This Terry Gross interview with Questlove is a great companion to yesterday’s piece.

My favorite part comes about midway through, when Gross asks Questlove about Ashlee Simpson’s lip-synching failure and the rumors that “lots of acts” lip-synced. Questlove offers a thoughtful defense of Simpson and ties the rise of lip-synching to the popularity of Michael Jackson’s Thriller, which he suggests redefined audience expectations—that what they see in videos is what they’ll get at concerts. Then, this (from the interview transcript):

You know, I think people - again, the Thriller effect is it must be perfect. I’m kind of from the school of warts and all. Like, I love seeing the warts. I love seeing the pimples, the mistakes. Like, to me, that’s the human touch. And I think people need to trust that more. Like, you know, things don’t have to be Instagram filter perfect 24/7.

That’s a perspective I’m working on achieving myself.

And we both appreciate the view from behind the scenes:

Like, for me, the best part of the show is what happens in the commercials. Like, watching the teamster guys and the crew guys, like, a furious pace in two minutes, like, build an entire set while you know, the artists are quick changing in the back, and will they make it in in two minutes flat? And to me, that’s the best part of the show, like, watching the choreography of a well-oiled machine.

I always loved those fleeting backstage moments we’d sometimes catch during commercial breaks. I’d happily watch entire episodes of just that.