ANNE MARIE TO STEPHEN:

AM: What is your favorite song?

SB: Some really good jams, but for some reason J Lloyd's Stay Home With Me stuck out.

AM: Have you heard any of these tracks before?

SB: Jaden and King Pari

AM: Night drives. I love them. The other night I ran a late errand to the post office and the moon was out and looking fly af and I just hit the highway and drove around a little as I whittled down my December playlist for you. It was liberating, I wanted to just keep driving all night.

If everything was geographically equidistant (for the sake of this question) and you got a free pass from the pandemic for day / night of normal life… Where would you drive and for what? And, what would you play on the way there?

SB: So the day/night thing really changes my answer. Let's start with night time, because I know exactly what you're talking about in just wanting to keep going even if there's no destination. In that case, I'm definitely listening to synthwave, with or without lyrics. Call it a 10 year hangover from the movie Drive, but there's something about cruising with some pulsing synth beats to make any trip feel a lot cooler than it is. I'm probably headed to meet up with some friends/family at a speakeasy. Alt would be headed to the office to crank on some work while everyone else slept. If I'm driving during the day, I'm finding an old winding country road that is lined with trees. There's nothing like driving with the sun flickering through some leaves as you corner tight turns. End destination would be a small hole in the wall cafe to, once again, meet friends and family. If I'm feeling inspired, I'll put on something that feels more anthemic like Jidenna's Chief Don't Run or more recently The Plan from Tenet featuring Travis Scott.

STEPHEN TO ANNE MARIE:

SB: What is your favorite song?

AM: Le zou by Hyperclean. But you already knew that.

SB: Have you heard any of these tracks before?

AM: AFRICAN IN NEW YORK.

SB: In a flip of last month's lyrical questions, what is your go-to instrumental album(s)? Could be something that you use to focus and block everything out. Could be you just want to be transported to a vibe and don't want lyrics to get in the way (haha, if that's ever happened to you). Whaddaya got?

AM: Miles Davis, It Never Entered My Mind. Sten Getz, It Never Entered My Mind. Any version of that song always makes me feel good.