Lockdown! at the Disco #27: The Ocean Episode

Listen to the episode!

Read the transcript of the episode!

Hiya folks, as you might be able to tell from that delightful noise in the background, today we’re recording from the ocean. So, come step aboard the good ship Lockdown! at the Disco, pop on your wetsuit or mermaid fin, and bring along all your fave thingamabobs and let’s dive in, shall we?

TRACK ONE: “Under the Sea” – Samuel E. Wright

Greetings water dwellers! And welcome to episode #27 of Comics Youth Radio presents Lockdown! at the Disco. I am your host Amy Roberts and today we’re splishing and splashing in the great vast waters of the world because this is The Ocean Episode where we’re gonna be chatting about all kinds of sea and ocean related things and playing some awesome tracks about the sea, the ocean, the animals that live in it, the barriers caused by it, the yearning for it, the sailing upon it – everything!

Starting the show there was – what else?! – “Under the Sea” by Samuel. E Wright taken from The Little Mermaid and that was requested by Tom – and quite rightly so! I hope you all enjoyed a little butt shake to that one because I know I did! I also can’t hear that song anymore without hearing The Simpsons parody of it – where Homer goes under the sea and proceeds to eat everything in it – ‘there’ll be explanations just friendly crustaceans, under the seeeeaaaaaaa…!’ 

This is our usual episode disclaimer that whilst every effort is made to keep Lockdown! at the Disco for the kids - as Wu-Tang Clan would say – that sometimes some language or content could slip in that may not be appropriate for younger listeners so parental discretion is advised.

But now, I want you all to really vibe like a gnarly pirate on this next one. I swear you can taste the salt rising from the surf on this one. This is “March Into the Sea” by Modest Mouse.

TRACK TWO: “March Into the Sea” – Modest Mouse
TRACK THREE: “Ocean Man” – Ween 

That was “Ocean Man” by Ween and ooh golly, do we have a lot to say about it! First and foremost, I’ve got a whole lotta love for Ween. I’ve only properly been getting into them this past year as I incorrectly wrote them off as being kind of a lame dad band – no offence to all the dads listening, by the way. Big love for the dads! – but they’re actually a super interesting group.

They write extremely weird and wonderful music that defies genre – every album and song is different. They’re also wildly hilarious. Their content can be a little on the mature side though so I recommend that only older listeners delve into their back catalogue, but my goodness – it’s a treasure trove once you’re in it.

One of their albums, The Mollusck, is an ocean themed one that was released in 1997 and it actually provided the inspiration for Spongebob Squarepants. Sponegbob creator Stephen Hillenburg – who sadly passed away in 2018 – made the beloved show based on his love for the album.

Ween provided a few songs to various Spongebob soundtracks and following Hillenburg’s death in 2018, they paid tribute to him by playing these songs at a live show. During the performance they had this to say about their connection to him and to the show and they shared this anecdote about him. Quote:

I got a call a long time ago from a marine biologist that said he wanted to start a cartoon inspired by Ween’s album The Mollusk. His name was Steve Hillenburg and his idea was to create a Bugs Bunny type cartoon on the bottom of the ocean floor.

Ween had been on tour for a long year and we ended up recording and writing the song “Loop De Loop” for Spongebob in one night at Greg Frey‘s studio. It was to teach kids how to tie their shoes and we wrote it really fast and mailed it back on X-mas eve and for once they said “don’t change anything about it, it’s perfect.”

It remains one of our proudest legacies and we went on to do a lot of work together with SpongeBob, and the show went on to be the best cartoon of two generations. 

End quote - It certainly did. We have a lot of love for Spongebob here at Comics Youth and it continually warms our heart to see just how much younger generations continue to adore that show. Whenever we do our Saturday junior art sessions, Spongebob is a character that many of our young people continue to draw pictures of and to talk about with great enthusiasm.

This week at Comics Youth we’ve started work on the digital version of our Safe Spaces Trail celebrating all of our favourite locations across Liverpool City Centre – and particularly the ones that make us feel included, safe, valued, and peaceful. These places can be hard to find and identify when you’re part of the LGBTQIA+ community or neurodiverse or simply on the weirder scale of things – and my fellow goths and punks know exactly what I mean by that, we can’t help that we have mad style, can we?  - so we decided it was time to start mapping out these locations for other young people to know about and to enjoy and take ownership of.

We’ve had some amazing pieces of work back already from the community working on this with me at the moment, and it’s been really lovely. And coincidentally, one of the pieces that got made this week was by Memelie who did a gorgeous piece about the World Museum. I asked everyone to include a playlist of five songs on this piece of work for whatever location they wanted to identify and celebrate, and Memelie chose “Ocean Man” by Ween as one of those songs, because, quote: “This wild, alternative song is about freedom and exploring, and it feels like you’re exploring the world when visiting the museum.”

I do love a good coincidence at the moment and when things come full circle like this? Beautiful! We have a song coming up in just a moment which also explores the joy of freedom and exploration – and we’ll be talking a little more about these things in just a moment – but first, a song about feeling like a shipwreck – of feeling fearful of the world and a little unsure of your place within it. Of getting a little seasick and being brought back to land and to safety by a kind-hearted soul. This is “Gonna Be Sick” by The Do (DOO).

TRACK FOUR: “Gonna Be Sick” – The Do
TRACK FIVE: “Cross Oceans” – First Aid Kit

That was the gorgeous “Cross Oceans” by First Aid Kit and it’s a particular favourite of mine because it’s just such a sweet, excited song about exploring the vastness of the world, and of life. It’s a song about how daunting new opportunities can be in this life and how sometimes we don’t take them up because we’re scared to. But ultimately, sometimes we have to take the leap – we have to cross that ocean and take the risk – and just dive in in order to live the life we want to.

This is something that I reckon everyone can relate to. We all have something that we maybe wish we had more courage to do and it can take a little while to build ourselves up to the point where we can say, You know what? I’m scared of this and I’m unsure of how I’ll feel while I’m doing it or what will happen during it or after it, but I’m gonna go for it and do it anyway because I might regret it if I don’t.

And let me tell you, facing that fear and doing that thing? It can be the most rewarding experience you may ever have. 

There are countless stories based in and around the ocean which focus on exploration and adventure which use this idea as a central theme. Stories of adventure and exploration provide great metaphors about facing the unknown – and the vast rewards that can come with embracing your fear of that and just charging forward.

Those rewards are often very literal in these stories and take the form of a buried treasure, but I think we all know that in real life such treasure comes in the form of friendships, self-improvement, confidence, romance, knowledge, or even life and career prospects.

For the past few months I’ve been having the time of my life reading the classic pirate manga One Piece by (Odaeechiro) and it’s really been keeping me going. It’s so much fun and absolutely hilarious, but it’s also wonderfully emotional and has made me sob my heart on many an occasion.

It’s basically a story about a gang of young pirates who pick up various other outcasts and misfts to join their merry crew along the way as they explore the world and try to find treasure – but ultimately, the main driving force of their adventures is them overcoming their own personal demons and barriers – sometimes literal ones – in order to become the best version of themselves possible and help themselves, and their friends, to achieve their dreams.

In this super difficult year where everything can feel so out of our control and our reach I want to remind you all that nothing is beyond you. Don’t stop working towards or fighting for your dreams. Help each other out, support one another, lift each other up. And don’t be afraid to cross those metaphorical or literal oceans.

And now that my TedTalk is over, let’s do a silly song shall we? Get ready to shake your body like a salmon floating upstream with “The Salmon Dance” by The Chemical Brothers.

TRACK SIX: “The Salmon Dance” – The Chemical Brothers
TRACK SEVEN: “Surfin’ USA” – The Beach Boys

That was “Surfin’ USA” by The Beach Boys and it was requested by Tom. Tom has really come through with some amazing ocean facts and trivia for us this week in our Safe Spaces group which I’m gonna share for you all now.

First fun fact: Did you know that killer whales are actually related to dolphins? Killer whales, otherwise known as Orcas, are marine mammals who belong to the sub-order of toothed whales – but they’re also the largest member of the dolphin family.

I bet their family get-togethers are an absolute blast!

Another fun fact: As Tom told us, QUOTE: “Octopuses are really intelligent but trying telling THAT to Greek philosopher Aristotle who once said, ‘the octopus is a stupid creature … it will approach a man’s hand if it be lowered in water.” END QUOTE

Aristotle there coming through with some major trust issues. Like, is it not humanity who’s at fault there for trying to scran every animal it can? And not the octopus who probably just wants a little bit of love? You know what I mean? Chill yourself out, Aristotle.

And finally, In Ancient Greece a dolphin supposedly saved a poet from drowning! The poet was called Arion and he was also a skilled singer and musician – we do love a multi-hyphenate in this house – while Arion was sailing to Italy, he was attacked by pirates and jumped ship where a dolphin came along and saved him.

Thanks for the killer facts, Tom! These were awesome.

Rosa also shared a fun fact with us – a deeply personal one, but it comes with a grave warning for the world which I think we should all pay attention to – her fact is that she’s terrified of dolphins. As she told it to us, QUOTE:

“They’re scary, why does everyone love them? They’re too smart and they’ll take over the world and some idiots taught them how to use guns so once they learn to walk then it’s over for us. There’ll be a dolphin uprising!

Plus, they murder porpoise because they look too similar to them and threaten their chances of mating. Which is just sly because porpoise are just the innocent, stupider cousin of the dolphin. I relate to porpoise because I’m not a murderer like dolphins.”

So there you go. Be sure to stick ‘Dolphin Uprising’ on your 2020 bingo card , folks! We’ve still got a few weeks of the year left yet and as Rosa tells it we’re probably gonna be living in some dolphin dystopia in no time. It’ll be like Terminator 2 but with dolphins instead of robots and Rosa as Sarah Connor, doing chin-ups and trying to save the world from the uprising.

You heard it here first, folks!

And now, we’re gonna chill things right out because I reckon that final bit of trivia has likely gotten us all in a bit of a flap. So let this next song soothe your soul, this is Low with “Sea”:

TRACK EIGHT: “Sea” – Low
TRACK NINE: “Bathysphere” – Smog

That was “Bathysphere” by Smog, and I just wanna say that I’m a 34 year old woman who still dreams of living in a bathysphere. Or at the very least, a bath tub. Dunno how I’ve gotten to this age and I’ve wound up in a one bedroom without a bath tub, but here we are folks. Never let go of your dreams.

As we wrap things up here, it makes sense I think to briefly touch upon the therapeutic nature of water. Who knows why this is the case – I’m sure there have been scientific studies done about it but ya girl here ain’t got the time to be fishing for em – but water provides such a calming influence.

Whether you’re gazing at the Mersey, dipping your toes into the surf at the beach, enjoying a nice bath or shower, or watching one of those little mini-fountains you can get for your home, water is just the chilliest vibes.

Maybe there’s a certain cleansing quality to it? Whether we’re simply watching water or enjoying being in water, there’s a certain vibe that comes with it as though the water is purifying our troubles and our negativity and it’s just washing it away.

Comics Youth head honcho Rhiannon does probably my favourite bit of water therapy when she’s feeling a bit – or a lot – stressed where she goes to the beach by hers and screams at the sea. I asked her about this a little earlier and she told me, QUOTE:

“Screaming at the sea makes me feel like a goth Moana and helps me release all the negative things I keep inside but feel afraid to share. Might seem quite cheesy – and I know it is – but having a good scream at the sea lets me picture my worries ebbing away with the waves.”

Gorgeous.

We don’t have a beach or a sea here in Kenny where I live, so I’m going to continue making do with screaming in the shower instead. Hey, whatever works!

This is “Weird Fishes” by Radiohead.

TRACK TEN: “Weird Fishes / Arpeggi” – Radiohead
TRACK ELEVEN: “Ocean” – Lou Reed

That was “Ocean” by Lou Reed and that brings us to the end of another episode. I hope you’ve all enjoyed hanging out here with me today and thanks so much for listening. Please be sure to like and subscribe and to share this show with all of your friends and family who appreciate the wild ramblings of a husky scouse girl like myself.  

Next week’s episode is going to be The Shake It Off special where we’re going to be talking about dancing – why dancing is good for the soul, great for the body, and annoying for your neighbours probably – and blasting our favourite songs about dancing.

So for that, I want to know your song requests for tunes about dancing, where your fave places to dance are, and I wanna know what songs you love to dance to, or what your dance move of choice is.

For example, for years I used to ironically break out the ol’Molly Ringwald in The Breakfast Club while out and about at the indie disco on a Friday night and then it just kind of stuck and became one of my dances. I still love it. Still do it to this day!

Drop me a line via amy@comicsyouth.co.uk or if you’re part of the Safe Spaces Discord channel at Comics Youth then come and chat to me there!

Until next time remember, Everything is not cool – but it can be! Stay safe, stay sassy, and keep exploring those oceans and everything beyond them. This is “Beyond the Sea by Bobby Darin” and this is Amy Roberts signing off.

Byeeeeeee!!

TRACK TWELVE: “Beyond the Sea” – Bobby Darin