Lasers on the Ride

Oh wow we’ve returned from our short hiatus! Welcome to s02e41! Apologies for our absence, so glad you’re still here. Things kick off with talk of rap and what originality means to the culture before pitting art form against art form to decide which one can go. They discuss Dilla and talk a lil about his catalogue and his long lasting influence in the arts and then examine the purpose and place of instrumental music and whether all artists are inter-disciplinary at their core. They hit “Top of the Hour” to answer some questions and then listen to Diddy as Monch and discuss the various ways in which one can now art. Mike and Markings talk a lil about their own personal endeavours and the motivations behind the pursuits before Mike brings out his podcast list and they chit chat about the stuff. To wind things down, they discuss best cocaine user musicians, guesting on Hot Ones vs Drink Champs and give some spicy takes on the current rap landscape. Laser-s!

Happy Holidays y’all!! S02e40 is the Lasers Christmas Special, an annual tradition where we gather round, make jokes, and talk merriment and stuff. They kick things off by examining VR and get real about reality before Jay hands out some gifts from the garbage. They pit colonizer against colonizer to see who comes out ahead, take a peek into the not-too-distant future where Markings is better at ball and talk their respective plans for Christmas. Mike gets everyone to share a demo before they give out some helpful advice for the new year on how to stop being a bum and examine the probable life of a garbage man. Top of the Hour hits and they answer some questions before some freestyles kick off and they talk Santa and whether he’s friend or foe to the well functioning of the family. They talk religion and KC examines his Catholic roots before they workshop an alien invasion that’s unique to the genre and discuss some of the crazy stuff that’s going on with Trump. To close things out, they talk some worst-case scenarios for the planet, figure out the origins of honky, and examine how the technology of tomorrow is gonna hit. lasers!

Happy early-Holidays yall! We’ve got a Christmas episode dropping next Monday, but to celebrate (and give you a little context for next week), we’re sharing last season’s Christmas special. Listen in to hear where it all starts to unravel. Here’s the original description. See you next week :)

Merry Christmas from Lasers on the Ride!!! The episode kicks off with the introduction of a drinking game and discussions of good and bad presents of yesteryear. The gang discusses the tradition and each Laser’s respective plans for the holiday and then traumatic Christmas experiences from their youth. They broach the rules of secret santa and whether picking your own name and following through with a gift for yourself makes you a sociopath, in which case the Lasers are 2 for 4. They exchange gifts and KC’s mom videochats in and sings Little Drummer Boy for yall before KC drops a Christmas freestyle. They phone some friends to wish them a Merry Christmas and close the stuff out with Eazy-E’s Christmas album.

S02e38 welcomes rapper / producer Maky Lavender to the podcast to chat about music and life and stuff :)) It opens with Maky giving us a little lesson into letting go before everyone talks why clothing used to be xtra large in hip hop and why it’s annoying when people won’t just let you live. They agree that guys are gross and talk just how robot sex can get before taking a closer look at the evolution of what’s acceptable when shooting a shot. They talk what issss cool, why porn at a young age is a problem and why some dudes just can’t achieve sex before Maky shares how clout is benefiting his love life. They wonder why someone would date anyone way younger before hitting Top of the Hour to get through some questions and talking the ubiquity of cocaine. They discuss over-indulging and detail their artist rider before Mike goes through his podcast notes and they take a closer look at sexual behaviour. Maky takes a crack at a self-portrait, talks getting bullied as a youngin and generously shares a demo that he’s been working on. To close out, they talk gaslighting and share some getting the short end of the stick stories before Maky tells us about what’s coming up next. Lasers baby!

S02e37 welcomes perfumer Dana El Masri, owner of Parfums Jazmin Sarai, who just so happens to be the significant other of Markings, to talk all things coupledom and also other stuff with Markings and Mike and Brittain. It kicks off with talk of polygamy, marriages of convenience and the different iterations of love before moving on to using emotion to sell stuff and whether it's acceptable to love your grandparents. Markings explores his ability to New York, Mike and Brittain take stock of their relationship and share some insight into surviving the lows in a longterm union and everyone talks shitty television. They talk growing vs loving and everyone shares the particular version of trash entertainment that they consume before hitting "Top of the Hour" to answer some Qs. Dana and Brittain talk self-love and how it manifests in your relationships with others, Dana shares a little about her background, all the places she's lived and how that's shaped her before they laugh at a show about awful, passive-aggressive tattoos. Mike brings through some podcast notes and they talk death and the disposal of loved ones, Montreal rappers, and social media being stinky, and Dana uses her synesthesia to describe the smell of some sounds and tells us a bit about what it feels like. They talk lying by omission and name unproblematic white people before talking the senses and how intimately smell is linked to memory and emotion. To close out, Dana and Markings share an argument they'd had that morning and talk road-testing a new relationship before the group breaks down the limits of what is white and talk being in love with someone's smell.

S02e36 sees Mike and Brittain welcome writer / journalist and music critic Erik Leijon to the Lasers podcast! To kick off, they talk cannabis going corporate before Erik gives some insight into his process when covering music and his approach when it comes to critique. They move on to the Post Malone apocalypse (a-post-calypse) before talking how to find new music, the problems with the big playlists, whether writers can still break artists and then tear down Justin Timberlake. They play ‘Genre Reveal Party’ and Erik talks being fancy on the Polaris Prize Jury, the diversification of his writing portfolio and what’s going on with the indie bands of yore before they hit ‘Top of the Hour’ to answer some Qs. Mike and Erik talk a lil about their Swedishness and the glory of Stockholm and then everyone talks roving packs of dogs, International edition. To close out, Erik draws his self-portrait as he shares some of his wedding prep and Mike runs through some ‘podcast notes’ that they discuss before examining New York’s stranglehold on hip hop’s narrative. laaaAASERSSSS!!

S02e35 is here and it has Mike, Markings and Brittain back to talk that talk and make some jokes and stuff. It kicks off with discussion around the benefits of modern conveniences before Markings teaches Mike and Brittain about the guayabera shirt and everyone talks achieving balance when monetizing your passions. They discuss cool and take it down to the studs before hitting Top of the Hour to answer random questions. Moodboards get taken to task as they analyze how they’ve become crutches in creativity before Mike tells the tale of how a pair of drop crotch pants almost ruined everything. They discuss disruptors in marketing and being willing to go all the way for what you believe in and then pick favorites from the classic New England designers before Mike runs through some ideas and they examine some of his most controversial opinions. Next up, they dig a lil deep into streetwear and take a closer look at expensive underwear and the psychology behind them before Brittain shares her desire to dress her future kids like sailors against their will. They explore the world of Super Mario Brothers, including the awful movie that was made and Markings’ love for the character who shares his name and move on to the importance of teaching gender non-conforming to the children to make sure they grow up good. To close out, they talk psychology runs everything around me before sharing parting words on Steph Curry, mixed babies, childhood trauma (lol), and entrepreneurship. Lasersssss :)))))

S02e34 features a compilation of previously unheard conversations from a few of our favorite episodes this season thus far. Conversation kicks off as Mike, Jay and KC consider how to save baseball from its inevitable demise before Markings explains to Mike and Miro LaFlaga how to know when it’s time to let go. Next up, Lex Garcia and Markings discuss how to really really be an ally, Brittain, Markings and Mike talk a lil about addiction and Mac Miller’s unfortunate passing and Jay talks weed strains. Miro LaFlaga and Markings take a closer look at kufis before breaking down some of the highs in Miro’s career and talking why it’s important to acknowledge wins and set goals while growing. Lex Garcia talks about influencing the youth and how quick these new kids are coming up before Mike, Jay and KC speak on Louis CK’s bad behaviour and Mike, Markings and Miro discuss the end of the blogs. To close out, Mike and KC explain curation to Jay, Miro LaFlaga talks everyone being a brand and the cyclical nature of fashion and Jay talks porn and then his stock portfolio.

S02e33 is a b-side episode, piecing together previously unheard conversations from certain episodes this season that we saved to entertain you all but really ourselves. It kicks off with discussion between Mike, Markings and Stephen Malhotra on the Drake and Pusha thing before Mike and Jay examine the reality of photography and why we share. Next up Mike, Jay and Markings talk gambling and when it’s fun vs when it’s sad and Mike and Jay decide against a pen pal before Imaan Browne shares his evolving thoughts on organized religion and Stephen Malhotra speaks on how Nas is trying to get with it. Mike gets deep on going inside of oneself, Stephen Malhotra and Markings examine Quebec culture and get into why white people tend to be the worst and Mike and Jay talk Lebron in LA before playing “Who Do You Trust” - a Lasers exclusive. Mike and Imaan talk being decent in these streets, Mike, Jay and KC examine getting bothered by stupid stuff and Markings worries about giving it all away out here on the internet. Imaan Browne and Mike talk best rappers’ best projects and Mike and Jay get real about the status of their working relationship and what’s going on with Lasers. To close out, we hear Markings, Mike and Jay take a deep dive into Life in 1472 for various reasons, none of which matter. Lasers baby!

S02E32 is the Fattaloween episode of Lasers on the Ride and Mike welcomes Jay and KC back for the occasion. They kick off by talking the provenance of Canada’s hockey heart and then rank spooky stuff before everyone shares their scariest experiences. Jay shares a bad bank experience and wonders why tellers tend to be pretty before they hit Top of the Hour and pick scary songs. They tell international cockroach stories, talk the nature of fear, and KC tells a spooky tale you’d have to see to believe before Mike hits them both with an ultimatum. Jay recommends a scary movie while KC tries to keep him grounded and they talk celebrities’ haunted stories and then just bad vibes, man. Jay contemplates sex with animals under apocalyptic conditions, they talk the big questions like good and bad and god and stuff and Jay and KC draw self-portraits for us. To close out, they talk what comes after, going inward, literally, and unveil their drawings. Happy Halloween and Laaaasers!