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Throughout the afternoon, Duchovny sings parts of various songs aloud, from Robbie Robertson’s “Broken Arrow” to Blue Oyster Cult’s “Shooting Shark.” He quotes song lyrics (Elton John’s “Come Down in Time” and Warren Zevon’s “Desperados Under the Eaves”) and references numerous artists spanning various genres and eras — Laura Nyro, Sly and the Family Stone, Alice In Chains, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Hayden, Sia, and Pinegrove. He beatboxes while tapping his fingers enthusiastically on the table in front of him when he mentions Timmy Thomas’s “Why Can’t We Live Together.”
He’s also swift with a quip or observation, whether it’s Hanson’s “MMMbop” (“That song was magic.”), Aimee Mann’s “You Stupid Thing” (“Deadly. You don’t want to break up with Aimee Mann or make her mad.”) or Stone Temple Pilots (“I love that band. They really got shit on from the critics, didn’t they?”). And he speaks earnestly about songs he finds particularly moving — Daniel Lanois’ “The Messenger,” Harry Chapin’s “Cats in the Cradle” (“As hokey as it is, I’m defenseless.”) and Bob Dylan’s “Blind Willie McTell” (“It’s the perfect lyric that ties unrelated historical sadness to personal sadness in a mystical non-linear way.”).
