Ha ha. You're totally right. I did mean Norman Lear. But my point was that it's not about age, it's about talent. And while Lear created some classic comedy shows, he was not a great host.Originally Posted by William Ham
Ha ha. You're totally right. I did mean Norman Lear. But my point was that it's not about age, it's about talent. And while Lear created some classic comedy shows, he was not a great host.
http://www.thefutoncritic.com/news.a...=20100224nbc01
March 6 Zach Galifianakis/ Vampire Weekend
March 13 Jude Law/ Pearl Jam
I guess Jude doesn't have to cover for any lip-syncing this time around.
My agree/disagree ratio with you seems to hover around 50 percent
I like Vampire Weekend.
yeah, they couldn't have picked a better pairing for me
nathan smart!
http://www.nathansmart.com
Seriously, who watches the musical acts on SNL? Even when they're acts I like (about once every other year) I think I may have actually watched the performance once, which was Björk.
Well, I guess if you actually watch it live... Haven't done that this century, though.
One of the most useless DVD box sets I've ever seen was "The Music of SNL". Really?
I love my Music of SNL box set. But I'm as much a music-nerd as I am a comedy-nerd. So maybe I be the only one?
That could not be a better potential show.
Yeah, I like mine too.
I'm much more of a music nerd than a comedy nerd, for the record. I just don't think the musical acts on SNL have ever been particularly interesting and in the rare cases when they have been, their performances haven't been much to write home about.
I've never really understood what they do in the flow of the show. To me it's the equivalent of showing a concert, but interrupting it twice for juggling or something equally unrelated. I do understand that it's a legacy of its history and that of TV variety shows, but even when watching it live back in the early 80s, I remember finding it a little odd.
I guess I'd be less bothered by it if the bands were primarily ones I actually liked, though.
For a short period of time, the performers on the show had some pull as to the musical acts, so you got Fear, Replacements, etc.
Now it's mostly zzzzzzzz......
Often bands I really love give really lame performances on SNL, the same goes for many of the late night shows I guess it can be difficult to perform to a pretty unresponsive crowd, many of whom don't know who you are.
It also seems they are kind of far from the crowd, well at least further than they would be at a decent gig. In the Late night shows I think the two Jimmys' set up allows for more energetic and connected performances.
SNL turned me on to a lot of music growing up. Tom Waits, Captain Beefheart, The B-52s...etc
Hell, I love to watch the early season box sets just for the musical guests.
Elvis Costello's performance of Radio, Radio on SNL turned me onto his work, and I became a huge Costello-nerd because of it. Queen's only major American TV appearance (that I know of, besides Live-Aid of course) doing Crazy Little Thing Called Love is an amazing performance wherein Brian May switches guitars something like four times in the same song. Simon and Garfunkel reuniting on stage and doing like 25 minutes worth of songs was fantastic (also the real-life awkward moment of Simon busting G-funk's balls over trying to be an actor was worth the price of admission on that).
Those are just from early years. That Music of SNL boxset actually showcases just how eclectic and varied the performances have been. Sure, there's been some stinkies, but that's going to happen regardless.
To the point of bands just not sounding good on SNL or late night shows, I think a lot of that is due to the over-compression that TV has to do on live rock bands in order to not blow out everyone speakers at home. The mixing of the band can definitely sound off as well and can lead to a band not sounding all that great on the TV, but maybe in the studio they were awesome.
Univision AND Telemundo. Damn, SNL is network droppin'!
The Smashmouth-closet sketch seemed really reminiscent of Jon Hamm's Sergio.
Some artists put on really good performances. Probably because of the exposure it gives them. Arcade Fire come to mind as having a really memorable performance that actually got me interested in them.
U2 is a band that I am not all that crazy about, and they certainly don't need exposure, but their performances are always pretty good.
I also enjoyed the Ting Tings recent performance. I think ultimately I enjoy them because at times it exposes me to bands that I hadn't heard of, is a good performance from a band I like, or gives me time to go to the bathroom or write a short story or something.
I always liked those musical cold opens that feature every cast member doing impressions, but this one wasn't as good as "Rockers Help Explain Whitewater" or the Michael Jordan "Stay on, for one more year" thing. It was better than another political cold open though.
The digital short was really amazing. Maybe not that funny, but very inventive and creative. The Lonely Island guys put a lot of effort into everything they do, which makes me respect them, even if sometimes their stuff gets a bit silly.
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