WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:02.419 Welcome back to the Deep Dive. Today we are opening 00:00:02.419 --> 00:00:07.360 up a file that smells distinctly like hairspray, 00:00:07.379 --> 00:00:10.359 neon fabric, and maybe the inside of a tour bus 00:00:10.359 --> 00:00:13.759 in 2007. I can smell it from here. We are looking 00:00:13.759 --> 00:00:16.739 at a band with a name that just, it sounds like 00:00:16.739 --> 00:00:19.320 it was generated by a sci -fi randomizer, Cobra 00:00:19.320 --> 00:00:22.059 Starship. It's a name that makes absolutely zero 00:00:22.059 --> 00:00:25.399 sense, and yet for a very specific slice of the 00:00:25.399 --> 00:00:28.149 population. You know, it means everything. Exactly. 00:00:28.250 --> 00:00:30.429 And look, if you were on the Internet, and I 00:00:30.429 --> 00:00:32.310 mean the Wild West Internet of MySpace between, 00:00:32.369 --> 00:00:35.490 like, 2006 and 2011, you know this band. Oh, 00:00:35.509 --> 00:00:37.710 yeah. They were the kings of neon pop punk. But 00:00:37.710 --> 00:00:39.609 even if you weren't part of that scene, you definitely 00:00:39.609 --> 00:00:41.329 heard them on the radio. They had legitimate 00:00:41.329 --> 00:00:43.689 top ten hits. But what I found so fascinating 00:00:43.689 --> 00:00:45.450 going through these notes is that their origin 00:00:45.450 --> 00:00:48.270 story isn't your typical friends meet in a garage 00:00:48.270 --> 00:00:51.780 story. Well, it's weirdly spiritual. It is. It 00:00:51.780 --> 00:00:55.140 involves a vision quest, a desert, and a complete 00:00:55.140 --> 00:00:57.619 philosophical pivot on what a band is even supposed 00:00:57.619 --> 00:00:59.780 to be. Let's get into that. Because usually when 00:00:59.780 --> 00:01:02.399 we talk about emo or pop punk from the mid -2000s, 00:01:02.399 --> 00:01:05.260 we're talking about very serious emotional music. 00:01:05.319 --> 00:01:07.299 Right. Wearing your heart on your sleeve, crying 00:01:07.299 --> 00:01:09.439 in the rain type of stuff. And Gabe Supporta, 00:01:09.459 --> 00:01:12.140 the guy behind Cobra Starship, he came from that 00:01:12.140 --> 00:01:14.680 world. He was in a band called Midtown. A very 00:01:14.680 --> 00:01:18.120 respected, driving pop punk band. Right. Midtown 00:01:18.120 --> 00:01:20.459 was successful, but they were serious. And by 00:01:20.459 --> 00:01:23.760 2005, supportive was feeling. You know, stifled. 00:01:23.780 --> 00:01:26.040 This is where the story just takes a sharp left 00:01:26.040 --> 00:01:28.500 turn. He doesn't just quit and start a solo project 00:01:28.500 --> 00:01:31.079 in a studio. No, he goes to the Arizona desert. 00:01:31.299 --> 00:01:33.480 This is my favorite part. A literal vision quest. 00:01:33.780 --> 00:01:36.319 The notes say he spent time with Native American 00:01:36.319 --> 00:01:40.579 tribes and famously smoked peyote. And while 00:01:40.579 --> 00:01:42.659 that sounds like a total rock and roll cliche, 00:01:42.939 --> 00:01:45.439 the result wasn't just, I want to make more rock 00:01:45.439 --> 00:01:49.519 music. Yeah. The epiphany was specific. He realized 00:01:49.519 --> 00:01:52.219 he wanted to abandon the rigid rules of the emo 00:01:52.219 --> 00:01:55.319 scene. He wanted to mix synth pop with hip hop, 00:01:55.480 --> 00:01:58.019 music that didn't take itself so seriously. Which 00:01:58.019 --> 00:02:00.939 is a huge risk. I mean, in 2005, if you played 00:02:00.939 --> 00:02:02.760 guitar, you played guitar. You didn't mess around 00:02:02.760 --> 00:02:05.120 with synthesizers and hip hop beats unless you 00:02:05.120 --> 00:02:07.579 wanted to be, like, laughed out of the warp door. 00:02:07.900 --> 00:02:11.000 Exactly. He was planning to alienate his entire 00:02:11.000 --> 00:02:14.219 fan base. So he comes back from the desert. rents 00:02:14.219 --> 00:02:16.960 a house in the Catskills, and starts writing. 00:02:17.219 --> 00:02:20.060 But this is where we see the first glimpse of 00:02:20.060 --> 00:02:22.699 Supporter's real genius. He wasn't just a musician. 00:02:22.819 --> 00:02:25.520 He was a master of the early internet. The Hollaback 00:02:25.520 --> 00:02:29.219 Boy story. Yeah. So Gwen Stefani releases Hollaback 00:02:29.219 --> 00:02:32.419 Girl everywhere. Supporter records a parody response, 00:02:32.840 --> 00:02:35.479 Hollaback Boy, and just throws it up on MySpace. 00:02:35.800 --> 00:02:37.719 And for our listeners who might have missed the 00:02:37.719 --> 00:02:40.150 MySpace era... We have to explain how different 00:02:40.150 --> 00:02:42.129 this was. Oh, yeah. You couldn't just go viral 00:02:42.129 --> 00:02:44.409 on TikTok. You had to build a page. Yeah. Code 00:02:44.409 --> 00:02:47.129 your own HTML. Get people to share your song 00:02:47.129 --> 00:02:49.569 and their profiles. It was work. And he crushed 00:02:49.569 --> 00:02:52.310 it. That parody song gave him instant internet 00:02:52.310 --> 00:02:54.610 notoriety. It proved he could capture attention. 00:02:55.050 --> 00:02:57.710 And that buzz caught the eye of Pete Wentz. Of 00:02:57.710 --> 00:03:01.009 course. The bassist of Fall Out Boy. The godfather 00:03:01.009 --> 00:03:03.330 of the scene. Essentially the kingmaker of that 00:03:03.330 --> 00:03:06.780 whole era. Wentz ran to Cadence Records and he 00:03:06.780 --> 00:03:08.960 saw what Sephora was doing, signed him immediately. 00:03:09.300 --> 00:03:12.580 But even with a record deal, Cobra Starship didn't 00:03:12.580 --> 00:03:15.159 launch like a normal band. They didn't tour dive 00:03:15.159 --> 00:03:18.039 bars for two years. No, they launched as a corporate 00:03:18.039 --> 00:03:20.659 product. It's so brazen. I love it. They launched 00:03:20.659 --> 00:03:23.199 with a song for the movie Snakes on a Plane. 00:03:23.439 --> 00:03:26.120 You can't make this up. It sounds cynical, doesn't 00:03:26.120 --> 00:03:29.599 it? A movie soundtrack tie -in. But it was brilliant. 00:03:30.360 --> 00:03:33.039 Midtown's management got support of the gig in 00:03:33.039 --> 00:03:36.240 2006. And the song was Snakes on a Plane. Bring 00:03:36.240 --> 00:03:38.400 it. But supported didn't even have a band yet. 00:03:38.659 --> 00:03:41.560 So who plays on the track? It's a who's who of 00:03:41.560 --> 00:03:43.900 the Decadence roster. It's William Beckett from 00:03:43.900 --> 00:03:46.460 the Academius. Travis McCoy from Gym Class Heroes. 00:03:46.740 --> 00:03:48.840 Maja Iverson from The Sounds. It was like the 00:03:48.840 --> 00:03:51.740 Avengers of Eyeliner. That is a perfect description. 00:03:51.860 --> 00:03:55.370 A super group of the scene. And because the movie 00:03:55.370 --> 00:03:58.169 had this massive internet hype. Oh, everyone 00:03:58.169 --> 00:04:00.229 was talking about it. The song just rode that 00:04:00.229 --> 00:04:03.370 wave. The video was in the closing credits. So 00:04:03.370 --> 00:04:06.150 before they even played a real show, Cobra Starship 00:04:06.150 --> 00:04:08.189 was a brand. Which creates a problem, right? 00:04:08.310 --> 00:04:10.270 You have a hit song, you have a brand, but you 00:04:10.270 --> 00:04:12.229 don't have a band. You've just got Gabe Saporta 00:04:12.229 --> 00:04:15.449 and a backing track. Precisely. He needed to 00:04:15.449 --> 00:04:18.709 assemble a crew fast to support the album. While 00:04:18.709 --> 00:04:21.310 the city sleeps, we rule the streets. And the 00:04:21.310 --> 00:04:25.139 way he did it is just. It's hilarious. It wasn't, 00:04:25.139 --> 00:04:27.180 I called my buddies from high school. It was 00:04:27.180 --> 00:04:30.040 so situational. He found the drummer, Nate Navarro, 00:04:30.139 --> 00:04:32.740 selling merch for another band. He was the merch 00:04:32.740 --> 00:04:35.399 guy for Hidden in Plain View. Supporta literally 00:04:35.399 --> 00:04:37.399 plucked him from the t -shirt stand. And then 00:04:37.399 --> 00:04:39.480 you have Rylan Blackington on guitar and Alex 00:04:39.480 --> 00:04:41.439 Suarez on bass. They didn't even meet him in 00:04:41.439 --> 00:04:43.500 person first. No, they saw a picture of him in 00:04:43.500 --> 00:04:45.879 Entertainment Weekly and just emailed him. Hey, 00:04:45.980 --> 00:04:49.120 saw you in a magazine. Need a bassist. The confidence 00:04:49.120 --> 00:04:51.620 of that email. And it worked. They joined up. 00:04:51.959 --> 00:04:54.220 But then we have to talk about the most controversial 00:04:54.220 --> 00:04:56.860 instrument in the band. The key car. The keytar. 00:04:57.040 --> 00:04:59.660 You cannot have neon pop punk without a keytar. 00:04:59.959 --> 00:05:02.879 It's like legally required. It was the symbol 00:05:02.879 --> 00:05:05.160 of their whole aesthetic. But the role of keytars 00:05:05.160 --> 00:05:08.920 was apparently volatile. The original member 00:05:08.920 --> 00:05:11.480 was Elisa Giordano. She's in the early photos 00:05:11.480 --> 00:05:13.939 part of the lore. But she was gone by December 00:05:13.939 --> 00:05:19.410 2006. And the reasons are just chaos. Supporta 00:05:19.410 --> 00:05:21.490 claimed she was bringing random strangers onto 00:05:21.490 --> 00:05:23.949 the tour bus hosting Britney Spears dance parties. 00:05:24.129 --> 00:05:27.230 Which honestly sounds kind of fun. Maybe. But 00:05:27.230 --> 00:05:30.110 on a tour bus, personal space is sacred. And 00:05:30.110 --> 00:05:32.930 the final nail in the coffin. Supporta suspected 00:05:32.930 --> 00:05:36.410 her of stealing the bassist's iPod. That is a 00:05:36.410 --> 00:05:40.089 capital offense in 2006. Your iPod was your life. 00:05:40.230 --> 00:05:43.110 If someone took your click wheel iPod... That's 00:05:43.110 --> 00:05:44.970 it. You're out of the band. Trust is everything 00:05:44.970 --> 00:05:48.250 in a confined space. So Elisa is out and in comes 00:05:48.250 --> 00:05:51.389 Victoria. Today, everyone is a bedroom producer. 00:05:52.490 --> 00:05:56.649 But in 2007, bands were still spending hundreds 00:05:56.649 --> 00:05:59.990 of thousands on studio time. Cobra Starship was 00:05:59.990 --> 00:06:02.350 doing it on a MacBook. It gave the album this 00:06:02.350 --> 00:06:05.050 very specific sound. It's gritty. It's electronic. 00:06:05.389 --> 00:06:08.410 It's loud. They call them unabashed party jams. 00:06:08.490 --> 00:06:11.750 And Patrick Stump from Fall Out Boy was the architect 00:06:11.750 --> 00:06:14.449 behind it. Totally. He produced it. He sang backup. 00:06:14.610 --> 00:06:16.310 He's even in the Guilty Pleasure video. He was 00:06:16.310 --> 00:06:18.889 like the sixth member. He understood that Sapporta 00:06:18.889 --> 00:06:21.160 wanted to blend genres right. They were mixing 00:06:21.160 --> 00:06:23.500 disco, pop, and punk. And they were having fun 00:06:23.500 --> 00:06:26.300 with it. They covered Katy Perry's I Kissed a 00:06:26.300 --> 00:06:29.019 Girl, but changed it to I Kissed a Boy. Such 00:06:29.019 --> 00:06:31.639 a campy, fun move. They were leaning into the 00:06:31.639 --> 00:06:33.879 absurdity. And this is when the fangs up thing 00:06:33.879 --> 00:06:36.699 started. Yes, the two fingers curled like fangs. 00:06:36.879 --> 00:06:39.079 It's a small detail, but from a marketing perspective, 00:06:39.399 --> 00:06:41.920 it's genius. They gave fans a physical way to 00:06:41.920 --> 00:06:43.839 identify each other. You'd see it in every MySpace 00:06:43.839 --> 00:06:46.079 profile picture. Yeah. Viral marketing before 00:06:46.079 --> 00:06:48.160 we really use that term. And speaking of marketing, 00:06:48.240 --> 00:06:50.339 I didn't realize their album art was used to 00:06:50.339 --> 00:06:52.759 promote the iPod Nano. The fourth gen purple 00:06:52.759 --> 00:06:55.379 one. It's a perfect circle. They fire a keytarist 00:06:55.379 --> 00:06:57.500 over an iPod and then they become the face of 00:06:57.500 --> 00:06:59.420 the iPod. It just shows how commercially viable 00:06:59.420 --> 00:07:01.800 they were. Okay, so they're riding high. But 00:07:01.800 --> 00:07:04.160 then 2008 hits. The pressure starts to mount. 00:07:04.519 --> 00:07:07.060 Label wants another hit. Soporta has a cyst on 00:07:07.060 --> 00:07:10.139 his vocal cords. Writer's block. It's the classic 00:07:10.139 --> 00:07:13.180 panic. So they do what bands do. Retreat to a 00:07:13.180 --> 00:07:15.980 cabin in the woods. The Poconos in Pennsylvania. 00:07:16.339 --> 00:07:18.500 But because they are Cobra Starship, they don't 00:07:18.500 --> 00:07:21.579 just go off the grid. They broadcast their entire 00:07:21.579 --> 00:07:24.040 lives on the internet. This is the part I think 00:07:24.040 --> 00:07:26.620 is most historically significant. They used a 00:07:26.620 --> 00:07:29.480 platform called Stick 'Em. Oh, man. Stick them. 00:07:29.519 --> 00:07:31.560 That is a deep cut. For those who don't know, 00:07:31.660 --> 00:07:34.060 it was live streaming before Twitch, before Instagram 00:07:34.060 --> 00:07:38.019 Live. It was raw, unmoderated, totally chaotic. 00:07:38.319 --> 00:07:40.220 And they just set up cameras and streamed for 00:07:40.220 --> 00:07:42.759 four days straight. Why? To break the wall between 00:07:42.759 --> 00:07:45.319 the band and the fans by letting people watch 00:07:45.319 --> 00:07:47.519 them eat, sleep, and write. They created this 00:07:47.519 --> 00:07:50.339 intense parasocial bond. The fans who watched 00:07:50.339 --> 00:07:52.600 weren't just listeners anymore. They were insiders. 00:07:52.779 --> 00:07:55.379 Exactly. And that group of fans became known 00:07:55.379 --> 00:07:58.480 as the Shelf Kids. The Shelf Kids. I love that. 00:07:58.620 --> 00:08:01.040 It was an unofficial fan club born out of that 00:08:01.040 --> 00:08:03.620 live stream. It proved support understood that 00:08:03.620 --> 00:08:05.759 engagement was just as important as the music 00:08:05.759 --> 00:08:09.319 itself. And that cabin trip worked. It broke 00:08:09.319 --> 00:08:12.180 the block and led to the album Hot Mess. And 00:08:12.180 --> 00:08:14.139 Hot Mess changed everything. This is where they 00:08:14.139 --> 00:08:17.680 go from famous on the Internet to famous at the 00:08:17.680 --> 00:08:19.660 grocery store. And the catalyst was one song, 00:08:19.899 --> 00:08:22.480 Good Girls Go Bad. I can hear that synth line 00:08:22.480 --> 00:08:24.639 in my head right now. It's undeniable. And they 00:08:24.639 --> 00:08:26.720 brought in Leighton Meester to feature on the 00:08:26.720 --> 00:08:29.860 track. Blair Waldorf from Gossip Girl. The absolute 00:08:29.860 --> 00:08:32.779 peak of pop culture in 2009. If you wanted to 00:08:32.779 --> 00:08:35.559 signal you were cool and party ready, you referenced 00:08:35.559 --> 00:08:38.039 Gossip Girl. Having her on the track was a massive 00:08:38.039 --> 00:08:40.799 coup. And the song just exploded. Top ten on 00:08:40.799 --> 00:08:43.100 Billboard, double platinum. It peaked at number 00:08:43.100 --> 00:08:45.629 seven. This is the moment they officially crossed 00:08:45.629 --> 00:08:48.409 over. No longer just a warped tour band. They 00:08:48.409 --> 00:08:50.909 were pop stars. And usually when a scene band 00:08:50.909 --> 00:08:53.909 gets that big, the original fans revolt. They 00:08:53.909 --> 00:08:56.289 call them sellouts. Did that happen? To an extent, 00:08:56.429 --> 00:08:58.830 sure. But Cobra Starship had always been about 00:08:58.830 --> 00:09:01.330 selling out in a way. Their first song was basically 00:09:01.330 --> 00:09:03.509 a movie commercial. That's a good point. You 00:09:03.509 --> 00:09:06.049 can't accuse someone of going pop when they started 00:09:06.049 --> 00:09:08.330 with a keytar and a dance beat. They were always 00:09:08.330 --> 00:09:10.649 a party band, so they ride this wave into 2011. 00:09:11.269 --> 00:09:14.090 But the music landscape is shifting. The emo 00:09:14.090 --> 00:09:17.409 thing is dying out. EDM and DJs are taking over. 00:09:17.590 --> 00:09:20.289 And Supporta, being the trend watcher he is, 00:09:20.389 --> 00:09:23.210 feels the stagnation. He goes through a breakup, 00:09:23.429 --> 00:09:26.029 feels uninspired. And takes another trip. This 00:09:26.029 --> 00:09:28.009 time to South America. Another vision quest. 00:09:28.269 --> 00:09:30.429 Less spiritual, more musical. He gets really 00:09:30.429 --> 00:09:33.370 into Major Lazer, the electronic dance hall project. 00:09:33.470 --> 00:09:36.350 He comes back wanting to infuse that energy into 00:09:36.350 --> 00:09:39.269 the band. The result is the album Nightshades. 00:09:39.470 --> 00:09:41.830 And they strike gold again. Yeah. You make me 00:09:41.830 --> 00:09:45.149 feel. Featuring Sabi. Another massive hit peaked 00:09:45.149 --> 00:09:47.490 at number seven again. Triple platinum this time. 00:09:47.629 --> 00:09:50.049 That is incredibly hard to do. To have a massive 00:09:50.049 --> 00:09:53.669 hit in 2009 with one sound and then pivot to 00:09:53.669 --> 00:09:56.500 a more straight ahead club banger. in 2011 and 00:09:56.500 --> 00:09:59.200 hit the top 10 again it shows serious adaptability 00:09:59.200 --> 00:10:01.620 they were performing on dancing with the stars 00:10:01.620 --> 00:10:04.840 they appeared on 90210 they were a radio pop 00:10:04.840 --> 00:10:09.179 staple but peaks are just that peaks and the 00:10:09.179 --> 00:10:12.220 come down seemed pretty swift after nice shades 00:10:12.220 --> 00:10:15.620 things get quiet they tried in 2014 they released 00:10:15.620 --> 00:10:18.559 a single with ikona pop never been in love which 00:10:18.559 --> 00:10:21.679 is a bop by the way very piano heavy It is, but 00:10:21.679 --> 00:10:24.000 it didn't catch fire. The album that was supposed 00:10:24.000 --> 00:10:25.940 to follow never happened, and then the lineup 00:10:25.940 --> 00:10:28.779 started to fracture. Right. Late 2014, Alex Suarez 00:10:28.779 --> 00:10:31.500 and Rylan Blackington both left the band. Losing 00:10:31.500 --> 00:10:33.820 your bassist and guitars at the same time feels 00:10:33.820 --> 00:10:36.019 like a death knell. It really was. And about 00:10:36.019 --> 00:10:39.279 a year later, November 2015, Supporta made the 00:10:39.279 --> 00:10:42.320 announcement. Cobra Starship was done. I read 00:10:42.320 --> 00:10:44.320 his statement and it was so honest. Usually bands 00:10:44.320 --> 00:10:47.379 say creative differences. He said the magic can 00:10:47.379 --> 00:10:50.100 start to fade. That is rare self -awareness. 00:10:50.240 --> 00:10:52.700 He realized that Cobra Starship was a project 00:10:52.700 --> 00:10:55.639 built on a specific, youthful, chaotic energy. 00:10:55.820 --> 00:10:58.460 You can't fake that. If you try to drag it out 00:10:58.460 --> 00:11:00.779 past its expiration date, it just becomes embarrassing. 00:11:00.980 --> 00:11:02.899 So he pulled the plug. And he didn't just quit 00:11:02.899 --> 00:11:06.169 the band, he quit performing entirely. He pivoted 00:11:06.169 --> 00:11:08.269 completely to the business side, right? Started 00:11:08.269 --> 00:11:10.629 a talent management company. Yep. Ted Shee, the 00:11:10.629 --> 00:11:12.750 artist group. He wanted to take all that knowledge 00:11:12.750 --> 00:11:14.970 about viral marketing and branding and use it 00:11:14.970 --> 00:11:17.470 to help new artists. Which makes total sense. 00:11:17.649 --> 00:11:20.370 The guy who navigated MySpace and Stick 'Em in 00:11:20.370 --> 00:11:23.190 the top 40 clearly knows how the industry works. 00:11:23.590 --> 00:11:27.289 So for a few years, Codra Starship was just a 00:11:27.289 --> 00:11:30.549 memory. Until the 2020s. Because if there is 00:11:30.549 --> 00:11:33.139 one force stronger than gravity and music, It 00:11:33.139 --> 00:11:35.779 is nostalgia. The Elder Emo revival. It's huge 00:11:35.779 --> 00:11:39.039 right now. My Chemical Romance, Paramore. It 00:11:39.039 --> 00:11:41.220 was only a matter of time before the snakes came 00:11:41.220 --> 00:11:44.539 back. It started slowly. 2021, fueled by Ramen, 00:11:44.700 --> 00:11:46.899 their old label, celebrated its 25th anniversary. 00:11:47.279 --> 00:11:50.879 They released two unreleased B -sides. Beautiful 00:11:50.879 --> 00:11:53.519 Life and Party With You. And we have to mention 00:11:53.519 --> 00:11:56.120 the parody. Of course. Party With You got a Hanukkah 00:11:56.120 --> 00:11:57.840 -themed parody version called Party With the 00:11:57.840 --> 00:12:00.779 Jews. Classic gave support of humor. But the 00:12:00.779 --> 00:12:04.580 real news was the stage return. 2024, the When 00:12:04.580 --> 00:12:06.480 We Were Young Festival. The epicenter of the 00:12:06.480 --> 00:12:08.919 nostalgia economy. It's tens of thousands of 00:12:08.919 --> 00:12:11.299 people in their 30s reliving their teenage years. 00:12:11.559 --> 00:12:14.659 Cobra Starship reunited for it. And they didn't 00:12:14.659 --> 00:12:16.299 just play the hits and leave. They did something 00:12:16.299 --> 00:12:18.559 that proves they still get the internet. They 00:12:18.559 --> 00:12:21.830 brought out Tara Yummy. Such a smart move. Tarayemi 00:12:21.830 --> 00:12:24.549 is a massive influencer for Gen Z. She's huge 00:12:24.549 --> 00:12:27.090 on YouTube and TikTok. So by bringing her out 00:12:27.090 --> 00:12:29.929 to sing Good Girls Go Bad, they bridged the gap. 00:12:30.070 --> 00:12:32.750 They connected the MySpace generation to the 00:12:32.750 --> 00:12:34.809 TikTok generation. It's the same playbook. In 00:12:34.809 --> 00:12:38.570 2006, the It platform, MySpace. In 2009, the 00:12:38.570 --> 00:12:42.649 It girl, Leighton Meester. In 2024, the It influencer, 00:12:42.970 --> 00:12:46.029 Tarayemi. Consistency is key. And it's working. 00:12:46.350 --> 00:12:49.610 They're confirmed for Warped Tour 2025 Riot Fest. 00:12:49.809 --> 00:12:51.490 They are fully back on the circuit. So when you 00:12:51.490 --> 00:12:53.850 look back at it all, a lot of critics at the 00:12:53.850 --> 00:12:55.830 time dismissed them. They were seen as a joke, 00:12:55.889 --> 00:12:58.529 a guilty pleasure. Or just a manufactured pop 00:12:58.529 --> 00:13:00.830 act wearing punk clothes. But I think time has 00:13:00.830 --> 00:13:02.909 been very kind to them. I mean, look at the landscape 00:13:02.909 --> 00:13:05.190 now. Every artist is expected to be a brand. 00:13:05.370 --> 00:13:07.950 Every artist is expected to be extremely online 00:13:07.950 --> 00:13:11.490 to create viral moments, to collaborate across 00:13:11.490 --> 00:13:14.269 genres. Cobra Starship was doing that in 2006. 00:13:14.710 --> 00:13:17.769 They were blurring. the lines between internet 00:13:17.769 --> 00:13:20.610 celebrity and rock star before we really even 00:13:20.610 --> 00:13:22.730 knew those lines could be blurred. Exactly. They 00:13:22.730 --> 00:13:24.889 treated the internet as an instrument. They played 00:13:24.889 --> 00:13:26.649 the algorithm just as well as they played the 00:13:26.649 --> 00:13:29.169 music. Were they the coolest band in the room? 00:13:29.549 --> 00:13:32.289 Maybe not to the purists. But they were certainly 00:13:32.289 --> 00:13:34.950 one of the most visionary in terms of understanding 00:13:34.950 --> 00:13:37.649 where the culture was going. And they wrote some 00:13:37.649 --> 00:13:40.039 absolute bangers along the way. Good girls go 00:13:40.039 --> 00:13:42.539 bad. Still fills a dance floor. You can't argue 00:13:42.539 --> 00:13:45.259 with that. So here's my question for you listening. 00:13:46.200 --> 00:13:49.100 Was Cobra Starship a product of their time, a 00:13:49.100 --> 00:13:52.080 hot mess of the MySpace era? Or were they actually 00:13:52.080 --> 00:13:55.379 pioneers who wrote the blueprint for the modern 00:13:55.379 --> 00:13:57.940 pop star? It's a fine line between a gimmick 00:13:57.940 --> 00:13:59.759 and a genius strategy. I think they might have 00:13:59.759 --> 00:14:01.600 been a bit of both. I think I'm leaning towards 00:14:01.600 --> 00:14:04.779 genius. If you need me, I'll be trying to find 00:14:04.779 --> 00:14:08.429 my old purple hoodie. Thanks for listening to 00:14:08.429 --> 00:14:10.750 this deep dive into Cobra Starship. Keep your 00:14:10.750 --> 00:14:12.190 fangs up. Goodbye everyone.