I was not going to watch this.
No one does hype like old media. They carpet bomb in every publication known to man and by time the event transpires, you’re worn out.
Meanwhile, the lionization of Lorne Michaels just rubs me wrong. He comes across as so smug.
But when I saw Paul Simon sing poorly in the opening…
I was brought right back to 1975, when SNL debuted.
You see SNL used to be the outside, the counterculture, the antidote, a club you belonged to with the hippest people and the hippest jokes. We all caught the references. It was like someone was paying attention, the show was not homogenized like the rest of network TV.
And that was all we had. Along with a few independent channels with reruns.
TV was the idiot box. Now that’s social media. If you watched TV you were déclassé, and then along came SNL.
The marijuana revolution penetrated the youth culture back in the sixties. By 1975 if you hadn’t smoked dope, you never would. As for the cocaine the cast members were doing…most people didn’t catch on until later in the decade.
But those cast members…
They were instant heroes, instant stars, known by everybody within months. The only thing I’ve seen similar to this is the cast of “The Sopranos.” This little Mafia show on HBO…got it exactly right and suddenly even secondary mobsters like Paulie Walnuts were heroes.
But things have changed in the ensuing fifty years.
Now no one gets the references. There are hosts you’ve never heard of. This is not SNL’s fault, it’s the change in the landscape. Now TikTok is hip. Knowing the right influencers makes you an insider. And the power is not from the top down, but the bottom up. There are no string-pullers like Lorne Michaels anymore.
But old media keeps writing about him and his show. Like the zombies who go to the mall in “Dawn of the Dead,” it’s instinct. And now even the malls are extinct.
So every Sunday you read about what happened on last night’s SNL as if it was tablets handed down from heaven. But except for a few moments, the show does not resonate. Because once you do something long enough without change the paradigm becomes stale. We like the new, the innovative. But…
Tonight’s program was live. In a world where live is everything, where we treasure the experience. And it seemed live. And that was electric. So after taking a shower and seeing a funny joke on Black Jeopardy, I settled in.
Eddie Murphy was as funny as ever. And Woody Harrelson would have been a good cast member in the first season. Not worried about keeping up with the Joneses, but enmeshed in the alternative culture that started with the Beats and evolved into Richard Brautigan and William S. Burroughs and a whole host of musicians. It wasn’t about how rich you were, but what you had to say, what you stood for.
Now it’s all about your job and how much money you make.
But the people in attendance… This was Lorne’s club and you’re not a member, and you want to be. It was his Bar Mitzvah. Or a premature wake. Everybody came out of the woodwork. And it was like Hollywood in 1939.
But it’s 2025.
There was Jerry Seinfeld. And Larry David. And Cher. You were looking at the audience picking out stars like studying the cover of “Sgt. Pepper.”
But the biggest star of all was Jack Nicholson. Because he’s been hiding for years. And Jack always did it his way, he’s the epitome of cool, and it was great to see him.
And Meryl Streep was hilarious.
But mostly the skits fell flat.
But I stayed tuned in. Because this was like Sunday night TV back in the sixties. When we watched “Bonanza, when we tuned into “Ed Sullivan” for the Beatles. It was cold outside, we were all home settled in front of the screen. And when you went to school the next day what was on TV was the topic of conversation. Actually, mostly Tuesday morning in high school, everybody was cracking jokes from the previous night’s “Laugh-In.”
But those days are gone.
But tonight’s show felt like a cultural rite, it felt like the old days.
Only…
Some of the performers were truly old. And it was disillusioning. It was like Lorne couldn’t tell these emperors they had no clothes.
It wasn’t only Paul Simon who couldn’t sing. And Paul McCartney’s performance was worse, because he seemed to have no knowledge that those of us watching were wincing.
So I expect the ratings to be pretty good. Because the Boomers and Gen-X’ers who grew up on the program needed to tune in on this cold winter night. To relive the past.
But their children?
They could do without it.
So I have mixed feelings. Seeing the endless cast members gave me a thrill, irrelevant of how they looked today. And one of the absolute highlights was the Bronx girls talking to Mike Myers. This show evidenced that the truly talented, the true stars, stand out, heads and shoulders above the rest.
Like Maya Rudolph. Even Alec Baldwin had the right attitude.
And then there was Bill Murray. He’s one of the few cast members who never changed, never sold out, and we love him for that. He’s presently in sexual harassment limbo, but when he delivered the Weekend Update Top Ten… The attitude, the sneer, the taking it seriously while winking and indicating it’s irrelevant… That’s the essence of what the show once was.
But Bill and his compatriots created the paradigm. It was like seeing a new act create an album each week.
Now it’s like going to an oldies show. You might enjoy the new SNL episodes, but they’re not going to titillate you, thrill you, because it’s all been done before.
And watching it was clear that the show was the true star. You could be in people’s living rooms every Saturday night for years and then you could disappear from the radar screen. Even if you became a star in movies. Because you can’t be in a new movie every Saturday night.
But that’s show business. The talent is fungible. Talent is the engine that makes the whole enterprise fly, but no single performer is necessary to make it all work. You can be replaced.
And some stay in the game and some don’t.
It’s hard to make it, it’s even harder to sustain.
And those of us at home… These SNL stars embodied our dreams. We wanted to do it their way. Making fun of the status quo, performing for millions and partying until dawn.
But now we’re older and our lives are set. We are not going to become famous, we are not going to be on TV.
So despite the new skits, this show was pure nostalgia. But we like nostalgia, because it gives us context for our lives.
But today’s nostalgia means nothing to tomorrow’s generation.
Furthermore, the younger generations are never going to have this experience, of everybody being on the same page.
But it was that way in 1975. Actually, it wasn’t until the spring of ’76 that most people caught on. But when they did, they didn’t let go. It was like buying a new Beatles album, you had to.
And you remember those old songs, but…
That was a long, long time ago.
Watching tonight’s program just reinforced how much time had gone by.
But that’s the experience if you live long enough, if you don’t pass prematurely through misadventure.
SNL isn’t threadbare, but it’s close.
Yet tonight we were reminded of what once was.
But that was in the past and it’s never coming back.
Live from New York, it’s…
Oligarchs and exclusivity? Living in Manhattan is like being selected to slip past the velvet rope at Studio 54. All of us nobodies have been pushed aside, we’re not even thought of.
But once upon a time we had a program all our own, that started at 11:30 PM, when our parents were asleep.
Oh, what a great memory that is.
We were reminded tonight.
But SNL and exclusivity are moribund. Today the hoi polloi create the content, and you can reach anybody online.
We’re all in it together, but never have we been more disconnected.
The dream is over.
Long live the dream.
Responses from Bob’s readers – please note that these comments are not edited for grammar or content and not necessarily reflective of the views of CelebrityAccess or its staff.
When 12 year old, night owl me saw the first episode of Saturday Night, it instantly became my Bible, my sherpa to the adult world. I didn’t just grow up with SNL, it grabbed me by my heart, mind, and soul, and showed me how to grow up.
Your take on tonight and the show in general mirror mine. I was happy they got the tone right (mostly, but did we need Domingo here?), but I was constantly reminded of how old and changed everything is now. Eddie and Bill Murray really nailed it, Mike Myers stole the show, and I was surprised/glad they kept Chevy quiet! (but it would have been nice to hear from Jane…and where was Dan?!!) It was sweet they gave Garrett a spot, and Laraine crushed her Chad sketch! (and did a nice job of blocking Chevy’s face with Gilda’s photo)
The only thing I found odd was that segment apologizing for using stereotypes and tropes that we now recognize as offensive. Yes, we know. Pretty much everyone was guilty before we learned. It just seems weird to point their finger at themselves. Then again, I loved that in the bit with “problematic guests” they left out Trump (in fact, they wisely never mentioned him all night!)
So I found the show pretty much satisfying, but with a sad after taste. Your line about searching through the audience shots being akin to picking out faces on Sgt Pepper’s was spot on and hilarious! It was 50 years ago today!
Oh….and why didn’t they mention Don Pardo?!! “This is Don Pardo saying, “This is Don Pardo speaking.”
Gary Helsinger
_____________________________________
RIP SNL! You are too kind, it should have been euthanized at the turn of the century. The show was execrable. If it weren’t for picking out the stars in attendance and fast forwarding, boredom would have won out after an hour. The writing just made you long for the golden age ’75-95. Yes, Bill and a few of the iconic stars can make you laugh just by their delivery, but I don’t remember actually laughing. The bits were a total waste of time.
The egos involved often mean we’ll end up watching something become a shadow of itself. Seeing some really funny people on camera trying to laugh made it seem more like a visual laugh track. It was about as convincing. Thanks to YouTube etc. you don’t have to wade through an hour of mediocrity for one worthy moment anymore, so who actually watches it?
John Brodey
_____________________________________
Halfway through the show, I said “where is GE Smith & Paul Schaeffer?”
So glad they got a brief appearance.
I was very surprised that they didn’t reference the Vagisil bits.
They STILL crack me up.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TuiaN2T1ZEk
All in all I was very disappointed in the show tonight, BUT I am glad I watched it.
Kevin Kiley
_____________________________________
Very well said, Bob, especially for expressing its impact on someone who was there at the beginning. I agree on almost every point, but would quibble on a couple of musical points.
Yeah, Paul Simon’s singing was dicey at first, but when Sabrina Carpenter sang with him, he sounded better. And the whole vibe and feel of the song was driven by his narrative performance.
But most of all, what came through in the end was that Homeward Bound is a really, really great song, and hearing it in this context, spanning across the decades, delivered all the feels one could hope for.
The other Paul, McCartney, similarly seemed to struggle vocally right out of the chute, but I’m convinced he was wincing with us inside — as a musician, I recognized the subtle clues on his face and in his voice signaling that an artist is trying to recover on the fly. And he actually did, a little bit.
But his band was killin’ it, as it always does. Especially Abe Laboriel Jr. on drums. And even Paul tossed off a few good licks on the guitar round robin in The End. And as with Simon’s song, we’re ultimately delighted by the ingenious song craft of the Abbey Road medley.
I also want to give a shout out to Brittany Howard, who really shined on her duet with Miley Cyrus on Nothing Compares 2 U. Of course, nothing compares to Sinead’s version, nor does it need to. But Howard sounded good and true on vocal and guitar, a musical highlight of the show for me.
All the best,
Fred Simon
_____________________________________
50 years and all those stars it has produced has to say something about a guy and a show that almost didn’t happen. I remembered watching the very first show and am amazed that it lasted this long. I’m surprised he didn’t pull the pin after year forty.
I hope this is his and SNLs swan song and final victory lap, with the way things are going, this show will not make to 60.
Happy 50th Anniversary SNL and thanks for laughs from all those who contributed.
Mission Mike
_____________________________________
Bob your struggle for significance is so predictable. Stick with the business of music and perhaps keep your opinions to yourself
Earl Pendley
_____________________________________
Houses get creaky when they’re old. Doesn’t mean we tear them down. Little repair here, patch up there, maybe not as good as new but livable.
If I want to visit my old friend Lorne but my grandkids don’t – fine. Stay home. Go ‘influence’ someone. In this fractured world we live in with a million entertainment choices, SNL isn’t for everyone but it’s a place I still like to visit.
Cheers,
Drew Arnott
P.S. Canada gave you Lorne, who gave you Dan Ackroyd, Martin Short, Paul Shaffer, Mike Myers, Phil Hartman and the amazing Norm McDonald. Could you please tell DT to leave us alone and in return we agree to keep loaning you our talent? Appreciated!
_____________________________________
Superb Bob, just superb writing.
You hit the bullseye for me, right smack in the middle.
Bravo!
Best
Rick Brookwell
Old guy nobody
Los Angeles
_____________________________________
It was a classic night for sure. But, sad to watch Adam Sandler out sing 2 legends in Paul McCartney and Paul Simon.
Steve Langford
_____________________________________
My husband I were planning on watching the SNL 50th special for the live cold open and then watch the rest the next day on the dvr to scan past the bad skits. After the painful Paul Simon opening, we stayed for the first comedy sketch….and then we sat there for 3+hours.
It was….an actual funny show! We laughed a lot. I was really surprised how actually funny most of it was. Bill Murray, Eddie Murphy, Mike Meyers, Tina Fey, Maya Rudolph, Will Ferrel, Keenan Thompson and others really knocked it out of the park. Usually SNL is DOA but last night it was alive and kicking.
Russ Turk
_____________________________________
I know it’s your job to analyze and criticize, but … why you gotta be so mean?
Kristy Reeves
_____________________________________
I watched the first half. I thought all the skits fell flat. It seemed like a tired victory lap for 100 people. Track was too crowded and the pace too slow. Lorne Michaels? Who cares? Nice work and a lifetime achievement award. I still watch each week. I don’t need to watch on Saturday because show is and has been irrelevant for years.
Fun idea but was too much like an actual couples 50th anniversary. Who didn’t make it? Where is Gilda…ohhhh… that is right. I am happy they did it, but it was for them, not for us.
Michael Becker
St. Louis
_____________________________________
I like it when you pontificate. Bloviate. Speak from your ivory tower.
But.
You missing something that brought it all back to earth last night.
Aubrey Plaza
Sinead O’Conner
Nothing Compares 2 You
You missed that. Or were you just being judgy or in the shower?
Jim Anderson
_____________________________________
without a doubt the worst, most over hyped 3 1/2 hours of supposed comedy and entertainment i have ever seen
including a 15 minute sketch about anal rape in prison
absolute trash
the 5 minutes of bill murray was the only redeeming bit
and if you looked at lorne michael’s face at the end… he knew it
Ira Transport
_____________________________________
Love your stuff. I’m surprised you didn’t call out the Tom Hanks skit, though. Pointing out the insanity of 2025 Libs is something you’ve shown you’re courageous enough do. His caricature of the racist and dumb MAGA redneck was offensive and tone deaf. I sincerely don’t understand why this is supposed to be funny. Think of the people in NC who were shunned by FEMA or middle class families in Appalachia who have lost a loved one to a fentanyl overdose. Are these peoples’ struggles not relevant to the modern liberal?
Colin Longval
_____________________________________
I know it’s popular to hate on SNL. but what have YOU created that’s lasted for 50 years?
What’s your legacy beyond criticizing others?
Charles L. Freeman
Los Angeles
_____________________________________
Once again, Bob, ‘you hit that one out of the park’.
Within the first moribund two hours ( aside from Bill Murray) where was Belushi, Gilda Radnor, Chevy Chase & the other comedic talent that made SNL the special place that it once maintained ?!?
I tuned-out about 10 w/ No Regret—-expect the wasted two hours that I’ll never retrieve.
Kindest regards
Bob Sherwood
_____________________________________
Thanks Bob – brilliant writing. I also decided not to watch, as haven’t found the show relevant, not to mention amusing, for thirty plus years or more. I did see a friend post this morning that “Paul Simon still brilliant” so it seems the brainwashing has worked. Also agree on Michaels – has made a lucrative career out of very little……….the original players deserved it. Him? Not so much….
Adam Howell
_____________________________________
I was honored to perform twice on SNL with the Backstreet Boys. First time was in 1998 on the old stage, my first gig with the boys. When we did the early rehearsal show, Paul Simon was there. He came over to me first and shook my hand and said great job, before meeting the boys. I was stunned. Second time was the 25th anniversary show on the new stage. Fun times!
Billy Chapin
_____________________________________
I think you’re right about the SNL50 show… except for one thing:
Sir Paul f*cking killed it with his band… right down to the triumvirate of guitar solos!
sean michael dargan
_____________________________________
The concert special was better. I’d take 90 minutes of Robyn and David Byrne over SNL’s writing.
Dave Conklin
_____________________________________
Why do you have to be so negative. It was a joy to hear Paul Simon sing. The man is 83 years old!
I saw Paul McCartney in Manchester, England in December. It was one of the best shows I have ever seen (and I have seen a lot of shows). Paul is 82!
They are not going to be around much longer!!!
John O’Connell
_____________________________________
My wife and I felt the same as you felt, and we recalled that we used to think of the Carson show in a similar way —
R. Lowenstein
_____________________________________
Did I miss the point of the “Nothing Compares 2 U” duet with Miley Cyrus and Brittany Howard? A nod to Prince? Sinead? (The best cover, for my money is the Chris Cornell version.) The song is a funeral dirge on its own – why choose it for a celebration show? Including the performance/song would have made more sense if they would have flashed pictures of deceased castmates during the song as per the Grammys, Oscars, etc obligatory “Remembrance” segment, but nope.
As a viewer, it came across as a Miley solipsistic ego trip and Brittany Howard couldn’t even compete on the vocals (very lopsided) – maybe she was there to make Miley look better to the ear and the eye? Brittany Howard sporting a Fender Tele (nod to Prince?) when she plays Gibson? FFS Keith Richards is in the audience! Bring him on the stage to play the solo on the Tele! Give the viewers some excitement!
Oh well, maybe at the next anniversary special.
Go Birds!
Fran Thornton from Philly
_____________________________________
Lately, Paul McCartney has had emotional interludes affecting his voice as he sings. Recently, his voice cracked and he broke down somewhat while singing The Long and Winding Road in concert. His voice, I believe, was subpar on SNL because he was fighting emotion. All the tell tale signs were there.
David Thomson
_____________________________________
Good morning, Bob,
As I watched the SNL special last night, I was looking forward to reading your take on it. I was personally concerned that it would be kind of sad, but was very pleasantly surprised. I found much of it very funny. The audience question and answer section with Tiny Fey and Amy Poehler had me laughing out loud.
Of course, there had to be skits that fell flat, and one of those for me was the Bronx Girls segment with Mike Myers, which you felt was a highlight. It didn’t stand out to me, but humor is subjective.
In summation, although the show was uneven, like it’s been since its inception, I found that keeping that many moving parts under control in a live setting for three hours was pretty impressive.
Cheers,
Rod Henry
_____________________________________
I watched Macca for a minute then went to the three guitars bit of ‘the end’. Painful, embarrassing stuff.
Keith Stael
_____________________________________
A few brilliant moments from SNL 50:
1)Miley covering Sinead covering Prince.
2) John Belushi visiting the graveyard of his fellow players. Eerie, poignant, worth the price of 3.5 hours.
3) Larraine Newman walking the set with Pete Davidson. She was looking for a moment of memory, he was like any young person: participating but without care.
3) sign over the cast at end of show : “City to Ford: Who’s Dead Now.”
The show reflected the story arc of NYC from the gritty ‘70’s to the glitzy ‘90’s to the wired ‘00’s.
Lorne Michaels is Hank Aaron as he broke Babe Ruth’s record, doing his best, year after year hitting home runs and striking out, but still actively in the game.
Joe Killian
_____________________________________
It just wasn’t funny. Hardly any of it. Truly just put me to sleep.
They should have just done a red carpet only, but Leslie Jones is horrific…..Not even slightly humorous.
But Paul Simon didn’t bother me. I know he has hearing issues and it’s hard for him to hear on stage.
He’s old….But I still love him. He gets a pass from me.
And I thought Paul was fine….He’s been THAT Paul for 5-10 years at least. Great band always….
And he gets a lifetime pass, just because!
But truly the show just stunk!
Leigh Goldstein
_____________________________________
Thanks for this one, Bob.
The Hollywood in 1939 reference was spot-on.
And to your point about nostalgia, it does hold value for Boomers and Gen-X, even if only as comfort food, a serving of apple pie, warm, with ice cream.
The satisfaction is momentary, and even then it was, too –– back in the day at SNL, especially before VCRs and later, YouTube.
We saw what we saw, live, and then it lived on only in the mind.
Although the heyday of SNL is long in the past, last night was the first of a parade of last gasps of shared culture to come this year and beyond.
TikTok is fine for a laugh, but supporting performers, comics, and songwriters in local and live settings is the only way forward from here, the place to feel the electricity of what happens when humans get together in a room to make and experience art.
I am grateful for McCartney’s offering of “Golden Slumbers/Carry That Weight/ The End,” because the last lines offer truth, no matter the changing times.
– Kristi York Wooten, music journalist
_____________________________________
Bob. SNL music show Saturday night was a fabulous show and night of music. Sunday night was a disappointment. Too much raunch and no politics which is very uncharacteristic for SNL. Think what they could have done with Trump, Bobby Jr., Elon, Hegseth, Tulsi,Kash,Melania,Vance et al.
But sadly I’m sure that the NBC powers that be feared retribution.
And that’s a very sad state of affairs.
Our country and government are even more divided and broken.
Gary Dutton
_____________________________________
Finally someone says what I have to believe many besides you and me have been thinking for a while. Sir Paul has been painful to hear for some time now. But last night, he was also painful to see. When he got up and grabbed his guitar, he looked like Joe Biden.
Overall, I just wasn’t entertained. Over and over it was “Oh, f*ck! S/he’s old. Oh, f*ck! So am I.” I generally don’t feel old. I thought of how my mom used to react when she’d see some “relic” from her past while watching a show with us when we were kids. And, I’m still recovering from 80 year old ass cheeks on Friday.
Rob Falk
_____________________________________
In 50 years the cast of SNL has gone from counter culture to mainstream.
It is a victory and a defeat.
But I enjoyed the nostalgia and thought the show surpassed expectations over all.
Some hilarious moments and some truths told.
There was a lot of real talent on stage and in the writers room behind the scenes.
Alan Crane
_____________________________________
Once again, you’re spot on
Steve Layton
_____________________________________
It felt doomed from the red carpet, and the fragile vocal by Paul Simon who I adore.
Endless streams of “airport lounges” and magazines? I have never smoked cigarettes, but Sabrina’s lyric substitution sure made me miss them.
And who killed her mic for the iconic “Live from New York it’s Saturday Night“ which never really got brought up to volume.
Yes some funny skits as you said. Meryl Streep kinda stole the show, and Eddie Murphy but it felt like they needed some more rehearsal to pull this off. I guess it’s tough to squeeze 50 years into 3 hours and it’s hard sometimes to walk in cold for 1 song on live on TV (especially when you are 80) unless you have a whole bunch of time for soundcheck and a great mix.
A nice trip down memory lane on the nostalgic bits, but you’re right the world has changed. Mixing the old with the new is tricky for folks.
But we got a glimpse of Keith Richards and Jack Nicholson, which was worth the price of admission!
Thx Bob, Lean downhill.
Michael Lille
_____________________________________
Sadly, I think you knocked it out of park w/ your spot-on analysis of the SNL 50 show. For those of us that are nostalgic & born in the 60’s we wish we could have those characters back. We know however that ( not unlike the music of that era that we loved) it’s nearly impossible to ‘catch lightning in a bottle’ a 2nd time, let alone hold it for 50 yrs.
Case in point, It was great to see Loraine Newman & Garrett Morris and while we know they weren’t the major players per se, it’s a bit sad their small bits last night took away from their greatness in their time.
Along similar lines, I’m disappointed Chase & Akyroyd weren’t involved in the show. I’d be curious what the story is there.
Most importantly, we all miss Gilda & John so very much. It was simple then, yet comic genius that as you intoned, presumably wouldn’t be appreciated in the current era.
I know it was a live show last night but saddened they weren’t honored more in some way. As great as the various stars have been since then, it was they who built the foundation.
Time waits for no one I’m told. I have to be ok with that, they were ours.
Brooke Smith
_____________________________________
Stayed up to see McCartney. Had a feeling he would sing the Abbey Road medley. His voice is gone but it was great.
Doug Thompson
_____________________________________
I think having the SNL 50 show conclude with the coda of Abbey Road was quite appropriate, especially with Sir Paul’s performance.
For us ‘baby boomers’ as well as SNL, it was THE END
Make it so,
/gregg betley
_____________________________________
Excellent. Thanks.
Rena Gill
_____________________________________
Seemed like a retirement party for Lorne. Interesting timing. He’s donated his archive to UT Austin, which puts it on display this fall. He looks good for someone who’s spent decade after decade herding cats (temperamental talent, overbearing censors, ego-maniacal network brass). Why did Aykroyd skip last night’s show? I wonder if Harry Shearer flipped the bird at his flat screen TV, even if he watched, which he probably didn’t. Garrett Morris was 38 in 1975, reportedly kept pace with Belushi in drug consumption and eventually lost his mind backstage. It was chilling when he introduced the black-and-white cemetery film, with an aged Belushi still standing as he’s surrounded by the graves of his fellow Not Ready for Prine Time cast members. The wonder is how Garrett is still breathing while Belushi’s long gone. Looking forward to the forthcoming book about Lorne (600 pages), as long as it’s not hagiography.
Jeff Hillery
Austin, TX
_____________________________________
Regarding SNL50, not only did I thoroughly enjoy the show (and was happy it ended up running long because it felt like a little defiant FU to “the man”), but I surprisingly got emotional at several points. I thought I might be alone in that, but checking my social media feeds afterward showed that it was a widely-shared occurrence.
Yes, we all know the show can be wildly inconsistent from week to week, not to mention season to season, but for people like myself who have literally watched the show religiously from the very first season (and I was way too young to be doing so!), it was a reminder of how integral it’s been for us and the culture at large. That’s a lot of Saturday nights spent with SNL through so many different periods in my life. Seeing past cast members was like reconnecting with old friends. It was something that my father and I used to watch together a lot in my younger days, and he has since passed. I found myself thinking about that a lot.
I think another reason it was an emotional watch was because it was a stark reminder of how this country was once a much different and not-as-scary place. At times, it felt simultaneously freeing and confusing to be laughing during such a dark time in our history. But boy, I needed it.
And I can give both Paul’s a lot of grace. Yes, they may not be able to hit the high notes anymore, but they’re living legends in their 80’s. We need to treasure them while we still have them. And no one can tell me that McCartney playing the end of Abbey Road to close out the show didn’t hit them right in the feels. As the great Chris Farley once said, “That was awesome”.
Congratulations SNL! Here’s to fifty more!
Dan Olivadoti
_____________________________________
Good review. I enjoyed but some serious people missing. Where was Dana Carvey??
Loved Lil Wayne.
The Tom Hanks in memoriam had me dying.
McCartney was god awful. But hasnt he been for a long time?
Paul Simon didnt bother me. I mean, hes 83! Felt more like an homage than a performance that was supposed to impress us. The callback to him and george was powerful. Was it all that different then? Weren’t we just as divided?
The biggest difference to me is the lack of musicians taking a counter stance. Who could write a song like the boxer in 2025? Bridge over troubled water?
Sad.
Nick Lawson
_____________________________________
I have to call bullsh*t on Paul Simon “singing poorly.”
If that was your cynical takeaway then respectfully, you missed the point.
What we saw in our house was a testament to timelessness, resiliency, and an amazing multi-generational crossover performed with poise, respect, and class.
Does his voice sound like a person of his age? Yes. Is that bad? No! In fact, it added a level of character and truth to that moment. He’s still doing it! He didn’t miss a note, regardless of “quality.”
And that deserves celebration and recognition.
Best,
Lee Cherry
_____________________________________
I just saw Paul McCartney live at the Bowery Ballroom in NYC. He and his voice were in tip top shape. “Let it Be” made me weep! “Now and Then” is a masterpiece. When was the last time I was brought to tears at a concert? Not often. I didn’t see him on the SNL 50th – but live last week in NY, he was spectacular. I don’t believe anyone there would have said otherwise.
My 21 year old niece and her friends are huge SNL fans. Pete Davidson had drawn their attention. They got hooked. It’s amazingly commendable that SNL turns talent as they do and keeps that engine rolling.
Diane Gentile
_____________________________________
ya know bob, ya just seem bitter. get to know the best Gen Z and you’ll feel better. but if 100 Gecs don’t immediately gel with you, it’s too late.
–séva–
_____________________________________
Happy to see Richard Brautigan reference! Revenge Of The Lawn remains my favorite book of his.
Tom Flanagan
_____________________________________
I was one of the lucky few in attendance at Sir Paul’s Bowery Ballroom shows last week in NYC.
At 82 years old, he rocked a 25-song set of timeless classics like it was a walk in the park. We all stood there stunned. And thrilled beyond words.
I watched that performance by him on SNL 50 and felt nothing but gratitude. For the music he made, and the music he still makes for us and new generations (like my kids) to be inspired by.
Jon Regen
_____________________________________
It’s a zeitgeist thing. Paul McCartney is famous. He was relevant. He is not relevant anymore. When I was 12 years old SNL was my precursor today’s TikTok, but that was 50 years ago. SNL was relevant, but they booked Paul McCartney thereby proving that SNL is not relevant anymore.
Zeitgeist is a bitch.
Kind regards,
Rob Whittaker
_____________________________________
I enjoyed the show a lot more than I thought I would. I love McCartney, but man his voice is so weak.
Barry Fantle
_____________________________________
Bob…we watched the red carpet show and, although it wasn’t planned, it got me excited for the show. Sure, those I remembered looked a little worn, the Lorne tributes were older than the stars. We saw the SNL music show the night before. The opening was breathtaking, but once the music changed to the late 80s and beyond, we switched to a Law & Order rerun. But then the show started. Seeing Paul Simon with some lady got my attention….until he started to sing. I actually stood up from the couch in amazement. I wanted to see the Paul Simon I remembered. But it wasn’t to be. I knew then, that this was what the whole evening would be. This time we went to a CSI rerun. In ten seconds it was obvious….you can’t redo the past. Thanks for letting us know that we didn’t miss anything
David Spero
_____________________________________
I felt the same about Paul Simon and Sir Paul. Kind of sad, but I get why they were there.
That said, my 22-year-old daughter and her boyfriend loved it. They’re fans because their parents were (are). They even got a good amount of the references. I’d say they have a general fascination with the era—partly because of their parents’ influence, but also because of all the great and important culture that came out of the ’70s-’90s that they now identity with and love.
I also think a lot of this profoundly relaxes them to see this in a world where it’s now so stressful to be funny, or speak up about anything really for fear of retaliation. Specifically when Tom Hanks introduced tribute to the canceled and tasteless jokes of its past…. still funny btw! To know there was a time, not that long ago, when you could just be funny without worrying that it would be taken as deep rooted racism, or a mortal wound to someone’s ethnicity, gender, or religion. So sad that these kids have to always be on guard, even with taking pokes at their own and current culture for fear of being canceled by their friend groups or being ostracized or fired from their jobs.
I loved that my daughter didn’t miss the fact that they paid tribute to Sinéad O’Connor, who undeniably created one of the most iconic counterculture moments—not just on the show, but in TV history. Though she did think they missed an opportunity to do a skit tearing up a photo of Elon Musk. Her saying that is proof of the shows current relevance, and that the spirt of show lives on.
Keep On Truckin;
Brooklyn Dave Tomaselli
_____________________________________
I’ve not watched this yet, but I might check it out simply because I’m curious (if it’s not yet streaming, I’m sure it will be). I’ll be 51 in a few weeks, so my SNL was Eddie Murphy. Gen X in many ways is misunderstood. Kids my age had heard about SNL through older siblings or aunts and uncles. We knew it was cool, but by the time a lot of us got around to watching it, they had already started cycling through cast members. The same way when we “discovered” Zeppelin the whole thing was already over. But unlike generations that followed us, we had reverence for things that previous generations thought were cool.
And then came MTV. MTV was ours. It never belonged to anyone else before us. And although older generations may have watched it, it didn’t define them like it did us, simply because they didn’t have the disposable time to dedicate to it. MTV decided not to grow old. They fired their original audience (us) and turned on them. The new VJ’s and shows took aim at the things that were cool in the 80’s (Beavis and Butthead famously destroying Kip Winger). And it made us angry.
I often wonder what MTV would have been like if they tried to cater to their original audience longer than they did. Sometimes I think SNL is a glimpse into what that would have looked like. Something that was once edgy and embraced by the fringe that has now very much become the establishment. Something that young people would have no interest in. I mean think about it, you’ve got Boomer icons like Paul Simon and Paul McCartney (among others) on this huge celebration when there’s a ton of young people who whole heartedly believe that Boomers have ruined this country.
Neil Johnson
_____________________________________
Thank you for watching so I didn’t have to….
I watched the early shows…having grown up attending Second City shows in Chicago…SNL was TV magic…but it didn’t last long, just the first few seasons…50 years of SNL…tells you all you need to know about TV.
Thanks,
Ed Kelly
_____________________________________
The first sketch of Robert Goulet was not a good way to start. It was awful. And Lil Wayne….what?
Adam Sandler great, the Bronx girls with Meyers great, McCartney awful.
Greg Stroh
_____________________________________
You got it 99% right.
Except Lorne Michaels is not smug. He’s Canadian.
Kind Regards,
J. Millan
Toronto
Exactly Lorne Michael’s age.
_____________________________________
Bob, you would have made Bill Zehme proud with an absolutely thorough and brilliant review of the SNL 50 Show.
Although it clocked in at close to three and half hours, I too could not look away in the hope of seeing lightening in a bottle a few more times.
Most of SNL’s seasons have not been great television but there was certainly enough treasure to pull from to produce three hours of great television.
It seemed to try and work too hard in attempt to say we are still relevant by producing too many new sketches that like most weeks are lame. I would have much preferred to have watch Carson finale style clip reels than sketches that simply did not hit the mark.
I agree that both Paul’s were sad to watch and this was pure Lorne injecting nostalgia but I would have rather watch Jagger or other iconic acts that can still sing. The New York Broadway musical montage was vintage.
And for me the biggest miss was Weekend Update. Aside from Bill, the Cecily Strong bit was boring and I would have loved to see a killer montage versus Michael and Colin falling all over themselves. Where was Chevy? He was in the audience. And as far as the audience of stars, why oh why did we need to hear from Al Sharpton?
Barry Avrich
Producer/Director
Melbar Entertainment Group
_____________________________________
I couldn’t suffer through more than 10 min of the painful SNL 50 show
I kept asking myself, who is this for, it certainly wasn’t resonating with me,
despite my Boomer parents referencing sketches from the original cast
and my own memories from the late 80s / early 90s.
Maybe I could have stuck with it if it was the penultimate finale.
It feels like watching Biden losing that first debate all over again.
An odd octogenarian train wreck, and I’m nearly 50 myself!
We’ve moved on!
Thanks for your inspiring Ski stories they are always a call to adventure!
Stay young and healthy!
Best
Andrew Meadors
_____________________________________
The Super Bowl is the only single event we can agree on because it’s got something for everyone. If you don’t like football you’ve got the commercials. If you don’t care about the commercials you’ve got the musical halftime show. And even that seems to be polarizing now if it’s something conservatives don’t understand. Welcome to the age of the internet, where everything is fragmented. It’s almost like we’re all living in our own reality.
Danny Jay
_____________________________________
You are up and on it! I appreciate that about you. I’m still catching up on last night and the concert on Friday but overall, my feeling is, that it was a brilliantly orchestrated campaign and very enjoyable to watch.
The Homecoming Concert was one of the best I’ve ever seen. The perfect mix of what SNL is: comedy, humor & nostalgia and of the moment relevance. That show had it all, one time for everyone’s mind and the audience lucky enough to be there, was a bingo card of who’s who.
It’s amazing how much talent was found, cultivated or launched through SNL. Just about the whole comedy industry.
SNL has had a tremendous impact on the music industry and smartly & respectfully always put music as a core pillar of its DNA. SNL also had a hilarious impact on the advertising world and essentially created the viral video.
The SNL team understands its audience and as per usual already has its clips flooding online too, so everyone doesn’t have to sit through the 3 hour + broadcast to enjoy.
It’s been a very fun weekend with all of these classic SNL moments & star power brought back with a modern day context.
I think all in all they nailed it and will have an awards season victory lap from this victory lap.
However, it left me thinking, in this new era of media, politics and American culture. Where does this show go from there? I don’t know if can ever top SNL 50 but I’m hoping they keep trying!
Jesse Kirshbaum
_____________________________________
?I’m spoiled. Left home young, toured with Dylan on a fake I.D. at 17, saw the 1st SNL with my final gf prior to meeting the one that became my wife and changed my life. At first we thought we were watching a parody commercial stoned on weed we got it by minute 5.
Due to my Dylan, Natalie Cole and Last Waltz resume along with Moe silently investing in Fillmore East & West along with Fillmore Merch which became Barry Imhoff Merch and Manufacturing (remember our R&R Mirrors with a dual purpose and our 17,000 Kiss Pinball Machines?) I was fortunate enough to have all the access to early SNL anyone could want.
Best story; Nov ‘78, Dan Akroyd, Belushi, Bill Murray, Steve Martin, Gilda, Musical Guest Van Morrison, Barry and a small band of female groupies having our own after, after party.
I’ve never laughed so hard, for so long. Belushi and Steve Martin trying to outdo one another with their conflicting contradictory styles. Up until well past sunup too coked out for sleep.
I haven’t watched an Episode since somewhere between ‘85 and ‘90 except for the times James appeared ‘79, ‘80, ‘91 and ‘93 and Neil Young’s 1989 appearance.
I also never did coke after Nat’s surprise 30th b’day party.
Rob Halprin
_____________________________________
First off, I’m glad to hear you’re enjoying all the powder in Vail. We need some of that snow down here in Denver.
So, I read your take on the SNL 50 show, predicting (accurately) that you would say what you said about it: a show for boomers/gen Xers, skits didn’t land, no longer relevant because it’s old media (my words, not yours), Tik Tok, etc.
And I should add that I fit in that middle-aged demographic and admittedly did watch it for nostalgia-sake. (Unfortunately, I was a little too young to understand most of the jokes from the original cast but I still thought the skits were silly enough to make me laugh back then – Land Shark, in particular).
Anyway, all that aside, I have to say that I had a very different experience watching the show last night. I watched it with my 14yr old daughter and my European-born wife; both of whom had no idea who most of the older cast members were nor had any historical reference points to appreciate the myriad “inside” jokes like the “Land Shark” aside that “drunk uncle” dropped during Weekend Update.
Regardless of their lack of history with SNL, they both laughed all the way through the show. My daughter is a huge theater fan so she appreciated all the nods to various musicals and of course the Harry Potter references during the “Scared Straight” skit. Moreover, she was better at picking out the younger stars in the audience than I was and even lobbed an obligatory “how is Keith Richards still alive??” quip when he did his bit.
Same for my German wife. All she knows of SNL is the Sunday morning clips back when Alec Baldwin used to do Trump. She had zero knowledge of anything else but nevertheless she laughed right along with us throughout the show. She even laughed at stuff that I didn’t expect her to find funny; and being German it takes a lot to make her laugh.
It seems that your SNL 50 post is another example of how your recent posts seem to have become more and more negative lately; especially when it comes to topics concerning entertainment (Grammys, Super Bowl, etc) and how/if they resonate with younger audiences.
I gotta say Bob, you’re sounding a bit like “Debbie Downer” lately and painting with really large brush strokes – dismissing these events as a waste of time or not relevant to anyone under 50.
I do agree that my daughter and her friends spend way more time watching Tik Tok, but they are also aware of things like the Grammys and the SuperBowl as huge (supposedly) cultural events that require discussion the next day. Anecdotally, I was in a coffee shop the day after the Grammys and there was a group of high schoolers talking about the show. Yes, they are probably “de minimus” (your words) it shows that someone under 50 is paying attention.
And while events like SNL 50 may not have the impact on the younger generations like they do with ours, they still connect and do what they’re supposed to do – entertain.
Last point: my daughter didn’t care that SNL has been on for 50 years, but she laughed during the show and as Robert Plant famously wondered, “does anybody remember laughter?”
Isn’t that the point of that show? Not ratings, or how bad Sir Paul’s voice sounded, or whether or not Lorne Michaels deserves the praise, but to make us laugh?
And boy do we need something – anything – to make us laugh these past few weeks??
Michael Herrera
_____________________________________
This Boomer (just turned 74) turned it off.
Why?
Unrelenting drug commercials.
7% more of my time is spent on positioning products that I don’t want or need. Drugs for conditions I didn’t know I had. The western miracle drug medicine wagons no longer have to travel to every town to sell their products. They got TV with fat people selling weight loss drugs.
The shows are nothing more than wraps for sh*tty advertisements. More eyeballs means ads cost more.
Back in the day the real action and more importantly new Ideas came from Monty Python, Smother Brothers, Laugh In, and yes, SNL. This when there was comedic talent. George Carlin, Johnthan Winters, Robin Williams, following in the footsteps of Lenny Bruce. Writers like Eldridge Cleaver, Ralph Ellison. We assemble, smoke some weed and drink cheap wine and beer. Then we would go off and start the week again.
Are new ideas still available? Yes, through writers Naomi Klein, Chomsky, Johanthan Haidt, Scott Galloway, Maria Popov.
It’s just grist for the mill as Baba Ram Dass (aka Alan Watts) (Note: It’s really Richard Alpert.) said. TM may help with your anxiety and stress, yet Tony Robbins and most others (the original coal walker turned heath seller after a run at financial guru) have sold out or they say pivoted. Facebook is another ad channel with most firms selling crap. Tik Tok? Who cares? Truth Social? Rubbish. Twitter? Sucks.
SNL 50 sucked.
Terrance Moran
_____________________________________
No mention of prior night’s SNL special (“Ladies and Gentlemen… 50 Years of SNL Music”), the Questlove-produced love letter to SNL focusing on the many musical acts who appeared on SNL in its 50 yr history?
(I’m assuming your readers know how & where to find it…)
It presented many examples of how Lorne et al (eg Dick Ebersol) broke unknown acts and genres (eg rap, punk) to home viewers, but paid the price for it by alienating viewers (ironically, a topic you broached in newsletter discussing Kendrick’s LIX performance, delivering a coded message which went over most viewer’s heads; even the selection of a popular black rapper vs a safer white country act is seen as controversial, even after decades).
It honestly never occurred to me until reading your most-recent newsletter that even one of the long-standing traditions of the show (the closing, where the host stands on stage and thanks cast, crew, and musical guests for their hard work, who all embrace each other and laugh, smile, etc on stage, even as Lenny Pickett’s tenor sax wails over a gospel-influenced chord progression) could be seen as anything other than inclusive?
As a mixed kid who’s teenaged friends all watched the show in SFV, CA, it never crossed my mind how to small-minded bigots (the same types currently pushing the anti-DEI agenda), the thought of an interracial cast and musical guests hugging and thanking each other for their talented efforts at the show’s conclusions was interpreted as them personally being shunned?
As if THEY were blocked from membership in “the bicoastal liberal club”, but they’re must’ve felt threatened for harboring (if not voicing) such inappropriate thoughts.
Fact is, the bigots excluded themselves by doing the difficult work of self-reflection.
The first sketch (Black Jeopardy) even alluded to this when a lily-white older contestant wearing a MAGA cap (played by Tom Hanks) literally recoiled in horror as the black host approached to shake his hand.
(it’s interesting to note MAGA-capped Kanye not seen anywhere in the audience, while his ex-wife Kim was featured in 2nd skit; the Kanye incident was discussed in SNL music special the night before, as if Kanye’s pushing the envelope towards right-wing intolerant fascism is supposed to just be ignored or politely applauded.)
Sadly, many seem to have missed the lesson of philosopher Karl Popper’s Paradox of Tolerance:
“Unlimited tolerance must lead to the disappearance of tolerance. If we extend unlimited tolerance even to those who are intolerant, if we are not prepared to defend a tolerant society against the onslaught of the intolerant, then the tolerant will be destroyed, and tolerance with them.”
Christopher Press
_____________________________________
I retired recently. Turned 68 in September. Worked the same job for more than 45 years.
Things change. I used to jump out of bed every morning bright and early, ready to face the word. By the time it wound down, not so much. Going thru the motions. Which tells you it’s time to hang ‘ em up.
You know Bob, your article resonated with me because it spoke to the things that have been constantly running thru my head lately.
Our days, our memories from those days, the things that we keep in our heads that define our lives they disappear. It’s a rough feeling knowing that your nostalgia and mine will dry up like autumn leaves and blow away, never to be remembered.
And how can that be? They are so IMPORTANT to us. They define our lives, and after all, to us, what is more important to us than our lives? And the guts of our lives were our “salad days”, know turned into nostalgia before they dry up and blow away.
I remember the summer days my dad took me to the Palisades Park in NJ – one of the great amusement parks before Disney “themed” them. They’ve been apartment buildings for decades now and my wife, from Philly, who spending her summers on the south Jersey shore remembers the Palisades jingle from the ads on the 50,000 watt WABC radio and still regrets never being there. “ride the coaster get cool, and the waves in the pool, you’ll have fun, so come on over!”
My kids? They have their own things, and none of them know from Palisades. It’s like my dad ‘s old stories about how things were during the Depression. I remember them. I remember the people who were my Mom and Dad’s age with their concentration camp tattoos. Now, those times are just content for YouTube and the History Channel for those who haven’t cut the cord yet….
And music? I used to run a certain famous recording studio in Greenwich Village. The music that was made there! It was REAL. Poetry set to melody. Important messages. True stories about tender love. The tapestry of youthful people sung by real artists who are gone, or soon will be.
And I remember how it broke my heart when they started doing a true quality master, and then also processing it so it could play on inferior MP3 players.
I trace that to the beginning of today‘s musical quality desert. I recall spending thousands on wonderful equipment to hear music as it was intended to be heard. And then pulling the crappy car radio out and rigging my ride with top of the line players and speakers.
You listen to the crap that followed and shake your head.
Don’t the musicians of today remember how the greats of those who preceded them were tremendous fans of those who came before them in the. 50s? How their music inspired theirs, so you could see a continuum? HIW Jagger and Richards came together when Keith saw Mick with some Muddy Waters stuff under his arm?
Elvis, the Bill Haley’s, Buddy Holly’s, Chubby Checkers of the world could be proud of the foundation they built for those whom followed them.
But what’s the big sound today?
Mindless rap?
Bubble gum music like the Monkees, the Archies and the Partridge Family were bad enough in our days, but we looked at them as novelty acts, quickly to disappear. People will remember “Imagine” long after they’ve forgotten “Honey Honey”. Nor any of Taylor Swift’s crap.
They were manufactured music – much like the era of Britney, Cristina and the boy bands.
We had such a wealth of greats who made music that MEANT something, beyond just a melody with a good hook, or with the distraction of gyrating dancing to hide the fact that they were just singing a bunch of crap.
Groups like the Dead, the Beatles, Queen, the Stones, Tull, Clapton, Dylan and his friends like Joan Baez and so many more. People who didn’t need voice assist and stage pyrotechnics. Who played the meaningful tunes that they wrote.
Imagine someone writing a creative song like Thick as a Brick that went on for more than 40 minutes today.
It breaks my heart to see people like Taylor Swift as music’s mega stars today.
I give her credit for her business model. But it’s just like the bubblegum crap that used to come on the radio and after a month or so disappear, like that old song Does Your Chewing a gum Lose Its Flavor on the Bedpost Overnight.
I mean, “Shake it Off” being the big show closer? That empty sound (I can’t bring myself to call it music”) supporting a two year tour reaping in a billion dollars?
I have three grand daughters so I had to suffer thru the movie of her concert (on Disney +, a channel that itself says something) – another smart way to monetize her garbage – which disrespects the work. A Hard Day’s Night, Yellow Submarine – they were light movies, but fun. Not concert videos.
This was nothing other than the video of one of her countless “concerts”.
And I waited and waited for a song that really meant something. That could move me. Some message that could make me think about life or imagine a story being told. The tiptoeing thru the garden gate was the closest anything came to telling a story, but it seemed so juvenile.
And what really bothers me? How people like Paul McCartney – a man who KNOWS real music – making sure he can be seen at Leeds, bopping along to music he would have tossed in the trash when he was making music for the ages. Got to stay feeling as if you’re still part of the show, I guess. Completely oblivious to the music history made at a Leeds.
And I adore Keith Richards and his guitar skill. Why lower yourself to being in a campy bit on last night’s nostalgia show?
These octogenarians are still leading the touring charts, making a ton of money doing live shows with their old stuff because (a) there’s real money there given the way people blow so much of their time and money on entertainment and (b) so few – almost no one – has risen up as they did to bring it on in a real way with serious musicality.
I worked in a supermarket as a kid, and we always had to “rotate the stock”, putting the new case of peas behind the old one, so that the old one can be pushed up and out, to be replaced by something fresher. Hell, Billy Joel himself said it in his early song the Entertainer – “if I go cold, I won’t get sold, I’ll get put in the back of the discount rack, like another can of peas”.
And I always thought that happened with people too.
Elvis gave way to the Beatles. Who the hell gave way to Taylor Swift?
Music was always so big in my life. But for the life of me, I can’t find anything new that resonates as really creative music that carries both a message and a tune to move my soul.
Sigh, I remember these guys – even Billy Joel – when they were at their prime. The young versions of themselves would be embarrassed if they watched today’s version making has of the classics of their peak greatness.
I guess we just have to accept that we are the can of peas being pushed out and lament that what’s behind us is something new, but not necessarily worth the 4 or 5 minutes listening to.
Eric Kaplan
_____________________________________
It’s hard to get too critical of the show. I was watching that opening night in 1975, working late at Tower Records Westwood, and watching on a 9 inch black and white with rabbit ears. Kids, look up rabbit ears antennas.
And yeah, it was counterculture, it was hip. Only a few years before Smothers Brothers got canceled for trying to do the same thing. In 1975, it was so cool that it was on a network, broke new ground regularly, was water cooler quotable, until eventually, as all edgy media does, it got sucked into the mainstream. It happens. Every lineup change brought choirs of “not as good as the OGs” but then some of them still broke through, Eddie, Will, Adam, Tina, Amy, Kate, Kristin, Billy, Chris, Mike, the list goes on. Not as goods who became good enough until the next round of not as goods.
None of that was on my mind when I watched last night, after an 8 hour drive in snow from Chicago to Erie PA. I was just glad to watch, honor and reminisce. And I did laugh, some.
I took special notice of the bookends (pun intended) of Paul Simon and Paul McCartney. My first thought was that Paul had to compromise on key to duet with Sabrina Carpenter. But, no, the version was in the original S&G key of B-flat. So was Paul’s, in the original Beatles key, also B-flat.
They both had their vocal issues, and they were both the same issue, noticeable and wince-worthy. Wobble.
It happens. As a singer ages, the control in the throat muscles around voice box starts to wane. It is very difficult to control the vibrato, and that vibrato allows an older singer to sustain tones. But it comes at a price, the loss of vocal strength and power.
Older singers often use vibrato to approximate pitch over a wider area, more than the usual quarter-tone that makes up normal vibrato. Anything more than that, and pitch becomes approximate, a sleight-of-voice camouflage for rough pitch as a singer ages. It’s very very common. Damn near unavoidable.
Both of them wobbled on held vowels, McCartney more than Simon. Both of them overshot and undershot pitches. Simon dealt with it by pulling back and reinventing the melody a bit. McCartney started cutting the ends of notes off quickly, to stop short of the vibrato point, to reduce the issue. It’s control, and an understandable lack of it.
What’s the culprit? Time. They are both in their 80’s, 83 and 84, well past peak form, and even past compromised form. I saw Little Richard at the Bottom Line in 1994 or so, when he was 62, and he was great, in solid voice, though a little of the edge was off the screams. How did he do it? He never sang more than a verse and chorus of each song before he stopped and told stories. Paced himself, gave himself rest gaps, and left a lot in the tank.
Both Pauls did songs that require some control, not toss-offs, not “50 Ways” (which can be spoken) or “Yesterday” down a whole step. Simon did the song he did with George in 1976, and Macca did a show stopper.
So it was to be expected. The exceptions are rare — Tony Bennett, to name one. David Crosby, to name another, who arguably was singing better in his late 70s. Sobriety and constant use helped, in his case. Probably both of them. Paul Rodgers still has it, for sure. Otherwise, think Dylan, Sinatra, Joni, the list is long.
I don’t think that means they need to fold up the tent. I don’t think Simon plays out much, but McCartney’s dedication to the road is legendary, and good on him. He is the curator of the greatest legacy in popular music. And we will only have them for so long. So long may they run.
But, yeah, they made me wince, McCartney more than Simon. It helps for McCartney to have a band of aces, from David Kahne’s arsenal some 25 years ago, who have played with him longer than any of this other lineups.
But I still dug it. Yeah, it was nostalgia. I’m in my 70s and I didn’t need for them to be cutting edge. Be better than they were, sure, would have been nice. But I’m a forgiving soul in the fourth quarter. I’ll take my revisit of some sweet memories and be happy with that. I mean, the cool bus left without me decades ago, so I’m going to say ok and have some fun.
That works for me.
x
dan navarro
—
Visit the archive: http://lefsetz.com/wordpress/
—
Listen to the podcast:
-iHeart: https://ihr.fm/2Gi5PFj
-Apple: https://apple.co/2ndmpvp
—
Tweets by Lefsetz
—
If you would like to subscribe to the LefsetzLetter,
http://www.lefsetz.com/lists/?p=subscribe&id=1
If you do not want to receive any more LefsetzLetters, http://lefsetz.com/lists/?p=unsubscribe&uid=c2b12b0173dec5a9d681e1a6fbf4f5b0
To change your email address http://lefsetz.com/lists/?p=preferences&uid=c2b12b0173dec5a9d681e1a6fbf4f5b0
