Hey, kids! Welcome to the Phile for a Saturday. Not just any Saturday... but it's my birthday. I am 51-years-old, which is half a century and one year. I've reached an age where it's no longer fun to have co-workers guess how old I am. My regular jeans have slowly transformed into my skinny jeans. I'm at the age where I get sore from doing nothing. At least I had more good years than "Saturday Night Live." I just hope I love so long my entire body resembles a scrotum.
Well, I have good news for you kids... some of you anyway... The holidays are almost here and Star Wars fans are undoubtedly looking for "Baby Yoda" merchandise to purchase ASAP. Luckily, there are several products out there that already bear the likeness of "The Mandalorian"'s breakout star so you can get your hands on it right now. "Baby Yoda"'s appearance was kept a secret until the premiere of "The Mandalorian" for a good reason. Show creator Jon Favreau has previously confirmed that he had asked Disney not to produce "Baby Yoda" merch ahead of the series premiere. Unfortunately, this means that you won't get an official "Baby Yoda" plushie from Disney anytime soon. On the other hand, there's already a slew of t-shirts and other accessories with the Child's face if you want it right now. A quick search for "Baby Yoda" on Etsy results in over 1,000 items dedicated to the adorable little munchkin. There are t-shirts, ugly (but cute) sweaters, stickers, decals, tumblers, and yes, even a hand-crafted plushie that's made-to-order. Likewise, you can find similar products on Amazon like a t-shirt proclaiming that "Baby Yoda" is your new Patronus (don't worry, I won't judge). If you're really intent on getting official merch from Disney, you can rest assured that the studio is already preparing for the holidays. The toys and other products should be available for pre-sales in the next few weeks and could be shipped out in time for Christmas.
A grim fact about our society is that is a woman is assaulted, by someone she knows or a stranger, people will want to know all the extenuating details, no matter how irrelevant they are. For example, what are they wearing? Clothing choices are still seen as an excuse by some to commit a violent assault on another person. It’s sick, misogynistic logic, but it persists. Sometimes it seems like we’ve run out ways to explain why saying someone’s clothes invited sexual assault is wrong. Frankly, if you believe that, you might be beyond help. But 22-year-old Bree Wiseman posted a photo to Facebook that does at least present the idea in a new way. The picture shows her sweet dog sitting next to a plate of food, like a good boy. Wiseman wrote, "To the people that say women get raped due to the way they are dressed. This is my dog. His favorite food is steak. He is eye level with my plate. He won’t get any closer because I told him no. If a dog is better behaved than you are, you need to reevaluate your life. Feel free to share, my dog is adorable." He is! Look...
Wiseman’s photo went viral very quickly, partly because of the cute dog and partly because it’s so true. A dog knows what “no” means, so why wouldn’t a person? Huffpost interviewed Wiseman, who expanded on her dog and steak thesis. “If a 4-year-old pit bull understands the word ‘no,’ even though he is looking at something he wants so bad he is literally drooling, then adults should understand ‘no,’ no matter how the other adult is dressed,” she said. “Appearances shouldn’t make any difference in sexual assault cases. How is it that a simple-minded animal has the ability to understand better than a large part of the adult population?” Wiseman is being a little facetious. Humans are certainly more complicated than dogs, but she is very clear on the fact that talking about what a woman was wearing when she was assaulted is a way to shift blame away from the person who committed the crime. “The only person to blame in a rape offense is the rapist,” she continued. “It was their decision to rape. People shouldn’t have to worry about what they chose to wear for fear of rape. I want people to see that this is a problem, and to stand together against victim-shaming.” And as an added bonus, everyone can see that pits are actually a wonderful, loving breed.
What would you do if you pulled a customer aside for additional screening only to pull something very… large and embarrassing out of her bag? Well just ask this TSA agent who was unfortunate enough to go through the entire emotional spectrum after a deliberate prank was played on him... and, in a twist, the prank was also played on the girl who was being screened. The face he makes says it all.
The embarrassment level for the girl is almost palpable, as all of her friends stand around and silently giggle their triumph. You are technically allowed to bring sex toys on a plane, but the TSA is entitled to open and search your bag for any reason. So, you run the risk of humiliation and that face. At least he didn’t make it even more embarrassing for the lady. She was already pretty mortified. With friends like that, who needs enemies?
A Utah woman faces the possibility of being forced to register as a sex offender. Her crime? Being topless in her own home. Tilli Buchanan and the ACLU of Utah are fighting the charges. If they are unsuccessful, Buchanan faces having to register as a sex offender. All this from an innocuous incident two years ago. Buchanan and her husband were installing drywall in their garage in late 2017 and early 2018. While they worked, they had removed their tops that had become dusty and itchy from the fibers. During this, her husband’s three children, aged 9, 10 and 13, entered the garage and saw her without any covering over the top half of her body. According to court documents, Buchanan explained, “She considers herself a feminist and wanted to make a point that everybody should be fine with walking around their house or elsewhere with skin showing.” Buchanan’s husband, who was standing next to her in the exact same state of undress, has not been charged. Police and prosecutors are arguing a very different series of events. They claim Buchanan purposefully took off her shirt in front of the children while under the influence of alcohol. Judge Kara Pettit heard the case earlier this week but didn’t make a decision. She has said it is “too important of an issue” to rule immediately and will decide in the coming months. This whole incident came to trial after an investigation by child welfare officials began looking into an incident that didn’t even involve Buchanan. The mother of the children reported the incident because she was “alarmed." Across the country, a movement to decriminalize women being topless has had mixed results. The “Free the Nipple” movement suffered a setback in New Hampshire earlier this year, when the state’s highest court upheld a conviction against three of their members who were arrested for going topless on a beach in 2016. However, there has been success as well. The 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a ruling blocking a law against women going topless in public. Most commonly, social media received the ire of people who post images. Women sharing photos that happen to have a nipple exposed can receive bans and punishments, even if the photo is non-sexual. However, as in all these cases, men’s nipples are not treated the same way. If the court rules against her, Buchanan faces fines and imprisonment, and having to register as a sex offender for 10 years. Leah Farrell, attorney for the ACLU of Utah, is supporting Buchanan’s case. She says, “Simply because Miss Buchanan is a woman, she is facing this charge. Therefore, women throughout Utah are at higher risk of facing a criminal charge simply because of their gender.” “There are different ideas around what morality is or is not. But the state’s reach to criminalize morality based on gender and gender stereotyping is incredibly problematic.”
Brie Larson might be the face of the Strongest Avenger in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but that doesn’t mean that she can get a Disney+ subscription for free. The 30-year-old actress just recently made an appearance on "The Ellen Show" where she was congratulated for the record-breaking success of her latest Marvel movie, Avengers: Endgame. On the show, Ellen Degeneres couldn’t help but ask Larson whether she received any of the profit that the film earned at the box office, something to which the actress replied that “I don’t even have a Disney+ account!” Larson then decided that it was the perfect “opportunity” to make her case to Disney, reminding Disney, the greatest company to work for ever, about a role from early on her career when she appeared in Disney Channel’s movie, Right On Track. “Waiting for my Disney+ comped account. I’ve got multiple pieces of art on your streaming service... including one of my first and best roles I’ve ever done, which was a film called Right On Track. It was a Disney Channel original movie,” Larson joked. She can always come to my place and watch Disney+ is she wants.
A few months ago at the Global Climate Strike some signs gave us hope for the future...
Man, I can't even read that. It says, "Limitless consumption, consequences externalized, asylum denied, for profit prisons, water privatization, neo-colonialism: who gains from climate catastrophe?" That's pretty deep. Other signs were very snarky, like this one...
Hahaha. If I had a TARDIS I would love to go see myself when I was a boxer...
Hahahahaha. That is actually me. My dad took that pic of me on the early 80s, it was almost gonna be the cover of a Foghat album called "Two Fisted Rock and Roll" but the album was changed to "Tight Shoes." I still have one of those gloves. I'll show it here on the Phile some time. Guess who is now working for the White House. I'll show you...
That's so stupid. That's as stupid as...
Nope, that's not Justin "Beaver." Haha. So, I share my birthday with some famous people... Billy the Kid, Miley Cyrus, Nicole Polizzi and Robin Roberts. Some famous people I share my birthday have passed so here is a special...
Susan Anspach
November 23rd, 1942 — April 2nd, 2018
Everyone remembers Five Easy Pieces, but what about The Last Giraffe? What was wrong with that?
Betty Everett
November 23rd, 1939 — August 19th, 2001
Shoop, shoop, shoop, shoop, shoop, shoop, shoop, she's in the ground (that's where she is).
Otis Chandler
November 23rd, 1927 — February 27th, 2006
Where else but in L.A. could a major metropolitan newspaper be successfully run for decades by the town drunk?
Run Run Shaw
November 23rd, 1907 — January 6th, 2014
Done done.
If you spot the Mindphuck let me know. Okay, so, one of my favorite things about the Phile is I get to have my good friend Jeff to come on to the Phile once a week during football season and talk about football. I invited him back to the Phile today to say something about me, how we met and his favorite memory of when we worked together. So, its time to...
Hey, Jason! Before I get started, I just wanted to say happy birthday, my friend. Yeah, we've known each other almost twenty years now. I started at Disney in 2000 and I believe you were already there at Innoventions when I started. As far as my favorite memory of you? That's a tough one. With almost 20 years of memories it's hard to pick just one. From making each other monthly mixed CDs for years to going out of our way to play six degrees of separation to kill the boredom of the job. Or of course the time at Mcikey's Retreat. Who could forget that. We also knew about each other's crushes. There were few people who knew that about me! But if I'm picking one actual story, it's the time you gave a child a concussion. Do you remember that? I was standing in the Forest for Our Future (shout out to Freddie Firefly) and I saw you pin trading with a few kids. You stole one of the kid's hat. Since you were taller than him you kept the hat just out of his reach. He decided to get a running leap, but you moved the hat and he went slamming face first into the pole. All I heard was a sick thud and then a kid crying. To silence the kid you did what anyone would do... you gave him a pin. Like a champ. What about the time you drop kicked Sully?
Or filming various segments for the Cast Appreciation video?
I could keep going. But I'll stop. Happy birthday, my friend...
Awe, thanks, Jeff. So, this year I asked you readers to send me email so I help people navigate the often-murky waters of right vs. wrong. But sometimes, the waters are not murky at all. Sometimes people are straight-up assholes and everyone realizes it but them. This is one of those times. A mom who excluded a boy with "high-functioning autism" from her son's 10th birthday party... while inviting every other kid in the class... sent me an email asking me if she is wrong. Ummm... yeah! Excluding one child from a birthday party for having autism is an extremely asshole move. The mom writes...
"Dear, Jason. My sons 10th birthday is next Saturday and me and my husband have been planned a party for him. To make sure we gave everyone enough time we got invitations ready 2 weeks in advance and I had my son pass them out Friday. We invited every one in his class (he goes to a small private school so there were only 15 kids to invite). Except for one child we'll call "David." The mom and her husband invited every single child in their son's 15 kid class with the exception of one, "David," who is a "high-functioning autistic child." Her reasons for excluding this ONE kid from her son's party are flimsy at best: 1) She heard a rumor that David might've had a "meltdown" at another kid's birthday party (what kid hasn't at some point had a meltdown at a birthday party?!) And 2) There are "logistical problems" due to the party taking place in a "loud arcade." Uhhh, okay. "David is a high functioning autistic child who was put in my son's class to help him socialize and to help the other kids learn to not discriminate against special needs people. From what I know about him and his mother they are just doing their best, and I have nothing against either of them. However, their have been incidents with David before. Last year through friends I had heard that David had a meltdown at another party he was invited to. I don't know if I believe it but parents who were there say that it was because he wanted to open presents like the birthday boy and when told no freaked out. There are other logistical problems as well (the party will be in a loud arcade) so in the end I decided to not invite David." When David's mom found out her son was the only one excluded from the birthday, she did what any protective mom would do: she confronted the mom throwing the party, and called her "awful" for excluding her son. "Well, after my son passed the invitations word spread around that we had excluded the special needs child in his class. This got back to David's mother who called me last night and confronted me about this. She told me that I am awful for excluding her son and that i'm teaching my son to discriminate. When I brought up the logistics and the past incident she told me that I'm an asshole for assuming what her son can and can't do before hanging up. I woke up this morning to a passive aggressive post by her and many other parents are siding with her. I just want my son to have a good party and didn't mean anything by this. What do I do and and I'm wrong?" Sometimes it's difficult for an asshole to realize they're being an asshole... even when a lot of people are telling them they're being an asshole. You didn't even make an effort to talk to David's mom to address the "meltdown" rumor or to find out if his behavior had improved or what he's like in social situations. Look, I understand your concern about the meltdown. But you could have spoken to his parents beforehand about the environment and potential ways to mitigate that; you could have spoken to your son's teacher to see if s/he has advice for how David is in group situations. You don't even know how his behavior may have improved over the past year specifically because of being included socially. This would have been a good chance to teach your son to include people, and instead you taught him it's okay to exclude someone if their disability makes your fun time slightly more difficult. A meltdown at one party doesn't automatically mean he will melt down at ALL parties. You didn't even TRY to find a way to include him. A 10th birthday party at an arcade will likely include some meltdowns, with or without David. Not to mention it’s a 10th birthday party at an arcade. Hopefully the mom apologizes to David, and his mom, for excluding him and perpetuating harmful stereotypes about people with autism. Even assholes can change... and hopefully this one does.
The 109th book to be pheatured in the Phile's Book Club is...
Chrissy will be the guest on the Phile in a few weeks. On Monday...
Can you guess who the guests will be? I will tell you in a little bit...
Today's pheatured guest is an American musician and singer-songwriter, and some one I had a crush on since the early 90s I think. Her latest album "Juliana Hatfield Sings The Police" is available on Amazon and Spotify. Please welcome to the Phile... Juliana Hatfield!
Me: Juliana!!! I am so excited to have you on the Phile for my birthday!! I'm a big fan and I had a crush on you for years. How are you?
Juliana: I'm good. Happy birthday.
Me: Thank you. I love the new album "Juliana Hatfield Sings The Police." How did you pick the Police? Have they been a big influence throughout your life?
Juliana: Well, like everything I do it was just a whim or an idea that came to my head. Last year I had done an album of all Olivia Newton-John songs because she was a big favorite of mine when I was a kid. The Police was another band that was a big deal in my life when I was in my adolescence. I don't know, the songs are really fun. I was able to sing along really easily to Sting's voice because he really has a high voice for a guy. Something is going on, I'm exploring things that were important to me in my adolescence.
Me: The Police was a big band in the 80s, and had a different kind of music at the time. I don't think kids nowadays know how big they were back then, right?
Juliana: Yeah, they were huge for a while there. They started out playing in Boston where I lived playing small clubs and then they shot into the stratosphere and became one of the biggest bands ever. They affected a lot of people and a lot of musicians. Some people have mixed feelings about the Police and Sting but it's kinda undeniable of the influence they had. They were unique, they had a sound that didn't really sound like any other band at the time. They took from reggae and other genres but Sting's voice was very unique and as players they had really original styles.
Me: Do you think it was rare back then to have three people in the band?
Juliana: Yeah, that was one of the things I thought was so great about them. In the beginning they would tour as a trio and it was raw and sort if unpolished. The first three albums if you go back to listen to them now it's surprising how raw and unpolished they sound. That's why they hold up so well, it's refreshing how unpolished they sound. It sounds like three guys in the studio playing together rather than a whole bunch of overdubs layered on top with care. It's three guys just working together.
Me: So, to do this album did you have to get permission from the Police?
Juliana: Well, like I said I just came off from recording an album of Olivia Newton-John songs. That was unique challenge because she's very talented vocally. I was very adept and was able to do a lot with her voice. She's an underrated singer I think so it was challenging as a singer to sing those sings but it still was filling for me to express my love of Olivia Newton-John and breathe new energy into the songs. As far as getting the rights to do the Police songs that is a question for the record company. There were publishing issues to get permission to do the songs but we did, the label was able to do that. So, everything is in the clear. It's really not that complicated.
Me: With so many great Police songs, how did you go about picking which songs to do?
Juliana: Well, it's not a very systematic system I have. There are some songs that I just don't have to think about. I knew I wanted to do certain songs like "Can't Stand Losing You" and "Every Breath You Take." This are just some of the songs that I can relate to. Then there are some other ones like "Hunger For You" because I had a personal connection with that one.
Me: When you recorded them did you have pressure of going justice to them?
Juliana: Yeah, I don't want to let anyone down. I don't want to let any Police fans down. I don't want to piss the fans off and I don't want to butcher the songs. I don't want to do anything that doesn't make any sense. I don't want to make a spectacle of the song just for the sake of making it sound different. I have to have a connection to the material. I feel that I have to have respect for the original versions. I don't want to disrespect the band or piss anybody off. At the same time I have to feel free to mess around with stuff and to make it my own. I have a good confidence when I'm doing a cover. I feel like I have a knack when I record covers. I kinda know what I'm doing so I don't worry too much about it.
Me: As far as covers I don't think they're covers, it's like a reinterpretation of the songs more. They sound like Juliana Hatfield songs to me.
Juliana: Thank you, that's a nice compliment. I do feel like I make them my own. My voice is original sounding, I don't really sound like anyone so when I start singing somebody else's song it becomes my own because my voice doesn't sound like anyone else so I have that going for me. An easy trick way to make it my own is to open my mouth and sing it. And the fact that I'm a woman and Sting's a man, that's another way I can differentiate version really easily.
Me: When did you start playing music?
Juliana: I was always, always playing music. There was always a piano in my house and my mother who was a journalist by trade she taught piano lessons on the side. She also accompanied the church choir. She was teaching piano lessons in the house so music was always around and I always played piano because it was there. I took piano lessons for my first instrument actually and my dad also played piano.
Me: When did you first start to play guitar and get into rock?
Juliana: When I was 10-years-old I asked my parents if I could have guitar lessons. They didn't know how hard it could be, my mother could not teach me guitar so they found a guy who was the son of my favorite English teacher at my high school and he was a guitar teacher. He taught me some acoustic guitar and taught me chords and stuff. He forced me to sing and play at the same time which at the time when I was 10-years-old I was mortified to play in front of anyone. He taught me the chords to "Leaving On a Jet Plane" so I guess I have him to thank for that. Then later on when I was in school I discovered all the great post punk college rock bands like X, and early R.E.M., the Replacements and stuff like that. That was when I was wow, I could do this myself and really wanted to do it and be in a band. It was in high school where that spark was.
Me: You went to Berklee, right? Was it hard to get in?
Juliana: Well, when I was applying I had to declare my instrument and I applied as a piano student because I had years of training on the piano. I had no vocal training at the time and I didn't know much about the guitar in terms of like reading guitar music. So I kinda cheated the system, I went in as a piano student but wanted to study voice actually. By that point I lost all interest in playing piano. I got in as a piano student and I did one semester as a piano student which was kind of a drag because I didn't want to play piano but at the same time it was great because I was forced to learn all those jazz stuff. After one semester of playing piano I switched over to the vocal department and that was great because it gave me a base to strengthen my voice.
Me: When did you decide that you were gonna be a rock and roll performer?
Juliana: It was actually before I went to Berklee. Right after I got out of high school I went to Boston University for one semester just because I didn't have the guts to go to music school at that point. I was scared, I knew I wanted to play in band but I didn't know how. So I one to B.U. to get a general education and find people to play in a band with at B.U. but I didn't know how to find musicians. I was very shy and so after a miserable semester at Boston University that's when I transferred to Berklee. My goal was to find people I could play in a band with. At that point all I ever wanted to do was be in a band. I was a little bit deluded maybe, but I think I had to be. If I had a goal I had to be single-minded about it in order to achieve it.
Me: When did you start writing songs?
Juliana: I was writing songs as a kid. My mom reminded me I was constantly making up songs like on car rides. I'l sing out the window about the landscape as we were passing in the car. Later when I took acoustic guitar lessons I wrote a few songs back then and then when I went to high school I wrote songs. I guess I got more serious about it when I started the Blake Babies, my first band.
Me: What was it like when you started the Blake Babies? That's when I first heard about you by the way.
Juliana: It was actually hard. We struggled a lot. We got this rehearsal space down in the southend which at the time was a neighborhood that was kind of gritty. I guess we can say now it's expensive. Back then it was kind of quiet and run down and not that safe. We would take the number 1 bus down to this rehearsal space that had no heat in the winter. We did all the stuff we had to do starting out in a band, we got ourselves a club gig opening for someone on a Wednesday. We had to give out a bunch of free tickets and if we got a certain amount of people in the club then they'll let us open for someone on a Friday night. We did all that stuff to try and build a following and it was a slow process. It was not an overnight success story at all. We worked our butts off.
Me: Why did you guys end up breaking up?
Juliana: It's a complicated question with a complicated answer. I think that I felt that I wanted to play with different people. I felt that we had gone as far as we could musically. I think Freda the dummer was too tired of being in a band. We kinda just all wanted to go our separate ways.
Me: So, what did you do then?
Juliana: I was a little bit terrified because I didn't have a real clear plan of what I was going to do. I had some people I got together to help me make my first solo album. My first album "Hey Babe" has a bunch of friends playing on it.
Me: I love that album!!! How were you treated as a female singer?
Juliana: Well, I think I had blinders on at the time. I wasn't really tuned into sexism around me or sexism in the world. I wasn't tuned in and didn't pay attention to it.
Me: When did you think your career kicked into stride and you got the recognition that you deserved?
Juliana: I don't know if I deserve it. I guess when I was signed to Atlantic Records after that first solo album "Hey Babe." I guess that's when I felt something was happening here. I did not feel it at the time when I started to hear my song on the radio. I felt like an importer, I felt like I wasn't worthy of all the attention yet. I really thought that I had not earned it yet. As a result I was never really comfortable in the spotlight.
Me: Why not? I loved you and you were great.
Juliana: I felt there was a whole lot of hype about me that I didn't believe and didn't now why anyone else believed. Although I have to say the most exciting thing was hearing myself on the radio. That's the best feeling in the world hearing my song randomly on the radio.
Me: Do you remember the first time you heard one of your songs on the radio?
Juliana: Oh, yeah, it was actually a Blake Babies song. It was probably a demo or a cassette that we did. One of the early recording that we hand delivered to college radio stations in Boston. The first time we were played on the radio was so exciting.
Me: So, how did you get signed to Atlantic?
Juliana: It was complicated because I was involved to Mammoth Records. It was a new label in North Carolina that had signed the Blake Babies. It was the only label that wanted the Blake Babies and they were a new label. Then when the Blake Babies broke up I was still contractually obligated to Mammoth under the leading member clause. So Atlantic was talking to the Mammoth guys about enquiring Mammoth or enquiring me. At the time a guy named Danny Goldberg was the head of Atlantic and I liked Danny and he was kind of honest and he had some music knowledge because he had worked with bands before. I went to Atlantic because Danny Goldberg was there. I felt that he would take care of me and protect me from the sharks.
Me: I actually had Danny on the Phile years ago and might have him back soon. He left Atlantic around that time, right?
Juliana: Yeah, he left Atlantic and I was kinda screwed after that. Everything was down hill from there.
Me: What was recording like back then compared to recording now? You have so many releases out over the years.
Juliana: It's not that different. I never really changed the way I approached making records. I've been really lucky that none of the labels I've worked with really tried to pressure me to do anything that I didn't want to. All of them left me alone to make my records. They never really got involved in the studio and told me what to do. I would of told them to go and screw themselvesI'm a quirky artist and I have a certain style and a certain knack for doing what I do and no one can really change me. I've always been the same and I've always done the same basic thing. For better or for worse I've always did my own thing.
Me: You have your own record company called Ye Olde Records, right? Why is that?
Juliana: Ah, yeah, it wasn't that big of a deal. The reason I started my own record company was another way to put my stuff out into the world without anyone helping me. I just wanted to try to and see what its like to have no pressure from anyone. Not let anyone down and work at my own pace, to put a record out and not have to go out on tour and promote it. When I'm working with a label I feel an obligation to promote it a little more just to help the record company who has put a bit of an investment into it. I feel I wanted to do my part to help them want to recoup their money. But with my own label I didn't have to do anything I didn't want to do. I didn't have to do any interviews, put on any shows if I didn't feel like it. But it's also a whole lot of work that is sort of like a drag. I had to do accounting business things, I'm not into math and had to do additions and subtractions. I had to go to the post office and things like that, things that are not musical.
Me: So, what do you think of social media?
Juliana: I hate the Internet, can I just say that? I think it's a bad force in the world. I think ultimately it will prove to be very, very destructive. It already is. It helps us promote our songs and work but whole we are promoting ourselves on social media we are wasting time and energy. We could be putting it into our work, that's how I feel about it. It's a horrible double edge sword, social media. I really, really dream of disappearing from social media and I will someday. But it helps me with my living, it helps me do my work and to keep people aware I do exist and that I still make albums. So I'm trapped in a way.
Me: I love social media, Juliana. I feel the opposite. I hope you don't disappear and get off social media. I remember when you were on my "So-Called Life" back in the 90s. How did you end up on that show?
Juliana: At that time I was an Atlantic Records recording artist and the show people contacted the Atlantic people to see if I was interested in writing a song for the Christmas episode of the show they were working on. I guess at the time I was having some commercial success, I had a song on the radio and a video on MTV and stuff. People were aware of me and thought maybe I would write the song they needed. I went to meet the people of the show in L.A. and I guess when they met me they thought I would be all right to wrote the song but also all right to play the character that was going to sing the song.
Me: Did you like acting?
Juliana: At the time I didn't really understand acting at all. I worked in a scene with Claire Danes and was in awe how she can lose herself in the character. The director helped me get the words out and how I as supposed to act.
Me: Juliana, thank you sooo much for being on the Phile. I've been wanting to interview you for so long. Please come back again soon.
Juliana: Thank you, Jason.
That about does it for this entry of the Phile. Thanks to my guests Jeff Trelewicz and of course Juliana Hatfield. The Phile will be back on Monday from Walt Disney World with not one but two guests... Kristen Bell and Idina Menzel from Frozen 2! I am sooo excited. I love the Phile. Haha. Spread the word, not the turd. Don't let snakes and alligators bite you. Bye, love you, bye. Now to go off and celebrate my birthday.
I don't want you, cook my bread, I don't want you, make my bed, I don't want your money too, I just want to make love to you. - Willie Dixon
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