Tonight's Musical Guest, Today

EXPLORE

Society & Culture

© 2024 PodJoint

https://is1-ssl.mzstatic.com/image/thumb/Podcasts221/v4/a7/a9/f6/a7a9f680-d434-a664-6045-a9b2274a4c48/mza_14914352698291432558.jpg/600x600bb.jpg

Tonight's Musical Guest, Today

Tonight's Musical Guest, Today

58 episodes

2 months ago

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 ...

Show more...

Music Commentary

All content for Tonight's Musical Guest, Today is the property of Tonight's Musical Guest, Today and is served directly from their servers with no modification, redirects, or rehosting. The podcast is not affiliated with or endorsed by Podjoint in any way.

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 ...

Show more...

Music Commentary

Episodes (20/58)

Tonight's Musical Guest, Today

Grab Bag: SKA-tacular with Kenny

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 ...

2 months ago

3 hours 2 minutes

Tonight's Musical Guest, Today

Taking Back Sunday

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 wi...

2 months ago

2 hours 18 minutes

Tonight's Musical Guest, Today

System of a Down

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....

3 months ago

2 hours 24 minutes

Tonight's Musical Guest, Today

Elliott Smith with Rory Phillips

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 tu...

3 months ago

2 hours 36 minutes

Tonight's Musical Guest, Today

Alanis Morissette with Courtney Denison & Sean Farrell

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 Pil...

4 months ago

2 hours 21 minutes

Tonight's Musical Guest, Today

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 Networ...

5 months ago

2 hours 14 minutes

Tonight's Musical Guest, Today

Mary J. Blige with Craig Seymour

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 ...

5 months ago

2 hours 19 minutes

Tonight's Musical Guest, Today

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...

6 months ago

2 hours 22 minutes

Tonight's Musical Guest, Today

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...

6 months ago

2 hours 17 minutes

Tonight's Musical Guest, Today

The Pogues with Kevin Bogart

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...

6 months ago

2 hours 34 minutes

Tonight's Musical Guest, Today

Dinosaur Jr. with Evan Minsker

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 de...

7 months ago

2 hours 18 minutes

Tonight's Musical Guest, Today

Grab Bag: Nepo Babies

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, ...

7 months ago

2 hours 19 minutes

Tonight's Musical Guest, Today

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 d...

8 months ago

2 hours 17 minutes

Tonight's Musical Guest, Today

The Rolling Stones with Jon Wurster

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! T...

8 months ago

2 hours 24 minutes

Tonight's Musical Guest, Today

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 nex...

9 months ago

2 hours 10 minutes

Tonight's Musical Guest, Today

Elvis Costello with Connor Ratliff

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 Attr...

9 months ago

2 hours 29 minutes

Tonight's Musical Guest, Today

Red Hot Chili Peppers

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...

10 months ago

2 hours 23 minutes

Tonight's Musical Guest, Today

Queens of the Stone Age

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...

11 months ago

2 hours 20 minutes

Tonight's Musical Guest, Today

Remembered as schmaltzy elevator music, this sister-brother duo dominated the charts for much of the 1970s. Driven by the one-of-a-kind voice of Karen Carpenter and the orchestration of brother Dick, they epitomize the former power of television monoculture and the murky arc of cultural memory. It's THE CARPENTERS week! Almost unlike any other group covered on the show, the clips this week are bountiful, explanatory, and filled with medleys. A recent viral clip of Karen ripping it up on drum...

11 months ago

2 hours 24 minutes

Tonight's Musical Guest, Today

Yeah Yeah Yeahs with Matt Ozelius

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 Letterm...

12 months ago

2 hours 11 minutes