And today we're going to talk about the whole
season that we've done here, starting back in
May. And I've been looking for a way to tie it
all together. And then I saw that the Athens
Film Festival is having a screening of The Accountant
by Ray McKinnon, directed by Ray McKinnon, starring
Ray McKinnon, also starring a little dude named
Walton Goggins. It's also got a guy named Eddie
King in it. And Eddie King and Ray McKinnon are
going to be doing a panel at the screening this
weekend. I encourage you to check that out if
you're in Athens and you hear this in time. I'm
a little late putting out this episode. For one,
because we're going to have a brief hiatus of
about 10 days after the release of this one.
So I wanted to give everything a little bit of
space. But also, I had quite the weekend. I had
Lee Baines here. And then we realized that the
house show in Jacksonville was not going to have
a PA. I knew the owner of that house, too, and
we were talking a few days before, and he was
like, I don't have a PA. And then when Lee got
here, it's starting to storm, so you get to hear
that. But they needed to have a PA at that show,
because otherwise it was just going to be an
acoustic show, which, don't get me wrong. Lee
Baines III would put on an amazing acoustic show.
But I knew this group of people, or at least
a handful of them, and they like to rock. They
like to rock and roll. So we took the show. We
took the PA over to Jacksonville and had a crazy
time. It was awesome. Lee was super gracious
with his time. I got to run sound for him for
a couple nights. That was a really cool experience.
But anyway, now that I've recovered from that,
we're going to get back into it. But this whole
season started with a house show when J. Roddy
Walston played here. And Lee's got a poetry book
coming out next year, so we're going to talk
on the podcast then. After getting to spend some
time with him this past weekend, I think everybody's
going to benefit more from the podcast episode.
being done then anyway. I think we're going to
have a really great conversation when that happens
here, but I don't know if it'll ever top some
of the conversations that we've had already.
He's a really fascinating guy. I just mean that
he's complicated. He's got layers. He's quiet
and observant and respectful and kind and very
professional, all while writing songs. that say,
fuck you, and being as left as they come. Now,
I don't get super political on this podcast,
and that's mainly because it's just not what
I'm doing here. I certainly don't try to hide
my politics. If you haven't gathered by now,
I'm a leftist. And if you're looking for some
political guidance through these times, I really
recommend Hasan Piker. He's... Probably the political
commentator that I agree with the most. But that
brings us to the accountant. The accountant came
out in 2001. The drive -by truckers wrote a song
about it called Sinkhole. But if you've never
seen it, I believe it's free on YouTube right
now. And it's a tale of a man who's trying to
save his farm. And he's trying to save his farm
through insurance fraud. And he's trying to commit
insurance fraud by harming himself in some way.
In an accident. To get the money to pay off the
farm. And the accountant comes in. And. I'm spoiling
this movie. So if you haven't seen it. Go watch
it and then come back. And I'll probably add
a disclaimer. At the beginning of this too. If
you haven't seen this movie. And you're listening
to this episode. You're going to have it spoiled.
But the idea is. That if they stage a farming
accident. They'll be able to save the farm with
insurance money. That's the short of it. Maybe
he'll lose a leg. I'm not going to spoil the
ending. That would be silly. Because that movie
is way more than just the tale of a small farmer.
On the one hand, you have people going to such
lengths to save a way of life. And on the other
hand, you've got this fast -talking accountant.
who certainly got a way of looking at the world
that I think is more common maybe today than
it was then. But that's the thing about being
a leftist, is being a leftist is just being right
but early. But I think what The Accountant gets
right more than anything is its commentary on
how the media creates versions of people that
then become... caricatures of themselves uh when
life imitates art art imitates life eventually
that cycle breaks down and to quote ray mckinnon
you're no longer being country you're acting
country and you're you're like a scotsman who
puts on his kilt once a year to celebrate his
scottishness and i think that's so profound because
we have taken so many different things for granted
in this country and I think we started to see
what life was like and how fragile they were
during the pandemic but they haven't really gotten
better it fast -tracked a lot of progress in
some ways but it also fast -tracked a lot of
and when I say progress I mean about telecommuting
and although a lot of people have reacted backwards
to that but it also closed a lot of mom and pop
shows shops and venues and restaurants and and
really we haven't really seen anybody really
recover from that fully and what's happened is
we're experiencing the acceleration of late stage
capitalism and so it becomes clearer to see what's
happening when it accelerates and i highly encourage
you to watch the accountant I feel like there's
nothing I can really say about that movie that
doesn't say it just fine for itself. But I really
do think that the themes in that movie unify
a lot of what we've been trying to do here on
this podcast, which is tell stories about people
whose stories may not always be told, or when
they are, people who have maybe done interviews
before. We're trying to do an angle that hasn't
been approached before. And I think what's really
exciting about house concerts, which is kind
of how some of the interviews in this podcast
have originated and maybe even the intimacy of
house shows themselves sort of creating a place
for us to build the framework for this podcast
in some instances. where I really feel like we've
got a situation here. We've really got a podcast
here that's worth listening to because we do
tell stories that haven't been told. And I'm
really excited about what we have coming for
you next season, and I'll talk to you a little
bit more about that in a few minutes. But I think
one thing that really needs to be stressed here
is... that when small venues die, there has to
be a place for these mid -level artists, these
artists that aren't on major labels, that maybe
are still building followings in certain parts
of the country. We need to have places for them
to play. And I really admire places that focus
a lot on local music, but house shows can provide
a place where these touring musicians can make
money. People have a cool party. The artist has
a place to stay. And it takes a lot of expenses
out for the artist. And in a weird way, it's
a very socialist concept, right? We're connecting
the means of production and the means of consumption
to each other without any middlemen. And I think
that creates a space for artists. to say really
what they feel, what they're thinking without
being worried about whether the venue is going
to punish them. And I think I am going to have
to cut this short because this storm is coming
in hard. But what I will say is that the big
takeaways I've learned from interviewing these
folks is one, if you have a dream, don't have
a backup plan because you're probably going to
do it. Because following whatever your path might
be isn't always super easy. Another thing I've
learned is that songwriting and joke writing
are very, very similar to each other in a way
that I don't think I realized until talking to
a lot of different musicians and talking to them
about their songwriting process and just how
relatable that was to me when writing jokes.
Another big takeaway is that... There are really
unconventional ways of making your art and getting
it out in the world. There's not just one path.
Whether you're crowdfunding an album before anybody
ever heard of crowdfunding or you're refusing
to play live shows in any circumstance. Whether
your band is all in the same place at the same
time or even has a fixed lineup doesn't seem
to matter either. There's no one way to do what
you want to do. And constraint can be a blessing.
I think it's really important for us to remember
that not every path is the same. You can sometimes
create something entirely new just because of
the constraints that you're under. And I think
another big takeaway this season is that no matter
what... the outlet ends up being people with
this creative fire inside of them that might
come from internalized anxiety or depression
or it could come from a rough upbringing or it
could come from a combination of those things
it does seem to always have a tint of darkness
to it that if you're not expressing yourself
in a meaningful way that you feel is meaningful
whether it be through music or jokes or or painting
or photography if you're not contributing to
the thing that you are passionate about in some
way even if nobody else is consuming it I really
think that what I've seen and what I've experienced
is that it starts to come out in ugly ways and
a lot of the time these creative endeavors are
coping mechanisms for these things and then Other
people just happen to dig it. I know that that's
been true for me. This is really coming down.
I'm getting lightning and thundering. I am connected
to uninterrupted power supplies and all that
sort of thing. But I am going to get off of here
in just a second. I'm really excited for what
I've got coming for you next season. Next season,
which will just start in a couple of weeks here.
My goal is to have the first season. episode
up on the 27th of August. So really just taking
a week off. We've done that before here on the
podcast, like the 4th of July, etc. But we'll
have upgraded all of my on -site interviews.
We'll also have individual microphones, for instance.
We'll have better field equipment. We'll be interviewing
people not just in person, I always prefer to
do that, but I don't want to just limit myself
to that. So I will have some interviews done
remotely. We're going to have Jeff Whalen from
a band called Czar, who was one of my first favorite
bands, and I'm really excited for that. We're
going to have Danny Bedrosian from Parliament
Funkadelic, who's got a new book coming out in
October, and he'll be here to talk about that
and everything. Now, these are all scheduled.
You know, all of this is subject to change, but...
I'm planning to talk to John Neff next weekend.
Well, I lost power there, like I thought I was
going to. And I don't really know where I was,
except that I'll be interviewing some folks next
weekend. I've got a lot headed your way for Season
2. You'll hear more about that in the first episode.
You know, it wasn't even supposed to rain today,
according to the news. But with all the cuts
to the National Weather Service and the rising
temperatures, it's definitely getting harder
to predict. I think making a podcast like this
in itself is a political act and a political
statement. And I think movies like The Accountant
illustrate that really well. I think telling
these stories... I think telling these stories...
He's a way of preserving culture and a way of
life. I think one thing that all of these stories
have had in common this season is that billionaires
have fucking ruined everything. And I'm not sure
that even Ray McKinnon saw what was coming with
the internet and the digital space when he made
the movie The Accountant, but everything he says
about our culture got amplified. By that digital
overtaking. It's a great film. Please watch The
Accountant. Please hit subscribe. We've got an
exciting second season planned for you. Thanks
for listening to Overeducated and Underemployed.
I'm Fedden. If you want to book me for stand
-up comedy. reach out to me at feddunxr at gmail
.com. That's F -E -D -D -U -N -X -R at gmail
.com. I've got clips I can send you. I'm trying
to put together some out -of -town dates. If
you've stuck around this long, I will tell you
my goal here is to tour doing comedy, pair that
with interviewing folks for the podcast during
the day. I love you guys. Thanks for listening
to Season 1 of Overeducated and Underemployed.
I love you guys. Thanks for listening to Season
1 of Overeducated and Underemployed. I'm back.