna go full blown balls out into this punk rock thing and, you know, and then like Andrea saying like, what am I gonna write about my colonoscopy now?
Like, You can, you can make punk music about your colonoscopy and I would probably listen to it. But there is like a certain, a certain thing about like going, going through our lives and recognizing like, you know, like in Ecclesiastes and how the birds sang like to everything there is a season. And it's, it's okay to not stick to like exactly what you were doing when you were 15.
You know, you can, um, Now make a wooden flute record.
Risa:
Do it. Um, I yeah, I'm going to segue from that to my next rec. Although it's sort of an awkward one, but um, I've talked before about the dream podcast. There's a new episode, a new season of The Dream. Um, this is one of the greatest pieces of podcasting that I think has existed. Like, Jane Marie, she was a producer for This American Life for 15 years.
She's a Peabod Award winning journalist. She's so incredible, and she really holds the vulnerability of People who have been involved in multi level marketing and really like cherishes their stories and is really kind with the kind of people who tangled up in that while simultaneously doing like incredibly invasive.
Research into the selling of that dream and the nefariousness of it and how deeply entrenched it is into the American dream, into the selling of American imperialism and the selling of sort of trickle down economics, like how all those things are really constantly based upon this, like, this shell game.
Like, you, If, if you just convince more people, then you'll move up higher and then one day you too will be transcended and you, your worth will be proven by your wealth. And so there's so many aspects of that that I think have brought us to like, you know, an era in American politics where Trump is running for president again while on trial for, and like, and you know, judges have confirmed this week.
He did. Try to overthrow an elected government, you know, he has been convicted of rape. Like what is happening? He's making outright fascist Nazi statements wanting to Deport 10 million people. I mean we can't take our eyes off the way that that's kind of language and this kind of Fetishization of wealth has led to this place where we can so easily dehumanize people we see lower down on the chain than us.
And the new season tackles the coaching industry, which I think is so important to talk about. And she handles it really gently because she herself is like, Deeply depressed going through COVID and she's really honest about how that her main relationship fell apart and she needs a coach, but she's also going through all the coaches and sort of identifying where they're using language that comes directly from.
Mind control cult stuff there, or another, you know, one is using, you know, really disproven language about what causes autism, like all bad science stuff. Um, and also the way that MLM and coaching is so closely tied, like when you get high enough up in your pyramid, then you become a coach and you can just start selling to people to sell to people about how to sell to people.
And it's this house of cards. Um, and I think it's so important for us all to, like, look directly at that. You probably know or are someone who has considered coaching or who has, like, bought. Something from an MLM or who family went through it or you tried it for a while yourself because you want to be home with your family and you're desperate to make an income like we are.
We're all susceptible. We're all in these worlds. I watched my grandfather go through it his entire life. Some of the most abusive kinds of network marketing, like he was subjected to when he was like in his seventies on these like coaching calls where he was being insulted and berated by men in their thirties who are making money selling seven year olds these packages like giants.
He started helping them root. I think, you know, dealing in the world that we live in where, and we operate in where we talk about witchcraft and we talk about magic and we try to wrangle with magical thinking and we think about why we're drawn to these practices and these kinds of relationality. Um, Yeah, we gotta, we gotta look pretty honestly at the systems of control that are right hairsbreadth distance from the communities that we're trying to build and be really careful about what that is.
And, you know, like none of us want to be in or be a part of a fucking cult. So let's look right at it and then try to build communities that are more resilient and more alive. Anyway, check out this podcast. It's pretty cool.
Amy:
There's this. You know, it's like the other side of the coin of, you know, that phrase, like, fake it till you make it.
And I always sort of interpreted that as like, okay, I'm not feeling confident, but I'm going to pretend that I'm confident and that's going to ultimately make me feel confident. That, to me, is like a fair and good, you know, fake it till you make it. But these things are fake it till you make it, like, lie, stand in front of a luxury car and have your picture taken and tell people that that's the truth.
The car that you bought with the money that you made from your, your scam network, although you're not definitely not calling it that. Or, you know, like I've seen so many, because that is the drive of the MLM, right? It's not about even selling your product. It's about getting people to sign up under you.
And so if you can make it look like you're doing well, then that's the fake it till you make it. Like, pretend you're making money, and then other people will come in under you because they think you're making money, and then you'll make money. That's like the nefarious side of fake it till you make it, and I don't, I think that there's a difference between, like, faking it, Again, I'm going to put on a brave face, even though I'm scared.
I'm going to tell you your new haircut looks great, even though maybe it doesn't. Like, you know, nothing, nothing is, like, completely black or white. I think there are, there are times, like, where lying is the right thing to do. Yes, you look beautiful. You know, like, you can say that to somebody who maybe is having a bad day, even if they don't look their best, and that's like a Goodbye.
But the fake it till you make it of like Pretend you're making money when you're not. Pretend you're using your like, I can't even think of any of the names, but like, you know, your Your business card to pay for things and like taking a photo for Facebook or Instagram like I'm gonna pay for these things with this card and then swapping it out like I've read so many stories about how people are just abjectly lying to get you to come into this.
profit cult. And so yeah, I want everybody who's thinking about this idea of fake it till you make it to realize that there are two sides of that coin. Pretend you're confident until you feel confident. Great. Pretend you're making money so that you can trick people into giving you money. Not fucking great.
And the thing about coaching is like, no shade, but a lot of the people that have told me like, oh, I'm thinking about getting into coaching. I'm like, really?
Like, I'm sorry. Your life is a fucking mess. Like, how are you gonna tell me? And again, my life is a mess. And that's why I am always like, like, You know, here's my advice from the trenches beside you, like, I'm never gonna frame myself as a coach because that implies that, like, I know more than you do about how you should live your life and I fucking don't.
Risa:
Yeah, like, yeah, I see so many people. Announcing that they're coaches and then first of all, it's a completely unregulated industry and then suddenly they're just posting all these memes about whatever the fuck, you know, like about how about how our minds shape the universe is all goes back to prosperity doctrine bullshit and it's just a.
And I have a lot of sympathy. And I mean, I, I, I worked with a coach when I was at the worst time in my life. She was my aunt. She did it for free. I couldn't fucking have afforded it. Um, but it helped. But, you know, you remind me there's, there's a part in, uh, in this new season of the dream where the, the main journalist is speaking with someone who's kind of gone through this whole pipeline going really MLM.
And then, you know, Becoming get sort of getting sold on coaching and then getting sold on becoming a coach and being a social worker and having enough of the. Rational detachment that by the end, she's like, Whoa, wait a second. Um, and so she kind of comes out of the whole process and can talk about it really clearly, but she describes, you know, that they were told to have these drip lists.
So people that they're like slowly building friendships with. And then, then, but the friendship was really just so that they could occasionally like drop in a reference to their skincare products and then eventually sell them skincare products and then eventually sell them on selling skincare products or whatever.
And she was like, the heartbreaking thing about it is I look at this list and like, I would really like to actually have been friends with these people, like that would have actually made a difference in my life if I had been like, like building real friendships and real relationships and real community, but I wasn't.
I was always there with a manipulative shell on. And so, yeah, I don't know. I think a lot about that. Like, can you, can you just. Build the friendships and, and that, and that get into these paid dynamics where you're like paying someone to tell you ultimately that you should be doing what they're doing and getting other people to pay you for both, like advice, you know what I mean?
Like, can't we just have mutual aid? Can't we just have networks of friendship and care? Can I have a relationship with somebody without having to buy their PDF at the end? And this is tricky. It's like... You know, we have a membership community, we sell books. We're trying really hard to make those spaces where we aren't constantly upselling you something.
It's like, you know, it's $10 for the year and the idea is that you can come and like meet like-minded, angry feminist, trans inclusive, science loving witches and like teacher own courses in there and we're kind to stay out of it. But, but it's tricky and I think that's why we're thinking about it a lot.
'cause. We can see clearly, like, what we don't want to do, and we're trying to figure out how to do that. And again, like, there are two sides to every coin, even, you know, being a coach, like, if you're a coach who is not just trying to rob people, like, great, like, share your wisdom with us.
Amy:
I remember, I haven't even thought about this in a long time, so let me try to, like, Refine my memory, but, um, Oprah did this docuseries that followed Lindsay Lohan, and she had a coach, and I was like, I need this woman in my life, like, because she was just like, in a tizzy, like, not knowing she had just moved, and she didn't know what, you know, she was just like, almost like paralyzed by, by indecision.
And, and those times, yeah, like, hire somebody who knows what the fuck they're talking about to help you fucking get organized and give you advice about how to get through these times. There's nothing wrong with that. But just this idea of like, having Something that you want to sell, but nothing to give.
Does that make sense? Like selling something with nothing really to give. It's the Emperor's new clothes, right? Like, if you can get a solid, you know what, let's bring Sinead O'Connor. I'm going to drop that song in the RX as well. Because there is, like, if you are in this weird, like, cultish space where people are telling you, like, oh, aren't the Emperor's clothes so beautiful?
Oh my goodness, the emperor looks great. And you're like, and you feel compelled, like, I want to see the emperors clothes, but like, I wanted to make a rap album, but I just don't see them. But then there's this like pressure to be like, well, you're. This is the story of the Emperor's New Clothes, right? Like, only the smartest people, only the best people can see the Emperor's.
It's this magical material that only the best people can see. And that's, that's the scam. They're like, Oh, well, if you can't see this, then you're not attuned to your, to your own highest frequency. And like, I feel bad for you, you know? And you sort of like, Well, do I see that? Maybe. Okay. Maybe I see like a green cloak, maybe.
Risa:
Maybe I do want the white Mercedes or whatever. So again, like if people are trying to convince you to see something that's not there, then we need to examine that, right? Like, don't be fooled y'all. And don't feel like you have to do what is expected of you, you know. Let's, let's be fucking Andre 3000s in a, in a world full of fucking Snoop Dogs.
And again, Doggystyle is one of my favorite records of all time. It's like super problematic, whatever. Snoop is like, I'm not smoking anymore, y'all. And then it's like, hey, I just released this new line of edibles. Everyone should only be eating edibles like,
Risa:
I'm not smoking anymore because I'm selling this smoke free fire pit.
Amy:
Yeah, you know, like, exactly. As a joke, it was a meme. It's always like, you know. But that kind of, like, it feels like, okay, Snoop, like, we know what you're doing. You don't care about us. You're just trying to sell us a product. So, like, let's, let's, like, keep those, those, like, our good judgment and our, our, our critical awareness open, even though we just want to be a part of something and listening to someone who knows it all.
I've seen so many people who are religious in one way or another who say, like, Just tell me what to believe. Like, I don't want to think, so just give me a book that tells me what to believe. And then I don't have to struggle with like existential ethical dilemmas anymore, because I have this book that tells me exactly what to think and believe.
And. Again, it's very compelling, like it's safe and it's soft and it's easy. It's so easy.
Risa:
Right. And you look at people like saying in big numbers that they have tuned out of quote unquote mainstream media because It's all they've they've it's been revealed to them that it's all a distortion machine.
And so now they're just following QAnon drops Well, that's pretty fucked yeah Like that's just two dudes in the Philippines who are trying to get traffic to 8chan or whatever like That's, that's some crazy shit. Like, you need to, you need, yeah, there are news sources that have been doing a really good job for a long time.
And yeah, there's bias there, but like, get the NPR app on your phone and like, get out, get your head out of your ass, you know?
I don't know. This isn't a good witch podcast anymore. This is just me yelling about America.
Amy:
But this is the thing about, like, we, we are witches. And so the, the The warm, soft light that lures us toward the island of the Lotus Eaters, where we can just be blissfully unaware, doesn't really work for us.
Because we're witches, because we see the world through a different lens and from a different perspective, you know, we can still be fooled, but I feel like it's a little bit harder to fool a witch who has her powers of critical awareness.
Risa:
Yeah, I mean, I think that's, that's really accurate for how I feel about it.
I don't, I don't want to be a light worker, you know, I want to be a fucking witch.
Amy:
And blessed fucking be!
Risa:
Blessed fucking be. We love you.
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