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Tacocat's Favorite Things on the Internet

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The music video for “Crimson Wave” is similar to retro cartoons like Josie and the Pussycats. What are your favorite cartoons?

Emily Nokes: Josie and the Pussycats is a band favorite for sure! The movie, also, and the songs—we used to cover “3 Small Words” on tour sometimes! I love Bob's Burgers right now, and classic Simpsons. We had a heavy Home Movies phase, followed by Metalocolypse.

Bree McKenna: JEM AND THE HOLOGRAMS! Emily and I were Pizazz and Roxy from the Misfits for Halloween this year (Misfits as in the Holograms' rival band, of course).

What were your first AIM screen names?

Nokes: I was always using YLIME or like YLIME19 for all things early internet. Backwards name = so cool. Still cool even, I might bring that back.

McKenna: I never had an AIM! But Eric just told me his was EmoEric back in the day.

In an (online) world filled with memes, .gifs, and satire, what internet news sources do you trust?

Nokes: I only really read the Stranger's Slog (news blog) when I want to catch up on current events (which is only sometimes), but I'm extremely biased because that's the newspaper I work at and our news staff is “on it” as they say. I guess if you see something on Facebook enough, you can trust that too haha. I get a lot of Facebook news unfortunately.

McKenna: I read the Stranger, too! And also, I follow all the magazines that I like on Twitter and end up checking most stuff out from my feed.

Your album title—NVM—is a nod to Nirvana. Who are some of your favorite past or contemporary Washington bands?

Nokes: Sir Mix-a-Lot, the Tupperwares, Chinas Comidas, the Fastbacks, to name a few past greats.

McKenna: Chastity Belt and Pony Time are my current favorites! But it's really hard to decide on my favorite local bands because I love so many; Universe People, NighTrain, Wimps, Don't Talk To The Cops, Half-Breed. As for Washington bands of the past—Beat Happening and Dickless were always old favs of mine.

You guys are going to play Sasquatch Fest! Who are you excited to see?

Nokes: OutKast! Die Antwoord, Gifted Gab, Big Freedia. Tune Yards and Yelle might be fun, and M.I.A.

McKenna: Chastity Belt! Parquet Courts! Big Freedia!

What are your favorite emojiis?

All of Tacocat: Salsa Dancer for sure. Smile cat with hearts for eyes. Smile face with sunglasses. The alien face. All the tiny little desserts!

Several of your songs address natrual body functions that are not gross but somehow people still are uncomfortable talking about them. What are the best and worst reactions you have gotten about these topics?

Nokes: A long time ago, some goon described our band as “sluts that sing about STDs and shit.” For the most part, though, the reactions are pretty great—I used to get ladies at our shows telling me about their UTIs because we had a song called “UTI” on our first album, but now with “Crimson Wave” I get the scoop on everyone's cycles, which is so funny. Real talk! It's pretty rad that all this completely natural lady stuff is getting more attention in the mainstream now too, like, half the population is built to bleed every month. Why is that a secret? Why is that gross or shameful or bad? It's not! It's fine! It's all fine.

McKenna: We also have an unreleased hit about the HPV vaccine that got a couple shitty comments after shows. A few dudes over the years have taken some of our music's subject matter about the female body to mean that we are open to creepy sexual advances.