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Classic SNL Recap - Season 16, Episode 10

When I decided to rewatch 3 episodes per season, rather than choose what I remembered as the 3 best from each year I instead made it so that I would go with the first, last, & middle episode each time. Part of being an SNL fan is knowing that there can be a huge range of quality from episode to episode. Hitting the occasional dud is a feature, not a bug. That said, when I turn the page to a new season I take a look at the episodes hoping that the roulette wheel will hit at least one classic. That’s what happened in the season 16 midpoint.

For hosts who only did the show once or twice, I like to use what I call the 3 Sketch Rule. If there are at least 3 sketches that have stood the test of time, the host has done well. There were 3 great ones in this Joe Mantegna hosted episode, in addition to the debut appearance of one of the more enduring recurring sketches from this time frame. (Only 2 of the 3 are on the Peacock stream, and the repeat bit is not on Peavock but IS on YouTube. Go figure.) To Mantegna’s credit, he knows that he is the sort of actor who gets typecast and steers into that skid; his recurring role as Fat Tony on The Simpsons is proof of that.

And that begins with the cold open, which is one of the pieces not on Peacock but which I can still recall vividly more than 30 years later. It combined the recent opening of Godfather Part III - in which his role as Joey Zasa was the reason he was hosting in the first place - with the fact that this January 1991 episode aired days before the deadline that George Bush imposed on Iraq to withdraw from Kuwait lest the American led coalition commence with Operation Desert Storm. In the sketch Mantegna played a gangster arranging a sit down in an Italian restaurant between Bush (Dana Carvey) and Saddam Hussein (Phil Hartman.) Once Bush excused himself to go to the men’s room it was obvious that this was a takeoff on the shooting of Sollozzo and McCluskey from the first Godfather movie. Unfortunately it was Dan Quayle’s job to plant the gun and he did so in the toilet bowl instead of the tank. After fishing it out of the bowl “should have had Sununu do it” Bush fired the gun, only to find that Quayle had neglected to load it. “That’s it, he’s off the ticket.”

The monologue was outstanding. It started off with a generic “why am I hosting a comedy show?” template as the audience shot showed a young boy sitting in the front row wearing a #16 49ers jersey. The boy and his father start to leave, telling Mantegna that they thought it was Joe MONTANA hosting this week, but Mantegna asks if he can have a moment alone with the child. He starts to give him a backstage tour before sitting him down and explaining why he plays the roles that he does. “One phone call from me and Joe Montana don’t play next week!” He instructs the child to stay for the show, and to be sure to laugh at all the jokes, otherwise his dad might receive a similar phone call. He also tells the kid not to laugh during the musical part, but since that week’s musical guest was Vanilla Ice, laughter might actually have been appropriate.

There were a couple of midseason cast changes. Julia Sweeney was now a featured player, as was Rob Schneider. In one of those freak things, neither actually appeared in any sketches shown in the Peacock stream, but Adam Sandler - who was not shown in the opening credits - did. This episode was also one of the final appearances for A. Whitney Brown. I haven’t spoken much about him; he almost never appeared in sketches, instead he usually showed up on Update to present The Big Picture, which basically served as an editorial. I found them to have a terribly condescending “you people are stupid” tone to them, and it was very noticeable that a lot of his lines were met with stone silence from the studio audience. Topical humor doesn’t tend to age well; Brown’s SNL tenure in particular is little more than a footnote these days.

My favorite sketch of the week is the Hello New York piece in which Mantegna portrayed a representative from the NYC mayor’s office appearing on a radio call-in show to discuss crime. He essentially responded to every listener call with a “what are you gonna do” attitude along with a “it’s the price to pay for living in New York” vibe.

As for the recurring sketch premiere, this week was our introduction to Bill Swerski’s Super Fans, the rabid quartet of Chicago Bears fans who were perpetually overconfident in their favorite team’s chances. Da Bears! Even though this was Mantegna’s sole stint on SNL, George Wendt took over in later airings of the premise as Swerski’s brother Bob.

All in all this episode was just as strong as I remembered it being. As SNL host Joe Mantegna was a one hit wonder, but what a hit it was. SNL returns with a new episode this weekend and the assorted 50th anniversary specials are also upcoming, so it will be several weeks until I get to the finale of season 16. Once I do, not only will the aforementioned George Wendt serve as host but additional long running cast members will have joined the show as featured players. The fulltime arrivals of Sandler, along with Tim Meadows and David Spade are imminent. The end of season 16 was also a farewell episode for 2 stalwarts.

Building the 2025 Ballot

As promised (threatened?) I am going to attempt to sift through the dozens upon dozens of worthy candidates eligible for consideration for the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. I should reiterate that election or omission is not meant to be a validation of your favorite artists. I’m certain that every single one of us has multiple bands whom they love that are not, and never will be, in the Hall. And that’s OK. For me personally there are several bands which run the gamut from X to XTC that have virtually zero chance of induction, but that has no effect on my enjoyment of their music. Or as Donald Rumsfeld said you go to war with the Hall of Fame that you have, not the Hall you might wish to have.

It helps to consider the types of ballots the committee generally constructs. They try to open up specific lanes and avoid nominating too many similar artists in the same year that might cannibalize each other’s votes. And some of those lanes are pretty apparent over time. The Dolly/Willie/Cher multi-generational lane? Could that be another nod for Mariah Carey? Or perhaps Diana Ross as a solo artist? The populism lane that Foreigner traveled through for an act that doesn’t get a lot of critical respect? Might that be Bad Company? Each year there is usually at least one real left field pick such as Los Lobos or John Prine that makes you think “interesting choice, but not a chance in hell.” I’ll throw out a name for that lane - The Specials.

This also might be reading into the tea leaves too much, but I wonder if some of the participants in the most recent induction ceremony - whether appearing on stage or as a talking head in the filmed pieces - offer a hint as to whom could be under consideration. There was also an interview that Hall Chairman John Sykes recently gave to Vulture in which he threw out some names. I had given up on Sonic Youth, but Sykes’s comments lead me to think there may still be some hope there. He also threw out a name which made me shudder; I’ll hold off on any thoughts on that potential nominee until he is actually on a ballot.

First off, the simple part. Here is a list of acts with previous nominations who I could potentially see getting another shot this year. (I think by this point the New York Dolls are more likely to be a Musical Influence selection. I also reluctantly think Warren Zevon falls into the one chance and you’re done left field selection category that I discussed two paragraphs above.) Beck, Devo, Iron Maiden, Joy Divison/New Order, Cyndi Lauper, Oasis, The Smiths, Soundgarden, War, the White Stripes. This is probably the last shot for both Devo and War before they get pushed into either Musical Influence or Musical Excellence side category consideration. I also considered Gram Parsons here, but I believe he is also probably limited to a side category at this point.

As for first time nominees? There is admittedly a tinge of wishcasting with some of my suggestions. I’m not giving up on Emmylou Harris just yet, although she is probably getting close to having to rely on a side category to get in. I am prepared to say this: the fact that Kris Kristofferson led off the In Memoriam segment of the induction ceremony leads me to feel certain that he will enter this year in Musical Excellence. I also firmly believe that the Hall is still too slow to fully acknowledge the era from which they should be selecting nominees. More hip-hop, fewer second tier classic rock artists. Well, here goes nothing:

Bad Company, The B-52’s, Coldplay, De La Soul, Emmylou Harris, Billy Idol, Alanis Morrisette, Motley Crue, Outkast, The Pixies, Queen Latifah, Diana Ross, Salt-N-Pepa, Smashing Pumpkins, Sonic Youth, The Specials, TLC, Luther Vandross, Weezer, Wu-Tang Clan.

The final ballot usually consists of between 15-19 names. The nominating committee is certain to include at least a few names I haven’t thought of, but I would hope that the majority of the ballot will consist of artists that I have mentioned.

Neil Gaiman

It’s a phrase we hear over and over. Separate the artist from the art. As much as we would love to believe that the creators of work that we love are also good people, that isn’t always the case. Too many of the great authors and artists whom we studied in school were also objectively awful people. More recently, the ranks of great rock heroes are filled with men who treated the women in their circles horribly.

It’s within that context that the revelations concerning Neil Gaiman are on a whole different level of horrible. Gaiman is the creative genius behind some of the most brilliant comics and graphic novels of our time - Coraline, American Gods, Good Omens, and most importantly, Sandman. Last year word came that multiple women had accused him of sexual assault. This week the full story finally came out, with an article in New York Magazine fully detailing the accusations. I don’t feel comfortable linking the piece, because it is so awful, and I myself was unable to read it all the way through. Simply put, the man is an absolute monster, and his ex-wife and chief enabler Amanda Palmer looks just as bad.

Which comes back to the original point. In recent years we have had to reconsider the past works of everyone from Bill Cosby, Woody Allen, and Roman Polanski to more recent bad men such as Kevin Spacey, Mel Gibson, and Louis C.K. Is it acceptable to still enjoy work created by terrible people? There’s no correct answer, and I would never disagree with someone who decides that a person’s deeds are so heinous that they completely dismiss one’s work. I personally look at it like this. I’m perfectly happy if Spacey is fated to act in nothing but direct to streaming movies shot in Eastern Europe, or Allen shoots nothing but low budget European financed films that don’t get released stateside, but I can still put their sins aside and enjoy The Usual Suspects or Annie Hall. I know that other people can’t make the separation, and I understand why not.

As for Gaiman, we can only hope that the law drops the hammer on him and he gets what he deserves. Does this also mean that the long delayed second season of Sandman will never see the light of day? Do the hard working people who put that show together deserve to be punished for Gaiman’s sins? It’s tough to say. The lesson as always is try to avoid excessive hero worship. They will let you down more often than we would prefer.

50 Years Ago - Physical Graffiti

When I was young it always bugged me that Led Zeppelin had an album titled Houses Of the Holy, yet their song of the same name appeared on a different Zep album. The song is found on Physical Graffiti, the 6th album by Led Zep. A sprawling double album, it presented the full breadth of the band’s sonic palette, and perfectly showcased all 4 members. As is often the case with double albums, it starts to get bloated and there is a bit too much filler, but it also contains several of the band’s highlights, including what is arguably their second most iconic song. The album’s length also explains the Houses of the Holy paradox. When the recording for Graffiti was completed, it was too long to fit onto a single record, so they took leftover tracks from previous albums to stretch it out into a double album. HOOH was originally recorded for the album of the same name, but it wasn’t included because the band realized it sounded too similar to Dancing Days (fair point) and felt the former song was better and more deserving for inclusion (debate amongst yourselves.)

Zeppelin’s chief strength was their versatility. Yes, they were one of the heaviest bands in history, but they also had deep folk roots which adeptly demonstrated a soft side. And the clear James Brown influence in Robert Plant’s vocals allowed them to show a funkier tone that is not often found in a quartet of British white guys. Also, they had a great talent for being experimental without being unbearably pretentious or tedious.

Case in point is in one of my favorite under the radar Zeppelin tracks, In the Light. Lasting almost 9 minutes long, it contains shifts in tempo yet never strays from the center. Jimmy Page is the credited producer on the album, but I would bet that John Paul Jones’s flair for complex arrangements had just as much to do with the success of this album. He never drew as much attention as Plant, Page, or John Bonham, but Zeppelin wouldn’t have been anything close to what they were without him.

That is obvious when listening to another one of the record’s high points, Trampled Under Foot. A talented multi instrumentalist, here Jones comes up with an addictive clavinet riff, resulting in an absolute banger. As for the more relaxing vibe that I alluded to earlier? Down By the Seaside is a perfect song to chill out to. It’s almost yacht rock before there was such a thing, and I mean that as a compliment. I should also mention Bookie With Stu, a lovely little tribute to early rock & roll featuring a guest appearance from Ian Stewart.

Still, the chief reason why this album is such a standout is that this is the one which contains Kashmir. Built around a hypnotic riff, there are all kinds of great flourishes sprouting out from that as if they were branches on a tree. And it is capped by one of Plant’s very best vocal performances. Really, all 4 are in top form here. Bonham’s drumming is truly thunderous.

Of course, like a true New Yorker I made sure to seek out the apartment building pictured on the cover the first time I was at St. Mark’s Place. In retrospect this album can also be seen as the end of an era. The followup album, Presence, was considerably more low key and they only released one additional album before they broke up following John Bonham’s death. But if you want to know why Led Zeppelin remains one of the pillars of classic rock, this album provides several reasons why.

Closing Laughs

Looks like this is my signal to peel out for another day. Thank you all for stopping by and I will see you again on Friday.