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
Rancid with Courtney Denison
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 Live
Red Hot Moon, 9/30/03 on Late Night with Conan O'Brien
Beat Your Heart Out by The Distillers, 4/6/04 on Late Night with Conan O'Brien
Last One to Die, 6/10/09 on The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien
Ghost of a Chance, 8/24/17 on Conan