We’ve hosted five years of laughs, tears, and lots of great music. Nearly 250 guests bared their souls to us and took on the painful task of choosing FIVE songs that have inspired them throughout their lives.
Many have complained about how torturous it is to choose just five, but the result is a 10-minute window into someone’s personality, more so than just their music tastes.
Check out five of our favorite moments (with Conan O’Brien, Felicia Day, Marc Maron, David Sedaris and Anthony Bourdain) in our anniversary episode and read some fun facts about the show below.
Guest DJ Project — By the Numbers
Top 10 Most Picked Bands:
THE BEATLES
RADIOHEAD
BOB DYLAN
ROLLING STONES
LED ZEPPELIN
BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN
ELVIS COSTELLO
ELVIS PRESLEY
JONI MITCHELL
THE WHITE STRIPES
Is anyone surprised The Beatles take the top spot? They were by FAR the most chosen, with 22 mentions. The best part is that everyone picked a different Beatles song. Only “Yesterday” was chosen twice.
Number of people who have cried:
Three – all men — and one DJ (Anne Litt, a lovely sentimental soul), though many more have choked up.
Number of times the producer (me) has laughed so loud it was bleeding into the mic in the other room:
Once, with Director Nick Stoller. But I think there were a few other close calls, including Tig Notaro
Guest that made DJ Eric J Lawrence blush and giggle nervously:
Actress Elizabeth Banks. And she thought it was hilarious.
Number of guests who chose a song from the musical Jesus Chris Superstar:
Three — Mike White, Tim Heidecker, and upcoming Guest DJ Jason Sudeikis. All funny guys. Hmmmmm…
Best stories about meeting rock stars:
Cassandra Peterson (aka Elvira) hung out with Elvis AND Jimi Hendrix. Hard to beat that. Though William H Macy had a great story about Paul McCartney.
Garth Trinidad is the coolest cat around. Which Guest DJs made him lose his cool?
Milla Jovovich (she was gorgeous AND rapping Eazy-E!) and Padma Lakshmi (she wasn’t even in the studio, but her voice alone did the trick).
Best life philosophies learned during the Guest DJ Project:
Wayne White and Gary Baseman are two artists with an incredible outlook on life and art. Both of these sets are worth a listen.
Many more to come!
RR