Saturday Night Live
In Defense of Phoebe Bridgers Smashing Her Guitar on Saturday Night Live
This past weekend, Phoebe Bridgers made her eagerly anticipated debut as the musical guest on Saturday Night Live. During the final moments of her performance of “I Know the End”, a track from her buzzy sophomore album, Punisher, Bridgers went out with a bang — literally — when she repeatedly smashed her guitar into a monitor onstage. Unfortunately, the Internet being what it is, Bridgers’ epic moment of punk euphoria was clouded by curmudgeonly chatter. A simple search of “Phoebe Bridgers guitar” on Twitter brings up a litany of comments wondering why “that woman” had the nerve to “damage expensive property.” Others called the act pointless and even poked fun at Bridgers for apparently not being strong enough to have done more physical damage to the instrument. No matter how much doom scr...
SNL Top Highlights: Dan Levy Charms In Hosting Debut
Since kicking off Season 46 last fall, Saturday Night Live has been running closer to business-as-usual than almost any other late-night show during the pandemic. Still, if you look closely, there are differences: Their audience size has been reduced, which has often made studio reactions more muted; the schedule has featured more episodes in a row and yet longer breaks in between; and the host bookings feel less tethered to the usual promotional cycles of big movies, TV show premieres, and awards season. Case in point: 10 months after Schitt’s Creek ended, four months after the show’s historic Emmys sweep, and two months after his co-starring role in Hulu’s Happiest Season, Dan Levy took a victory lap this week with his first Saturday Night Live hosting gig. In other words, he wasn’t real...
Phoebe Bridgers Guitar Smashes Her Way Into SNL Lore With Epic Two Song Performance: Watch
Phoebe Bridgers proved to be one of the few bright spots of 2020, as the talented Los Angeles-based songwriter managed to become a full-blown superstar while hunkered down in quarantine. She released one of the year’s best albums with Punisher. She then proceeded to deliver memorable covers of Radiohead, John Prine, and Goo Goo Dolls; launched her very own record label; made a music video with Phoebe Waller-Bridge; and recorded and released another collection of music with Copycat Killer EP. All the while, she masterfully navigated the limitations of performing remotely, setting a standard that few have been able to match (see: her bathtub performance on Kimmel, her karaoke rendition of “Kyoto” on Colbert, and her NPR Tiny Desk set, to name just a few). For her efforts, Bridgers was honore...
Machine Gun Kelly Brings Tickets to My Downfall Tracks to SNL Stage
Machine Gun Kelly made his Saturday Night Live debut last night, with fellow first-timer John Krasinski acting as host. The rapper-turned-punk played “my ex’s best friend” and “lonely” off his latest album, Tickets to My Downfall. Watch the performances below. [embedded content] [embedded content] Though he’s appeared in a number of films, MGK didn’t appear in any skits. We chatted with MGK about his “unforgettable” pop-punk debut for our November cover story. “How shitty would it have been if I went in there and they were like, ‘It’s cool,’” he said in reference to playing new music for his label, Interscope. “I mean, a lot of things are cool. My breakfast was cool. I don’t want ‘cool’ I want unforgettable.” He certainly seemed to accomplish his mission: Tickets t...
Phoebe Bridgers to Play Dan Levy-Hosted Episode of Saturday Night Live
Phoebe Bridgers, author of one of 2020’s best albums, and Dan Levy, creator of TV’s best comedy of the last decade, will team up for an upcoming episode of Saturday Night Live. The Punisher singer-songwriter will serve as the musical guest for SNL’s February 6th episode hosted by the Schitt’s Creak mastermind. Both Bridgers and Levy will be making their SNL debuts. Following a month-long hiatus, SNL will return for a string of new episodes staring January 30th with an evening of comedy and music hosted by The Office’s John Krasinski and featuring Machine Gun Kelly. Following Levy and Bridgers’ big night on the 6th, Regina King will host an episode on February 13th alongside musical guest Nathaniel Rateliff. Bridgers, who was named Consequence of Sound’s 2020 Artist of the Year, recent...
Kristen Wiig’s SNL Return Stresses an Uncertain Future for Character Actors
When Kristen Wiig hit the stage to deliver her monologue this past weekend on Saturday Night Live, she said it felt like coming home. She reiterated this point at the end of the show, during the goodnights. In between, she backed up her statements by comfortably re-settling into the rhythms of the show, and reviving two of her many recurring characters: Sue, the woman who can’t handle surprises; and Mindy Gracin, the addled stage star who appears on the game show Secret Word. Wiig still stands among the most beloved centerpiece stars of SNL this millennium, and this week’s episode underlined a major reason why, at least in terms of the popular consciousness: She originated a lot of recurring characters on the show. So many, in fact, that she can reprise two second-string ones like Mindy Gr...
Dua Lipa Performs Future Nostalgia Songs on Saturday Night Live: Watch
Dua Lipa served as the musical guest for Saturday Night Live’s Christmas episode. The UK pop singer supported her brilliant sophomore album, Future Nostalgia, with choreographed performances of “Levitating” and “Don’t Start Now”. Additionally, she appeared in a sketch alongside host Kristen Wiig about U.S.O. performers during World War 2. Watch it all below. Future Nostalgia was our fifth favorite album and “Don’t Start Now” was our ninth favorite song of 2020. Earlier this month, Dua Lipa further supported the album’s release with her first-ever NPR Tiny Desk concert. She also recently appeared on The Tonight Show and joined Jimmy Fallon for a duet of “Christmas Is All Around Me”. [embedded content] [embedded content] [embedded content] Related You Deserve to Make Money Even When you are ...
SNL Releases Sequel to Middle-Aged Mutant Ninja Turtles: Watch
Earlier this year, Saturday Night Live aired an animated short imagining the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles in their middle ages. Now, just in time for Christmas, SNL has gifted us a sequel. Watch it below. The second installment once again finds Leonardo, Michelangelo, Donatello, and Raphael faced with the stark reality of being middle-aged, out-of-shape turtles whose day jobs are now in cubicles working customer support. They wear New Balances, ride the Peloton, and one of them is diabetic — but doesn’t know it. Michelangelo suffers from impotency, Donatello is disappointed to learn his daughter is choosing not to come home for Christmas, and Raphael is still coming to to terms with Donald Trump’s election loss. Middle-Aged Mutant Ninja Turtles was conceived and written by Kyle M...
SNL’s Colin Jost Was Forced to Read a Joke About His Own Wife Scarlett Johansson’s Poor Casting Decisions
As has become tradition for Saturday Night Live’s Christmas show, Weekend Update co-anchors Colin Jost and Michael Che carve out a segment to read jokes they’ve written for each other without seeing them beforehand. It typically manifests in some hilariously cringe moments, like when Jost is forced to read jokes that make him look like a racist asshole. For tonight’s episode, however, Che actually got Jost to roast his own wife. In recent years, Scarlett Johansson has twice faced criticism for taking on roles she had no business playing. In 2017, she starred in an adaptation of the Japanese manga Ghost in the Shell. The following year, she was cast to play a transgender man in a film called Rub and Tug, but ultimately dropped out of the project amidst backlash...
Jim Carrey Says He’s Done Playing Joe Biden on Saturday Night Live
Jim Carrey is done playing President-elect Joe Biden on Saturday Night Live. The veteran comedian announced his departure in a tweet posted on Saturday ahead of the show’s Christmas episode. “Though my term was only meant to be 6 weeks,I was thrilled to be elected as your SNL President…comedy’s highest call of duty,” Carey wrote. “I would love to go forward knowing that Biden was the victor because I nailed that shit. But I am just one in a long line of proud, fighting SNL Bidens!” Carrey’s tenure as Biden was met with mixed reaction from fans and critics alike. In a recent piece for Consequence of Sound questioning whether SNL should consider replacing Carrey, contributor Jesse Hassenger argued that SNL isn’t “a format that works particularly well for Carrey, a stranger and less pred...
The White Stripes Unearth Rare B-Sides, 2002 SNL Performance Footage
To coincide with the release of The White Stripes’ new greatest hits album, a cache of rare B-sides is now available on digital streaming services for the first time. Additionally, video from the band’s lone appearance on Saturday Night Live has been re-uploaded to YouTube, and a new live album is streaming on Bandcamp. Among the 18 B-sides are non-album tracks like “Who’s To Say”; “Though I Hear You Calling, I Will Not Answer”; “St. Ides of March”; and “Good to Me”; an acoustic version of “You Don’t Know What Love Is (You Just Do As You’re Told)”; and live versions of “The Dental Twist”, “Black Math”; and You’ve Got Her in Your Pocket”. All of these B-sides and more are now available on the digital music service of your choice. The aforementioned SNL performance, which dates back to ...
Saturday Night Live Has Officially Moved on from the Election to the Pandemic
Since taking several post-election weeks off, following a record-setting six live shows in a row, Saturday Night Live has been in a period of relative calm. Things seem back to normal even: They’re two shows into their usual three-show December lineup; the set was decorated for the holidays this week; and next weekend sees another alum-hosted episode — an unofficial pre-Christmas tradition. What’s more, Jim Carrey, Alec Baldwin, and Maya Rudolph have been MIA for two weeks in a row, and those labored debate sketches are a thing of the past. In a sense, SNL has felt almost like comfort food. In lieu of room-temperature political takes, the show has re-shifted its focus over the last two episodes to the ensuing pandemic. It’s an understandable pivot, seeing how December has seen some of the ...
