ALBUM PODCAST with Joe Iconis and Jennifer Ashley Tepper

Written for the incomparable and ludicrously talented Liz Lark Brown, Velociraptor is a song about a creature who doesn't fit in. While the specifics involve a dino on the dating scene in modern-day New York City, the tune has become something of a theme song for a wider range of humans.

"My Best Friend's A Skeleton" An ode to an unconventional friendship in a whimsical yet ghoulish context. Joe wrote this song using the "my (blank) is a (blank)" format he'd been trying to crack for a while! Originally performed during the annual Beechman Halloween show, this bizarre and hilarious two-hander is performed on Album by genius character men George Salzar and Jeremy Morse.

Muthers R Speshel (Wen Yer Sad) is a unique collaboration between Joe Iconis at age 6 and Joe Iconis at age 30. The track is an updated version of the first song Joe ever wrote, interpreted here by Lin-Manuel Miranda. Ad-Libs by Lin.

This song was born... out of a joke. One of Joe's trashiest songs, this is ironically one of the most suitable for children. Sort of! There was this one time that Lance Rubin made up a fake dance craze called The Slide Whistle. And then Joe was hanging with Jordan Stanley and the rest of the crew. And then there was whiskey. And then there was slide whistle. Come on snakes, let's rattle!

The song that inspired the musical LOVE IN HATE NATION. Originally written as a one-off love song paying homage to 50s/60s Girl Gang films, Joe ended up adapting his own standalone into a full-length musical romance. Sung by real-life besties Lauren Marcus and Molly Hager and given a proper wall-of-sound production design that would make Ronnie Spector proud.

Another song from THE BLACK SUITS, "Social Worker" made the final cut of the musical. Joe regards this as a song that begins to bridge the gap between his early work and later work. There is no "Michael in the Bathroom" without "Social Worker." Sung by Nick Blaemire, this song is also responsible for Sept 18th becoming "Black Suits Day." Next time you win Joe Iconis songwriting trivia, you're welcome.

The character of Megan got cut from The Black Suits and along with her went her big number: "Joey is a Punk Rocker." Here, it makes a dramatic return nw, as sung by the incomparable Annie Golden, a woman who truly embodies the ragtagness and youthful energy of rock and roll music. Joe wrote this song during his Senior year of NYU Undergrad, a time when he was less hard on himself in regards to perfect rhyme.

One of the few songs on this album that can also be heard on an OCR, "A Guy That I'd Kinda Be Into" is from Be More Chill, but this is an extra special version meant to live on its own outside of the show. The multi-talented Seth Eliser is the performer and arranger of this rendition. Seth can do literally everything a human being has the ability to do. If the zombie apocalypse happens, Seth is the one you want to in the bunker with you.

The writing of this song led to one of the last fights that Joe and Jen ever had. Joe waited until the last minute to write this song for a concert Jen was producing, Jen needed the song a week in advance, Joe didn't deliver until hours before the show, and Jen was (rightfully) PTFO. But now it's one of her favorite songs! (If the song sucked, would Joe and Jen still be in a fight?!) Please listen to it while standing on 52nd St in NYC for a truly immersive experience...

This is the first full Christmas song that Joe has ever written. He loves New York City, he loves a cocktail, but he REALLY loves Christmas (the holiday garbage, not the religious stuff). Much to Jen's dismay, this song is not secretly about Bernie Madoff. The tune is sung by Grace McLean, who elevates it in an "unreal way" that straddles the line between humility and insanity.