Tonight's Musical Guest, Today

It's a career arc that spanned genres, oceans, and mainstream musical movements that came and went. And at the center of it, an enigmatic frontman that refused to make anything easy. It's RADIOHEAD week! The guys give a quick upcoming concert report before Jon reveals a shocking secret about his relationship with the band of the week. The clip story begins with Radiohead as a fish out of water on MTV Beach House until Thom Yorke literally gets wet. Back to back clips on Jools Holland captures The Bends and OK Computer era, with a quick Dave Grohl Corner in between. Kid A creates the foundation for modern music culture and provides an SNL performance for the ages. And Radiohead is on the 2009 Grammys for In Rainbows and ends up in the middle of one of the more ridiculous live performance lineups you'll ever hear. Want to watch along with us? Check out the links below for the performances discussed this week! Interview/Creep/Anyone Can Play Guitar, 7/4/1993 on MTV Beach House High and Dry/The Bends, 5/16/1995 on Later...with Jools Holland Paranoid Android/No Surprises/Airbag, 5/31/1997 on Later...with Jools Holland The National Anthem/Idioteque, 10/14/2000 on Saturday Night Live Interview/Pyramid Song/Knives Out, 5/25/2001 on Top of the Pops 15 Step, 2/8/2009 on the 51st Annual Grammy Awards Interview/Bloom/The Daily Mail/Little by Little, 9/26/2011 on The Colbert Report

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, 7/26/2918 on Jimmy Kimmel Live!

This is a band that defined early 2000s emo for so many (including us). And it turns out the band drama was even messier than their lyrics. It's TAKING BACK SUNDAY week! The guys have an important show announcement up top before reexamining their short-lived intense fandom with these Long Island heroes. It takes a while to get through the early rise and messy bitch drama of Tell All Your Friends before we get to some performances, including an era-defining acoustic performance on Last Call with Carson Daly. Alex and Jon discover they remembered this band all wrong with the two-album run of Fred Mascherino being by far the best era of the band. And stick around for a critical analysis of Denny's 2008 emo/screamo adopt-a-band all nighter menu featuring a Hoobastank burrito. Want to watch along with us? Check out the links below for the performances discussed this week! Cute Without the E (Cut From the Team)/Message in a Bottle, 9/9/2003 on Jimmy Kimmel Live! You're So Last Summer, 11/11/2003 on Last Call with Carson Daly A Decade Under the Influence, 10/8/2004 on The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson MakeDamnSure, 7/24/2006 on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno Liar (It Takes One to Know One), 12/20/2006 on The Late Show with David Letterman Sink Into Me/New Again, 6/2/2009 on Jimmy Kimmel Live! Better Homes and Gardens with the Contemporary Youth Orchestra, 7/22/2015 on The Alternative Press Music Awards

Wake up! This LA by way of Armenia heavy metal/death metal/middle eastern/jazz fusion four-piece stunned mainstream culture at every turn. It's SYSTEM OF A DOWN week! We recap the rich and tragic familial history and musical origins of Serj Tankian and co. before jumping into 3 tv performances across the span of 3 years for SOAD's classic self-titled debut. That includes a pretty ridiculous Fred Durst sidebar and our triumphant return to the short-lived TV home of late 90s nu-metal, Farmclub.com. Toxicity becomes huge amid 9/11, with a rare TV clip of Chop Suey! on MTV Latin America. And we return to Fuse's Uranium with Mistress Juliya Chernetsky to unfortunately find her trying to survive the interview from hell. Want to watch along with us? Check out the links below for the performances discussed this week! War?, 11/9/1998 on NPA (French TV) Spiders, 3/16/2000 on Late Night with Conan O'Brien Sugar/Suggestions, 6/12/2000 on Farmclub.com Chop Suey!, 10/24/2002 on MTV VMAs Latin America Interview (Part 1, Part 2, Part 3), 2005 on Fuse's Uranium B.Y.O.B/Aerials, 5/7/2005 on Saturday Night Live

While coming up in the Portland post-punk scene, this singer/songwriter recorded a batch of lo-fi acoustic demos on a whim. What followed was a once-in-a-generation rise and fall fueled by some of the most beautiful songwriting of the past 30 years. It's ELLIOTT SMITH week! Returning to the show is pod-favorite and fellow Texan Rory Phillips (The Impossibles, Slowreader, The Stereo)! Rory and the guys discuss the upcoming Slowreader reunion shows before diving into the incredible music and turbulent life of Elliott. Clip one is likely the most surreal ever on the show, with Elliott somehow ending up on a zany 90s morning show hosted by Tom Bergeron and a puppet. Good Will Hunting changes everything with an Oscars performance that defines his public persona for the rest of his life. And full band performances on SNL, Conan, and Letterman capture the power poppier side of Elliott. Want to watch along with us? Check out the links below for the performances discussed this week! Clementine, 7/28/1995 on Breakfast Time Miss Misery, 3/5/1998 on MTV Live with Carson Daly Miss Misery, 3/23/1998 on The Oscars Waltz #2 (XO), 8/20/1998 on Much Music Canada Waltz #2 (XO), 10/17/1998 on Saturday Night Live Son of Sam, 4/21/2000 on Late Night with Conan O'Brien Stupidity Tries, 7/21/2000 on The Late Show with David Letterman Check out Rory and Slowreader at their upcoming reunion shows in Austin, TX!

Do we stress you out? Our sweaters are on backwards and inside out this week to talk about an artist that took over the world in 1995. But what about before and after? It's ALANIS MORISSETTE week! Joining the show is past guest Courtney Denison and her husband/musical partner Sean Farrell of Boston pop punk band Bad Idea USA! We begin this week discussing Alanis' often forgotten teenage dance pop days in Canada with a 1992 daytime talk show appearance in her native land. The Jagged Little Pill-era live band featuring Taylor Hawkins is ridiculously good with appearances on Letterman and SNL. A 1999 Grammy's performance off of the City of Angels soundtrack requires a sidebar on the fashion of AJ McLean of The Backstreet Boys. And we wrap up discussing the biggest selling albums of the 1990s. Want to watch along with us? Check out the links below for the performances discussed this week! Change is a Waste of Time, 11/24/1992 on The Dini Petty Show You Oughta Know, 8/17/1995 on The Late Show with David Letterman Hand in My Pocket/All I Really Want, 10/28/1995 on Saturday Night Live Joining You, 12/17/1998 on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno Uninvited, 2/24/1999 on The Grammy Awards Hands Clean/Your House, 2/27/2002 on Last Call with Carson Daly Everything/Out is Through/Ironic, 5/14/2004 on Later...with Jools Holland Follow Bad Idea USA on Instagram and see them live soon!

Founders of Seattle grunge, this sludgy hard rock outfit combined crazy technical prowess with hair-raising vocals. Led by a one-of-kind lead singer, they defined a movement that persists to this day. It's SOUNDGARDEN week! Jon and Alex deal with the fallout of being cancelled by the anti-Dave Grohl internet movement before tracking the twists of a band that mostly avoided TV appearances! Clip 1 finds the band on a short-lived awards show put on by the College Media Journal and the USA Network. Steve Issacs returns to the show right as grunge is taking over, with Soundgarden blasting through Outshined and Slaves & Bulldozers on Hangin' with MTV. Superunknown is a huge hit and the band is hardly on TV for it, except for a 40-minute Japanese grunge special. And we discuss the band's 2010s reunion with clips on Conan and Jools Holland before Chris Cornell's tragic ending. Want to watch along with us? Check out the links below for the performances discussed this week! Ugly Truth/Big Dumb Sex reprise, 10/26/1989 on the CMJ New Music Awards Outshined/Slaves & Bulldozers, 12/11/1991 on Hangin' with MTV Fell on Black Days/Spoonman, 2/8/1994 on Sony Music TV Japan Pretty Noose/Burden in My Hand, 5/18/1996 on Saturday Night Live Black Rain/Hunted Down, 11/9/2010 on Conan Been Away too Long/Taree/Rusty Cage, 11/6/2012 on Later...with Jools Holland

This artist melded 70s southern soul with 80s hip hop and earned a royal title for it in the process. Equal parts tough and diva, she took over the R&B world in 1992 and never left. It's MARY J. BLIGE week! Joining the show is journalist, author, and Mary superfan Craig Seymour! Luckily, Craig is prepared to school the guys on the immeasurable impact of Mary's early albums and the way it shaped modern hip hop/R&B forever. Clip 1 has Jennifer Lopez, Rosie Perez, and Jim Carrey backing up Mary on In Living Color. My Life is a huge album without a huge single, but a full-band version of "You Bring Me Joy" still kills on Conan. Queen Latifah brings together Mary and Lauryn Hill for a once-in-a-lifetime collaboration on TV. And we end with the 2022 Super Bowl, with Mary fitting right in alongside other legends of hip hop (and 50 Cent). Want to watch along with us? Check out the links below for the peformances disucssed this week! Reminisce, 11/2/1992 on In Living Color You Bring Me Joy, 5/19/1995 on Late Night with Conan O'Brien Thank You Lord/Not Gon' Cry/Love is All We Need with Nas, 3/7/1997 on The Soul Train Awards All That I Can Say with Lauryn Hill, 2/4/2000 on The Queen Latifah Show Family Affair/No More Drama, 5/3/2002 on Later...with Jools Holland Be Without You/Stay With Me/Runaway Love with Ludacris and Earth, Wind, & Fire, 2/11/2007 on The Grammy Awards Family Affair/No More Drama with Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, 50 Cent, Kendrick Lamar and Eminem, 2/13/2022 on The Super Bowl Halftime Show

In the mid 70s, some arty weird kids in Athens, GA shared a volcano cocktail at a Chinese restaurant. That party took them to many others, armed with hugely influential guitar licks, beehive hairdo wigs, and dancing from another world. It's THE B-52s week! It's episode number of 50 of TMGT, and the show kicks off with a performance on SNL that changed Dave Grohl's life. Jon insists on covering a clip of the band at the 1982 US Festival despite it having no place within the dumb format of this podcast. The "Whammy" era is captured on UK TV, and uh, it's not great! The guys discuss the lasting influence of the late great Ricky Wilson, and his absence is sorely felt on a 1987 clip from a UK children's show. And a comeback performance of "Love Shack" on Letterman almost makes Jon cry. Want to watch along with us? Check out the links below for the performances discussed this week! Rock Lobster/Dance This Mess Around, 1/26/1980 on Saturday Night Live Give Me Back My Man, 9/3/1982 at The US Festival Song for a Future Generation/Whammy Kiss/Butterbean, 1983 on Switch Wig/Planet Claire, 7/11/1987 on Get Fresh Love Shack, 6/20/1989 on Late Night with David Letterman Cosmic Thing/Channel Z, 4/21/1990 on Saturday Night Live Is That You Mo-Dean?, 8/31/1992 on Hangin' with MTV

She emerged from the caves of Iceland with a singular voice and singular vision. As the ultimate blank check artist, she combined international textures with innovative electronic landscapes to both astound and baffle listeners. It's BJÖRK week! Björk leans into her Sugarcubes and London club influences early with quirky and catchy performances on Conan and Leno. A turmoil-filled run up to Homogenic produces an intense 1997 performance on Jools Holland with an Icelandic string octet. The swan dress overshadows a sparse and haunting Oscars performance of I've Seen it All. Björk is backed by a renowned harpist, found sound DJ producers, and a Greenland Inuit women's choir on Japanese television. And Alex and Jon display a shocking lack of knowledge regarding the female anatomy. Want to watch along with us? Check out the links below for the performances discussed this week! Human Behaviour, September 14th, 1993 on Late Night with Conan O'Brien It's Oh So Quiet, November 2nd, 1995 on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno Hunter/Bachelorette/Joga, November 28th, 1997 on Later...with Jools Holland I've Seen it All, March 25th, 2001 on The Oscars Pagan Poetry/Generous Palmstroke, January 14th, 2002 on News23 Tokyo Television Earth Intruders/Wanderlust, April 21st, 2007 on Saturday Night Live The Gate/Blissing Me/Courtship/The Anchor Song, May 22nd, 2018 on Later...with Jools Holland

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 Check out and subscribe to see/saw!

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

Pounding robotic trance desert stoner rock. Is that enough adjectives to describe what is maybe the last great mainstream hard rock band of the 21st century? We find more to use. It's QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE week! For a band often described as "The Josh Homme Project", we find ways to discuss the careers of way too many musicians on the show this week. Early clips on Conan and Kilborn capture the short-lived magical chemistry of Homme and bassist Nick Olivieri. Our biggest cheat clip ever on the show brings us to the Werchter, Belgium rock festival in 2002 featuring Dave Grohl and Mark Lanegan. Homme surrounds himself with a shifting cast of band members across the 2000s, including a one-song appearance by Will Ferrell. And we discuss the outsized influence and legacy of QOTSA in the dying landscape of modern mainstream rock music. Want to watch along with us? Check out the links below for the performances discussed this week! The Lost Art of Keeping a Secret, 11/14/2000 on Late Night with Conan O'Brien Song for the Dead, 6/29/2002 on MTV2 Rock Werchter No One Knows, 2/20/2003 on The Late Late Show with Craig Kilborn Little Sister/In My Head, 5/14/2005 on Saturday Night Live 3s & 7s/Sick Sick Sick, 5/11/2007 on Transmission UK I Sat By the Ocean/If I Had a Tail/Interview/My God is the Sun, 5/14/2013 on Later...with Jools Holland Emotion Sickness, 12/14/2023 on Jimmy Kimmel Live!