Suggestible - Pam & Tommy & Sad Sci-Fi Movies

Episode Date: March 24, 2022

Suggestible things to watch, read and listen to. Hosted by James Clement @mrsundaymovies and Claire Tonti @clairetonti.This week’s Suggestibles:00:45 Pam & Tommy20:21 New Season of Tonts23:05 Self Esteem29:37 After Yang37:14 Bing Bong NYC39:00 Weekly Planet PostersSend your recommendations to [e-mail], we’d love to hear them.You can also follow the show on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook @suggestiblepod and join our ‘Planet Broadcasting Great Mates OFFICIAL’ Facebook Group. So many things. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Introducing Uber Teen Accounts, an Uber account for your teen with enhanced safety features. Your teen can request a ride with top-rated drivers, and you can track every trip on the live map in the Uber app. Uber Teen Accounts, invite your teen to join your Uber account today. Available in select locations. See app for details. Bing bong, whatever, bing bing bong, it's suggestible time. It certainly is. I can't believe it's suggestible time. It's already this, what's wrong, Claire? I It's suggestible time. It certainly is. I can't believe it's suggestible time. It's already this. What's wrong, Claire? I have the hiccups.

Wow. I've been trying to get rid of it before the show because I'm a professional podcaster. It's pretty irresponsible of you to get hiccups right before the show. So what did you drink or eat or do or think? Well, I drank my tea very quick. Oh, Claire. I know. I was trying to buck myself up for this adventure that we're on.

This is suggestible podcast where I hiccup and we recommend you things to watch, read and listen to. No, I did one but I swallowed it. Now I'm trying really hard. I'm concentrating real hard for it not to come out. I'm Claire Tonti. Who are you? I'm James Clement. That's who I am. We're married. That's right. We recommend you things to watch, read and listen to.

That's right. What a joy. So one of the things we're going to talk about today is something that we watch sort of together, which is unusual because we normally go to different ends of the house and we watch TV in silence. Not in silence. I like to sing along with my television. Well, that's part of the reason I like to watch things separately.

Slurp my tea very quickly. That's right. But it's Pam and Tommy, which is on Hulu if you're in the US, but Disney Plus most other places in the world. I am not actually recommending. This is the first, I reckon, recommendation. I'm not recommending. I'm an anti-recommendation. I'm not recommending you go and watch.

I feel deeply uncomfortable about this. I'm going to say it's complicated. It's not that complicated really, is it? Because basically if you don't know the real life story, it basically in the 90s, and I think everybody does know this at this point, Tommy Lee, who was the drummer or maybe still is the drummer from Motley Crue, and Pam Anderson, who was in Baywatch and movies and a bunch of other stuff,

they had a sex tape stolen that was then leaked, which then went 90s viral and basically did a lot of personal damage to one of those people in particular. To Pam's career. Yeah. And I guess what's interesting about it, and it's similar to Monica Lewinsky's trajectory of when that happened

to her and her story, it's sort of the first time that a tape like this had gone really viral when the internet was just a thing. Yes. Or even at at all I would say. Yeah, really. And so you just see the beginning of them wrapping their heads around what the internet is as this video goes online and the kind of impact that it's going to have. And I don't know how true to life the story is because Pamela Anderson

obviously did not want this to be made and hasn't endorsed it. And that's kind of the heartbreaking thing, right? Through all of this, her, you know, they never wanted it to be released and it ruined a lot of her career. Yeah. And it just went. Great personal cost as well. Great personal cost. And she never made any money out of it either. It's worth something crazy. Like I think it was sold eventually for $15 million or something and she does sign over the rights to it eventually because of, I guess wanting to, that's a long story really through the whole show, right, but she's trying to stop it from getting out first on VHS,

which is kind of wild as well, right, because they're just trying to sell the copies of it. And then as it gets online and then it becomes freely available online, then it appears that the only way for them to stop it just being free to everyone is for this really creepy guy to sign, for them to sign over the rights to him because he is then able to just charge people and because if he owns it, therefore no one else can copy it and sell it anywhere else.

It's illegal. So then he kind of sells it to Tommy and Pam as this will stop the spread. Yes. And I'm not completely across all of the legal stuff, but really they try and sue him and it wasn't at that point seen as a breach of the law. Yeah, well, and the reason being is because like it often is with lawmakers, these things are, and the internet is always well ahead

of people's understanding of it and especially people who make these decisions. So I think in the show it's justified that they publish images in I think it's Hustler magazine, you know, which is like a Playboy-esque kind of magazine, or was, or is. No, no, it's not Hustler. It's in Penthouse. Penthouse, sorry, thank you.

Yeah, they publish it in Penthouse. Yeah, and it was because it was news and it was like essentially public domain which now is crazy. Like that's, you know, there are now, well, for a number of reasons, it's not completely bulletproof but there are laws in place and there are ramifications. There are revenge porn laws, not everywhere, that exist where if you do this to somebody, you say, not always, but can face serious legal repercussions.

And it seems from all of this, nobody really faced anything, in particular the guy who stole the tape in the first place. Yeah, exactly. He was played by Seth Rogen. And he plays the guy very well. He's a tradie who's working on Tommy Lee's mansion and Tommy Lee refuses to pay him and kind of humiliates him and so the idea is he then goes and steals this tape.

Well, he steals a safe out of their house and finds this tape, which is a really private tape between them and actually from what they say in the film, it's very sweet and kind of it's very explicit. Yeah. But it's not made as like a pornographic material. No, it's just. It's the couple sharing their really intimate moments.

And unfortunately as well, Tommy Lee comes off incredibly well in the whole thing, right? Yeah, because there's a number of like and it's interesting because it paints like everybody like kind of gets a fair shot in terms of like their motivations behind it, whether or not those motivations are good or not, mostly not good. Like Seth Rogen, for example, not a good person, but they try and, you know, justify why.

It's true that he's really down on his luck and he's not very clever. But also that might not be true. I don't know this guy. I don't really know anything about him. I don't know how much of that guy is true. I know Tommy Lee is like an arsehole. I know that in real life. Well, he was also charged with assaulting Pam.

Exactly, yeah. He's not a good guy. And I also think, which it's kind of not bizarre but, I mean, I guess at the very least Pam Anderson is the only one in this who's kind of painted in any kind of real sympathetic light. But, again, that comes back to she, the real person, didn't want any of this. Exactly.

And that's what I mean. And even in us talking about it, I feel deeply uncomfortable because I feel like this is just dredging it all up again for her and people who have never heard of the tape and never seen the tape, a whole other generation of people are now going to go and find this tape. Yeah. That she never wanted to be anywhere near the internet or for anyone to see it and billions of people have seen it

and for free often and she's not that she wanted to make any money of it but she hasn't made any money out of it. It was never her choice to do it. So it's just horribly exploitative on every level. It's interesting because Lily James plays her incredibly well, I think, and she disappears into the role. That's the thing about this show is it's very well made, you know, which, you know, it just is.

It's just the performances are incredible. Yeah, so Sebastian Stan plays Tommy Lee. And who's from a bunch of Marvel movies and Lily James who's in everything. Everything, yeah. Enchanted. Not Enchanted. What's the one? Cinderella.

Cinderella. She's great in that. Yeah, she's in lots of stuff. And the prosthetics, like, and the performances that both of those put in because they both have a number of physical alterations to their bodies to make them look more like the people coupled with their performances. They're amazing. They're so good.

It's actually based on the Rolling Stone article, Pam and Tommy, The Untold Story of the World's Most Infamous Sex Tape, written by Amanda Chicago Lewis, which is interesting too, I think. And look, Lily James has said on record that she thinks even though Pamela Anderson hasn't approved of the TV show, she feels like they paint her in a very feminist light and they also are trying to make a point about the fact that at the centre of all of these men making all these deals and decisions, Pam was failed at every turn.

Yeah, you see that. She wants to kind of make her own decisions in regards to the tape. Like she doesn't want to sue the magazine. You know, she wants to make all these decisions for herself and people are telling her, no, no, you should definitely do this. But as a result, it gets more eyes on it, you know what I mean? It's where it seems, and again, I don't know the specifics of what she was actually thinking of the time

because she hasn't really been very open about it. But, yeah, but it just seems like that she was kind of like told how to react and how to feel and what to do in this situation and none of that benefited her like at all. One of the scenes that disturbed me the most and just made me feel gutted and I've finished watching it tonight and feel gutted not just for that but I've been reading another book called The Mother Wound by a wonderful writer, Amani Haidar, and I'll go into that another day

but it's really again about the exploitation of women and particularly women at the centre of domestic and sexual violence and how the system fails them everywhere, victims in particular. Yeah. And there's a scene where Lily James is playing Pamela Anderson and she's being grilled by the lawyers. Her lawyer convinced her to sue Penthouse magazine and then she has to sit there while the lawyer for Penthouse just asks her the most

personal, exploitative questions on camera and they make her watch the tape while everyone is sitting there in the room. And be like, is this you? I know, while a man, yeah. It's obviously her. Why is this happening? And explain to us what you are doing at this point. And it's this sort of 60-year-old man.

Yeah. And that's the problem I think in general with women and victims, not just women but victims of violence in this way. Chanel Miller talks about this in her book as well, that you have to then sort of be reliving these traumatic events and often with a man, an older man that you don't know. Yeah. And it's done in such an insensitive way that the system just fails everyone.

And it's just heartbreaking to watch how this woman who they paint, Paloma Anderson, and I would hazard a guess this is probably accurate because I just don't think you can be at that echelon and not be a hard worker and not have to be super driven. And look, and this obviously put like a big dent in her career. Correct, exactly. And you see her painted as such a confident but also super hard working person. Yeah, you look at all the things that she's done and she was a trailblazer

in so many ways. Yeah, yeah. And Baywatch, she was a trailblazer in so many ways. Yeah, yeah. And Baywatch, she was sort of looking for more complicated roles and they just keep filming her ass basically. Yeah. And look, that's also a choice that she makes to be in that aesthetic and on the screen and all of those things and that's totally different. As she says, there's one line that I can't stop thinking about in the film

that sluts don't get a choice. And not saying that she is one, but she's saying that women who aren't, you know, perfect in their, I don't know, for want of a better word, modesty and chasteness or whatever, aren't allowed to make decisions about what happens to their body. People are like, well, you chose to do that, therefore your body is our property. And they're painted in such a horrible way often in the media

and talked about by people in such a horrible way because they've made particular decisions. And maybe that's changing now, but I think particularly at that time the culture was so heavily conservative in lots of ways. Oh, absolutely. And I guess we still are. Yeah, depending on where you are in the world. Depending on where you are.

Yeah, but I mean there's a lot that we don't, particularly back then they didn't understand about patriarchy and how that works. And it was like this, it was this kind of big like running joke, you know what I mean? Exactly. And it's the same with Monica Lewinsky, right? Like she was just a running joke.

We've talked about that before. And it just makes me so angry. And I've heard senior journalists as women now, like reflecting, now that you're seeing Monica Lewinsky making public statements and speaking and being this articulate, funny person on Twitter, they're reflecting on how they wrote about her at the time when it all came out and it was just like no one really, really understood she was a person.

Yeah. And I feel like Pamela Anderson has kind of existed in the culture in the same way. She's kind of, you know, this larger than life caricature and people hadn't really thought about her as a real human being. Yeah, and they make the parallel in the show on how there's similarities to like Marilyn Monroe. Though her specifically, she's a Bridget Fonda that she's a fan of

in particular. Bridget Fonda. Jane Fonda. Jane Fonda, sorry, yeah. Bridget Fonda. How could you get Jane Fonda's name wrong? She's an icon. Bridget Fonda and Jane Fonda are related, Claire.

Jane Fonda is like the most incredible trailblazing woman. A businesswoman, entrepreneur. She's just been arrested so many times for protesting the climate crisis. She has donated all of the profits from her exercise videos to charity. She's also incredibly funny and smart and articulate, and Grace and Frankie is an amazing TV show. And I love Jane Fonda. How dare you get her name wrong?

I mean, Bridget Fonda is her daughter, so it's not like I didn't, you know, I didn't get it that wrong, did I? Anyway, you're always telling me how you never remember anybody's names. I know. I think it bothers me so much because you're so good with people's names. How could you forget an icon? She's an icon. But I just thought it was really interesting that that was the career

that she wanted to have. And you could see that it was going that way like until this moment. And I know this also was coupled with the movie Barbed Wire, Barbed Wire, whatever it's called. Which. Which, to be fair, like I haven't seen. But by all accounts it's terrible. But like that, I don't think that would have necessarily stopped her,

you know. No, and I'm sure Jane Fonda has made terrible films. Of course she has. Yeah, I mean every actor has. It's not. Yeah, exactly, exactly, whereas this just turned her career into a completely different trajectory. Yeah.

And I think also there was a scene of miscarriage too when she loses a baby and it sort of is implied it's partly due to the stress of the situation as well and that's just so heartbreaking too. I just think it is also, there's a point to be made here about how over time events can really break women down and they can set off. You just don't realize. And I think it reminded me of being a young woman and thinking that the world is kind of your oyster and there are no barriers in front of you. Right. And if you just work hard enough and you're, you know, engaged enough in the world is kind of your oyster and there are no barriers in front of you, right? And if

you just work hard enough and you're, you know, engaged enough in the world, of course you can be whatever you want to be. And you get told that, or we certainly did at school, that you can be whatever you want to be. And it's not that it's not true. It's that there are so many more barriers still for women and the world is definitely not always kind and you watch her, the trajectory in the film, I don't know, in the TV show, this is obviously just Pamela Anderson being depicted in a certain way. Yeah, because we don't know. We don't know.

Maybe she's fine now. I don't know. Exactly. I have no idea. But I think it's a story that can be told again and again of people but often women particularly and you see her just be broken down over time by the choices of often men around her. Yeah.

And her own choices too but, you know. Not really. But not really, exactly. And it just, I don't know, it's just you just watch her shine, like the shine that she had on the world before all of that happened kind of fall away slowly and she becomes resigned to the terribleness that the world can deliver. Anyway, that really depressing everybody. But it's also like the whole thing and whether or not this is actually what happened, it

starts because the Seth Rogen character, also this guy who leaked this tape, like who is he? Nobody knows him. What does he look like? I don't know what he looks like, you know what I mean? So I looked up a picture of him and I'm like that could be anybody, I don't know. But him and the Tommy Lee character, it starts with a rivalry between them

and I guess like to his credit in the show at least, he's like, did you not think that the ramification this would have on my wife? Like this isn't you just getting back at me. You've actually hurt somebody like for no reason, you know. But they also keep coming back to, you know, she says a couple of times through this series that, you know, or he says, hey, I'm upset. I'm on that tape too. And she's like, it's not the same.

And it's not. You know, it's absolutely not the same, you know, or it's not perceived, like it is the same, like literally, but it's not perceived the same way, you know? Of course not. No, he gets high fived. Yeah. Well, that's the thing. So I looked up a quote. I'm like, what does he think of this now? Right. And among many quotes, he said, yeah, I feel like that was forever ago. It's a cool story and people need to know. It's cool. I'm stoked.

It's cool. So there you go. Of course it is because really that's what he's most famous for now. It is because, look, I mean Motley Crue, you know, they're fine, I guess, as a band. I don't really like him. But I think that's also an interesting element of that that you mentioned. Yeah, he's not, like Motley Crue aren't a beloved band, you know,

and they work that into the story as well because of the grungy era of the 90s just killed all that hair metal. And, look, I think that's good because I hate all that hair metal. In general, not all of it. There's obviously some good stuff in there. So he's this dying star and she's this rising star, you know, and he's kind of saddled and it's like he's seen that, you know what I mean, and whether or not he's done it intentionally or not.

And she has autonomy in this too. Of course she does. And makes her own choices. Yeah, absolutely. But you can see that they're not the same career-wise at this point. And in the show they depict her work ethic is nowhere near his as well in that particular time period where they meet.

Like he's drinking really heavily and partying really heavily and she in general is getting up really early to get to places and do what she needs to do to keep her career going and to keep things fresh and looking for new roles and expanding all of that. And it just, yeah. Yeah. I mean, look, and he was very famous in the 80s, you know,

and that's where he made all his, like he's very rich because he made like record money in the 80s, you know, before. Yeah. Before you can't really make that kind of money, do you know what I mean, unless you're U2 and you're touring stadiums or whatever. I guess, yeah, yeah, totally. But he is known for that. You say his name and that's what he's known for.

Yeah, exactly right. I don't know. It just, I'll stop harping on about this. The world is gloomy enough. You don't need any more Claire Tonti being gloomy. But the thing that I will. I love gloomy Claire Tonti. The thing that I will.

My hiccups have gone. The rage has pushed them out. Oh, yeah, not a single one. The thing that makes me so sad and angry at the moment is I just think about how many women, Pamela Anderson, you know, yes, or so many others as well, what kind of art could she have made? What kind of films? Exactly.

What could she have done if she hadn't had to deal with this exploitation and really violation of her identity? And, you know, millions and millions of people saw that tape. How mortifying. I just think it's awful. It's such a crime. And I just feel like there's so many women who have had their lives interrupted in that way who haven't been able to make the art and do the writing

and whatever it is they wanted to do and we've missed out on that because of the way the systems of governance work, because of the court system, because of the way victims aren't believed. Just the whole patriarchal system can get burnt to the ground. No, I'm joking. All right. Am I joking? Who knows?

Anyway, shall we move on? I'd love to see her like have a resurgence and, you know, do something. I don't know. I don't know what. Who knows? Yeah. I'd love to see her, like, have a resurgence and, you know, do something. I don't know. I don't know what. Who knows? Maybe she was in that recent Baywatch reboot movie. I don't know. I didn't see that.

Anyway, I'm not recommending you go and watch it, but I thought this was an interesting discussion. Yeah, well, I mean, I also think it's interesting. All right. You can get anything you need with Uber Eats. Well, almost, almost anything. So, no, you can't get an ice rink on Uber Eats. Well, almost, almost anything. So no, you can't get an ice rink on Uber Eats. But iced tea and ice cream?

Yes, we can deliver that. Uber Eats. Get almost, almost anything. Order now. Product availability may vary by region. See app for details. What else have you got to recommend? Look, I haven't had a chance to listen to it yet,

but I've got it lined up in my podcast. It's a new episode of the podcast Tons you might be familiar with. It's called The Mess and Magic of Motherhood with Joanna Bennett. It was just released. It's your brand new season of Tons. Is that true? That's true. My goodness.

I know. No, that's exciting, Claire. It hasn't been an episode since like November or whatever of last year. True. So you're back for another season. You feeling good? I'm feeling good. I'm feeling nervous about it. I love Joanna Bennett. I talked about her last year. True. So you're back for another season. You feeling good? I'm feeling good. I'm feeling nervous about it.

I love Joanna. I talked about her last episode. Yeah, yeah. We don't need to go on about it. No, we do. I think it's important that people know that it's out now though. Yes, it's out. It came out today and I'm dropping episodes every Monday now.

Yes. Well, yeah, we were recording this a bit earlier. We are. Oh, that's true. By the time this goes out, it'll be well and truly out. Yes, so I'm dropping episodes every Monday. My next episode is with Sarah Wilson, author of First to Make the Beast Beautiful and I Quit Sugar and One Wild and Precious Life.

People love that I Quit Sugar book. Yeah. Everywhere. She's awesome. She must be rich. She rich. How much money does she have? I didn't ask her.

You forgot to ask her. She's an entrepreneur. I bet. Anyway, she's a really, really interesting person and she went travelling for I think it was eight years or something out of one backpack to kind of discover how we can get, you know, shaken up out of our schlump, I guess. And she came back sort of realising that the answer

to our climate anxiety and our isolation is to rewild the earth and rewild our hearts and ourselves. You hate this stuff. No, I don't. I'm looking through all your old episodes and I think there's not one that I haven't listened to. I'm just looking through here. The Dark Underbelly of TikTok.

No, that was with Marty, yeah? That was with Marty. No, I have listened to that one. Our lovely friend Martin. Yeah, no, I listened to that one. Charlie C yeah? That was with Marty. No, I have listened to that one. Our lovely friend Martin. Yeah, no, I listened to that one. Charlie Clawson did that one. Eve Reese, yeah, I did that one. Yeah, Benjamin Law did that.

Yep. I didn't listen to mine, actually. I didn't listen to mine. How many are you going to do? Do you know? Because you did a lot in season one. Are you going to do like 10 or what are you going to do? I'm going to do the same number, I think.

How many is that? 20? Wow. I'm going to aim for that. See how we go. See if I don't get COVID again. No, that's great. That's really cool.

Thanks, mate. I really appreciate it. It's a great show. And it's also very well thought out and edited. Colleen's edited it, so it edits this as well. And Maisie's now doing all the social media. Oh, yeah, that's right. So, oh, yeah, if you wouldn't mind doing us a favour,

go and follow me over at Claire Tonti on Instagram and at TonsPod. I will. I'll give you a follow right now. Thanks, mate. That would really help. You might see a little familiar face pop up there every now and then. It's our dog. It's our dog.

One of our dogs. Correct. Yeah, actually both of them popped up today on my Instagram. Anyhoo, yeah, that's over there. And if you do listen to straight and you like it, please give me a rating and review. Absolutely. I will.

That will make my whole bloody week. Terrific. Cool. What else are you up to? What sad thing have you read or watched this week? No, no, all right. So I knew this was going to be sad, gloomy Claire. Oh, no.

So I was like, I'm going to recommend something really joyful and fun that I bloody love. Okay, so she's a musician. Her name is Rebecca Lucy Taylor, but she's professionally known as the artist's self-esteem. Oh, like the offspring song. I know, and she's just like the new hot pop sensation and she's fucking awesome. Oh, okay. She's so good.

She's an English singer-songwriter and the inspiration for her station name comes from the evolution of her sort of self-esteem and confidence from her early 20s. What's she called, the Self Esteem? No, just Self Esteem. Gotcha. Self Esteem. So her latest album has dropped in 2021.

It's called Prioritised Pleasure. What I love about her is that she reminds me that we don't all have to look the same and we don't all have to be, this is something I think a lot of women struggle with, right? Well, I certainly did, that you'll be able to do the thing when you've lost the five kilos. Oh, okay. But you can't do that thing because you're not skinny enough, right?

Sorry, I just opened up the play over. Sorry. All right. Or you're too big or you're too loud or you don't look the way that you should and so you don't deserve to be in certain places. And she is voluptuous and funny and odd and awesome and super talented. And her pop style is, how would I describe it? Like, for instance, one of my favourite songs, I do this all the time,

is a lot of spoken word. Okay. And so I wanted to read out one of the verses because I just think it's so good. So the chorus of it is, look up, lean back, be strong. You didn't think you'd live this long. Be as one. Hold on, steady, stand for as long as you think you can. So that's like the chorus.

But what's really awesome is she just reads through little fragments that she put in her phone. So this is the one I thought you would really appreciate. I love this. Old habits die for a couple of weeks and then I start doing them again. The sun is making me feel like I'm missing out on something. But if I went to your barbecue, I'd feel uncomfortable and not be sure what to say.

It's like when I went to go to your birthday drinks to congratulate you for being the age I already thought you were or not. I don't know. It's a miracle I've remembered it all. When I'm buried in the ground, I won't be able to make your birthday drinks, but I'll still feel guilty. You see, when the air warms up like this, it brings every single memory of you back and it makes me so sick I can't breathe,

except I'm still breathing, aren't I? Oh, nice. Anyway, it's very, I don't know, I don't know where I'm going with this. My other favourite part of that is that she talks about how she's been working in pop for a really long time and she found it really, really hard to get any traction because of the way she looks and she got told so often that you are too big or too loud or you move around too much.

She's 34 as well, which is not old. But in terms of pop trajectory and she's really hit her strides now yeah that's awesome and there's a part of this song where she says all you need to do darling is fit in that little dress of yours if you weren't doing this you'd be working in mcdonald's so try and cheer up i'm not sure you're moving around too much and you need to stand still be more like maraid shh stop showing off you're a good girlad. Stop showing off. You're a good girl. You're a good tall girl. You're a good sturdy girl.

And she said that's like stuff that people just said to her while she was, you know, being a backup dancer and Mairead was this like perfect girl that was just like, you know, singing. Yeah, a sturdy girl. And I guess it just speaks into what it's like to be a woman that doesn't fit into the particular mould that everyone wants you to fit into, like that Disney princess vibe, right? Yeah.

And it's kind of, I guess, and I don't know if it's always the truth, right, but you do feel like you don't belong in certain spaces because you don't look that way. And being taller or broader or bigger means that you don't get to deserve to want stuff, which is totally bullshit. And I just love her songs for that reason because when you watch her live, which I haven't actually seen her, obviously she's in the UK, but on her Instagram, her dancing is just like so joyful and funny and also super sexy and a lot of her pop is like really dark

as well and she's just hit rave reviews from music critics everywhere, which is really, really exciting. So, for instance, the Guardian reviewer Laura Snapes described the album as remarkable and a rare big pop album after 18 months of comparatively diminutive offerings from headline female pop acts. And they've called it assured and unapologetic and charged with a dark smirking wit that's impossible to turn away from. My goodness.

It is awesome. So go and listen to Self Esteem and then if you really like it, go and listen to Elizabeth Day. Have a chat with her on her podcast. Have you reached out to get her on your podcast? No. Why not? James, she's like one of the biggest pop stars in the planet now.

Nah, she's only got 50,000 Instagram followers. You could crack that, I reckon. All right. Anyway, she's really cool. So I'd release – I'm going to say only. I start with I Do This All The Time, then Prioritize Pleasure, and You Forever.

Those are my three top picks. I love it. I just saw as well, I was just skipping through Wikipedia, she said she was 25 for a while and then she was just like, ah, no, I'm 34 or whatever. Yeah, exactly. Because I think what's really cool about it is we're at a point in history, I think, where everyone's like, just be who you are.

Yep. And that's cool and be weird and that's great. Yeah, make cool stuff or don't, do whatever you want. And it's not that she's weird but just like you can be whoever you are as an artist and that's great. Yeah. And what also is kind of interesting, right, like I think about Barbara Streisand because she's odd too in that really cool, kooky way.

Yeah, yeah. And sometimes. She doesn't act anymore. She should act, right? I don't think she needs to. No, I know that but, like, you. Yeah, yeah. And sometimes. She doesn't act anymore. She should act, right? I don't think she needs to. No, I know that, but, like, you know, she's a good actor. Oh, yeah, she's brilliant. I think sometimes what's interesting about, you know,

artists like that is that what makes them so great is the thing that people try and beat out of them until they hit it big. Yeah, yeah. Right, because they don't fit into that, like into a particular mould. And so I think what the internet has done is allow people to just express that and reach an audience. Anyway, it's bloody great. That's it.

I'm very happy for you. Now, I know you love big, happy things and you're like, I love, what do I love? You love sad, tiny things. I love sad sci-fi. You're close. I love sad sci-fi. I watched a movie called After Yang, which is directed by Kogan Nata,

and it stars Colin Farrell, Jodie Turner-Smith, Justin H, and Hayley Lou Richardson. Let me read you the synopsis, Claire, if you don't mind. Certainly, sir. I see you going blank, but you don't need to go blank. I'm not going blank. You can engage on a physical and emotional level. So when his young daughter, the daughter's beloved companion,

an android named Yang, malfunctions, Jake, played by Colin Farrell, searches for a way to repair it. In the progress, Jake discovers that the life has been passed in front of him as he reconnects with his wife and daughter. So basically they've got this robot that looks like a person and it just looks after, like plays with the daughter in the house. And it's like a normal kind of person and it's kind and compassionate you know and plays and educates and all these kinds of things and it has understanding of human emotions it's not like

one of those things where it's going to turn around and kill you kind of it's not that kind of movie right it's very quiet very contemplative so it's essentially about that so this robot person who shuts down they realized was kind of like the centerpiece of their family you know what i mean they didn't realize that at that point but he was kind of the emotional connection kind of between all of them like he was feeling this kind this kind of void like he was a presence and having him then shut down and then deciding what to do with him or can they fix him like you take him back to the store and they're like, oh, we can just upgrade you a new one.

We'll just put this one in the bin. Like it's a phone, you know what I mean? And then that unit or person doesn't exist anymore. So they start kind of digging into his memories and trying to figure out like what happened to him and can they get him online again? And they realize that there's like this hidden depth to him that they didn't quite understand and he's got all of these memories and experiences and experiences of them and other people

which they hadn't realised before. So it's kind of like he's not even in it because he's, well, he is in it because he's shut down but you're seeing his life kind of unfold in, you know, through the, you know, through finding out pieces of information about him. And it's just like, it's quite, it's very slow and very quiet. And Colin Farrell works in a literal tea shop and people come in and he, he blends like special tea for them. And it's really that kind of simple sci-fi future where also everything's like nice and quiet

and like green and like pastels, you know what I mean? It's like my favourite kind of future, you know what I mean? It seems like some of the things may have been worked out, not all of them, but you know what I mean? That would be nice, wouldn't it? Yeah, and also because their daughter is adopted and I think she's Chinese and Yang has the appearance of someone who is Asian. So, you know, she's asking him questions about being adopted

and, you know, whether she really fits in, you know, and he has this beautiful way of explaining to, like, she's like, I'm not really part of this family. And she has this way of explaining to her that, like, he shows her the graft of a particular type of plant and how they've grafted one plant to another. And she's like, oh, no, that's just stuck on there. You know, they've just kind of rubber banded the branch on.

And he takes her to another one and he shows her the like, no, you see what's happened here. They've kind of, this branch has, you know, been connected and this has created like a whole new thing, you know, and that's, you know, that's her. It's a metaphor, Claire. I don't know if you get it. I don't know if you got what I've, it's pretty deep.

Anyway, it's really nice. It's just really nice and kind of sad and it's just – it's cool. I liked it. Gentle. Yeah. That's really great. I would love an imagined future where things actually sort of work out and Colin Farrell makes me tea.

And we get a robot. I do not want a robot. I don't even want a Roomba. Well, that's the other thing because they're like, has this guy got a bunch of spyware in him as well? You know what I mean? There's like that conversation. Of course they do.

We already have robots. The good part is they're listening into everything. It's awful. Like it's all this, I was listening, I think it was with Steve Wozniak, you know, the guy who co-founded Apple, the guy who's not quite as awful as, which seems all right, actually seems nice enough, as Steve Jobs, who Steve Jobs basically exploited to start Apple. And he talks about how he was like, yeah,

like all this shit that they're doing with like AI and reminders. It's not actual AI. It's not actual like sort of brain telling you what to do. It's just annoying shit just like pinging at you all day. And I'm like, yeah, that's, yes, that is what it is. Yeah, I hate it. That's why people are always like, why aren't you answering your phone calls? Because I fucking hate it.

And I've got it on silent. And you don't have it on you. Because I don't want to have it on me. Why do I have it. That's why people are always like, why aren't you answering your phone, Claire? It's because I fucking hate it. And I've got it on silent. And you don't have it on you. Because I don't want to have it on me. Why do I have it? Okay, now I'm just, you're getting really rageful, Claire. Wow, I told you about a nice movie about a nice robot man. I know, but just like why is it suddenly socially unacceptable to be uncontactable for five fucking minutes?

Like why do I have to constantly be replying to messages and phone calls and WhatsApps? And I really love all of my friends and they're wonderful human beings, but my love for them should not be dependent whether or not I remember to reply to their texts. And I know maybe that's rude, but also I just, I don't, I just, I have other things I want to do. Do you remember when we were kids?

Instead of going on the internet, we would go and catch tadpoles in the stream. And then you'd go down to the store on your bike, on your three-wheel bike, and for a nickel you could get yourself a gum nut. And with that gum nut, do you know what you could grow? A tree. A tree, that's right. And then you'd put a rope swing on that tree and just swing around that tree all day. And you know what we felt like, Claire? Joyful. We felt human, that's right. And then you'd put a rope swing on that tree and just swing around that tree all day. And you know what we felt like, Claire?

Joyful. We felt human, that's right. But now everybody's doing a TikTok dance and they don't even look out the window because they're looking at the window that is their phone or black mirror, if you will. It's a mirror. You know what?

You joke, but that's fucking true. And I would love to get a gum nut and grow a tree and put a tire swing on it. Mate, that's what I'm doing and that's why I haven't replied. Literally everyone I know is constantly, oh, Claire, you're not replying. You don't answer your phone, Claire. Why doesn't she answer her phone? Because it follows me around. It's creeping me out and I want it to stop and I don't know how to not have my phone.

I know. You know what you should do? I don't know how to exist in a planet and the world without my phone. You should. I mean, you say these things and yet you are on the internet and yet you have social media. Exactly. And I'm literally recording a podcast so people can be on their phone

to listen to it. It's really messed up and I don't know. That's my least favourite. Like it's a meme but it's basically like if you criticise society then people are like, well, yeah, so you're safe from an iPhone. It's like, yeah, because that's the structure that we're all being penned into. You know what I mean? You really can't exist outside of these things.

Do you understand what I'm saying? Yes, I do. It's like you can still criticise the thing and still be in it. You know what I mean? Like I don't like a lot of elements of capitalism. It's like, well, yeah, why don't you go live in the woods? Why the fuck would I do that? Because I need money and I want to be around my friends and family.

You know what I mean? Yes. Anyway, what's happened here? Did you know, though, speaking of devices, here's a good way you can use a device for good, Claire. You can actually review this show in-app. You can do it on whatever app that you see fit. We'd really appreciate it.

Give it five stars if you want. Just like Nem... What is that? Nemerlez. I don't know how to pronounce that because some are capitals and some are not. What is this? Anyways, they say bong bong at the start of this five-star review.

Can you believe that? No. Outrageous. Oh, goodness. They say it's a perfect way to commute home and listen to these two interact. I've discovered a few interesting shows based on their suggestions and it's really entertaining to listen to James try and act normal

for 37 minutes. Wow. Look at that. We're just around 37 minutes right now. Well, yeah, correct, exactly. And if you would like to email the show with your suggestions. I love emailing the show. You never respond.

You never answer your email phone, Claire. You can email suggestiveofwhatatgmail.com just as Christopher has, bing and also bong. What up, dogs? What up? Did you see NYC Mayor Eric Adams join TikTok? And the first words spoken in his first video are bing bong. It's true.

Now that you know the Mayor of New York is a loyal listener, how will you shape the policy of his great city via weekly suggestibles? Maybe he can send you some of that fancy NYC kombucha. Chris in Paris. What I would do if I was mayor of New York, what I would actually do, I'd try and decongest the city in terms of traffic, make more walkable areas and kind of things like scooters, bikes, things like that.

What you want to do, you want to clear kind of all that up. Things are now choked up with Ubers and cabs and people, you know, driving their own cars. They've got a pretty solid transit system and you want to boost that infrastructure. You know what I mean? You get people walking, you get people interacting. You also lower rental prices, both for living and for, in terms of places where you rent forward. It's now 38 minutes. Oh no, this is when I get weird. Exactly. Guys, we've really got to finish the show here or it's going to go downhill.

Try and get some kind of, I'm trying to think what kind of like power structures you could use there in terms of like there's not a lot really of room, a lot of room for solar or wind. So I don't know, you'd have to probably build something offshore. I'm lacking your. To kind of power the city, you know what I mean? Cool, because you are an engineer and know all about this stuff. Well, you want it to go green because how much nicer is a city

or like a street when it's lined with trees and greenery? Yes. It's so much nicer. That's one good thing about it. That's why we all need to get gum nuts and plant trees. Exactly. When you look at like a future where everything's kind of grown over and it's like because the world's wrecked, I'm kind of like,

oh, that's nice though, isn't it? Look at all that greenery covering that building. With Colin Farrell making a cup of tea. No, it wasn't like that. I'm talking like it would be on that. It's mainly more just like in like what's the one? The Last of Us. There's lots of vampires running around with Will Smith.

What's that one? Oh, I Am Legend. Do you know they're making a sequel to that? Are they? It's weird because he exploded at the end of that movie. I don't know if you saw it. Is he in it? I don't know yet.

He's producing. I don't want to see an exploded Will Smith. You know, maybe it's just the head. Oh, in an AI robot. No, just the head. You'd love that. Just the head doesn't do anything. It's just a head. Oh, in an AI robot. No, just the head. You'd love that. Just the head doesn't do anything. It's just a head.

It's just a head on a Roomba. That's right. Moving around. I am Roomba. That's good, Claire. You may have made your first weekly planner poster. Congratulations. All right.

I feel special. It's my six-year planner broadcasting wedding anniversary. You've been with Weekly Planner Posters, right? Yes, I certainly am. It's my six-year Planet Broadcasting wedding anniversary. You're familiar with Weekly Planet Posters, right? Yes, I certainly am. He's a legend. He's doing great work. He's doing the Lord's work. I agree.

He's going straight into heaven. He totally is. Okay, that's it from us. Thank you, as always, to Rock Hollings for editing this week's episode. We will talk to you soon. Bye. Bye. This podcast is part of the Planet Broadcasting Network.

Visit planetbroadcasting.com for more podcasts from our great mates. I mean, if you want. It's up to you. Hi, this is Katnett Unfiltered. If you know us, then you know that we do almost everything together, so accommodating seven kids and seven adults on vacation can be challenging, so we Airbnb it. And if you have a spare room in your house, vacation can be challenging. So we Airbnb it. And if you have a spare room in your house, you can Airbnb it.

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