#1547 - Colin Quinn

Joe Rogan (0:12)

Colin Quinn, I had to move to Texas to get you on this podcast. I tried forever to get you in LA. You said, no chance.

Colin Quinn (0:18)

Not true.

Every time we see each other, we just, yeah. I was always like, I'll get out there one of those days. I'm glad I waited this long. It's kind of, I can savor, I can appreciate it.

Joe Rogan (0:29)

I'm savoring it right now.

Colin Quinn (0:30)

If I was on one of the first podcasts, I'd be like, yeah, I was on Joe's and I was on this one. This is like, you know, you're getting, you're getting the respect you deserve now.

Joe Rogan (0:37)

I see.

What is it like in the lockdown for you? You still living in New York?

Colin Quinn (0:43)

Yeah, I live in New York.

Joe Rogan (0:44)

Is it weird?

Colin Quinn (0:45)

Yeah, I mean, it's, I was telling everybody, it's, you know, it's very, it's not like, people like, oh, it's like New York in the 70s. Now the 70s was a whole different vibe. And, but now it's all boarded up stores, the store in my corner, like the corner bodega basically just closed. And it was, you know, it was around for a long time. And, you know, it's depressing. Like you're on the subway, there's only a few people on and it still smells. It smells as bad. They've been cleaning it every day and it still stinks. It doesn't even smell better. That's how ingrained it is.

And, you know, the pigeons are homeless because Antifa took down all the statues so they have no place to live.

And, yeah, it's a very weird place.

Joe Rogan (1:31)

You can't say, like people that say it's like the 70s, like no, the 70s, it was like, it was the 50s and the 60s and the 70s. It was like, it didn't change much. It was seedy and weird, but it was always like that. This is a drastic change from six months ago. You can't say it's like the 70s because it's not. It's like something's deteriorated. There's a collapse.

Colin Quinn (1:52)

Right.

Joe Rogan (1:52)

And then there's all this weirdness that comes along with that.

Colin Quinn (1:55)

Well, the 70s was kind of a collapse, but it was a different type. So like in the 70s, all the stores at night would be locked up, but they were open during the day.

So at night, if anybody was out after night at night, that was on them. But I mean, but it was not like now it's just 24, you're walking down deserted streets. There's nobody out. You know what I mean?

Joe Rogan (2:12)

Have you always lived in New York?

Colin Quinn (2:13)

Depressing, yeah, yeah.

Joe Rogan (2:15)

So it was sketchy in the 70s.

Colin Quinn (2:18)

Oh my God, yeah. I mean, I did a whole show about it basically, but I mean, it was basically like we're in part. One of the jokes from my own New York story was that, and it wasn't a joke. It was if you walk down your block, because there's no cell phone. So if you walk down the block from the train after nine at night, people would lean out the window and be like genuinely surprised, like good for you.

You made it home. If you stayed out after nine, like Times Square, people would go to Broadway shows.

By 11 o'clock, it was deserted, except for criminals, because people would leave Broadway show. They wouldn't go out for a drink or dinner. They would get in their car and get out immediately.

Joe Rogan (2:54)

And Giuliani's the one who cleaned all that shit up.

Colin Quinn (2:56)

Giuliani cleaned it up, yeah.

Joe Rogan (2:57)

Isn't that amazing? The guy gets no respect now.

Colin Quinn (3:00)

No, I know. He went a little crazy, but he really, he did what no politician has ever done in history, which is he said, I'm gonna transform this, and he did.

Joe Rogan (3:11)

He turned it around.

Colin Quinn (3:12)

Yeah.

Joe Rogan (3:12)

He really did.

Colin Quinn (3:13)

He really did.

Joe Rogan (3:14)

Maybe a little too far.

Colin Quinn (3:16)

He may have been a little too far.

Joe Rogan (3:17)

Times Square became like a mall.

Colin Quinn (3:18)

Yes, Times Square is very uninspiring.

Joe Rogan (3:21)

It became like a big Applebee's.

Colin Quinn (3:22)

But that's, yeah, that's exactly what it's like. And, you know, even though, like now I look back and I'm like, oh, taxi driver, New York, it was edgy, it was fun, but at the time, it was no joke. People, you know, I glamorized it through rose-colored glasses, but it was serious.