Bret McKenzie: Flight of the Conchords, Lord Of The Rings Cameos & Oscar Win

Is comedy music the hardest art form to perfect? Comedian, actor and Oscar-winning musician Bret McKenzie — one half of the legendary Flight of the Conchords — joins Romesh to unpack life at the funny end of songwriting. From winning awards for work “Disney didn’t even like” on The Muppets, to touring his “serious” new album Freak Out City, Bret shares stories from the road, recalls his unexpected appearance in the Lord of the Rings trilogy, and throws himself into a UK vs New Zealand Marmite-eating challenge.

A Ranga Bee Production in partnership with Listen.

00:00 Intro

03:11 Hype men gone wrong

06:05 Bret's new tour

11:45 Marmite: UK vs New Zealand 

19:58 Flight of the Conchords

23:00 Work changing with time

27:05 Comedy songwriting

28:44 Touring the new album: Freak Out City

33:33 Writing music for film

39:07 That's not cool dad

42:00 Misquoted

50:22 Lord Of The Rings Extra

57:51 Shanthi’s question for Bret

59:41 Oscar Win: Man Or Muppet

1:05:45 Oasis Exclusive 

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices