Tim Heidecker’s latest is largely inspired by his own high school memories

A little while ago, I picked up a box of my high school diaries from the basement of my parents’ house. Reading them was pretty funny. I was very dramatic, I was very sure of myself. I had a lot of crushes … but it was also … kind of … touching. It was a document of this person who was becoming a person — and it’s a pretty neat thing to be able to look back, as an adult, and feel some tenderness for that teenage version of you, and see the beginnings of who you are now.

Along with his sense of humor, that kind of tenderness and perspective is the most arresting part of Tim Heidecker’s latest album, High School. It was largely inspired by his own high school memories, but it isn’t all about the past — because all those little moments growing up make you who you are. They carry into your present and your future, too. And let’s be honest: Do you even know who you are once you’re all grown up?

In this session, Heidecker and I talk about all of that and about how he brought his music and his comedy work together on his recent North American tour. You’ll also hear songs recorded live on that tour by Heidecker and his Very Good Band.