Pheaturing Carly Rae Jepsen

 

Hey, kids, welcome to the Phile for a Friday. How are you? Happy Hannukah to all my Jewish readers. It’s official, Time Magazine has named President-elect Joe Biden Vice President-elect Kamala Harris as its Person of the Year. Times Editor-in-Chief Edward Felsenthal stated that Biden and Harris won the honor for “changing the American story, for showing that the forces of empathy are greater than the furies of division, for sharing a vision of healing in a grieving world.” After defeating Trump on November 7th, Harris became the country’s first woman, first South Asian, and first black vice president-elect. The “Person of the Year” was introduced in a special Primetime broadcast on NBC, which marked the first time that the network has partnered with the magazine’s Emmy winning Time Studios. Actors Matthew McConaughey and Issa Rae kick-off the hour-long event that included several appearances by John Cena, Vanessa Bryant Bryant, Yo-Yo Ma, Bruce Springsteen, H.E.R, and BTS. Felsenthal did note that every elected president since Franklin D. Roosevelt at some point during their term has been Person of the Year, and nearly a dozen of those in the presidential election year. But, this is the first time that they have included a vice president. Time’s other finalists this year included Republican President Donald Trump, Dr. Anthony Fauci, the movement for racial justice, and frontline healthcare workers. Earlier this week, Time named Korean band BTS Entertainer of the Year and named Los Angeles Lakers star LeBron James Athlete of The Year. Zoom CEP Eric Yuan was the named Businessperson of the Year. The video service spiked in popularity after the coronavirus pandemic hit and forced people to learn and work from home. If there's two people this year shouldn't it have been called People of the Year? Just saying. 

There have always been horrible things that happen in the world since the beginning of time, but the blessing and curse of modern society is the exposure of all these horrible things. The media has been capitalizing on everything that has been happening, and with the COVID-19 pandemic forcing everyone to comply with mandated orders, it really seems like this year has been the absolute worst. And to make matters even more worse, racism and police brutality have been exposed even more, causing more and more division within the country. Among all the horrible incidents that have been evident of this division, this circumstance is completely unnecessary and uncalled for. On Tuesday morning, the only Anne Frank memorial in the United States was vandalized, emphasizing a clear display of concerning hate prompting a police department investigation. The graffiti in question? Nazi swastika stickers. Dan Prinzing, the executive director of the Wassmuth Center for Human Rights that maintains the memorial in Boise, Idaho, said, “It’s sad that this is becoming a statement of who and what our community is.” The memorial is a life-size bronze statue of Frank, holding her diary and looking out of a window of the secret annex that she and her family spent 761 days hiding from the Nazis until they were found and sent to concentration camps in 1944. The swastika sticker was dressed with the words, “We are everywhere,” and was stuck to Frank’s diary, while another was stuck to a statue representing the “spiral of injustice.” “Is this what we’re becoming?” Prinzing wonders aloud. Another sticker covered Bill Wassmuth’s picture, the center’s namesake. Wassmuth was a Catholic priest who actually left the priesthood to focus on fighting white supremacists and the Aryan Nations, a neo-Nazi group at the time, in northern Idaho. He passed away back in 2002. Prinzing called the vandalization of the memorial, “a stab to the heart,” stirring up the community to react. Some have already been asking Prinzing to hold a physical vigil, and others have started fundraising drives. Boise Police Chief Ryan Lee called the defamation “absolutely reprehensible,” saying the agency has reached out to the Anti-Defamation League as part of the police’s investigation. Unfortunately, this is also not the first time the Idaho Anne Frank Human Rights Memorial has been vandalized since its 2002 dedication. In 2017, it was covered with anti-Semitic graffiti and racial slurs that amounted to $20,000 in damage. Prinzing explained that the vandalism is not only physically damaging the memorial, but also emotionally damaging to “the psyche of the community.” Prinzing continued to highlight the truly daunting blatancy by saying, “This is an “important moment in really beginning to question ourselves: Who are we and what (are we) doing to fight injustice?” And he echoed Eleanor Roosevelt’s words that are etched into the memorial in saying, “Where, after all, do human rights begin? In small places, close to home... so close and so small that they cannot be seen on any maps of the world.”

A California legislator has proposed a plan to help create a more responsible and less deadly police force for his state. The bill would require all incoming local and state officers to have a bachelor’s degree or be at least 25 years old. Democratic assemblyman Reggie Jones-Sawyer introduced Assembly Bill 89 to the state legislature earlier this week. According to the Sacramento Bee, he hopes that the new education requirements would help lessen the incidence of violent police encounters and other forms of police misconduct. Through a statement, Jones-Sawyer stated, “This data-driven bill relies on years of study and new understandings of brain development to ensure that only those officers capable of high-level decision-making and judgment in tense situations are entrusted with working in our communities and correctional facilities.” The bill currently cites at least six sources as a basis for his proposal, which includes a study that was conducted in 2007 that found police officers with bachelor’s degrees are less likely to use any physical force or excessive force than their high school diploma educated officers. According to the Washington Post, so far this year police have killed 134 people in California which surpassed last year’s total count of 135 fatal police officer shootings. Requiring a college degree isn’t anything new to other places. In England and Wales, police officers have been required to have a four-year degree as of 2020. Finland, Norway, Denmark, and Sweden also require their officers to have some sort of level of college education in addition to their training. In the United States, New Jersey, Illinois, and North Dakota all require their state law enforcement officers to complete at least two years of college or some sort of equivalent before they enter the force. While there have been no statistics showing the direct impact of these requirements, as of 2019 all of these three states were in the bottom 11 of those of the lowest number of any police killings, according to the MappingPoliceViolence.org. Right now most states require any new recruit to be somewhere between the minimum age of 18 and 21, so California would also have the oldest age requirement for officers if the proposal becomes a law. In California, police officers must be at least 18, and California highway state police officers are required to be at least 20. Through a joint statement with the assemblymember, Esteban Nunez, director of a Los Angeles-based nonprofit the Anti-Recidivism Coalition, stated, “The evidence is clear... the prefrontal cortex of the brain is not fully developed until age 25. It is with similar logic that youth must be treated as youth by our criminal justice system.” Dr. Christina Gardiner, Criminal Justice at the University of California, Fullerton, conducted a study in 2017 looking at how higher education impacts police in the United States. Her research, which surveyed 958 law enforcement agents in 50 states, concluded that college-educated officers are more willing to embrace any department-wide changes, especially new policing technology and methods. 

It's finally happening: Hayden Christensen and Ewan McGregor are set for a major reunion as Star Wars confirms the former will be joining the highly anticipated Obi-Wan Kenobi series. In addition to that, we finally have some new details about the upcoming Disney+ show. The news was confirmed at Disney Investors Day where the show's official logo was also unveiled. The new logo was also shared by the official Star Wars Twitter account along with some details about the series. 

That's right, Christensen will be playing DARTH VADER in "Obi-Wan Kenobi." Although it isn't confirmed that he will be sharing scenes with McGregor, the casting strongly implies that Vader may have had some encounter with Obi-Wan before their final duel in A New Hope. Fans have long been hoping that Christensen will eventually return as Anakin Skywalker or Vader in the Star Wars Universe. Although his voice was heard in Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker, it isn't exactly what people wanted to see. Needless to say, Christensen's return in "Obi-Wan Kenobi" is a surprise, to be sure, but a welcome one. 

Ellen DeGeneres has announced that she tested positive for COVID-19 and that production of her daytime talk show has temporarily shut down. Through Instagram, DeGeneres stated, “Hi everyone, I wanted to let you know that I tested positive for COVID-19. Fortunately, I’m feeling fine right now. Anyone who has been in close contact with me has been notified, and I’m following all proper CDC guidelines.” The daytime talk show host made her return to TV after the holidays, encouraging her followers to stay safe and healthy. As of recently, "The Ellen DeGeneres" show has featured a small in-studio audience. A spokesperson for Telepictures stated that following DeGeneres’ announcement, they have paused production on "The Ellen Degeneres Show" until January. The show shut down in March when the coronavirus pandemic, unfortunately, brought television production to a halt. The host returned to the studio in the fall, airing the first episode of the season on September 21st, where she addressed the viewers about the allegations of a toxic work environment. More than two months after the toxic workplace allegations, which also included misconduct and sexual misconduct by executive producers, the show is reportedly losing advertisers and is having difficulty booking celebrities, and is suffering a dip in the ratings. An employee of the show stated that digital content has fewer advertisers and sponsors compared to last year, which is a shift that happened over the summer. December is usually one of the busiest and successful times at "The Ellen Degeneres Show" due to the 12 Days of Giveaway segment in which brands promote their products by giving them to the audience members. For the season, the show is instead giving first responders, frontline workers, medical workers, and families that have been impacted by COVID-19. But according to BuzzFeed, a current employee stayed at this year’s gifts aren’t on par with what the show usually delivers. The employee noted, “In a typical year, 12 Days of Giveaways is huge. We’ve basically claimed Christmas on daytime TV. When you think of Christmas on TV, you think of "The Ellen Show," everyone wants to be in the audience. Everyone wants the gifts. And so we line up all these crazy sponsors, and people love it. But this year, our 12 Days is more condensed. We don’t have as many sponsors.” Most of the show’s recent guests have made virtual appearances, but a handful have joined DeGeneres in the studio this month. Recent guests include Bryan Cranston, Diane Keaton, Leslie Odom Jr., Lil Nas X, and Justin Bieber. The talk show hosts’ diagnosis comes as the U.S. is facing soaring COVID-19 cases and deaths. As of December 10th, there have been more than 15.4 million cases and 289,970 deaths.

So, with the success of 'The Mandalorian" there's gonna be a new show on Disney+ that was just announced...

That's dumb. If you need an idea for a Christmas card to buy how about this one?

Okay, that isn't that funny. If you're looking for a Christmas ornament then how about this one?

I love it. You know about Elf on the Shelf, right? You never know what he's gonna get up to...

Hahahahaha. I was thinking of getting a new tattoo but someone had the same idea I had...

This year has been a banner year for stupidity. Here's a dumb opinion that someone confidently posted online in 2020...

The NFL teams have been changing their logos this season, like this one...

Haha. That's a stretch, I know. One of the successes of a parent is teaching your children empathy. Our society cannot flourish if we don’t learn to care about other people. So when a Phile reader's daughter showed a very distinct lack of empathy for an unhoused person, she knew this couldn’t stand. She was a little worried her punishment went overboard and asked the Phile if she did the right thing. 

"Am I wrong for making my daughter sleep in a tent? I am a single mother to two girls, 'Jasmine’and ‘Jessica.' Their dad died when I was pregnant with Jess, and I had to work hard. We hit rock bottom, and I was barely making paycheck to paycheck but I managed to get a degree, become successful and we live well. Point is, I know how fucking hard it is to be at the bottom of society, and my daughters know this, which is why I was livid at my daughter’s actions. Yesterday, Jasmine showed me a video of Jessica cussing a homeless man out and telling him, ‘stop asking me for money, you’d earn it yourself if you weren’t so fucking lazy and spending what you earned on substances.' When the homeless man complained about the cold we live in New England, Jessica responded, ‘Yeah people camp for fun, even in December, you can’t complain, you’re living someone’s holiday.’ Fury was an understatement for what I felt, as I thought I had raised an empathetic daughter. Along with finding the homeless man and making her apologize and help pay for a hotel room for a night for him (she paid 20 dollars), as well as signing her up to volunteer at a food bank... I decided to take her up on her offer of sleeping outside. I locked her bedroom door so she couldn’t go in, put a sign on it saying "Closed for the holidays," pitched a tent in the garden and filled it with blankets and the sleeping bag I used when I was camping on a family vacation as a teen. I slept in the room closest to the garden for that night so I was nearby if anything was to go wrong. She was reluctant to do it, but chose it over the option of not having access to her phone until the Christmas holidays are over. In the morning, she was crying about how horrible it was to wake up on a cold mat and get disrupted sleep due to birds. After comforting her, I asked her would she like to do that everyday like the homeless man. It struck a cord with her and she was crying over her actions, while even after the 20 dollars she was rolling her eyes and her apology was not sincere. This afternoon, I came home from work to Jessica making a big meal to donate to the homeless people who live on the road near our house. I was proud of how she turned over a new leaf, and after taking the food to the people, my sister came over. Apparently, my nephew and Jessica were talking at school, and he asked her about her plans for the afternoon, and she said that she was going to cook for the homeless. My nephew asked what triggered that, and Jess told him everything, which he relayed back to his mom. My sister said that my punishment was too harsh, and just the 20 dollars and the food bank would have done the trick, and I was acting irrationally due to my past. Now I’m second guessing myself. Was I wrong?" The proper cold weather outdoor camp gear and you staying within view from the garden window made this a safe way to teach your daughter some perspective. It worked wonders. Be proud of yourself. The only thing I would have done differently is to check on the daughter a few times throughout the night, just to be on the safe side (and make sure she hasn’t snuck off to a friend’s place or something). Sometimes it can be difficult to understand someone else’s situation without walking at least a little bit in their shoes. Jessica learned about the difficulty of the unhoused from a still very comforted night. Maybe your sister won’t understand why you made her daughter do this unless her own child insults another human being like this. You gave an update on the unhoused man. The hotel stay seemed to help, especially the shower and warm meals. She is taking things a step further, and helping the unhoused man apply for a job and get back on his feet. It’s easier than you think to make a difference in someone else’s life. Try to make it a positive one. If you have a problem or want my opinion on something then email me at thepeverettphile@gmail.com. 

If you spot the Mindphuck then let me know. Now from the home office in Port Jefferson, New York here is...

Top Phive Reactions To Biden and Harris Being Awarded Time's 2020 Person Of The Year

5. Doctors, nurses, emergency workers, spend almost the entire year trying to fight the worst pandemic in a century with many dying in the process... and you award this bauble to a man who spent the year in a basement and a woman so unpopular she did not even make it to the primaries. 

4. Wow, I can't believe the magazine primarily designed to reinforce and maintain the death grip of the bourgeoisie specifically snubbed black lives and instead chose the caricature with a liquefacting brain the same people forced down our throats to maintain their imperial power.

3. Congrats to Joe Biden and Kamala Harris for being named Time's 2020 Person of the Year! Their win made America safe for democracy again. The U.S. came dangerously close to walking off a cliff of its own making in November... luckily we thought the better of it, albeit narrowly.

2. Trump lost to Biden again. LOL.

And the number one reaction to Biden and Harris being awarded Time's 2020 Person of the Year is...

1. Name one thing they did besides not be Trump. 

Casket

Dracula bin

The 141st book to be pheatured in the Phile's Book Club is...

Michael will be the guest on the Phile this Monday. Okay, let's take a live look at Port Jeff, shall we?

It doesn't look as cold today. Okay, wanna laugh?

A teenage boy was delivering papers to an apartment house. While there, a stunning young woman came out of the apartment next to the mailboxes wearing only a robe. The boy smiled at the young woman and she started up a conversation with him. As they talked, her robe slipped open, and it was obvious that she had nothing else on. The poor kid broke into a sweat trying to maintain eye contact. After a few minutes of flirting, she placed her hand on his arm and said, "Let's go to my apartment, I hear someone coming." He followed her into her apartment; she closed the door and leaned against it, allowing her robe to fall off completely. Now nude, she purred at him, "What would you say is my best feature?" Flustered and embarrassed, he finally squeaked, "It has to be your ears." Astounded, and a little hurt she asked, "My ears? Look at these breasts; they are a full 38 inches and 100 percent natural. I work out every day and my ass is firm and solid. I have a 28 inch waist. Look at my skin, not a blemish anywhere. How can you think that the best part of my body is my ears?" Clearing his throat, he stammered, "Outside, when you said you heard someone coming... that was me."

Today's guest is a Canadian singer, songwriter, and actress. Her breakthrough came in 2012, when her single "Call Me Maybe" achieved significant mainstream popularity; the song was the best-selling single of that year, reaching number one in 18 countries. Her latest albums "Dedicated" and "Dedicated Side B" are available on iTunes, Amazon and Spotify as well as her new Christmas single "It's Not Christmas Till Someone Cries." Please welcome to the Phile... Carly Ray Jepsen.

Me: Hey, Carly, welcome to the Phile. How are you? 

Carly: I'm great, Jason. 

Me: So, I have to mention "Call Me Lately" first thing... when that song came out it was everywhere. I saw the Go-Go's in concert and they performed it. "Call Me Lately" practically was a meme. Were you surprised that song took off the way it did? 

Carly: I had no idea when we were making that song it would have such an impact and it's cool. 

Me: So, do you consider yourself a songwriter first or a performer? 

Carly: When I was younger obviously I was addicted to just singing but as I got older I got hooked on the idea to be able to emote through writing I think that changed my outlook and passion as my number one thing. 

Me: How did that start? What were you writing about first? 

Carly: I wrote a protest song. LOL. 

Me: A protest song? About what? 

Carly: It was called "They're Cutting Down the Big Trees." 

Me: Do you remember it? 

Carly: Yeah, I do. It's so bad. I'm glad things developed. 

Me: What were the lyrics? 

Carly: I'm not going to say. I was seven. Okay, I'll tell you... "they're cutting down the big trees, I heard out just today, it won't be much longer, and I wonder why it was to be this way." LOL. It's very bad. 

Me: It's better than the poem I wrote when I was a kid... "Cindy Windy blew away, flying over the U.S.A., she got pooped and down she fell, splashing into an old man's wheel." Hahahaha. So, after writing about trees being cut down what did you write about? 

Carly: The real reason I started taken it seriously was a silly reason... I had a crush on a boy. I was in high school and I wrote him a letter and it said, "Dear you..." Then I had a bit of a melody to me so I ended up asking my dad for his guitar and that's when things took off. 

Me: Your dad taught you to play guitar? 

Carly: Yeah, he showed me some of the chords, like Elvis Presley kind of chords and I was like okay, this is so fun. I was writing a lot, showing my parents and they said, "I like that one." Or "why don't you they this?" I kinda got more and more into it and I was lucky enough to start collaborating with some more professional writers than me at the time. I learned from them. 

Me: When were you thinking that you were gonna write songs for others? 

Carly: I'm too much of a show kid. There was a weird moment also with my father when I was little, he used to accompany me and we'd sing at these talent shows and things like that. I can remember getting up on stage and I wasn't nervous, I felt very confident and very at home. I was looking at him and he was shaking and into the microphone I said, "Dad, come into the spotlight." He said, "Okay, let's do it." It was such a rush, it was so good to feel, I don't know, it was like I had this room to be powerful and playful and kinda create an energy in the room. I was addicted to that as well. 

Me: What were you guys playing? 

Carly: "Eternal Flame" by the Bangels. I think that was one word at the time, I didn't really know what it meant... eternal flame. 

Me: What was your dream career then? To be a pop star? 

Carly: I mean, I didn't have a definition of "pop" versus I just wanted to be a singer. I wanted to write songs. I don't know, then again pop kinda allowed me to explore all kinds of genres of music that I love. It's such a wide spread word now, it's not like just the idea of it has to be one thing. Even with the album "Dedicated," I explored it even more on what kinda music do I want to make. I felt this was the dream, I'm very lucky. It doesn't pass me by. 

Me: So, back to "Call Me Lately," Carly. Ever hear Cookie Monster sing the song? Hahaha. 

Carly: Yeah, that's one of my favorite covers of the song. Yeah, man! 

Me: Haha. Okay, just checking. A lot of people did covers of the song on YouTube and like I said, the Go-Go's even played it. That's pretty cool, right? 

Carly: Yeah, it's nuts. That's the part where I cannot really control where the song kinda gets a life of its own like that. We were struck by lighting and it was so cool to see like how many people resung the song. I can remember being at an airport once and standing next to a little girl who kinda recognised me but didn't really feel brave enough to say hi. She was just smiling and sang quietly the entirely of the song to me. I was like, wow, this cute. It was one of those moments where it hit me that it and taken off where I never imagined. 

Me: So, I heard you write about 200 songs for an album before you widdle them down to the dozen or so. Is that true? Two hundred? 

Carly: It is. It's actually like a sad farewell when I pick for the album. It's a happy and a sad, because I'm excited to share what I've done but it's almost like waving good-bye to all this energy I put out into these other directions too. 

Me: So, when you widdled it down did you have an idea what these record was going to be about? 

Carly: Kinda the theory of that it is to be dedicated. To someone, to choose the right one, the thick and thin of it all. I don't know, I think I've been thinking about that in my real life, in my real relationships and I'm very obsessed with the subject of love. I can't seem to stop writing about it from all different angles. 

Me: Not just love, but dedication. What is it that interests toy about dedication? 

Carly: I don't know. Maybe it's because I'm very picky about who I fall in love with, and who I can imagine linking my life to. This idea that is something that we do, it's hard for me to wrap my head around unless I really find the right one. 

Me: What do you mean? 

Carly: The idea of marriage, of linking myself to one person. It's been hard for me to do. LOL. How about you? LOL. Putting me on the spot! 

Me: Look, I'm just asking questions. Haha. Is this idea of dedication you find yourself subliminally writing about? 

Carly: What do you mean by that? 

Me: Is it something you were internally trying to explore? 

Carly: No, actually there was a song that didn't make the album called "Dedicated" but it felt so fitting in theory and that's where I got the title. And the word itself had some music to it. "dedicated," I like the way it sounds. It's a strange reason to pick a title but there you have it. 

Me: What was the song about? 

Carly: About a new relationship that I was excited about, and yet it had its challenges from the get go and I found myself sticking with it because it was something stronger pulling me to say yes, other than no. 

Me: Do you feel any less pressure on your music to be as successful as it can be? 

Carly: I don't know. I think it would be bad energy to go into any sort of record situation and they have to be gangbusters, number one, versus something that has to be heartfelt and real and what happens happens kinda thing. But I'm definitely looking at all the elements, all of the flavours that will be a good album. What has the higher energy, what is the slow jam, what do we want to listen to when we're in the party mode and what to want to be when they want to be introspective and just kinda have a real listen. 

Me: That's cool you plan your record like that, Carly, don't you think? 

Carly: I'm old-fashioned that way, but yeah. 

Me: A lot of artists just worry about a single and not the whole album, but you seem to care about the album as a whole. Am I right? 

Carly: I guess so, It's a beautiful thing the album. I mean what it means, from the beginning to the end. I wrestle a lot with the order and I know at this day and age they're just going to shuffle through but every song, number 3 is there for a reason. Number 7 was always going to be number 7. 

Me: So, the LGBTQ community loves you, and have used your songs for various things. Was there a moment that you realized there was a community really getting into your music? 

Carly: Yeah, we were very fortunate. I was invited to play a couple of Pride festivals and I'll just tell you there's nothing more fun than that. Then after that we were just seeing through Instagram and comments and stuff of a swell of positively and lovely comments. To be embraced by such a lovely community I couldn't be happier. 

Me: Does it give you a sense of a resistibility? 

Carly: Yeah, I think we all have a responsibility to fight the good fight, to doing it with love. And every day, with every performance we've thinking of new ways to do that. 

Me: So, is the pop star in you different than the real you? Does that make sense? 

Carly: I don't think I really separate them as two different things. I don't think I do what other performers do, have a stage idea, I feel like I'm just myself. I'm myself performing and I'm myself at home. Obviously I get to be a little bit more theatrical and over the top when I'm on stage but that's a very sincere part of my personality. I don't know if that's the right answer but it's the true one. 

Me: Do you have a musical influence or someone you look up to? 

Carly: You know I think a lot about that because it's hard industry. We don't see a lot of pop stars kinda land well. They all crash and burn. 

Me: What do you mean? 

Carly: There are those that do, their either a disappearance act, especially it's such a youthful job to be part of. Then we see people do it really well. But it is sometimes a little bit of a rocky landing to age in pop music and still want to keep doing it. There's a lot of people who get lost to the drugs and alcohol and the rock and roll of it or even the lack of fame can be hard for someone. I think it's really good to have a good plan on how we land. For me I look at Cyndi Lauper as a really good example of someone whose doing it really classy and really well and still has fun. I get to go to New York and be a part of her events and sing "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun." 

Me: Did you get to speak to her about any of this stuff? 

Carly: No, we had some passing moments but we didn't have a dinner heart to heart. That would be lovely. 

Me: Do you think pop music means something different now than when Britney or the Backstreet Boys were releasing music back then? 

Carly: It does to me. I think I had a very narrow idea of what it was, that I had to look a certain way and wear certain things, being able to dance to a couple of things. I cannot dance to save my life. So thank God that it evolved in my own mind and that's okay. I just want to be a little bit more rock and roll up there and just have fun and do what my body wants to naturally want to do and it can still be a good time. 

Me: What do you think people think pop music as? 

Carly: I think a lot of people consider pop as a guilty pleasure. If it brings someone pleasure why feel bad? I think pop was also classified as something that was easy to write. I think the opposite is true, I think we could be indulgent and go off on this artistic way that is lovely. But to actually be focused on what it is on the top line, its like an old standard jazz song. We have to be careful to select, but we don't have a whole lot of time to do it. I think actually that its become kinda well more known that is a challenge and because of that I think it gets a bit more wake. So I'm very happy that's the way people are seeing it. 

Me: What's an example of a perfect pop song to you? 

Carly: "Nothing Compares To U" by Prince, sung by Sinead O'Connor. I like her version of it, it's a pop ballad but from the beginning I'm hooked. Those melodies and the chorus... every time my arms need to open up and I want wind in my air at the top of a mountain, that's a good sign. 

Me: So, you had such a huge success, what is your dream now going forward? 

Carly: Um. I have a few of them. I think it's been interesting to kind of get this project done. I'm never going to want to stop making music. That doesn't mean that won't shift. It'll be so cool one day to do a jazz album. Maybe one day when I'm 45... my dad says don't wait that long and I say he's right. Let's do it. So I have music goals, work goals and I have personal ones to. I would love to figure out how to decorate my house. I feel like I lived in an empty spot for four years because I'm so frozen with what to do. Little things too, like having normalcy in my life, even with all the chaos that's the balance I've been working on for the last four years and I like to continue getting better at that too. Those sound small maybe, but that's what I'm going to go for. 

Me: That's cool. I wish you success with that. Thanks so much for being on the Phile. This was really cool. Please come back again when your next release comes out. You have until September. Hahaha. 

Carly: I sure will, Jason. Thank you.

That about does it for this entry of the Phile. Thanks to Carly for a fun interview. The Phile will be back on Monday with actor Michael J. Fox. Spread the word, not the turd. Don't let snakes and alligators bite you. Kiss your brain. 

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