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Friday, August 04, 2006

Tom Snyder: Godfather of Punk

I recently had the chance to watch a DVD that presented a collection of the Tomorrow Show with Tom Snyder, all featuring a punk or New Wave performer.

For those who don't remember the Tomorrow Show, it was on in the 70's and early 80's at midnight. A previously untapped audience to say the least. I believe the show only ran in the tri-state area (NY, CT, NJ) but Tom made a bit of a name for himself through it.

What I remembered about Tom Snyder before watching the DVD was the impression Dan Akroid used to do of him on the original Saturday Night Live. It was a wicked characterture, a little bit like Nixon, but complete with non-stop smoking and the catch-phrase, "Alright! I'll buy that!"

But this glimpse into Snyder's world was a lot more interesting, focusing on a show so edgy that it would book acts like the Stooges, the Plasmatics, and the Jam. It's worth mentioning that these were bands Saturday Night Live did not touch. All except Elvis Costello, who recalls as Snyder interviews him that it was the folks at SNL who forbade him to play the song Radio, his scathing assessment of the state of mediocraty in American airplay. As some may recall, when Costello defiantly went into the song live, NBC pulled the plug (literally, went to black and then commercial).

The performances in this collection are incredible, vibrant, risky, and at some points even cause property damage and physical harm. Wendy O of the Plasmatics flashes white cotton panties barely under her micro mini Catholic schoolgirl skirt and then blows the front off a car that is parked in the studio (did I mention there is a live audience? Some caworing middle age folks caught unaware and other wound up fans of the band?). Iggy Pop of the Stooges bashes himself in the face with his mic during one of his spastic jiggle jumps and is interviewed afterwards with blood on his face.

I love these bands, so seeing them perform with such energy and daring was the treat I'd been hoping for. It's the interviews that are the surprise, because there is much more than I would have guessed to be admired. Snyder has done his homework, but knows how to play off these genuinely bizarre characters. He jokes with an out-of-breath, wired Iggy until Pop starts talking about art history and his study of performance as a Dionysian experience. Snyder shifts gears without missing a beat, taking the conversation into a deeper level to discuss the band's process of putting the act together. John Lydon, formerly of the Sex Pistols, does not perform and barely talks --- but what's more is the answers he does give to Snyder are so clipped, so seethingly angry that it is genuinely unsettling. This is not the clowning associated with the Sex Pistols. It is real rage coming off Lydon. And to Snyder's credit, he gets through the interview somehow, refusing to take the bait of an argument and pushing forward with an ever-changing stream of questions. This is a professional kids, don't try this at home.

But probably the biggest tributes to Snyder come from the performers who are New Yorkers themselves: Pattie Smith and the Ramones. Smith is so nervous to be talking to Snyder that she actually seems to be blushing, repeating several times with a bit of an emotional gush, "I can't believe I'm on the Tomorrow Show!" And the Ramones sit dumbstruck with-- not Tom at all -- but a substitute host: some nondescript woman who looks like a Connecticut housewife. Joey speaks for the band most of the time in his customery drone and when the sub tries to make a joke about his dead-pan demeanor, Joey says, "Well I gotta say, we're really disappointed Tom isn't here." And the band nods solemnly in agreement.

8 Comments:

At 3:23 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

i've seen a few of those Tom Snyder interviews... and you're right, he was always much more appropriate, "on the mark", and intelligent than folks like to credit him for being. honestly, i think that's why Letterman championed him back in the day (remember, Snyder used to follow The Late Show?)

the other clue that he was actually quite good was the Ackroyd bit on SNL. no actor would be able to do such a spot on impersonation if he didn't watch his subject often! (the same holds true for the Dana Carvey impersonation of John McLaughlin, yaou only need to see The McLaughlin Group a couple of times to know that Carvey probably watched religiously!)

sounds like an interesting DVD... and well worth viewing! xox

 
At 4:40 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Truth is...had Tom's time in the spotlight been just 10 years or so later he would have become a mega star on cable TV. That over the top, larger than life personna...a true character.

 
At 5:30 PM, Blogger Mutha said...

SO true! I was so impressed with Tom it left me wondering how he didn't get to be a bigger star -- and you're right Joel, in part it was missing his chance at cable. Akroyd and many many New Yorkers were all over him. Beyond a reason to stay up -- he kept many a night owl (musicians and comedians included) and insomniacs entertained.
FYI: The DVD is called,"The Tomorrow Show with Tom Snyder: Punk & New Wave", put out by Shout (shoutfactory.com)

 
At 8:00 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

i've actually seen this same Tom Snyder DVD with the punk performances and interviews and it is extremely impressive. it's called "The Tomorrow Show: Punk & New Wave."
When you consider that Snyder's generation was the Rat Pack gang that included Sinatra, Dean-o, and the rest, it is truly remarkable that this fuddy-duddy but mainstream guy would have these acts on his show. Can you imagine the "Dean Martin Show" bringing on Iggy Pop for a live performance?! most people in his generation would be so completely confounded and offended...and perhaps Snyder was too, BUT, he was also very curious, wanting to know what made them tick and why they did what they did. i don't think he even liked their music (he clearly thought all these bands were too loud). but he really wanted to understand...In this day and age, finding someone from the ruling class and generation who wants to really understand something so foreign, so seemigly offensive is hard to imagine.
the performances themselves are all quite amazing...punk at its pinacle. and other than Johnny Rotten (who seems truly disturbed), these cutting edge artists all gave fantastic interviews and were as patient with Snyder as he was with them.
A cool technical feature of this DVD is that you can either watch all the guests who were on the show (who are comparatively boring), or only watch the punk performances, or only watch the punk performances and interviews. the whole thing is a real eye-opener.
-david

 
At 9:43 PM, Blogger Mutha said...

Wow, thanks David. You hit it on the head -- it is his genuine curiosity that is striking. And I had forgotten about the volumne thing. I believe he asks Iggy Pop if he thinks he might get a bigger fan base if he just turned it down a bit. I haven't said enough about the Jam either. Awesome. They are a highlight.

 
At 7:28 PM, Blogger G said...

I know I had seen this one advertised, now it's back on the list. I remember seeing some of those shows, but what I remember most about them were my Aunt Helen's truly disturbed responses when we would ask her about who was on Tom Snyder (as she and my mom I recall were fans albeit some sort of morbid curiosity I'm sure) In regard to Patti Smith, "Oh that freak, the safety pins and underarm hair". Yes priceless. It's that melding of generations that I don't know, Punk just smashed open all of the notions. Now those were some good tv times!

 
At 9:17 PM, Blogger Mutha said...

Yes! And to tell you the truth -- at the risk of sounding like the "In My Day!" crowd -- but these performers are taking huge chances, shocking stuff even now. Who does that in 2006? Marilyn Manson? Not really...I mean it's all make-up and shredded stockings.

 
At 11:26 AM, Blogger G said...

I'm with you. Even now - nobody can hold a candle to what it meant to have the chutzpah to get up there and play (when in many cases, i.e. The Ramones, they were admittedly not so great). But they learned as they went along even trading who played what instrument and who among us would not enjoy a house to ourselves with the Ramones cranked up! How liberating! That was just a pivotal period for music.

I like to be open minded to new music and new voices, but I just never got Marilyn Manson. Although I heard T-Bone Burnett talking on the radio this am and he was saying after times where the musical community felt repressed or impotent as in times of war, there is often a creative burst afterwards, so let's see.

 

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