Tonight's Musical Guest, Today – Détails, épisodes et analyse

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 Cinq

Clash City Rockers/Tommy Gun/Interview, 3/11/1978 on Something Else

English Civil War/Hate and War/Israelites/Interview, 10/3/1979 on Alright Now

London Calling/Train in the Vain/The Guns of Brixton/Clampdown, 4/25/1980 on Friday's

The Magnificent Seven/This is Radio Clash, 6/5/1981 on Tomorrow Coast to Coast with Tom Snyder

Straight 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'Brien

Murder/Danger/Missing Words by The Selecter, 2/19/1980 on The Old Grey Whistle Test

Gangsters/Too Much Too Young by The Specials, 4/19/1980 on Saturday Night Live

Ugly/When Problems Arise by Fishbone, 1987 on The Late Show with Joan Rivers

The Impression That I Get/The Rascal King by The Mighty Mighty Bosstones, 1997 on MTV Motel California

Sell Out by Reel Big Fish, 7/28/1997 on Oddville, MTV

She's Kerosone/Take Back the Power by The Interrupters, 7/26/2018 on Jimmy Kimmel Live!

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 Arena

Irish Rover with the Dubliners/Auld Triangle group sing-along, March 6th, 1987 on RTE The Late Late Show Tribute to 25 years of The Dubliners

Fairytale of New York with Kirsty MacColl, December 1st, 1987 on Top of the Pops

Fiesta/Streets of Sorrow-Birmingham Six (4:20 mark), April 15th, 1988 on Friday Night Live

White City/The Body of an American, March 17th, 1990 on Saturday Night Live

Tuesday 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 TV

The Wagon, 5/21/1992 on Late Night with David Letterman

Out There, 6/12/1993 on Late Night with David Letterman

Missing Link w/ Del The Funky HomoSapien (featuring Mike Watt and Mike D), 1993 on The Arsenio Hall Show

Feel the Pain, 9/8/1994 on The Late Show with David Letterman

Never Bought it/Out There, 11/6/1997 on The Jenny Jones Show

The Lung, 4/15/2005 on The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson

Almost Ready, 4/30/2007 on The Late Show with David Letterman

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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 Show

Ziggy Marley and the Melody Makers - Tumblin' Down, 2/7/1989 on Late Night with David Letterman

Wilson Phillips - Hold On, 4/24/1990 on Late Night with David Letterman

Julian Lennon - I Get Up, 6/18/1990 on Late Night with David Letterman

Z - My Beef Mailbox, 2/28/1994 on Late with Conan O'Brien

The Wallflowers with Bruce Springsteen - One Headlight, 9/4/1997 on the MTV Video Music Awards

Kelly 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 TV

Push th' Little Daisies, 3/14/1993 on Chillin with the Weiz MTV Spring Break 

Freedom of '76, 3/31/1993 on The Jane Pratt Show

I Can't Put My Finger on It, 1/18/1995 on Late Night with Conan O'Brien

Buckingham 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 Letterman

Happy 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 Show

Around and Around/Time is on My Side, 10/25/1964 on The Ed Sullivan Show

Satisfaction/As Tears Go By/19th Nervous Breakdown, 2/13/1966 on The Ed Sullivan Show

Paint it Black/Lady Jane/Have you Seen Your Mother, Baby, Standing in the Shadow? (22:42 mark), 9/11/1966 on The Ed Sullivan Show

Ruby Tuesday/Lets Spend the Night Together (32:12 mark), 1/15/1967 on The Ed Sullivan Show

Gimme Shelter/Love in Vain/Honky Tonk Woman, 11/23/1969 on The Ed Sullivan Show

Jam Session/Tumbling Dice/Shake Your Hips/Loving Cup, May 1972 on Beat Club

Beast 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'Brien

Down/Beautiful Disaster/What Was I Thinking, 1/24/1998 on Recovery (Australia)

Amber/Down, 3/13/02 on Last Call with Carson Daly

Creatures (For a While), 7/18/2003 on The Late Late Show with Craig Kilborn

Love Song, 6/11/2004 on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno

Don'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 Live

I 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 Leno

You Bowed Down, 8/26/1996 on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno

I Still Have That Other Girl with Burt Bacharach (4:25 mark), 9/29/1998 on The Late Show with David Letterman

45, 9/29/1999 on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno

High 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 Night

Fight Like a Brave/Organic Anti-Beat Box Band, 9/29/1987 on The Arsenio Hall Show

Higher Ground, 3/30/1990 on Late Night with David Letterman

Stone Cold Bush/Under the Bridge, 2/22/1992 on Saturday Night Live

Aeroplane, 2/13/1996 on The Late Show with David Letterman

Around the World, 9/24/1999 on The Chris Rock Show

Dani California/Snow ((Hey Oh))/Interview/By the Way, 11/21/2006 on Later...with Jools Holland