Tonight's Musical Guest, Today

By: Tonight's Musical Guest Today
  • Summary

  • 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.

    © 2024 Tonight's Musical Guest, Today
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Episodes
  • Yeah Yeah Yeahs with Matt Ozelius
    Nov 17 2024

    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 Letterman

    Maps, 6/5/2004 on The MTV Movie Awards

    Gold Lion, 3/29/2006 on The Late Show with David Letterman

    Down Boy, 7/26/2007 on The Late Show with David Letterman

    Zero, 4/14/2009 on The Late Show with David Letterman

    Sacrilege, 4/5/2013 on The Late Show with David Letterman

    Burning, 9/29/2022 on Jimmy Kimmel Live!

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    2 hrs and 12 mins
  • Pearl Jam with Ryan Agate
    Oct 20 2024

    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 Live

    Not For You/Rearviewmirror/Daughter, 4/16/1994 on Saturday Night Live

    Hail Hail, 9/20/1996 on The Late Show with David Letterman

    Wishlist, 5/1/1998 on The Late Show with David Letterman

    World Wide Suicide/Severed Hand/Alive, 5/6/2006 on Later...with Jools Holland

    Alive/Given to Fly/Better Man/Rockin' in the Free World, 4/7/2017 on The Rock N' Roll Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony

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    2 hrs and 30 mins
  • The Cranberries
    Oct 6 2024

    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 Live

    Linger, 12/18/1993 on Kenny Live

    Zombie/Ode to My Family, 2/25/1995 on Saturday Night Live

    Salvation, 9/4/1996 on the MTV Video Music Awards

    Promises (11:15 mark), 4/26/1999 on The Late Show with David Letterman

    Analyse/Panis Angelicus/Little Drummer Boy/Silent Night, 12/24/2001 on the 9th Annual Vatican Christmas Concert

    Tomorrow, 2/7/2012 on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon

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    2 hrs and 22 mins

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