WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:02.200 Usually when we talk about a musical supergroup, 00:00:02.899 --> 00:00:06.400 there's like this expectation of inevitable friction. 00:00:06.599 --> 00:00:08.740 Oh, totally. It's almost baked into the concept. 00:00:08.960 --> 00:00:11.939 Right. You picture a Hollywood blockbuster with 00:00:11.939 --> 00:00:15.039 way too many A -list actors where everyone is 00:00:15.039 --> 00:00:17.359 just fighting for the center of the poster or, 00:00:17.359 --> 00:00:20.160 you know, the loudest guitar solo or just having 00:00:20.160 --> 00:00:22.760 the final word. Yeah. And it's an exhausting 00:00:22.760 --> 00:00:25.579 dynamic for the listener, really, because while 00:00:25.579 --> 00:00:28.480 we love the idea of our favorite artists teaming 00:00:28.480 --> 00:00:31.600 up, The reality is so often just, well, it's 00:00:31.600 --> 00:00:34.979 a bloated vanity project. Exactly. The egos completely 00:00:34.979 --> 00:00:37.700 eclipse the actual music. And that dynamic is 00:00:37.700 --> 00:00:40.179 almost a tradition in the music industry at this 00:00:40.179 --> 00:00:42.280 point. I mean, you throw successful people in 00:00:42.280 --> 00:00:45.500 a room, and the instinct is usually self -preservation. 00:00:45.960 --> 00:00:48.100 Everyone wants to be the protagonist of the album. 00:00:48.219 --> 00:00:50.060 Which creates a competitive environment, not 00:00:50.060 --> 00:00:52.100 a collaborative one. But then you look at what 00:00:52.100 --> 00:00:55.179 happened in the indie rock world in 2023, and 00:00:55.179 --> 00:00:57.460 that entire cliché just gets flipped completely 00:00:57.460 --> 00:01:01.079 on its head. So today, we're diving into the 00:01:01.079 --> 00:01:04.159 anatomy of a modern musical masterpiece to understand 00:01:04.159 --> 00:01:07.439 how three established solo artists actually managed 00:01:07.439 --> 00:01:09.939 to put the art before the ego. It's a really 00:01:09.939 --> 00:01:12.659 fascinating case study. It is, and we are pulling 00:01:12.659 --> 00:01:15.439 from a comprehensive Wikipedia document covering 00:01:15.439 --> 00:01:19.120 the 2023 studio album, The Record, which is stylized 00:01:19.120 --> 00:01:21.959 entirely in lowercase, by the way, by the American 00:01:21.959 --> 00:01:24.430 indie rock band Boy Genius. To give you a roadmap 00:01:24.430 --> 00:01:26.549 for this deep dive, we're going to trace the 00:01:26.549 --> 00:01:31.150 band's highly unique origins, analyze their strategic 00:01:31.150 --> 00:01:33.609 visual and musical rollout, unpack the critical 00:01:33.609 --> 00:01:35.909 reception of the music itself, and then finally 00:01:35.909 --> 00:01:37.969 look at the cultural and commercial impact of 00:01:37.969 --> 00:01:40.030 the album. Okay, let's unpack this. To really 00:01:40.030 --> 00:01:41.670 understand the gravity of the record, we have 00:01:41.670 --> 00:01:43.909 to rewind and look at the timeline of how this 00:01:43.909 --> 00:01:47.549 trio formed. Right, back to 2018? Yes, 2018. 00:01:48.209 --> 00:01:50.530 Boy Genius is made up of Julian Baker, Phoebe 00:01:50.530 --> 00:01:53.269 Bridgers, and Lucy Dacus. And the thing that 00:01:53.269 --> 00:01:55.390 stands out immediately from the source text is 00:01:55.390 --> 00:01:57.390 that this wasn't some calculated maneuver by 00:01:57.390 --> 00:01:59.609 a record label executive, you know, trying to 00:01:59.609 --> 00:02:02.069 manufacture a hit. No, not at all. They originally 00:02:02.069 --> 00:02:04.890 got together back in 2018 simply because they 00:02:04.890 --> 00:02:07.430 had booked a co -headlining tour together. Like 00:02:07.430 --> 00:02:09.650 they just decided to record a six -song self 00:02:09.650 --> 00:02:12.449 -titled EP to give themselves something tangible 00:02:12.449 --> 00:02:15.219 to promote while on the road. And the casual 00:02:15.219 --> 00:02:18.719 nature of that 2018 origin story is, well, it's 00:02:18.719 --> 00:02:21.379 crucial context for what comes later. They formed 00:02:21.379 --> 00:02:24.139 out of logistical convenience and mutual respect, 00:02:24.259 --> 00:02:26.860 not out of a desire to conquer the charts. Right. 00:02:26.860 --> 00:02:28.639 It was just a fun project. Exactly. I mean, they 00:02:28.639 --> 00:02:30.919 would perform their individual solo sets and 00:02:30.919 --> 00:02:32.500 then come together at the end of the night to 00:02:32.500 --> 00:02:35.240 play that brief EP. But what makes their trajectory 00:02:35.240 --> 00:02:37.800 really fascinating is what happened after that 00:02:37.800 --> 00:02:40.300 tour. The hiatus. Yeah. They went on an extended 00:02:40.300 --> 00:02:42.360 hiatus. They essentially walked away from the 00:02:42.360 --> 00:02:44.110 group project to focus on their... individual 00:02:44.110 --> 00:02:47.310 careers. And those solo careers caught fire. 00:02:47.509 --> 00:02:50.030 I mean, we are talking about Julian Baker's Little 00:02:50.030 --> 00:02:52.830 Oblivions, Phoebe Bridger's Punisher, and Lucy 00:02:52.830 --> 00:02:55.669 Dachas' home video. Those are massive albums. 00:02:55.969 --> 00:02:58.030 They are. Those aren't just minor indie releases. 00:02:58.090 --> 00:03:00.789 Those are critically acclaimed albums that essentially 00:03:00.789 --> 00:03:03.169 define a specific era of modern songwriting. 00:03:03.490 --> 00:03:06.110 Absolutely. So they vanish as a trio for three 00:03:06.110 --> 00:03:08.110 years, and their first actual performance back 00:03:08.110 --> 00:03:11.370 together isn't like a highly publicized reunion 00:03:11.370 --> 00:03:13.960 tour. It's just a quiet appearance in November 00:03:13.960 --> 00:03:17.020 2021 for a charity event in San Francisco. Which 00:03:17.020 --> 00:03:20.020 is such a low -key way to return. Right. And 00:03:20.020 --> 00:03:22.960 then the rumor mill slowly starts up. Late 2022, 00:03:23.099 --> 00:03:26.060 there's a photo shoot. Finally, January 2023 00:03:26.060 --> 00:03:29.500 hits, and Boy Genius appears on the Coachella 00:03:29.500 --> 00:03:31.680 lineup poster. It's confirmed. Your fans went 00:03:31.680 --> 00:03:33.780 wild. Oh, totally. But taking a step back, this 00:03:33.780 --> 00:03:36.699 is what I don't get. It's like a cinematic superhero 00:03:36.699 --> 00:03:39.479 team -up, you know? Like the Avengers of Indy 00:03:39.479 --> 00:03:41.360 Rock. That's a great way to put it. They each 00:03:41.360 --> 00:03:43.439 went off to get their own successful standalone 00:03:43.439 --> 00:03:45.860 franchise before reuniting for the crossover 00:03:45.860 --> 00:03:48.759 event. But if you are Phoebe Britcher's Lucy 00:03:48.759 --> 00:03:51.840 Dacus or Julian Baker, you own the stage right 00:03:51.840 --> 00:03:55.060 now. You have total creative control over your 00:03:55.060 --> 00:03:58.620 solo work. Why would three artists at the absolute 00:03:58.620 --> 00:04:01.680 peak of their solo careers risk their individual 00:04:01.680 --> 00:04:04.259 momentum for a Democratic group project? And 00:04:04.259 --> 00:04:06.340 that is the core tension of their reunion. But 00:04:06.340 --> 00:04:08.400 the source material points to a very grounded 00:04:08.400 --> 00:04:11.379 answer, which is just enduring friendship. Just 00:04:11.379 --> 00:04:14.659 friendship. Yeah. Their return was an authentic 00:04:14.659 --> 00:04:17.360 creative reunion, completely devoid of corporate 00:04:17.360 --> 00:04:19.939 mandates. Think about the mechanics of the music 00:04:19.939 --> 00:04:22.800 industry for a second. Historically, supergroups 00:04:22.800 --> 00:04:25.620 form when artists are trying to revitalize flagging 00:04:25.620 --> 00:04:27.920 careers. Right, like a comeback strategy. Exactly. 00:04:28.100 --> 00:04:30.560 Or when they want to pool their fan bases to 00:04:30.560 --> 00:04:33.279 squeeze out some extra revenue. But Boy Genius 00:04:33.279 --> 00:04:35.759 did the opposite. They came back together at 00:04:35.759 --> 00:04:37.860 a moment when they individually had the most 00:04:37.860 --> 00:04:40.100 to lose. Wow. Yeah, I didn't think about it like 00:04:40.100 --> 00:04:42.269 that. By stepping away from the spotlight as 00:04:42.269 --> 00:04:44.649 solo protagonists and choosing to share a microphone, 00:04:45.170 --> 00:04:47.750 they proved to the audience that their bond and 00:04:47.750 --> 00:04:50.449 the art they made together was the actual priority. 00:04:50.790 --> 00:04:52.670 Makes me think of an open source coding project, 00:04:53.050 --> 00:04:55.389 like instead of three competing operating systems 00:04:55.389 --> 00:04:57.769 trying to monopolize the market, they brought 00:04:57.769 --> 00:05:00.730 their own unique patches and code to build a 00:05:00.730 --> 00:05:02.790 shared platform that benefits all of them. That's 00:05:02.790 --> 00:05:04.709 a perfect analogy. And when they finally made 00:05:04.709 --> 00:05:07.209 their return official. They didn't just casually 00:05:07.209 --> 00:05:10.110 drop a song on Spotify. They launched a highly 00:05:10.110 --> 00:05:14.370 coordinated rollout. On January 18, 2023, they 00:05:14.370 --> 00:05:16.629 announced the album and they dropped three lead 00:05:16.629 --> 00:05:19.170 singles simultaneously. But three at once. Yeah. 00:05:19.449 --> 00:05:22.870 $20, Emily, I'm sorry, and True Blue. What's 00:05:22.870 --> 00:05:24.769 fascinating here is the underlying psychology 00:05:24.769 --> 00:05:27.490 of that release strategy. The streaming era is 00:05:27.490 --> 00:05:29.829 built entirely on the concept of the singular 00:05:29.829 --> 00:05:32.089 digestible hit. Right. You want the algorithm 00:05:32.089 --> 00:05:35.290 to push one song? Exactly. If you release three 00:05:35.290 --> 00:05:37.889 songs at once, you risk fracturing your audience's 00:05:37.889 --> 00:05:40.029 attention and splaying your streaming numbers. 00:05:40.889 --> 00:05:43.290 But Boy Genius wasn't optimizing for algorithms. 00:05:43.569 --> 00:05:45.810 They're making a statement about their internal 00:05:45.810 --> 00:05:48.250 democracy. Oh, because each song features a different 00:05:48.250 --> 00:05:51.269 member. Yes. By dropping three tracks, each one 00:05:51.269 --> 00:05:53.170 acting as a showcase for a different member, 00:05:53.709 --> 00:05:56.610 they gave equal footing to each distinct voice 00:05:56.610 --> 00:05:59.750 right out of the gate. So $20 leans heavily into 00:05:59.750 --> 00:06:03.199 Julian Weber's style. Emily, I'm sorry. highlights 00:06:03.199 --> 00:06:05.959 Phoebe Bridgers, and True Blue gives us Lucy 00:06:05.959 --> 00:06:09.220 Dacus. It explicitly tells you, as the listener, 00:06:09.839 --> 00:06:12.040 that there is no lead singer in this band. Precisely. 00:06:12.259 --> 00:06:14.220 And they follow that up on March 1st with a fourth 00:06:14.220 --> 00:06:17.560 single, Not Strong Enough. The music video for 00:06:17.560 --> 00:06:19.920 that track is edited by Phoebe Bridgers' brother, 00:06:20.160 --> 00:06:21.980 Jackson Bridgers, and it feels very intimate, 00:06:22.079 --> 00:06:24.160 very DIY. Yeah, it's basically just home movie 00:06:24.160 --> 00:06:26.279 footage of the band hanging out. Right, going 00:06:26.279 --> 00:06:28.759 to amusement parks, stuff like that. But then 00:06:28.759 --> 00:06:31.250 March 30th arrives. The day before the album 00:06:31.250 --> 00:06:34.470 drops, the strategy takes a hard left turn. They 00:06:34.470 --> 00:06:36.709 release a promotional short film titled simply 00:06:36.709 --> 00:06:39.050 The Film. And this wasn't just a collection of 00:06:39.050 --> 00:06:41.629 behind -the -scenes clips. The Film was a highly 00:06:41.629 --> 00:06:44.689 produced visual project that interconnected those 00:06:44.689 --> 00:06:47.449 first three singles, Emily, I'm Sorry, and True 00:06:47.449 --> 00:06:51.189 Blue, into a single cohesive narrative experience. 00:06:51.550 --> 00:06:53.529 Right. And it was directed by Kristen Stewart. 00:06:53.870 --> 00:06:56.189 as in Hollywood actress and director Kristen 00:06:56.189 --> 00:06:58.370 Stewart. Yeah, a massive name. And they gave 00:06:58.370 --> 00:07:01.170 this project a proper red carpet film premiere 00:07:01.170 --> 00:07:04.509 at the El Rey Theater in Los Angeles, complete 00:07:04.509 --> 00:07:07.050 with a live Q &A for the press. It was a huge 00:07:07.050 --> 00:07:09.889 event. But I have to be honest here. When I see 00:07:09.889 --> 00:07:12.250 an indie rock band bring in a massive Hollywood 00:07:12.250 --> 00:07:15.050 A -lister to direct a short film and then throw 00:07:15.050 --> 00:07:17.709 an LA premiere for it, it sort of sets off my 00:07:17.709 --> 00:07:20.170 sell -out alarm. Doesn't this totally contradict 00:07:20.170 --> 00:07:23.610 the gritty DIY anti -corporate ethos they built 00:07:23.610 --> 00:07:26.430 back in 2018? I mean, it's a completely fair 00:07:26.430 --> 00:07:28.670 skepticism. When independent artists suddenly 00:07:28.670 --> 00:07:31.209 embrace Hollywood production values, it often 00:07:31.209 --> 00:07:33.750 feels like a gimmick masking a lack of substance. 00:07:34.089 --> 00:07:36.110 But if you look at the mechanics of the film... 00:07:36.170 --> 00:07:38.730 Bringing in Kristen Stewart wasn't about adding 00:07:38.730 --> 00:07:42.490 superficial gloss. It was about elevating the 00:07:42.490 --> 00:07:45.449 visual presentation to match the ambitious scope 00:07:45.449 --> 00:07:47.410 of the music. So you're saying it was justified 00:07:47.410 --> 00:07:50.550 by the art itself? Right. The DIY video for Not 00:07:50.550 --> 00:07:53.170 Strong Enough proved they still had that intimate 00:07:53.170 --> 00:07:56.139 grassroots connection. The film proved they could 00:07:56.139 --> 00:07:59.519 also execute a grand interconnected artistic 00:07:59.519 --> 00:08:01.740 vision. That makes sense. They were essentially 00:08:01.740 --> 00:08:05.000 signaling to the industry that the record wasn't 00:08:05.000 --> 00:08:07.800 just a fun side project between friends anymore. 00:08:07.899 --> 00:08:10.480 It was a major artistic statement that deserved 00:08:10.480 --> 00:08:13.240 cinematic reverence. And reading through the 00:08:13.240 --> 00:08:15.819 critical reception, it's clear the industry recognized 00:08:15.819 --> 00:08:18.800 that ambition. The record landed a 90 out of 00:08:18.800 --> 00:08:21.420 100 on Metacritic, which signifies universal 00:08:21.420 --> 00:08:23.939 acclaim. Which is incredibly hard to do. Yeah. 00:08:24.079 --> 00:08:27.079 NME called it an instant classic. And Rolling 00:08:27.079 --> 00:08:29.360 Stone noted that the band managed to recombine 00:08:29.360 --> 00:08:31.600 their individual styles to transcend any kind 00:08:31.600 --> 00:08:34.720 of supergroup cliché. That's high praise. It 00:08:34.720 --> 00:08:37.120 is. But my personal favorite takeaway from the 00:08:37.120 --> 00:08:39.240 sources comes from Pop Matters, who wrote that 00:08:39.240 --> 00:08:42.559 the album is a testimony to aesthetic commonality, 00:08:43.080 --> 00:08:45.240 enduring friendship, and the magic of teamwork. 00:08:45.639 --> 00:08:48.279 Which honestly sounds like a quote pulled from 00:08:48.279 --> 00:08:50.879 a corporate retreat seminar, but here it actually 00:08:50.879 --> 00:08:52.899 holds weight. It does hold weight because that 00:08:52.899 --> 00:08:55.639 teamwork is physically baked into the album's 00:08:55.639 --> 00:08:57.740 credits. If you look at the liner notes, they 00:08:57.740 --> 00:09:00.259 show that all 12 tracks were written by Boy Genius 00:09:00.259 --> 00:09:02.320 as a collective. So no one was just bringing 00:09:02.320 --> 00:09:05.320 in Finnish songs. No, it is in a situation where 00:09:05.320 --> 00:09:07.500 Lucy brings in a Finnish song and just tells 00:09:07.500 --> 00:09:10.059 the others to sing back up on the chorus. They 00:09:10.059 --> 00:09:12.820 share democratic lead vocal duties across the 00:09:12.820 --> 00:09:16.000 entire track list. And even when one voice steps 00:09:16.000 --> 00:09:19.000 to the forefront, the arrangements and the harmonies 00:09:19.000 --> 00:09:21.480 are intricately woven with the sensibilities 00:09:21.480 --> 00:09:24.080 of the other two. That collaboration really shines 00:09:24.080 --> 00:09:26.539 through. And they also weave in these brilliant 00:09:26.539 --> 00:09:29.600 musical nods to their heroes into their own history. 00:09:29.940 --> 00:09:33.179 The interpolations. Yes. The track Leonard Cohen 00:09:33.179 --> 00:09:36.480 actually contains a lyric from Cohen's real -life 00:09:36.480 --> 00:09:39.970 song Anthem. Songwriter Paul Simon is thanked 00:09:39.970 --> 00:09:41.950 directly in the liner notes for his inspiration 00:09:41.950 --> 00:09:44.309 on the track, Cool About It. Which is a lovely 00:09:44.309 --> 00:09:46.470 nod. And then they do something really meta on 00:09:46.470 --> 00:09:49.110 the track, Letter to an Old Poet, which features 00:09:49.110 --> 00:09:51.909 a musical interpolation of their own 2018 song, 00:09:52.409 --> 00:09:54.529 Me and My Dog. And for anyone who might not be 00:09:54.529 --> 00:09:56.919 deep into music theory, And interpolation is 00:09:56.919 --> 00:09:59.799 basically when you take a melody or a lyric from 00:09:59.799 --> 00:10:02.679 a previously existing song and re -record it, 00:10:02.759 --> 00:10:04.860 weaving it into a brand new context. So they 00:10:04.860 --> 00:10:07.419 are literally taking a melody from five years 00:10:07.419 --> 00:10:09.419 ago and having a conversation with their past 00:10:09.419 --> 00:10:11.940 selves. Exactly. That kind of self -referential 00:10:11.940 --> 00:10:14.580 songwriting creates a deeply layered experience. 00:10:14.700 --> 00:10:16.840 It rewards the listener who has been following 00:10:16.840 --> 00:10:19.059 their journey since the beginning. It shifts 00:10:19.059 --> 00:10:21.559 the album from just being a collection of songs 00:10:21.559 --> 00:10:24.059 to being an ongoing dialogue between the artists 00:10:24.059 --> 00:10:26.419 and the audience. Here's where it gets really 00:10:26.419 --> 00:10:29.299 interesting. If you happen to be someone who 00:10:29.299 --> 00:10:31.879 collects vinyl, and you bought the physical pressing 00:10:31.879 --> 00:10:35.320 of the record, Boy Genius built a literal physical 00:10:35.320 --> 00:10:39.179 Easter egg right into the disc itself. Oh, the 00:10:39.179 --> 00:10:41.980 locked groove. It is such a fascinating creative 00:10:41.980 --> 00:10:44.980 choice. Yes. At the very end of the B -side, 00:10:45.100 --> 00:10:47.340 after the final notes of that song, Letter to 00:10:47.340 --> 00:10:50.539 an Old Poet fade out, there is a locked groove 00:10:50.539 --> 00:10:54.049 pressed into the vinyl. Normally, when a record 00:10:54.049 --> 00:10:56.649 finishes, the needle travels to the center and 00:10:56.649 --> 00:10:58.529 the player automatically stops. Right, that's 00:10:58.529 --> 00:11:00.549 how it usually works. But with a locked groove, 00:11:01.090 --> 00:11:03.429 the physical indentation on the record forms 00:11:03.429 --> 00:11:06.250 a perfect circle. When the needle hits it, it 00:11:06.250 --> 00:11:10.129 just loops endlessly. And the audio hidden in 00:11:10.129 --> 00:11:12.850 that loop is the band repeating a single word, 00:11:13.110 --> 00:11:15.950 waiting, over and over, waiting, waiting. It 00:11:15.950 --> 00:11:18.169 is almost haunting. And it will not stop until 00:11:18.169 --> 00:11:20.509 you physically walk across the room and list 00:11:20.509 --> 00:11:22.899 the needle off the turntable. I mean, think about 00:11:22.899 --> 00:11:25.019 the mechanics of that, Sadaka. The band is literally 00:11:25.019 --> 00:11:27.580 forcing you to actively participate to end the 00:11:27.580 --> 00:11:29.799 album. If we connect this to the bigger picture, 00:11:30.080 --> 00:11:32.779 the locked groove is a profound physical manifestation 00:11:32.779 --> 00:11:36.080 of the fan's experience. As a listener, you literally 00:11:36.080 --> 00:11:39.279 waited five years between the 2018 EP and this 00:11:39.279 --> 00:11:41.679 2023 album. Oh, wow. I didn't even put that together. 00:11:42.000 --> 00:11:44.840 Yeah. By trapping the needle in that loop, Boy 00:11:44.840 --> 00:11:47.360 Genius is playfully acknowledging that anticipation. 00:11:47.740 --> 00:11:50.960 In an era dominated by passive streaming, where 00:11:50.960 --> 00:11:53.299 algorithms just endlessly feed you background 00:11:53.299 --> 00:11:55.940 music, they are demanding that you engage with 00:11:55.940 --> 00:11:57.879 their art physically and intellectually. You 00:11:57.879 --> 00:12:00.059 have to break the spell yourself. That is so 00:12:00.059 --> 00:12:02.600 smart. That level of intentionality, where even 00:12:02.600 --> 00:12:04.679 the physical manufacturing of the merchandise 00:12:04.679 --> 00:12:07.700 serves the thematic narrative of the music, is 00:12:07.700 --> 00:12:10.460 exactly why critics were so captivated. And that 00:12:10.460 --> 00:12:13.100 critical captivation quickly turned into serious 00:12:13.100 --> 00:12:15.519 commercial momentum. And I don't just mean on 00:12:15.519 --> 00:12:18.600 niche. indie blogs. We are talking about dominating 00:12:18.600 --> 00:12:21.440 the chart. Numbers are staggering. Truly. The 00:12:21.440 --> 00:12:23.740 record debuted at number four on the US Billboard 00:12:23.740 --> 00:12:26.539 200. Internationally, it went to number one in 00:12:26.539 --> 00:12:29.580 the UK, Ireland, and the Netherlands. The source 00:12:29.580 --> 00:12:32.120 notes, this was actually the very first number 00:12:32.120 --> 00:12:34.779 one album for all three members, individually 00:12:34.779 --> 00:12:37.639 or collectively. That's a huge milestone. It 00:12:37.639 --> 00:12:40.039 also pulled in gold certifications in countries 00:12:40.039 --> 00:12:42.919 like Canada and New Zealand. And just to clarify, 00:12:43.299 --> 00:12:46.289 in the modern streaming era, Achieving a gold 00:12:46.289 --> 00:12:48.710 certification means your album has been streamed 00:12:48.710 --> 00:12:51.669 tens of millions of times to equal the value 00:12:51.669 --> 00:12:54.330 of traditional physical sales. It's a massive 00:12:54.330 --> 00:12:56.649 metric of popular consumption. The commercial 00:12:56.649 --> 00:12:59.750 data proves that their deeply personal, intricately 00:12:59.750 --> 00:13:02.850 crafted music resonated on a mainstream scale. 00:13:03.210 --> 00:13:05.830 And they capitalized on that momentum by embarking 00:13:05.830 --> 00:13:09.009 on a relentless tour schedule from April to October 00:13:09.009 --> 00:13:12.269 2023. Relentless is definitely the right word. 00:13:12.519 --> 00:13:15.299 They headlined the Reset Concert Series, which 00:13:15.299 --> 00:13:18.159 is an outdoor multi -artist summer festival format. 00:13:18.399 --> 00:13:20.740 They launched their own standalone tour, which 00:13:20.740 --> 00:13:22.960 hit legendary venues like Madison Square Garden 00:13:22.960 --> 00:13:25.799 in New York and the Hollywood Bowl in LA. Iconic 00:13:25.799 --> 00:13:28.500 stages. Right. and they played major international 00:13:28.500 --> 00:13:31.059 festivals like Coachella and Rock en Seine in 00:13:31.059 --> 00:13:33.679 France, and maybe the most surreal crossover 00:13:33.679 --> 00:13:35.860 moment. They performed, not strong enough, in 00:13:35.860 --> 00:13:38.080 front of tens of thousands of people during Taylor 00:13:38.080 --> 00:13:40.399 Swift's The Eras Tour in Nashville because Phoebe 00:13:40.399 --> 00:13:42.220 Bridgers happened to be one of the opening acts. 00:13:42.299 --> 00:13:44.539 Talk about a shift in scale. Exactly. They went 00:13:44.539 --> 00:13:46.779 from playing intimate clubs to playing literal 00:13:46.779 --> 00:13:49.600 stadiums. And the culmination of all this cultural 00:13:49.600 --> 00:13:52.480 saturation happened at the 66th Annual Grammy 00:13:52.480 --> 00:13:55.639 Awards, the music industry's highest institutional 00:13:55.639 --> 00:13:59.039 honor. The album and its tracks received seven 00:13:59.039 --> 00:14:01.940 nominations, including album of the year and 00:14:01.940 --> 00:14:04.820 record of the year. Seven. Yeah. And they ultimately 00:14:04.820 --> 00:14:07.899 won three Grammys, best alternative music album, 00:14:08.360 --> 00:14:11.220 best rock song, and best rock performance. Wait, 00:14:11.240 --> 00:14:13.379 those last two categories are fascinating to 00:14:13.379 --> 00:14:16.059 me. They won best alternative album, which, you 00:14:16.059 --> 00:14:18.110 know, totally tracks with their indie roots, 00:14:18.490 --> 00:14:21.190 but they swept the rock categories. Best rock 00:14:21.190 --> 00:14:23.509 song and best rock performance for not strong 00:14:23.509 --> 00:14:25.450 enough. It surprised a lot of people. I want 00:14:25.450 --> 00:14:27.549 to get your read on this. When you picture the 00:14:27.549 --> 00:14:29.789 Recording Academy's historical definition of 00:14:29.789 --> 00:14:32.210 best rock performance, you usually think of a 00:14:32.210 --> 00:14:35.149 very traditional male dominated heavy distortion 00:14:35.149 --> 00:14:37.730 aesthetic. Very true. Does Boy Genius winning 00:14:37.730 --> 00:14:39.750 these categories signify that they are single 00:14:39.750 --> 00:14:42.289 handedly redefining what mainstream rock music 00:14:42.289 --> 00:14:45.039 looks and sounds like today? This raises an important 00:14:45.039 --> 00:14:47.700 question about how rigid genre classifications 00:14:47.700 --> 00:14:51.059 have become and how Boy Genius completely subverts 00:14:51.059 --> 00:14:53.779 them. I wouldn't say they are redefining rock 00:14:53.779 --> 00:14:56.720 music necessarily. Rather, they are reminding 00:14:56.720 --> 00:14:59.580 the industry what the core of rock music has 00:14:59.580 --> 00:15:02.639 always been. Which is what? Well, rock isn't 00:15:02.639 --> 00:15:05.139 just a specific guitar pedal or a demographic. 00:15:05.320 --> 00:15:08.240 It's an attitude. It's about raw emotion and 00:15:08.240 --> 00:15:11.519 authenticity. The music industry loves to put 00:15:11.519 --> 00:15:14.960 art into neat, outdated boxes labeling something 00:15:14.960 --> 00:15:17.519 indie folk just to keep it separate from mainstream 00:15:17.519 --> 00:15:20.039 rock. Right, to make it easier to market. Exactly. 00:15:20.519 --> 00:15:23.240 But Boy Genius completely ignores those borders. 00:15:23.779 --> 00:15:26.379 By winning in both alternative and rock categories, 00:15:26.480 --> 00:15:28.860 they proved that a song can feature intricate 00:15:28.860 --> 00:15:32.860 acoustic guitars, vulnerable lyrics, and three 00:15:32.860 --> 00:15:35.080 -part vocal harmonies while still possessing 00:15:35.080 --> 00:15:37.259 the fundamental power of rock and roll. That's 00:15:37.259 --> 00:15:39.220 a great point. The band didn't alter their sound 00:15:39.220 --> 00:15:41.639 to fit the rock category. They forced the category 00:15:41.639 --> 00:15:44.139 to expand its definition to acknowledge them. 00:15:44.480 --> 00:15:46.879 So what does this all mean? Why does a deep dive 00:15:46.879 --> 00:15:49.379 into an IndieRosh album matter if you aren't 00:15:49.379 --> 00:15:51.879 a musician? That's the real takeaway here. I 00:15:51.879 --> 00:15:53.379 want you to think about the dynamics in your 00:15:53.379 --> 00:15:55.919 own life. whether you are navigating a corporate 00:15:55.919 --> 00:15:58.659 team project, trying to collaborate on a creative 00:15:58.659 --> 00:16:01.399 endeavor, or just examining how you interact 00:16:01.399 --> 00:16:04.340 with your own friend group. The journey of Boy 00:16:04.340 --> 00:16:07.220 Genius offers a tangible lesson in the mechanics 00:16:07.220 --> 00:16:10.379 of collaboration. It really does. The record 00:16:10.379 --> 00:16:12.919 proves that true partnership doesn't require 00:16:12.919 --> 00:16:15.519 you to diminish your own voice or water down 00:16:15.519 --> 00:16:18.980 your unique skills. just to keep the peace. Real 00:16:18.980 --> 00:16:21.559 collaboration is about finding people whose strengths 00:16:21.559 --> 00:16:24.159 complement your own and creating an environment 00:16:24.159 --> 00:16:26.980 where everyone's voice is amplified. Yeah, it's 00:16:26.980 --> 00:16:29.700 the rare instance where the final product actually 00:16:29.700 --> 00:16:32.259 becomes greater than the sum of its parts. Entirely 00:16:32.259 --> 00:16:34.279 because it is built on a foundation of mutual 00:16:34.279 --> 00:16:36.419 respect. It's a master class in checking your 00:16:36.419 --> 00:16:38.679 ego at the door and letting the work speak for 00:16:38.679 --> 00:16:41.120 itself. But, you know, analyzing their journey 00:16:41.120 --> 00:16:43.600 also leaves us with a lingering paradox to consider. 00:16:43.960 --> 00:16:47.659 What's that? Well, Boy Genius intentionally ended 00:16:47.659 --> 00:16:50.200 the physical version of their album by trapping 00:16:50.200 --> 00:16:52.679 the listener in that perpetual looping groove 00:16:52.679 --> 00:16:55.279 of the word waiting. Right. The lost groove. 00:16:55.759 --> 00:16:58.100 Now that Julian, Phoebe and Lucy have topped 00:16:58.100 --> 00:17:01.120 the international charts, conquered stadium tours, 00:17:01.480 --> 00:17:04.220 won their Grammys and reached the absolute pinnacle 00:17:04.220 --> 00:17:08.039 of collaborative success. What exactly are we, 00:17:08.259 --> 00:17:10.700 as the audience, waiting for them to do next? 00:17:11.039 --> 00:17:13.180 That is the perfect question to end on. Thank 00:17:13.180 --> 00:17:15.160 you so much for spending time with us today and 00:17:15.160 --> 00:17:17.440 exploring the architecture of this incredible 00:17:17.440 --> 00:17:19.480 album. If you haven't yet, go listen to the record, 00:17:19.960 --> 00:17:21.900 pay attention to the harmonies, see if you can 00:17:21.900 --> 00:17:23.920 catch those lyrical interpolations we talked 00:17:23.920 --> 00:17:26.259 about, and we'll catch you on the next deep dive.