Activism and the future of AI

Who doesn't love graduation day? we looking hats, tassels, real avant garde stuff, right? But seriously, getting your degree is a huge accomplishment. And with Southern New Hampshire University, it's actually achievable. Over two hundred online degree programs, low online tuition, no set class times Real support from real people every step of the way. Wow, SNHU really was designed for your success You know, a cap and gown might actually look good on you Head over to snhu. u slash smartlist to get started. Summer gatherings are easier when the grill does the heavy lifting and Whole Foods Market has the ingredients to make it all come together Start with no antibiotics ever meat or grill friendly seafood like salmon and halibut Add peak seasoned produce like organic cherries, yellow peaches, and strawberries plus fresh prepared sides Finish with a limited time peach marinbererry pie or soft brioche buns for burgers and hot dogs Fire up the grill at Whole Foods Market This episode of Smartless is sponsored by Ashley, the brand that just helped us turn a live event stage into a fully styled living space. Ashley is all about helping you create a home that reflects who you are with styles that balance timeless design and modern trends, and pieces built to handle everyday life with durable materials and easy to maintain fabrics For our live show, we were sitting on their modular M Max sofa setup that you can configure to however works best for your space. Plus we had oversized accent chairs and coffee and accent tables that really tied everything together. Let me tell you about the M Max sofa. We used it for our live show. It was so comfortable. I felt like I was sitting on a cloud. The worst part about it getting out of it. Ashley is all about style that's made for real life with white glove delivery right to your room of choice. Visit your local Ashley store or head to Ashley. com to find your style Hi, this is Thing and I'm waiting to be the surprise guest on Smartless Quite sure what that means, smart less We're going find out. They're going to talk to me for an hour. so hopefully I can be smart less with them Welcome to Smartless. Sart Oh, Will. Will, you've been you did you st over at Thoreause last night? I just realized I had an overshirt in the other room and I just I was working out and I was like, I was like, I took a long sleeve shirt out just to put it on. And they was like, oh shit it's nine thirty and I took a leak and I got my water and I got in here. I was like As I logged in, as by Zoom came up and went Motherfuck I'm not we. You're not wearing sleeves and so Justin Throws just is just waking up Justin throw's not, he's not allowed to wear a Liverpool football club Yeah cut off. guys had a baby? He did. He did. He just had. Oh my God I saw I saw a shot of him sleeping with his new baby on his chest, but he wasn't at home sleeping. I guess he was in the hospital or something true to form. his tops off. what you're going to say Yeah his tops off. He might have been on an airplane. Yeah, he likes to he likes to he'll fly without a te he'll fly without a shirt I want toat right? Yeah, you know this, Sean, right? When he flies, you know, he's on a plane. He can almost a commercial. He can't even say the words. My God, it won't even come up You Justin can't sleep with a shirt on And so if he's going to sleep on a plane, if it's a night flight, He takes his top off And and And the flight attendants got to wake him up and say, sir, you can't sleep I didn't know your shirt off on a plane. He Well, I can't sleep with a shirt. Although I do remember, you remember years ago, you meet Tony Hale Eli and somebody else, maybe Carr or somebody from your team. We flew back from London. And we and we threw fingers for the the thing that folded into the bed. Yeah. And then I didn't have a shirt on it. remember you're disgusted. I disgusted but you' like, you're not wearing shirt know what I do now. You know what I do in public. when I go to sleep, I stick my shirt into my pants like that You know I stick my shirt so that when I roll around at night the shirt doesn't whyy't you get one of those little ones? Hey, listen to our listener, anybody out there who's just looking for some Wh's lonely and looking for some hot dude. There's just some hot stuff going on. You don't wan to tuck that shirt into your CPAP hes. Seun, you should you should do it Tuck under your CPap hoses. Just do a scast where you describe some of your routines for Shot after dath, you know Don't threaten me Sean sent us a picture last night to JB and me after the show. And again, it was the star of the star of the photo again was a heaping plate of spaghetti. And then and then the supporting cast was on the same plate, Swedish fish. Yeah, absolutely. exact bag of them. And Iagine another one having more?rinkle, sprinkle the fish on the pnd. G you suggest that he mix it in But there was no like haaha or anything. Jason just wrote. ut the fish in spagheti Yeah. And you thought it was a good idea. I did think it was a good idea. It was great. You know what, you know what I did last week? What I do is every single day I wear my slippers to the theater because I know right away I'm just coming home going right to bed.old Its on. You're shufftling down some New York street and slippers just blending in. Well I get out of the car straight to the stage door. But the other day, the traffic was so bad I had to get out and run. So I'm running down the street with my hair like still wet from the shower in slippers with like a ratty t shirt. looked I look like a likeike a New York resident. I'm sorry, real quick. How do you think you look now? There go Wait, how come you're wearing slippers out of the car and into the Wh to go Where to go Because there's something. Do you not like shoes? No It's inconvenient to wear shoes. Well I'm not going anywhere after the show. I'm just going home. so I can just keep them on And you throw them straight into the incinerator or when I'm done, yeah. I've gone to dinner with Sean at Jar. and had slippers on. And he shows up and he's wearing slippers, Jaby. Why? But why? Are you taught just you don't want tona deal with laces and things? Yeah Yeah. I just want to go to the theater. Hold it, J. Hold it, hold it There are a thousand options for men. Velcro new balance. I think you're at that place that are laceless shoes that you can be proud of that if you do need to run down a street, they will work like bs or loafur. Yeah, yeah ye boots. I know I gott to start getting shoes or what shoes? Boat shes Boat Yeah Cro even would be a lesser offense. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Okay, you think about it. I love its Crocs are an interesting. Where do we land on crocs Have been? I think the jury' still out. There's a lot of deliberation. Yeah. It's like jazz. We're still out. Is it cool to like it or cool to not? I won't take a position on jazzet. Yeah you don't want to go down the drain like one of our famous actors lately. I mean, and no just I'm just saying in terms of whether it's for me or not I'm saying Oh yeah. well, you know what? I think it is it's something that I, you know, Ken Byurns got me really into baseball because of his documentary on baseball, this is thirty some years ago. I gott to watch. And he's got one on jazz that I'm waiting to open up and climb into because I think I'd be addicted to it. Oh Yeah once I get his not I'm not calling into question the the incredible musicianship or any of that. I mean in terms of people Yeah, of course Wa you guys, there's a new UFO documentary that just came out Really You got to go away. hang on guys I gotta take the Tinfoil F my TV, but I definitely want to watch it. If this is not the age of disclosure? Yeah, no, it's the same. No No, it's Age of Disclosures is incrediblely. It's the guy? Yeah, it's the guy, shoot, I can't remember his name. I'll find it if text it to me when we talk later. Okay Now you guys have talked about a couple of things that our guests can really chime in on and straighten out for us. One is how to keep the voice healthy on stage and the other is jazz W, Oh mama. Um Dudes, u todayoday for your listening pleasure I offer you a man with just a dash of talent and a tiny sprinkle of accomplishments. He's an actor and a musician. He has a golden globe An Emy four Academy Award nominations, he's received a Kennedy Center honor and a CBE of the British Empire As a musician, he's received seventeen Grammy awards He sold one hundred million records What and has been inducted into the Rck and' roll Hall of Fame He's been doing what he does in a league of his own and consistently setting the mark for what is relevant and cool since the year I was born, literally. He's one of my heroes and I'm incredibly excited to welcome him here today. Fellas, here's the one and only Sting Oh away. Oh wow! Guys, good morning, gentlemen. This been. So cool. Wow. I apologize for the elongated coffee chat up front. Thank you for staying with us. It's riveting. But as you see, this is our only time to really communicate. And so we steal a little bit of time from our guest and we chit chat. Well now we've got talking points to talk about. Let's start with vocal health on stage. Are gummy bears and pasta a part of your vocal health at all? Is that your key? Definitely not. No. You know, it is a muscle. So you have to treat it with the respect you would treat a muscle if you were a footballer or runner. So do exercise. You have to stretch. you have to thing before you go on do yeah exercise. What's your favorite what's your go to set of push ups for for your voice? My voice, I think you start gently with lip trills. Yeah Yeah And that loosens everything up. Yeah. And then you get fuller and fuller Don't leave your best notes in the dressing room though. that's the sing Yeah Right do you do eer w w w w w w, w, w Yeah, very good. Yeah. have. And you taught yourself, you taught yourself early on to sing, yes, or did you take did you ever take any formal lessons? I sold newspapers as a child on the street corner My first singing job was to sell the evening Chronicle Yeah my town and I would sing In that Chronic But really? that will get some attention And And people would come over because it was loud and you'd be like, hey, you want to buy a paper? Yeah. I'd stand outside of the shipyard while I was going next to a shipyard and I'd sell the evening paper to the shipbyard workers as they came out Do it again. What are the words? Do it again Eing Chronic It does sound oddly like Sun. Chron Yeah there it is. It's a good warmup And then also staying the now you know, I do a lot of incredibly in depth research So on Wikipedia. You have access to Google Yeah. Is that anything? Yeah. on Wikipedia, they say, is this true? that you a friend of your father, I think, left behind a guitar and a Spanish guitar. and that that is what sort of sparked the interest in music and you were playing around with that partially true? Well, as a kid, eight years old, I called him my uncle John. Everybody was your uncle in my street. He emigrated to Canada Yeah, it's a good choice And he couldn't take his guitar. so he we don't want left it to the family and I recognize that thing as a friend for life. I also recognized that as some kind of escape mechanism.. I thought, I'm going to escape with this thing It was a vague idea. but I did not want to work in that shipyard where everybody else worked So I thought the guitar is maybe my passage out, my passport out of here And I sat in the corner, I didn't speak to anyone for six months, learned to play it I saved up for the string that was missing. Re and I could play Pretty quickly. It's Totally self taught. You just sort of figured out the combination of little pressing with the fingers gives you a different cord or was there any help I had a very good musical ear. My momum was a piano player. so she sort of listened to me go and she said, you have a good ear son You should learn music. So she sent me down the street to an old music teacher, retired And u he taught me music, but I have to walk down my high street with a guitar in a plastic bag. And you could not go unmolested if you were carrying a guitar down my high street. you should have worn slippers, they would have stayed away from you That's Sean's a safety strategy. I never wear slippers. W wait, so Stin, where aboutouts is this in England? Okay, I come from the Northeast coast of England near the city and between the city of Newcastle and the North Sea. There a town called Warzone It was a big shipyard. That was the only source of employment in the town And it was quite a surreal industrial environment. Literally, I lived next door to this place my street would be the sun would be blotted out by the ship, the Hull of a ship I've watched thousands of men walk to work every morning and think is that what I have to do And now and now you've written, we're going to get to this, but you've you not recently written,, but are you are doing another tour of and grander yet of the last ship. Yes.. Tell us about wow. Well, I've been writing it my whole life in a way. You know, I described a surreal industrial environment which I did not appreciate at the time But in hindsight, you know, once I was had left and I had an international career and success I realized that I was gifted with something that was quite precious I mean, the profound symbolism of giant ships, a river going by the end of the house The sea church tower. These were very powerful symbols for a budding songwriter, a budding writer, a budding artist. And I realized that that I needed to tell the story of my community, the community that made me who I am It gave me a sense of identity a work ethic, U an engine to escape from it. but nonetheless I needed to pay a debt back, if you like, to people who brought me up and say, thank you. So then how did you So how did you come from there from this place in the northeast of England and sort of s not self taught but you did, you obviously had this inclination and you had the help from this music teacher. And then how did you How did you form the police? How did that first happen? I'm so interested. I'm such I gotta say, I'm freaking out a little bit. Yeah, me too. I such a massive fan of you made. I did a lot of stuff before got a job in the police. I had a real job before I was a you know celebrity I was a school teacher. No wayere. I taught in a mining village, and I taught eleven year olds Wow Wow. Soccer, music, English Math And then I realized that if I didn't leave this teaching job, I would be stuck there forever So I told the The headmistress, she was a nun. I said, look, I'm leaving at the end of term And she said, Well, You lose your pension And she was right. I did lose my pension. Okay. You were probably thirty years away from your pension at least, right? It was important there though. But I decided no I would go to London. So I had one phone number I was also a dad. I just recently had a kid and was married. I had a car and a dog. I paid tax, I voted. So I was a grown up. Wow before I became you know a Cosed celebrity Y. So always I always say that that's so important for me it gives me my balance. if I have any balance, it's because of that But you were armed with this incredible intellect and this this environment, this upbringing of, I mean, it sounds incredibly, you know, cinematic, A, but these these elements that to me sort of lend themselves to metaphors and issues of sort of existentialism and whatnot. like you were able to match your intellect to your upbringing and write these songs uh for the rest of your life. Is that is that is that what kind of Do you find that it all culminates into this great place with the last ship? Well, well JB, I'll sort of dove on that too, which is so many musicians or artists that we talk to have to come out, you know start doing it very young, maybe start in a band when they're nineteen and they haven't had the things that you just described, all these experi these rich experiences of being a dad of having a job of paying taxes of voting, all that kind of stuff. And then they go into this artistic life and they don't have you seem to have, like, again, kind of Jbe what you were saying Drawing on all these real life experiences. Yeah, and your lyrics always have been. you know, they're far from silly. They're always about something. Some of them are silly, Jason. No do do do dot d I suppose. They're the least silly. They're the least silly I mean, I was making a point there about nonsense songs. Yeah, Yeah. do our diddy dididdy d do R run run run. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Hey, Nonny, Nonnoney no from Shakespeare. I mean bl deo blah d It's a tw Yeah. Well, sorry, just a side notes thing. and I know we've asked you five questions here and you haven't One of one of your more famous sort of one word lyrics and I want to hear your thoughts on this, of course, is in the dire Straight song is when you came on, you saying I want my MTV. All right, launched the whole thing. I mean, launched an entire But But yeah, so then so yeah, so picking one of those questions' still continuing on last ship, have you found that this is and you're nowhere near done, but that this is a really interesting project for you to now revisit and continue to talk about because there's I think there's some new songs in it talk about where you came from and marrying your experience, your intellect and all of that into Um, how you started You know, it's a deeply emotional play for me parents who died like forty years ago are on stage with me every night. There's something theres this kind of spiritual connection I have with the people I've lost. And my brother came to see the play in Amsterdam the other day And he was a wreck. He cried from the beginning to the end in a good way. It was cathodic for him, but he knows exactly what I'm singing about and the community that we come from. So it's a very emotional play And I'm going to be doing it at the metropolitan Yeah Opera house in New York City. I mean, this's such an amazing. I'm going to come see that. I'm going to be in town. I'm going come see that. Please do. Yeah. I'm very, very excited about it. And what about it that what about it before you said to you said to yourself, well, I'm going to write a musical about this. and there's going to be performance in addition to music and lyrics and stuff as opposed to I want to write an album about this subject. I think I was going through a period of I call it writer's block, but not's a little bit dramatic, but not wondering what What do you write about? You know, you're in your forties You don't want to write about your Chevrolet or your girlfriend, you know, it it's just you're beyond that. So I went back to my past. went back to the town I was brought up in and started to sing songs about people I knew And that freed me up instead of navvel gazing into my own psyche try and, you know see the world through somebody else's eyes, somebody I knew And that really freed up the songwriting. and these songs came out of me like tile vomiting as if they'd been up there for a long time. It was a very quick process. Is it because is it because the subject matter or the thematics of it are particularly more relevant and resonant today in today's society? Oh, I think there are certain certainly relevance to today. know it's about a community under threat from economic forces that they have no control over. The economicss are saying, The job you do making ships is now irrelevant and you are expendable And of course, all of us are facing that right now with the AI. All of us can be replaced by a robot. so they think Um I have opinions about that, but ye we are we are we are under threat Yeah I remember I watch that I watched that documentary about Sunderland Till I Die, which is not far, I guess from you. That was very cl guys Yeah You're a Newcastle fan, though, yes. I support the other team. Yeah. You support Newcastle It's a good squad I'm a here. E a liberal supportter We'll be right back Tillamook Iice cream is real, unbelievably creamy ice cream made with quality ingredients, and it's now available in extra options familyily size, pints, and bars. But no matter the size or shape, Tilamac ice cream is made the extremely creamy way you deserve. With the forty eight ounce family size option There's enough to share, but the name family size is just a suggestion And you can enjoy their unbelievably creamy flavors in family size pints or bars, including rich vanilla bean and Tillamc Mudslide. You really can't go wrong. You know, you're in good hands too, because Tillamc Dairy has been around since nineteen oh nine. It's farmer owned and has lots of dairy experts on their team. I mean, look, talking about ice cream, I'm your guy. I could eat ice cream every single day. Tillamook ice cream is incredible Every bite is so creamy and delicious. You know I love vanilla. I can't get enough of it and I might have the family size. all to myself. F Tillamook ice cream near you at tilmook. com. That's T I L L A M O O k d. com You know what's underrated not thinking about your stomach It shouldn't get a vote. You want a stomach that minds its own business so you can go do something more interesting. Colurell complete three in O Biotics mini chews are delicious crunchy bits you easily pop in your mouth every day. No water needed. They help with occasional bloating, gas, and digestive discomfort to keep your gut drama free. becausecause when your stomach is boring Your life doesn't have to be Cultural probiotics. The science of a boring gut Let's see website for details know summer always changes how you get dressed. you want pieces that feel lighter and more breathable, things that are easy still put together. That's where Quintince comes in They focus on high quality essentials that feel and look amazing. Think breathable linen and soft organic cotton. and Qince goes way beyond clothing. They have custom upholstered sofas, ceramic cookwear, premium bedding and more for your home. It's the kind of brand you end up recommending to everyone for everything. Now, I've got a European linen cotton stitch quilt in a Gorgeous blue, glacier blue. This baby sits on my lap like a nice, obedient dog, keeping me warm and keeping me comfortable and companion full Is that a phrase? I'm making it Thank you, Quinince. To elevate your summer wardrobe, go to quintince dot com slash smmartlist for free shipping on your order and three hundred and sixty five day returns. Now available in Canada too. That's QuiNcE dot com slash smmartlist for free shipping and three hundred sixty five day returns quincez dot com slash Smartless This is a paid ad by Better Help If you're like me, you like to work and sometimes it's hard to balance work and life and pleasure and relaxation and all those things in between. Not everyone thrives when life gets busy. You might catch yourself feeling drained even during things you usually enjoy or realize you've been pushing yourself more than you need to. It's important to take care of yourself when things get busy by resting, recharging, and saying no when you need to Therapy can also be a way to get out of autopilot and get a solid reset Therapy with Bet Help may help you better understand your needs, feel more confident setting boundaries, and create a rhythm that feels sustainable Better Help is the world's largest online therapy platform Just take a short questionnaire to identify your needs and preferences, and better H will handle the initial therapist matching work for you You can also feel confident knowing better health therapists work according to a strict code of conduct and are fully qualified Take a pause with therapy. Betterhelp can help life feel manageable again. Sign up and get ten percent off at betterterhelp dot com slash smartless. That's betterhlp d. com slash smartless Back to the show I did want to get more into the lyrics and because you've always Well, first of all, another thing is Are you do you write music first? Do you write lyrics first? Do it is it a mixture of the two because so many of your lyrics, I mean, so many of your songs you know, the lyrics are so I don't know. For message in a bottle, for instance, like a song like that, which is so dense lyrically and it's such an incredible They're satisfying on their own. don't even need That' such a great message and so resonant. You know, there's no one method to write a song. You can start with a lyric, you can start with a riff or a series of chords or a melody that suddenly floats into your head I have to remind myself every time I want to write a song that all of them even the most successful ones began as a tiny carnal of an idea something that intrigued me, a novelty, an interval, you know, a flattened fifth or a somethingomething very tiny and then Iil built on it bit by bit and they weren't masterpieces until you did a lot of work on them. Yeah does that Yeah, but that song like I sorry, just to I'm not home message on a bottle and I'm thinking about it. For me that's always been one of those songs that really sort of captures that The spirit of loneliness, especially at the end when you sort of say, you know, it talks about sending it out and then woke up this morning, canan't believe what I saw Yeah. hundred billion bottles wash up on the shore. And I always love the les. It seems I'm not alone at being alone it's just like That always, I mean today 's as impactful to me today as the first time I heard it. And I wonder if you remember writing that and where you were at when you wrote a song like that? I was living in Bays waterater in a basement flat, not the terribly salubriious part of London. And I wrote that guitar riff, the message in a bottle thing and I'm thinking, what is this about What is it? And I was feeling a low eb I'm thinking I feel like I'm shipwrecked And then I'm a castaway here because I wasn't successful at the time. I was struggling to make a living. I got to London with a dream and it wasn't being realized immediately. so this was from period then. and I'd only be singing it to the dog who would occasionally wag a tail, but that was that was the only audience I got. The you know, when you say that that all these no matter what the song is, it always starts with just a little kernel. Yeah, does that then ever you in a place of Um Are you ever able to relax for fear of missing a little coleronel that might come by? Just walking down the street, making some sort of observation or hearing something somebody might say or thinking of a little bit of a tune? Are you ever able to just Turn off the radar. It's important to keep a notebook, I think, so you can't, you know, wake up with a melody in your head. Do you have a little tiny notebook or or do you use like your iPhone now I'd Well, yeah, put the notes on my iPhone. Yeah. Do you ever do you ever dream Melodies U I wake up with melodies in my head. I do too sometimes, but I'm too lazy to do anything about it usually usually the melody from Benny Hill. wait a minute. What do you do when you wake up with a melody? How do you remember? Do you hum it into like voice notes I should do that. ye. Yeah. know I wouldn't get back to sleep if I wake up with a melody I will not be able to sleep. So I go down and sit with a guitar and say, o. Go back to going to London for the first time when you you were a teacher. And then I'm always fascinated with like how did you had you visited London, you saw the big city And it inspired you, L how did you, what drove you to think You know what? I have to go to London and pursue this. There was no way to do what I wanted to do in my town. There was no template for that. So And youew exactly You had to go to London. Yeah. was it. Yeah.. And so, you know, I auditioned for to sing in cocktail bars And they'd say, well we want you to do top forty hits. I said, Well, I don't know any top forty hits, but I've got a song of my own and I'd sing Every little thing she does is magic and the guy would say, Well, it's not a hit of it. I not yet. But he could see you now. I didn't get that job Wow. That's amazing. That's amazing. Since you started on the guitar, when was the transition to bass? Was that simply because The guy I forget I forget his name who you started with with with Stewart that Andy later replaced. Oh Was it because he wanted to play guitar and you pivoted b? No I just I think it's a very, very astute choice to make If you want to be a band leader Uh, because Iicing the top line And because I play the bottom line The rest of the band has to operate literally within my bandwidth. And as a bass player, you can change the harmony very, very profoundly the piano player or the guitarist can be playing a C chord If I play a G below that, I've completely altered the harmony. So I'm in control It's a very subtle way of compounding. it's very profound. Oh Wow.. I'd love to. One, six four or one, sixty four or five, sixty five or one chord. Exactly. Inversions are the heart of my music, I think. I love that. You know the versions, inversions the dont't I'm not musically educated enough toorm toorm me, but shy with that. I mean, I love music. I like like like in two seconds, you can learn C E G is a C chord. And if you take the G and you put it on the bottom all of a sudden that's a one hundred six four It If you're a piano, I could show you in two seconds. You guys would learn so fast. That's where jazz will come in when you listen to your. I think my thing on jazz is it's kind of I said it's sort of offh. it's a running joke to like I can't that my friend, Mark Chaplin, I always have, which Chapy, shout out to Chapy whether it's cool to say you like it or cool to say you don't. It's just a joke but it's actually and his son is at school taking jazz in London. but I do I think I don't appreciate it enough and I probably don't know enough about it. I think I'll tell your story. Yeah. When I was fourteen. a It's called a grammar school. I got a scholarship to study there. It's like in a kind of elite school for poor kids And I would take my guitar and one afternoon I was playing in the classroom and this older kid came up and said, You're good. He said, Do you like jazz? I said, don't I don't know He said I'm going to give you something. and he gave me an album. He said, listen to it tonight. You won't like it But listen to it tomorrow night and the next night and the next night and then you will learn something. So he gave me Ponus smuk playing live solo at an Olympia in Paris, right? So I put it on, he was right. I didn't like it, kindind of really angular, weird harmony shit Put it on the next night Little better. By the third night I'd opened up part of my brain that had been closed. And I think it's about exposure to difficult harmony. Without that exposure, you can't hear it. You go, o, it sounds terrible. But that once you open it, it's the sweetest place to be. Oh man,. Yeah. It's literally writninging this. What is the I'm also a musical moron The stuff that you can easily follow that you can tap your toe to is what four, four time? is that right? I mean, common time Yeah.. most part mic is written in four four, yes. Right. And then so st is it What is what is the one that is always surprises you? Is that was that like third Well, it could be five four, which is like take five is written in five four Or I like seven eight, seven eightats in a bar, or I like nine eight. And to ding donongs like me, it always sounds like it's a mistake. Like how did they keep missing this? Yeah you three four four is. But then to your point, Sting, you you it ends up making you a better listener. It trains you. You learn how to appreciate something that's a bit more sophisticated and consequently you don't get sick of that song as quickly as you do of the other ones. You're right. I think the brain is split in two as you know. One part of the brain analyzes or processes very simple intervals like thirds and fifths. The other part of the brain analyzes more complex intervals and more complex rhythms. So unless you've opened One side of the brain and not closed it off. you will not be able to appreciate difficult music. Yeah, and most people don't appreciate those nuances in the seven eight and the five four and the six nine and whatever I do. If I'm jamming with a guitar, I've been variably playing in seven That's w I don't know it.. Do you know do you know this this is you're going to make fun of me. Do you know the score of Avida at all I de I'll bet I would you told it to me. There's one song I can't remember l Rolling rolling, rolling, rolling, rolling, one, two, three, one, two, one, two, one, two, three, one, two, one two one two three That' seven eight, right? But Yeahah, yeah that sounds like a Westide story one or total no, no, no, dah, d, d Yeah, a little bit like syncopated You know, Sting, the first time I ever saw I was a kid when MTV started, and one of the first things I ever saw was synchronicity two video, which is still fresh in my mind and I love that song, I love that video. Were you someone who embraced The U the advent of video as it marries to audio and songs or Did you were like, o Godd, I gott to do this video. Like did you hate it or did you enjoy it? I think British bands had I think the advantage in the advent of MTV Because there was only one kind of pop show in England. It was called Tub of the Pops. It was the Chart show. Yeah. And if you got into the top twenty, perform on the show And if your record went up, you'd perform the next week. But if you were on tour, you had to make a video So it was and they'd show they'd show the video. So we had all of these Um, examples of videos we'd made when we couldn't turn up do the show That immediately went onto MTV. so we were well practiced. Oh w. Oh wow. So that was The second British invasion was due to that fact. Was that the was that' go? Could that be? W that the first time you were in front of the camera and started to maybe even have the spark of acting No. I said I had a lot of jobs. I was trying to make a living in London I modeled for a while and I I went to an advertising agency. And I was modeling a I think it was some kind of jewelry thing and I was a punk And it was shot by Ridley Scott Wow, Wow. Wow. You had a company called RSA. Sure And I did a lot of work for them as a kind of model on film. But wait so these were these was it print? Were these were stills or was it this was this was for advertising in cinemas. So in between movies. So then so then the the concept of Striking a pose, making a face, conveying a mood, a tone, through movement, through expression, body language, et cetera. that was interesting to you. didid it have anything to do with performing on stage when you're doing music? I guess what I'm sort of proud, I'm trying to what is your attraction to acting and cousin to what you like doing on stage. I think I've been osing my entire life. we all do it.. know, I think I invented blue steel, frankly Yeah. You are the originator of many things. ye Because I was in Zoollanda too as well. Yeah Yeah ye. With mister Justin Thoreau, we had a lot to do with those. ye actually proposed in my house. Yeah. And he said to me, do you think I should marry this girl? I said, Well, if you don't, I will love it. Is that true? Did he really propose in your house? Would I lie to you? No, it's true. He He comes to stay with us in Italy in Tuscany. You know, it's funny, the police, I mean, how many records did you guys release? five in five years? Is that right? like that? I don't remember, but ye I mean, it's I mean, it's really you I think your last was your last record S Snchronicity. Yes it was. And that was like nineteen eighty three. Yeah. Wait, that was the last one. Yeah. know, isn' isn't that amazing But then but then going into yeah And then and then you went into right. And then you went into everything else and all your stratospheric solos. Of course and end Do you Did it feel like you were going into a different fate? like did it feel totally different coming out of being part of a band And then going out on your own, was it just like a U what was that like I gu it was kind of strategic, you know, and kind of kind of intntuitive, you know, why would you leave the biggest band in the world at its peak. Yeah. I said, well, after this, everything's going to be diminishing returns. I want to start the adventure again and take that risk And also if I don't leave now I'll never be able to leave. Yeah. You know, I mean, I love the stones. The stones are fantastic, but they are welded together. Yeah You theyail I wanted to leave the band before that weld was entirely Right I just wanted some freedom. Right, rightight Yeah. Yeah. And the music while it while it was different it's still there was there was always a complexity to what you guys were doing just as a three man band. And when you went off and created another band, yes, was it was titled just Your name, but the musicians you put together were just incredible And that band as a unit made some incredibly complicated music. I was so glad to see the What was the name of the documentary of the recording of Dream of the Blue Turtles? Rring on the Night. Bing on the Night. Oh, fuck I love that movie. And watching you guys it was s some gorgeous chateau or manor or something was just Watching you guys do what you did, there was such a yes, you were the leader, but the sharing, the camaraderie that you created with them, it was so nice to see you guys all working together as co equals to create what you guys did. You know, one of my strategies has always been play with musicians who are better than me so that I would have to raise My game That was true with the police. That's true with the bllue turtles and it's true now. Yeah yeah.. I'm stillugg I'm still struggling to maintain my position because I hire people that are way better than me. Yeah. Yeah. so talkk to us about that about three point zero and about what excited you about creating that and what's's what's the goal there The goal was really to strip the songs down to their barest skeletal form and see if they are still sturdy enough to stand without all that flesh on it And lo and behold, there's so much air around the instruments and clarity that it is both louder and quieter at the same time. The dynamics are much more extreme Mean Meaning that you've taken just three fellas and you've stripped away a bunch of other things. And when you say the songs, you're talking about songs that include the entirety of your career or just recently or what? Just take away the keyboard parts, all the layered synthesizer parts the strings. And you're just left with guitar based drums and a voice. Yeah It's amazing how sturdy those songs are. I bet. I mean, it's just a testament to them themselves, you know, the songs themselves. What Are you still on tour with that Yeah. in between in between shows with the last ship, I'm touring with a band. Yeah, you trying to keep both things in there because I love them both. You just announced new dates, right? I think there's going be a domestic or a US tour in May, I want to say? Yeah, May. and May and then November I'm coming back for the midterms. Yeah. We need you We'll be right back This summer, if your group chat is throwing around, we should get away, Consider Scotttsdale, Arizona. Sure, it's warm, but that's kind of the point. because summer in Scottsdale comes with some very cool perks Like luxury resort rates starting at just one hundred and nine dollars a night. And you've got options, epic family friendly resorts with full on water parks or quieter pool scenes if your vibe is more do not disturb Ease into your trip and get your Zenon with sunrise yoga, evening star gazing, and generous summer specials at area spas. or book a sunrise tea time at a world famous golf course at rates way less than usual. Plus summer is the easiest time to land a reservation at Scottsdale's award winning restaurants, you know, the ones people usually humble brag about getting into And there's no shortage of indoor air conditioned spots to visit, museums, boutiques, art galleries, and the Southwest's largest shopping mall. Visit summmerinscotsdale. com and start planning your trip Who doesn't love graduation day? We' looking hats, tassels, real avant garde stuff, right? But seriously, getting your degree is a huge accomplishment. And with southern New Hampshire University, it's actually achievable. Over two hundred online degree programs, low online tuition, no set class times, real support from real people every step of the way Wow, SNHU really was designed for your success. You know, a cap and gown might actually look good on you. Head over to snhu d. u slash smartlist to get started Hey guys, you know how winter makes your car so filthy with like salt and the snow and the sleet and all the ice scrapers and shovels you keep in the trunk. you can bring in mud and blah, blah, blah, blah blah. When it comes to your car, winter is the real mess maker. Summertime Means nothing to worry about, right? Wrong You might not think you need Weather Tech floor liners for summer until half the beach ends up back in your car. And when campsite dirt ends up in the trunk, you'll wish you had a cargo liner. If your road trip goes awry with lemonade spills and ice cream drips, Weather Tech seat protectors are ready. Sure, you don't need Weather Tech this season unless you plan on actually doing summer, visit weatherTech. com today All right, back to the show Mixed in all of this, it should be noted,ve you've spent a lot of your time throughout your life devoted to activism for a lot of different causes likest Well, yeah, you I remember the the what was it the secret the secret police other b Oother ball. You were part of that. It was the first time you performed solo, is that correct Well, the first time since I became famous Yeah. Yeah yeah, yeah. Yeah. But did that and band aid and all these and then you've continued amnesty and stuff over the years. and where does that sort of fit in your life? Well, I've always had a social conscience. you know, I think as a member of society, you have a debt to society. obliigge And the blessed B is very good. French Um It's never been a question for me that I wouldn't be involved in issues like that. and The lab I mean, I don't write songs that are propaganda, you know, I'm always looking for a metaphor that I can express an idea in without just saying, you, you're good and you're bad. I have to have a metaphor How How are we doing in some of those um someome of those areas that you're passionate about, the rainforests and others. Well It's pretty bleak to be honest with you. you know, we u prrotected an area of the rainforest my wife and I The size of Belgium and The Netherlands And then with the Bolsonara government, they just made incursions into that And so yeah it's bleak Yeah It's not it's not a good not a good picture at the moment. Do you think that speaking of AI, do you do you see AI as something that be helpful in something like that. Well, I mean, if it's truly intelligent, it will tell us to stop burning the rainforest. Right stop polluting our rivers you know. And it may come up with some sort of an alternative. I get why you're burning it because you need X, but here's another way you could get X. Yeah. Maybe. Yeah. Maybe that would be a use useful or of your medical research, I'm sure. Yeah, yeah. really I'm applauding your optimism right now. Yeah.. this is a new I did see I think I was telling you guys about the documentary I saw the other day, I want to give a little plug to was so fantastic. It's called the AI document the AI dooc C can't wait the subtitle of how I became an apocalyptimist. And it's it's about a guy who's about to have a child and he is simply taking the position of the layman and saying to all of these experts Should I be worried about having a kid coming into this world given what we're hearing? Should I be bullish or pessimistic about AI's contribution to society and mankind? And it was not only a really entertaining documentary, but super educational. And I did come out the other side optimistic. And so I'd ask our guest here, you know, maybe specifically to music, but also just in general Um, if you're if you're willing to give us your your hot take on what you think AI iss going going going do for us? Well, I'll speak about my field. Yeah, talkal about music. You know, AI can create perfectly serviceable pop music that you would hear in a hotel lobby or an airport There's the difference between listening to something and hearing something So I'm saying, you'll hear that at an airport. I will know, its say I almost immediately But will I listen to it What I'm listening for in a piece of music created by a human being is that that human being has lived a life that human being has had its heart broken has been in love The machine can't do that machine doesn't have a family history, good or bad. It's just a set of other people's memories So I don't think we are in danger of losing I think people will know that this is a machine that's singing to them and it's not real I hope so anyway. And you think that maybe hopefully one of the byprods will be that people will really celebrate and really there will be a premium for live experiences with other human beings. like that will be hopefully one of the byproducts I agree. alsoso, you know, you your competing with a kind of perfectionism that machines can give you. Now think Artists in the nineteenth century are visual artists were challenged by the invention of photography. that could create reality in such a detailed way. So instead of trying to compete They created the Impressionist movement where they weren't painting objects anymore. They were painting the light around objects And that I think human beings will sidestep that perfection to create something I ag. Yeah, it's almost going back to what we're talking about with jazz. It's jazz by intention and by definition is improvisational and is meant to sort of mess it up a little bit. like you know, you can play the four, four time and make it all work, It takes a real master to kind of didentify the gray areas around that and kind of bend it and tweak it a little bit and then rearrive at something that's perhaps a little bit more predictable and then break it again. and I doubt a computer would be able to be that. We have to go through whatever phase this is in humanity of this AI to come back Vinyl's back. Like everything comes back, you know? And ye, think about vinyl. I mean, when we went to, what was your feeling when they started going digital to sort of CD's stuff and that kind of compressed sound and all that? How did that affect? I mean, we kind of enjoyed it. and I liked CD's, but there's something uncanny about digital silence instead of that white hissy noise you get record on which is kind of comforting. Yeah. Digital silence is very spooky. It's kind of like film too, right? you actually see film, you see some of the hair and some of the noise on the image whereas the digital And also the experience of like goinging out when I was a kid and forgive me again for like going out and buying one of your records And the day it came out. and cutting the the plastic on it. and you had a cell phone and then taking it out and putting it on the record player and looking at the lyrics and sing and that was the only connection that you had and it was so exciting. You know, you like I just went out and I got the new record, I got the new police record. like, you know, that experience where we're robbing ourselves of these experiences. in an entire world, you know? I mean, you can stream songs number but they don't tell you who played bass on them R tell you with the engineer, you know, where it was made. It's just it's just a product like coffee. it's a commodity. Right So you need that information and album covers satisfied an entire generation of which I'm part of. Remember that? That was our world. Yeah. You'd listen and stare at stare at the album cover for hours as you l to every detail of it. I did that with the carpenters. I used to listen to the carpenters. so on U Hey, Sting are we ever going see you Do some some some acting again Be you're a great actor. You I'm in myes. I'm in my. Yes. And I'm going to come see that and I'll be the guy in front heckling and judging. Will you go see him backstage, Jason? I'm gonna go ahead and come see her backstage, which I always find is a little sweaty, but I'm told that that's what the polite thing is to do. Do you like that? Do you like people coming backstage and? Yeah do you do? You're not exhausted and you just want to go home or you want? No, I want adulation. I want All right. I'm going come back. I'm just gonna you need to know that this is a thing for Jason that we've been do for years about the question as to whether or not to go backstage. What about after a concert Yeah Well, actually usually leave the building immediately in case they want their money back so. But with the last ship they don't just come and great. It's interesting, you know, we just listed all of the things that you do and that you don't, it just seems like you're the hardest working person in the world. I mean, what do you didid you say hardottest looking? hardest hardest working. Okay and the hotest I'll takeking. I'll takeestotest person hardest looking. Just with all all of the charity work you do, all the concerts you do, all the you're doing a live show, you're doing tour, you're writing more alums It's just endless. It's incredible. Like you said, your work ethic is just incredible. What do is Yeah, when are you an idiot ight? Yeah. What do you do What do you do that's just dumb as shit and you know, agreeing to do this show? Yeah Yeah You were the regt the regret must be a minute. You saw the title of it. You said perfect, That's me. Smot less. Okay. Like do you have any any guilty sort of that my brain needs to rest and do? Of course, I do. I'm not gonna He. Oh no, tell us. Sean likes candy Cush on his phone. Yeah. I have no idea what that is. Yeah. It's some dumb little games. G. But I would imagine or is it just nice long walks with the great trrudy Syler and just you know, I'm very gifted in life to have this beautiful woman who's been my partner forever forty five years, that's like, you know Thisince the Second World War And we just have a great time and love each other Yeah I mean, I w only here for six weeks actually because I'm going to Australia tomorrow do the last ship. So that's too long, right? I bet bet you guys have like a two week role like the rest of us. you get a Normally, but this is a long period. so ye Yeah,. It's a long time. What do you think about doing the show night after night? Like I would say the hardest part is If you're feeling like shit or you've got a stomach ache or a headache or whatever, you have to keep you have to go on. You know, there are two plays going on with the last shit. There's one that's on stage that the audience sees. There's another one behind the stage. You meet little cliques in behind stage at a certain point in the play and that's when you sing along with the person It in front of the stage, or you have a hand clapping competition. There are little rituals that you never stop You're doing both plays and I know where I have to be And we all do that. Yeah. Yeah Are you excited about have you have you played the Met before with any I've've I've I've performed at the Met with my band a couple of times. Okay. This is the first time I've actually been in a play in the Met and it's a massive theatre, but the set of the play is so huge. We are recreating a shipyard and it has an operatic scale I mean it's not an opera, but it has an operatic scale. Also, I think it has the emotional ambition of an opera. It's a very emotional place. I can't wait to see this. Yeah. And so did. didid the sets change for the Met? Are they built bigger? Are they more dramanic? Are they more operatic because of that venue? They're bigger because of the venue. We started out in Amsterdam and then we were in Paris in massive calls and it really works