[MUSIC] THE SAVAGE ANIMAL "10 Cool Ass Talk Show Performances"
01.30.13
BY MICHAEL GOODPASTER
I watch a lot of crap. I watch more crap than I actually listen to. What happens when the crap I listen to crosses over to the crap I’m watching? Mind blowing results, that’s what! It’s always cool to hear songs you’re a fan of used in a show’s advertising, score, or even as the theme song. When you’re a big music nerd there’s not a lot of cooler things than that “ah-ha” moment of saying “That’s that one song from that one thing! Now it’s in THIS this!”
It’s even cooler when the artist appears themselves and makes a cool cameo. If you’ve watched “Extras”, there is a specific episode involving David Bowie that I dare anyone not to absolutely love. I could think of tons of those kinds of moments, because like I said, I watch a lot of crap.
One thing I’ve realized lately is that I’m starting to avoid talk shows based on their musical guest. In almost all cases the musical guest will go on last, but if I see someone like a Nicki Minaj on the guide I’m just better off with an “It’s Always Sunny” rerun.
A lot of music performances suck. The sound quality and set up isn’t there. The energy of a real crowd is almost always missing. The band’s performance is just awkward and can make the best song sound like a droning bore.
Not always though. Today I’m going to look at ten cool ass talk show performances. I won’t dare try to make any effort into “ranking” this stuff. There are like 10 talk shows on a day and even if half of those have a musical performance that’s still way too many moments to consider. I don’t like Leno all that much and Letterman is hit or miss purely depending if I like the guest. Then Conan, Fallon, and Kimmel are all consistently good and have an awesome guest more often than their earlier counterparts. That’s not including The Daily Show, Cobert, Ellen in the afternoon, and the oodles of syndicated nonsense. I watch a lot of crap, but I can’t watch it all.
So without further ramble, here are some cool ass talk show performances:
Peeping Tom “Mojo” - (The Henry Rollins Show 6/1/2007)
The Henry Rollins Show was awesome. Mr. Rollins would interview someone interesting and cool and then have a music performance by someone interesting and cool. The show only got two seasons in before the evil corporate plug was pulled, but it still gave us some good interviews and performances. There were a lot spots that I’m sure folks would claim as their favorite, but my favorite was easily the eighth episode of the second season. On this episode we got an interview with William Shatner but the musical performance was killer. We got to see the awesome and powerful Mike Patton in the form of “Peeping Tom”. It was my first exposure to this group and the song “Mojo” blew my mind. Then again, this IS Mike Patton we’re talking about. The Cardigans “Lovefool” - (Late Night with Conan O'Brien 1997)
Why not? To say The Cardigans’ stock has definitely dropped since this song would be an understatement. That doesn’t take anything away from their moment in the spotlight and any appreciation a song like this can have. It’s from the “Romeo + Juliet” soundtrack and anyone that was at the age to be exposed to it knows the song. It’s a “love song” on the surface, but it’s really obnoxious and horrible. Yet, I think that’s the point. It’s an ironic and bitchy love song that’s catchy as hell and has way more of a “groove” than it should. This super casual performance captures all of what I just rambled about, but it’s cool for a few reasons. It’s 97 and Conan was really coming into his own at this point in his early years. I’m positive there were other performances on Conan that I might have dug better, but this is still a cool one. Mindless Self Indulgence “Shut Me Up” - (Last Call With Carson Daly 8/1/2007)
I spent the majority of my late teens and early twenties loving the hell out of Mindless Self Indulgence. They put on a great live show and I can only think of a hand full of live concert experiences that matched the energy of an MSI show. For the longest time I’d even go as far as to place them as “my second favorite band of ALL time”! To be into a band when they’re “underground” (or whatever is the P.C. way of saying “not that famous” is) and watch them evolve towards their first national television appearance was cool as hell. I recall they taped it a few days before, but it would actually air on August 1st, 2007, my twenty sixth birthday. I was still on my MSI kick, so it was a pretty spiffy moment. On top of that, it’s just a really awesome performance. It doesn’t quite capture the full madness of what their live show was like, but it rocked. A Perfect Circle “The Hollow” - (The Late Late Show with Craig Kilborn 2001)
Craig Kilborn was a good talk show host. For whatever reason he didn’t get to stick around too long, but what he did put out there was good. On this specific episode in 2001 Craig welcomed Jonathan Silverman, Amanda Peet, and this newly formed rock band called “A Perfect Circle”. They were just getting on the road and pushing the bad ass debut album. I remember a lot of people that weren’t “hip to the fact” that Maynard from Tool was the vocalist. This was a great track from a great album. This performance is pretty awesome. Maynard sways and lurks like he’s an overly-flamboyant Nosferatu. The red jacket and weird hat are awesome, despite him looking a little uncomfortably similar to Criss Angel in this appearance. It would seem like a normal appearance, but they put it all out there for a pretty damn powerful performance. Justin Timberlake and Jimmy Fallon “History of Rap” - (Late Night With Jimmy Fallon [Recurring])
This has been a cool recurring segment on Late Night With Jimmy Fallon. He has The Roots as a house band and has had some really cool musical guests and memorable performances, but I’m going to go with this purely on how cool and well done it is. It’s Jimmy Fallon being joined by his buddy Justin Timberlake to perform a three minute medley of some of the best and most beloved hip hop songs ever. It’s then going in a mainly chronological order of bad ass songs. It goes from stuff like “Rapper’s Delight”, to RUN DMC, Beastie Boys, 2 Pac, Eminem, Kanye, to Jay-Z and everyone in between. They’ve done this three times now and each time they’ve brought the goods. David Bowie “Changes” - (The Ellen DeGeneres Show 2004)
How can you not love David Bowie? Seriously. If you have any sense of class, taste, and goodness you’ll love this dude. He has made way too many great albums, videos, and moments for anyone to ever have any logical argument against him. In 2004 he was a guest on Ellen. He was his normal charming and brilliant self, but on this day he also took the stage. He just goes up there with his awesome band and does a chilling rendition of “Changes”. I’ve heard better versions, but the moment is cool. The fact that he’s not out there performing makes this even bigger in retrospect, but what I like is the casualness of it. He’s just up there in a hoodie, no crazy costume or special lights, singing one of the best rock and roll songs of all time. Pretty fucking magical if you ask me. Sevendust “Angel’s Son” - (The Late Show with David Letterman 2001)
Around 2001 I really got into Sevendust. I casually dug them before then, but I was at the ripe age of going to concerts a lot so it worked nicely. Their discography is pretty awesome and underrated as hell. They have to be one of the best hard rock bands of the past twenty or so years, but never really blew up nearly as much as anyone who has heard them thought they would. Anything is possible in the future, but they these bad asses have nothing to be ashamed of. If anything for moments like what’s captured in their 2001 appearance on Letterman. This is such a great great song and the cool bonus and kind of surreal twist of Paul Shaffer being on keyboards makes it that much cooler. If you’re not a fan of Sevendust or don’ have much exposure to them, please check this out and absorb the soul. The White Stripes “We Are Going To Be Friends” - (Late Night with Conan O'Brien 2/20/2009)
Conan O'Brien was moving on to bigger and better things. His run as the host of Late Night was amazing and absolutely the best talk show host run on many levels in my adult life. I know Carson was the king, but my only big memory of him as a child was his last show. Since then I’ve seen a million clips and have grown to appreciate the rich history. But Conan is, and always will be “my guy” in terms of talk show hosts. I know I’m not alone. The White Stripes were obvious fans. They had Conan in their “Denial Twist” video and he had them on for unprecedented full week of performances. They’d cross paths many more times, work together, and even share the stage over their cool relationship. For Conan’s last “Late Night” show he got them on and they did a splendid live take on “We Are Going To Be Friends”. Meg plays guitar and there is this really weird energy going on. I’m not 100% sure but it might have been the last time Jack and Meg performed on TV together. If not, long after. There is just a lot going on with this performance for it not to mean something. The Beastie Boys “Ch-Ch-Check It Out” - (The Late Show with David Letterman 6/14/2004)
This is probably the coolest performance I’ve seen on a late night talk show. In 2004 The Beastie Boys were riding their new ‘5 Boroughs’ album. Not ones for the mundane, The Beasties didn’t just pop up on stage and do an uninspired performance like most folks in hip hop do. Instead the three rappers come bouncing up from the subway stairs and walk through the streets of midtown and eventually right into the iconic Ed Sullivan Theater. It’s shot with a cool fish-eye effect and gets the Beastie vibe down perfectly. It’s pretty much a live music video that was pulled off flawlessly by one of the very best hip hop groups of all time. Beck, Will Ferrell, Billy Gibbons, Ben Harper, Conan, Viveca Paulin, and The Tonight Show Band “Freebird” - (The Tonight Show With Conan O’Brien 1/22/2010)
This is one of the biggest controversies and stories in talk show history, even bigger than the lame Leno/Letterman stuff. Conan was given the job, waited for the agreed timeframe to occur, and went in there and did his thing. Meanwhile Leno wasn’t ready to leave and they wanted keep him happy. Conan was pushed out and Leno was given his job back. Conan didn’t get to stay too long, but when he left he left in a huge way. After a very genuine “goodbye” speech he joined Will Ferrell, Viveca Paulin, Beck, Billy Gibbons of ZZ Top fame, Ben Harper, and The Tonight Show Band for an all-out star-studded jam session. The song? Lynryd Skynyrd's “Freebird”! Talk about going out in a blaze of glory and going out swinging. Jay Leno’s ninety seven year career as the host of the show will never see a moment half as great as this one.
What is YOUR favorite talk show music appearance? Share the links!
