“This,” being “Phantom Regret By Jim,” the final track off The Weeknd’s brand new album Dawn FM. The concept for the album, as the name suggests, is a trip across the dial to a non-existent radio station that exclusively plays The Weeknd’s smooth pop and dance takes, many of which appear to be about death and dying. And Carrey is the voice that opens and closes the whole thing, playing the DJ for the fictitious Dawn FM itself. That includes on “Regret,” which is… Well, it’s a song, co-written by Jim Carrey, in which Ace Ventura himself talks you through the act of passing while playing a smooth, vaguely comforting radio DJ character.
(And no, we didn’t have “Jim Carrey recreates the end of Synechdoche, New York while The Weeknd wails in the background” on our 2022 Weirdness Bingo Cards, either.)
The collaboration between The Weeknd and Carrey apparently comes from an honest place; the men are neighbors and friends, with their relationship including at least one anecdote in which they apparently “got out telescopes and were waving to each other” from their respective homes. Which: Creepysweet!
Which is also a decent enough descriptor for “Phantom Regret By Jim,” which lines up with Carrey’s latter day vibe pretty well, actually. That is to say that it’s deeply sad, but not necessarily sad about being sad. It also includes the phrase “divine boogaloo,” in case you wanted to try to work that into your personal lexicon this year.
Dawn FM came out late last night; other contributors on the album include Quincy Jones; Tyler, the Creator; and Lil Wayne.
