In 1977 the Sex Pistols had to cancel their gig on Saturday Night Live. Through some kind of deal they told Lorne Michaels that they should get this guy Elvis Costello from England to go on. He was "punk" and all. Elvis' label had just started to release his previous albums in the United States and asked him to play one of his old songs so he could build a following.
Coincidentally, he had just released a song in England about corporate control of media and artistry. On live American TV his band started to play "Less Than Zero" and he stopped them in the first verse.
Lorne Michaels was furious. He then banned all "punk" acts from Saturday Night.
Almost twenty years later when the Beastie Boys had a #1 hit with "Sabotage"--a stripped down punk-themed song--they were invited to play it on Saturday Night Live. Halfway into the first verse, Elvis Costello comes on stage.
And, I would have posted these videos any one of the othe nine times I've discussed them, but goddam Lorne Michaels keeps coming over and taking them off youtube.
1) The Killers Album is leaked here. Ask wikipedia about torrents if you need to.
2) The Beastie Boys SNL where they stop the show to have Elvis Costello come up and do "Radio, Radio" just went up on youtube today and has already been taken off by Lorne Michaels.
Just yesterday I told Ben that there was only one video on Youtube that I couldn't find. But no longer! In 1977 Elvis Costello filled in for the Sex Pistols on Saturday Night Live before he was famous in America. His record label wanted to play "Less Than Zero"--one of his older songs--so that he could build a following in the US. But he had just written a great song about how the corporatization of the industry was destroying it. He gets one line into "Less Than Zero' and stops: "I'm sorry, Ladies and Gentlemen, there's no reason to do this song here". He then turns back towards the band and says "OK, Radio Radio... 1, 2, 3, 4"
A cellphone went off as I saw Elvis Costello perform tonight with a full symphony. He ignored it at first, figuring the embarassed person would make it disapeart. The song had just begin and the symphony was doing that tention building thing where every member plays one not softly when--
BLING Bing bong
The phone rang again to the disbelief of Philharmaniacs everywhere. Elvis turned his back as he directed the symphony and waited for that one perfect moment to begin amid the cricket-thin whispered notes that followed his every movement and then he turned to--
BLING Bing bong
the audience who were all embarassed to represent Brooklyn. Because we have our own opera house but we still would rather hear the sound of our own cellphone as it cries deep inside our ratty purses and sing. BLING Bing bong
"At least," Elvis whispered into the microphone amid his classically trained crickets. "At least it's on key."