Stereogum » Dave Letterman

The 10 Best Late Night TV Performances Of 2011

amrit — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 15:37:34 +0000

Our annual list of late night television’s best performances has quickly become an annual exercise in big-upping Jimmy Fallon’s music talent booker. Way to go, person responsible for pointing those Studio 6B HD-cameras at our tag cloud: Bang the Fallon gong (btw, there should be a Fallon gong), a full 70% of this list comes from Late Night With Jimmy Fallon‘s 2011 archives. [And while we're blanket congratulating Fallon and his staff, please join us in a hat tip to the Roots for making the list's Top Two performances Top Two-ier.]

This list is ranked according to a scientific formula which is objectively true and impossible to argue against, which will probably frustrate people who want to disagree with it. Sorry! I’ll let you in on two critical factors in my analysis: There is a heavy premium placed on performances being meaningful, and/or memorable. Accordingly, this list has love for a beloved, reunited post-hardcore outfit; a present day siren covering a song from the past; a present day siren (very) lost in the dance; a present day siren flaunting her ability to count backwards/fertile womb; breakout moments for rap outfits; and a fucking sax solo. If somehow you still disagree with SCIENCE then you are in fact welcome to let us know how you would have run things. We can hash it out together, like a family that has very strong opinions about late night TV performances.

Now then, to the fun: let’s watch these 10 videos together and remember the year that was:

Britney Spears Loses Custody Of The Kids, We Brace For Terrible Monologue Jokes (And Hear New Song “Piece Of Me”)

Stereogum — Mon, 01 Oct 2007 18:20:31 +0000

Another banner day for Brit. Via CNN:

A court has ordered pop singer Britney Spears to give up custody of her children effective Wednesday at noon.

Spears’ former husband, Kevin Federline, is to retain custody of their two sons “until further order of the court,” according to a ruling by Superior Court Judge Scott Gordon.

It was not clear what led to Monday’s decision awarding Federline full custody. A transcript of the court proceedings was ordered sealed.

They say you won’t want to change your life until you’ve hit your absolute lowest point. Kevin Federline being deemed a more fit parent than you? Welcome to rock bottom, Britney! But there’s collateral damage involved when something like this happens: the late night talk shows become a minefield of Brit quip bombs. In honor of tonight’s punchlines, here’s our stupid monologue joke predictor…

Tom Waits Jokes With Jon Stewart, Dave Letterman

Stereogum — Wed, 29 Nov 2006 13:44:09 +0000

Another reason to love Jon Stewart: He’s (almost) visibly nervous to chat with Tom Waits! The iconic troubadour did the NYC talk show circuit this week, hitting Letterman on Monday and stopping by the Daily Show yesterday afternoon. Tom’s appearance wasn’t all talk, though. Here’s his performance of Real Gone‘s “Day After Tomorrow,” with the deep-burning smoke of his vox accompanied by double bass, some electric finger-picking, and the Stewart studio’s reverence.

Jon & Tom Q&A after the jump! Stewart’s a life-long fan and was taken by “how unbeaten by life” Tom is, saying, “I used to listen to your music and think, ‘Boy, I’d love to lie in the street nearly dead with that guy.’”

And at Jon’s thought that the Iraqi conflict could be solved with “Tom Waits, a 2×4 guitar, and a little bit of nice music,” Tom’s reply: “It’s probably something that simple.” Respect.