The comedian and musician on how The Boss inspired his new album ‘High School’ as he gears up for his Two Tims Tour.
On the second - to - last song ofTim Heidecker ’s new albumHigh School , he unleashes a dirty growl in the bridge circuit that can only be discover as Springsteenian , as if Heidecker shotgunned a can of Bruce juice before entering the transcription booth with an American flag bandanna in his back pocket . " I ’m a weed - wackin ' , lawn - mowin ' , leafage - blowin ' , snow - shovelin ' boy , " he crackles in " What Did We Do With Our Time ? " It ’s one of Heidecker ’s many opuses about teenage nostalgia , both gay and full of ennui : chilling with the dudes during summertime break , watching his friend sitting stone in a schoolroom , find parking - lot fights , plucking around on a guitar in your puerility bedroom , scan Kurt Vonnegut for the first clock time .
Longtime fans of Heidecker — best known for his absurdist drollery on shows likeTim and Eric Awesome Show , keen Job!,Tim & Eric ’s Bedtime Stories , and theongoing web seriesOn Cinema at the Cinema — might be surprised at the earnestness infuse in his most late deal of songs . We should n’t be . It ’s been present in his study for years , includingRick Alverson ’s movieThe Comedyand Heidecker ’s current podcastOffice Hours . His seven studio apartment album have gotten progressively less tongue - in - cheek since 2011’sCainthology ( Songs in the Key of Cain ) , which goofed on former Republican presidential wannabee and CEO of Godfather ’s Pizza Herman Cain . His 2020 recordFear of Deathseemed to catch everyone off guard duty , the " oh , shit " moment where critics scrambled to take Heidecker ’s Serious Music for what it is instead of waiting for the punchline .
" Because I ’ve remain and preserve doing these melodious projects , and people are warm up to the fact that it ’s not just a joke and that I take it earnestly , that ’s distribute around the euphony community a bit , " Heidecker tells Thrillist over Zoom .
Photos: Andrew Levy, Aaron Rapoport/Corbis/Getty Images, Getty Images/Bob Riha, Jr.; Design by Maitane Romagosa for Thrillist
He infiltrated Mac DeMarco ’s home studio apartment to recordHigh Schoolover the class of a week . " I was talking to Mac about it the other day and he was like , ' Yeah , I thought you guys were just coming over to do some demonstration or just try on something for a day , but then it was like , ' Oh , we ’re actually make a record book , ' " Heidecker recalls . " We just dove right in . "
orchestrate by Drew Erickson , who worked on the new Angel Olsen and Father John Misty records , with contribution from Natalie Mering of Weyes Blood and finishing sprinkles by Eric Johnson of the Fruit Bats , every birdcall onHigh Schoolwould fit smoothly on a summer - jams playlist to soundtrack backyard barbecues or meandering trips down a river . Plenty of medicine publications have address it one of the year ’s honorable rock album . Now , Heidecker is contain it on the roadfor a month - and - a - one-half tour that twin Tim Heidecker and His Very Good Band with the boorish tie-up - up part he introduce in his lockdown special , An Evening With Tim Heidecker . The project of throw his brain from comedian Tim ’s " No More Bullshit " act to rock-‘n’-roll Tim for 36 nights does n’t seem to faze him .
" perhaps it ’s just because I ’ve been doing live performance for so long , " Heidecker say . " There is this weird matter where I can just stand by the side of the level and spill the beans to whoever ’s there , and , ' What are we going to do after the show ? ' and , ' It looks like a upright crowd , ' and , ' Yeah , I ’ll see you afterwards . ' " Then I go out there , I ’m just this other person . I do n’t recognise why I can do that , but I can . " Aside from hit sure he think the watchword to his own song ( " I ’m really bad with lyrics , " he admits ) , the only " dull but true " thing he ’s doing to fix is keeping in contour , physically and vocally . " I have to warm up my articulation a sure way . I have to verify I ’m unfold and I ’m run every day . I just do n’t want to be four days into the show and throw my back out and then be like , ' Well , fuck . What am I hold up to do now ? ' or drop off my vocalism . And I ’m rehearse the song every day . "
In the brief waiting geological period before the start of the Two Tims Tour , Heidecker shared his anticipation to play more thrilling shows . That mean " introducing new songs [ in sound check-out procedure ] and going long on some songs , or just opening up a footling bit , " he say , hoping to finish out the appointment and lead powerful back into the studio apartment . Like The Boss , Heidecker is constantly puzzle out and evolving , and with his Springsteen - inspired songs , I asked him to get into the music and legend of the iconic rocker .
How Bruce Springsteen inspiredHigh School
Listening to the omnium-gatherum of folk and classic - rock influence on Heidecker ’s novel record album , it ’s hard not to learn a Springsteen - esque hint in the songwriting . But Heidecker gravitated to one album in particular as he wroteHigh Schoolin the thick of the pandemic .
What were you listening to when you were writingHigh School?One of the openhanded things I was listening to — because the record album was written mostly during the pandemic and being at home and just working on my own , write song in my basement and stuff , or my studio apartment service department — during that period was hisLive 1975 - 85 . It ’s this classic box set that came out properly afterBorn in the U.S.A. It ’s this iconic covering on stage , a side guess of him . I never really listen to that record in particular , but it was this amazing storey being told because it ’s chronological order , pretty much . I would go on a six - mile walk , and it would be a couplet hour listening to the record . I would n’t always get through it in one go , but I was like , " Man , this is really cool . This sounds enceinte . This circle cooks , " and it ’s a good listen . It ’s a skillful time .
It starts with his clubhouse bear witness , play The Roxy and these little sway venues , and then by the end of the four - CD boxwood band , you ’re in giant stadiums and doing " Glory Days " and stuff . There ’s this really nerveless musical journey that he goes on , and you go on with him .
Bruce Springsteen during the ‘Born to Run’ tour in 1975.|Fin Costello/Redferns
There ’s a story he tells . He does these enceinte stories before the songs , and he does this one before " The River " that is about his daddy . Him and his pa did n’t get along , and they had this very contentious relationship . He tells the story about how his dad sustain desire to cut his hair and wanting him to get his shit together and all this stuff . And Bruce has to go up to the draft board to see if he ’s going to get drafted into Vietnam . He says when he comes home , his dad asked him where he was . Well , before that his dad says , " You ought to join the Army . They ’ll rack up you up . They ’ll cut your hair , " using that as a threat like , " I ’m going to place you to the Army . " But when his dad finds out that he did n’t get drafted , his pop sound out , " That ’s salutary , " and it gives me chills . It ’s the lamentable and the sweetest story .
The evolution of Springsteen
The Boss has been a omnipresent presence for basically 50 year , but even as his biggest hits maintain their topographic point on classic - rock radio stations , his life history has swerved into territories — some great , some not so capital — driven by his artistic pursuit .
For you , as a performer and a music appreciator in general , what do you recover so interesting and inspiring about him?I first became aware of Bruce Springsteen as soon as I could read or compose . plausibly , it would ’ve been " Born in the U.S.A. " and seeing videos for " Glory Days " and " Dancing in the Dark " that would ’ve been my awakening or my first concept of him . He has tremendous wholeness . He ’s set up this career as an artist who cultivate really hard to do what he thinks he wants to do artistically , and has just been himself the entire time . His medicine unquestionably takes step to the left and to the right , and he ’s adventuresome in his " I ’m going to try out with doing a Glen Campbell - sounding record , " or " I ’m going to do this very folky , lo - fi record . " He ’s always push himself , but he still maintains this core artist that is him . But at the same time , he ’s very originative and able-bodied to produce a character in his songs , and a persona that is not him . There ’s apparently this character that he is in theBorn to Run , Darknessperiod , this working - division , blue - shoe collar guy that fixes up cars . That ’s not him , but he ’s such a good narrator that we believe that to be him . But in his Broadway show , he blab about how these are characters he ’s created .
I ’m a expectant Bob Dylan guy , but Bruce takes what Dylan was doing and takes it to another level , which is combining this incredible vitality and musicianship and fun . There ’s a lot of fun , I think , in Dylan’sRolling Thunderperiod . But the fun of that ring and Springsteen ’s push , and the power and the excitement of that ring together , is just infective and moving . He ’s a gravid Isaac M. Singer . I think people do n’t verbalize about this , but he ’s a great guitar player . His solo are insane , and they ’re him , and you see him doing it live . He makes it calculate really gentle . Maybe that ’s why he does n’t get the attention for it . But he rips . He destroys on these solos , and they ’re toilsome . He ’s the full package .
Bruce Springsteen performing at the LA Sports Arena in 2009.|Armando Gallo/Getty Images
Since you brought up Dylan , specially now , I feel like people are just like , " Oh , God , another Bob Dylan record . We ’re really doing this again?“Well , I would push back on that because I reckon Bob ’s later record album , Rough and Rowdy Ways , would be in my top 10 of his . I would say I retrieve he ’s operating on a very high level at the bit .
Does Bruce have a washout era?I was thinking about that this daybreak . I mean , theHuman TouchandLucky Townperiod I ca n’t really get into . There ’s something about that ' 73 - to-‘84 flow that ’s just damn almost sodding . The audio of the band , the calibre of the call , the vigour , it ’s all there . There ’s ups and downs in his late catamenia , but it ’s always interesting , what he ’s doing and what occur next . How do you stay on the same , but not be redundant ?
Okay , I will also say at this clock time that I am a lax Bruce Head . Yeah , a loose Bruce .
Loose Bruce . Nebraskais the album that I palpate like a raft of hoi polloi point to as " this is really his chef-d’oeuvre , " but I ’m curious if that rings true for you , or if there ’s another album that really associate for you . Darkness on the Edge of Townis the one . It is a perfect record album , and it ’s just got it all . I have in mind , in all likelihood one of my top - five favorite songs of all clock time , " Racing in the Street , " is on it . I appreciateNebraska . It has an indie - cred affair going for it that I get because it ’s such a great counterpoint to the big , bombastic arena rock ‘n’ roll . But I like heavy , bombastic arena rock music when it ’s done really well , and when it ’s not just for nothing . Bruce always has a message or a item of view or something that makes you think , makes you sad or reflective or nostalgic or something .
Then I look atBorn in the U.S.A. , which sometimes gets write off , and I look at the B - side ofBorn in the U.S.A.It ’s kind of insane . If I ’m looking at it now , it ’s " No Surrender , " which is a great song . If you do n’t know " Bobby Jean , " that ’s one of the slap-up one . " I ’m Going Down " is gravid . " Glory Days , " " Dancing in the Dark , " and " My Hometown " are the last three songs on that record . It ’s just one after another , just slaughtering . Totally unskippable . There ’s one or two skippable Sung dynasty onBorn in the U.S.A.So , those two , I was like , " Born in the U.S.A. , he ’s already in the ' 80s . You got a flock of synths on there . The drum sounds weird . " But I ’m coming back toBorn in the U.S.A.as a solid contender .
Speaking of drumfish in the ' LXXX , they have a very particular quality to them , that weird reverb . Yeah , gated drumsis what it ’s call in . That ’s our foeman . But it ’s cool . It can be used very in effect , for sure .
If anyone ’s look for a late - period gem out of Bruce , you get into these records : Magic , Working on a Dream , Wrecking Ball , High Hopes , this new one , Letter to You — there ’s just a lot of music out there that I do n’t know how many people duck into . But now that we have cyclosis , you’re able to dip into anything , and there ’s a Sung on the recordMagiccalled " Girls In Their Summer Clothes " that I love and is a very cool product and very catchy Sung that is just lay to rest in the middle of one of these late - full stop book that I recommend to everybody .
The moment Heidecker’s fandom was nearly ruined
Springsteen has a report for being a cordial , normal guy out in public , gamely set for photo with New Jerseyians or being a skilful Samaritan around Monmouth County . But Heidecker ’s closest run - in arguably should have turn him off from hear to The Boss ever again .
I sense like friends from New Jersey always have some Bruce story of , " I stopped at a traffic signal , and there was Bruce , and we curl and had a little chat , and then he drive away . " Growing up in Allentown and as you were living in Philadelphia , were there any legendary anecdotes being traded around about having a run - in with The Boss?I do n’t have any personal ones . I do have a digressive one : It ’s awing that I ’m a Bruce Springsteen buff because my orientation course at college , at Temple University in Philly , was you go for the weekend and stay in the dorms and learn everything . One dark , I was in my way and it was 11:00 , and somebody down the hall had " Streets of Philadelphia " on repetition for an 60 minutes .
I did n’t translate it . I did n’t understand why somebody would want that . Why would you want that going on ? But the style that song starts , it has thisdoot - doot - tck dodoo - dodoo - tck , and that would just reverberate throughout the dorm G. Stanley Hall , and it would just be like , " Oh my god . He ’s doing it again . " The song would start . It ’s the drum thing again , and very scar . But I ’ve never had any liaison with anybody near that organisation , the E Street world . perchance one day .
Seeing Springsteen live
The Boss ’s live show are legendary . Even as he ages , he remains one of the greatest performers of all time , pull through three - and - a - half - hour sets mixed with storey and orations that transition from one vocal to the next .
I assume you ’ve seen him hold up . I’ve only seen him once , and it was very beautiful , spiritual . I took my wife , and she was not a fan but was run beyond impression at being in the elbow room with not only the band and him , but the bunch and their energy and vocalizing along . It ’s funny — he writes so many Song that have these " ohh - ohh - OHhh , " and it ’s easy to sing along . It ’s well-situated to become a part of the show .
It was in LA at the Sports Arena . It was 2006 , around then , but it was suspect because it was at another perilous time in our country . The Iraq War was going very badly , and there was a deal of talk about torture and Abu Ghraib and the U.S. Constitution and who are we as a people , and Bruce was right in the middle of that , being very anti - bush-league and anti - Iraq War , and talking about mislay who we are . I call back this couple sit around behind us . It was an 8:00 show . It was Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band . There ’s no other routine dally . You ’re there to see that .
citizenry are trickle in , and it ’s 7:45 , it ’s 7:50 , it ’s 8 , and the theatre light are still on . It ’s 8:05 , perchance , and this dyad behind us — they must have come in from the desert or something , all denim and look a little Trump - y. I would n’t have said that then , but they were looking a niggling Trump - y. At 8:05 , this guy rope goes , " COME ON ! " as loud as he could : " amount on ! What the hell ? " I was like , " Dude , have you ever gone to see any … " Then five minute later , the lights go down and the show starts .
Then afterward in the night , when Bruce give this , " We have to take a look at ourselves . We know this is not who we are . We are Americans , " and he does this matter , and it was pretty overtly liberal in his point of view . It ’s not just a " we ’re all one people " thing . A few minutes by and by , I look back , and those family line had split . They stepped out . They were done .
It was funny , but Bruce does play to these Brobdingnagian audiences . I ’m sure Chris Christie ’s in the audience , and all kinds of right - wingers are his fan base in a mass of ways . But he still speaks his thinker , and he ’s still very politically active , and not quaver in that manner . I think that ’s just the form of hombre he is .
It goes back to the affair that you say about his integrity , too . He knows that he is one of the biggest player on the planet , and yet he does not care about alien the fan base to play it all position . Yeah . I ’m rum if it ’s going to really start affect his tour next year . Are there those Trump religious cult members that are go to just not go ? It ’s become so intertwined now .
The longevity of The Boss
Springsteen does n’t have any seeming foeman or public feuds , which is somewhat shocking considering how long he ’s been active . He just gets better , and more assured of himself , over clock time .
I do n’t believe it exist , but does Bruce Springsteen have a nemesis that you know of?Does Bruce Springsteen have a curse ? Well , I think you could say Billy Joel is a friendly contention . Both career are chugging along at the same time . There ’s Bruce from New Jersey , Billy from Long Island — how they meet in the centre . It ’s shady that Dylan , I think , felt that Bruce was the rival , the Thomas Kyd coming to take his treat , and something happen with Bob in the ' seventy and the early ' 80 , where you start seeing him get tone up and wearing leather singlet with his biceps out , and you ’re like , " You ’re totally jealous of Bruce and his physique . "
I also saw Bon Jovi . the great unwashed tried to make that into two New Jerseyians butt heads . Oh , I do n’t … Hell no .
I do n’t reckon so , though . That does n’t experience right . No , no , no . Yeah , I do n’t regard him a serious person .
I also imagine he ’s really aging nicely . I think there ’s some of these guy wire that do n’t age . Bono is a guy where I feel like he ’s not aging cracking , and it ’s not about how he look . It ’s what he ’s wear and what he ’s doing with his whisker and everything . Bruce , he keeps look better .
I think for everybody in showbiz , whether it ’s medicine or anything , it ’s like , how do you keep doing this for a long catamenia of clock time and not incinerate out ? How do you not turn into an oldies playact ? All these thing that I think some people are sound at and some people are n’t , and I recollect he ’s very much at the top of the listing .
He ’s not writing cringe poems about Ukraine that Nancy Pelosi read to Congress . The one thing about Bruce I did n’t get anywhere near was his Obama podcast . I think that that feel a slight cringey , a trivial … I do n’t know . I do n’t require to take heed you two talk about each other .
This interview was edited and condensed .
