Ed Robertson: Don’t Let Revenge Breed Resentment

Ed Robertson (Barenaked Ladies) breaks down his songwriting process for The Big Bang Theory and our very own MBB podcast theme songs! He opens up about his musical influences, his struggles with insecurities and imposter syndrome, and the shocking, fascinating story of how he came up with the TBBT theme. Ed reflects on growing up with an alcoholic father and how he learned to navigate their relationship. He explains why his career as a pilot means so much to him and details his frightening plane crash and the intense personal struggles it brought up for him. Ed also discusses what it has been like to avoid substance use and stay committed to his marriage in the midst of a rock-and-roll landscape, plus Jonathan schools Mayim on Canadian cowboy culture!
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Theme Song Written, Produced, and Performed by Ed Robertson, THIS EPISODE'S GUEST!!! Mixed by Kenny Luong.
#MayimBialik​​​ #BialikBreakdown #TBBT #Ed Robertson #BarenakedLadies #thebigbangtheory

[@naturalbeauttie2015]

Whether or not you liked the show, it’s undeniable that this was one of the best sitcom theme songs since the 80’s and 90’s. 😌❤

[@jessicaloree9033]

Oops TYPO 🤭 I think what you meant to say was ever.. 😝😉

[@LexTan]

I come from Scarborough, the city-suburb of Toronto where Ed comes from. Every time i see and hear him do his music, appear on a podcast, or make any sort of appearance, I well up with pride and tear up out of happiness. He and BNL are such great Canadian artists. The previous and current (just opened!) Long & McQuade music instrument store in Scarborough is closeby to the neighborhood he grew up. I'm sure he and the Ladies shopped and rented gear at the old store where i shopped at too, and when I have to drive through the area I love putting on their music. Ed truly has influenced my own music and performing style. I was so proud to see The Big Bang Theory as successful as it was because that also meant that Ed and BNL went worldwide in a way they never had before. They are living the dream of every Canadian, Toronto, and Scarborough musician.

[@marisamartinezolivera]

Being a fan of Barenaked Ladies from far 1999 Glastonbury Festival (I adore their “Lovers In A Dangerous Time”, “If I Had $1,000,000”, “What a Good Boy”..) and with so quite before I discovered TBBT as my comfort show during lockdown’s hard days, I’m so grateful of having you three here at one of the most funny (Ed’s 🎈and Jonathan’s hockey player imitation), deep (Ed’s own healing from revenge) and thrilling (🛩️ crash) episodes of MBB, my one and only podcast. Thanks to Mayim and Jonathan to ask Ed to write its theme!

[@jillmacchitelli6473]

1:35:32 I love the Big Bang Theory theme song and the show. The slow version on the last episode still makes me cry. Kudos to Ed for not choosing bitterness. It ultimately hurts you more than the other person. I love the dynamic between you and Jonathan. 😊

[@anne-mariemay4144]

my FACE HURTS from smiling soooo much during this interview!!!! Loooove YOU and Jonathan sooo much Mayim. Thank you dear hearts Much love from Toronto!!!

[@aekelly]

Watching Mayim react to the balloons coming down was so cute! And Jonathan letting people only listening what was going on was cool.

[@m_brokenleg]

I cheer & thank Ed for writing the song of my fav series ever. I frequently find myself humming it as I do other things or whistling it when I’m truly happy, as I lately do with MBB theme after every episode is broadcasted. Big 🫶🏽 to Mayim & Jonathan for it too!

[@orland0110]

Thank you so much for having Ed Robertson this week. You are amazing Mayim! ❤

[@CB_Butler]

My husband and I met Ed and all of BNL when participating in several of The Rock Boat cruises a few years ago. They were each genuinely kind and FUN! I loved this conversation between the three of you! Thank you!!

[@trishwilson7517]

This was so great! Ed is thoughtful, articulate, and forthcoming. I've loved the BNL music since day one. During the various lockdowns, watching their Selfie Cam Jams, and more recently, their chats about the songs on their new album, I have gained a new and different appreciation for the guys and their personalities Ed's right, this was a treat!

[@ElvinIsbell]

Thank you Mayim and Ed. Ed talking about his father helped me with my relationship with my father even after he passed. I'm 60 years old now, I was 46 when my dad died. I wrote a eulogy for him, this guy whom I didn't really know, but it connected me with him. I stood up in front of a church filled with his friends and told them stories they wanted to hear. The work of writing his eulogy made me realize his funeral was not about me. Ed made me realize that our distance; my disappointment in him as a father, was also not about me. Bnl is my favorite band. (Please don't tell Geddy. I LOVED his book. And, before BNL there was no better band than Rush, but, well, you know. Maybe you don't know . . . listen to Geddy read My Effin Life . . . trust me, it's amazing.)

[@jessicaloree9033]

Holy shit. There's a Canadian male version of me... That's so badass!!! 🙌😃🤘 Canada is literally the country that just keeps on giving wth lol?👏😁💯🔥 #ThankYouCanada !!! 😍❤️🇨🇦🤘🥰

[@marie-clairedelongchamp1330]

OK, just had to stop recording & say my piece…..Jonathan, you must take Mayim to Newfoundland…Calgary for the Stampede! Thank you so much for interviewing Ed, I feel a sense of pride just knowing that this great country 🇨🇦 produced such stellar entertainment as The Bare Naked Ladies! ❤

[@44lgarden]

What a fantastic interview. BareNaked Ladies are so unique in Canadian culture. So many great songs to sing along with. I remember walking in downtown Toronto in the 80's and seeing the flyers pasted on construction sites to see The Barenaked Ladies at small clubs like Larry's Hideaway and El Macambo. I became a fan when watching them cover ":Lovers in a dangerous time" by Bruce Cockburn, another great Canadian singer, while they were driving in fall in the back of a pickup truck in Scarborough where I lived at the time.

[@jessicaloree9033]

Steve & Ed's chemistry was untouchable. You can't learn that kind of talent/chemistry.. They are our generations John & Paul. (Their adlibs alone tell you everything you need to know).

[@dagnolia6004]

"who needs sleep" is one of my favorite songs. i feel it was lifted from my tortured sleep....

[@mary-annelahey5168]

Jonathan you totally nailed the “standard hockey player interview”! Also Alberta is considered the Canadian Texas!

[@rissylantz4072]

As a Canadian, I love this, and as a fan of BNL God, I wish I could have been at a show in the early 90's with 400 people at it. Thanks for being the soundtrack of my life.

[@rissylantz4072]

And Shania Twain is from Canada, hello country artists.

[@jessicaloree9033]

​@@rissylantz4072everybody is from Canada lol. Everybody that rocks anyway. 😉 America thanks you. Canada is the best country EVER!!!!! Also, sorry about Trump. 🤗😌❤

[@rissylantz4072]

@jessicaloree9033 love this 🩷. And Trump is everyone's nightmare

[@joanmilton9986]

Co-founder of Barenaked Ladies with other awesome Canadian, Steven Page. TBBT also used a BNL song "Be My Yoko Ono" in the episode where Sheldon meets Ramona Nowitzki.

[@chrissymancini4299]

As if I your theme song wasn’t catchy enough…now I’m REALLY going to be singing it all day!

[@thejackal007]

I never noticed the Blue Jays baseball cap before. Good on ya. :)

[@jaysartori9032]

Thank you for writing the theme song Ed Robertson Barenaked Ladies, was the one of bands I used to listen to back in the 90s.

[@phillylilmermaid7802]

BNL is the best band I have ever seen in concert and I've seen a ton of very huge bands/musicians. They are like seeing a hysterical comedy show and incredible music act. People have no idea how great a show they put on. It's untouchable.

[@nicolewilliams2468]

That was amazing - loved it!!! And over the past 25 years I’ve gotten to see BNL here in Austin with Hootie & the Blowfish, & they were as good as~4 years ago as they were 25 years ago. Great interview!

[@GreenCatEye78]

Fellow Canadians-love it! Ed's voice is so distinctive-the first Breakdown podcast I listened to I knew right away that he was singing the theme song

[@GreenCatEye78]

Yes-the Hip just really known in Canada

[@jasperjordan7820]

I LOVE THE BARE NAKED LADIES THEY ARE MY FAVOURITE BAND

[@adolescentwombat]

I'm from East Coast Canada and I remember "If I had A Million Dollars" was released like 3 times I believe. Around 88. Then again in 90. Then in 92. As by 92 it was officially a hit when their first official debut album "Gordon" came out that year. Every song on there seemed to be a hit single (they hated the city I'm from, the city of Halifax, a drinking town and drinking culture, so much so that they wrote a song about it called "Hello City"', lol). I was so happy and surprised when they made it big in America in 98. It gave them a second life and real fame of course for a good while in the US.

[@kathythompson9931]

Coming from someone who lost their father in a commercial airline disaster in which all 229 people on board perished…..I’m sorry, but to crash a plane and have NOTHING BUT SURVIVORS means you did many things correct! And I thank you for that. Sincerely.

[@MayimBialik]

🫶🫶🫶

[@motorcity7137]

⁠​⁠@@MayimBialikjust when you thought bringing up rape on a game show was absolutely pathetic , you made this guy completely boring. Stick to getting overpaid for playing pretend

[@colleenmasse9368]

Keep ur negative comments to urself. What a horrible thing to say. 😮

[@nicandnik]

This was such a stellar episode. I loved the dynamic between all of you (especially as a newly minted Canadian). It was so touching to hear the vulnerability in Ed’s voice as he shared his stories. I appreciate that you ask the questions that highlight the work that your guests have done to emotionally evolve. Your show delivers exactly what I hope to deliver with my own podcast. ❤️🙏

[@nicandnik]

Oh my gosh and thanks for the reminder that we used the term “straight edge” 😂

[@carolcaldwell]

Yes!!! Nickel back deserves credit ❤

[@debhalbot5978]

Phenomenal interview - one I'll listen to again! Jonathon, you need to bring Mayim to Canada to show her the beauty and uniqueness of our country! Sending love from Orillia Ontario!

[@diggythree]

Being Canadian, I always felt I should have been a bigger BNL fan, but it wasn’t really the kind of music I was into “back in the day”. However, when my husband died in 2011, I spent months on the couch and The Big Bang Theory got me through, with its intelligent and good-hearted humour. The theme song was my intro to BNL, and I really fell in love with Ed Robertson’s singing. And now I find out what a great speaking voice he has! It is an antidote to the vocal-fry-heavy disaffected-sounding voices that are so popular today. But more important, what he had to say about his creative process, and healing, and relationship, was so honest and inspiring. Thanks for this fabulous interview. I definitely shed a couple of proud tears for my countryman as I listened!

[@hipcordelia]

I love Max Webster!! And BNL as well as Rush!

[@dianallamas7135]

😂😂😂😂 That was awesome. Couldn't time it more. Gotta have more balloons. 🎈🎈🎈 Love how he is grounded and humble and knowingbhow truly blessed and lucky he is and how honest he is about his guilt about how blessed he is. Good for him and thank you for being such an icon for us Canucks. 🇨🇦🇨🇦👏👏👏

[@mitchhecht9070]

i met Ed and the band in the sauna at mandalay bay, what a great guy

[@altaresjoyceee]

This is now one of my top favorite episode! it is so fun watching you guys! i feel like im sitting there next to Mayim! 😁 Im so happy that i watched this because the theme song of "The Big Bang Theory" and this Podcast is stuck in my head 😂 like, My partner has learned to memorise those songs over time because I always sing them in front of him, particularly the TBBT song, which he saw me watching repeatedly aside from me singing it 😂 I really love The Big Bang Theory especially when Mayim was added to the show. #ShAmy fan here 😝❤️ Im also amazed that he made that song in just 20mins in the shower then voilà, its one of the biggest hit sitcom theme song. I agree with you guys, fame is not forever. Its easy to assume that fame is forever but it might only take lets say a decade or a generation or 2 and also fame is not for everyone so im happy that Ed had that and he deserved it because he's really talented. Thank you for this new episode! ❤️ So much lesson to learn. Can't wait for the next episode and for the next Ask Mayim Anything 😉 p.s Mayim's laugh when she saw the balloon is really really cute 😝 it made my day complete! ❤️ I also wanted to say that Mayim looks happy in this episode. She's just glowing 😊 Love you Mayim & Jonathan! 🫶🏻

[@melaniepoulton6738]

I saw BNL in the late 80's at Call the Office a small venue in London Ontario where many now famous bands played. The first time there must have been maybe 70 people there. I bought a cassette from the guys after the show and played that thing until the tape broke. They guys put on an amazing show. The second time the place was packed and show was just as good. Super nice guys! This was a great episode.

[@feminist5641]

I've been a BNL fan since the early 90s. Loved hearing from Ed about the band. Great episode Mayim and Jonathan

[@ajh772]

This episode was my introduction to your podcast. A longtime Big Bang fan and a BNL fan since Scarborough Music Camp days 😂 Great episode! So much good content here. I’ll be back for more episodes.

[@jessicaloree9033]

Every time I listen to this it gets better and better 😁❤️🤘

[@heldermoreira8554]

You did it again, briliant work, amazing guest ( and nice guy !! ), you got me emotional, thanks Mayim and Jonathan !!...

[@GiGi-lg1dl]

3rd post lol, I also found it astounding that he wrote such scientific lyrics in the shower in 20 minutes. Recognizing his voice was what sparked my interest to even watch Big Bang when it debuted 👏🏻

[@melanieb9169]

Always amazed at the talent that's come from Scarborough Ontario...it's some kind of performance talent birthing ground.

[@colleenmasse9368]

I learned so much about Ed. Thank you so much for this ❤ Very kind & humble man.

[@CutieWarrior-ol8ik]

You guys are in a very personal bubble for me. Because you get under my skin every time. But it's a bubble of comfort. By now every time i hear the very first sound of the podcast, the klonc sound, i relax😌

[@carriesmith742]

I'm a huge Harrison Ford and made my college friends watch a bunch of somewhat unknown Harrison movies, including "Frantic" and when this song came out in the summer, let's just say if I had a cell phone at the time it would have been BLOWING UP because EVERY person I ran into while moving back into the dorms that year said they thought of me when they heard the line, "Like Harrison Ford I'm getting Frantic", lol.

[@mary-annelahey5168]

Mayim you know that there is way more to Canada than Toronto, right?!? There are Canadians that have never even been to Toronto! Although most Torontoarians don’t know that! 🤣🤣🤣 Great episode! (Eh?!?)

[@shawnhaines5544]

Thank you Mr. Robertson for your Amazing music! Especially the newer music its Amazing and I listen to it everyday at work! I'm 35 I grew up with Barenaked Ladies music! #GeekRock

[@corem7572]

I think the last BNL record that I bought was “Stunt.” My favourite record was “Rock Spectacle,” I would listen to it on repeat in my truck whenever I made a road trip: it’s a good one to sing along to. Alas, after Steven left, the band kind of lost its appeal. This was an interesting interview. It held my interest. I didn’t realize that Ed grew up in that kind of environment

[@kathythompson9931]

Mayim what happened to the BEVISODES??? Please

[@kathythomas4839]

As a Canadian born in Ontario, everyone east of New Brunswick has a different accent especially Newfoundland!

[@dandilionsandsunflowers]

One of the absolute best - interview, band and humans. Thank you for sharing so much Ed - real life experiences and processes, amazing talent, humble. 🤠 😂🇨🇦 writing from Coombs, BC

[@GiGi-lg1dl]

Canadian🇨🇦 here, eh? I witnessed that American success difference across the border with a band called ”I Mother Earth”, having seen them at “Molson Park” in Barrie, Ontario, to 35,000 ppl, and a month later seeing them spontaneously play “The Whiskey A-Go-Go” in LA to the complete silence of a crowd staring at them studying their music. I met Edwin, their singer, that night and told him all that 😆 …oh, and I used to work with Ed’s cousin at a photo lab 😆

[@stevekee4349]

Need more Canadians. :)

[@beckyobeck]

Rock on, Ed. You have enhanced my whole life. ❤

[@LoneTraveler-nc6rf]

So very thought provoking. Thank you!

[@joanmurphy2166]

Wonderful interview. Thanks.

[@vanessawhitneypro]

Love Ed. Thanks for this.

[@sweingold5686]

I am American and have always had a fascination with Canada. I never got to visit. I live in Southern California and it is too far to drive. I know that is not an excuse, but just driving the length of our state up to Eureka is LONG. I asked my uncle in Upper Michigan to drive me there because I saw a sign. He said, " There's nothing different to see." I enjoyed Jonathan's hockey interview even if I don' t get the subtleties. I want to eat POUTINE. Thanks for another great interview. Love the chats at the end.

[@dianab9319]

Love all your podcasts! You are such a down to earth relatable person!God bless!🙏🙏🙏

[@josepadilla-bx4jl]

Very good podcast mayim

[@subbtopp]

Thank you, for all these posts. this was lovely thank you.

[@alethealopez4475]

This was such a sweet and heartwarming interview. Loved it

[@brennandeitsch4971]

Best band of the 90’s and early 2000’s!

[@Erin_Wilson_Studios]

Such a good episode!

[@jlcollins14]

This was so great! I'm an East Coast Canadian. I encourage you both to take a vacation to Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia some time in the future. I would be your personal guide if I could. I'm very proud of my home province. For Americans: If you've watched Anne with an E on Netflix you have heard the Hip!

[@stevietalk1]

We teach people how to treat us… so our own healing means we can learn to set boundaries .. meaning not allowing others to demean us.

[@GreenCatEye78]

Can you do another show on chronic pain or about suffering with pain and not being able to find a diagnosis or a doctor who will really listen to you...going through that right now-I found the podcast you did about neuroplastic pain very helpful and i think there is definitely a component of that to my pain as my anxiety about it makes it worse but I also know i must have something structurally wrong as well-there is a long wait for MRIs in Canada so I haven't been able to get one to fully rule that out

[@trac6009]

Loved this podcast one of the top 10 podcasts you've done! Really enjoyed Ed Robinson so much!

[@hellojello8376]

Enjoyed this conversation 🎉 What a down to earth guy 😊❤ Fellow Canadian and beloved ❤

[@tomlichnofsky.7048]

👉The Awesomeness Continues! 👊✊😊😆🍁

[@Tia-vj9ox]

This may be my favorite of all your podcasts! Tyty!

[@Tia-vj9ox]

PS my grandma was Canadian and so is my aunt so I have a deep love for our neighbors to the north!

[@susansnyder2420]

What a cool man! Loved knowing a bit more about the music that my younger brother played ad nauseam until I fell in love with it too. And your takeaway at the end is brilliant!

[@beckyobeck]

Yeah we love the BNL!!

[@josievaccaro]

The theme song rocked! The absolute best 🎵 and loved it from the start ❤️

[@ronniayala2056]

great interview. Ed is a very thoughtful and elephant speaker.

[@phoenixmoon3]

Yaaasss and I so love the theme. I’m always harmonizing with it. Big BNL fan from way back listening to Dr. Demento.

[@sherrimollett1076]

I really like your podcast jingle

[@mirfir]

Yes! Alberta is Canadian Texas & Kern county,California!

[@jessicaloree9033]

@mayin Actually Steve. Steve also sounds exactly the way that he sings.. F****ing. Magical.🥰

[@b.garland1826]

I never realized I knew you before you were big! Been a BNL fan since I was introduced to Triangle Man in 1995.

[@curseofcontext]

oooh fUN, my relationship to the big bang theme song is like that scene in easy A with pocketful of sunshine which is so perfect for that theme song! shower song!! gotta look into the band, love a storysong!

[@bearhardcorepicker]

The Ladies are Canadian Icons for sure. You really should interview Big Daddy Tazz, well known Canadian stand-up comedian, actor and passionate mental health advocate.

[@mimmycal]

I love this interview I don’t know who he is. I know the name of the band, but have no clue until I looked him up what his songs are.. I loved the adult child/alcoholism share. It actually made my birthday ha ha.!!❤

[@MayimBialik]

Happy belated birthday!! 🎂🎈

[@hipcordelia]

I love The Tragically Hip too! Live, they were awesome! I've seen BNL and The Hip live! ❤❤

[@harveymoore4984]

❤ as always your show is very informative knowledgeable and I learn things from it all the time keep up the great work P.S. you know who will be great to be on your show and listen to some of the things he going through and recovered boy George

[@BrightestBlessings7899]

I love this podcast! Mayim and Johnathan are brilliant. I am a great fan of Bare Naked Women. Roq on, Guys!! Nice to see another Canadian here. We are in Malakwa, BC. I love the BNL song from Chicken Little.

[@Tulpen23]

BNL!!! He was so important to my high school years! ❤

[@matiaspereira9382]

The Barenaked Ladies are awesome Mayim! I still love the Big Bang Theory theme to this day! They also even sang the opening song of Chicken Little! Please return as Amy in the future Big Bang Theory spin-off! She's the best fictional woman character in history!

[@acnacn1861]

He's very talented.

[@seancregomusic]

Wow, I never thought I would hear Alan Fogel's name come up! All of us super deep BNL fans know who Alan Fogel is!

[@jonathancohen4774]

wow!!

[@kellieburg6630]

Here is my big Wubba Wubba comment: you guys are so cool to watch! Thank you for being here.

[@junglejolene]

BTW...Mayim I heard you notice and make mention of how it is so interesting that it doesn't matter how many years go by between events, our brain will always go back to that original vulnerable wound we suffered and want to react the same way (that the not fully developed child did). Gregg Braden has a fantastic theory and has done a really deep dive about all of that. I encourage you to seek out what he says about that phenomenon, it is fascinating.

[@candicesanchez3753]

Love that Canadian hockey player voice 😂

[@benjamincrabtree3102]

I thought the theme song for this podcast was Johnathan singing. His speaking voice sort of matches up. HAH!

[@terrahmama]

Fyi...Canadians drink like fish. I am not Canadian but lived 15 miles south of the border and that's where we partied...which included a young Marty McFly. Awesome Ed made that decision. Not easy being in a band and being Canadian eh! Saw the Ladies early on in Vancouver. I guess living so close to the border and Vancouver BC I was lucky enough to see and be influenced by many a Canadian band. Love my Canadian family!!!

[@TgaSANZMag]

I would love to hear that raw demo of the theme song

[@stevietalk1]

Tragically Hip has deep, INTELLIGENT music .. beautiful but ROCK folk, music

[@roxyg74]

Yes…. There is farms and ranches all over Alberta. Boots, hats horses. But even those of us not on farms have cowboy boots and of course love country music. Although rock is my favourite. Come on up to Alberta for a visit. .

[@emilyminchew6131]

Twice I've been to the Calgary Stampede, and I'm from Utah.

[@hollyb4907]

Loved this episode but I must make a correction: Cousin Alan is not the biggest BNL fan. It is me. I am the biggest BNL fan.