Live from New York
I watch Saturday Night Live with Jesse every week, or just about. He does a good job of reviewing the show for TiFaux. If you read it, you've probably gotten the sense that this season has been mostly just-okay, with a few bright spots, this past week's Anne Hathaway being one of them.
But, if you listen to me, you get to hear me complain every week about the musical guests. Not that they've all been bad. I like the Arcade Fire and their light-up suits, for example. But generally I've found them to be pretty lackluster, and it kind of came to a head when I found out that Paul McCartney is an upcoming musical guest. I went on a giant rant about it to poor Jesse and Nathaniel.
I think, when I was first expressing my disappointment with him as a musical guest, I came off as someone who hates Paul McCartney. This couldn't be further from the truth. I love the Beatles. I love him as a Beatle-I was never one of those people who thought that John was the only genius in the Lennon/McCartney pair. I can't imagine a world without "Yesterday" or "Maybe I'm Amazed" (and I hear if you play that last one backwards, you get a really ripping recipe for lentil soup).
All that said, however, I am not interested in anything he could possibly trot out on Saturday Night Live. I don't want to see him shuffle on stage and sing 40-year-old Beatles songs without the rest of the Beatles. I'm even less into the idea of hearing him play 37-year-old Wings songs, which seems most likely since Band on the Run is being reissued. "Dance Tonight," from his most recent solo record, is about the dopiest thing I've ever heard-it's a straight-up kids song, and not a very original one at that. (That's why I'd be psyched if they got Paul Simon or Bob Dylan to come on SNL, even though they're also Baby Boomer-targeted-they still make good music.)
So, I did a lot of eye-rolling about this. It got me thinking of what I want SNL musical guests to be like. When the show started, it had a reputation for having cool, edgy music. New York is still the locus of excellent new music, but now SNL is about as edgy as a Super Bowl halftime show. I'd like to see it get back to its former ahead-of-the-curve status-or if "edgy" isn't possible, something that's relevant and worth talking about the next day. Who wants to see Katy Perry give the same performance she gave at the VMAs, doing a song we've all been sick of since halfway through the summer? Do you think anyone tuned in just for her? Doubtful-you can see performances of "California Girls" or "Teenage Dream" anywhere.
In fact, I doubt anyone ever tunes in just for the musical guest. The host, yes, but, even if you're a huge fan of the musical guest, who wants to watch 80 minutes of sketch comedy and commercials for two five-minute songs? I don't believe people do it. That's why I believe SNL has more freedom than it thinks when it comes to the musical guests. It's not like it's competing with other late-night shows with other musical guests, the way Jimmy Fallon might have to hedge against whoever Craig Ferguson has on. Instead of trying to find people that appeal to all sensibilities, like Paul McCartney, they should realize that nobody cares and just do what they want. Basically, I want the 12:45 musical performance to be as weird, interesting, or out-there as the 12:50 last sketch. That way, people will actually talk about it the next day-compare/contrast how many conversations you had about the potato-chip sketch versus how many conversations you've had about the Kings of Leon performances-others will check it out on Hulu, and maybe the musical performances will go more in the vein of the digital shorts. Here are my ideas on how to make that happen:
*Get cooler/stranger/more interesting guests. This is my least favorite suggestion, because it comes of as sound like "wah, book bands that I like." That's not necessarily what I mean. I have no use for Phoenix now, for example, but I can certainly admit that the first time I heard of them was on Saturday Night Live. Wouldn't it be crazy if that happened more often, and if SNL one day introduced me to a new band I did like? That would be a happy day. Who knows? Maybe it'll happen with Diddy-Dirty Money.
*Make everyone do their second song acoustic. Remember how cool MTV Unplugged was? That series spawned albums-that people paid full album price for!-and sometimes the Unplugged versions of songs became the definitive version ("Layla," for a time). I'm sure if SNL tells its guests that it could sell its second song on iTunes the next day or something, artists would love to sign up. And people will want to tune in, because they know they'll get a new version of a song. I feel like the MTV Unplugged series died out when rock bands became less popular than hip-hop/R&B/electronic pop artists, so there were no real instruments to unplug. But I think you could totally get amazing acoustic R&B/hip-hop performances, especially if the artists only have to rejigger one of their songs. I think I remember that Nelly did a version of "Hot in Herre" or another one of his songs with horns, and it was totally awesome.
*Force duets. Book two musical artists per episode. If you have to get a Baby Boomer-and I don't know why you would, since Baby Boomers don’t stay up late enough to get to the end of Saturday Night Live-pair them up with a new artist and make them collaborate on one song from each of them. It'll be like when David Bowie sang with the Arcade Fire that one time. (Again, I see iTunes potential in this.) This is actually my favorite suggestion. Even if you hate one or both of the artists, at least they'll be doing something you haven't seen or heard before.
You don't have to tell me the many reasons why none of this will happen. I know Saturday Night Live won't go in any of these directions. I know there are budget issues, rights issues, schedule conflicts-but, most of all, SNL just doesn't really seem interested in doing anything different with its musical-guest slot. It's just that, when Paul McCartney comes on in a couple weeks and I roll my eyes, if someone asks me what I'd rather see instead, I want to have an answer.
But, if you listen to me, you get to hear me complain every week about the musical guests. Not that they've all been bad. I like the Arcade Fire and their light-up suits, for example. But generally I've found them to be pretty lackluster, and it kind of came to a head when I found out that Paul McCartney is an upcoming musical guest. I went on a giant rant about it to poor Jesse and Nathaniel.
I think, when I was first expressing my disappointment with him as a musical guest, I came off as someone who hates Paul McCartney. This couldn't be further from the truth. I love the Beatles. I love him as a Beatle-I was never one of those people who thought that John was the only genius in the Lennon/McCartney pair. I can't imagine a world without "Yesterday" or "Maybe I'm Amazed" (and I hear if you play that last one backwards, you get a really ripping recipe for lentil soup).
All that said, however, I am not interested in anything he could possibly trot out on Saturday Night Live. I don't want to see him shuffle on stage and sing 40-year-old Beatles songs without the rest of the Beatles. I'm even less into the idea of hearing him play 37-year-old Wings songs, which seems most likely since Band on the Run is being reissued. "Dance Tonight," from his most recent solo record, is about the dopiest thing I've ever heard-it's a straight-up kids song, and not a very original one at that. (That's why I'd be psyched if they got Paul Simon or Bob Dylan to come on SNL, even though they're also Baby Boomer-targeted-they still make good music.)
So, I did a lot of eye-rolling about this. It got me thinking of what I want SNL musical guests to be like. When the show started, it had a reputation for having cool, edgy music. New York is still the locus of excellent new music, but now SNL is about as edgy as a Super Bowl halftime show. I'd like to see it get back to its former ahead-of-the-curve status-or if "edgy" isn't possible, something that's relevant and worth talking about the next day. Who wants to see Katy Perry give the same performance she gave at the VMAs, doing a song we've all been sick of since halfway through the summer? Do you think anyone tuned in just for her? Doubtful-you can see performances of "California Girls" or "Teenage Dream" anywhere.
In fact, I doubt anyone ever tunes in just for the musical guest. The host, yes, but, even if you're a huge fan of the musical guest, who wants to watch 80 minutes of sketch comedy and commercials for two five-minute songs? I don't believe people do it. That's why I believe SNL has more freedom than it thinks when it comes to the musical guests. It's not like it's competing with other late-night shows with other musical guests, the way Jimmy Fallon might have to hedge against whoever Craig Ferguson has on. Instead of trying to find people that appeal to all sensibilities, like Paul McCartney, they should realize that nobody cares and just do what they want. Basically, I want the 12:45 musical performance to be as weird, interesting, or out-there as the 12:50 last sketch. That way, people will actually talk about it the next day-compare/contrast how many conversations you had about the potato-chip sketch versus how many conversations you've had about the Kings of Leon performances-others will check it out on Hulu, and maybe the musical performances will go more in the vein of the digital shorts. Here are my ideas on how to make that happen:
*Get cooler/stranger/more interesting guests. This is my least favorite suggestion, because it comes of as sound like "wah, book bands that I like." That's not necessarily what I mean. I have no use for Phoenix now, for example, but I can certainly admit that the first time I heard of them was on Saturday Night Live. Wouldn't it be crazy if that happened more often, and if SNL one day introduced me to a new band I did like? That would be a happy day. Who knows? Maybe it'll happen with Diddy-Dirty Money.
*Make everyone do their second song acoustic. Remember how cool MTV Unplugged was? That series spawned albums-that people paid full album price for!-and sometimes the Unplugged versions of songs became the definitive version ("Layla," for a time). I'm sure if SNL tells its guests that it could sell its second song on iTunes the next day or something, artists would love to sign up. And people will want to tune in, because they know they'll get a new version of a song. I feel like the MTV Unplugged series died out when rock bands became less popular than hip-hop/R&B/electronic pop artists, so there were no real instruments to unplug. But I think you could totally get amazing acoustic R&B/hip-hop performances, especially if the artists only have to rejigger one of their songs. I think I remember that Nelly did a version of "Hot in Herre" or another one of his songs with horns, and it was totally awesome.
*Force duets. Book two musical artists per episode. If you have to get a Baby Boomer-and I don't know why you would, since Baby Boomers don’t stay up late enough to get to the end of Saturday Night Live-pair them up with a new artist and make them collaborate on one song from each of them. It'll be like when David Bowie sang with the Arcade Fire that one time. (Again, I see iTunes potential in this.) This is actually my favorite suggestion. Even if you hate one or both of the artists, at least they'll be doing something you haven't seen or heard before.
You don't have to tell me the many reasons why none of this will happen. I know Saturday Night Live won't go in any of these directions. I know there are budget issues, rights issues, schedule conflicts-but, most of all, SNL just doesn't really seem interested in doing anything different with its musical-guest slot. It's just that, when Paul McCartney comes on in a couple weeks and I roll my eyes, if someone asks me what I'd rather see instead, I want to have an answer.