WFUV Pop Quiz: She & Him

The partnership between singer-songwriter M. Ward and Hollywood actress Zooey Deschanel might have struck some people as a vanity project at first, but it's the real deal. After being introduced by the director of The Go-Getter to record a duet, they discovered they shared a passion for similar music. On a whim, Zooey sent Matt some of her original songs, which he decided they should record, and She & Him was born. They came by WFUV to talk with Rita Houston about their second CD, Volume Two, and took the WFUV Pop Quiz.

Aside from gear, instruments or your band, you don't go on the road without?
Zooey: Toothpaste
Matt: Toothbrush

What song do you wish you've written?
Z: "God Only Knows," because it's amazing.
M: "Nature Boy" is a great song.

Who would you like to record one of your songs, dead or alive?
Z: Linda Ronstadt. There's a song on our first record called "Change Is Hard" that I always thought maybe she would sound really pretty singing.
M: Big Star would be pretty great.

What song would you sing in the shower but never in public?
M: "Ave Maria."
Z: An Otis Redding song or something. I don't think I could pull it off, but would definitely sing one in the shower.

What's the first album you bought?
M: The Queen is Dead by The Smiths
Z: I think it was either A Hard Day's Night or Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band. I was obsessed with The Beatles when I was 9.

Someone finds your iPod and hits shuffle. What song do you hope does not come up?
M: My demos.
Z: Yeah, all my demos.

What's your favorite Bob Dylan Song?
Z: "Don't Think Twice, It's Alright"
M: "Visions of Johanna"

What job would you have if you weren't a musician?
M: Something outdoors.
Z: Maybe a baker, that sounds fun.

Do you cook?
Z: I bake a lot. I make a lot of cookies, cakes and pies. I just made peanut butter cookies for everyone and they were a hit.
M: A little bit.

Do you have any hidden talents that you can share?
M: Those sometimes come up in our new record, but I guess that's not hidden. For example, I didn't know I could play the mandolin. I'm still not good at it, but I enjoy playing it.
Z: Hula Hooping was my hidden talent but I hula hooped in one of our videos. I could do most playground things pretty well - jumping rope, hula hooping, hopscotch.

What's the biggest misconception your fans or the media have about you?
Z: People a lot of times don't think that I write the music. They think they are cover songs, but it's not true. I write it too.
M: They think that we are overly obsessed with a certain decade of the last century.

What wacky thing would you do if you had the time, guts or resources?
Z: Learn sign language. When we were at SXSW they had someone signing our lyrics in our last show, and I was fascinated by it. All I wanted to do was stop singing and watch them. It would just be really cool to learn sign language.
M: Learning another language would be a good answer for me too.