"I would definitely not do it," he says firmly. "The song was tongue-in-cheek, though.
"It sounds like someone asking how to relieve themselves from the burden of fame but actually it's, 'I've got the mindset of wanting this fame and glory but it's a stupid thing to want.' "
Give Up Your Dreams was tongue-in-cheek but the sparkling electro-pop of its 2015 parent album (also called Give Up Your Dreams) represented a serious attempt to reboot and re-energise a band five records and 17 years into its career.
Three years on, The Phoenix Foundation takes another sharp turn by embarking on a short 20th anniversary tour with the NZSO as backing band.
"There's no way you could say no to playing with an orchestra, right?" says Scott.
He didn't grow up with orchestral music; the first piece he connected with, when he was about 12, was Górecki's Symphony No. 3.
"I sat down and listened to it over and over again. I was overwhelmed by the dynamics. It builds so slowly and you get caught up in that thing of not realising it's building. An orchestra has dynamics that pop music can totally miss, particularly how they can go so quiet."
Another advantage an orchestra has is its audience's tradition of respectful silence.
"If a [rock band] goes that quiet you disappear into the chatter. With an orchestra you've got a crowd that sits and takes the music in, so we've got an opportunity to make people really listen."
Some of The Phoenix Foundation's songs lend themselves naturally to orchestral arrangements — atmospheric instrumental Hitchcock, the trippy Cars of Eden. Others are less obvious, such as the garage pop of crowd favourite Bright Grey.
"I've no idea how that one's going to turn out," admits Scott. "We have the arrangement but I still don't know how it's going to come together."
Scott finds the audio file on his laptop and hits play. The opening sounds like Kate Bush's Wuthering Heights and nothing like Bright Grey; it's a conventional arrangement but radical in its divergence from the original.
It was written by Chris Gendall, one of our most adventurous composers, and not someone you'd immediately associate with pop song arrangements. Gendall's own music is often delicate and beautiful but tunes don't figure large in his work. Scott's fine with that.
"Orchestral collaborations can be underwhelming; people don't push hard enough and don't let arrangers do what they want. Chris is pretty avant-garde and at no point have we told him to rein that in."
Conductor Hamish McKeich, who Scott knows from his Wellington days, was responsible for selecting Gendall and the other arrangers, Claire Cowan, Hamish Oliver and Gareth Farr.
"Gareth is the only one I know personally, and the only one whose work I knew, to be honest," says Scott. "We had faith in [McKeich]'s choices because it's his world, not ours, and I think he made some very cool decisions."
If Scott's not yet ready to paso doble on prime-time TV, does playing with an orchestra, cool arrangements or not, signify The Phoenix Foundation's bid for middle-aged, pipe and slippers respectability?
"A few people have asked if this is a transformation into a grown-up band, a legacy band or something."
Scott's tone makes it clear that this is not the case, not if he has anything to do with it.
"We'll learn a whole lot, but the most important thing for me is that the four shows we put on are the best shows we've ever put on. Beyond that, it doesn't really matter."
Lowdown
What: The NZSO and The Phoenix Foundation Celebrate
Where & When: Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch and Dunedin from August 2. See NZSO.co.nz for details
