Sometimes The Clothes Do Not Make The Man

One dumb joke can derail hundreds of people’s day, and one great song can define a decade. We start out in classic Like Whatever mode with best-friend banter, post-sickness exhaustion, and a headline that’s equal parts funny and infuriating: a passenger naming their in-flight Wi‑Fi device “BOMB” and forcing a transatlantic flight to turn back. From there, we dig into a question that gets uncomfortably personal: would you rather know exactly when you’re going to die, or live without the countdown? 

Then we shift into our main story for Pride Month: George Michael. We trace his path from Wham’s bright MTV-era pop to the swagger and craftsmanship of Faith, including the moments that proved he wasn’t just a teen idol, but a writer, producer, and performer with serious range. We talk through the songs we can’t stop replaying, what Kissing A Fool and One More Try reveal about longing and emotional risk, and why Careless Whisper still lands like a gut punch. We also unpack the music industry side, including the Sony contract fight and the way fame can turn into a cage. 

We don’t dodge the hard parts either: the 1998 arrest that the media treated like a spectacle, the pressure to “explain” his sexuality, and the broader context of LGBTQ+ visibility during the AIDS epidemic. And yes, we go there on the state of the world and why history feels like it’s rhyming. If you’ve been craving a Gen X podcast that can laugh, mourn, rage, and still love pop music, you’re in the right place. 

Subscribe wherever you listen, share this with a friend who still knows every word to Faith, and leave a rating and review so more people can find us.

Transcript

Fast Catch-Up And Sick Season

SPEAKER_01 0:04

Two best friends talking fast. We're missing to our case, we're having a blast. Seeing these dreams, beyond screens, it was all bad. Oh like you know, it's like whatever. Never never never laughing, sharing, our scoring forever. We'll say you got like whatever.

SPEAKER_05 0:30

Welcome to Like Whatever, a podcast for, by, and about Gen X. I'm Nicole, and this might be FFF Heather. We're together in the same room. Yay. I'm finally not dying. Yay!

SPEAKER_06 0:49

I think she had the plague.

SPEAKER_05 0:51

I did. I'm still not fully recovered, but whatever was on that cruise ship.

SPEAKER_06 0:55

What was on that? The Hontavirus. Did you have the Hantavirus? Yeah. Probably. Yeah. Probably. I'm just very tired. I think you gave it to me like via the internet. I had a I had an internet disease. A virus. A virus. There you go. I'm so tired today and I don't know why. Uh so anyway, what's new with you? I'm so tired and I don't know why. I don't know. I don't know what nothing, nothing in the world is going on with me. Yeah. It's the same stuff. My nephew is gonna be 21 next month. That's crazy. It is crazy.

SPEAKER_05 1:37

I'm leaving for Florida in two days. Oh yeah. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. Go see my parents. Yeah. Pretty excited. Yeah. I just saw my parents half an hour ago downstairs. They're out of control.

The Wi-Fi Name That Grounded A Plane

SPEAKER_05 1:53

Speaking of flying, I saw on the news last night there was a plane with, I want to say like 290 some passengers on it on the way to Spain from Newark Airport in Jersey. And halfway there, some moron logged in to the online internet and used, they put their name for it in all caps. B-O-M-B. Smart. Mm-hmm. So a um passenger saw it, reported it to staff. They went and told the um pilot. The pilot was very sassy. I loved it. He was like, Well, we have to turn the plane around now and fly back to Newark when they're halfway to Spain. Oh my god. Because somebody thought it would be funny to name their device Bomb. So we're heading back, and just so you know, when we get there, there will be federal agents waiting, and they will come in here and search the plane and they will find out who did this. And so they went and they landed and they took care of all that, and then they took right back off and took can you imagine? It's already such a long flight. Yes. Oh my god. I would be like, can we wait here half an hour and each ticket turn punching this guy in the face because I imagine being that guy too on the way back. You're like, oh fuck.

SPEAKER_06 3:14

Yeah. Well, that's what you get. Like, what are you thinking? They take that shit so seriously. Very you can't joke about that kind of stuff. No, especially not in all caps. So fucking I I don't even know. People shouldn't be allowed to live.

Heavy Pink Docs And BLTs

SPEAKER_06 3:32

I don't know if we were around when I got my if we have been in person since I got my new shoes. We have. I have seen them. They're heavy as fuck. Yeah. And I think that might be why I'm so tired all the time. They're super cute. I know, but lugging them around is just whoo. They're like weights. Yeah. And I just took them off so my feet are gonna stink. Ew. I know. I had to. They were heavy and hot. Can't help it. You need new work shoes. They are my new work shoes. I know. They're so cute though. They are cute. They're bright ass pink. They are. Doc Martin's. They are the bumped up soul. And they're heavy as fuck. Uh-huh. Uh-huh. Um, I don't have anything else though.

SPEAKER_05 4:12

Yeah, I I mean, I feel like I was just disconnected to the from the world for like two weeks, being sick.

SPEAKER_06 4:20

I'm always disconnected from the home. That's how I choose to live. I'm in a BLT kick right now. That'll last for another week and then I'll be done with it. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Actually, it's just a BL. I don't like tomato. Crazy. I know. Crazy talk. Um, what else? I got I got our question ready. Oh, I know. I thought of it. All right.

Would You Know Your Death Date

SPEAKER_06 4:48

Would you rather know exactly when you're gonna die or not? Definitely not. I can't decide. Because I like to know things.

SPEAKER_05 5:02

You do. If it's strictly for my anxiety, I I would spend the rest of my life just dwelling on that and being anxious about it.

SPEAKER_06 5:12

Yeah, but if it was like 20 years ago from now. Yeah, but still. Like you could get get away with it until like what happens in 19 years and 11 months.

SPEAKER_05 5:22

Then you worry about it. No, that's not how my brain works.

SPEAKER_06 5:26

I mean, I don't think if I knew tomorrow that I was gonna die like an X amount of time, I honestly don't think my life would change.

SPEAKER_05 5:34

Well, me neither, too. That's the other thing. It's not like I would go out and start doing adventurous things or I think I would like to know what I'm gonna die of, though.

SPEAKER_06 5:43

Like, is it gonna be sudden? Am I gonna have a long drawn out? Because that, you know, doctor-assisted suicide is a thing.

SPEAKER_05 5:51

That could suck too, though, with the anxiety. Because what if it's like a car crash? Then every time I'm driving, I'm gonna be knew when I'm terrified. I don't want to know when. No, I don't know what to tell you. I mean, that's a hard no. I do not want to know when.

SPEAKER_06 6:09

I don't know. I don't know if I want to know or not. Well, if you ever find out, don't tell me. Oh, okay. Even for you. I don't want to know that either. I mean, I probably I know what I'm probably gonna die of. That's what you're hoping for, but it hasn't happened yet. What the fuck? Yeah. Cancer? Everybody else gets cancer. Everybody else. I'm the picture of health. Even though I try not to be. I do everything in my power to make that not happen. I'm gonna be one of I'm gonna be like, what's a space who lived to be a hundred years old smoking a cigar every day? George Burns. Yeah, that's gonna be me. And I'm gonna be like, I don't know. They said I was gonna get cancer, but I've been smoking since I was 12. You'd think by now.

SPEAKER_05 6:55

Your lungs are just accustomed to it.

SPEAKER_06 6:58

Like, this is just who we are. We don't have the capacity. I know. It's crazy. I don't know.

SPEAKER_05 7:05

You'd probably get cancer if you quit smoking. Right? That would be the problem.

unknown 7:09

What?

SPEAKER_06 7:09

What is this air?

SPEAKER_05 7:11

What's this little pink spot on my lungs? We need to attack that.

SPEAKER_06 7:15

Get this shit out of here. We need more tar.

SPEAKER_05 7:20

We're supposed to be black. Yeah. Like our soul.

SPEAKER_06 7:22

Yeah. That's it. All of me is black. And that's how we like it.

TV Picks Plus Springsteen Versus UFC

SPEAKER_05 7:29

Oh, show. Dear sweet death. Yeah, I can't even think of anything really good that I've watched. I watched The Burrows on Netflix. It's done by the um guys that did Stranger Things. Uh-huh. I told you about it last week because it's got Gina Davis. So I finished it. It was alright. I mean, I don't think I watched it. It wasn't bad. It wasn't I actually on Netflix, you know, it's like thumbs down, thumbs up, or double thumbs up. It just got the single thumbs up. Yeah. That's that. But I did watch season two of four seasons. Which the first season it's based on the Alan Alda movie. Uh-huh. First season I loved. That was like a year or two ago. And so I watched it the second season. I blew through that in a night. They're only half hour episodes.

SPEAKER_06 8:16

I've been back with the Nazis. I've been watching some Nazi stuff. Yeah. Me and the Nazis again. Okay. Yeah. I don't know why. I go through phases with the Nazis. Yeah, I get it. I mean, at no point do I ever think they're a good idea. I just go through phases where I need to know everything about them. And it's, you know. You know, when you're living it at this point.

unknown 8:40

Yeah.

SPEAKER_05 8:41

I mean not far off. The fucking UFC fight on the White House lawn is just the most atrocious, trailer trash, nasty thing.

SPEAKER_06 8:50

He invested in it. He invested in the UFC. And it's his birthday. It's just outrageous.

SPEAKER_05 8:56

It's for his birthday. Is it? Yes.

SPEAKER_06 8:58

I don't even know when it is.

SPEAKER_05 9:00

I don't either.

SPEAKER_06 9:01

Next week, I think.

SPEAKER_05 9:03

And then the everybody dropped out of the 250 party. Yeah. Seven of the nine headliners have dropped out.

SPEAKER_06 9:09

Well, did you see what Tomarello was doing? Mm-mm.

SPEAKER_05 9:13

The same time as the Sequeling Kid Rock on the other side.

SPEAKER_06 9:17

No, he had I guess the same night that was happening, he is doing his own concert. And you want to guess who's headlining that? Who? The boss, Bruce Springsteen. Like, how are you going to compete with Bruce Springsteen? It's Bruce Springsteen, Public Enemy signed on to do it. Like it was like a, yeah. Like there's no competition. Very nice. Tomarella was like, what? Very, very nice. How about we do our own? And Bruce Springsteen was like, I'll be there.

SPEAKER_05 9:50

Because he was born in the USA.

SPEAKER_06 9:53

And he was born to run and all of the things.

SPEAKER_05 9:57

So he was like, yes. Sign me up. He also did one of um Stephen Colbert's last shows, too.

SPEAKER_06 10:06

Oh.

SPEAKER_05 10:06

I guess we know which side Bruce is on.

SPEAKER_06 10:10

No, I don't think there, you know, any any denying that one. No. Um, yeah, Stephen Colbert, his last show was good. The last week or so of it was good. I know. And then when he showed up the next night on public access, go ahead, Stephen Colbert. Go ahead. I love Stephen Colbert. I loved him when he did the Colbert report. I'll I I am a big fan.

SPEAKER_05 10:36

Letterman came on there and told everybody they were motherfuckers.

SPEAKER_07 10:40

Yeah.

SPEAKER_05 10:41

The funny thing is, today is the anniversary of when I went to see the David Letterman show. Oh yeah. I want to say it was like 12 years ago. Have I told you? I think I've told you before who the guest was, though, when I went. I don't remember. Donald Trump. Fuck at you. Yep. Yep. So I've been in well, I've been in the same room with him twice because when he ran for president the first time, my youngest was in high school. And Trump did a rally at our uh fairgrounds. Yeah. Mm-hmm. In one of the old horse barns. That's a good place for him. Yeah. And full of horse shit. My daughter does not like care for him either. But she was kind of getting into politics at that point. And she just wanted to go see what a rally was like. So I begrudgingly agreed to take her. And we're in the audience and people are trying to hand us signs. And I'm like, no, thank you. They're all looking at me weird. No, thank you. And then Lydia's friend comes up and they start talking shit loudly. And I'm like, let's go. You guys, I'm the one that's gonna get beat up here. Your children. Okay.

SPEAKER_06 12:03

I don't think they give a shit about their children.

SPEAKER_05 12:04

Let's sit here and be quiet. But it was so lame. Like when he came in, he flew his helicopter around like 10 times around the tent before he went and landed. I was like, oh it was nuts. It was so crazy.

SPEAKER_06 12:19

I just hate him. Yeah. Me too. Mm-hmm. They although they are not letting him put they're taking his name off the Kennedy Senator. I know. That's hilarious.

SPEAKER_05 12:29

And they're not letting him give millions of dollars to the people who attacked moral agents. What the actual fuck? I mean, I don't know how it's almost like he's doing it to be funny now. Like it's so fucking blatant. Yes. So blatant. Yes. But nobody's stopping him. I don't understand it. But anyway, yeah, with that, that the thing that makes me laugh about that is you know, all those morons thought, yeah, we're getting paid. We're gonna get millions of dollars. And then the government's like, nope, nope. And Trump's just gonna be like, oh, sorry guys, I tried. And he's gonna move on to the next one. It's uh Barack Obama stuff. It's like it, yeah.

SPEAKER_06 13:10

It's like his his phone and the watch. Apparently, the watch that you paid $600 for has has his name misspelled. Yeah. I saw that on the Daily Show. Like, what? Of course it does. And then the phone, like not a piece of it, was made in the United States. And we're gonna have a $250 bill now. Yeah, that's exactly what we need. Whatever.

Pride Month Joy And Ally Shirts

SPEAKER_06 13:39

It's Pride Month, more importantly.

SPEAKER_05 13:42

It is. You know what? You're right. Why are we talking about all this bullshit?

SPEAKER_06 13:46

Because it's one of my favorite months of the year. It is happy pride. Happy, happy pride. If you're so inclined. Yes. I have to find that. I have like three pride shirts and I can't find them. I don't know what I did with them. I have to find them. Mine, one of them is Bigfoot carrying a um a flag. Nice. And one is my ally Asaurus Rex. Because I am cool. And the other one I think is another ally as aurus. Yes. Yes. I'm a Bigfoot one. That's my favorite. Of course.

SPEAKER_03 14:24

So I need to get them out. Yep. Hey, it's Pat Green. Ever feel like your life is straight out of a Stranger Things scene? But the monsters were people and experiences? My Hearts of Glass books have that vibe of 80s nostalgia minus endemic organs. Set in the late 80s, Fox Valley Mall near Chicago, it's a story of Cassie, a punk rock girl, Ford, a traumatized former child model, and Jenny, a preppy dreamer, all outsiders who band together. In the middle of neon and trauma, they discover a found family where none existed before. I wanted to capture that raw Gen X truth. After all those iconic John Hughes moments, real life still threw us curveballs. If you've ever craved a story about healing from trauma and growing up with heart, this could be it. Grab Hearts of Glass Living in the Real World and its companion, Hearts of Glass Fade Away and Radiate at PackGreenauthor.com or Barnstormer Publishing.com. It's available in ebook, audiobook, and paperback. Dive into an 80s time capsule with characters who feel like old friends.

SPEAKER_05 15:30

All right.

Where To Find Us Online

SPEAKER_05 15:31

Well, before we get started, I would like to ask you to like share rate review. Please find us on wherever you listen to your podcasts. Yes. Find us on all the socials. Yes. At Lake Whatever Pod. We're on YouTube at Lake Whatever. Yep. We have an email, likekwhateverpod at gmail.com. We do. And we have a website, uh, likewhateverpod.com.

SPEAKER_07 15:53

We do.

Why George Michael Right Now

SPEAKER_05 15:55

So um this week, this was unintentional. Heather asked me when I got here if I did this for Pride Month, and I did not. Uh I actually did it because this person just keeps popping up here and there. So let's fuck around and find out about George Michael. Yay! Yay! The thing that really got me, like I've seen a couple things on TV lately about him, and I can't remember what. And I even tried Googling like news about him, and I'm like, nothing's been going. Maybe I'm having dreams about him. I don't know. But I got my nails done this weekend, and they play the most random shit in that nail salon. Oh my god, it's so crazy. Like they go from a video where they're not where they're singing in a different language, or it's the song, but it's not the video that goes with the song because I know the video to the song. Um, but I lucked out this time and father figure came on. And I just sat there like drooling. I mean, I was so in love with George Michael.

SPEAKER_06 16:54

Like he wasn't my type.

SPEAKER_05 16:57

I don't know if I have a type, to be honest with you. Well, I do. George Clooney is my type.

SPEAKER_06 17:04

Like my type is like a Trent Reznor.

SPEAKER_05 17:09

Yeah, I get that. And I have always liked pop music, but I just think he's so gorgeous. And his little butt in that faith video, oh my god. You know, I have a thing for butts. I can't help it. So the information this week came from Britannica.com, lyricmeanings.com, and American Songwriter.com. So here we go. Here we go. Shoot, I had something wrong. Hold on. We're not ready. She did it. She punked it up already. I know. It's because we haven't been together in so long, I forgot how to do it.

Wham Breakout And Early Genius

SPEAKER_05 17:43

All right. George Michael was born June 25th, 1963, in London, England, and he died on Christmas Day, 2016. Uh, he was a British singer and songwriter who rose from teen idol status with the Brit pop band Wham to Global Superstardom.

SPEAKER_06 18:03

Yep.

SPEAKER_05 18:04

To Global Superstardom as a solo pop music artist in the 1980s and 90s with such hits as Faith and Freedom. Uh despite a waning career by the time of his death in 2016, he had a transformative impact on pop music and is considered to have been an important trailblazer for LGBTQ plus recording artists. I read something somewhere, I don't think it's in here, but Sam Smith said that George Michael is the reason he wanted to become I'm sure an artist. Yeah. I could see that. He probably thought his butt was cute too. Probably. Who doesn't?

SPEAKER_06 18:42

I'm not a big fan.

SPEAKER_05 18:43

I know. I know I'm not a butt girl. You're not. Um born George Giorgio Spanaiot. Something Greek. Okay. Man, Greek names are so hard. And I've had Greek friends with really difficult names, and I still can't master it. Um, he was the youngest of three children in a family of English and Greek uh heritage. His mother, Leslie, that Greek name, um, was a former dancer, and his father, he's got a double Greek name. Oh, Jack. Right, that was his nickname. I guess nobody can say his name. Uh, was a restaurateur who had immigrated to England from Cyprus in the 1950s. Georgios was interested in music from a young age, but his father strongly disapproved of music as a career choice. This rejection made him only more determined to prove himself as a musician as he grew older. That's so weird. That's never the case with kids. No. They usually do exactly what their parents say. All right. When he was 12 years old, his family moved to Radlett, a town northwest of London, at his new school. He became close friends with a classmate, Andrew Richley.

SPEAKER_06 19:58

You won't be other half of wham.

SPEAKER_05 20:00

Wham. Uh, who shared a love of music. Within a few years, they formed a ska band with other friends. Sorry, I absolutely hate ska. You do hate ska. I can do a ska in small doses, but I can't do it in any kind of day.

SPEAKER_06 20:16

Yeah, yeah. Makes me want to pierce my eardrum. Can't do it.

SPEAKER_05 20:22

Uh um, and with other friends, and the band was called Executive, but it was short-lived. It was then that Georgios changed his name to George Michael. So people would be able to say it. In 1981, Michael and Ridgeley formed Wham, a pop band whose name derived from a short rap lyric improvised by Ridgeley. The band landed a record deal the following year with the Innervision label. Wham had its first hit in 1982 with Young Guns Go For It, a song of Young Rebellion that was written by Michael, who also sang lead vocals. Do you remember that song?

SPEAKER_06 21:03

No.

SPEAKER_05 21:04

I don't either, but now I'm like, I was nine when that song came out, so I think that's fair for me to. The band's debut album, Fantastic, in 1983, went to number one in Britain. Pretty sure when I was nine, I was just listening to like um uh The Beach Boys. I don't remember being nine. I had a lot of albums that were like beachy albums. Remember the song The Bird? Everybody's Heard about the Bird.

SPEAKER_06 21:35

I was probably listening to my parents' music.

SPEAKER_05 21:37

Yeah, I mean that's that's what I was listening to. Um, the band's next album, Make It Big, in 1984, was a tremendous commercial success, reaching number one in the United States and spawning a world tour. Its infectious first single, Wake Me Up Before You Go Go, was supported by a music video that showcased the band's youthful energy, good looks, and colorful style, all of which Seemed tailor-made for the burgeoning MTV error. Michael and Ridgley became teen idols, although Michael quickly emerged as the more ambitious and musically gifted member of the band. And in my opinion, the cuter one. Michael had a supple and soulful voice that could be powerfully emotive on ballads such as Careless Whisper, a sultry song of infidelity with an indelible lyrical hook. Guilty feet have got no rhythm. I know I was singing a lot right in this. Um, that shot to number one and became a pop classic. Michael became the writer of most of the band's songs and assumed more creative control of its output. For Careless Whisper, which he originally first composed in 1981, Michael insisted on several rounds of production over three years before the song was completed to his satisfaction. Three years is a really long time. That is my favorite song. Is it? Of any George Michael or Wham like any. Any of them. Careless Whisper is one of my Okay. I have my two favorites down lower, and I'm gonna talk about them. By 1985, when Wham made history as the first Western pop band to tour China, Michael's solo career seemed inevitable. He sang with other top musicians on the day of Band-Aid's charity single for famine relief in Ethiopia. Do they know it's Christmas? Alright, so do they know it's Christmas? Was 1984. In the summer of 1985, he performed a stirring duet with Elton John. Don't let the sun go down on that.

SPEAKER_06 23:46

That's a good one, too. Mm-hmm.

SPEAKER_05 23:47

At the live aid benefit concert for Famine Relief. Also that year, Michael won the prestigious Ivor Novella Award for Songwriter of the Year. Only 21 years old when he uh he was then the youngest songwriter ever to receive the award. That's crazy. He did all that by 21. I know, right? Um in 1986, Wham released music from the edge of heaven, which includes the now classic holiday song Last Christmas I gave you my hunt. Uh later in 1986. Whatever. Later in 1986, Wham announced that it was breaking up. Because George was like, I'm too good for you. I'm too famous. You're dragging me down. Um, Michael's first single after the dissolution of Wham was a duet with Aretha Franklin. I knew you were waiting for me. Oh.

SPEAKER_06 24:41

I forgot about that one.

SPEAKER_05 24:42

I did too until I read this. That was 1987. I as soon as I saw it, I could picture the video and everything.

SPEAKER_07 24:48

Knew you were waiting.

SPEAKER_05 24:50

I love Aretha Franklin. Uh, which won a Grammy Award for Best RB Performance by a duo or group. Later in 1987, he released Faith, a remarkably confident solo album debut that sold 10 million copies in the United States alone. Four of its singles went to number one, Faith, Father Figure, One More Try and Monkey.

SPEAKER_06 25:12

One more try. That's a good one, too. Mm-hmm.

SPEAKER_05 25:16

That's one of the ones I talk about later. Monkey, yeah. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Uh, the album blended numerous musical styles, including pop, funk, gossip, soul, and rockabilly, and it spent 12 weeks at number one on the Billboard 200 chart. In 1989, Michael won his second I've War Novella Award for Songwriter of the Year and two Grammy Awards for Album of the Year and Best Male Pop Vocal Performance for Father Figure. That's a really sexy video, too. Yeah. Um, Kissing a Fool was released in 1988, the seventh and final release from the Faith album, which leads me to my first favorite George Michael song. Kissing a Fool. Uh Kissing a Fool by George Michael is a poignant and introspective song that delves into themes of love, regret, and the consequences of not following one's not following one's heart. The lyrics narrate a story of unfulfilled love and the emotional toll it takes on the narrator. The song opens with a sense of missed opportunity and longing as the narrator laments being far from their love interest and not having become their star. This suggests a sense of lost potential and unfulfilled dreams. The mention of people who scared you to death alludes to the external influence and societal pressures that may have discouraged the love interest from pursuing their relationship. The recurring phrase peace of mind underscores the idea that true contentment can only be found by following one's heart and not succumbing to societal expectations. It highlights the internal struggle faced by the love interest who might have been strong enough to begin a relationship but was unable to find peace within themselves due to external influences. The chorus emphasizes the difficulty of changing how others feel and the importance of allowing people to be themselves, even if it means they may hurt you. It acknowledges the vulnerability and potential for heartbreak in love. The reference to stealing your heart suggests the idea that love can be taken away by external forces if one is not true to themselves. Heard. Mm-hmm. The lines fool uh the lines fooled me with the year start again. The lines fooled me with the tears in your eyes, covered me with kisses and lies, reveal the narrator's feeling of betrayal and deception in the relationship which led to its demise. Despite the pain, the narrator pleads not to have their heart taken away, indicating the lingering attachment and hope for reconciliation. The later part of the song expresses a sense of resignation and acceptance of the situation. The narrator acknowledges that they may never be the love's love interest star and resolves to pick up the pieces of their broken heart. The final lines, I guess you were kissing a fool, you must have been kissing a fool, suggests a realization that the song, the love interest, might have made a foolish choice by not reciprocating the narrator's love. Overall, kissing a fool explores the complexities of love, the impact of external influences on relationships, and the pain of unrequited love. It conveys a message of self-discovery and the importance of listening to one's heart, even in the face of societal expectations and potential heartbreak. The recurring themes of the missed opportunities and the search for inner peace make it a poignant and emotionally resonant song. It is a good song. It's so beautiful. His voice is so beautiful in that song.

Faith Era Deep Cuts And Meaning

SPEAKER_05 29:03

Um all right, George Michael's solo debut album, Faith, was the gift that kept on giving when it was released in 1987. Not only did the album produce a spate of hit singles, are you dancing to faith in your head? I could tell by your shoulders. Um, but also each new hit that arrived from it seemed to show off another side of Michael's music, musical personality. Now we go to my second favorite George Michael song, One More Try. Uh One More Try, which became Michael's third US number one hit from the record, focused on Michael's ability to tear into a slow, soulful torch song. Uh it epit epitomized how epitomized so many big words. Epitomized how rapidly he developed as a writer and a performer in just a few years since he hit the scene, and it also turned out to be a song that meant a great deal to him personally. It's kind of amazing to consider the rapid ascent George Michael enjoyed in the 80s. Only five years elapsed between his first singles with Wham and the definitive statement of purpose that was Faith, his first solo record. That is super fast.

SPEAKER_07 30:21

Yeah.

SPEAKER_05 30:22

And I didn't realize Wham was only around for that short of a time. I knew that. Yeah. I mean, I guess, but I don't know. Um, in that brief span, he went from the somewhat primitive, rhythm-heavy early wham songs to being nothing less than a pop maestro. Remember that in addition to writing all the songs on Faith, he also produced the record and played all the instruments.

SPEAKER_06 30:45

Wow.

SPEAKER_05 30:46

Yeah. Um, few other pop stars of the era carried that much of a load. When it came to the singles he released from Faith, Michael clearly wanted to give the public a taste of all the variety he had to offer. First, there was I Want Your Sex. Remember that one? Yes. Uh, which seemed an effort to show he was leaving behind his vestiges of a teen idle image. Faith was effortless rockabilly, while Father Figure showed off a seductive side. Luckily, the album had such a deep bench that there was still another gem in one more try waiting to be unleashed. Now I'm gonna talk about one more try. One more try gave Michael a chance to show off his emotive? That does not look great. It looks like motive, but like email.

SPEAKER_06 31:41

I mean, it kind of is.

SPEAKER_05 31:43

I know. All right, anyway. Uh soulful side, both as a singer and songwriter. He wrote the song about the emotions he was feeling as he entered a new relationship while still stung from the end of the previous one. Probably the kissing the fool guy. Yeah. In a 1987 interview, Michael explained how the song came out quickly and how proud he was of the finished product. I think this is the best thing I've ever done. And I was so happy when I read that because I was like, this is probably my favorite song of his. So I like it. We're kindred spirits like that. Um, it's certainly my best vocal. I actually wrote the whole thing from start to finish in eight hours. Considering it took him three years to do uh Careless Whisper. Yes. Um, we recorded it the same day. What happened was I was working on another song which was going disastrously, then this just came out. Um, despite a decidedly slow pace and running time just shy of six minutes, one more try extended the incredible hot streak Michael was enjoying. And that's funny that it says it's six minutes because last night I was watching Jeopardy while I was um editing this, and I was like, I really want to hear that song. So I just put it on and I had it sitting there during the commercial. And then Jeopardy came back on. I was like, oh, wait till the song's done. And more clues and more clues and more clues. I'm like, god damn, how long is this song? I never realized it was that long before. Um let's see. It was the third straight US number one single off his album, proving he could release just about any style of song and have it strike gold. Not wrong. Mm-mm. Um, Michael addresses his new lover in one more try as teacher, suggesting the narrator is still a bit of a novice in the ways. She's now um miming that she's singing it with with passion and heart. Uh it's novice in ways of love, albeit a cautious one. There are things that I don't want to learn. He wants this new person to be committed one way or the other about this new relationship. So if you love me, say love me. But if you don't, just let me go. Um, okay.

SPEAKER_06 34:10

In the verses microphone, it's hard to not even put a microphone.

SPEAKER_07 34:19

Exactly.

SPEAKER_05 34:21

And we know every word to every song, so what are we supposed to do? In the verses, he goes back to relive this affair from the beginnings, uh, suggesting he was drawn into it somewhat blindly. I didn't see the danger. Now I feel the heat. He dreads the worst case scenario because there ain't no joy. For an up town boy, whose teacher has told him goodbye. Um, anyway, this we better stop singing voice. I knew this was gonna happen when I was writing this. I was like, um, these poor people are gonna have to hear my singing voice so much. But I didn't know that your bad singing voice was gonna jump in too, so now I forgot about it.

SPEAKER_06 35:04

I don't care. Y'all can listen to my bad singing voice. Exactly. Um my work bestie has to hear it all the time.

SPEAKER_05 35:10

Yeah, my kids do. I used to torture them with it when they were teenagers, of course, but I recently in the past month or so drove somewhere with my daughter, and she only listens to country. Right. And so I had on like 2000s, it was when we went to the beach one day because it was a long ride. So I had on like pop 2000s music. Sure, she listened to it when she was little, just to try to accommodate both of us. Right. But on the way home, I was making her listen to Sabrina Carpenter and I was singing very loudly. Oh boy. And she was begging me to stop singing. Yet, for all its reticence, he decides in the waning moments of the song that taking the chance is better than the lonely alternative. I'm so cold inside. Maybe just one more try. One more try both solidified George Michael's standings as the pop star of the moment, and with its qualities of musical soulfulness and lyrical openness, strengthened his case as an artist for the ages. To distance himself from his teen idle days, he cultivated a new image and look that was showcased in the music video for Faith. He put on cute jeans and he had a cute little button. In which he sports a leather jacket and boots, fitted blue jeans, and sunglasses while dancing around a jukebox and strumming a guitar. He oh Lord, she's dancing again. Uh, he became an international pop music icon, a level of fame he deliberately sought. He also achieved notoriety for the Frank lyrics in his song I Want Your Sex, which some radio stations played only late at night. The music video featuring Michael and his girlfriend, Kathy Jong was also controversial for its partial nudity. Although both the song and the video convey support of monogamous relationships, Michael was criticized in the media for ostensibly.

SPEAKER_06 37:14

Ostensibly.

SPEAKER_05 37:15

Oh yeah. Promoting promiscuity. Apparently I learned how forgot how to read while I was had the flu. Not that I've ever been great. That flu fucks with your brain, man, for real. Um, his next album, Listen Without Prejudice, Volume 1, in 1990, signaled his desire to mature as an artist. Its first single, the ballad Praying for Time, addresses social justice concerns. Having grown weary of his public image, Michael refused to appear in music videos to promote the album. For Freedom, an upbeat song whose lyrics otherwise express his dissatisfaction with playing the game of stardom, he hired supermodels such as Naomi Campbell and Cindy Crawford to appear in the music video and lip sync the lyrics as the leather jacket, jukebox, and guitar from Faith video were shown being destroyed. I mean, that's a great video. It's so good. It's a really good video. So good.

Label Battles And Growing Up Publicly

SPEAKER_05 38:10

Um Listen Without Prejudice Volume 1 went multi-platinum, but its sales were much lower compared with Faith, which led Michael into a lengthy dispute with Sony, his record label. He withheld new songs for a follow-up album and then donated them to the compilation Red Hot and Dance 1992, a music project to benefit HIV and AIDS research, a cause to which he increasingly lent his support. In 1992, Michael sued Sony to break his contract, citing restraint of trade. He claimed he had little creative control over his music and was being held unfairly to his contract, which required six more albums.

SPEAKER_06 38:53

I wonder this was this the same time that Prince changed his name?

SPEAKER_05 38:57

Ooh.

SPEAKER_06 38:58

Seems like that was a big deal then. They're being held hostage by their Yeah. I want to say it was right around that time.

SPEAKER_05 39:05

But it still happens. Okla Taylor just went through. Yeah.

SPEAKER_06 39:08

So that's what well, that's what happens. They, you know, you you sign over your rights.

SPEAKER_05 39:13

Yeah, because you're so desperate. You've worked so hard to get there. Why would you say no? Yeah. And they're seasoned and know what they're doing. You have no idea.

SPEAKER_06 39:22

That's what they do. Prey on the Yep.

SPEAKER_05 39:25

So the court decided in favor of Sony in 1994. In 1996, he released Older, his most personal and autobiographical collection of songs, including Jesus to a Child, which is another awesome song, and You Have Been Loved, both of which were inspired by his former partner Anselmo Filipa, who had died in 1993. Six of the singles from Older reached the top ten in Britain, uh, and the dance track Fast Love reached number one. He also received his third Ivor novella award. However, the album did not sell as well in the United States where his popularity was waning. Oh yeah.

SPEAKER_04 40:09

Oh, it's the love letter.

The 1985 Secret Love Letter Reveal

SPEAKER_04 40:11

Oh my god. It's time for the diary love letter.

SPEAKER_06 40:15

Oh my god. I still haven't opened it. Alright, we're gonna stop here and play some music because I can edit now. Okay.

SPEAKER_02 40:26

Because I'm telling through her teenage life.

SPEAKER_05 40:36

Alright, so we are in June 10th. Are we in 1985 now? Yes. June 10th, 1985. And the only um um thing that I wrote in the diary is me and Stacy were going to give a cute boy named Philip this note. We were going to give it to you. But lucky for us, we didn't, and I have it. I'm so excited about this. So it's the one, it's folded into the rectangle with the little tuck into the side pouch. Of course. Like you're supposed to do it. Yes. Um, it says I love you. Oh and it says Philip only.

SPEAKER_06 41:15

Philip only. Only. Oh goodness. That's very complicated. I know. I'm surprised it's not turning to dust. I know, right?

SPEAKER_05 41:26

Philip.

SPEAKER_06 41:28

Good start.

SPEAKER_05 41:28

It is a good start. We're off to a good start. I think that you are cute. Oh no. I think that you are so cute. So cute. So cute.

SPEAKER_06 41:38

Oh my god. You're a hunk and a half. A hunk and a half. Not just one hunk, but a whole hunk and a half.

SPEAKER_05 41:46

There's too much there for one hunk.

SPEAKER_06 41:48

Too much.

SPEAKER_05 41:49

I wish we went together. Yeah. And then I have a heart that says Philip and SOS. And there's an arrow pointing that says I wish. And then what does SOS stand for?

unknown 42:03

I don't know. Okay.

SPEAKER_05 42:04

Save our silverware. That's why I went in elementary school. Umes Philip as well. Um will you go with me if I tell you my name? I mean, you're buying this one sight unseen, buddy. Okay.

SPEAKER_06 42:28

If I tell you who I am, will you say yes?

SPEAKER_05 42:31

Yes, yes, yes, yes. Um go down by Miss Hollinger's room on Wednesday after homeroom. Right. Gets it, uh, gets out. I'll be waiting. Oh shit. 12-year-old me was a hoe. Well, your best friend CF knows me.

SPEAKER_06 42:56

CF.

SPEAKER_05 42:57

So there's a clue for Philip. Figure out who CF knows.

SPEAKER_06 43:02

I mean, I feel like Philip probably knows you too, because there can't be that many people in the class.

SPEAKER_05 43:06

But then I wrote, don't ask him who it is.

SPEAKER_06 43:08

Don't you fucking dare.

SPEAKER_05 43:09

Don't you dare. I love you very, very, very, very, very, very, very, very much. Love your secret admirer.

SPEAKER_06 43:18

Is that what CSOS stands for? Secret of secret. Secret of secrets.

SPEAKER_05 43:27

Secret of secreter. Sadmieter. So secret. Oh my god, that was so much fun.

SPEAKER_06 43:40

If I tell you who I am.

SPEAKER_05 43:44

Will you say yes? Yes. If I tell you who I am.

SPEAKER_06 43:47

I mean.

SPEAKER_05 43:48

So he has to agree to it before I'm gonna disclose who the SOS is.

SPEAKER_06 43:53

I still want to know. I don't know. I can't even imagine what SOS stands for. Someone special. Special. Maybe.

SPEAKER_05 44:03

Awful arrogant. You know. Oh my god, that was so much too much. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. But I never gave it to him, so no.

SPEAKER_06 44:18

He didn't meet you at at half home.

SPEAKER_05 44:21

Nope, nope, nope, nope. Where I'll be waiting. So slutty at 12. Wow. At 12. Oh, true.

SPEAKER_06 44:29

Only went downhill from there. Oh yeah, for sure.

SPEAKER_05 44:32

Something went down. Anyway. Back to our story.

Arrests Addiction And A Sudden Goodbye

SPEAKER_05 44:40

In 1998, Michael was arrested for disorderly conduct in Beverly Hills, California, when an undercover police officer absorbed observed him performing a lewd act inside a public restroom. Isn't that where you're supposed to do lewd acts? I thought so. But I mean if you're outside, I can see that. Anyway, he was fined in order to undergo psychological counseling and perform community service.

SPEAKER_06 45:03

Well, but that's when they would set up those things in the in the restrooms to catch the what were they called?

SPEAKER_05 45:09

They were something whole.

SPEAKER_06 45:11

Glory holes. Glory holes. Yes. And then they would Yeah. That's so hot. Prosecuted. Who cares as long as you got the door closed? I don't get it either. Yeah. You're not technically in public. No. You're in a stall. Exactly.

SPEAKER_05 45:25

Whatever. In psychological counseling. That just blows my mind. Well, pray the gay away. Uh the arrest was treated as a scandal in the media and compelled Michael to publicly acknowledge that he was gay. No doubt. I knew at a very young age that I would never actually be able to date George Michael.

SPEAKER_06 45:49

I mean, I think him being gay was probably the least of the uh reasons why he wouldn't have to be able to do that.

SPEAKER_05 45:55

That was the only reason. I would have written him a note like Phillips, but I would have given it to him. And I would have met him where I'd be waiting.

SPEAKER_07 46:04

I knew you were waiting.

SPEAKER_06 46:09

Oh shit.

SPEAKER_05 46:11

In his interviews after his arrest, he rejected any implications that he should feel ashamed about a sexuality. Should not. Crazy novel idea. By the 2000s, Michael Jackson Michael Jackson. Wrong. George Michael. I already did the Michael Jackson episode. By the 2000s, George Michael's career was overshadowed by his personal troubles, although he continued to perform and record new music. Michael continued to perform uh and make new songs, such as the cheeky dance single Outside in 1998, which I don't remember. And the gay anthem Flawless Go to the City in 2004, which I also don't remember. No.

SPEAKER_06 46:53

I think in that I, in my defense, I was not really listening to music at that point.

SPEAKER_05 47:01

Not this kind of music.

SPEAKER_06 47:02

No. I had gotten my satellite radio and it was pretty much all talk radio at that point.

SPEAKER_05 47:08

Oh yeah. Oh yeah. I was definitely in like my grunge era. And also the uh alternative alt. The alt. The goth music. Yeah. Um, but his music was now following trends rather than setting them. In 2006, he was arrested in London for possession of a controlled substance while driving. It was the first of numerous arrests and accidents that arose from his increasing drug abuse. The most high-profile incident occurred in 2010 when he crashed into a shop in London while driving under the influence. He served a four-week prison sentence and was banned from driving for five years. In 2011, Michael launched his Symphonic Tour, a series of European gigs featuring a symphony orchestra. I thought that was cool. The tour was cut short in November when he fell ill with pneumonia. He resumed touring in 2012, performing his last concert in October of that year. A live album from the tour Symphonic was released in 2014, and it was the last album he completed. In 2015, he entered a drug rehabilitation program in Switzerland. Despite his troubles, his death at age 53 in 2016, caused by liver and heart disease, came as a shock to his fans. He is the same age as me right now. Since his death, Michael's career and his influence on new generations of pop recording artists have been subject to numerous films and biographies. Notable among these is a memoir by Ridgely. Um Wham. Oh, by Ridgely. It's called Wham, George Michael and May 2019. Um The Freedom Uncut in 2022, a documentary that Michael had been working on at the time of his death. In 2023, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. As well, he should have been. Absolutely. And that's it for George Michael.

Legacy Through Pride And The AIDS Era

SPEAKER_05 49:13

Uh won't you say?

SPEAKER_06 49:18

Um I do enjoy some George Michael.

SPEAKER_05 49:21

Yeah, I I always knew I liked George Michael, and anytime I hear one of his songs, I like never skip it, but I didn't realize how much stuff he had that I really, really, really love.

SPEAKER_06 49:32

Yeah. And what an icon. Yeah.

SPEAKER_05 49:35

It's a shame. For sure. Like definitely had to have been inspirational for a lot of um gay artists. Sure.

SPEAKER_06 49:44

That whole time was such a weird time. It was. You know, in the in the the 90s. Mm-hmm. When all this was hap when all this was going down, where you know, you were get you had you still had to hide the gay.

SPEAKER_05 49:59

You did, but I felt like people were more coming out about yeah.

SPEAKER_06 50:03

Exactly. Yeah. We're here, we're queer. Yeah. Right.

SPEAKER_05 50:07

The AIDS epidemic was absolutely you know that really exposed a lot. Like that brought them to the forefront.

SPEAKER_06 50:14

We didn't really talk about the gays until AIDS came out. I mean, and and you know, when when AIDS came out, I well, when it came out, when you know, in the the height of the AIDS epidemic, I mean you were losing like um just crazy people that you were like, what? I don't know. Rock Hudson, and you know, like it's just it's and then there was Magic Johnson. Magic Johnson who just keeps on well, you know, if you got a lot of money.

SPEAKER_05 50:43

Well yeah. Well, and it's curable now, but he had it like beginning.

SPEAKER_06 50:49

That's what I'm saying.

SPEAKER_05 50:49

Like when you have money that you can other people, Brock Hudson had money. Not as much as that's true. I mean But even still they didn't have a cure for back then. Like how he must have taken experimental stuff from some other country.

SPEAKER_06 51:03

He doesn't have he has HIV, he doesn't have full blown. Yeah, he never had full blown. So he probably I mean, I don't know because I don't know it very well, but I imagine if you can keep your viral load low, you'll you'll not get full blown. And you won't get the pneumonia and stuff. You keep you know, at that point, that's probably what they were doing. I mean, I I know they had a cocktail at some point in the 90s, maybe early 2000s, but I imagine it was to keep your viral load low enough that you never develop the yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_05 51:42

Yeah, that was a really sad time.

SPEAKER_06 51:45

You know, I was listening to I want to say it was Jon Stewart. I think it was Jon Stewart who said that history will not look fondly back on this time that we are currently in. Like our whole entire lifespan. And that's what I was thinking. I was like, we seem to be living in a crazy, crazy few decades here. That's like I don't know. I mean, I get now why history is you you I think about it all the time where you watch the news every day and you're like, this is not this is gonna be in history books.

SPEAKER_05 52:32

We are not gonna be looked at at a very I mean Oh, I'm very curious to see what history books. I hope I live long enough to hear what the history books have to say about it.

SPEAKER_06 52:40

I just can't it's going to be like are we gonna look back at this time or like read about it? Is it gonna be like a Nazi documentary where we're like, Yeah, oh dear lord, I don't know.

SPEAKER_05 52:51

Although, I mean that's what I was gonna say though, like it's cliche, but history does repeat itself. 100%. And we have also just been horrible creatures from the get-go. Yes. We've always just been terrible. Terrible.

Institutions Then And Now

SPEAKER_05 53:04

I was listening to NPR the other day, and this is totally irrelevant to all of this, except for the fact that it's awful. Um, this woman, I think she is in her 50s. She found out through the um um 23andme or one of those things. She knew that her mom had had a daughter before her. Right. But she was a teenager and she was black, so she was stuck in one of those homes where they used to just ship pregnant girls off. As soon as the baby was born, it was adopted out. You had no say.

SPEAKER_07 53:42

Yeah.

SPEAKER_05 53:43

And these poor women grieved. I mean, it's hard enough to make the adoption decision when you know you're doing the right thing for the baby, but when the baby's simply being taken away from you because somebody else said you shouldn't have it, like I can't even imagine. So, but yeah, I mean, I don't remember the whole rest of the she did eventually find her sister, and you know, they're they're close now, but the fact that we used to do that with pregnant women, or we used to do it with the mentally ill or the um um intellectual disabilities. Yeah. My when I was a kid, um I remember being like 12 years old, we had a place here that so prior to the 90s, they took everybody and just shoved them into these institutions, and it's what you see like if you watch To Kill a Mockingbird, it's like that kind of place. And it really the staff there was awful. And my mom's husband at the time was an electrician with the state, and that's where he worked, so he was always on call because if something electrical happened, they had to fix it. So if he was home taking care of us and my mom was off doing whatever the fuck she was doing, I would have to ride down there with him. Right. And he would leave me locked in the car. Yeah. And it was so funny because everybody was just walking the grounds because it's all fenced in and barbed wired and shit, so you can't get out. And they would come up to the car and look in the windows at me. And and I and he would come home and tell stories of things that happened. And, you know, now in hindsight, like yeah, that was just horrible, a horrible thing to do to them. And all these people like acting out, quote unquote, you know, he he told me about them throwing pianos and breaking windows and just going on terrace. It's frustration, like they don't want to be there, and they have no way to express it. And even if they did, nobody wants to listen to them. It is, which I just recently found out. It sounds kind of shady to me. So in the 90s always been shady. So in the 90s, the federal government said we cannot force people to live in institutions. And of course, they didn't do it right, they just threw them all out in the community and said, Go figure out how to live on your own. And that's still going on, and that's also a nightmare. I worked in that field as well. Um, yeah, I think they should be living independently, however, some of them do need help. Some of them don't want to leave the institution. We do still have a psych ward here in Delaware, and they go up there, and when people get released, some of them get terrified. They're like, I don't I don't I don't know when to take my medicine and I don't know how to cook, and I don't can't travel around on my own. I'm like, you know what?

SPEAKER_06 56:27

That sounds great.

SPEAKER_05 56:29

But we have always just made really horrible, awful decisions as human beings, and greed and power and money will always rule.

SPEAKER_07 56:40

Yeah.

SPEAKER_06 56:41

I mean, back in the time of kings, people got not that hard to take care of and that's not even saying that you don't have to have these institutions because they are necessary, because some people can't take care of or they want to be there, or they want to be there, or they don't have any family for whatever reason that they're in an institution like that because they can't live on their own or or whatever. It's it's not that hard to take care of people who are less fortunate than ourselves.

SPEAKER_05 57:19

Unfortunately, that all starts at the top, though.

SPEAKER_06 57:22

Oh, 100%.

SPEAKER_05 57:23

Because I worked in a group home again, also with um men that were so uh had severe mental illness. And the system's broken, there are no resources, and it pays for shit. I mean, seriously. I mean, granted it was 10 years ago, but I started that job with a bachelor's degree at like 23,000 a year, like nothing. Um so you're gonna get some unsavory employees. Yeah. I mean, I know I worked with people that were doing things they shouldn't have been doing. Um and I could tell by how the guys reacted to them. You know, I never had any issue with the guys because I treated them like people. But, you know, in the middle of the night they're spraying cleaner in one of the workers' faces. Well, whose fault is that? Because he's never done I mean there was the one guy who would punch me all the time, but it's because I wouldn't let him have a soda. Because if you let him, he would just drink all the sodas.

SPEAKER_06 58:22

That's what I'm saying. Like it's just it's ridiculous that we don't take care of S I have such a um I don't know how to say what I want to say. It's just it's not hard to take care of other people. It's just it's not it's instead of spending, you know, all money on a ballroom that no one needs, you know, or I don't know, a war in Iran that no one asked for, and uh killing people on boats uh out of Venezuela, kidnapping world leaders, killer leaders, um, you know, throwing people into concentration camps because they don't have the correct paperwork.

When History Rhymes Too Loudly

SPEAKER_05 59:12

Have you seen what's going on in New Jersey? I can't watch any of it. They have a concentration camp up there, and the mayor or the governor is Mikey Cheryl. And I know her name because I watch Philadelphia News, and I saw I have to watch all of the campaign commercials, so I will never forget any politician's name up there. Anyway, she's a fairly new governor. Um, and she has been trying, they've been people have been um holding rallies outside of it. Um it's I an ice thing. Um, and she has gone there personally and said, I need to get in there and see what's going on, and they will not let her in. Yeah. The governor of the state.

SPEAKER_07 59:51

Yeah.

SPEAKER_05 59:52

And she is, it's always on the news up there that she's fighting it to get in. It's like, what the fuck's going on in there?

unknown 59:57

Oh.

SPEAKER_06 59:58

I can tell you because, like I said, I've been watching the Nazi stuff, and there is absolutely no difference between the propaganda that the Nazis I don't care. You can argue with me, but this is a hill I'm gonna motherfucking die on. There is zero, the only difference is the word Jew.

SPEAKER_04 1:00:18

Yep.

SPEAKER_06 1:00:20

And Latino. Latino or any, you know, Hispanic, yeah, Mexican or whatever. Yeah. That's literally the only difference.

SPEAKER_04 1:00:30

You're exactly right. They are rounding people up for simply because of the color of their skin.

SPEAKER_06 1:00:35

And it's absolutely ridiculous. And then they're they're claiming it's because of crime and blah, blah. Exactly what they did to the Jews. It is exactly the same thing. And then they are throwing them in these camps. And we know as much as the the regular German population did at that time of what they are doing in there, unless you are working in there or you live next door and could smell the smell, you don't know what they're doing in there. Yep. And that is exactly how it happens because somebody asked me the other day, how did that happen? You are literally watching it happen in real time right now. Exactly. It's it's instead of it being the the Jewish people and the Rouani, Romani and gay people, well, you know. Yeah, they always get the shit in. Um, or or Russians, or anything now, it is Muslims and it is Latina, and it is gay, trans, they're all being rounded up and thrown into these places, and you are literally, and then you their families don't know where they're going, where they are.

SPEAKER_05 1:01:48

They're getting shipped off to countries.

SPEAKER_04 1:01:49

Some of them have never been to because they were born here. How do you even know that's where they're being sent?

SPEAKER_06 1:01:55

They they're just disappearing.

SPEAKER_04 1:01:56

That is true.

SPEAKER_06 1:01:57

They're just disappearing. There could be whole, giant holes, and we will not know until these places are disassembled as to what is actually happening in there because no one is allowed in, and it is the same fucking thing that is happening in those concentration camps at the same time, and you cannot tell me that they are not killing people in there because they fucking are. Absolutely.

SPEAKER_05 1:02:18

These people have unchecked power. Yes. Ice agents. Yes, and they're not trained in any way. I mean, you see bad in in police and in people of power, but they're also a lot of good.

SPEAKER_07 1:02:32

Yes.

SPEAKER_05 1:02:33

But these ice agents, they're just guys with guns that want to get in there and fucking take out the brown people.

SPEAKER_06 1:02:40

It's it's like I said, we don't know what is actually happening, just like the and that's the thing. Like, well, how did how did the German people allow this stuff to happen? Because they weren't actually being told that these people were being murdered just exactly the same way as that we are not being told what is happening to we're being told they're being deported. Right.

SPEAKER_05 1:03:03

Are they right because these people just disappear, and even the ones that we know about, because I listened to a lot of NPR, and there was an um immigration lawyer on there talking, and she said, This so uh Ecuadorian lady had been living here for 20 years, she was doing the process that she was supposed to be doing, which takes that long sometimes. And they just came around her up because she had brown skin and she was in the system, is trying to do it right. She had escaped Ecuador, she was here on asylum because she was in danger, and they just put her on a plane and sent her back to Ecuador right back into the and now it's 20 years later, like she doesn't know anybody down there.

SPEAKER_06 1:03:43

The the biggest problem, the the worst part about this is that they're rounding the dreamers up who have never stepped foot in any they're children, they've never known anything but the United States of America, and you were sending them to third world countries where they don't even speak the fucking language.

SPEAKER_05 1:03:59

Exactly. They have no idea what it's like they have no money, they have nowhere to live, they nothing, don't know the culture.

SPEAKER_06 1:04:04

No, their family, they have no idea where their family even is because they're separated. It's a big fucking country. It and they're just they never have spent any time in any of these countries, they've only lived here.

SPEAKER_05 1:04:17

Well, remember his first presidency, they were ripping kids out of parents' arms and separate. There are still to this day parents who don't know where their kids are from when that happened.

SPEAKER_06 1:04:26

That is exactly what you can't tell me. They didn't track it. Yeah, because those kids are dead. I think they killed these kids. They have they that's how you eliminate the or they adopted them out.

SPEAKER_05 1:04:37

Now they have new names and social.

SPEAKER_06 1:04:40

You are literally watching it happen. And I don't care, you can call me Antifa or whatever the fuck you want. Snowflake. Yeah, you can call me any of these things, but you cannot tell me that you can sit there and watch a documentary on the rise of Hitler and Himmler and not look at the news today and say, what? That that is exactly what's happening.

SPEAKER_05 1:05:05

During Trump's first presidency, my birthday is March 8th. We went to DC to go to the Smithsonian and to the Holocaust Museum because that's what I wanted to do for my birthday. And we were like in full-blown panic of COVID, but it was still just like use hand sanitizer and you're good. Two days later, the whole country shut down. But in the Holocaust Museum, back then, even, as I went through each and because if you've never been to the Holocaust Museum in DC, it starts you at the very beginning, and you walk through and it takes I have goosebumps right now. It takes you all the way through everything that happened. And I was stopping and reading every sign, and I swear to god, everyone, I was just like, Oh my god. Yeah, that's what's happening right now. Yeah. And this was six years ago. Yeah. And it's worse now. Yeah. But even back then, I was just like, I mean, like freaked out, like heart in my stomach, like, oh my God. Like, I guess it all hadn't clicked for me yet. Yeah. Exactly the same.

SPEAKER_06 1:06:12

And it's it's people turn the blind eye because and it is, if you watch some of the propaganda, it's the the the people of Germany didn't have didn't have money, and they didn't have, you know, it was because after World War I, it was like, you know, it was they were in a bad way and they didn't have money and inflation was high. And you know, here comes Hitler promising this and promising that and making it and it's all the goddamn Jews' fault, and blah blah blah blah blah and blaming other people. And and it's making promises and never delivering. Never and and then throwing murdering six million people just for shits and giggles. Guess what? Watch Nazi. I mean, I know obviously if you're listening to this, you're you're probably not pro-Trump. I get it. But if you can just and and I don't know what we do about it because I don't either, that's the thing. Because and that's always been my thing with the Nazis. It's like, well, how did this like how did it continue to happen? Why didn't people change it? And now you're living it and you're like, oh, because they couldn't. Yeah. Because you get run over by it. Yes. And until you can build up enough of a swell to stop it, how much further is it gonna go? Right.

SPEAKER_05 1:07:38

And the powers, the people who do have the power to do it are doing nothing. And why?

SPEAKER_06 1:07:43

Why? Why aren't you doing anything? There's so much fucking blackmail and true and shit. And they're so fucking scared of him that I don't uh what? What do you think?

SPEAKER_05 1:07:56

That's why I don't care. There is nothing intimidating. Well, Hitler was the same way. Yeah. He was just a punk little looking dude with a mustache.

SPEAKER_06 1:08:02

Which I bet Trump has syphilis. Yeah. You know, it's like And he was a meth addict. Yeah. I mean, I don't I don't know. I see all these people who've got to do it. Trump definitely has syphilis. Yeah. I I see all these people who are like, oh well, I don't know who would stand up to him. I I can I that I would have absolutely no problem if he was standing before me if and he was, oh, shut up, pig. How do you not turn around and say, no, you shut the fuck up? You have the microphone. You can, yeah, he can cut you off after a com. But you can turn around and say, You shut the you can be in his face just as much before the Secret Service kicks you out or whoever kicks you out. But you can still voice it and you can still say you shut the fuck up.

SPEAKER_05 1:08:40

And all these quote unquote assassins keep getting close to him.

SPEAKER_06 1:08:43

Why can't you, as a reporter who he just called Piggy, why don't you say, I don't know, you fucking pedophile, and just keep calling him a pedophile.

SPEAKER_04 1:08:50

Exactly.

SPEAKER_06 1:08:51

Well, you want to fuck your daughter today? Or was that just is she too old now? Like, if that's what you what these reporters need to get in there, and that's what they need to do. They need to start disrupting more. I get it. You want to get in and you want to ask about Iran, and but they're never going to tell you professional. They're never going to give you any information. Why? Because they don't fucking know what they're doing.

SPEAKER_05 1:09:15

I was going to say they don't know what they're doing.

SPEAKER_06 1:09:17

He has no idea what he's doing. So you're never going to get any useful information because the right hand doesn't know what the left hand is doing.

SPEAKER_05 1:09:23

Heg Seth was like, please, please, please let me drop bombs. And he was like, go fucking do whatever you want to do. And now Heg Seth is in the control room just fucking dropping bombs.

SPEAKER_06 1:09:32

And that's that they don't have any clue. They're so incompetent that it's just. So as a reporter that can get into that room, then your job should just be because you're not going to get the information you want. You're not going to get anything useful out of them. Just stand there for however long that you can get away with it and say, fuck you, you fucking pedophile. Fuck you, you fucking pedophile.

SPEAKER_05 1:09:54

That's it. Well, and the other thing that really, really bothers me is he is breaking the law on the daily. Why? He's still an American citizen. No one is above the law. He's not the king.

SPEAKER_06 1:10:10

Because he controls the Justice Department. And as long as he is pulling the puppets, they're not going to do anything. Somebody's got to do something. Exactly.

SPEAKER_05 1:10:21

There has to be something.

SPEAKER_06 1:10:22

There is. It's just unfortunately he controls all of it. It's the same thing as Hitler. It is exactly the same thing. He has usurped all the power by firing the head of the FBI and firing this person and that person and holding back. Yes, he has done it. He has done it.

SPEAKER_05 1:10:44

Yeah, I swear he learned from his first presidency what he needed to do. It probably helped him that he didn't win that second term.

SPEAKER_06 1:10:52

I was thinking that myself. I wonder how much of the of that was partly him. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Because it did help him. It did.

SPEAKER_05 1:11:02

Yeah. He he hit the ground running. And he could and he knew exactly what he needed to do, and he knows he's got well, he thinks he has more than four years to do it, but he could he and then he could use that they stole the election from me.

SPEAKER_06 1:11:14

Yep. And all the lemmings that believe every word he says and are buying six hundred dollar watches. They can't even spell his own damn name correctly, or a sixty dollar Bible, or this garbage that he keeps peddling his his Bitcoin and all the shit that they're just throwing money at him and never getting anything back from it. Which one's just getting he's not supposed to be making money off of the presidency again. And he he bought stock in Dell Computers and then did a speech like two weeks later on how everyone should go out and buy a Dell computer. It's blatant, it's in your face, and they just the the people who worship the ground, he the the cult that is mega, yeah, they just refuse and anytime you try and say anything back, it's like you are the enemy, and they and that's another huge problem, which plays in his favor.

SPEAKER_05 1:12:10

Everyone is so on the other side that there is no compromise. There is no coming together. Shoot, we didn't keep politics out of this one. Nope. Probably gonna get fired. It feels good to do that sometimes though. Yeah, it does. You just gotta get it out. It's you just have to.

SPEAKER_06 1:12:29

It's just been it's been too much Nazi. I just it's terrifying. It is absolutely terrifying. And just the way and and we're only a year and a half in. Yeah. And the the these documentaries might have been during his first term, might have been I have to look at it again because it's a series. Um I want to say it was on Netflix. And it goes through it goes through each. Um, it starts. I don't even think it starts with Hitler. I think the first episode is Himmler. Because he was technically the real. Yeah. Definitely. He was the the man behind the curtain. Um but yeah, and then it went through I'm on like the fourth part, and we haven't even gotten a Mengela. Who I find to be, like, personally, I find him to be the most despicable of all. But like um or Gerbil is one. The second one. Oh, it's the deck. It's they he's going through, and um you know how like the police have the deck of cards where they each each uh card is a different um person they're looking for. Oh, yeah. Like they do it with missing people, and then they did it with Saddam Hussein and all them. It's that, and he's going through it with the Nazis and who each of them would be. And it's it's it's pretty good. But he shows you um all the pro how it happened. How it how it happened. Yeah.

SPEAKER_05 1:13:56

And it is and it was a very slow progression. It is exactly what is happening now. It's exactly what's happening.

SPEAKER_06 1:14:02

And and they say that on there. He at one point is like, you know, it's you can you can exchange the word for Muslim. Yeah, and it's the same thing. Yeah. And it's like, yeah.

SPEAKER_05 1:14:13

And my only hope for us to not end up in World War III is that we don't have any allies anymore. No, we do not. Everybody's like, fuck you, dude. Like, no, no, uh, nobody asked you to bomb Iran. Nobody asked you to get the street shut down. And I do love that Iran comes out and they're just like, there's no negate negotiations. We haven't agreed to shit. Yeah.

SPEAKER_06 1:14:35

You and the horse you rode in on. It's just it's out of control.

SPEAKER_05 1:14:39

They're like the only ones in the whole world that are standing up to him.

SPEAKER_06 1:14:42

We just need somebody to get in the same room with him. And and when he calls, and when he calls you a name, just keep talking. Like, who's to say I can't why can't I interrupt him? Why can't I just keep talking? You can talk over me and I'll get loud. Yeah. The respect you're supposed to have for your president doesn't apply to him. That that bus left a long time ago. Well, let's go.

Wrap-Up And Listener Prompt

SPEAKER_06 1:15:09

Started out good and then it went downhill. Uh you can find us wherever you find podcasts. Uh-huh. Uh you can like, share, rate, review. Please. You can uh go to our website, www.likewhateverpod.com. Uh you can send us an email about your favorite George Michael song. Because we gotta bring it back to George. Yes. Uh to likwhateverpod at gmail.com or don't like whatever. Whatever. Bye.