ANNE MARIE TO STEPHEN:

AM: What is your favorite song?

SB: Gotta give it to “Meet us in the park we used to play.” by Friday Night Plans.

AM: Have you heard any of these tracks before?

SB: Nope. All new.

AM: What’s a late summer or fall album drop you can’t wait to get your hands on? For me, it’s Janelle Monáe in 3 days…

SB: So it’s been delayed a bit so not sure when exactly it will end up dropping but Empire of the Sun is finally back in the studio so I can’t wait to see how that one turns out. There’s something about talented people who step away and then come back together with new perspectives. Oh also, Cynthia Erivo. Pretty much anything she does, I’ll be first in line.

STEPHEN TO ANNE MARIE:

SB: What is your favorite song?

AM: Pish — London. When are we going back?

SB: Have you heard any of these tracks before?

AM: Nope. But I am now becoming highly amused with the notion of just how many bands you can find with the word “Tonique” in their names.

SB: I have this love/hate relationship with live performances. On one hand, it’s real, it’s raw and in the moment. No takebacks, no days of post-production. You either have it or you don’t. On the other hand, some of the nuance is lost, the subtleties, the perfect listening experience where you can hear every note and sound in the exact way they were meant to be heard. It’s one of the reasons why I like movies more than plays. Don’t get me wrong, I respect the hell out of stage performers and what they do, but there always seemed to be more showmanship and hyperbolizing so the folks in the back rows could see/hear vs the more intimate moments you can create with films. Aside from getting to actually see the musicians in-person, do you have a preference when it comes to the listening experience between live and recorded?

AM: This is a good question and I feel like my answer won’t do justice to all the amazing live music performances out there and the industry in general because it’s going to be so highly subjective.

The truth is, I like both experiences. Music (I think for both of us) is meditative. I like to listen to it when I’m doing deep work like writing at a computer, or when I’m out for a run, or out for a nice, long drive and the sunset hits just right. A listening party at home with a good friend. A soundtrack to cook to. For me, there’s truly nothing like the feeling of a brand new album or playlist to throw on and pair with one of those other life experiences to make it a little sweeter.

Concerts are much more of a social experience for me. It hits a totally different part of my brain. I go to people watch and to witness genius live and in the flesh and be inspired and awed by it. It’s a totally different experience for me than what I described above. I don’t do it as much as I should but that’s truthfully due to the cost. I’d love to see U2 live. Coldplay. The Eras tour. Frank Ocean. Ariana Grande. Daft Punk. James Taylor. So many others. But spending $600-1000 on a ticket these days just doesn’t feel like a realistic number for a regular person. So, I really have to seek out smaller experiences and go with friends in the industry when they get access to the bigger shows.

Side note on theater — your reasoning there cracks me up. I get it. But I see it more through the eyes of the performer — and think about the adrenaline of memorizing all those lines, and the insane stamina it takes, and the fact that there’s no hiding behind a band that can do a quick jam or interlude for you. It’s all on you. I really love going to the theater.