BY MIKEY MIGO
He was involved in one of the biggest entertainment controversies in memory, he did 42 shows on tour, and a movement in his honor blew up the internet and protests rallies. We’re talking about Conan O’Brien… and that was just part of his 2010. In this edition of The Savage Animal, Mikey MiGo takes a look at Coco’s love of music, his guitar fetish, and why Conan O’Brien is a rock star.
He was involved in one of the biggest entertainment controversies in memory, he did 42 shows on tour, and a movement in his honor blew up the internet and protests rallies. We're talking about Conan O'Brien… and that was just part of his 2010. I've been a Conan fan since I can remember. The fact that his show started when I was grade school made it rough in the early years to catch it all, but I definitely made the effort. Conan quickly became one of my favorite people to watch and as I grew older into a writer, filmmaker, and just creative being he took on the role of muse and influence. I wrote him in the mid-90's. I'm sure it was something flattering to him and probably filled with even worse grammar than these columns. A few weeks afterwards, I got an envelope with the NBC logo in the corner. I open it up and it's a signed picture of Conan O'Brien. There was no response or anything, but the picture was enough for me. I know in many cases like that it's someone else signing photos. I learned that much from Whitney Houston's hit movie "The Bodyguard". It's not so much about the authenticity because this thing will never be resold. At this very moment, probably around fifteen years removed since getting that envelope in the mail, the picture is framed and on the wall of my small and pitiful workspace I call an office.
Conan O'Brien is a rock star. There is other way about it. His "day job" may be that of a talk show host, but if you've paid attention over the past twenty years you'd notice this fact. If you've been living under a rock… or watching Kimmel… then you need a run down on why….
Before The Desk!
Conan O'Brien got his start in the entertainment business as a writer. He wrote for Saturday Night Live and The Simpsons before landing his own talk show. While writing on The Simpsons he had the chance to get a little musical in his writing. Being responsible for the classic "Marge vs. The Monorail" episode, he penned the now classic "Monorail" song. Well, it's a classic to me dammit! But even before this point, he wasn't shy about his huge love for music. He's a fan of old school stuff like Dylan, the Dead, Rush, and of course Bruce Springsteen and E Street Band. On the more modern front he's a huge fan of The White Stripes and all that is Jack White. He's into Radiohead, Pearl Jam, and others. He's not, however, a fan of The Doors. I guess I can let that one slide. He IS Conan after all.
Guitars Galore!
When Coco isn't making us "lol", he rocks a mean guitar. Hell, he is also known to rock a mean guitar WHILE making us "lol". There have been plenty of segments, sketches, and appearances where O'Brien would use an acoustic guitar in a joke. My favorite recurring segment was the crazy lullaby thing where he plays and sings in a pleasant and sweet tone about horrible stuff. My favorite single music segment in Coco history has to be from his last episode of "The Tonight Show". He rocked out a cover of Skynyrd's "Free Bird" with friends and tore the house down one last time. As a long time viewer, it's easy to pick up that he collects guitars. Over the years he's been given plenty guitars as gifts from random guests. Always grateful you have to wonder just how bad ass his collection actually is. He apparently has a big collection of Gretschs, which apparently is pretty cool.
Musical Guests & Rockstar Friends!
Above is a video by The White Stripes called "Denial Twist". If you enjoy music, then you should have heard it about a half decade ago already. The first thing you notice in this Michel Gondry directed video is that it has tons of Conan love. It was taped on set of the old Late Night show and rocked. The Conan/Jack White friendship is one of the coolest cross-media friendships I can think of. The band did a 4 night residency on Late Night, played his last show on Late Night, recorded a video with Conan, and he and Jack even record together. It doesn't just end there. It seems that Conan has made quite a few friends in the music industry. I could rattle off dozens of bands and artists that have made recurring appearances on his shows. It goes on and on with some of the coolest acts ever. Being a lover of music, he seems to have his finger pretty close to the pulse of what's good out there. One of the more memorable segments from Conan's "Tonight Show" was where he used craigslist to hunt down some new guitars. He went to these people's houses and tried their guitars out and hilarity ensued. But he didn't just go alone with a camera crew. He was joined by guitar legend Slash. It was just a surreal and cool segment. That's just one though. I'm sure if you're a fan you have your own.
On The Road!
When NBC stole the Tonight Show from Conzie, he didn't just sit there. The contract he had with NBC included a no compete clause that meant he couldn't do another talk show for a few months. He didn't want to let himself, his writers, band, and staff just sit around and do nothing. He decided to take his show on the road. It would be a full blown and sold out 30 city comedy and music show called "The Legally Prohibited from Being Funny on Television Tour". These shows had stand up, cover songs, skits, videos, and Conan in the untamed wilderness of the road. Being such a music lover, it's always been a fantasy of Conan's to be traveling rock musician. He just that was for over two months. He rocked it with covers of Elvis, The Band, The White Stripes, The Who, and others. The show also featured tons of guest appearances including Spoon, Jack McBrayer, Seth Rogen, Dave Matthews, Eddie Vedder, Chris Isaak, Jim Carrey, Aziz Ansari, Jonah Hill, Jon Hamm, Sarah Silverman, Jason Mraz, Mike Tyson, The Fray, Dirk Nowitzki, Charlie Sexton, Hanson, Jason Sudeikis, Brian Setzer, Brian Urlacher, John C. Reilly, Tim Meadows, Kid Rock, Stephen Colbert, Jon Stewart, Paul Rudd, Bill Hader, John Krasinski, Vampire Weekend, Pee-wee Herman, John Krasinski, Eli Manning, Ed Helms, Dropkick Murphys, Tina Fey, Jack White, and Evander Holyfield. I've seen award shows with weaker line ups than that. Everyone wants a piece of Coco. In the end, Conan ended up doing 42 shows and even rocked it at world famous music festival Bonnaroo. I hope someday we get to see this or something like it on his show. A week or two of touring shows like this would be amazing.
Recording Artist!
Another set of projects since his departure from network late night is recording. One is a spoken word project, but other is a full blown album. Since he's tight with Jack White, he had no problem getting studio time at Jack's "Third Man" studio-slash-label-slash-creation factory. The album was recorded live with White, Conan's normal house band, and Coco himself behind the mic and guitar. The album was recorded while on the "Legally Prohibited" tour to a packed house of about 300 fans. Recorded on reel to reel tape for album pressing to come, they rocked it out pretty awesome this show.There are a few tracks out there to sample. "Polk Salad Annie", an Elvis cover, reminds me of the ranty story-telling blues rock tracks you'd hear on a Blues Brother's B-Side. That's a huge compliment for the mind numb out there. Another sample track out there is "Twenty Flight Rock". It's a swinging rock-a-billy track that sounds kind of too cool to really be Conan. It proves that he could have been the lead singer of some "Cherry Poppin' Daddys" type of band. Also at this session, the fans got to see "Blue Moon", another Elvis cover, the Stray Cat's "Rock This Town", the Band's "The Weight", Eddie Cochran's "Twenty Flight Rock", Willie Nelson's "On the Road Again", a hilarious cover of Radiohead's "Creep", and Jack White's own "Seven Nation Army". I don't think the album is available yet, but one tends to think it'll be more than the sure shot of best comedy album of the year. With Conan's love for music, the band, and Jack White involved it's hard to think it won't rock just a… lot.
Rockstar Status
He has been in our homes for over fifteen years, but we don't charge him rent. From his writing days on SNL and The Simpsons to his hosting gigs, Conan O'Brien has become part of modern Americana. His oddball humor, weird demeanor, and undeniable charisma have brought countless hours of life to many lifeless nights. He's been on the cover of Rolling Stone magazine a few times. He has been in the center of major controversy. He has taken his career into his own hands and we, Team Coco, stand behind him. When NBC not pulled,… but yanked the plug on his Tonight Show stint there was an outcry. In major cities, thousands of fans took on rallys. The internet backing was insane. People came out of the wood work to show unity for Conan. You really don't see that for folks on TV… only rock stars.
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