What Are You Listening To?

"I'd probably play Daft Punk at my own funeral..."

By Austin Duerst

Jason, 31

What are you listening to right now? 
I'm listening to the song "Phoenix" off of Daft Punk's Homework.

Listen: Daft Punk - "Phoenix"

MP3

When did you first start getting into Daft Punk? 
It was back in 1997. And it was new, because it wasn't quite house or hip-hop. I didn't know it then, but Daft Punk has always been one of those bands like The Beatles or The Rolling Stones where you can't necessarily classify it by a single genre. Their name itself becomes the genre. They have their own sound.

Have you ever seen them live? 
No, unfortunately not. But I lived in London twice, and Daft Punk is huge over there, so a lot of their music reminds me of specific friends and times there. Back in 2003, a friend of mine was in film school, and she asked me to be in a music video she was making for the song "Voyager," so I'll always remember that moment along with the song.

Is there a Daft Punk song for all of life's moments? 
Maybe not a funeral [laughs]. Actually, I take that back. I'd probably play Daft Punk at my own funeral. One of my favorite Daft Punk songs is "Make Love," and it sounds completely different from a lot of their other stuff, so that might work. It'd also be funny to imagine one of my other favorite songs of theirs playing, "Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger." When I do get the will up to work out or need to focus on something, that's a go-to song for me. It just goes along with the way I think.

Was there any music that came out this year that you were either thrilled or disappointed by? 
The thing is, in this Internet age, it's easy to find the music you like and avoid everything else. And I've always had eclectic tastes, so I'm never really sitting on an entire album. If anything, I'd say I was really disappointed by Lil Wayne's performance at Bonnaroo this year. He was completely drunk on stage and unprofessional. They had to turn down the volume on him because he wasn't making any sense.

What's your song of the summer? 
I recently discovered Pretty Lights. There's this song called "Fill Your Eyes." I'll definitely remember this summer when I hear that song. I was at my friend Ed's house before we headed out to Bonnaroo this year, and we had a fifteen-hour car ride ahead of us, and during my turn driving I'd put that song on repeat. It's just one of those driving-on-the-highway kind of jams that puts you in the zone.

Listen: Pretty Lights - "Fill Your Eyes"

MP3

Who are some other artists you'd recommend? 
I'd definitely recommend Blur. I know they've been around for awhile, but they have a lot of songs that are good. One of my favorites is the song "Coffee And TV." I think that song is very underrated. Hole is another band that's not around any more — they were more popular in the '90s — but I feel like twenty years from now their stuff will sound as good as when it came out. I've also always been a really big fan of Mos Def's stuff.

What's a song on your iPod that you're embarrassed gets a lot of playtime? 
[laughs] Recently it's "California Girls" by Katy Perry. You can laugh all you want, but that's another song for the summer. I've also been a huge Kylie Minogue fan, too. They played her a lot when I was in England and when I was in Australia.

Okay, help me out here. What are Katy Perry's redeeming qualities? 
Besides her breasts? [laughs] She seems like a very friendly lady, just enjoying her time. And what's funny is that with songs like "Teenage Dream" and "California Gurls," I have a shit ton of guy friends who are also embarrassed to admit, "Yeah, this song is pretty good."

I'm imagining a Tommy Boy situation where you're all at a party and the song "Teenage Dream" comes on, and you all look at each other and say, "I'm fine with it if you are." 
Exactly. [laughs] We all admit to each other, "This shit is kinda the shit." She knows how to jam. I wouldn't put her down as one of the all-time best artists, but I definitely wouldn't change the radio station if her music came on.

Who would quit everything in your life to be a groupie for? 
Wow, that's a good question. 

And I must inform you that "groupie" entails both carrying amps and all things sexual. 
I would be a groupie for Regina Spektor. I'd look forward to our spooning sessions. She'd be big spoon.