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Tonight's Musical Guest, Today
The Beatles on Ed Sullivan. Nirvana on Saturday Night Live. Warren Zevon on David Letterman. Sometimes, late-night TV musical performances live on forever. Most don’t. But we still want to talk about them.
Each week on “Tonight’s Musical Guest, Today”, long-time friends Alex Beaton and Jon Hillman dive in on the music and cultural memory of a band through the arc of their late-night TV performances. Watch along with Alex and Jon as they examine and react to these musical history moments preserved in the amber of time alongside two celebrity guests and a talk show host.
From Conan to Colbert, Letterman to Leno, or SNL to MadTV, there is no shortage of iconic late-night musical moments. And no end to the ones you don’t remember.
Tonight's Musical Guest, Today
The Clash
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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
