joel kim booster says gtfo with your "rain on the asphalt" flavored ice cream
Welcome to mixed feelings’ Hyperspecific, a profile series of increasingly intimate questions in which we ask our favorite artists, scientists, musicians, and the like to unveil their innermost selves — their weird existential musings.
I want Joel Kim Booster to heckle me so bad. I want to sit front row at his comedy special and watch him read my dirty Asian ass for filth. I want him to decry my life choices, ridicule my partner, and maybe even take a stab at roasting my cat.
I say this because Joel Kim Booster is a comedian, yes, but he’s a soft boy at heart. Backstage at his Netflix Is A Joke comedy show he said, straight down the barrel of our producer’s iPhone, that his destructive trait is that he’s “extremely insecure, a people pleaser,” and frankly too obsessed with what other people think. Not a single joke followed, just the truth.
This is the kind of person who deserves to heckle me, honestly. Someone who knows when to deflect and when to open up. That’s why we enjoyed his Hyperspecific interview so much. Read it in full, below, as told to Nicolas Zhou. — Mi-Anne
LEVEL I
Something you’re always hoping people bring up in conversation when you first meet. Whether or not your parents are rich or not. It’s very important that I know how you grew up.
A positive trait people always tell you you have. I’m a very loyal friend. If you do something to one of my friends or family I will remember it forever. In fact, I often hold grudges longer than my friends or family will hold grudges against the people who wronged them.
One destructive trait you know you possess and wish you didn’t. I am extremely insecure, I am a people pleaser, and I care way too much about what people think. That’s kinda three wrapped in one.
If a bodega were to name a dish after you, what would it be? The Booster Shot!
One song that makes you feel understood. “The Louvre” by Lorde.
Something you think is wildly underrated. Handjobs. Honestly, [they’re]. classic, simple, don’t require a lot of accessories. You just go for it. Listen, it’s a classic for a reason.
LEVEL II
A movie you watch when you want to self-soothe. My Best Friend’s Wedding. It’s got a little bit of everything.
Your problematic fave artist/actor/musician (dead or alive). And why? Azealia Banks. Listen — I know she doesn’t like me very much but I love her.
What’s the first fandom you lost yourself in. It’d probably have to be Pokémon. I was really into the Pokémon fan fiction community.
Something you bought recently after LOTS of research. An AC Unit. That’s right, I’m a homeowner. It’s a whole HVAC situation.
Who do you main in your favorite video game. In Final Fantasy Remake and Rebirth you really only main as Cloud, but if I had my druthers I’d main Yuffie.
LEVEL III
What’s an anecdote you usually tell to describe how you were as a kid? My family reunion in Alabama when I was four years old. That’s where my very famous joke “I knew I was gay before I knew I was Asian” was birthed because that is where I discovered that I was Asian.
What is your low-key hell and actual heaven? Leaving a concert of any kind. // A day-time house party by a pool.
One time you laughed so hard you cried. Watching Cole Escola off-Broadway in Oh, Mary!
Random thing you hate so much for no apparent reason. These new ice cream flavors they keep coming out with, especially in LA. They all taste like candles. They do not taste like ice cream! I do not want an ice cream named “rain on the asphalt.” Get the fuck out of here with these ice cream flavors.
How you exit a party. I am very much against Irish exits. I am a “hold their face in my hands and talk to them about something we connected with each other at the party” person. Then exchange Instagrams and leave. It’s a two hour process to leave any party but it’s worth it.
How you wanna go (either un-seriously or seriously). I would like to go on a cruise. Literally, I met a man once who said it was cheaper to just keep doing cruises than hospice care and I’ve thought about it ever since.