Entertainment
THE INSIDERS: FUN.
“pop music is basically alcohol for kids.”
On a rainy Friday afternoon last month, pop-rock trio fun. took over Sons of Essex restaurant in New York City to play an acoustic set from their new album, Some Nights. After the show (which was the most rousing, energetic acoustic performance we've seen in awhile), Liza Darwin and Ali Hoffman snagged the band's lead singer Nate Ruess to talk about some of his favorite things: pop music, rom-coms, and Kanye West.
How did you guys first meet originally?
NR: We had toured together but in different bands. And as soon as my last band broke up, I had kept tabs on those two specifically and we started fun.
Who is the #1 artist you'd love to collaborate with?
NR: Kanye West right now.
If you could soundtrack any movie, which would you pick?
NR: It would have to be a Paul Thomas Anderson movie. It's been forever since he's released a movie, though. I saw his last film the day it came out, and it's my favorite movie of all time.
Which was that?
NR: There Will Be Blood. My girlfriend prefers the rom-coms though, which I prefer as well. But occasionally I like to take a break. Last night, we fell asleep to My Big Fat Greek Wedding. There's no pretension in the movie-watching that goes on in my apartment [laughing].
What's the most embarrassing song on your iPod that you secretly love listening to?
NR: No song is too embarrassing for me. I've been a part of some very embarrassing songs that will come out in the next year; I love pop music. You know, some people have very heavy lives and they just want to listen to music and dance. And I don't see anything wrong with that. It's no different than alcohol; pop music is basically alcohol for kids.
Why the period in “fun.”?
NR: It's because when we first came up with the name for the band, our manager told us to Google it and make sure no one else had it already. The thing is though, when you Google “Fun,” all you get is kids go-carting and shit like that. Anyway, turns out that a Swedish death metal band already had the name, so they told us to do something to differentiate our name because they were ‘the original Fun.' So we decided to go with the full stop after the word fun because then we're not beating someone over the head with the word fun. We thought with the full stop it could have an element of sarcasm. But it's better to be asked that question than like some kooky radio guy being like, ‘So why are you guys fun? What makes you fun?' That's really annoying.
