The cover of a Freaks and Geeks–themed mix that Emma made for Kaylee and Malorie.
ROOKIE: I talked to Malorie last night, and she wanted me to ask you a question, which is: If the Three Burritos had a theme song, what would it be?
KAYLEE [crushee #1]: There are two songs that totally describe the three of us, and they would have to be either “Lust for Life” by Girls or “Bad Kids” by Black Lips. When we first became what you’d call the Three Burritos, those were songs we’d just found and had been listening to a lot. Recently, we went to this thing put on by Burger Records called Burgerama, and Together Pangea played, and we looked at each other and it was like, “Oh, yeah! This is our song.” Going to shows is the prime bonding thing that we do together.
What’s the best show you’ve seen with the two of them?
It would have to be Beachgoth, which is another event that Burger Records puts on. Last year it was near Halloween, and so we all dressed up. Emma was a cheerleader, I dressed up as a sailor, and Malorie…she kind of mixed everything together. I don’t know what I’d call her costume. She glued little sequins around her eyes and stuff. It was cool.
Malorie told me a lot about you and Emma, but what’s she like?
She’s so sassy, but you love her even as she’s being sassy to you.
What’s Emma like?
Emma is a breath of fresh air. She looks on the bright side of everything. She’s also our music supplier and CD mix-maker. We have so many CDs. You know the three geeks who hang out together on Freaks and Geeks? Last summer, she made this CD, and on the cover it’s the three of them with our names on their arms and legs, and a bunch of little hearts around it. Emma is Sam because she’s so innocent sometimes. I’m Bill because I’m shy and awkward. Malorie is Neal because he’s sassy and in charge, and so is she.
Do other people know you call yourselves the Three Burritos?
No. But for a while we had this…I wouldn’t say it was an obsession, but it was a phase, where we used disposable cameras, and we scanned the photos and put them on this Tumblr called Los Burrritos, with three Rs because there are three of us.
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A cute li’l drawing Emma did for Malorie.
ROOKIE: Kaylee and Emma said you are the Burritos’ mix maker.
EMMA [crushee #2]: Yes. I am the CD maker for us all.
Do they ever make stuff for you?
Kaylee’s never made me a mix. She says she’s scared, I think because I’ve made so many for her. I don’t know, I make them a LOT of stuff because they both leave during the summers and I’m here kinda by myself, so I make little drawings and zines for them. And lots of mixes.
What bands remind you of Kaylee and Malorie?
Our entire high school life is defined by playlists. Whenever I hear certain songs, I think of some time I spent with them. When we first started hanging out, we really liked Tame Impala’s first album and listened to that a bunch. That winter, we also listened to a lot of Moody Blues.
Malorie told me to ask you and Kaylee this: If the Three Burritos had a theme song, what would it be? I’m not going to tell you what Kaylee said.
It’s kind of changed. When we first started hanging out, we all liked older music, like from the ’50s, ’60s, and ’70s. We also listened to the Violent Femmes a lot. Like a LOT. So when I think of that time, I remember us driving around listening to “Add It Up.” But earlier this year, when we went to Burgerama, we could hear Together Pangea playing this song, “No Feelin’,” while we were waiting in line for another show to start. We were like, “We really wish we were over there,” and then we ran. So now I think of that.
How would you describe their personalities?
When you first meet Kaylee, she’s really outgoing. The more you hang out with her, though, she becomes more reserved and relaxed. Malorie’s typically pretty loud, and oh my god—she’s really sassy. She’s the sassiest one of all of us.
Kaylee said the same thing!
You don’t expect it sometimes, and it can be like, Whoa, that was a lot of sass. ♦
(Interviews conducted by Lena.)
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