DanaK December 20, 2024 Share December 20, 2024 (edited) Quote NBC 3 hour documentary premieres on NBC Monday, January 27 2025 at 8pm ET/PT and streams the next day on Peacock For 50 seasons, "Saturday Night Live" has served as the premier venue for televised live music performances while continuously pushing boundaries to reimagine the relationship between music and comedy. "Ladies & Gentlemen... 50 Years of SNL Music" will feature untold stories behind the culture-defining, groundbreaking and news-making musical performances, sketches and cameos of the past 50 years. The three-hour special broadcast event will showcase interviews with musical artists, cast, writers, producers and more who have been part of "SNL's" legacy. Full press release http://thefutoncritic.com/news/2024/12/19/nbc-announces-new-documentary-film-ladies-and-gentlemen-50-years-of-snl-music-from-grammy-and-academy-award-winning-filmmaker-ahmir-questlove-thompson-941415/20241219nbc01/ Edited December 20, 2024 by DanaK 1 Link to comment https://forums.primetimer.com/topic/151179-ladies-and-gentlemen50-years-of-snl-music-discussion/
BetterButter January 19 Share January 19 Questlove Directing ’50 Years of SNL Music’ Documentary for NBC 1 Link to comment https://forums.primetimer.com/topic/151179-ladies-and-gentlemen50-years-of-snl-music-discussion/#findComment-8558396
BetterButter January 25 Share January 25 1 Link to comment https://forums.primetimer.com/topic/151179-ladies-and-gentlemen50-years-of-snl-music-discussion/#findComment-8563838
Trini January 28 Share January 28 Interview at NYTimes: 'Questlove on Parsing 50 Years of Music for His ‘S.N.L.’ Documentary' https://www.instagram.com/reel/DFQS0AGxd_I/?utm_source=ig_embed&ig_rid=87fec4cd-ffec-4a24-b228-7f100b42af62 1 Link to comment https://forums.primetimer.com/topic/151179-ladies-and-gentlemen50-years-of-snl-music-discussion/#findComment-8565676
Galileo908 January 28 Share January 28 (edited) That musical documentary was great. Questlove was 100% the correct choice to be the one behind this. That's a man who loves music, and SNL. That opening montage was incredible. I got a laugh out of putting "Under Pressure" side by side with "Ice Ice Baby." But they really had the audacity to have a segment admiring how 8H was built for the NBC Symphony. Yeah, it had good acoustics for THEM, not so much a stage for a late night variety show. And shout out to that brave soul who admitted to being the sound mixer, now we know who's responsible for it. If musical guests sounded like they did in this doc, nobody would be complaining. But if anything this explained why it’s so wonky, sound check and blocking is just so quick and last minute. Loved all the weird counterculture performances like Bowie, Zappa, The B-52s, Talking Heads, and Captain Beefheart getting some love. And you can't talk about all time SNL musical performances without Devo. Suddenly Timothee Chalamet doing double duty doesn't seem so out of the ordinary. (just for this era) And holy crap, they actually showed Sinead O'Connor ripping up the Pope's picture. I thought NBC burned that footage. And it was REAL easy to say you admire what Sinead did NOW, Lorne. I remember the Joe Pesci episode. And the sketch with Jan Hooks as Sinead "apologizing" and getting booed. Speaking of crazy stories, the Rage Against The Machine one was nuts. When you're paired with Steve Forbes, you kinda expect something like that to happen. But getting kicked out of 30 Rock because one of them attacked his family with a bunched up flag? And man am I glad they didn't whitewash Kanye. Dude's nuts. I knew his performance in the Adam Driver episode was crazy, but I didn't know there was so much more of it. Everyone on that stage looked like they wanted to shrink and die. And it was Ego's first show! I completely forgot about that. Edited January 28 by Galileo908 7 3 Link to comment https://forums.primetimer.com/topic/151179-ladies-and-gentlemen50-years-of-snl-music-discussion/#findComment-8565688
DanaK January 28 Author Share January 28 I’ve watched about 2 hours so far and it’s pretty good. There was a DVD set released a few years ago on the various musical acts through the years, but that was more focused on the actual music and much less on commentary if I’m recalling correctly. This is much more commentary and it’s a nice complement to the DVD set. A 3 hour broadcast is pretty long though 1 Link to comment https://forums.primetimer.com/topic/151179-ladies-and-gentlemen50-years-of-snl-music-discussion/#findComment-8565762
meep.meep January 28 Share January 28 I watched the first hour and really liked the beginning where he showed old and newer acts side by side. Left after the long bit about making Dick in a Box. I'm glad this shows some of the behind the scenes people who deal with the music, not just the performers. 3 Link to comment https://forums.primetimer.com/topic/151179-ladies-and-gentlemen50-years-of-snl-music-discussion/#findComment-8565899
DanaK January 28 Author Share January 28 The segment showing what it was like when the host is also the musical act (in this case Bad Bunny) and the time crunch involved was pretty interesting 1 Link to comment https://forums.primetimer.com/topic/151179-ladies-and-gentlemen50-years-of-snl-music-discussion/#findComment-8565917
Tom Holmberg January 28 Share January 28 It was interesting. It seems that the musical acts in the early years were more avant-garde or more outside the top 40, whereas later it was largely top 40. 3 Link to comment https://forums.primetimer.com/topic/151179-ladies-and-gentlemen50-years-of-snl-music-discussion/#findComment-8565924
DanaK January 28 Author Share January 28 1 hour ago, Tom Holmberg said: It was interesting. It seems that the musical acts in the early years were more avant-garde or more outside the top 40, whereas later it was largely top 40. It probably goes along with SNL's early non-mainstream sensibilities vs. its later mainstream sensibilities 3 Link to comment https://forums.primetimer.com/topic/151179-ladies-and-gentlemen50-years-of-snl-music-discussion/#findComment-8565991
Galileo908 January 29 Share January 29 Copy and pasted what I said in the SNL forum: Quote That musical documentary was great. Questlove was 100% the correct choice to be the one behind this. That's a man who loves music, and SNL. That opening montage was incredible. I got a laugh out of putting "Under Pressure" side by side with "Ice Ice Baby." But they really had the audacity to have a segment admiring how 8H was built for the NBC Symphony. Yeah, it had good acoustics for THEM, not so much a stage for a late night variety show. And shout out to that brave soul who admitted to being the sound mixer, now we know who's responsible for it. If musical guests sounded like they did in this doc, nobody would be complaining. But if anything this explained why it’s so wonky, sound check and blocking is just so quick and last minute. Loved all the weird counterculture performances like Bowie, Zappa, The B-52s, Talking Heads, and Captain Beefheart getting some love. And you can't talk about all time SNL musical performances without Devo. Suddenly Timothee Chalamet doing double duty doesn't seem so out of the ordinary. (just for this era) And holy crap, they actually showed Sinead O'Connor ripping up the Pope's picture. I thought NBC burned that footage. And it was REAL easy to say you admire what Sinead did NOW, Lorne. I remember the Joe Pesci episode. And the sketch with Jan Hooks as Sinead "apologizing" and getting booed. Speaking of crazy stories, the Rage Against The Machine one was nuts. When you're paired with Steve Forbes, you kinda expect something like that to happen. But getting kicked out of 30 Rock because one of them attacked his family with a bunched up flag? And man am I glad they didn't whitewash Kanye. Dude's nuts. I knew his performance in the Adam Driver episode was crazy, but I didn't know there was so much more of it. Everyone on that stage looked like they wanted to shrink and die. And it was Ego's first show! I completely forgot about that. (Honestly, why was the thread for an SNL music documentary not in the SNL forum?) 3 Link to comment https://forums.primetimer.com/topic/151179-ladies-and-gentlemen50-years-of-snl-music-discussion/#findComment-8566265
DanaK January 29 Author Share January 29 54 minutes ago, Galileo908 said: Copy and pasted what I said in the SNL forum: (Honestly, why was the thread for an SNL music documentary not in the SNL forum?) I put it here as a default thing because it was a documentary. You can always ask a mod to move it 1 Link to comment https://forums.primetimer.com/topic/151179-ladies-and-gentlemen50-years-of-snl-music-discussion/#findComment-8566320
Galileo908 January 29 Share January 29 7 hours ago, DanaK said: It probably goes along with SNL's early non-mainstream sensibilities vs. its later mainstream sensibilities When the counterculture gradually became the culture. Nowadays we just have acts with weird names that turn out to be the new country singer of the week, or a pop singer who just dyes their hair. 1 Link to comment https://forums.primetimer.com/topic/151179-ladies-and-gentlemen50-years-of-snl-music-discussion/#findComment-8566326
Tom Holmberg January 29 Share January 29 19 hours ago, DanaK said: It probably goes along with SNL's early non-mainstream sensibilities vs. its later mainstream sensibilities Yes, I kind of gave up on SNL when they got way from the improv ethic and started doing more elaborate sketches. Chevy Chase as Gerald Ford didn't need to be disguised as Ford. 3 Link to comment https://forums.primetimer.com/topic/151179-ladies-and-gentlemen50-years-of-snl-music-discussion/#findComment-8566590
surfgirl January 30 Share January 30 (edited) This was one of the best music docs I've ever seen! That opening montage was incredible and the editors deserve an Emmy for that alone! Loved re-living the glory days of SNL, when it was edgy and avant garde. Edited February 4 by surfgirl 8 Link to comment https://forums.primetimer.com/topic/151179-ladies-and-gentlemen50-years-of-snl-music-discussion/#findComment-8568049
cpcathy February 2 Share February 2 I was really disappointed in the long Timberlake segment, we’ve already heard the Dick in a Box story before, also him asking Beyonce to do the dancers sketch. I kept waiting for the acts I really wanted to see, only for them to whiz by in a blur. 2 Link to comment https://forums.primetimer.com/topic/151179-ladies-and-gentlemen50-years-of-snl-music-discussion/#findComment-8570196
iarwain February 4 Share February 4 Very good show, thought it was a bit long at three hours, but oh well. I've never understood what the big flap was about the Elvis Costello appearance. Okay, so he changed the song he was going to sing. So what? It didn't sound like the new song was shocking or controversial or anything. Seems like it was probably about the same length. What's the big deal? If he wanted to sing that song, why didn't he just tell Lorne that in the first place? 2 1 Link to comment https://forums.primetimer.com/topic/151179-ladies-and-gentlemen50-years-of-snl-music-discussion/#findComment-8571875
GHScorpiosRule February 4 Share February 4 Yeah, with the commercials, it was about 3 hours, otherwise, Peacock has the running time as two hours and eight minutes. But man, did I love the intro mix of all the artists! How'd I miss Duran Duran??!!!!! I know that in '85 or thereabouts, John and Andy Taylor, and Robert Palmer as Power Station appeared when Pamela Sue Martin hosted. We got more of Eddie, Joe, Jane, and Al here, than in the four part disappointing documentary on the show's history! Unless Eddie refused? Which I can't imagine. A lot of the material could have been incorporated into the other. Anyway, why was so much time spent on that waste of space Justin Timberlake? All of that time could have been used to showcase OTHER artists, instead of the select few and his ass. At least it ended with one of my favorite Beatles' tunes "Hey Jude" which I never tire of hearing. 2 Link to comment https://forums.primetimer.com/topic/151179-ladies-and-gentlemen50-years-of-snl-music-discussion/#findComment-8572081
iarwain February 4 Share February 4 A lot of times I'll watch SNL and I have never heard of the musical guest. But on this documentary, most of the featured acts were big names and classic artists. Which made me happy. 4 Link to comment https://forums.primetimer.com/topic/151179-ladies-and-gentlemen50-years-of-snl-music-discussion/#findComment-8572262
DXD526 February 5 Share February 5 Quote And holy crap, they actually showed Sinead O'Connor ripping up the Pope's picture. I thought NBC burned that footage. And it was REAL easy to say you admire what Sinead did NOW, Lorne. Yeah, I found that pretty disingenuous. He didn't mind bringing Joe Pesci on afterward, to badmouth her and tear up her photo. He was part of the negative chorus at the time, so he can take his current sincere thoughts on the subject matter, and shove 'em. It's easy to be brave in hindsight. With Elvis Costello, I think it was purely a timing thing. The show is timed to the second, and him doing an unscheduled song messed that up. The show was quite mad at the time, and vowed that he'd never be asked back, but he was 😄 5 1 Link to comment https://forums.primetimer.com/topic/151179-ladies-and-gentlemen50-years-of-snl-music-discussion/#findComment-8572970
Kel Varnsen February 11 Share February 11 I was off yesterday so I watched it. My only real complaint was that in Canada the only place to watch it is the global TV app. And there were so many commercials, and I swear every break had the same commercials. It was interesting though although I wish when they were talking about some of the surprising events they talked more about the aftermath. Like the picture thing was a huge hit to Sinead O'Connor's career which they didn't really mention, and what happened to Ashlee Simpson is she still even a singer. Although I don't think I have ever seen that full Sinead performance so that was cool. I loved that whole beginning mash up though that was amazing how well it was edited together. There was only thing really missing though, especially when talking about music and comedy. The reason that Weird Al Yankovic was able to get permission to do Smells Like Nirvana was because he heard that the bad was going to be on SNL in 1992, and he called Victoria Jackson (who he knew) and asked if he could speak to Kurt. Kurt obviously said yes and felt that he had made it because Weird Al was parodying him. 1 Link to comment https://forums.primetimer.com/topic/151179-ladies-and-gentlemen50-years-of-snl-music-discussion/#findComment-8577880
Spartan Girl February 16 Share February 16 (edited) On 1/27/2025 at 11:18 PM, Galileo908 said: And holy crap, they actually showed Sinead O'Connor ripping up the Pope's picture. I thought NBC burned that footage. And it was REAL easy to say you admire what Sinead did NOW, Lorne. I remember the Joe Pesci episode. And the sketch with Jan Hooks as Sinead "apologizing" and getting booed. As do I, and I don’t buy Lorne’s “admiration” either. I wonder if she’d be invited back to perform for the 50th anniversary if she was still alive. My guess is no. I’m glad some of the musical acts they showed got to be on the Peacock special. Seeing them again after so long was a trip. Made me smile seeing Barbra Streisand on Coffee Talk and Aerosmith on Wayne’s World. And David Bowie… The Blues Brothers stuff was my favorite. If only things had turned out differently… Edited to add: Belushi doing Dueling Cockers! So glad they didn’t leave that out! Edited February 16 by Spartan Girl 1 3 Link to comment https://forums.primetimer.com/topic/151179-ladies-and-gentlemen50-years-of-snl-music-discussion/#findComment-8582009
ASpring1900 February 16 Share February 16 I think I'm confusing all the SNL docs/specials and didn't realize what this was... I caught it on last night on NBC an hour in and recorded it. I remember watching the Ashlee Simpson debacle live (on TV, not in the studio!) when I was in college. Cringe! 4 Link to comment https://forums.primetimer.com/topic/151179-ladies-and-gentlemen50-years-of-snl-music-discussion/#findComment-8582187
Annber03 Monday at 03:50 AM Share Monday at 03:50 AM (edited) My mom and I caught it last night, too. I too loved the whole opening montage with all the songs and artists being meshed together as they were, that was really creative and fun. On 1/27/2025 at 10:18 PM, Galileo908 said: I got a laugh out of putting "Under Pressure" side by side with "Ice Ice Baby." We absolutely cracked up at that, too XD. That was perfection. Quote And holy crap, they actually showed Sinead O'Connor ripping up the Pope's picture. I thought NBC burned that footage. And it was REAL easy to say you admire what Sinead did NOW, Lorne. I remember the Joe Pesci episode. And the sketch with Jan Hooks as Sinead "apologizing" and getting booed. Yeah, I'd only ever seen the clip of her ripping up the picture and saying, "Fight the real enemy" afterward. I hadn't seen the performance or heard the story that led up to that infamous moment. Actually gave me chills seeing it in its full context. I admire the hell out of her for doing that, that was a bold move on her part and I'm glad she went there. Shame it took so long for people to actually realize that, hey, guess what, she was right to call out the church like that. Quote Speaking of crazy stories, the Rage Against The Machine one was nuts. When you're paired with Steve Forbes, you kinda expect something like that to happen. But getting kicked out of 30 Rock because one of them attacked his family with a bunched up flag? That story was WILD. By the time it got to the bit about the Secret Service swarming the studio I was just sitting there like, "Oh, noooooooo...". But yeah, I do wonder exactly whose brilliant idea it was to have that setup for host and musical guest that night. And I do agree that it's pretty dumb and pointless to invite a band like Rage Against the Machine onto your show and then basically tell them not to do the very sort of political stuff they're known for doing. Like...what exactly did you expect? Quote And man am I glad they didn't whitewash Kanye. Dude's nuts. I knew his performance in the Adam Driver episode was crazy, but I didn't know there was so much more of it. Everyone on that stage looked like they wanted to shrink and die. And it was Ego's first show! I completely forgot about that. That bit with him going off on that rant at the end of the episode, during his performance, while everyone else is just standing there looking SUPER awkward... Holy shit. I got choked up seeing the clip of Paul Simon singing "The Boxer" on the first show back after 9/11. It would've likely been too dark a subject to broach on the show, but I also remember the children's choir that opened the show singing "Silent Night" the day after the Sandy Hook tragedy. 13 hours ago, ASpring1900 said: I remember watching the Ashlee Simpson debacle live (on TV, not in the studio!) when I was in college. Cringe! I remember hearing about that happening back in the day, but never actuallly saw the clip until now. Woooooooooooow, speaking of awkward... On 2/3/2025 at 10:30 PM, iarwain said: I've never understood what the big flap was about the Elvis Costello appearance. Okay, so he changed the song he was going to sing. So what? It didn't sound like the new song was shocking or controversial or anything. Seems like it was probably about the same length. What's the big deal? If he wanted to sing that song, why didn't he just tell Lorne that in the first place? "Radio, Radio" is a song that critiques the corporatization of radio. Given the way NBC and Lorne seemed very averse to anything that might piss off corporate sponsors, naturally they wouldn't want Elvis Costello to sing a song that criticizes those very sorts of people. Clearly, as you saw, Elvis Costello felt differently :p. Edited Monday at 03:52 AM by Annber03 2 Link to comment https://forums.primetimer.com/topic/151179-ladies-and-gentlemen50-years-of-snl-music-discussion/#findComment-8583219
MrWhyt Tuesday at 04:37 AM Share Tuesday at 04:37 AM that opening montage is amazing, i don't know if it's long enough to win some kind of editing award but it should. 1 Link to comment https://forums.primetimer.com/topic/151179-ladies-and-gentlemen50-years-of-snl-music-discussion/#findComment-8584249
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