Hear Scarlett Johansson Read Sexy Bible Verses on New Mike O’Brien Track
Mike O’Brien may have left Saturday Night Live, but he continues to be a vital part of the sketch-comedy world. On October 30th, the “7 Minutes in Heaven” star will release a new comedy album, Tasty Radio. Below, listen to the track “Sexy Bible,” which features the album’s most surprising guest, Scarlett Johansson.
Tasty Radio is a concept LP, with all the tracks serving as different radio stations. On “Sexy Bible,” Johansson reads ridiculous passages from the Book of Deuteronomy on WSEX, Sexy Talk Radio.
“I’ve always wanted to do a sketch about the Old Testament, specifically Deuteronomy,” O’Brien tells Rolling Stone. “The Old Testament is filled with beautiful stuff, but also some weirdly specific, random rules and speeches. Deuteronomy could be called ‘Laws for Stuff That Will Never Apply to 99% of Civilization,’ like what to do with a dead animal you find [or] what to do to a woman who grabs the junk of a guy who her husband is fighting. [It’s] a very funny time capsule of what those guys were worried about back then.”
For “Sexy Bible,” O’Brien knew he couldn’t tackle the task of satirizing Deuteronomy on his own. “I wasn’t sure what the comedic take would be when I first became obsessed with Deuteronomy, but I knew a female should be delivering most of it because a lot of the quotes are very misogynistic and who wants to hear a guy make fun of that,” O’Brien explains. “I was so thrilled that Scarlett said she’d do it. We actually did another, half-improvised sketch after finishing ‘Sexy Bible.’ I’ll probably release the other one later on.”
Along with Johansson, O’Brien’s album features friends and peers such as Cecily Strong, Jason Sudeikis, Fred Armisen, John Mulaney and Seth Meyers. In August, O’Brien appeared in an episode of Armisen and Meyers’ Documentary Now! series on IFC.