Jonah Hill’s directorial debut Mid90s, a coming-of-age dramedy about a 13-year-old skater kid growing up in Los Angeles, hits theaters next week. Nine Inch Nails’ Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross composed the score, and when Hill went on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon to promote the film last night, he talked about about his working relationship with the duo.

Hill says that while he Skyped, spoke on the phone, texted, and emailed with Reznor and Ross every day, he never actually met either of them in person. And when Jimmy Fallon asked what Reznor is like and if he’s funny, this is what Hill had to say:

He’s the most dry funny person I’ve ever met. He’s one of my heroes. A lot of times I’d end the exchange with, “Oh, if you need someone to sing backup on ‘Head Like A Hole’ I’m available.” And it was never acknowledged … I would do it every day, every time we had to discuss the score. “Hey, I’m available to sing backup on ‘Head Like A Hole.'” Nothing. And then after like six months I did it, I just got back, on the email with everyone, a “Ha.” H-A.

In addition to the score from Reznor and Ross, the movie’s soundtrack includes a Morrissey song. “We didn’t have money and the soundtrack is crazy. We had no money, so I had to write letters to all of my favorite artists … Every song that’s in the film, I wrote the scene to have that song in it,” Hill explains. “And I wrote to Morrissey, and I wrote him a really personal letter, and he emailed back, ‘It is my pleasure and I can’t wait to see Mid90s, Morrissey.’ All caps … I was like, Morrissey knows what Mid90s is! He said the words Mid90s! Morrissey is my best friend! We are best friends! I’m best friends with Morrissey!”

Watch Hill’s appearance below; the music talk starts around 5 minutes in.

Mid90s hits theaters 10/19.