DLR: David Letterman Ruled!
Thursday, May 21, 2015 at 12:01AM Contributed by our friend HIM.
As of last night, Wednesday, May 20, the Late Show with David Letterman is no more. No more Top Ten lists. No more stupid tricks by people or their four- (and otherwise-) legged friends. The marquee in front of The Ed Sullivan Theater will shine on. But it will never quite shine as brightly.
Letterman’s bona fides when it comes to metal are easy to note: Megadeth (1994), Mötley Crüe (1997), Black Sabbath (1998), Rage Against the Machine (1999), KISS (2009), Motörhead (2010), Tom Keifer (2013), Mastodon (2014).
That list is woefully incomplete, insofar as some of those bands appeared more than once and other metal bands have taken the stage throughout years. I am not even deep diving into Letterman’s Late Night (1982-1993). The list also doesn’t include the dazzling array of artists from other genres that appeared on both Late Night and the Late Show: Bob Mould, Tom Waits, The Flaming Lips, Talking Heads, Public Enemy, and so on. Let’s not forget the odd genius of “It’s Raining Men” bandleader Paul Shaffer or his solid house band (featuring Ace Frehley’s pal, drummer Anton Fig). Nor am I referencing non-musical guests (especially comedians like Don Rickles, Robin Williams, Andy Kauffman, Sam Kinison, and Richard Pryor) who are/were, to my mind, metal by other means.
Any late night host worth their seat owes Letterman a debt and can trace their lineage through him, back to Carson, and further into the past to Parr. Leno? He may have assumed the mantle that was rightfully Letterman’s when Carson retired. But he never inhabited it the way Letterman could and should have. Leno lacked Letterman’s edge, favoring an ingratiating and self-satisfied tone that felt safely packaged for our parents. If a guest was a boor, or didn’t deserve the acclaim that placed them next to Letterman, he let them know. If a guest was merely a parody of something great, a shell of their former selves, Letterman would let them wallow in it or challenge them to remind the audience why they were once great. Though perfectly rehearsed, Letterman had a way with a flippant or blue aside or an impromptu remark to a spontaneous comment. In short, Leno was mealy-mouthed; Letterman was razor-tongued.
True, there were lapses. The Academy Awards should have been something amazing. It wasn’t. His metal machismo led to a series of cringe-inducing affairs with young female interns and staffers, to a potential shake-down, and to an on-air admission that was, by turns, fascinating, self-serving, and surreal. But those were the rarities in a decades-long career that entertained millions even when he wasn’t riding the ratings crest.
Which touches upon another truth: Letterman outlasted a format that is on its last legs. Fallon is funny, and better attuned to the online sensibilities of a younger demographic. But he apes the worst aspects of Leno’s glad-handing. Kimmel brings the snark. Alas, he is infected with some variation of the L.A. fever that tamps down expectations even when he rises above them. Those in the late night rafters, Meyers and Corden, are a study in opposites: the former is clearly being groomed to assume a format that likely won’t be around much longer and is good at what he does; the latter has stumble out the gate stillborn, stammering and staggering about trying to find a voice. O’Brien is shipwrecked, dashed upon the rocks of a sub-station after suffering the hubris of Leno. The one voice that might have carried on Letterman’s tradition, Ferguson, was passed over like Letterman before him. Et tu, Moonves?
The point remains: the legacy station, sit-down, format has already started to stink. Cable shows have drawn the eyeballs away from a demographic that no longer watches the Big Three (hence, Colbert assuming the throne in some odd attempt to import a person who is going to drop the persona that made him famous). Moreover, these sorts of prolonged, attention-requiring, experiences are being supplanted by DVRs, aggregate sites, and web based viewing styles that don’t lend themselves to supporting big budgets and nailed down sets on the Left and Right Coasts.
Still, these last few weeks have been a reminder of just why Letterman will be sorely missed. Where the long list of guests and tributes could have been cloying and wretch-inducing, they weren’t. I am metal enough to admit that there have been moments that led to a tear or two (or a few more than that): Jack Hanna choking up as they returned from a commercial break; the loving bombast in the songs by Nathan Lane, Martin Short, and Adam Sandler (yes, Adam Sandler!); Letterman’s final kiss with Julia Roberts. I cried as much because of the genuineness of the tributes as I did because of all the memories these final few weeks triggered. I grew up with Letterman. Many important memories are timed to the cadence of Late Night and the Late Show. Memories matter. Now, with the last curtain drawn, we won’t be able to make any more.
In the words of Old Salt in Cabin Boy: “would you like to buy a monkey?”
Yes, yes I would. Thanks for even asking. And thanks, Dave, for bringing something magical to television for all these years.
Reader Comments (6)
I finished college. Letterman's sarcasm really spoke to me and the group of unpopular misfits I hung out with in high school. Just like Kimmel and his
friends did, we quoted Letterman's stuff all the time. In fact, I still remember to this day a mock trial we were doing in my crime and Justice class in
1985. One of my friends and I had to argue opposite sides of a case. Right in the middle of it, he hit me with a Letterman quote. I had to scrunch my face
all up to keep from bursting out laughing, and I ended up losing the case...thanks a lot Dave! :)
You exceed expectations time and time again with the quality of your writing and this is no exception!)
Though not Metal, I'm mentioning these additional acts that appeared on Letterman, some on numerous occasions over the years, as influences on Glam Metal or are considered Hard Rock acts in their own right...
1) ZZ Top (numerous appearances)
2) Aerosmith (numerous appearances including a performance of "Train Kept A 'Rollin")
3) Foo Fighters (numerous times including a recent performance of Cheap Trick's classic "Stiff Competition" with Rick Neilsen on guitar!
4) Ramones (numerous times)
5) Sex Pistols
6) Wolfmother
I'm sure there are others. Please add accordingly.
This is very similar to my experience with Van Halen-I used to listen to my older brother's dubbed tapes of VHI and II, but didn't know what "Van Halen" looked like until seeing the premier video of Jump. This is the group I've been listening to?
Television is a powerful medium and as Him accounts, Letterman was one of the best. He will sorely be missed.
I thought of those Zevon appearances, particularly his last one, during the last few weeks. And I even watched a clip of that appearance on YouTube the day after Letterman signed off. You are right, Gary. For all his faults (who doesn't have some?), Dave was a class act when it came to championing and supporting talent . . . for actually being a genuine friend to a lot of performers over the entire arc of their careers.
I think the final show hit all the right notes. And, though I don't really care for The Foo Fighters, I thought that was a perfect song to play as the clips--so many damned clips, Zevon included--rolled. An amazing career.