GUEST LIST: Mikey Heller

Super Furry Animals, Ann Annie, Ratboys, Weird Al Yankovic, Brian Eno & John Cale

What a good-ass guy Mikey Heller is. Not only is he simply a really pleasant person to be around (checks all five senses for me), he’s also incredibly talented, having won both and Emmy and Annie award for his work on Cartoon Network’s We Bare Bears, and it’s offshoots! You may have seen his work on the long-running Time Trabble comic. I’m always impressed at how perfectly dumb they all manage to be:

During the pandemic, Mikey started a fantastic series called Bagel High, which is exactly what it sounds like and is best experienced in book form.

We met a little over a decade ago when we were both trying to find our way in the New York comedy scene and a little group of us coalesced into a wildly talented bunch of collaborators. Here we are back on The Special as mentalist Gene Unforseen and my (somewhat regrettable) children’s science show host Doc Freakman. I love the addition of writing “touch” next to it:

Thankfully one of the highlights of that “scene” has made its way to Los Angeles as Mikey and Colin Burgess revived their long-running Late Mic show, which is happening this Tuesday! While many open mic-style experiences feel like a firing squad where the bullets are silence, Colin & Mikey turn it into a full talk show, and it makes for a breezy and engaging show for performer and audience. Even calling it an open mic doesn’t do it justice, as it’s fully it’s own loose thing.

I’ll let Mikey take it away with his picks!

Here's my stuff for On Repeat! I apologize if it's bad, I don't know what I'm talking about!!!

Super Furry Animals “Run-Away”

Spotify (my friend) told me this was my most listened-to song this year. I never really listened to Super Furry Animals until last winter when I saw Demetri Martin mention them in a What’s In My Bag video from 16 years ago. I’m not good at talking about music, but I’ll give this a shot: I like this song! The song is good! This sort of 2000s-indie sound will always hit for me because I’m a Guy-In-His-Thirties. Earlier this year, I was in a slump about a bunch of Stuff™, and then listened to this song one million times in a row. I feel better now. Thanks, Super Furry Animals!

Ann Annie “Magnolias”

I love long walks, so naturally, I listen to ass-loads of somber piano music. Ann Annie is an incredible multi-instrumentalist who creates amazing pieces that’ll sweep you away and make you think, “Damn, life is nuts.” This track is part of a fun compilation of artists’ unreleased piano-based material. It’s more stripped down than Ann Annie’s other stuff and it STILL makes me think about how life can only be described as nuts.

Ratboys “Go Outside”

Back in the spring, I saw Ratboys open for The Decemberists (a very Guy-In-His-Thirties move) at the Bellwether in Los Angeles. I dug them! They sounded terrific live; you could see how much they loved playing together. This song reminds me of living at home in Rochester, NY, the year after I graduated college. I think it’s because the lyrics describe the simple pleasures in life and take me back to a time that was pre-full-on-adulthood. I’d go to shows, draw, and hang out with friends at dive bars and coffee shops. I had yet to do my taxes because I didn’t make any money. This song feels like that year! It’s 2013-coded.

Weird Al Yankovic “I’ll Be Mellow When I’m Dead”

One of my favorite things about Weird Al is that he rocks my damn ass off. His original work is GOOD. He’s a good musician (check out this piano medley by Summer Woods that shows off Weird Al’s stellar composing skills). And when Weird Al does original-style parodies that veer into a more alternative world, it just sounds like he’s writing a fun song in that genre rather than something satirical. His They Might Be Giants style parody “Everything You Know Is Wrong” captures TMBG so well that it must piss them off. Mark Mothersbaugh certainly had a strong reaction to Weird Al’s DEVO parody.

“I’ll Be Mellow When I’m Dead” is sort of a post-punk song making fun of new-age people. And it kicks ass??? During lockdown, I compiled Weird Al’s alternative originals into a pretend album called New Wave Al. Listen to it next time you’re held up in your home for a year.

THE GOLD STANDARD

Brian Eno & John Cale “Spinning Away”

Around 2018, I took on the task of listening to every project that involved Brian Eno in chronological order. I took scrupulous notes in a tiny notebook. I didn’t tell anyone I was doing this; it took over my life for a month. I was severely depressed. But this little Eno-research project was fun! It made me a real Eno-Head.

As his career became more centered on ambient music, producing U2 albums, and art installations in Germany, it’s always a treat when he has a project featuring his singing voice again. His collaborative album with John Cale, Wrong Way Up, is delightful. “Spinning Away” has become one of my favorite songs. The second it starts, my shoulders relax. Bonus Eno Tracks I love: His cover of Velvet Underground’s “I’m Set Free,” his collaboration with Cluster “Ho Renomo,” and Frou Frou’s “Hear Me Out,” which beautifully samples his classic “An Ending (Ascent).”

That’s it for me! Thanks!