Andy Kaufman's debut on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson

Andy Kaufman's appearances on SNL are probably his best-known work outside of playing Latka on Taxi.  Less well-known are his talk show appearances. A number of his Letterman appearances are on YouTube, but his best IMHO was his first Tonight Show appearance.  It's clear Johnny loves it and is surprised.  He even tries to announce Andy at the end, not realizing there was one last, huge punchline to the whole appearance.  The description on the video confirms this is his debut, but the video is dated March 3, 1977.  Most episode guides show that as his second appearance, with the debut listed as January 21, 1977.  Maybe he was listed in TV Guide for that night but got bumped?




Just for good measure, here's an exhaustive comparison of all the recreated scenes in the 1999 Kaufman biopic, "Man On the Moon."  The Carson appearance is not there, but SNL and Letterman are (and it's interesting that Lorne Michaels is dressed to look just like he would have in 1975, but 1999-Dave Letterman made no attempt to look like 1983-Dave Letterman):



Oh why not... here's a link to the 1994 TV special (A Comedy Salute to Andy Kaufman) in five parts, which is essentially a dry run for "Man On the Moon."

Nerding Out For Music Sounds: AL KOOPER MIKE BLOOMFIELD STEPHEN STILLS Super Session vinyl

The classic 1968 Columbia Records LP by Al Kooper with Stephen Stills and Mike Bloomfield #KBNOMS

Nerding Out For Music Sounds: Bose Acoustimass 10 speakers

These Bose Acoustimass speakers were bought in 1998, complete with brackets. #KBNOMS

Nerding Out For Music Sounds: RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE and EVIL EMPIRE vinyl

A look at RATM's first two LPs -- on vinyl -- from 1992 and 1996 (Evil Empire). #KBNOMS

Nerding Out For Music Sounds: LOWELL FULSON Now! vinyl

Lowell Fulsom's 1969 Kent Records LP Now! Featuring a 1968 or 1969 Cadillac Eldorado on the cover! #KBNOMS

RIP Kevin Meaney (We Are the World and SNL's Musicians For Free Range Chickens)

Here's my favorite of his bits, pantomiming "We Are the World"


Several obits have mentioned he "appeared on SNL."  He was actually scheduled for one episode and was cut for time (12/20/1986 with host William Shatner, featuring the infamous "get a life," Trekkies sketch).  Whether or not he was going to be a castemember has been hotly debated, but after the Christmas hiatus, he was nowhere to be seen.  Interestingly, SNL would do its own masterful "We Are the World" parody, 6 years later: "Musicians For Free Range Chickens."  Note the terribly dubbed vocals when "Wilson Phillips" appears... they were not as croaky on the original broadcast.  Also note the effect at the end doesn't go off, and that Dana Carvey actually plays two different roles in the piece.  The show did a weak rewrite ("Fire Bad) two years later, as well (with host Kirstie Alley, 4/17/93). #SNL4kidz

As long as I'm here, this is The Simpsons' take on it ("We're Sending Our Love Down the Well").  It's cut out, but later the song is replaced at #1 by a group called "Funky See, Funky Do."  Classic.

Nerding Out For Music Sounds: WILBERT HARRISON Let's Work Together vinyl

I found a SEALED copy of Wilbert Harrison's 1970 LP "Let's Work Together" on Sue Records.  The title track would become a sizable hit for Canned Heat. #KBNOMS

Nerding Out for Music Sounds: The Rolling Stones VINYL COLLECTION

A discussion of the Stones' vinyl releases, including Got Live If You Want It!, Big Hits (High Tide and Green Grass), Beggars Banquet, Let It Bleed, Sticky Fingers, Exile on Main Street, It's Only Rock 'n Roll, Some Girls, Tattoo You, Steel Wheels, Voodoo Lounge, 'Get Yer Ya-Ya's Out!',
Through the Past, Darkly (Big Hits Vol. 2), Metamorphosis, Shattered aka Rim Shout #KBNOMS

Nerding Out for Music Sounds: JETHRO TULL Thick as a Brick

Discussing this unfairly maligned LP, as well as a long side trip to talk about Chicago (the band), plus Asia, Styx, Kansas, Foreigner, Emerson Lake and Palmer (ELP), REO Speedwagon, Journey, Boston and all those other bands which I submit are actually the same band over and over and over again. #KBNOMS

KBTime: Rare '90s Vinyl

New vinyl was tough to find in the 1990s (and even in the 2000s, and the late 1980s), but I've been buying the whole time!  Here's a few of my best acquisitions: Come Together by the SMOKIN' MOJO FILTERS (a supergroup of Paul McCartney, Paul Weller and members of Oasis), Cannonball by THE BREEDERS, Tristessa by SMASHING PUMPKINS, SYD BARRETT Baby Lemonade, BECK Loser, BOB DYLAN Christmas In the Heart, COLOR ME BADD I Wanna Sex You Up, Wouldn't It Be Nice by THE BEACH BOYS (on Sub Pop), and Forever Your Girl by PAULA ABDUL.  #KBTime

Nerding Out for Music Sounds: Bob Dylan BIOGRAPH / BLONDE ON BLONDE

The 1985 Columbia Records box set BIOGRAPH by Bob Dylan, plus the 1966 mono LP BLONDE ON BLONDE ... also includes discussion of TEN OF SWORDS #KBNOMS

Nerding Out for Music Sounds: YES on vinyl

A look at the first 5 Yes LPs: Yes, Time and a Word, The Yes Album, Fragile, Close to the Edge... and an honorable mention of Yessongs #KBNOMS

Syd Barrett on record (Pink Floyd discography, part 3)

Syd Barrett's relatively brief recording career has been anthologized a few times.  Below is a roadmap to finding his work outside of Pink Floyd.

-His first two LPs, "The Madcap Laughs" and "Barrett," were released in 1970.  They were later compiled together as the double LP, "Syd Barrett" (1974).

-In 1988, EMI released a collection of outtakes, "Opel."

-In 1993, the boxed set "Crazy Diamond" compiled the three albums listed above, with 19 bonus cuts spread over the three disks.  A promotional 7" EP on pink vinyl (with picture sleeve) was also released.

-Later compilations include Octopus: The Best of Syd Barrett (1992), The Best of Syd Barrett: Wouldn't You Miss Me? (2001), An Introduction to Syd Barrett (2010, including his work with Pink Floyd).  New songs made available on those are:
"Bob Dylan Blues" [Wouldn't You Miss Me?/An Introduction]
"Matilda Mother" (Alternate version) [An Introduction -- also on the "Piper at the Gates of Dawn" 3-CD deluxe set, but remixed and extended here]
"Rhamadan" [An Introduction, iTunes bonus track]

-Mr. Barrett also appeared on the BBC twice, performing on Top Gear (John Peel's show) on Feb. 24, 1970 ("Terrapin," "Gigolo Aunt," "Baby Lemonade," "Effervescing Elephant," "Two of a Kind") and on Bob Harris' Sounds of the Seventies on Feb. 16, 1971 ("Baby Lemonade," "Dominoes," "Love Song").  All of these songs are on 2004's "The Radio One Sessions."  The Peel session only is on "The Peel Sessions" (1987).

-He plays guitar on "Religious Experience" (aka "Singing a Song in the Morning") recorded during sessions for the 1969 Kevin Ayers LP "Joy of a Toy."  The song would not be released until the 2003 CD reissue of the album.

Pink Floyd discography, part 2

In 1992, Pink Floyd finally allowed all five of their early non-album singles to be released on the "Early Singles" bonus CD included with the "Shine On" boxed set.  Finding the original 45s is incredibly tough and expensive.  And finding the cuts on LPs is pretty tough, too.  Below is an easy way to track them down. The first 6 songs are also on "1967: The First Three Singles" (pictured) and the 2007 edition of "The Piper at the Gates of Dawn."

-Arnold Layne +=*
-Candy and a Currant Bun +
-See Emily Play +=*
-The Scarecrow [album track: "The Piper At the Gates of Dawn"]
-Apples and Oranges +
-Paint Box +*
-It Would Be So Nice +
-Julia Dream +*
-Point Me at the Sky [only on the 1978 U.S. compilation, "A Harvest Sampler"]
-Careful with That Axe, Eugene * [on the 2007 version of the compilation, "A Breath of Fresh Air," which is different from the similarly-titled 1974 compilation. "Embryo," a previously unreleased cut, is on both editions.]

+-Masters of Rock (1970)
=-Works (1983)
*-Relics (1971): also includes the previously unreleased "Biding My Time"

Pink Floyd discography, part 1

Pink Floyd (or THE PUNK FLOYD, as they should be called) have made a career of making overrated music interspersed with occasional greatness.  They're no worse than Journey, so I'll concede that the band deserves its accolades.  But if you're like me, you just want to hear good music! Likely on used vinyl.  Here, now, is their entire discography as best as I can piece it together, complete with mini-reviews.  I'll do a post on their singles in a few days, as well as one on Syd Barrett's solo work.  I will not be profiling the other bandmembers' work, because... I don't really care.

-The Piper at the Gates of Dawn (1967): A classic.  The (inferior) U.S. version of this album was also released as half of the 1973 double-LP, "A Nice Pair."  The 2007 deluxe edition includes the stereo mix, the mono mix, five of the early (non-album) singles, two alternate versions of "Intersteller Overdrive," a stereo "Apples & Oranges" and an alternate "Matilda Mother."  That last song was remixed in 2010 (and fades out almost a minute later) ans is only available on the compilation "An Introduction to Syd Barrett."

-Tonite Let's All Make Love In London (1967): Not an official release by the band, but a soundtrack containing two cuts: "Interstellar Overdrive" and "Nick's Boogie."  Later issues of the soundtrack, as well as the EP "London '66-'67," contain the full-length version of the former track.

-A Saucerful of Secrets (1968): A near-classic.  The (inferior) U.S. version of this album was also released as half of the 1973 double-LP, "A Nice Pair."

-More (1969): One great song ("Cymballine") and lots of the atmospheric ambience found on "Ummagumma," "Obscured By Clouds" and many other disks.

-Ummagumma (1969): See above.

-Zabriskie Point (1970): another non-canon soundtrack. Later reissues contain bonus tracks.  Blah.

-Atom Heart Mother (1970): Never heard it.  But if this will change my opinion on The Floyd, leave me a comment!

-Meddle (1971): Side two does everything that "Ummagumma" attempts, but beautifully.  Side one is quite good but tends to go pretentious ("You'll Never Walk Alone"?!).  One song ("One of These Days") appears in a remixed version on 1983's "Works."

-Obscured by Clouds (1972): What?

-The Dark Side of the Moon (1973): almost as good as side two of Meddle. Alternate mixes of "Brain Damage" and "Eclipse" are on 1983's "Works": they are actually fold-downs from the quad version of this album.  The 1981 compilation "A Collection of Great Dance Songs" contains a re-recording of "Money."

-Wish You Were Here (1975): Tune to any Midwestern classic rock station and -- by FCC decree -- they will have played this entire album in the course of a day. Yawn.

-Animals (1977): Quite good, and bonus points for being featured on WKRP in Cincinnati.

-The Wall (1979): One good song and many others. A live performance from 1981 (Is There Anybody Out There? The Wall Live 1980–81) was released in 2000.  Double yawn.

-A Collection of Great Dance Songs (1981): Contains alternate edits/mixes of "Shine On You Crazy Diamond" (parts 1, 2, 4 and 7) and "Another Brick in the Wall (Part 2)" (combines intro from the single mix with the album version which fades out during the "if you don't eat your meat" ending). Also includes a re-recording of "Money."

-The Final Cut (1983): As bad as the one before and the ones after. Later issues of this album have an extra track, "When the Tigers Broke Free."  Two cuts, "Not Now John" b/w "The Hero's Return" were released as a single. The former has its chorus censored ("f--k all that" to "stuff all that"), while the latter has an extra verse.

-A Momentary Lapse of Reason (1987), Delicate Sound of Thunder (1988), The Division Bell (1994), Pulse (1995), The Endless River (2015): WHY?!

Other releases:
-Relics (1971): contains several early singles, plus a previously unreleased song, "Biding My Time"

-Works (1983): contains several early singles, plus a remix of "One of These Days"; alternate mixes of "Brain Damage" and "Eclipse" (fold-downs from The Dark Side of the Moon quad version, which is now available as part of the "Immersion" box).  Also includes "Embryo," from the compilation "Picnic – A Breath of Fresh Air."

-Shine On (1992): This is a boxed set including seven albums, plus a bonus disk, "The Early Singles," containing both sides of the group's five non-album singles released 1967-1968.

-Echoes (2001): The Best of Pink Floyd: Only notable because the songs segue. Nice for a dreamy road trip (so long as you're not driving).

-1965: Their First Recordings (2015): Early recordings.  I assume these six cuts will appear on the "Early Years" box.

-The Early Years 1965-1972 (2016): This likely rounds up much of the stray material here. We'll see!

-There are also Immersion edition boxed sets of The Dark Side of the Moon, Wish You Were Here and The Wall containing demos, outtakes, alternate mixes, etc.

-Additional compilations (all the material in these is covered above): 1967: The First Three Singles; The Best of Pink Floyd: A Foot in the Door; Oh, by the Way; Discovery.

The Best SNL episodes ever?

Happy birthday, SNL!  For all the posts about SNL sketches here, I've never tried to list the best show of every season.  Nor will I now.  But here's 15 episodes that could be contenders for best of the season.  Note that I did not include any of Louis C.K.'s episodes because I haven't seen them all-the-way through, which is awful.  I have listed what I consider to be the best sketches from each episode (which is usually most of them); musical guest segments are not eligible.

-Richard Pryor/Gil Scott-Heron, season 1: Garrett Morris cold open, monologue, Samurai Hotel, police line-up runner, word association, Emily Litella on "busting" kids, suicide pill, Exorcist II

-Eric Idle/Joe Cocker, Stuff, season 2: Richard Belzer fills in for a hospitalized Chevy Chase, Idle sings "Here Comes The Sun," KLOG deejay switches between AM & FM, Baba Wawa explains why she's leaving NBC, rabbi OKs circumcising Michelangelo's David, Epifix, "The Rutles,"  Allied spies make plans, Dragnet, Cufflinks Of The Gods?

-Steve Martin/Blues Brothers, season 3: Theodoric of York, King Tut, Hey You, Dancing In the Dark, The Festrunk Brothers

-Richard Benjamin/Rickie Lee Jones, season 4: Pepsi Syndrome, the Nerds, A Bird For All Seasons, Scottish Restaurant, Little Chocolate Donuts

-Rodney Dangerfield/The J. Geils Band, season 5: Rodney gets no respect from Father Guido Sarducci, Dr. Shockley's House of Sperm, Jerry Mathers on death rumor, Manhasset, Road To Moscow, substitute judge, America On The Job

-Chevy Chase/Junior Walker, season 6: cold open, Frank Sinatra bashes Japan, Bill Cosby for Lite Beer, Raheem Abdul Muhammed on Altered States, Al Franken on SNL history, The Self-Righteous, Italian father, School of Cue Card reading

-no host/Rod Stewart, season 7: Little Richard Simmons, The Clams, nuns at the beach, Andy Rooney, "Prose & Cons," Tomorrow Show in Spanish, Raheem Abdul Muhammed on lack of black people in movies, one-night stand irks woman after her father dies, Andy Warhol, Michael Davis, "Season Of Glass" by Yoko Ono

-Stevie Wonder, season 8: Fingertips, Stevie impersonator, Hitler Diaries, Dion Dion and Stevie, Dr. Jack Badosky on Impotence, Cotton Land, weird busboy

-Don Rickles/Billy Idol, season 9: TV President, monologue, The Hamlisch Maneuver, I Married a Monkey, Rickles in Witness Protection, Romeo & Juliet, El Dorko, This is Your Afterlife

-no host/Thompson Twins, season 10: Lifestyles of the Relatives of the Rich & Famous (Nelson Hepburn), Billy Crystal stand-up, Rich Hall Election Report, Pat Sajak auditions for Wheel of Fortune, Howard Cosell puts grandkids to sleep, synchronized swimmers, "The Bulge," Fernando with the news, early version of Raymond Chandler's The Big Sleep

-Robin Williams/Paul Simon, season 12: Reagan press conference, Paul Simon forgets Art Garfunkel, Shakespeare improviser, New York Word Exchange, Sweeneys an Fiddler on the Roof, Master Thespian on film set

-Danny DeVito/Bryan Ferry, season 13: Ronald Reagan takes Mikhail Gorbachev on movie-related tour, DeVito shows Bruce Springsteen in his yearbook, Handi-Off & Toe-Rific, Siskel & Ebert review adult films, Church Chat, Eddie Spimozo's Jungle Room, man and his doorman reminisce

-Bruce Willis/Neil Young, season 15: George Bush challenges Medellin, Wayne's World, anal-retentive chef, Sprockets

-Tom Hanks/Bruce Springsteen, season 17: Ross Perot infomercial, Hanks asks "How am I funny?," Sabra Price is Right, Guy Who Plays Mr. Belvedere Fan Club, She Turned Into Her Mother, The Dark Side with Nat X

-Kevin Spacey/Beck, season 22: John Cleese & Michael Palin on ratings; SNL says Spacey is psycho; Late Show with David Letterman; medical marijuana laws; Star Wars screen tests; Janet Reno's Dance Party; Courtney Love talks to Norm MacDonald; "X-Presidents"; The Joe Pesci Show; Dead Parrot sketch; security installer

-Christopher Walken/Christina Aguilera, season 25: More Cowbell, Elian the Cuban Boy, Viagra commercial, Jenny Jones, Jacob Silj, census taker

-Lindsay Lohan/Usher, season 29: Dick Cheney coaches W, Hermoine's new cleavage, Billy Joel chauffeur, Debbie Downer at Disney World, Adult Movie Awards

-Jack Black/Neil Young, season 31: Sbarro tables, Appalachian Emergency Room, Christmastime For the Jews, TV news team, Lazy Sunday, Debbie Downer, ice-skating

-Anne Hathaway/The Killers, season 34: vice-presidential debate, The Lawrence Welk Show, bank bailout, dance floor couple, Extreme Activities Competition, Mary Poppins, Sioux City TV news, Mark Wahlberg talks to animals, pretending to be gay, The Less Provocative Songs Of Katy Perry

-Pending...Zach Galifianakis/Vampire Weekend, season 35: monologue, kissing funeral, hotel guests want bidet, "Zach Drops By The Set," Today Show, Will Forte on women's history, What Up With That?, The Situation Room
OR Betty White/Jay-Z

-Zach Galifianakis/Jessie J, season 36: Selection Sunday, monologue, The Talk, Original Kings Of Catchphrase comedy, Lorenzo McIntosh in prison, "Zach Looks For A New Assistant," Julie Taymor discusses Spider-Man musical, Corn Syrup Producers Of America, captain of the Titanic hogs lifeboat

-Jimmy Fallon/Justin Timberlake, season 39: gift bag and wrapping paper battle, Paul McCartney monologue, Celebrity Family Feud, Twin Bed, Barry Gibb Talk Show, Billie Jean King, Waking Up with Kimye, Now That's What I Call Christmas, Baby It's Cold Outside

{Update, April 29, 2017}: Here's my list of what I consider the 10 greatest episodes of all-time...
-Richard Pryor, season 1
-Steve Martin, season 3
-Stevie Wonder, season 8
-Eddie Murphy, season 8
-Robin Williams, season 12
-Tom Hanks, season 17
-Kevin Spacey, season 22
-Christopher Walken, season 25
-Betty White, season 35
-Zach Galifanikis, season 36