cover of episode 8: Enemies to Lovers

8: Enemies to Lovers

2023/7/4
logo of podcast The Broski Report with Brittany Broski

The Broski Report with Brittany Broski

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Brittany passionately discusses her love for the Throne of Glass series by Sarah J. Maas, highlighting the strong female lead, engaging romance, and world-building.

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Hello everyone and welcome back to the broski report starring me your host brady broski the host of the broski report with brady broski oh my god guys i have i have so much to update you guys on oh my god oh my god first of all let's get it out of the way yeah i've had three fucking cups of coffee not only coffee but cafe bustelo if you remember from the first episode when i talked about how cafe bustelo is fucking jet fuel i mean honestly like cafe bustelo i know you listen i know you're listening

Hello. Hit my line, dude. You know, you know, you want me. I love you guys. This is my Sherlock Holmes mug that I got at the Sherlock Holmes museum in London, United Kingdom and London. What city is London in? No, that's not what I meant. Like, it's like, it's like Liverpool. Uh, and then there's like a little area. Stop. You guys don't know what I'm talking about. I'm not a fucking idiot. Hold on. Sherlock Holmes museum.

Uh, Baker Street, 221B Baker Street, London, NW1 6XE, United Kingdom. I visited three years ago. Dude, that's what I mean. Maybe I'm an idiot. Actually, if you're a British listening to this, I'm sorry. Hey, if you're British, sorry. For a lot of reasons. I'm sorry that you're British and I'm sorry that you had to hear that. I can say that because I'm British. Look at me. You can't look at me and tell me I'm not British. I don't think anyone has ever looked more British than me.

Oh my God. I did a YouTube video where I did a corpse bride makeup and I was putting it on and I looked at the final result. I fucking ate by the way, it's on my YouTube channel. Go watch it. And I finished the makeup and I was like, I think this is my everyday makeup routine. It was like totally blue face, like huge eyes drawn on like half dead. I was like, I don't think I've ever looked better.

It's something about the Tim Burton style that just suits my face. Because I have huge fucking bug eyes and a tiny mouth. Like every single Tim Burton character. I was like, you know what? There's beauty in that. There is beauty in embracing...

I think that if I could ever preach one message, it's that it's not everyone needs to do a fox eye makeup or clean girl makeup or Haley Bieber, this Kendall Jenner, that you have such beautiful specific features. Play those up because those bitches can't look like you. That is, you know, that sounded so like cheetah girls. They will never be you. And that's what makes you cheetah-licious.

Like that is honestly, when I started embracing my large kind of downturned eyes, I've never felt prettier, dude. But that's because of TikTok. Like TikTok really helped me embrace my features. Cause for the, I did,

That like really pointy cat eye for so long. That was just so much black eyeshadow and it got everywhere and it would fade during the day and I felt pretty, but it wasn't like, like I feel so comfortable when I do like kind of just brown smudge around my outer eye.

corner and like really accentuate how round my eyeballs are instead of trying to do the you know cat eye and so I think that that's my advice is like if you have a big nose bitch slay big nose is fucking slay there is nothing to me more attractive than a roman nose I love that I love the look I think it's so there's something so like noble about it I think like just like I just embrace it okay guys that's all I have to say I have a big fucking forehead embrace it

Okay, so here's what I really wanted to talk about today. I started reading... I started reading Throne of Glass.

If you're not a book talk girl or person, let me like put you on, dude. So much of my content up until literally right now has been fan fiction and like enemies to lovers and reading that sort of shit that's like men like that don't exist. You have to get it from books. Oh my God, dude. I found, cause I'm on book talk and I saw this video come across my For You page that was like,

enemy best enemies to lovers uh books that really exemplify that trope and i was like thank fucking christ because a court of thorns and roses was that for me like i have never never read a book that exemplified it more than core of thorns and roses like and it was good enemies the lovers twice twice in the same fucking series it was twice she did it with two men oh oh it was so good

But Tamlin, okay, I actually won't ruin it if you haven't read Court of Thorns and Roses. Read that first. Because the book I'm about to talk about is by the same author, Sarah J. Maas. Sarah J. Maas. Sarah J. Maas is my god. My god! Used to be Stephanie Meyer. Used to be Suzanne Collins. Now it's Sarah J. Maas. Ooh!

Okay, so she did Court of Thorns and Roses, which is this, what I've talked about on, I explained it on the TMG podcast of like, it's the fae fairy realm and the human realm and how they interact and how they hate each other. And there was a war and all this stuff. And the fairy realm, quote unquote, is supposed to be like squirming.

Scotland and Wales and Ireland. And then the human realm is like the very Southern tip of the UK. And then the beginning of the European continent in, in her cinematic universe. And so now in this series I'm reading, it's called throne of glass, which I think this came out after court of thorns and roses. When did Akotar come out? 2015. Yeah. So this one came out after, but I think it's set before.

Like it's kind of giving Game of Thrones House of the Dragon situation where House of the Dragon is set before, but it came out after. You know what I'm saying? What I'm talking about. So I started Throne of Glass and holy shit, holy shit, dude. Holy shit, dude. It's about an assassin. This girl who's an assassin and she's like 18, 19. And she's been in this like slave mine. She was sent away, captured and sent away.

by the king and uh she gets taken out for a special purpose and i won't say any more than that but like there is this dynamic dude and of course there's two men dueling for her attention there's two men dueling for her attention

And of course, one of them is this suave, charming, like the banter is so good. Like she writes the banter so fucking well. And I like acted out in my head where I'm like, I am her. I am her.

And I acted out in my little pea brain. And then the other one that's, that's, he's more like stoic military man, but like only she can make him crack. Like only she can really warm his heart. And he, he misses her when she's not around. And he knows this is the thing that I love about fucking Sarah J Maas bitch. She can write the, write the fuck out of a lead woman. She writes the fuck out of a lead woman. And she perfectly knows,

characterizes these lead women as strong, independent, self-sufficient, but not in a cringy girl boss way, in a way that's like truly the power of the divine feminine power.

But then couples that with the beautiful dichotomy of what it is to be a woman. Of you can be all that, strong and powerful and get shit done. But also lean into that soft femininity and what makes being a woman so fucking magical. Of you can be both at once. Like the beautiful simultaneous dichotomy of strong and feminine and powerful but also...

I don't even know how to describe it. She perfectly, perfectly exemplifies that in all of her characters, her lead characters. And it's just so... It's been a while since I've read a book where I'm like, I'm not cringed out by it. You know, like I've read... I read some dark academia books that were like, they tried to do that. Oh my God, I read this book called Ninth House. Don't fucking read it or read it and make fun of it with me. I read it and I was like, this is just so...

All over the place. And they tried to do that. They tried to do this lead girl who's like college age, who's been given a special gift and she has an incredibly traumatic past. But it's seemingly like for no reason. They don't really do it well where it's trauma for the sake of trauma. It's not to make her a better person.

person or for her to take a lesson from that and learn from it. It's just like these really graphic traumatic scenes and details that really have nothing to do with the story. So I don't appreciate that.

At least with Sarah J Maas' characters, it's like the lead women have been through some shit, but all of it has informed their adult life and informed how they approach relationships and you see it with callbacks. And it all interweaves way better than some of these other dumbass books I've read. So anyway...

Okay, so she has the two love interests. One is the like charming, witty one who's a womanizer. And then the other one is this stoic like, can I tell you? Can I tell you who I imagine for both? Okay. And I don't think I'm ruining this. If like, if you're starting with Throne of Glass, because I think there's like eight books in this fucking series. If you're starting with Throne of Glass, this is where I'm starting. Because there's one book before it.

Here's who I imagine for Dorian. Dorian is the prince who is charming and witty and has the banter. And I don't know his fucking name, but he was in Shadow and Bone. Ben Barnes. Okay. Ben Barnes is who I... Oh, Christ.

This is who I imagine to play Dorian. Okay. Like sexy, black hair, kind of like beard, very regal, very charming. And then this is who I imagine as the military guy. His name's Kale Westfall. And he's the captain of the guard for the king in this book. And then...

in my brain because I have to fan cast. Like when I read a book, it has got to be a celebrity or someone that I know to like play these characters. I can't just dream up a new character. Like it has to be a celebrity. Sorry. Sorry. Am I wrong for that? Sorry. The person that I... Captain Westfall is the fucking Disneyland actor who played Anakin Skywalker on Star Wars Night.

I don't need you guys to ask me any further questions. I don't need you guys to interrogate me. I don't need you to pass judgment on me. I have a bunch of these videos come across my For You page, along with a bunch of other horse shit that comes across my For You page. And this is not horse shit. I saw this video of this Disney cast member

who was casted to play Anakin Skywalker, young Anakin Skywalker, on Star Wars Night at Disneyland, literally like a month ago. And this is, okay, this is who I imagine plays the military guy. Like that is so specific and annoying and stupid, but like I can't, he is, he's him. I can't get out of my head. And I'll watch TikTok fan casts. I'll watch TikTok fan casts of Throne of Glass like,

Who do you think plays the lead girl? Who do you think plays Dorian? Who do you think plays whatever? And all of... I'm like, wrong. People pick Jacob Elordi to play K.O. Westfall? No, bitch. It's the fucking Disneyland cast member. He is my Captain Westfall. He is so hot. I don't know what it is. I think it's the fucking eyebrows. And him in this, like... Him and the Annie. Oh, my God. I don't... I, like, can't contain myself. I'm babbling. I'm babbling like a little girl. Dude...

I'm like, no, the fan cast get it wrong. You don't understand. You don't get it. Anyway, let me know. Okay. I have this thing where when I start talking about something that I really, really love, but it's really niche like that.

I get super self-conscious, but then I'm like, I don't give a fuck. Because if you don't like what I like, you will like what I like. Because I'm mandating it. As of right now, everyone has to start reading Throne of Glass. I don't care where you are. I don't care who you are. I don't care what kind of books you like to read. You need to go to a Barnes & Noble. You need to go to a Books A Million. You need to go to your Kindle. And you need to purchase Throne of Glass. I don't care, dude.

and read it. We're having mandatory book club. This is absolutely a requirement for Broski Nation citizens. I'm not arguing with you. Read it or get out. Read it or you're banished. Read it or turn in your key. Turn in your ID. You are not allowed back in the building. I don't make the rules. I just enforce them. Can we get like a royal decree? Can we get like a gavel noise? Laura, can we put a gavel noise right here? That is my royal decree. I don't care. Guards!

I'm going to get the guard. I'm going to sick the guards on you guys. I think broski nation should invest in like a Royal kennel to have guard dogs, but it wouldn't be like scary German shepherds or anything like that. Maybe one, just cause I think German shepherds are cute, but it would be like really tiny, uh, crusty, crusty white dogs. Um, you're like white dogs with the eye boogers and I would just sick them all on you at once. It'd be like 300 of them.

And if you're like, I don't want to read Throne of Glass. I don't like fantasy novels. I'd be like, I've heard enough. And then I sick my royal kennel on you and they come and like, not your ankles. And it's not enough to like, actually have you go to the hospital. But it's like, ow, damn, ow, ow. God, it's just enough to annoy you. And then it's like, oh my God, stop.

And then I do like a really cool whistle where you put your fingers in your mouth and you whistle and all the dogs come, heel, heel. And then they all run back to me and come and like sit behind me. That's your fate if you don't read Throne of Glass. Oh my God, dude, it's so good. It's such a slow burn. But usually like I'll read a novel, novel. I'll read a book and it's like,

Okay, where's the fucking romance? Like, that's all I care about? I'm like, where are they gonna rub on each other? Where are they gonna lick and rub on each other? I'm 26. Yeah, where are they gonna bump and grind on each other? In the royal chambers. My tax is sitting unfinished. My tax is late. I'm getting fined. Yeah, when's the assassin and the prince gonna rub on each other? Anyway.

I always like, that's usually when I read a book, I'm like, okay, now where's the love interest? You know, because I love the, yes, independent, self-sufficient woman lead. Love that, right? But I get bored. So show me, show me the love interest. Damn. And you know what? For the first time, and I will admit this, I don't usually read like gay love stories, right? Because I'm

I like dick and cock. And you did it at my birthday dinner. Sucking dick and cock. Like, it was just like, no big deal. Like, sucking dick and cock. Like, I'm just like, oh my god. Time and place. And you did it at my birthday dinner. Literally me. It's like sucking dick and cock.

That's so embarrassing when I watch a video on YouTube, my own features on other people's channels come up as a recommendation. Brooke and Connor, TMG part one, me on TMG part two with Cody, me on Zayn and Heath unfiltered. That's castle ambience. And then making a Valentine's Day dress while heartbroken with Makara Tewers. I love her. And then my ASMR stuff, I have to sleep. Anyway. And you did it at my birthday dinner. But I did read...

The Seven Husbands of Evelyn Hugo. And I'm not giving away too much. Maybe I am. By saying that that was the first book I read where I fucking cried over a gay relationship. Like, oh my, I was like a wreck. I read it on a plane, dude. Like the flight attendant came by and was like, ma'am, are you okay? I was just reading. Sorry. It's just like a beautiful story. And I've been told I need to read Song of Achilles.

Which I will read a bit. It's on my shelf. I bought it. I will get into that after I finish this fucking eight book series, Throne of Glass. And you know what time it is. I'm tucking my sweatshirt under my boobs because I am sweating. Okay? Can you see it? Nope. Movie magic, baby. Anyway, so... What was I saying? Oh, usually I have to have...

that sort of romance to keep my interest sparked, you know, like the will they won't they or the I fucking hate you to like the moment where they they brush hands or or she gets scared. She has she like grips his arm and then he realizes, oh, my God, I think, you know, like she gripped my arm. And so I think that in Throne of Glass, it's this beautiful, perfect sleigh, amazing, gorgeous development of romance.

My I'm team kale. Okay. I'll get into it. I'm team kale. He's the like kind of stoic military one whose heart really just only beats for the lead girl. I really love the way that Sarah J Maas has portrayed the

their relationship because I'm only I finished the first book and I'm halfway through the second book and I'm trying to savor it but it's so good I'm like I finished the first book in two days like I have to slow down because I finished Akatar too quickly and I was like no because it's over

I really, really love how she's taking her time with their sort of developing, I don't even know if it's a relationship, their friendship, their developing friendship. And there's definitely the little like flares of this will be more, it could be more, whatever. Like he's feeling the same way she's feeling because she'll narrate it from both perspectives. But I really, really appreciate how she has written this male character to respect the

the lead woman's independence. And I'm noticing that that's a theme in a lot of the author's books is here we have this honestly like strong warrior woman lead who can handle herself, can handle her own. She does not view her womanhood as a weakness. Femininity is not a weakness. It's a strength and she uses it to her, to like her strength.

She knows the effect she has on men and how people underestimate her and how they view her. She uses all of that to her advantage. And it's such a beautiful, beautiful thing to watch. But she wrote this lead male character to not only respect that, but to be there as a sort of support system, which I think is really, really... You don't really see that in books a lot, encouraging this healthy relationship between

of, I'm going to let you shine and I will be here to support you and to watch. I don't need to protect you. I don't need to speak for you. I don't need to represent you on your behalf because you're this weak little female character. It's like, she's the fucking star and he is there to catch her when she falls sort of thing. And I think that that is such a refreshing trope

Theme in a lot of the author's books is sometimes that boundary gets stepped over, you know, where that male character says, actually, I love her so much. I care about her so much. I am going to step in because I need to protect her. And it's not necessarily this. I don't think that you can protect yourself. It's that I have an overwhelming desire to protect you.

And I can't stop myself, you know, because I don't the lack. I would kill myself if you die or if you got injured or if you got hurt and I wasn't there to save you. So it's not that like I need to save you. It's that for my own, you know, mental well-being, if you died, I couldn't handle it. And so it's interesting how this dynamic kind of ebbs and flows of he respects her autonomy, but loves her so much. Sometimes he steps over the boundary and she gets fucking pissed.

And I don't know if she can't understand that he only does that because he loves her. But regardless, she's fucking mad. And then, of course, they have to have the confrontation where she's like, I can protect myself. I don't need you in my business. Like, this is my career. I can do what I do. Like, don't fucking leave me alone. And he's like, I would if I could. You ever think for one second it's because I care?

And then it's the silence of she's like, oh my God, I didn't think about that. He cares about me. And then they both get butterflies. And then it's still like, well, shit, girl, y'all have something to talk through. Because yes, he's doing that because he cares. But girl, he's still overstepping a boundary. So how do you talk about it? Oh my God, it's so, so scary.

so good it's so good and i can't and it's all the disney cast member who plays it so stupid my brain i'm like yep it's that guy

Anyway, you have got to get into Throne of Glass. It is so, so, so fucking good. And I'm reading it on my Kindle. So I found, my mom got me a Kindle in 2011 as a birthday present, I think, or as a Christmas present. And I used to read like City of...

City of Bones. Do y'all remember that fucking book? And they butchered the movie because they had, what's her name? Lily with the eyebrows. Her annoying ass. Emily in Paris. That's her fucking name. Lily Collins, dude. Oh, her eyebrows piss me. Oh, God.

Yeah, they had Emily in Paris play the main girl who I loved that series. Dude, that was my favorite book series for so long. And then it was this weird, like, I don't know if you want to read it, go for it. I don't know. They butchered the movie and they're never going to make another one, but I don't want to ruin the plot. So skip forward 15 seconds if you are like, I'm about to ruin it.

They're like brother and sister, question mark. And that's a question for a long part of the series is like, are they fucking related? And they kissed. But then turns out they're not. Anyway, spoiler over. I really love, because in City of Bones it was this will they, won't they, whatever. And then that plot twist is revealed and it's like, oh, what the fuck? And then it's okay in the end because they're not. But anyway.

I used to read that on my Kindle. And so like, I, my Kindle has been sitting on my bookshelf. It's gone through like six moves with me since I was in like seventh, eighth grade. Yeah. Like eighth grade is when I got my Kindle. So it had city of bones. It had Jim Gaffigan's autobiography for some reason. Me as a freshman in high school, like got to read this. I want to know what the white men are saying. Yeah.

Stupid. I had Twilight in Spanish. I think that was probably an assignment from my Spanish teacher in high school. It was like, read your favorite novel in Spanish. And I was like, period. Twilight. Because I already knew the plot. I was like, this would be easy. It was so fucking hard. I had that. I had, oh, I had the final Hunger Games on it.

But I say all that because I had to wipe it because it was connected. Anyway, y'all don't care. Actually, I had to wipe it because it was connected to my mom's Kindle account. Anyway, hey guys, we'll get back to the show.

I totally wiped the Kindle. And so it's brand new. I had to manually update it. I felt like a fucking hacker. I connected it via old USB. I'm a hacker to my laptop. I had to physically download the update and drag it onto the Kindle file. And then it updated after like 30 minutes. And, uh,

I was able to buy Throne of Glass on my Kindle. And so I bought all eight books in this one, it's like technically one book in my Kindle library. And I don't know, I love reading on a Kindle, but I like being able to see how far I am in the book. And that's one thing where I'm like, ugh.

But I need to get through this series. And then I have so many other ones that I need to get through. There is a massive, massive anti-Colleen Hoover movement. And I've never read a Colleen Hoover book. And I bought one. I will admit, I bought one. And I haven't started it because I'm scared. Because...

That's the antithesis of everything I just said. Like how Sarah J Maas really encourages these healthy communicative relationships where the woman's womanhood is not trodden. You know, it's not like...

stepped on and continuously disrespected. It's heralded and it is the main focus of the books, I would argue. Colleen Hoover is the fucking opposite, I guess, where it like glorifies these toxic, scary relationships. And I've never read it and I'm kind of, I bought Verity. So let me know in the comments.

If you've read Verity, if you've read, like, just thoughts on Colleen Hoover because there's a reason why people are buying these books, right? Like, it's, Colleen Hoover's all over book talk. I don't know what the tea is. Is the story good? It's just, like, not really promoting the right thing? Or is it just drama and people love the drama of a toxic relationship? I know I do. When my friend's going through the toxic relationship, I want to hear every fucking detail. Obviously, because that's my friend. I'm like, fuck you.

But like, I want to know. So is that it? It's like, it's like a reality TV episode. I don't know. Anyway, let me know your thoughts because I've watched a couple of video essays on YouTube of people just going in on Colleen Hoover of just like how terrible, not even the story, but just her writing is, but she's a New York Times bestseller. Like a lot of these books are trending on TikTok. You walk into a Barnes and Noble and there's a whole table dedicated to Colleen Hoover. So it's like, what? Anyway. Ugh.

So get into Throne of Glass. That's the main... That's the main gist. With Blissy. I just love fantasy novels. I love...

escaping into a different world. I loved Court of Thorns and Roses because she is so good, the author's so good at world building, and I fully, fully, like, I know what's going on, right? In this world, I know what's going on. I know the history. I know where the fairy realm and the human realm stand with each other. Like, I know the long and painful retelling of the history of this world.

And it's kind of similar with Throne of Glass. I just love that. I think that's why I love Game of Thrones so much. I love this whole getting lost in someone else's world because that's the point of reading, I think. I don't want to be in my world. Dude, my world is stressful and it's traumatizing. And like, especially living in fucking America right now, I don't want to think about it for three hours at night. You know, I just don't. It's a lot. And she fully, I think Sergey Mas might be one of my favorite authors. Like,

So good at world building. The dialogue's incredible. The plot is incredible. There are twists and turns and information is revealed in a way that's like cliffhanger, which is a good book. If she ends a chapter with one sentence and it's like, what? I have to keep reading, right? That's, it's so good. If I were in medieval times, I would have been shot. Yeah.

medieval times i would have been a jester for a king and i would have spoken at a turn and i would have taken an arrow to the fucking chest i know without a doubt i would have died if not of that then a fucking chronic diarrhea something would have happened or they would have made me the one that like tries the king's food be like this isn't poisoned my lord and then i'd die because it was poisoned

Like, if I lived in medieval times, dude, there's no way I'd be. Also, there's no way to win in medieval times unless you were nobility. Even if you were like a high lady of the court. If she was a noble woman. Lady Brittany and Lord Bruschi of the kingdom of Bruschi. Like, still, you're shitting in a bucket, you know? Everyone's dying of dysentery. The plague.

There was just really no way to win unless you were royalty. And even then, fucking royals pissed in the corner of castles. Did y'all know that? In the Palace of Versailles, people in their huge gowns and dresses and all the regal attire would just pop a squat in the corner of a room and piss. Crazy. I know it smelled crazy in there. Also, another piece of history having to do with smells is

In the early 1900s, before cars were really adopted, people were still wearing or using like horse carriages. They used to put in department stores, the perfume section is always at the front of the store because the horse shit in the street smelled so fucking bad that the perfume department was there to mask it. Did you know that? Also, I think that's when they started installing carpets in stores.

I could be totally, totally lying, but I do know that that's true. The horse shit from the street smelled so bad around department stores that they, that's why the perfume department's at the front of the store. Anyway, I definitely would have died if I was in medieval times. Cause I would have been like basically a Brienne of Tarth sort of thing. If anyone's Game of Thrones fans where she was like the only lady knight, cause she was so fucking big.

They respected her as a knight of the realm because she was good at what she did. She wasn't really like pretty enough to be a lady of the realm. And she was tall and strong and intimidated men. Period. Brienne of Tarth. She's the blueprint for real. I miss Brienne of Tarth.

But I'm so not athletic. I would have been the court jester and they would have made me do drag. I would have been a drag king and they would have made me dance around and do shit like that. And then I would have said something as a joke to try to get the king to laugh and then he would have had me executed because I overstepped. That would have been my fate. Speaking of medieval stuff, my medieval show is coming out in July. Because a lot of you bitches, you've been asking questions. You thought that this podcast was going to be the medieval thing. No, no, no, no, no.

No, no, no, no, no. My medieval show comes out in July and the first two guests, you're going to fucking die. The first three guests, you're going to fucking die. It's going to be so much fun. So keep your eyes peeled for that. It'll be on my, on the Brittany Broski YouTube channel. Also speaking of medieval stuff, I am such an advocate for my little ambience, ambiance, ambience videos on YouTube.

Ambience, ambiance. Ambience and ambience are both correct spellings of the same word. Ambience with an E is the more popular of the two, but ambiance is acceptable. Okay, I thought that maybe one is like British and one's English. I mean, one is English, one's English, one's American. I always argue about this with my British friend because I'm like, he's like, that's not how you say it. And I'm like, it is how you say it in American English.

You know, like that is technically correct for American English. It's like how you spell the word practicing or practice. In America, you use a C, practice. And in England, you use an S, practice with an S. It's the same fucking word. It's different spellings because y'all had old medieval spelling that makes no sense. And we have the correct spelling.

And we would go back and forth all the time because I'm like, no, just because it's the American version doesn't make it incorrect. It's just American English. And he's like, but it's American English. The language is English. And I'm like, yeah, you're the fucking colonizer, not me. Also, speaking of accents and language, I really...

Something that comes across my For You page a lot, which I eat up, dude. I eat it up with a fork and a knife made of 24 karat gold. Yeah, cut a little. And it comes. Yeah, give me the soup. I eat it up. Is the dissection of Southern American accents. In the South alone, right? The Southeastern United States. There are enough accents around.

that like rival that of probably all of Europe. It is so crazy. And it's also true in Europe, how every 15 miles in the UK, for example, the English accent quote unquote changes.

From Liverpool to Birmingham to London to Essex to Bristol to Blackpool, it's all different accents. Doncaster, Yorkshire, they're all different. And that is crazy. And then you go a little farther north and it's Scottish, which is like a totally different language.

And then Welsh, which is a different language. And then Irish, which is a different language. It's crazy, dude. There's so much history and there's so much... Like language is living history. Language is literally anthropology with a pulse. It's crazy. I love linguistics. Anyway, in the Southern United States...

A lot of what people don't realize is that southern accent came from an English accent, a colonial English accent. When a bunch of them came over on ships and they talk sort of haughty-taughty like this, it sort of opened up and turned into this sort of, you know, old Georgian, what were they called? Um...

like etiquette balls and things like that. What fuck, what is that called? You know, like early 1800s, mid 1800s plantations, things like that. Those people had direct English and Scottish and Irish ancestry because they came over on boats. So that sort of opening up of

the back of the mouth, this lazy Southern, you know, whatever that turned into. Sometimes when you get down into Texas, it really is the back of the mouth. Like, and it kind of closes up. And then when you get into, Oh, it's so interesting, dude, the Carolinas are so different.

Eastern Tennessee is so different. Florida, people from Florida have an accent, but there's so much, many blends of culture in Florida too. Anywhere from, I mean, when you're in the panhandle that it feels like a completely different state from Miami, where there's such a mix of Latin culture with, you know, you hardly hear Southern accents in Miami, but some in the panhandle, when you're so close to Mississippi and Alabama, you hear them. Oh my God. I could talk about it for hours and hours and hours.

But yeah, people don't understand or realize rather that the Southern American accent is a direct evolve, a direct evolution of a British accent. So yeah, the more you know. I could watch hours and hours of documentaries on it. And I have. It's so incredibly. And then on top of that, because of course language and music are always intertwined, Southern American folk, which is, of course, you have to mention a

heavily intertwined with black music and draws a lot, I would say majority of inspiration from Southern black gospel music. They're very intertwined. That aside, folk music in, you know, the below the Mason Dixon line is very heavily inspired from Scottish and Irish folk songs as well, because of course that's their heritage. People, and I forget the exact delineation of,

But I think Scottish and Irish people settled Appalachia, and then the coastal states were more British. And that's why there's such a big difference. I could be talking out of my ass, but I think that's why there's such a big difference in dialect and using certain words and even saying Appalachia versus Appalachia. It has everything to do with the ancestry and the heritage and the nationality of people who settled. So...

That to say, a lot of bluegrass folk songs sound just like Scottish and Irish folk songs, which is so fucking... To trace back...

a similar style of singing. You know how bluegrass and I forget what's the exact term for Scottish or Irish. Shannos singing Irish for old style is unaccompanied traditional Irish vocal music usually performed in the Irish language. And it bears so much similarity to bluegrass, American bluegrass, Ralph Stanley, Earl's Grugs.

that sort of music. It just really shows off the vocal range and it has a lot of riffs and, and sort of, you know, it's really impressive singing when you really get down to the base of it. It takes a lot of technique to sing traditional bluegrass and traditional Irish and Scottish music. So to see how obviously they're intertwined. And I honestly have a lot of family in Tennessee around the pigeon forge area that, um,

is directly descended from like English and Scottish. Like I can trace my lineage back because of course I'm wider than fucking snow. I can trace my lineage back to the UK, which is crazy. But I think that's so, I mean, there's a lot of parts of Southern culture to not be celebrated, obviously, obviously, but Southern culture is,

as a whole is so distinctly different and rich compared to, you know, the Pacific Northwest or even New England. Like it's just such a different way of living and of viewing life. And I find that so, so interesting. America has such an interesting history. And although a lot of it is dark and disgusting and bloody and humiliating, Southern culture is this strange place.

phenomenon to come out of it. And I really, I could just write a thesis on it, I think, of my identity as both a Southern American, where I've lived all over the Southeastern United States, and also someone who made it out. You know, do I really connect with Southern culture anymore? Kind of, but also kind of not really.

I will admit, I do cherry pick parts of Southern culture that I identify with because so much of it is bad. It's rooted in hate and it's rooted in fear and xenophobia and racism and homophobia. And I don't want to be tied to that. I do not want to be tied to that because that is the antithesis of who I am as a person and what I represent. But the good parts of Southern culture, I think, which is a sense of community, Southern hospitality,

The music, the food, the good parts of Christianity, which is love thy neighbor, you know, and my house is your house. And I will give you the shirt off of my back. I have met people like that. And I have people like that in my family who really, you know, in a biblical sense, like actually the Bible says,

to live Christ-like, which is what, I mean, every Christian should, and it's very rare that you meet a Christian that does. But I have people like that in my family that just, they are servants. They are humble servants to their fellow man, or rather to God, I guess. But I've seen that sort of faith in real life, and it's a beautiful, beautiful thing. And gospel music is...

something that I cannot explain. I grew up with gospel music. I grew up with modern Christian music. And that was the first time in my life I realized music, regardless of the lyrics, is spiritual. That is something in our bones, I think, as humans. And not to be cringey or preachy, but I do think that it is something I cannot explain.

Music is spiritual. Whether you're spiritual or not, it touches something deep inside of us. And for some reason, you know, bluegrass to me and American gospel music really, really speak to that. And to be able to trace that back to Scottish and Irish, you know, like these are songs centuries and centuries old that just what a chilling thought to think about.

It connects you that far back in the history of humanity. That being a human, as the world changes and develops and grows and evolves, humanity at its core is still the same. And we still bleed the same and we still love the same and we fear the same. It's so... Fulton music is just... What a gift. Anyway, holy shit! Holy shit, guys! Anyway...

All that to say, you need to listen to the Oh Brother Where Art Thou soundtrack. That soundtrack to that movie changed my fucking life forever and ever. Amen. I love that soundtrack. All that to also say, Hosier, I love you.

Hosier, if you wanted to release an entire album of just you singing Irish folk songs, I would buy it and I would push it and I would get it tattooed on my entire body. And also bring back Bluegrass 2023. We need to write bluegrass music, new bluegrass music. People like Billy Strings are bringing it back, bitch. Billy Strings, I tip my hat to you, soldier. Don't look at my greasy roots. Don't look at my dirty fucking hair and my oily skin. But Billy Strings, hi.

Freedom by Billy Strings. Holy shit. One of the best songs ever written. All right, guys. That just about wraps it up for me. I think we really covered it today. We really... I've said so many words today and I'm about sick of hearing my own voice. So thank you for watching. Thank you for listening. If you're only listening, come check us out on YouTube. We have an entire YouTube channel that you are missing out on. My beautiful set. Come look at the set.

Rate me five stars. Go ahead and subscribe. Go ahead and listen on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, wherever Samsung people get their podcasts, Google Podcasts, whatever tickles your fancy, whatever gets up in there and tickles your gooch. Turn on the post notifications. We upload every week. And I love you guys. And peace.