Tonight's Musical Guest, Today

It's a career arc that spanned genres, oceans, and mainstream musical movements that came and went. And at the center of it, an enigmatic frontman that refused to make anything easy. It's RADIOHEAD week!The guys give a quick upcoming concert report before Jon reveals a shocking secret about his relationship with the band of the week. The clip story begins with Radiohead as a fish out of water on MTV Beach House until Thom Yorke literally gets wet. Back to back clips on Jools Holland captures The Bends and OK Computer era, with a quick Dave Grohl Corner in between. Kid A creates the foundation for modern music culture and provides an SNL performance for the ages. And Radiohead is on the 2009 Grammys for In Rainbows and ends up in the middle of one of the more ridiculous live performance lineups you'll ever hear.Want to watch along with us? Check out the links below for the performances discussed this week!Interview/Creep/Anyone Can Play Guitar, 7/4/1993 on MTV Beach HouseHigh and Dry/The Bends, 5/16/1995 on Later...with Jools HollandParanoid Android/No Surprises/Airbag, 5/31/1997 on Later...with Jools HollandThe National Anthem/Idioteque, 10/14/2000 on Saturday Night LiveInterview/Pyramid Song/Knives Out, 5/25/2001 on Top of the Pops15 Step, 2/8/2009 on the 51st Annual Grammy AwardsInterview/Bloom/The Daily Mail/Little by Little, 9/26/2011 on The Colbert Report

The only podcast that matters. The only band that matters. Coming together finally. We return from our hiatus the only way we could. It's THE CLASH week!Alex and Jon welcome you back to the podcast that discusses the cultural memory and career arc of bands and artists through their late night tv show performances. Our return finds us analyzing one of the most significant and influential bands of all time, with tv clips that span a far too short existence. Early performances on French and British TV show a band rooted in rock and roll, including an intrepid teen interviewing The Clash alongside a British MP. London Calling is maybe the best album of all time, and a 4-song performance on Friday's captures it in all its glory. And a Sandinista-era clip on Tom Snyder portends the ultimate split of Joe Strummer and Mick Jones, featuring Bernie Rhodes ruining The Clash!Want to watch along with us? Check out the links below for the performances discussed this week!Complete Control/1977/London's Burning, 9/28/1977 on Un Sur CinqClash City Rockers/Tommy Gun/Interview, 3/11/1978 on Something ElseEnglish Civil War/Hate and War/Israelites/Interview, 10/3/1979 on Alright NowLondon Calling/Train in the Vain/The Guns of Brixton/Clampdown, 4/25/1980 on Friday'sThe Magnificent Seven/This is Radio Clash, 6/5/1981 on Tomorrow Coast to Coast with Tom SnyderStraight to Hell/Should I Stay or Should I Go?, 10/9/1982 on Saturday Night Live

After 2.5 years of discussing the cultural memory and career arc of bands and artists through their late night tv show performances, we're taking our first hiatus. And there was only one thing we could do to celebrate: talk about ska for over 3 hours. It's our GRAB BAG: SKA-TACULAR!And there was only one person that could pick it up with us: best friend of the show and creator of our theme song Kenny! The guys and Kenny surf all the waves of ska, discussing its roots, suits, and sixty years of upstrokes. Inventors of the genre The Skatalites reunite for a performance on Conan in 1994. The two-tone era is equal parts catchy and serious with incredible clips of The Selecter and The Specials. Fishbone sets the stage for 3rd wave, including a beach party movie cameo that requires discussion. The Mighty Mighty Bosstones and Reel Big Fish encapsulate that beautiful moment in 1997 when ska dominated our lives. And The Interrupters have the first big ska hit in 20 years after supporting Ron Paul for President.Want to learn the name of almost every ska band? Listen to this episode! But if you want to watch along with us, check out the links below for the performances discussed this week!We'll be back sometime in 2026. Skank on.Police Woman by The Skatalites, 3/15/1994 on Late Night with Conan O'BrienMurder/Danger/Missing Words by The Selecter, 2/19/1980 on The Old Grey Whistle TestGangsters/Too Much Too Young by The Specials, 4/19/1980 on Saturday Night LiveUgly/When Problems Arise by Fishbone, 1987 on The Late Show with Joan RiversThe Impression That I Get/The Rascal King by The Mighty Mighty Bosstones, 1997 on MTV Motel CaliforniaSell Out by Reel Big Fish, 7/28/1997 on Oddville, MTVShe's Kerosone/Take Back the Power by The Interrupters, 7/26/2018 on Jimmy Kimmel Live!

This is a band that defined early 2000s emo for so many (including us). And it turns out the band drama was even messier than their lyrics. It's TAKING BACK SUNDAY week!The guys have an important show announcement up top before reexamining their short-lived intense fandom with these Long Island heroes. It takes a while to get through the early rise and messy bitch drama of Tell All Your Friends before we get to some performances, including an era-defining acoustic performance on Last Call with Carson Daly. Alex and Jon discover they remembered this band all wrong with the two-album run of Fred Mascherino being by far the best era of the band. And stick around for a critical analysis of Denny's 2008 emo/screamo adopt-a-band all nighter menu featuring a Hoobastank burrito.Want to watch along with us? Check out the links below for the performances discussed this week!Cute Without the E (Cut From the Team)/Message in a Bottle, 9/9/2003 on Jimmy Kimmel Live!You're So Last Summer, 11/11/2003 on Last Call with Carson DalyA Decade Under the Influence, 10/8/2004 on The Late Late Show with Craig FergusonMakeDamnSure, 7/24/2006 on The Tonight Show with Jay LenoLiar (It Takes One to Know One), 12/20/2006 on The Late Show with David LettermanSink Into Me/New Again, 6/2/2009 on Jimmy Kimmel Live!Better Homes and Gardens with the Contemporary Youth Orchestra, 7/22/2015 on The Alternative Press Music Awards

Wake up! This LA by way of Armenia heavy metal/death metal/middle eastern/jazz fusion four-piece stunned mainstream culture at every turn. It's SYSTEM OF A DOWN week!We recap the rich and tragic familial history and musical origins of Serj Tankian and co. before jumping into 3 tv performances across the span of 3 years for SOAD's classic self-titled debut. That includes a pretty ridiculous Fred Durst sidebar and our triumphant return to the short-lived TV home of late 90s nu-metal, Farmclub.com. Toxicity becomes huge amid 9/11, with a rare TV clip of Chop Suey! on MTV Latin America. And we return to Fuse's Uranium with Mistress Juliya Chernetsky to unfortunately find her trying to survive the interview from hell.Want to watch along with us? Check out the links below for the performances discussed this week!War?, 11/9/1998 on NPA (French TV)Spiders, 3/16/2000 on Late Night with Conan O'BrienSugar/Suggestions, 6/12/2000 on Farmclub.comChop Suey!, 10/24/2002 on MTV VMAs Latin AmericaInterview (Part 1, Part 2, Part 3), 2005 on Fuse's UraniumB.Y.O.B/Aerials, 5/7/2005 on Saturday Night Live

While coming up in the Portland post-punk scene, this singer/songwriter recorded a batch of lo-fi acoustic demos on a whim. What followed was a once-in-a-generation rise and fall fueled by some of the most beautiful songwriting of the past 30 years. It's ELLIOTT SMITH week!Returning to the show is pod-favorite and fellow Texan Rory Phillips (The Impossibles, Slowreader, The Stereo)! Rory and the guys discuss the upcoming Slowreader reunion shows before diving into the incredible music and turbulent life of Elliott. Clip one is likely the most surreal ever on the show, with Elliott somehow ending up on a zany 90s morning show hosted by Tom Bergeron and a puppet. Good Will Hunting changes everything with an Oscars performance that defines his public persona for the rest of his life. And full band performances on SNL, Conan, and Letterman capture the power poppier side of Elliott. Want to watch along with us? Check out the links below for the performances discussed this week!Clementine, 7/28/1995 on Breakfast TimeMiss Misery, 3/5/1998 on MTV Live with Carson DalyMiss Misery, 3/23/1998 on The OscarsWaltz #2 (XO), 8/20/1998 on Much Music CanadaWaltz #2 (XO), 10/17/1998 on Saturday Night LiveSon of Sam, 4/21/2000 on Late Night with Conan O'BrienStupidity Tries, 7/21/2000 on The Late Show with David LettermanCheck out Rory and Slowreader at their upcoming reunion shows in Austin, TX!

Do we stress you out? Our sweaters are on backwards and inside out this week to talk about an artist that took over the world in 1995. But what about before and after? It's ALANIS MORISSETTE week!Joining the show is past guest Courtney Denison and her husband/musical partner Sean Farrell of Boston pop punk band Bad Idea USA! We begin this week discussing Alanis' often forgotten teenage dance pop days in Canada with a 1992 daytime talk show appearance in her native land. The Jagged Little Pill-era live band featuring Taylor Hawkins is ridiculously good with appearances on Letterman and SNL. A 1999 Grammy's performance off of the City of Angels soundtrack requires a sidebar on the fashion of AJ McLean of The Backstreet Boys. And we wrap up discussing the biggest selling albums of the 1990s.Want to watch along with us? Check out the links below for the performances discussed this week!Change is a Waste of Time, 11/24/1992 on The Dini Petty ShowYou Oughta Know, 8/17/1995 on The Late Show with David LettermanHand in My Pocket/All I Really Want, 10/28/1995 on Saturday Night LiveJoining You, 12/17/1998 on The Tonight Show with Jay LenoUninvited, 2/24/1999 on The Grammy AwardsHands Clean/Your House, 2/27/2002 on Last Call with Carson DalyEverything/Out is Through/Ironic, 5/14/2004 on Later...with Jools HollandFollow Bad Idea USA on Instagram and see them live soon!

Founders of Seattle grunge, this sludgy hard rock outfit combined crazy technical prowess with hair-raising vocals. Led by a one-of-kind lead singer, they defined a movement that persists to this day. It's SOUNDGARDEN week!Jon and Alex deal with the fallout of being cancelled by the anti-Dave Grohl internet movement before tracking the twists of a band that mostly avoided TV appearances! Clip 1 finds the band on a short-lived awards show put on by the College Media Journal and the USA Network. Steve Issacs returns to the show right as grunge is taking over, with Soundgarden blasting through Outshined and Slaves & Bulldozers on Hangin' with MTV. Superunknown is a huge hit and the band is hardly on TV for it, except for a 40-minute Japanese grunge special. And we discuss the band's 2010s reunion with clips on Conan and Jools Holland before Chris Cornell's tragic ending.Want to watch along with us? Check out the links below for the performances discussed this week!Ugly Truth/Big Dumb Sex reprise, 10/26/1989 on the CMJ New Music AwardsOutshined/Slaves & Bulldozers, 12/11/1991 on Hangin' with MTVFell on Black Days/Spoonman, 2/8/1994 on Sony Music TV JapanPretty Noose/Burden in My Hand, 5/18/1996 on Saturday Night LiveBlack Rain/Hunted Down, 11/9/2010 on ConanBeen Away too Long/Taree/Rusty Cage, 11/6/2012 on Later...with Jools Holland

This artist melded 70s southern soul with 80s hip hop and earned a royal title for it in the process. Equal parts tough and diva, she took over the R&B world in 1992 and never left. It's MARY J. BLIGE week!Joining the show is journalist, author, and Mary superfan Craig Seymour! Luckily, Craig is prepared to school the guys on the immeasurable impact of Mary's early albums and the way it shaped modern hip hop/R&B forever. Clip 1 has Jennifer Lopez, Rosie Perez, and Jim Carrey backing up Mary on In Living Color. My Life is a huge album without a huge single, but a full-band version of "You Bring Me Joy" still kills on Conan. Queen Latifah brings together Mary and Lauryn Hill for a once-in-a-lifetime collaboration on TV. And we end with the 2022 Super Bowl, with Mary fitting right in alongside other legends of hip hop (and 50 Cent).Want to watch along with us? Check out the links below for the peformances disucssed this week!Reminisce, 11/2/1992 on In Living ColorYou Bring Me Joy, 5/19/1995 on Late Night with Conan O'BrienThank You Lord/Not Gon' Cry/Love is All We Need with Nas, 3/7/1997 on The Soul Train AwardsAll That I Can Say with Lauryn Hill, 2/4/2000 on The Queen Latifah ShowFamily Affair/No More Drama, 5/3/2002 on Later...with Jools HollandBe Without You/Stay With Me/Runaway Love with Ludacris and Earth, Wind, & Fire, 2/11/2007 on The Grammy AwardsFamily Affair/No More Drama with Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, 50 Cent, Kendrick Lamar and Eminem, 2/13/2022 on The Super Bowl Halftime Show

In the mid 70s, some arty weird kids in Athens, GA shared a volcano cocktail at a Chinese restaurant. That party took them to many others, armed with hugely influential guitar licks, beehive hairdo wigs, and dancing from another world. It's THE B-52s week!It's episode number 50 of TMGT, and the show kicks off with a performance on SNL that changed Dave Grohl's life. Jon insists on covering a clip of the band at the 1982 US Festival despite it having no place within the dumb format of this podcast. The "Whammy" era is captured on UK TV, and uh, it's not great! The guys discuss the lasting influence of the late great Ricky Wilson, and his absence is sorely felt on a 1987 clip from a UK children's show. And a comeback performance of "Love Shack" on Letterman almost makes Jon cry.Want to watch along with us? Check out the links below for the performances discussed this week!Rock Lobster/Dance This Mess Around, 1/26/1980 on Saturday Night LiveGive Me Back My Man, 9/3/1982 at The US FestivalSong for a Future Generation/Whammy Kiss/Butterbean, 1983 on SwitchWig/Planet Claire, 7/11/1987 on Get FreshLove Shack, 6/20/1989 on Late Night with David LettermanCosmic Thing/Channel Z, 4/21/1990 on Saturday Night LiveIs That You Mo-Dean?, 8/31/1992 on Hangin' with MTV

She emerged from the caves of Iceland with a singular voice and singular vision. As the ultimate blank check artist, she combined international textures with innovative electronic landscapes to both astound and baffle listeners. It's BJÖRK week!Björk leans into her Sugarcubes and London club influences early with quirky and catchy performances on Conan and Leno. A turmoil-filled run up to Homogenic produces an intense 1997 performance on Jools Holland with an Icelandic string octet. The swan dress overshadows a sparse and haunting Oscars performance of I've Seen it All. Björk is backed by a renowned harpist, found sound DJ producers, and a Greenland Inuit women's choir on Japanese television. And Alex and Jon display a shocking lack of knowledge regarding the female anatomy. Want to watch along with us? Check out the links below for the performances discussed this week!Human Behaviour, September 14th, 1993 on Late Night with Conan O'BrienIt's Oh So Quiet, November 2nd, 1995 on The Tonight Show with Jay LenoHunter/Bachelorette/Joga, November 28th, 1997 on Later...with Jools HollandI've Seen it All, March 25th, 2001 on The OscarsPagan Poetry/Generous Palmstroke, January 14th, 2002 on News23 Tokyo TelevisionEarth Intruders/Wanderlust, April 21st, 2007 on Saturday Night LiveThe Gate/Blissing Me/Courtship/The Anchor Song, May 22nd, 2018 on Later...with Jools Holland

Mix 1 part traditional irish folk, 2 parts punk, and 3 parts irish whiskey (just not the protestant kind): stir and drink well. Grab a Guinness and sing along: it's THE POGUES week!Joining the show is a long-time friend who played many a sweaty Boston punk show with Alex and Jon over the years, Kevin Bogart (Trophy Lungs, Better Sense)! Kevin and the guys discuss the upcoming New Warden/Trophy Lungs reunion show at O'Briens before tackling the idiot savant genius nature of Shane MacGowan. We kick off the show with The Pogues baffling a crowd of hip London teens on The Tube. A French filmmaker produces a TV documentary for British television at the height of Rum Sodomy & the Lash. The Pogues join the nation of Ireland by honoring 25 years of The Dubliners, and it is the most Irish thing you'll ever see. And Fairytale of New York sends Shane and the guys off on a path of fame and messiness that ends today with a Letterman clip in 1993 (without Shane).Want to watch along with us? Check out the links below for the performances discussed this week!Sally MacLennane/Whiskey, You're the Devil/Boys From the County Hell/Waxie's Dargel, November 1st, 1985 on The Tube Part 1/Part 2/Part 3, February 15th, 1986 TV French special by Antoine de Caunes from Rock ArenaIrish Rover with the Dubliners/Auld Triangle group sing-along, March 6th, 1987 on RTE The Late Late Show Tribute to 25 years of The DublinersFairytale of New York with Kirsty MacColl, December 1st, 1987 on Top of the PopsFiesta/Streets of Sorrow-Birmingham Six (4:20 mark), April 15th, 1988 on Friday Night LiveWhite City/The Body of an American, March 17th, 1990 on Saturday Night LiveTuesday Morning, October 22nd, 1993 on The Late Show with David Letterman

This western Massachusetts trio combined elements of hardcore, folk, and guitar virtuosity to become unlikely godfathers of grunge. But in between classic 80s indie releases and 2000s reunion albums, lots of other stuff happened too. We discuss. It's DINOSAUR JR. week!Joining the show is the creator of the indie punk and rock publication see/saw and former Pitchfork News Editor Evan Minsker! After giving the first Lou Barlow era its needed time up top, the guys watch the band's network TV debut 7 years after its formation on Letterman. It's a very World's Most Dangerous Band episode, featuring punk chimes in a '93 clip. Dinosaur Jr. performs a forgotten rap-rock jam on Arsenio with the ridiculous lineup of Del tha Funky Homosapien, Mike Watt, and Mike D. The Mike Johnson era of the band reaches its pinnacle with Feel the Pain on Letterman.  The guys are too old to party with their daughter on the Jenny Jones show. And the triumphant return of Lou kicks off on Craig Ferguson in 2005.Want to watch along with us? Check out the links below for the performances discussed this week!Band Featurette, January 1991 on Snub TVThe Wagon, 5/21/1992 on Late Night with David LettermanOut There, 6/12/1993 on Late Night with David LettermanMissing Link w/ Del The Funky HomoSapien (featuring Mike Watt and Mike D), 1993 on The Arsenio Hall ShowFeel the Pain, 9/8/1994 on The Late Show with David LettermanNever Bought it/Out There, 11/6/1997 on The Jenny Jones ShowThe Lung, 4/15/2005 on The Late Late Show with Craig FergusonAlmost Ready, 4/30/2007 on The Late Show with David LettermanCheck out and subscribe to see/saw!

Good genes. Industry access. A lack of initial meritocracy. These artists reaped the benefits and pitfalls of simply being the children of some of the most famous musicians of all time. It's NEPO BABIES week, grab bag style!We start off nepo week in style with Nancy Sinatra performing a stone-cold classic on Ed Sullivan in 1966 with an array of groovy back up dancers. Ziggy Marley leads a nepo baby band at the height of his powers sounding exactly like his Dad. It's nepo baby mania in 1990, with Wilson Phillips and Julian Lennon performing two months apart on Letterman. The guys unearth the odd cultural relic of Z, a short-lived Zappa family band that combines guitar virtuosity with a nonsense grunge aesthetic. Jakob Dylan, not satisfied to be only upstaged by his father, performs with Bruce Springsteen on the VMAs in 1997. And MTV pushes Kelly Osbourne onto the music world, and the world politely declines.Want to watch along with us? Check out the links below for the performances discussed this week!Nancy Sinatra - These Boots Are Made for Walking, 2/27/1966 on The Ed Sullivan ShowZiggy Marley and the Melody Makers - Tumblin' Down, 2/7/1989 on Late Night with David LettermanWilson Phillips - Hold On, 4/24/1990 on Late Night with David LettermanJulian Lennon - I Get Up, 6/18/1990 on Late Night with David LettermanZ - My Beef Mailbox, 2/28/1994 on Late with Conan O'BrienThe Wallflowers with Bruce Springsteen - One Headlight, 9/4/1997 on the MTV Video Music AwardsKelly Osbourne - Papa Don't Preach, 6/1/2002 on the MTV Movie Awards

In the early 90s, two guys pretending to be brothers from New Hope, PA somehow snuck into the major label system making aggressively hard to listen to 4-track jams. And then went on to be one of the greatest cult acts of all time. It's WEEN week!We begin the show with a quick but illuminating 1991 clip from Dutch television. Pauly Shore is the only person that enjoys Push th' Little Daisies at MTV Spring Break. Gene and Dean give a stunning performance of Freedom of '76 on the cool as hell daytime Jane Pratt Show. The Chocolate and Cheese era is captured by Gene in a problematic Arabic costume on Conan. An insane public access performance from The Mollusk era has Claude Coleman in a sasquatch costume. But most importantly, does Alex like Ween now???Want to watch along with us? Check out the links below for the performances discussed this week!L.M.L.Y.P/Tick, 2/17/1991 on Moord TVPush th' Little Daisies, 3/14/1993 on Chillin with the Weiz MTV Spring Break Freedom of '76, 3/31/1993 on The Jane Pratt ShowI Can't Put My Finger on It, 1/18/1995 on Late Night with Conan O'BrienBuckingham Green/She Wanted to Leave/The Final Alarm, 5/27/1997 on Nothing, Really (PA public access)Exactly Where I'm At, 7/25/2000 on The Late Show with David LettermanHappy Colored Marbles, 9/3/2003 on Last Call with Carson Daly

Dubbed the World's Greatest Rock and Roll Band, they invaded America, its TV screens, and changed it all. It's an episode that would maybe even make Ed Sullivan proud. It's THE ROLLING STONES week!Joining the show is iconic drummer and the King of rock and roll weirdness, Jon Wurster (Shannon/Narducy & Friends, The Mountain Goats, ex-Superchunk)! Jon and the guys watch a pod-record 8 performances from 1964 to 1978, tracking the ever-changing styles and looks of this quite popular band! The group’s first ever live TV performance comes on a British sketch comedy show hosted by Arthur Haynes. The Stones morph across 5 drama-filled Ed Sullivan performances with screaming girls, censorship, and Brian Jones getting progressively weirder. A 1972 clip from Beat Club shows the band at the height of its power. And a big 1978 comeback is captured in a supremely messy SNL performance.Check out Jon on tour with Michael Shannon/Jason Narducy & Friends doing REM's Fables of the Reconstruction and much more right now!Want to watch along with us? Check out the links below for the performances discussed this week!I Wanna Be Your Man/You Better Move On (8:37 mark), 2/7/1964 on The Arthur Haynes ShowAround and Around/Time is on My Side, 10/25/1964 on The Ed Sullivan ShowSatisfaction/As Tears Go By/19th Nervous Breakdown, 2/13/1966 on The Ed Sullivan ShowPaint it Black/Lady Jane/Have you Seen Your Mother, Baby, Standing in the Shadow? (22:42 mark), 9/11/1966 on The Ed Sullivan ShowRuby Tuesday/Lets Spend the Night Together (32:12 mark), 1/15/1967 on The Ed Sullivan ShowGimme Shelter/Love in Vain/Honky Tonk Woman, 11/23/1969 on The Ed Sullivan ShowJam Session/Tumbling Dice/Shake Your Hips/Loving Cup, May 1972 on Beat ClubBeast of Burden/Respectable/Shattered, 10/7/1978 on Saturday Night Live

CHILL! This rap-rock-metal-funk-reggae outfit was dominating the modern rock charts before the term nu-metal was coined. Armed with positivity, a turntable, and marijuana enthusiasm, they carried a mid 90s nation mourning the end of grunge. It's 311 week!We come clean up top about our varying levels of adoration for the band 311 before talking about them for 2 hours. The loveable lads from Omaha make their TV debut with "Down" on Conan, and then proceed to play it again and again for the next six years. Josh Freese fills in for Chad Sexton on Recovery in Australia amid the Transistor era. "Amber" and "Love Song" give us some pop reggae chart topping goodness on Carson Daly and Leno. And Jon has a panic attack trying to explain Nick Hexum owning a private island while doubting that any band could be this nice.Want to watch along with us? Check out the links below for the performances discussed this week!Down, 8/23/1996 on Late Night with Conan O'BrienDown/Beautiful Disaster/What Was I Thinking, 1/24/1998 on Recovery (Australia)Amber/Down, 3/13/02 on Last Call with Carson DalyCreatures (For a While), 7/18/2003 on The Late Late Show with Craig KilbornLove Song, 6/11/2004 on The Tonight Show with Jay LenoDon't Tread on Me, 8/5/2005 on Jimmy Kimmel Live!Hey You/It's Alright, 6/9/2009 on Jimmy Kimmel Live!

His live TV debut on SNL has gone down as maybe the most famous moment in late night music history. But the decades that followed were just as surprising, rebellious, and at times baffling. It's ELVIS COSTELLO week!Joining the show is comedian, actor, and Elvis Costello historian Connor Ratliff (Dead Eyes, Tiny Dinos, The George Lucas Talk Show)! Connor does his best to walk the guys through the overwhelming twists and turns of Elvis' 50 year career. We of course begin with Elvis and the Attractions act of rebellion on SNL in 1977. Joan Rivers has Elvis on The Tonight Show in 1984 and lots of tissues are involved. The 90s bring collaborations with string quartets and Burt Bacharach, plus a very public feud with bassist Bruce Thomas that plays out on late night. And we end with Elvis as the elder statesman fronting The Roots on Fallon in 2009.Want to watch along with us? Check out the links below for the performances discussed this week!Watching the Detectives/Radio Radio, 12/17/1977 on Saturday Night LiveI Hope You're Happy Now/Peace in Our Time, 12/12/1984 on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson (Joan Rivers guest hosting)Taking My Life in Your Hands/Jacksons, Monk, and Rowe with The Brodsky Quartet, 3/16/1993 on The Tonight Show with Jay LenoYou Bowed Down, 8/26/1996 on The Tonight Show with Jay LenoI Still Have That Other Girl with Burt Bacharach (4:25 mark), 9/29/1998 on The Late Show with David Letterman45, 9/29/1999 on The Tonight Show with Jay LenoHigh Fidelity/(I Don't Want to Go to) Chelsea with The Roots, 11/20/2009 on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon

We're following up Christmas day with the second most famous resurrection story of all time. Except this California band rose not just once, but twice from the ashes. It's RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS week!The clips this week surprisingly begin all the way back in 1984, with the first iteration of the band performing with the energy of 8th graders on Thicke of the Night. Clips on Arsenio and Letterman show the transformation from Hillel Slovak and Jack Irons to John Frusciante and Chad Smith. John bombs Under the Bridge on SNL in 1992 and Anthony Kiedis is not pleased. One of the biggest comeback records of all time is on display with Grandmaster Flash on The Chris Rock Show. And the Billboard Game this week forces us to examine the mind blowing chart domination of Taylor Swift.Want to watch along with us? Check out the links below for the performances discussed this week!True Men Don't Kill Coyotes/Get Up and Jump, 3/16/1984 on Thicke of the NightFight Like a Brave/Organic Anti-Beat Box Band, 9/29/1987 on The Arsenio Hall ShowHigher Ground, 3/30/1990 on Late Night with David LettermanStone Cold Bush/Under the Bridge, 2/22/1992 on Saturday Night LiveAeroplane, 2/13/1996 on The Late Show with David LettermanAround the World, 9/24/1999 on The Chris Rock ShowDani California/Snow ((Hey Oh))/Interview/By the Way, 11/21/2006 on Later...with Jools Holland

Pounding robotic trance desert stoner rock. Is that enough adjectives to describe what is maybe the last great mainstream hard rock band of the 21st century? We find more to use. It's QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE week!For a band often described as "The Josh Homme Project", we find ways to discuss the careers of way too many musicians on the show this week. Early clips on Conan and Kilborn capture the short-lived magical chemistry of Homme and bassist Nick Olivieri. Our biggest cheat clip ever on the show brings us to the Werchter, Belgium rock festival in 2002 featuring Dave Grohl and Mark Lanegan. Homme surrounds himself with a shifting cast of band members across the 2000s, including a one-song appearance by Will Ferrell. And we discuss the outsized influence and legacy of QOTSA in the dying landscape of modern mainstream rock music. Want to watch along with us? Check out the links below for the performances discussed this week!The Lost Art of Keeping a Secret, 11/14/2000 on Late Night with Conan O'BrienSong for the Dead, 6/29/2002 on MTV2 Rock Werchter No One Knows, 2/20/2003 on The Late Late Show with Craig KilbornLittle Sister/In My Head, 5/14/2005 on Saturday Night Live3s & 7s/Sick Sick Sick, 5/11/2007 on Transmission UKI Sat By the Ocean/If I Had a Tail/Interview/My God is the Sun, 5/14/2013 on Later...with Jools HollandEmotion Sickness, 12/14/2023 on Jimmy Kimmel Live!

Remembered as schmaltzy elevator music, this sister-brother duo dominated the charts for much of the 1970s. Driven by the one-of-a-kind voice of Karen Carpenter and the orchestration of brother Dick, they epitomize the former power of television monoculture and the murky arc of cultural memory. It's THE CARPENTERS week!Almost unlike any other group covered on the show, the clips this week are bountiful, explanatory, and filled with medleys. A recent viral clip of Karen ripping it up on drums on Your All American College Show in 1968 kicks off the podcast this week. The Carpenters play a medley of Burt Bacharach covers for skeptical injured vets at the height of the Vietnam War. Karen steps out front for the first time in 1973 on Johnny Carson. The Carpenters' first of many TV specials in 1976 is both illuminating and extremely silly. And we discuss the tragic demise of Karen and the mark left by her across culture.Want to watch along with us? Check out the links below for the performances discussed this week!Dancing in the Street, 8/31/1968 on Your All-American College Show(They Long to Be) Close to You/Knowing When to Leave/Making It Easy on Yourself/(There's) Always Something There to Remind Me/I'll Never Fall in Love Again/Walk on By/Do You Know the Way to San Jose?, 11/8/1970 on The Ed Sullivan ShowSuperstar/Rainy Days and Monday/Goodbye to Love/Mr. Guder, 11/6/1973 on The Tonight Show with Johnny CarsonThe Carpenters' First Television Special, 12/8/1976Please Mr. Postman/Merry Christmas, Darling/I Need To Be In Love/Christmas Medley, 12/24/1978 on Bruce Forsyth's Big Night(Want You) Back in my Life Again, 11/2/1981 on The Merv Griffin Show

Garage Rock. Indie Sleaze. Electronic Dance Pop. This Brooklyn trio has done it all across a surprisingly long career, out lasting almost all of their early 2000s NYC contemporaries. It's YEAH YEAH YEAHS week!Joining the show this week is Boston-based musician Matt Ozelius! As drummers for him in recent years, Matt weighs in on the great debate over who is better behind the kit-Jon or Alex-before diving into the theatrical TV appearances of Karen O and co! The Yeah Yeah Yeahs are on Letterman a lot, and unfortunately Dave is a weird creep for over a decade. A garden-themed performance of "Maps" on the MTV Movie Awards is equally pretty and impressive. A broadway choir backs up the band in 2013, and Karen sings on top of molten lava nine years later on Kimmel.Want to watch along with us? Check out the links below for the performances discussed this week!Date with the Night, 6/26/2003 on The Late Show with David LettermanMaps, 6/5/2004 on The MTV Movie AwardsGold Lion, 3/29/2006 on The Late Show with David LettermanDown Boy, 7/26/2007 on The Late Show with David LettermanZero, 4/14/2009 on The Late Show with David LettermanSacrilege, 4/5/2013 on The Late Show with David LettermanBurning, 9/29/2022 on Jimmy Kimmel Live!

Inarguably the biggest and most successful band of the grunge era, they persisted while others could not. They fought the man at every turn, did it their way, and are an undeniable live juggernaut. It's PEARL JAM week!Joining the show as our second-ever returning guest is show promoter and pod-favorite Ryan Agate aka Ryan the Terrible! Back to back performances on SNL capture the big early moments of Pearl Jam, including a super rare 3-song stint a week after the death of Kurt Cobain. David Letterman can't get Black out of his head, has the band on his show multiple times, and ultimately inducts them into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Jeff Ament wears lots of hats. And Ryan and the guys somehow watch multiple movies and tv series during the record. Want to watch along with us? Check out the links below for the performances discussed this week!Alive/Porch, 4/11/1992 on Saturday Night LiveNot For You/Rearviewmirror/Daughter, 4/16/1994 on Saturday Night LiveHail Hail, 9/20/1996 on The Late Show with David LettermanWishlist, 5/1/1998 on The Late Show with David LettermanWorld Wide Suicide/Severed Hand/Alive, 5/6/2006 on Later...with Jools HollandAlive/Given to Fly/Better Man/Rockin' in the Free World, 4/7/2017 on The Rock N' Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony

They're quietly one of the most successful bands of the 90s, selling over 50 million records over the course of their career. Dominating the softer side of alt-rock radio, they took over America out of nowhere as the biggest Irish band since U2. It's THE CRANBERRIES week!We begin this week with two very different performances of "Dreams" and "Linger" on the Irish late night show Kenny Live, with the two clips 9 months apart across 1993. The album No Need to Argue is a massive hit and the group shows it off with a dirgy performance of "Zombie" on SNL. The Cranberries burn out hard by 1996, and a clip on the MTV VMA's makes that pretty clear. And we discuss the unique global superstardom of the late great Dolores O'Riordan, exemplified by our first clip ever from the Annual Vatican Christmas Concert in 2001 hosted by da pope!Want to watch along with us? Check out the links below for the performances discussed this week!Dreams, 3/6/1993 on Kenny LiveLinger, 12/18/1993 on Kenny LiveZombie/Ode to My Family, 2/25/1995 on Saturday Night LiveSalvation, 9/4/1996 on the MTV Video Music AwardsPromises (11:15 mark), 4/26/1999 on The Late Show with David LettermanAnalyse/Panis Angelicus/Little Drummer Boy/Silent Night, 12/24/2001 on the 9th Annual Vatican Christmas ConcertTomorrow, 2/7/2012 on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon

They were cool looking boys from the large apple. Leaders of a NYC and retro guitar rock revival, they wrote two of the catchiest and most memorable records of the early 2000s. Was that it? It's THE STROKES week!The Strokes make their network TV debut on Conan with a perfect sounding rendition of "The Modern Age". An early performance on SNL with a dreamy Julian Casablancas propels the band up the charts. We have our first ever Late Night TV show residency, with The Strokes performing Room on Fire songs every Tuesday in November 2003 on Conan. A return to SNL in 2006 does not go as well as the first time. The band makes multiple comeback attempts, some better than others. And Fabrizio Moretti wears lot of red shirts.Want to watch along with us? Check out the links below for the performances discussed this week!The Modern Age, 11/1/2001 on Late Night with Conan O'BrienLast Nite/Hard to Explain, 1/19/2002 on Saturday Night LiveReptilia/Whatever Happened/Under Control/I Can't Win, November 2003 on Late Night with Conan O'BrienJuicebox/You Only Live Once, 1/21/2006 on Saturday Night LiveUnder the Cover of Darkness/Life is Simple in the Moonlight, 3/5/2011 on Saturday Night LiveThe Adults are Talking/Bad Decisions, 10/31/2020 on Saturday Night Live

They came from the heartland to destroy us all. More brutal death metal than nu, maggots from every corner of America rejoiced at their one-of-a-kind stage show, technical precision, and devil-fueled aggression. It's SLIPKNOT week!The guys explore the incredible backstory, lore, and turmoil of one of the most visually arresting bands the show has ever discussed. Slipknot make their UK television debut on TFI Friday, destroying cameras in the process. A 2001 Conan performance of "The Heretic Anthem" is potentially the peak of civilization. The show bends the rules in order to talk about Mistress Juliya from Uranium on Fuse TV, and it's badass. And later era clips on Kimmel show a band stretching their boundaries, for good and bad.Want to watch along with us? Check out the links below for the performances discussed this week!Wait and Bleed, 3/3/2000 on TFI FridayThe Heretic Anthem, 8/10/2001 on Late Night with Conan O'BrienDuality/The Blister Exists (16:00 mark), 7/30/2004 on Jimmy Kimmel Live!N/A, 3/5/2005 on Uranium on Fuse TVSnuff/Psychosocial, 10/30/2009 on Jimmy Kimmel Live!Unsainted/All Out Life, 5/27/2019 on Jimmy Kimmel Live!

They exploded onto the 90s Britpop scene with fresh faces and clean teeth. Steven Spielberg wanted to turn them into the next Monkees. Instead, this UK phenomenon eschewed America and just did it their way. It's SUPERGRASS week!Joining the show is a long-time musical hero of Alex and Jon: lead singer and guitarist of the legendary Boston-based band Piebald, Travis Shettel! The guys and Travis talk through the past and present of Piebald before breaking down the unique and winding career path of Supergrass. Gaz Coombes and co. bus in all their Oxford buds for their TV debut on The Word. Ray Cokes of MTV Europe has the band flush a smashed watch down a toilet in between peformances of the big 'I Should Coco' hits. And Jonathan Ross returns to the show to the dismay of all involved. Plus the debut of "Chunk, Drag, or Grass?"!Want to watch along with us? Check out the links below for the performances discussed this week!Mansize Rooster, 2/10/1995 on The Word UK Ray Tripper/Alright/Caught by the Fuzz, 7/11/1995 on MTV Europe's Most Wanted with Ray CokesGoing Out, 3/11/1996 on TFI FridayMoving/Mary/Faraway, 11/28/1999 on Later...with Jools HollandRush Hour Soul, 12/6/2002 on Friday Night with Jonathan RossSt. Petersburg, 9/25/2005 on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno

She holds eye-popping album sale records, ushered a whole new style of pop music into the mainstream, and did it all as a socially conscious black woman in conservative white America. But one TV performance clouded all of it. It's JANET JACKSON week!Joining the show this week to help uncloud that cultural memory is music journalist Robby Seabrook III! Robby and the guys discuss Janet's early Jackson family life and mall pop career, including an American Bandstand clip featuring a creepy Dick Clark. Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis change the game with Janet on Control and perform with her on the Grammys. Janet takes over the pop world, to the point MTV dedicates its entire 1993 New Year's Eve programming to her. And we return to the Super Bowl for a clip that changes everything about TV musical guest performances forever.Want to watch along with us? Check out the links below for the performances discussed this week!Young Love/Come Give Your Love to Me, 10/30/1982 on American BandstandWhat Have You Done for Me Lately?, 2/24/1987 on The Grammy AwardsMiss You Much/Rhythm Nation, 11/17/1989 on Peter's Pop ShowBecause of Love, 12/31/1993 on MTV Janet's New Year's Eve JamThe Way You Move" (Spirit of Houston and Ocean of Soul marching bands)/All for You(Janet Jackson)/Bad Boy for Life(P. Diddy)/Diddy to the tune of "Mickey"/Hot in Herre(Nelly)/Mo Money Mo Problems(P. Diddy)/Bawitdaba(Kid Rock)/Cowboy(Kid Rock)/Rhythm Nation(Janet Jackson)/Rock Your Body(Justin Timberlake with Janet Jackson), 2/1/2004 on The Super BowlNasty/Throb, 5/20/2018 on The Billboard Awards

Ill-conceived. Unnecessary. Over the top. No, not this podcast, but rather the topic at hand for our third-ever Grab Bag episode: SUPERGROUPS!Mr. Big brings together middling hair metal pros to create the "cordless-electric-hand-drill genre of rock guitar". The Backbeat Band featuring Greg Dulli, Mike Mills, and Dave Grohl performs one time and one time only. We talk Oysterhead again because why not. Velvet Revolver combines the washed-up power of Slash with the shirtless prowess of Scott Weiland. Tinted Windows has Taylor Hanson singing over Fountains of Wayne songs backed by Cheap Trick’s drummer. Chickenfoot is a band that exists for some reason and we talk about them. And boygenius revives the supergroup to actual positive ends.Want to watch along with us? Check out the links below for the performances discussed this week.Mr. Big, Just Take my Heart/Daddy Brother Lover Little Boy (The Electric Drill Song), 6/2/1992 on The Tonight Show with Jay LenoThe Backbeat Band, Money/Long Tall Sally/Helter Skelter, 6/4/1994 on The MTV Movie AwardsOysterheard, Oz is Ever Floating, 11/15/2001 on Late Night with Conan O'BrienVelvet Revolver, Dirty Little Thing, 4/7/2005 on The Tonight Show with Jay LenoTinted Windows, Kind of a Girl, 4/21/2009 on The Late Show with David LettermanChickenfoot, Sexy Little Thing, 11/7/2009 on Jimmy Kimmel Live!boygenius, Not Strong Enough/Satanist, 11/11/2023 on Saturday Night Live

One-hit wonder? Yes. Decade-spanning mythology rooted in the ethos of societal and human genome collapse? Also yes. Fortune-tellers, DIY punk legends, new wave heroes? Yes, yes, and yes. It's DEVO week!Joining the show as the first entrant into the two-timers guest club is TMGT theme song creator and best friend of the pod Kenny! The spuds from Ohio get their big break on SNL in 1978 and do not disappoint with a wild national TV debut. Whip It takes over America two years later, captured by a lip-synced performance on The Mike Douglas Show. Devo stays in the cultural conversation with performances on Fridays and Letterman, with diminishing returns. And a 2010 comeback clip has Regis Philbin asking the all important question: what does Devo stand for?Want to watch along with us? Check out the links below for the performances discussed this week!Satisfaction (20:08 mark)/Jocko Homo (1:01:24 mark), 10/14/1978 on Saturday Night LiveSecret Agent Man/Blockhead/Uncontrollable Urge/Mongoloid, 10/2/1979 on Don Kirschner's Rock ConcertWhip It, 9/3/1980 on The Mike Douglas ShowNutra Theme-Jerkin' Back 'n Forth/I Saw Jesus-Through Being Cool/Working in the Coal Mine, 10/9/1081 on FridaysThat's Good, 11/18/1982 on Late Night with David LettermanFresh/Whip It, 6/18/2010 on Live with Regis and Kelly

In just 4 year's time, he created the modern version of American rock music and reinvented the guitar. And broke the brains of whoever saw him do it. It's JIMI HENDRIX week!Jimi breaks through on the southern Chitlin' circuit with his first ever TV appearance backing up Buddy & Stacey on Nashville's Night Train in 1965. The Jimi Hendrix Experience immediately explodes in the UK and Europe with performances on Germany's Beat! Beat! Beat! and Sweden's Popside. Jimi gets banned from the BBC when he refuses to sing Hey Joe with Lulu. And Jimi makes his American network TV debut with appearances on The Dick Cavett Show right before and after his era-defining appearance at Woodstock.Want to watch along with us? Check out the links below for the performances discussed this week!Shotgun backing up Buddy & Stacey, July 1965 on Night TrainStone Free/Hey Joe/Purple Haze, 5/18/1967 on Beat! Beat! Beat!The Wind Cries Mary/Purple Haze, 5/24/1967 on Popside StockholmVoodoo Chile (Slight Return)/Hey Joe/Sunshine of Your Love, 1/5/1969 on BBC's Happening for LuluHear My Train a Comin' (1:19:43 mark), 7/7/1969 on The Dick Cavett ShowIzabella/Machine Gun (1:31:23 mark), 9/9/1969 on The Dick Cavett Show

They went from snotty, Brit teen punk phenomenons to Olympic game-playing elder statesmen in six year's time. From angular pop punk to R&B blues rock to crooning ballads about casinos on the moon, it's a career arc equal parts successful and baffling. It's ARCTIC MONKEYS week!Alex Turner and co. make their American TV debut on SNL in 2006 featuring a yawning audience member.  The band performs twice on Friday Night with Jonathan Ross, including a performance of "Fluorescent Adolescent" that has them dressed up as clowns. The show has its first Olympic Game's clip punctuated with flying bird-bike men soundtracked by a Beatles cover. And the band breaks out big time in America before deciding to lean into sci-fi lounge pop.Want to watch along with us? Check out the links below for the performances discussed this week!I Bet You Look Good on the Dance Floor (30:05 mark)/A Certain Romance (56:57 mark), 3/11/2006 on Saturday Night LiveFluorescent Adolescent, 7/7/2007 on Friday Night with Jonathan RossCornerstone/Crying Lightning, 11/13/2009 on Friday Night with Jonathan RossI Bet You Look Good on the Dance Floor/Come Together, 7/27/2012 on The 2012 London Olympic Games Opening CeremonyDo I Wanna Know?, 1/27/2014 on The Late Show with David LettermanThe Ultracheese, 7/23/2018 on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert

Drunk troubador. Carnival barker. Scum bum extraordinaire. Character actor. He's lived as many lives as he sung about. It's TOM WAITS week!Joining the show as a renowned scum bum expert in his own right is Ben Hosley (Blank Check with Griffin and David)! Ben and the guys explore the wild persona and musical shifts of Tom over 38 years and 7 clips. 70s Tom is on full display with performances on Fernwood 2 Night and a remote piece that takes us inside the infamous Tropicana Motel. We watch Tom on Letterman four times across 32 years, including a final goodbye song written just for Dave. And we make sure to ask Ben about bones, living in squalor, and the shock of him being a normal human being.Want to watch along with us? Check out the links below for the performances discussed this week!The Piano has been Drinking, 8/1/1977 on Fernwood 2 NightAnnie's Back in Town/Burma Shave, 4/6/1978 on 90 Minutes LiveFrank's Wild Years/On the Nickel, 12/21/1983 on Late Night with David LettermanMore Than Rain, 10/10/1987 on Late Night with David LettermanGoin' Out West, 10/9/1992 on The Arsenio Hall ShowChocolate Jesus, 9/27/1999 on The Late Show with David LettermanTake One Last Look, 5/14/2015 on The Late Show with David Letterman

We're talking one of the most successful and volatile bands of the 1990s: hair journeys, lineup changes, #1 albums, and too many Billy Corgan quotes. It's SMASHING PUMPKINS week!Joining the show to talk about one of her favorite bands of all time is the great Marissa Paternoster (ex-Screaming Females, Noun)! Marissa lays out the ways her Pumpkins fandom helped her become of the most renowned and unique guitarists of the past 20 years. The guys and her discuss the frustrating and talented enigma that is Billy Corgan, Darcy Wretzky's discontent, and Jimmy Chamberlain's shoulder-filled technical prowess. Clips from the BBC, SNL, The Grammys, Jools Holland, Leno, and Letterman capture a career arc filled with drama, incredible music, and an iconic Simpsons cameo.Want to watch along with us? Check out the links below for the performances discussed this week!Rhinoceros, 1991 on BBC's The Late Show Cherub Rock (20:44 mark)/Today (54:30 mark), 10/31/1993 on Saturday Night LiveBullet with Butterfly Wings (27:50 mark)/Zero (1:00:20 mark), 11/11/1995 on Saturday Night Live1979, 2/26/1996 on The Grammy AwardsAva Adore/Once Upon a Time/Daphne Descends, 5/15/1998 on Later...with Jools HollandCash Car Star, 11/17/2000 on The Tonight Show with Jay LenoTarantula, 7/9/2007 on The Late Show with David Letterman

All the stars are here. It's late-night TV's biggest evening. We even made Kenny make a crooner awards show version of the theme. We're celebrating the best and worst of over 100 performances discussed. It's our One-year Anniversary Awards Show!What was the best interview we saw? Which band's fashion shined? Who gave the vocal performance of the year? Which vest upset Alex the most? And who did we pick for best and worst overall performances? It's a clip show, now more than ever!Want to watch along with us? Figure it out for yourself this time, there are too many to list!

The podcast bad boys from Boston are talking about THE Bad Boys from Boston. It's AEROSMITH week!Joining the show with discussion questions in hand is the lead singer and guitarist of another great Boston band Beeef, Perry Eaton! Perry and the guys break down the many eras of Aerosmith and try to make sense of their complicated and epic legacy. The band's first TV performance in 1974 on The Midnight Special is all leather pants and rock god vibes. 13 years later, Steven Tyler and Joe Perry do Walk This Way with Run-DMC on the VMAs. Back to back 90s SNL performances capture the apex of Aerosmith, including an iconic Wayne's World sketch. And we return to the Super Bowl, with a halftime show that surrounds Aerosmith with the 2001 zeitgeist.Want to watch along with us? Check out the links below for the performances discussed this week!Dream On/Train Kept a Rollin', 8/16/1974 on The Midnight SpecialWalk This Way with Run-DMC, 9/11/1987 on the MTV Video Music AwardsJanie's Got a Gun (27:24 mark)/Monkey on my Back (40:04 mark) (row 174), 2/17/1990 on Saturday Night LiveCryin' (20:10 mark)/Sweet Emotion (51:10 mark) (row 66), 10/9/1993 on Saturday Night LiveI Don't Want to Miss a Thing, 2/24/1999 on The Grammy AwardsBye Bye Bye/I Don't Wanna Miss a Thing/It's Gonna be Me/Jaded/Walk This Way with N'Sync, featuring Britney Spears, Nelly & Mary J. Blige, 1/28/2001 on the Super Bowl Halftime Show

They're pop-punk emo heroes turned anthemic arena radio rock mainstays. Some turned to heavy drug use, while others became tabloid fodder. And hats. Lots of hats. It's FALL OUT BOY week!The career arc is there folks, captured in some ridiculous late night performances. Fall Out Boy explodes into the mainstream with From Under the Cork Tree with a shaky spot on SNL. The anti-vowel movement comes to a head with a pretty great performance of Thnks Fr Th Mmrs on the Tonight Show featuring strings and horns. A black-lit performance on Kimmel in skeleton costumes has to be attempted to be seen to be believed. And an exploration of 2010s radio rock music is reluctantly conducted.Want to watch along with us? Check out the links below for the performances discussed this week!Dance Dance (36:30 mark)/Sugar We're Goin Down (58:44 mark) (row 18), 3/4/2006 on Saturday Night LiveThnks Fr Th Mmrs, 5/2/2007 on The Tonight Show with Jay LenoI Don't Care, 12/16/2008 on The Late Show with David LettermanMy Songs Know What You Did in the Dark (Light 'em Up), 2/13/2013 on Jimmy Kimmel Live!Centuries, 1/7/2015 on The People's Choice AwardsWe Didn't Start the Fire, 9/12/2023 on The MTV Video Music Awards

In a year that saw Nirvana, R.E.M, and Pearl Jam put out generation-defining albums, Spin Magazine named this band's 1991 album Record of the Year. 33 years later, this cult power-pop outfit remains a weird outlier sandwiched between the eras of grunge and Britpop. It's TEENAGE FANCLUB week!Joining the show is animator, music video director, and self-proclaimed Fannie Mark Neeley (Aquarium Drunkard)! Mark and the guys explore the origins of TFC's rapid ascent from the Scottish indie-rock scene to performing on Saturday Night Live in just two years' time. The band's follow up to Bandwagonesque falls on deaf ears in America, but performances on BBC's White Room and Top of the Pops captures their persistent popularity in the UK. And the show discovers Oddville MTV, a similarly cult-like entity that grazed the periphery of mainstream America.Want to watch along with us? Check out the links below for the performances discussed this week!Everything Flows, 12/21/1990 on Snub TVThe Concept/Satan, 2/15/1992 on Saturday Night LiveWhat You Do to Me/Pet Rock, 2/15/1992 on Saturday Night LiveEscher, 2/14/1994 on Late Night with Conan O'BrienMellow Doubt/I'll Feel a Whole Lot Better (Byrds Cover), 2/17/1996 on BBC White RoomAin't That Enough, 11/7/1997 on Top of the PopsTake the Long Way Round, 8/29/1999 on Oddville MTV

The craziest bass playing you've ever seen. Atonal metal breakdowns. Songs about meth heads burying bodies. And multiple top-ten records. How? It's PRIMUS week!It's a guestless, Alex-pick episode: buckle up. Primus breaks on to the national TV scene on the Dennis Miller Show. "My Name is Mud" is a hit somehow, and Primus performs it on MTV's Haunted House Party with White Zombie and Penn & Teller. Les, Ler, and Herb dress up in penguin suits to perform their biggest hit to the dismay of David Letterman's showrunner. We finally return to Farmclub.com to see Primus awkwardly fitting into the Nu-Metal moment. Plus the debut of South Park Sucks!Want to watch along with us? Check out the links below for the performances discussed this week!Jerry was a Race Car Driver/Tommy The Cat, 3/20/1992 on The Dennis Miller ShowMy Name is Mud, 10/30/1993 on MTV's Haunted House PartyWynona's Big Brown Beaver, 6/16/1995 on The Late Show with David LettermanShake Hands with Beef, 7/16/1997 on Late Night with Conan O'BrienAntipop/Greet the Sacred Cow, 3/5/2000 on Farmclub.comLee Van Cleef, 10/24/2011 on Jimmy Kimmel Live!

He's gone from causing a national panic to winning Grammys and selling high-end perfumes, all while putting on some of the most innovative stage performances of the 21st century. It's TYLER, THE CREATOR week!Joining the show to school us elder millennials on our most modern artist to date is music and culture journalist J'na Jefferson (Rolling Stone, Uproxx)! The guys and J'na make sense of Tyler's wild early career, including a 2011 Fallon performance for the ages featuring an exorcism. A 2017 Colbert performance pays homage to Soul Train and captures the hard left-turn of Flower Boy's direction and production. Tyler wins a Grammy in 2020 and performs on the show with Charlie Wilson and Boyz II Men amid a burning suburbia landscape. And a windstorm set piece on the 2021 BET Awards blows (pun intended) everyone away.Want to watch along with us? Check out the links below for the performances discussed this week!Sandwitches with Hodgy Beats, 2/16/2011 on Late Night with Jimmy FallonRusty with Domo Genesis and Earl Sweatshirt, 4/4/2013 on The Late Show with David LettermanCherry Bomb/Smuckers, 7/29/2015 on Jimmy Kimmel Live!911, 7/24/2017 on The Late Show with Stephen ColbertEarfquake/New Magic Wand with Charlie Wilson and Boyz II Men, 1/26/2020 on The Grammy AwardsLumberjack, 6/27/2021 on The BET AwardsMassa, 11/21/2021 on The American Music Awards

Her voice: timeless. Her TV performances: iconic. We're headed across the pond and googling gobby. It's AMY WINEHOUSE week!Clips on Later...with Jools Holland and Friday Night with Jonathan Ross show Amy at her jazziest. Jools Holland's 2006 Annual Hootenanny gives her the big band treatment with Paul Weller from The Jam. Amy breaks out in her American television debut on David Letterman. And award show performances at The Mercury Prize and The Grammys perfectly capture both the zenith and tragic ending of Amy's story. Plus the debut of HOLLAND'S JEWELS!Want to watch along with us? Check out the links below for the performances discussed this week!Stronger Than Me/Take the Box, 11/7/03 on Later...with Jools HollandI Heard Love is Blind, 3/19/04 on Friday Night with Jonathan RossMonkey Man/Don't go to Strangers with Paul Weller/I Heard it Through the Grapevine with Paul Weller/The Mighty Quinn with Paul Weller and Sam Moore, 12/31/06 on Jools Holland's Annual Hootenanny Rehab, 3/12/07 on The Late Show with David LettermanLove is a Losing Game, 9/3/07 on The Mercury PrizeYou Know I'm No Good/Rehab, 2/10/08 on The Grammy Awards

So what-cha want? An episode on the prolific decades-spanning run of Ad Rock, Mike D, and MCA? No problem. It's BEASTIE BOYS week!Joining the show to break down the iconic rhymes, beats, and general coolness of the B-Boys is Texas Monthly writer and former AV Club Editor in Chief Sean O'Neal! The guys discuss the group's teenage punk roots and watch it in action on a 1984 public access clip. A ridiculous 1987 clip from the Late Show with Joan Rivers featuring a pole dancer captures their License to Ill era a little too well. The Boys kill it on back-to-back Letterman clips, including a Sabotage peformance for the ages. And Jon kills the vibe by digging too deep into the personal life of Don Cornelius.Want to watch along with us? Check out the links below for the performances discussed this week!White Shadow/Untitled/Egg Raid on Mojo, 1/28/84 on The Scott and Gary Show!(You Gotta) Fight for Your Right (To Party!)/Time to get Ill, 1/15/87 on The Late Show with Joan RiversShadrach, 1/27/90 on Soul TrainLive at PJ's, 11/5/92 on Late Night with David LettermanSabotage, 8/4/94 on The Late Show with David LettermanThree MCs and One DJ/Intergalactic, 9/10/98 on The MTV Video Music AwardsCh-Check it Out, 6/14/04 on The Late Show with David Letterman

It's a night of celebration and watching musicians and celebrities awkwardly count down numbers together. We're ringing in 2024 with our second-ever GRAB BAG episode on New Year's Eve performances!The guys watch Tina Turner preview her huge comeback moment on Johnny Carson. Vanilla Ice gratuitously humps the floor of the Ritz Carlton and counts down to 1991 with Pauly Shore and Martha Quinn. Papa Roach butchers a cover of Lithium by Nirvana. Good Charlotte and the Foo Fighters with Jack Black perform on the same MTV New Years hosted by Ashton Kutcher and Brittany Murphy. Kelly Clarkson performs Jon's favorite pop song.  And to end the year, Alex and Jon recap their five favorite musical moments of 2023!Want to watch along with us? Check out the links below for the performances discussed this week!Rock n' Roll Widow/Steel Claw by Tina Turner, 12/31/82 on The Tonight Show with Johnny CarsonIce Ice Baby by Vanilla Ice, 12/31/90 on MTV New Year's Eve World PartyLast Resort/Lithium by Papa Roach, 12/31/00 on MTV New Year's Eve 2001Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous by Good Charlotte, 12/31/02 on MTV New Year Pajama PartyBack in Black by Foo Fighters with Jack Black, 12/31/02 on MTV New Year Pajama PartySince U Been Gone by Kelly Clarkson, 12/31/04 on MTV Iced Out - New Year's Eve 2005

From Gilman to the Grammys, they are arguably the biggest American punk band of all time. It's GREEN DAY week!Joining the show is long-time and legendary (as proclaimed by us) Boston music venue booker Ryan Agate AKA Ryan the Terrible! The guys and Ryan talk about their shared music scene experience and a practice space pigeon before going deep on the twists and turns of Green Day's career arc. The show discusses three 1994 clips before watching a special performance of "86" on Letterman a year later. American Idiot explodes, captured by a clip of Boulevard of Broken Dreams on Leno with keys and timpani. Plus the debut of Guess the Venue!Want to watch along with us? Check out the links below for the performances discussed this week!Welcome to Paradise/She, 3/17/94 on The Jon Stewart ShowBasket Case, 6/29/94 on The Late Show with David LettermanGeek Stink Breath, 12/3/94 on Saturday Night Live86, 11/9/95 on The Late Show with David LettermanHitchin' a Ride, 10/14/97 on The Late Show with David LettermanBoulevard of Broken Dreams, 12/9/04 on The Tonight Show with Jay LenoBang Bang, 11/22/16 on The Late Late Show with James Corden

Maybe you love to hate 'em. Maybe they're a guilty pleasure. Or maybe like most humans on earth you casually enjoy 'em. Either way, It's COLDPLAY week!Joining the show is music critic and writer of the Chicago-based culture blog No Expectations Josh Terry! The guys and Josh take a cue from Chris Martin and lean into sincerity as they discuss why Coldplay became arguably the most popular band of the 21st century. Early clips from Letterman and Kimmel show the band in their rawest and most palatable form. The show returns to the Super Bowl again, with better results than last episode. And Alex's take on a 2019 SNL performance rattles Jon to his core.Want to watch along with us? Check out the links below for the performances discussed this week!Trouble, 6/27/01 on The Late Show with David LettermanClocks/Yellow, 1/26/03 on Jimmy Kimmel Live!Talk/Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas, 12/7/05 on Late Night with Conan O'BrienParadise, 9/26/11 on The Late Show with David LettermanYellow/Viva La Vida/Paradise/Adventure of a Lifetime/ Clocks/Fix You/Up and Up, 2/7/16 on Super Bowl 50Orphans, 11/2/19 on Saturday Night Live

They sparked a national obsession with ska horns and new wave keyboard while being led by one of the most famous frontwomen of the 1990s. It's NO DOUBT week!The clip journey this week takes the show from local SoCal cable access in 1990 to Super Bowl 37 in 2003. In between, the guys discuss the formative and massive impact of Tragic Kingdom, with 1996 performances on Conan and SNL. A performance on Conan four years later finds the band trying a little too hard to replicate that mega success. And the band's big left turn, hit-making Rocksteady era is captured on SNL. Plus the debut of Only the Voice!Want to watch along with us? Check out the links below for the performances discussed this week!Up Yours/Big City Train, 1/10/90 on The GigJust a Girl, 1/30/96 on Late Night with Conan O'BrienDon't Speak (37:43 mark)/Excuse Me Mr. (56:50 mark), 12/7/96 on Saturday Night LiveEx-Girlfriend/Simple Kind of Life, 4/7/00 on Late Night with Conan O'BrienHey Baby (26:40 mark)/Hella Good (1:00:20 mark), 12/15/01 on Saturday Night LiveJust a Girl/Message in a Bottle with Sting, 1/16/03 on Super Bowl 37

T-M-G-T-P-O-D! Find out what it means this week! We're going way back into the era of bright light variety specials to talk the Queen of Soul. It's 1960s ARETHA FRANKLIN week!The guys discuss Aretha’s intense upbringing amid the civil rights movement and on the black gospel circuit before watching a 1964 Steve Allen clip that captures her jazzy Columbia Record's era. Aretha crushes with Respect and Chain of Fools on a crazy time-capsule variety special called Woody Allen Looks at 1967. Plus her 1968 and 1970 appearances on variety shows hosted by Sammy Davis Jr. and Tom Jones, featuring duets with each. Want to watch along with us? Check out the links below for the performances discussed this week!Lover Come Back to Me/Rock a Bye Your Baby/Won't be Long/Skylark/Evil Gal Blues, 5/19/64 on The New Steve Allen ShowDo Right Woman, 11/1/67 on The Merv Griffin ShowRespect/Chain of Fools (14:03 mark), 12/27/67 on Kraft Hall Music Presents Woody Allen Looks at 1967Say a Little Prayer for You/Come Back Baby/Medley with Sammy Davis Jr. (Think, Respect, What'd I Say) (33:04 mark), 11/2/68 on The Hollywood Palace with Sammy Davis Jr.Say a Little Prayer for You/It's Not Unusual/Seesaw with Tom Jones/Spirit in the Dark with Tom Jones, 10/9/70 on This is Tom Jones

We got hella mohawks and ska hats at the ready for this one. It's RANCID week!Joining the show to break down all things bay area punk is the lead singer and guitarist of Boston-area band Bad Idea USA Courtney Denison! Courtney describes her own scene journey in Portsmouth, NH before diving into the long-time career and various side projects of Rancid. We discuss a killer national TV debut performance on SNL in 1995, some exciting left turn albums, and a Skinhead Rob-filled clip on Conan in 2003. Plus a deep dive into Brody Dalle and Tim Armstrong's relationship, featuring a 2004 performance by The Distillers on Conan. Want to watch along with us? Check out the links below for the performances discussed this week!Roots Radical (44:05 mark)/Ruby Soho (59:40 mark), 11/18/95 on Saturday Night LiveRed Hot Moon, 9/30/03 on Late Night with Conan O'BrienBeat Your Heart Out by The Distillers, 4/6/04 on Late Night with Conan O'BrienLast One to Die, 6/10/09 on The Tonight Show with Conan O'BrienGhost of a Chance, 8/24/17 on Conan

We're talking about a band important enough that we use them in our show description. It's NIRVANA week!One of the pod's musical heroes is here to talk about his own musical hero. Musician and producer Rory Phillips (The Impossibles, The Stereo) joins the show to talk about his own Nirvana superfandom and what it was like growing up as a budding musician in the era of Nevermind. Alex and Jon try to not make Rory feel too weird about their own love for The Impossibles before jumping into Nirvana's amazing late night TV career arc, including iconic performances on SNL and the MTV VMAs. Plus the debut of SKANK, DANK, OR TANK?Want to watch along with us? Check out the links below for the performances discussed this week!Smells Like Teen Spirit, 11/8/91 on The Word UKFull Set, 1/10/92 at the MTV StudiosSmells Like Teen Spirit/Territorial Pissings, 11/11/92 on Saturday Night LiveLithium, 9/9/92 on the MTV Video Music AwardsHeart Shaped Box/Rape Me, 9/25/93 on Saturday Night LiveServe the Servants, 2/27/94 on Tunnel (Italy)

We're grabbing a bag, shaking it up, and pulling out some clips this week. It's our first ever GRAB BAG episode on famous one-hit wonders!Alex and Jon walk 500 miles with the Proclaimers on Letterman before watching a wild performance by Sir-Mix-a-Lot on Arsenio featuring a giant on-stage ass. The Toadies play their seminal grunge 2.0 hit on The Jon Stewart Show and the guys discuss the anarcho-punk background of Chumbawumba. Harvey Danger comes and goes like a shooting star in the night. New Radicals perform for-and with-an audience of children on All That. And Gnarls Barkley blows the roof off on Letterman.Want to watch along with us? Check out the links below for the performances discussed this week!I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles) by the Proclaimers, 3/21/89 on Late Night with David LettermanBaby Got Back by Sir-Mix-a-Lot, 6/19/92 on The Arsenio Hall ShowPossum Kingdom by The Toadies, 3/2/95 on The Jon Stewart ShowTubthumping by Chumbawumba, 1/14/98 on The Tonight Show with Jay LenoFlagpole Sitta by Harvey Danger, 8/11/98 on The Late Show with David LettermanYou Get What You Give by New Radicals, 10/2/99 on All ThatCrazy by Gnarls Barkley, 8/14/06 on The Late Show with David Letterman