Quarantunes: A playlist by Radnor & Lee

Kevin Bronson on May 19th, 2020

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Josh Radnor and Ben Lee — whose second album as Radnor & Lee comes out next month — are surviving these “strange conditions” with a little levity, like sending each other funny tweets and doing a cover of the viral kid’s song “I Wonder What’s Inside Your Butthole.” Wonder what else they’re up to? Here’s today’s QUARANTUNES:

THE LATEST FROM RADNOR & LEE

Actor-director-musician Josh Radnor and prolific songwriter Ben Lee had known each other for more than a decade, often bonding over things philosophical, by the time they decided to try writing a song together. The chemistry was there, and in 2017 they released their self-titled album, “Radnor & Lee.” The collaboration has outgrown what one would call “a side project,” and three years later the duo have their sophomore album “Golden State” ready for a June 19 release via Maria Taylor’s Flower Moon Records. They introduced the album, which was originally scheduled for a May release, back in February with the single “Outside In.” Last week, they followed with “Simple Harmony,” which sounds like a sweet ’70s nugget and has a video, directed by Sam Fragoso and filmed in February, to match.

HOW ARE YOU HOLDING UP AND WHAT ARE YOU DOING TO MANAGE THE ‘STAY AT HOME’ EDICT?

Ben Lee: We have been trying to be spontaneous and creative within the limitations. Our cover of “I Wonder What’s Inside Your Butthole” kinda went viral — and that’s something we would probably never have done except under these strange conditions. We recorded it remotely and pieced it together and released it all within about six hours!

Josh Radnor: We’re also sending each other tweets that make us laugh, which eats up many, many hours of the day. Personally I’ve been writing a lot of new songs and am going to (with Ben’s help) start learning how to record at home. Right now feels like the right time to acquire that skill.

WHAT ARE YOU MOST LOOKING FORWARD TO WHEN THIS IS OVER?

Ben Lee: Obviously, playing live is the holy grail for musicians. But since we are so uncertain about when that will be, we are just getting excited about sharing our album with people very soon.

Josh Radnor: Our initial round of shows that got canceled were all scheduled in advance of the album release. One upshot is by the time we get to play live again people will have spent some time with the record, which is a different experience than playing a show of songs people are hearing for the first time. So I’m looking forward to that, whenever that might be.