Countdown To For Cryin’ Out Loud!: FINNEAS in conversation w/ Billie Eilish | Spotify

(birds chirping) - [FINNEAS] I think it's important to separate your own taste from what you have to express. (gentle music) It's really not about you. I was bent on like making something that has a real unique watermark.

That's much harder to create alone. (people chattering) (tense music) - [Billie] Okay. - Thanks for doing this.

- Yeah. - [FINNEAS] I really appreciate your time. - Of course.

I'm so excited to be on this side of the interview. What do you want people to take away from the album? - I sort of am always convinced I have no fans.

- That's what I. . .

(both laughing) - Yeah. - [Billie] Interesting. - I feel like some of your super fans are such super fans that like - - That they're fans of you.

- I'm an expansion pack. (both laughing) - Right. - And that's great, I feel like that's so nice.

- That's not true, though. - But anytime anyone's like, "I love his solo music," I'm like "Word? " I can't believe it.

- Right. - But, you know, like, I'm doing these three shows when this album comes out and they all sold out, which is shocking to me. - Yeah.

- But I'll take it. - [Billie] Yeah. - I'll play the show.

(Billie laughs) - Okay, so wait, why did you choose "For Cryin' Out Loud! " to be the title? - I thought it was sort of vague and a fun thing that I've said my whole life.

- It's a great title, yeah. - And I thought the songs have a kind of an exasperated vibe, there's a kind of a argumentative vibe in the music. And I think "For Cryin' Out Loud," it's such a thing you say in an argument.

Like, it reminded me of something our parents have said to us our whole life. - Yeah. - Ah, for crying out loud.

- Yeah. - I just thought it was like a cute sentiment. It's kind of got a double meaning, right?

I like the for something. - Yeah. - [FINNEAS] It's cool.

- I like that it's like cryin'. - Yeah. - And also exclamation point.

- Exclamation point. - It's really cute, it sounds very- - It's got some character. (plane whooshing) - Hold on.

- [FINNEAS] Not our first rodeo. - [Billie] No. - This is so pretty.

- I know. - I love LA. - I know.

- "La La Land"-esque lighting. - Yeah. - Okay, so yeah, I was puzzled about what to call this album before, I wrote that song last, and then I was puzzled about what to call the album until that song existed.

- Ooh. - And then I was like, "Oh, this is, the album's called this," which was a relief. - [Billie] Right.

- There's a kind of an art direction side to making a new album. - Yeah. - That is like, I'm sort of, my work is kind of done, right?

- I know. I'm not at all done when we finish albums. - 100%, we finish recording an album and you do photo shoots and video shoots.

- Video shoots, tour design, all that stuff. - Just sort of create general creative direction. - Yeah.

- And album packaging, whatever it is. - [Billie] Yeah. - You drown yourself for a day to shoot the cover.

- Yeah, yeah. (laughs) - [FINNEAS] So anyway. - Also, it was award season by the way.

- And it was award season, so we're doing- - Ugh, brutal. - An award show every weekend, which was stressful. - [Billie] Yeah.

- And fun but stressful. And so, right after the Oscars, because I knew that would happen and then I was like, whether we'd win or lose, I was pretty sure we were gonna lose, I was like, I wanna have something on my calendar to do. - [Billie] (laughs) Right.

- While you're shooting videos and album cover. - Do you wanna talk about the album cover at all? - Sure, yeah, the album cover was kind of an accident.

I was shooting the "For Cryin' Out Loud! " music video and I had Claudia in the video and on set with me and we took these photos. Muriel, who's a photographer, who I love, she just took these like BTS photos and we cropped Claudia out of that photo.

- It's amazing. - [FINNEAS] And it had a real like Chet Baker. - I was just gonna say the Chet Baker reference.

- Vibe to me, yeah. - It's like Frank Sinatra, Chet Baker. - I look so kind of like unsettled and stressed, which is a reflection of how I was behaving on that music video shoot.

And she's holding my hand, but I'm not looking at, I don't know, there's something kind of cool, she's clearly looking at me and I'm holding her hand and kind of like looking away. Which is sort of how you are when you're tortured by something. - Yeah.

- The amount of times I've been like on the road with you during something and you've like just rolled your ankle. - Oh God. - And you're so like zoned in on your- - I know, pain.

- Pain and your stress. - Yeah. - Yeah.

- Sometimes all you can do is focus on it, Yeah, I think so too. And it's just like a very striking photo and I think it's like memorable and it's cute. - You chose this photo.

- I did. - You were like, "I love that one the most," and I was like, "Done," I trust your opinion a lot. - Yeah, it was sweet.

- Yeah. - Yeah, you showed me a bunch of different photos from that shoot and I was like, "This one. " - Yeah.

- And this crop is so good, because the crop, like if it was just a full image, it's like, okay, - There they are. - And the crop really says a lot, I think. - I agree.

- Like, the crop is like totally like an unspoken message in a way. - The album cover should be like the thing you see when you hear the songs, do you know what I mean? - (chuckles) Yeah.

- Well, but like, you hear songs and you're not looking, you know what I mean? - Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. - You're hearing songs and wearing headphones and sitting on a plane.

You're not staring at the album cover, but it should be- - But it should reflect the songs, I know. - In your brain. I'm very guilty of like literally not listening to songs on a playlist 'cause I'm like, "I hate that album cover.

" - I know. - Are you that way? - Yeah, 100%.

- And then, I'll listen to it, I'm like- - Or song title. - I'm like, I love this song. - I know.

Song title, I won't listen to it because I don't like the song title. - I think that there's an epidemic of people not understanding what the best title of their song is. - A hundred thousand percent.

- I sit around with artists and they play me songs that I have nothing to do with, and I'm like, "That's not what the song should be called. " - I know. Couldn't tell you which song is which because they're all named like, "Push" or like "Too".

(both laughing) Or like "Thumbsucker". - The way you said, "Push," was so awesome. - And it has like nothing to do with the song.

- It's like if it's like we named "Birds of a Feather" "Stay", like- - Which is what we were gonna do, but we never. - But it's like. - [Billie] I know.

- Don't do that. - I know. - It's not the title.

- I know. - People don't get it. (both laughing) - I know we both feel the same about like being in nature and not being in a dark windowless studio, and like LA is the most beautiful place in the world and it's just so nice to be outside and with, I don't even know.

- I'm just straight up so much happier if I can see sunlight. - I know. - Certainly, in the summertime, like, I'm happier generally because the days are longer.

And so, like, for example, like, if I am in some session or whatever and I come outside and the sun is down, like, I'm pretty bummed out about it. - [Billie] I know. - And so, yeah, the studio where we work, which obviously you've done tons of rehearsals at and we've done tons of stuff at, there's these big ass windows.

- I know. - Which is like the number one reason I wanted to work there. - [Billie] I know.

- Just so I could see the daylight. I couldn't care less about like a luxurious environment of equipment. - I know.

- Do you know what I mean, like? - Yeah. - I don't need like expensive anything, I just want like to be in a nice smelling and looking room.

I feel like people come over to work with me for the first time and they're like, "Wow, the studio smells so good," 'cause I got candles and incense burning. - I know. - It makes such a difference.

- And you can see what time of day it is just by looking out the window, that's my favorite thing. - Yeah, I remember I had some- - I hate not having windows. - Yeah, I had some artist like over one time and they were just like, "I love this room.

" - Yeah. (chuckles) - Like, people are just like used to working in like horrible caves. - [Billie] I know.

- I'd rather work in somebody's living room with no equipment than, you know, work in a studio that's got like an expensive console or something. - So true. - [FINNEAS] But I like to work during the day, that's when I'm inspired.

- Mm-hm - And then, I like to go home. - No, I've done all of my tour rehearsals this week, you know, in a completely dark studio. - Yeah, pitch black.

- And when I leave it's dark out and I haven't seen the sun. for like five days straight. - It's awful, it's awful.

- Gonna go insane. I love LA, man, I really love LA. Were you writing all of it like on your own?

Or was anyone else writing at all? - Well, everybody would write their own stuff, right? So for a song like "Cleats", Rat would be playing that cute guitar part.

- Guitar stuff, right. - And I was like, "That's really awesome. " And then I'd be like top lining it, I'd be coming up with lyrics and melodies and that was sort of true of everybody, everybody's kind of like lifting whatever they were doing.

- [Billie] Right. - Which was cool - For anyone who has never jammed with friends, it is- - So fun. - So much fun.

I mean, the most I've jammed is like you, and actually, no, the first time was with you, and Rat and David. - Oh yeah, on my birthday last year. - On your birthday.

And I just remember like just watching you guys all play and like being, it's just the most, it's so satisfying and fun, and I feel like when you told me that you were making an album basically by jamming. - Yeah. - I just was like, "That's a really solid plan.

" And was it fun like it is for jamming? - It was so fun. I mean, the reason I did it that way was to have fun, I think, like, yeah, the "Optimist", which I made a couple years ago, I made in like the loneliest possible way and I didn't think it was like so great because I made it alone.

- Yeah. - I just sort of was like, ah, that's the best I could do. And I'm proud of that album and I learned stuff making it.

But just on a selfish level, I was like, I'm gonna have so much more fun if I make this album in a more social way. - [Billie] A hundred percent. - And I just have all these like talented friends.

- I mean, David has been like one of your best friends. - Been my buddy. - Since high school.

- Yeah, yep. - Rat has been your best friend for a couple years. - A couple of years, yep.

- Aron, we've known since we were, I was 14 and you were 18. - Yes, the whole time. - And Lucy is awesome.

- Lucy's new, yeah, Lucy's great. - (laughs) Lucy's new. But.

. . - But she's great.

- But it was just cool 'cause it was like, it really was just like jamming with friends. - Yeah, 100%. - And I really love that it sounds live, except that there's, you know, you went back and you rerecorded stuff.

But, like, I think that it's so cool and it like sounds like listening to like memories. - Mm. - Did you have any like worries about what this stuff was gonna be about?

Or writer's block, yeah? - Writer's block kinda? I had two things, one was that I'd spent some time kind of writing little titles and stuff on a Notes app and like "Cleats" was like a title that I had.

- Cute. - I just thought that was a cute title. - Love that.

- And I kind of knew what that song would be about. And so, when Rat started playing the guitar part, I was like, "Oh, that's gonna be that song, I think. " - So cute.

- And then the other side of it was like a sort of a thing I've been feeling for a while now and you and I already do this, but like it's become really popular to sing about the most specific stuff. - Mm-hm. - And really popular to be like, "I went on a walk on this street at this time.

" - Right. - "And you sent me a text and a photo of a sunset," and like very kind of like pedestrian songwriting. - Where you can also see right through it and know exactly who it's all about too.

- Yeah, and, like, or that it's like really not about you. Somebody sings about something, they're like, you relate to my graduation. And you're like, okay, it's very specific.

- [Billie] Mm-hm. - That's, you know, totally great. But I think it's become a little bit oversaturated and I stand by like a lot of my favorite songs are kind of vague, do you know what I mean?

- [Billie] Yeah. - [FINNEAS] A lot of my favorite songs are very emotional. - Yeah.

- But they're not saying like somebody's name. - They're up for interpretation, big time. - Up for interpretation, so I was very bent on like making stuff for interpretation on this record.

Even songs like "Little Window", which is like very specifically about like looking at like TikTok, it's like I never say that, you know what I mean? - Right. - It's all just kind of about living vicariously and that can be broad, it's not super specific.

- Right. - I'd love to write a song about heartbreak and not have to be heartbroken that day. - [Billie] Right.

- Because they can't do it all the time forever. - It's really, I know. - So if I'm only limiting myself to like autobiographical stuff.

- Right, well, that's what I was just gonna ask. How much of this album was autobiographical versus storytelling/fiction/based on a friend/ based on something else? - There's little threads of me in everything and then there's a lot of storytelling in everything.

- [Billie] Yeah. - It's a little like when people make a big album and then they make another album and the whole next album is about pressure. (Billie laughing) That's such a like stupid trope, and like- - I know.

- So many albums of like pressure and I'm like that's the least interesting type of song ever. - I know, it's the least relatable thing in the world. - But it's just also like not interesting.

- I know. - You know what I mean? - What do you think your favorite song making process is?

Like, if it's songwriting or producing or whatever, like, how do you like it the most? What's your ideal way of writing? - I would say that like my favorite process ever is, it's hard to beat, "What Was I Made For?

" Hard to beat, like, having an inspiration. - I know, I know. - And having all this kind of, like, I don't know, like, that was like a full shopping cart of material.

- Right? - It's like, oh my gosh, look at all this data. And then, you and I sit there and we write a song and I don't know, I just remember having written that song and feeling like so good.

- Yeah, I know. - And I think that that sometimes, honestly when we did the "Guess" remix, I think we were pretty gassed. - Yeah.

(laughs) - You know? - I was like, "I know what to write about. " - Yeah, we wrote it and then we recorded it right when we wrote it and then you took a bounce home, like, that stuff is so fulfilling.

- [Billie] I know. - By contrast, these sessions, I didn't really go home with bounces because they were all kind of rough and then I sort of took them all back and cleaned them up. So between writing these songs and then really working on them alone was a kind of a process.

- Yeah. - Yeah. - What was the hardest part about making the album?

- The hardest part was like sifting through hours, like, basically editing it, it was really hard. So like there's a song on the album called "Sweet Cherries" and that was like the sixth day or something and everybody was jamming and it was very cool, but I had no good song ideas that day. And so, I would sing gibberish and then they'd jam.

We never got to a place where I was like repeating anything or the guitar parts were repeating or anything like that. And so, I went home with like an eight hour recording of like nonsense and then I had to go through eight hours. - Yeah, that's crazy.

- And find the best part of the drums and the best little thing. - Ugh. - And so, that was tedious and annoying.

And then, I had to write sort of like lyrics I was proud of over it, have it makes sense. "Family Feud" actually was like taking little pieces, and then bless him, David was singing into a like vocoder that whole song, but we were all in the same room. And so, the Vocoder would be like, (vocalizing) right?

But in the guitar mic, you just hear David (vocalizing), like, singing. (Billie laughing) And so, I kept having to like mute the guitar or like instead of hearing the cool vocoder, you'd hear him like, "Whoa," and it sounds so crazy. (Billie laughing) So that, just kind of like fixing little things like that.

- Anytime we're using like autotune for a effect or anything, I'm like. - You sing worse. - I'm like, "Oh, this sounds so sick," and if you took the autotune off of it, I'd be like.

- It's worse, yeah. - Whoa. - It is crazy.

- Okay, let's talk about "What's It Gonna Take to Break Your Heart? " - Yes. - Which I think is, it's one of my favorites.

- Thanks, means a lot. - I just like, I love that song, so talk about it. - Okay, so that song, like nine of the 10 songs, was like a jam.

- [Billie] Mm-hm. - David was doing this like crazy drum loop thing on an old drum machine and then Aron started playing this kind of jazzy bass line and Miles was doing this cool thing on the drums and- - Oh by the, yeah, okay, wait. - Yeah, sure.

- Miles. - This is cute to me. Miles is who FINNEAS had as his drummer and is now FINNEAS' drummer for his tour as well.

He is the drummer from Bad Suns, which was FINNEAS' favorite band. - [FINNEAS] So true. - And was like all- - [FINNEAS] So important to me.

- So important to FINNEAS and me and such a huge part of our lives - As like an 18-year-old, I was like just trying to rip off Bad Suns. - A hundred percent. It was like his life, I mean, everything.

- I was so excited. - [Billie] It was all about Bad Suns and- - I thought they were so talented. - This is just a little, like, fact, which is really cute to me with all of it is just like so full circle that- - One of our two managers is a guy named Danny Rukasin and we know Danny Rukasin, because Danny manages a producer named Eric who produced the band Bad Suns.

- Who produced Bad Suns. - And the reason that I got to know Danny was that I cold called him, I just sent him an email when I was like 17 about wanting to work with this producer, Eric. - Eric Palmquist.

- Because I love this band so much. So that's really kind of the whole genesis of the fact that we know Danny. - In fact, this is the only reason I got a manager in the first place.

- That's right. - And then, things, anyway. - This is all true, good pull.

- Yeah, but so it's just cute to me and it's sweet that that's your drummer. - Anyway, we had this kind of cool thing and I came up with that little like, ♪ What's it gonna take to break your heart ♪ So Lucy was sitting at a Nord and I used to use this setup when I would open for you that was like, I'd run my voice through like a vocoder and a chord harmonizer thing, and just to be fun and creative, I gave that to Lucy in the sessions, I was like- - [Billie] So cool. - I was like, "Why don't you just always be on kind of like vocoder and harmonies?

" And then, that song became this like cool call and response thing that she really killed, it was really fun to do. - So good. - That song had a real vibe.

Like, when we had that song down, I was like, oh, I feel excited about this, that's not a song I've made as a solo performer yet. - Yeah, I think that's what was also cool about the whole album is that it really feels like new stuff for you, it feels like songs that I haven't heard you write and I think that's really- - Yeah, I thought probably what would be the easiest for me to write would be another album of ballads. - [Billie] Right.

- And I thought I probably wouldn't grow from doing that. - So good at that. - [Billie] Right.

- [FINNEAS] So this was the exploration of not doing that. - What was your favorite song to make and/or what is your favorite or like one of your favorites from the album now? - I think my favorite song to make in terms of like flow was the song that ends the album called "Lotus Eater", that came out really quick and I just like had a great time.

Like, I think that sometimes it's important to like separate your own taste from what you have to express and that song's very much like my taste, like that's the song that I'd be the biggest fan of on the record. - Right. - Which isn't to say that it's like my best work, it's just like privately, I'm like, "I love this song.

" - Yeah. - I love what everyone else is playing. What's up?

- [Mom] I love you. - She's leaving. - Oh, you're leaving, love you.

- Love you, Mom. - Drve safe. - I love you so much.

- Where are you going? - [Billie] She has a call. - [Mom] I'm going to that movie premiere.

- Oh. (laughs) - Love you, careful down the mountain - That has such a last time anyone ever saw her vibe. (all laughing) - She's just skipping down the mountain.

- Running off with the gray hair in the wind. I have such a vivid memory of spring of 2019 with you. "When We All Fall Asleep" had just come out.

- Brutal time. - And we were doing this like US tour in like bigger venues than I ever thought we'd play. We were playing like Red Rocks and Radio City Music Hall and we played that venue up in Seattle that was on like a river.

- Yeah. - Oh, like June 2019. - June of 2019.

- Oh yeah, a great time. - And I don't know, I just remember thinking like, all of these like amphitheaters, any outdoor like venue or stage. - Oh God, that was a good time.

- Just like the cutest, like, what's a cuter vibe than like? - [Billie] Nothing is cuter. - This looks like it would sit about 50 people and I can't think of a place I'd rather like sit and watch a show.

- [Billie] Totally. - It's just so cute. - I love a little outdoor stage amphitheater.

- I'm amazed that you're not doing your horse girl gallop on this thing, man. (Billie laughs) It shows real growth. - That's what I used to do, all day, every day, (laughs) everywhere we went.

- Did it feel like riding a bike? Did it come right back to you just now? - Yeah, it came right back.

- Did it feel insanely good? - One of my big memories of the amphitheaters was, (laughs) I think you can guess, which is when you were like 11 or something. - Okay.

- And I was a little kid and we would go on this hike near where we grew up and it was this college campus and they like had an amphitheater and we would always like pretend to put on shows on our little hikes with Dad. - [FINNEAS] Yeah. - And then, FINNEAS, we would always shoot like fake music videos.

- Oh my God, I know where this is going, we shot that on a cell phone. - We'd always shoot fake music videos to songs we loved, and FINNEAS was doing one to "Burn It Down" by Linkin Park. And I remember the shot was like him at the bottom of the stairs.

- And then I teleport. - Yeah, going. ♪ We're building it up ♪ (FINNEAS laughing) And then, on the word "up", suddenly he's like, it's like this.

Wait, you guys should do edit it like this. Okay, wait, go here. And this is what it is.

♪ We're building it up ♪ And then it and it cut to this ♪ Up, to break it back down ♪ And then he was like at the bottom again, it was the coolest thing in the world. And I remember being like, "I wanna do that, I wanna make music videos. " - [FINNEAS] We never even edited it.

- And then, you made, remember, you made another music video? - Oh, an iMovie video in our backyard. - You made another iMovie video where we were doing magic.

- We were reversing videos. - Yeah, and then there was one day where you had like a meltdown and you deleted all of your- - I didn't have a meltdown, it just like went away. - No, you literally were like, "I hate these," and you deleted all of them and I was really upset.

- Sorry I did that. - Anyway, amphitheaters are a big like childhood memory. And, yeah, it's true that that summer 2019 vibe was amazing.

- I just remember thinking, like, if I can ever like play my own shows and play any outdoor venues, like, that'll be, - I know, that's your thing. Amphitheaters are really the sweet spot. Anyway.

I guess, what was like the most inspiring thing in the making of your album? - Yeah, the most inspiring thing was being reactive to the room, you know? Like, just letting the people in the room do their thing.

There was like a moment where like I wrote the first song on the album "Starfucker" alone, that's the only song I wrote alone on the record. And I never even- - That was a while ago too. - I wrote it last summer, yeah.

- Yeah. - But I never even brought it in until I had already recorded it because I just didn't wanna like, I didn't wanna influence it too much. Like, I thought if I sat around and wrote a bunch of songs and then came in, I'd have all these preconceptions, I'd be like, "Maybe the drum should be like this.

" - Right. - And it's like, I'd rather just like the people do something cool. - Make it up on the spot.

- And be able to, like, there were definitely times where I'd be like, "I'm not connecting with that, like, that's not interesting to me," and then we'd change it. But, yeah, just being reactive was inspiring. The music thing is like so random, I feel like sometimes I work with people and like I can really tell what they're listening to 'cause it's really coming through in their influences.

- Yeah, I know. - And I don't feel that way personally. - I agree.

- I might be like influenced by something very random. I might like hear like a little vocal flip, do you know what I mean? Like, a little like somebody does some cool two note thing.

- Right. - And I'm like, "That's fresh. " - I know.

- And then I might try to sort of like experiment with that, but it's never like a genre or anything. - [Billie] Yeah. - It's also like a kind of a continuation I think in my goal of always making sure that whatever I'm making is very separated from whatever we make together.

And obviously, you're such a huge piece of why your music sounds the way it is. But I think I also, like, I don't wanna then take things that were inspiring to me when we were working and go and kind of like copy them and do them again. - Right.

- And so, I thought like room full of people that weren't even there, that weren't even in the room when Billie and I made this album will be really helpful in making something that has a real unique watermark and no one's like, "This sounds like," you know what I mean? - I feel like it's a whole different audience. - I have a really eclectic taste, as you do.

- [Billie] Yeah. - You and I'll go to like a Feist show one night and then a Turnstile show. - Yeah.

- And then a, you know, Denzel Curry show or whatever, like, it's very eclectic. But if somebody is like Billie is their favorite artist, I do not expect them to be like, "FINNEAS is my second favorite artist. " - It's like a totally different fan base.

- It's totally different. Yeah, yeah. - In terms of the music.

- [FINNEAS] Yeah. - But you have fans though. - [FINNEAS] Some of them.

- (laughs) You do have fans. - I'm honored but I'm always suspicious. When I was 12 or 13, "Wonders of the Younger" by the Plain White T's came out.

- Yes! - And I remember seeing Tom, the singer, do an interview and he got asked the question about genre and he was like, "Yeah, I don't know, like, is it pop? Is it singer/songwriter?

Like, is it alternative, is it indie, whatever? " And he goes, "It's all rock and roll, baby. " And I loved that answer, and I have thought that.

- Plain White T's is not at all all rock and roll. - But it's all rock and roll, baby, like it is. Like, rock and roll should be- - That's amazing.

- What we described, like, to me, it is all rock and roll, you know what I mean? - 100%, all of it. - It's all rock and roll.

- [Billie] It's all rock and roll. - Anything's rock and roll that isn't like classical, do you know what I mean? - Uh-huh.

- That isn't like, you know, maybe jazz or classical, but even jazz was like pretty rock and roll when it, jazz was like very punk and iconoclastic when it happened. - Yeah. - So it's like, it's kind of all rock and roll.

- I've literally never thought about what genre a song of ours when we were making it was ever one time ever. - Well 'cause all we cared about growing up was like The Beatles, and the Beatles make songs that are in kind of whatever genre they wanna make. - Yeah, honestly, genres really piss me off.

- They're inspired by this. - They really do, I don't really. .

. It just doesn't really make sense, it's like putting people in genres, it's like people are all people, like, why would we? I don't know.

- Yeah, and it's like Sabrina Carpenter's new album is such a pop album, but then there's like little country moments. - Totally. - Where she's singing with like a twang.

- It's great. - Love that. - What are we supposed to do, like rediagnose that?

Be like, "Oh, no, no. " - Yeah, this is pop/country. - It's pop.

- Yeah. - It's also rock and roll. - [Billie] I know.

- I mean, "Taste" is like big ass guitars and drums and it's all rock and roll, baby. - (laughs) It's all rock and roll, what were you- - "Hey There Delilah. " - Ugh, seriously?

- Rock and roll. - How are you picturing your- - Show? - Your show.

- Super musician focused, just like a bunch of like, probably, as little going on that aren't cool lights as possible, just like everybody jamming and playing and I don't really wanna be like super in front of everybody, you know what I mean? - It's a band. - [FINNEAS] Exactly.

- You wanna be in the band, I love that. - In terms of the goals I went into this project with, or maybe like the hopes I had for it, I knew that I would probably be doing the most live shows I'd ever done of my own music. So I had a real goal of like, I wanna make an album that's really fun to tour.

It was also part of the reason I wanted to have like the people, like Rat played my last tour with me, and so I was like, oh, he'll probably be on the next one. So if he's in the writing/recording process, that'll be more fun for everybody. - [Billie] Right.

- How has it been to rehearse without me? - Honestly, it's really sad and hard. - (laughs) I'm so sorry.

- No, but, no, but I was gonna say that, honestly, it's a bit of a relief because I feel like I spend- - I know what you're gonna say. - Almost all of my time on tour and in rehearsals like, "Oh my God, FINNEAS probably wants to leave. " Or like, "Oh my God, FINNEAS is unhappy or FINNEAS doesn't wanna be," I mean, it's like I just look up to you so much and I want you to have the best time of anyone and I know- - It's one of my worst qualities, I took Mom and Dad and Claudia to see Feist two years ago and I thought it was like one of the best shows I'd ever seen and we finished.

- [Billie] Yeah, yeah. - And I said to everybody I was with, I was like, "That was like one of the best shows I've ever seen. " And all three of them were like, "The whole time all I could think was like, what is FINNEAS gonna think?

" - Yeah, no, it's really interesting. - It isn't the stuff that you're bothered by. - Yeah, like, someone on our team will will ask, be like, "Here's some photos of you to approve for this thing.

" And you'll go, "No, I'm not gonna approve any of them. " And they're like, "Well, so? " - I'm like, "You can use it.

" - And you're like, "You can use any of them, whatever. " I heard FINNEAS go like, "Oh, well, I hate every photo of me that exists in the world. " - Pretty much.

- So why would I approve one? (laughs) They can use any, they're all equally terrible. - I hate all of 'em, yeah.

- But he also doesn't really care about that stuff. - The bone to pick I have is if I'm looking in two directions in the photo, flag it. (Billie chuckling) Don't make me- - You do have a wandering eye.

(Billie laughing) - Yeah, don't make me, they show me a photo of myself where I'm like wonk. They're like, "You good with this? " And I'm like, "No, I look insane.

" - Oh God, but with that being said, it's very sad not having you. But also, I'm like, I think it'll just be, it's like so not over in any sense at all. - No, I mean.

- It's like you're, you know, I'm excited for you to come for, you know, I'm excited for you to not just, you know, there's nothing wrong with being a band member at all, but I'm excited for you to not have to do the thing you hate the most, which is wait around and, you know- - That's so funny. - And then, I don't wanna be like stressed out about- - But to be clear, I have loved touring with you. - I know.

- I've loved it. - I mean if I were to somehow- - If I had infinite time, I would do all your shows. - If I were to like lose all of the fans and nobody cared about me anymore, but I was still doing like little shows, it would just be you and me and it would be awesome.

(both laughing) Like, no big production, no warmups, no, you know, anything. - That's so funny. But all of it's great, I mean, the show that you put on, it's amazing.

- It's just a whole different thing. - But if you do five weeks of this or whatever and you call me. - And I'm like, "Where are you?

" - And you say, "I can't really do this. " I'll drop everything and come do it, for the record. - That's so nice.

- I mean it. - I could cry. - I would do that.

(soft music) (birds chirping) - [Billie] Do you think this is a spider bite or a pimple? - [FINNEAS] On your forehead? - Yeah.

- [FINNEAS] It's pretty big. (both laughing) - Right? It's like a ball.

- I think that's a bite, yeah. - I know, it hurts really bad. - Oh no, how recent?

It's pretty big. - Two nights ago, it appeared. - [FINNEAS] Oh.

- [Billie] I do have a lot of spiders around my house. - [FINNEAS] It could be a pimple. - In my house, even.

- You spent a lot of time younger grabbing people's arms and going, "Spider crawling up your arm and it bites you, it bites you. " - (laughs) I did. - You spent so much time.

- I did spend a lot of time. - Saying that and doing that. (Billie chuckling) This looks like some place our dad would take us to.

- [Billie] I know. - Our dad also like was always taking us up to Angeles Crest. - To the mountains.

- Highway to like go hang out, and like, I don't know, I just have such fond, vivid memories of like going to random beautiful places with both parents. - Mount Wilson. - I feel like they're real appreciators of kind of simple beautiful stuff.

- [Billie] Yep. - Which they passed on to us. I feel like I may in fact try to convince you to go on a hike with me after this.

- No. (both laughing) 'Cause I'm wearing the wrong shoes. - [FINNEAS] Can you believe how far we've come?

(laughs) - Look at us. We hiked this whole mountain. - Yeah, love you.

- Conclude, love you so much. My favorite person in the whole world, truly. Really love you so much, FINNEAS.

- Me too. - You mean the everything to me and more. - I feel this way.

- (laughs) I feel this way. (soft music continues) I am wondering like how you feel like you grew as an artist in the making of this album, if you did at all, and if you didn't that's fine, but also like what did you learn from this making process? - Yeah.

- And also like what would you do again? What would you not do again, kind of thing? - Yeah, I probably, in terms of like growth, I think as a singer, I took more risks.

- [Billie] Nice, love that. - I think partially 'cause of the decibels, like, you have a really loud room. - Well, you have like an amazing range.

- That's very sweet of you. - That I feel like you don't even- - Under explore? - [Billie] Yeah, you kind of underdo it sometimes.

- Well, that's very sweet of you. - You totally have all of it. - But it's a little like, if you're sitting and playing a ballad, you're gonna sing appropriately.

But if you have like drums crashing. - Right. - You're gonna like belt more.

- Right. - So I think I did more vocally than I have done previously, which was satisfying. I would do some version of it again.

Like, part of the reason it was special was because I hadn't really done it. So I wouldn't wanna like try to repeat it to get the same thing 'cause that wouldn't be interesting to me. But like it was helpful and inspiring because it was different and new.

- Yeah. - You were very nice about the songs while I was making them. - I loved the songs.

- Thanks, dude. - I mean, they're so good, they really are so good and you are really the most talented person that I know and you always have been, and I'm just like endlessly proud of you and think that- - That's so nice of you. - You're truly the best to ever do it, so nobody will ever top you and that's that, and- - You're so brainwashed.

- You're literally- (both laughing) - That's so sweet of you. - And I just think so highly of you and you're literally like the only thing important in my life. - I feel the same way, I love you so much, thanks for doing this, appreciate it.

- And everybody listen to "For Cryin' Out Loud! " on October 4th when it comes out and FINNEAS is amazing and- - Love ya. - We love you.

- Thanks for doing this. - Yay. - Appreciate ya.

- Thanks for having me. I've never done an interview like this before. Love you so much.

- Love you. - You're just holding a rock? - Just some stuff.

You wanna come over and work on the tour intro? - Sure.