This interview with Fred Armisen mixes music, comedy, games, and karaoke! Hosted by world-famous rock photographer Dana Distortion, Episode Two of SuperUnknown finds special guest Fred Armisen discussing his punk rock roots, and playing a hilarious lyrics game that we like to call ‘Weapon of Choice’. Plus, Fred even performs a very special karaoke version of a classic Blur song!
Featuring fresh original music by:
Flesh Tetris - 'For Fun'
Trouble's Afoot - 'A Boy My Age'
Listen on our YouTube Channel too!
Episode Two Resources
Cheers, thanks for listening! If you enjoyed this episode of SuperUnknown, please subscribe, share, and leave a review! Need more? Explore these show notes featuring some of the topics discussed during Dana's interview with Fred Armisen:
Listen to “Hitmen Will Suffocate the City” by Trench Mouth, Fred’s punk band from the 90’s [5:31]
Explore Valley Stream, New York, where Fred spent his formative years. It was voted ‘The Best Place to Live in New York State’ by Money Magazine! [9:17]
Check out ‘I Am The Walrus’ by The Beatles, a song that inspired young Fred to play drums [10:14]
Hear SuperUnknown’s exclusive track of the day, an original recording of the closing music to Late Night with Seth Meyers, a song that Fred recorded in his apartment in 2007!! [11:21]
Learn more about, and connect with some of Fred’s musical influences, including
Mark Mothersbaugh - founder of Devo
David Byrne - founder of Talking Heads
Beck - alt-rock icon
[23:31]
Watch a clip of Fred performing as his all-time favorite character, the goth 'weirdo' from Portlandia [28:04]
Browse the Instagram account of Electric Lady, the legendary NYC studio where Episode Two of the SuperUnknown podcast was recorded! Also watch Fred and his heroes, The Clash, on Funny or Die, in a clip that was recorded at Electric Lady in 2013 [28:37]
Fred also mentions working with another hero of his, Bob Mould, who is best known for his work in Hüsker Dü and Sugar. Watch Fred perform (as Ian Rubbish) with Bob in San Francisco back in 2015 [29:58]
During the show, Fred performs 'Maggie Thatcher', a song Seth Meyers wrote for a comedy sketch. Watch the SNL skit that brought Ian Rubbish and the Bizzaros (Fred Armisen, Bill Hader, Taran Killam) to life back in 2013 [34:20]
On this episode, Fred talks about his experience performing with Blur, and then he sings a karaoke version of the Blur song, 'Park Life', for us in the studio. Nostalgic for the 90s? Watch the original video from 1994 [44:58]
Discover (or re-discover) the arists that Fred has been listening to lately:
Parquet Courts
Frankie Rose
Kate Teague
DIIV
Real Estate
[51:14]
Watch the trailer for 'Stand Up For Drummers', Fred's Netflix comedy special that was nominated for a Grammy [55:25]
To close out this episode, Fred performs 'Catalina Breeze', taken from a skit on Documentary Now!, a show on iFC. See the official video from The Blue Jean Committee, starring Fred and Bill Hader [58:39]
About Fred Armisen:
You know him from SNL and Portlandia, and so many films and TV shows. He was nominated for a Grammy for his HBO special, Stand Up for Drummers, and we can’t even keep up with all his projects. He’s funny, he’s different, he’s super smart, and he’s the busiest man we know