When Kim Gordon, co-founder of Sonic Youth, and Kim Deal, unique bassist for The Pixies and founding father of The Breeders, carried out Little Trouble Girl, a track that the pair co-wrote, on Netflix’s Everybody’s Live with John Mulaney, it was the primary time that the pair had ever carried out it stay collectively.
Gordon has mentioned the track, which was launched on Sonic Youth’s iconic 1995 LP Washing Machine, was about “wanting to be seen for who you really are”, which is an apt metaphor for one among Mulaney’s key roles on his gonzo speak present: eclectic music nerd.
Everybody’s Live with John Mulaney has breathed new life into the music-on-late-night-television expertise, with artists as various as Philadelphia punks Mannequin Pussy, Metz reuniting for a “Christmas” episode, The Velvet Underground’s John Cale performing with Maggie Rogers, rising shoegaze popstar Yeule and Olympia feminists Sleater-Kinney enjoying on the identical present as Bone Thugs-n-Harmony.
“As I’ve said many times before, this show is the best showcase for live music in entertainment,” Mulaney mentioned on Everybody’s Live.
This comes because the variety of alternatives for musicians and bands on late-night tv has shrunk during the last ten years.
Last 12 months, Late Night with Seth Meyers, which beforehand helped promote new bands comparable to Turnstile and The Linda Lindas, misplaced its 8G band, which was led by Fred Armisen, and with it a slew of pop prospects.
The variety of musical performances on late-night dropped from round 800 between 2011 and 2013 to nearer to 200 in 2023, in accordance with a report from music publication Consequence of Sound. This was not helped both by the writers and actors strikes however extra strikingly because of the lack of The Late Late Show with James Corden and Conan in addition to The Late Show placing on fewer bands beneath Stephen Colbert than beneath famous Foo Fighters fan David Letterman since he took over in 2015.
Mulaney has helped not less than put some extra give attention to music on tv with the primary season of Everybody’s Live, in addition to its precursor Everybody’s Live in LA. He not too long ago informed Rolling Stone that “there’s no part of the show and there’s no part of the week that’s as exciting as when we first rehearse music”.
Kevin O’Donnell, who beforehand labored at music publications together with Spin and Rolling Stone in addition to in music partnership roles at Twitter and Amazon, is Everybody’s Live’s music booker, working intently with Mulaney. The pair made positive to start out the method of reserving artists early, giving them higher choices.
Mulaney was clearly jazzed to deliver collectively Cale and Rogers, a collaboration that was not not like one discovered on Night Music, a present that he has frequently referenced when discussing his personal speak present:
Speaking on the WTF with Marc Maron podcast, Mulaney mentioned that he was attempting for Everybody’s Live to be just like the David Sanborn and Jools Holland-hosted present that ran for 2 seasons between 1988 and 1990 with SNL’s Hal Willner as music co-ordinator.
Night Music featured artists comparable to The Pixies, Sonic Youth and Red Hot Chili Peppers in addition to pairing the likes of Marianne Faithfull with Dizzy Gillespie, Bootsy Collins and Loudon Wainwright III and Sonny Rollins with Leonard Cohen.
Mulaney isn’t the one music-loving late-night host, although. Jon Stewart, simply over a 12 months again on The Daily Show, not too long ago acquired nostalgic concerning the music bookings on his ‘90s MTV late-night speak present The Jon Stewart Show.
Marilyn Manson on The Jon Stewart Show. (Catherine McGann/Getty Images)
Bands on that present included Blind Melon, Megadeth, Sunny Day Real Estate, Danzig and Guided By Voices. There was a memorable 1995 efficiency from Minutemen’s Mike Watt, who was backed by Nirvana’s Dave Grohl and Pat Smear, a former member of The Germs, and Pearl Jam’s Eddie Vedder, in addition to a two-song set from Marilyn Manson, which noticed the controversial goth rocker burn what gave the impression to be a bible (it turned out to be a lunchbox).
Bruce Gillmer, who now exec produces the MTV European Music Awards, was the music booker for The Jon Stewart Show, whereas Beth McCarthy-Miller, who directed Nirvana’s MTV Unplugged efficiency, was the present’s director.
Stewart not too long ago informed The Bill Simmons Podcast that the stay performances had been his favourite a part of the present. “The music was so good and such an important part of it. We were able to sneak in Guided By Voices and Bad Religion and bands that were not quite mainstream, but really great,” he mentioned.
The Daily Show sometimes has musical performances, with latest artists together with the likes of Jason Isbell and Vampire Weekend in addition to newer artists together with The Linda Lindas and Julien Baker & Torres.
However, it’s The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon and Jimmy Kimmel Live! which might be the primary purveyors of popstars and punks within the late-night hours.
Earlier this 12 months, Fallon had Australian punks Amyl and the Sniffers on in addition to breakout artists together with Lola Young, Gigi Perez and Sombr complimenting larger artists comparable to Shakira and The Weeknd.
Kimmel not too long ago had on rising alt-rocker MJ Lenderman on in February (fascinating facet observe: one among JKL’s music bookers is former sElf bassist Mac Burrus).
Colbert has additionally had some noticeably fascinating artists on The Late Show not too long ago together with Lenderman’s outdated band Wednesday. He’s additionally been selling extra punks than typical with the primary ever efficiency from riot grrrl pioneers Bikini Kill final 12 months, and a rollicking efficiency from Santa Cruz’s Scowl in April.