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Like I'm not even going to lie, this one is a bit of a it's like a serious like banger, Haley. That's like a banger.
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Like the drums on that hit real hard. >> Thank you.
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Let me tell you about the time I wrote it.
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>> Yo, your friend is back. It's unbelievable. I mean, 12. Really?
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After that, you were on that tour with her.
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You saw how hard she worked every single night delivering that experience of a lifetime to fans.
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And then to to be like, "Hey, here's number 12."
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Like, "What are you crazy? This is incredible." >> I don't know.
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I don't know when she made this.
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I really don't >> exactly.
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When do you make an album? >> I have no idea.
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>> It's so good to see Haley Woods, everybody. >> Hey, my friend. I miss you too, man.
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My friend, it's great to see you. Welcome back.
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Thank you for all this amazing music. What a gift. 17 songs.
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I mean, you know, it was really fun actually.
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I mean, at first it was like, "Okay, how do I do that?" It's like, "Oh, yeah.
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I'm on a streaming service.
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I make a playlist and I put it in whatever order I want and I do it how I want."
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And that must have been really fun for you to sort of kind of urge everybody to create the context of an album without having to do that step yourself, right?
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Because every song matters.
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So, you guys figure it out.
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Was that kind of the impetus behind us us as fans getting a chance to get our hands on the track list?
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>> Yeah, I really did want to sherk the responsibility.
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I kind of I was kind of interested in like other people's perspective also because there's just a point where you're in the eye of that storm like you're making things you're going through and there's really you can't possibly have perspective.
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So I it's been really interesting.
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I saw your playlist and I'm like >> damn it's so wild seeing how people >> want to organize this in their own mind. I love it. >> Yeah. Yeah. I know.
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And believe me, song number one, I know, is like a is like a crazy start to the album, but I'm from that Tom York school of like, if you're going to break him, break him quick. >> It's devastating.
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Starting with Blood Brothers is diabolical.
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>> It is a diabolical move, but at the same time, I'm the guy that puts on Daydreamer by Radio Head and sits there for like two hours and just loves it, right? >> Oh my god. Same.
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That song could sing me to death, you know?
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>> At times it nearly It nearly has in the best possible way.
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Um, so how much how much fun are you are you having watching this in, you know, from a from a different perspective because, you know, we've touched base before on your solo albums and you honored that in a more traditional way the way you released it and it was cool.
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>> And then of course Paramore, you had this unbelievable couple of years touring around the world and supporting that album and that was a gigantic success and this just feels free to me which isn't to say that there wasn't freedom in the other experience, but it feels free to me.
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But in your own words, >> I I feel that freedom.
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This is the first project I'm putting out, you know, as an unsigned artist.
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You know, it's one thing to like I put out Pedals for Armor, not technically with Atlantic.
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they sort of >> uh or sorry I put out Flowers for vases my second solo record without their >> help and you know without the backing but I you know that because I decided to have such an insular experience with that it was so different than what this feels like and it's also just the it's generally just knowing that I'm a freer artist today than I was then because of >> not being on a label.
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I I never really imagined what this phase of my >> career might feel like.
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I think maybe I thought it would be over by the time I got here.
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And so, yeah, >> cuz how old were you when you signed your contract to Atlantic? >> 15, I think.
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>> Wow, Haley, that's >> as a child. >> Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.
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And we're just we're just And listen, I'm not trying to say this and put this in any kind of context around, you know, like you signed that contract with with with grown-ups around you.
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I'm sure your your mom was there and people were there and it was what it was.
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But we are starting to understand that there has to be um an understanding of of what that means to sign something quite gigantic and quite heavy like that at a young age and and to and to understand the repercussions of what a contract means and what is expected of that contract and the work ethic and all those things.
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And you are in a really special position to not to become >> and you know not to become somebody who has to talk through that all the time but to at least be able to learn from it and at times when appropriate express your learnings of that. Right. >> Oh yeah.
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I've actually really enjoyed the moments where I've gotten to like talk with younger artists about this very thing.
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I've talked to artists who have been dropped and I've kind of been like I don't know if it's as bad as you think it is.
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like you have agency still and maybe more than you did before.
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I've talked to other artists that are sort of in the process of like building their team and that to me is the most fun part because being this independent has allowed me to sort of really handpick the people that I want to feel closest to throughout the project.
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And I mean Paramore is so lucky.
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We've already worked with so many amazing people, but most of those people are like on management.
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They're like immediate >> cuz the label changes.
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>> cuz the label changes. That's the thing people don't realize is you sign to one person and two years later they're like hey listen God speed I got a bounce I got a promotion or I'm like wait who's this person and they're like hey I'm
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your biggest fan I'm going to make your dreams come true like I met you 30 seconds ago dude like what are you talking about >> I know it happened to us so many times literally our product manager got fired like two weeks or one week before this is why it came out and that was our final album. I was like I was like bro
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I was like I was like bro this has been following us since the beginning.
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the guy who signed me initially was fired like a month after I signed and then it was like >> yeah, >> you know, you know, I just I I think I'm really enjoying noticing how many great people are in this industry and how many of them I have naturally been connected to. I feel so lucky.
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I mean, I just it's like embarrassment of riches when I look at the table of my team right now, you know? >> Yeah. Yeah.
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And I also want to say for what it's worth it, there are great people who used to work at at labels like Atlanta or at major labels who are of trying to do similar things because they've learned those lessons too, but the system doesn't work for them anymore.
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>> And I think we're actually in a pretty pretty rich place in terms of what artists can build.
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We're a little ways away from getting through into some kind of beautiful perpetual balance, but it's a good feisty thrashy time to figure it out.
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And I love that you're in this figuring it out.
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I just love that you've given us music.
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I would have not blamed you as a fan of you, let alone as as a mate, for taking real time here.
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But this music, I guess, demanded that you show up. >> Oh, yeah.
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It always feels like you're like holding in vomit, you know, like when you know you need to be creative and you're not really e either giving yourself the chance to or you're burnt out, whatever.
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like this this really felt like um grief that just like and it started a bit ago.
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I feel like I was journaling about this at the end of 2023.
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I was writing about how much grief was kind of in my body that was related to the end of the contract.
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You know, life continues to happen.
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The the older I get, I think I'm going to figure this out and I'm going to get on top of it and then >> it continues to unfold the way it unfolds.
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So, I'm very I'm very fortunate cuz man, like without the outlet of music, I don't know.
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I don't know what I would do.
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>> You know, I did make a track listing.
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I sent to Haley this morning.
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I spent a long time trying to figure it out.
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At 17 songs, every single one of them, to Haley's point, is a beautiful, beautiful individual moment.
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And here I am trying to create context to send to the artist who made the music what I think should be the track listing is terrifying.
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So, I'm so I'm trying to figure this out.
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I'm like, I don't know which one goes where. And D.
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And she's she's absolutely right, man.
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I I started with uh with with Blood Brothers, right?
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I started with Blood Brothers.
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Is that what I started with? Yes. >> Yeah.
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I started with Blood Brothers. >> Yeah.
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Blood Brothers into which I thought was also really interesting that like I was listening to it. >> Interesting. Interesting.
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Let me tell you what interesting Let me tell you what interesting means when an artist tells you that. Okay.
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What interesting means is a multiple of reasons why that could that work could exist.
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This time it means are you thinking?
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>> No, I thought it was really sweet actually.
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I was like, "Oh man, like we're really kicking it off on like such like obviously diabolical beginning, but I feel it's like it's almost like a fake beginning because then whim happens and it feels like the start, you know, you're setting off on your path, you know?"
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>> I love the whole I love the Trojan horse of it.
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I love that it's like, "Oh man, Haley's in that space and then it's like, is she though? Is it she though?
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I think she may have moved past it pretty fast, but then maybe she's not.
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Maybe she's back in that space.
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It's a little bit of a seesaw.
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It just It's a little bit like life, Haley, isn't it?
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You know, bit of a seashore.
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>> I was about to say I was about to say, but I really My favorite spot is Love Me Different into Zizu. >> Okay.
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Are you going to tell us what your ultimate track listing is?
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Have you Have you done that?
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Have you shared that with the people yet?
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>> I'm going to get there, but I'm I am digesting like so many playlist.
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I told the team like uh whenever we decided to do this, I was like if we get five playlist, we'll be good and we can maybe pick something.
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It's been so many and the way that the like Paramore fans are also just like the coolest people.
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They're like so in like they are so interested in stuff that I feel like I'm interested about music. So I don't know.
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I I have some ideas of like where I want it to start, how I want the beginning, the middle, and the end.
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Especially when you start thinking about vinyl, if if we're doing that, it's like what's that experience?
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>> But like I I really am looking at people's playlists and going, "Oh, I didn't think that and this is really good."
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Like I really love >> this whole run hard, negative selft talk, love me different zoo feels so good.
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>> So you would, as of today, without holding you to it, as of right now, you would start the album with hard.
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>> Oh, that's a really good question.
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I listened to another playlist by a fan that started with hard.
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It surprised me and I really liked it. You did like it.
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>> I don't know though because I I go back and forth between Ego Death and Ice and My OJ as great openers.
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>> I love watching artists listen to their music and it's not an opportunity you get to do very often because the studio is such a sacred space and you don't want to invade that.
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But but being able to play a song and watching you just kind of like absorb it through the context of today and not in the middle of making it Haley was really cool.
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Um, what were you feeling when you were listening to it just now?
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>> I was feeling like this is such a this is a sacred experience to enjoy music with people in a way that feels intimate, even if it's on the air, you know?
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It's like >> it just made me want to come in and like listen to records all day in there with you guys.
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Like I >> And you should probably do that at some point and come and hang out. >> I really want to. >> We'd love you to. >> I want to.
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I wanna like I want it to feel more normal for people to gather around like an album and talk about it or listen to it for the first time together.
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That's just like the way it always has been.
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But I I think obviously we get so lost in our own worlds, it's hard to remember to get back to that.
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>> Can I pitch an idea live on the air and then you can say, "Yeah, we'll sidebar on that."
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when you've decided on your ultimate on your ultimate track list of what this album is.
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When you settle on what your version of this is going to be >> and if you're around, why don't you come in and we'll bring some fans in and we'll play the album and you can talk about it and they can say, "Oh, why did you choose that one at song number five?"
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And oh my god, because they can you can even choose the fans that like gave playlists the most like your favorite playlist and talk about their versions of why they wanted things and have this really cool like nerd out about the album.
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through the lens of like this is the final album.
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>> Yeah, I would love that.
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There no qu we have to do that.
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>> That would be sick, right? >> That would be so fun. Love it.
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>> Just just we'll just fill this room with fans. You sit here.
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We'll play the album top to bottom and we'll make it really special and you can just feel safe and and and understood. >> I would love that.
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I would really love that.
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It just Yeah, you're right.
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It just doesn't happen very often.
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I think being able I love when my friends make something and they want to have a listening party because it's just >> I know >> I feel like I get to know them in a whole different way. It doesn't happen often. >> Cool.
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Okay, we'll talk about it off the air and hopefully we can make that happen.
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That'd be really special. Haley, um love it.
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>> You know, we've had we've had some wonderful conversations over the course of our friendship about your music, but I've really really I've got to say I've really enjoyed listening to this music and getting to know it um on my own terms.
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And I I really respect the fact that you've let everybody just appreciate the music and haven't come out and overly explain it or felt the need to kind of put context around it and just let everyone love it.
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I think it's been really I think you've really honored the music and I really respect that.
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>> Oh man, thank you dude. That means a lot.
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>> Haley Williams, everybody.
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One of the realest ones out there. >> I love y'all. >> Love you, too. Okay, listen. Stay good. Stay well.
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I know that you're going to disappear back into your creative space and do your thing.
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I'm here whenever you want to reach out and um lots of love to you, mate. Good to see you.
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>> Okay, I'll text you later. Bye. [Music]