Our long national nightmare is over, Jay Leno has relinquished his vice grip on comedic mediocrity (for a few months), it is now Conan's turn to bring some class and laffs to the venerable institution of late night television that is The Tonight Show. Videogum is all over the show itself; we're on the choice of musical guest. And the choice of music guest for a debut show can be more than just a contribution to the annals of rock trivia: For his maiden Late Night telecast, O'Brien booked Radiohead. It was an exciting and symbolic choice, a barrier-crossing band for what was, ultimately, a similarly ambitious and inventive show. So what does booking Pearl Jam represent? They're probably our most elegantly aged major rock band, so there is the class, the reverence for the past ... but what about the relevance to the now? Well thanks to Cameron Crowe, Target, and some aggressive information control from their NYC lawyers, Pearl Jam's Google News index spiked just in time to make their performance as Conan's first musical guest on his debut as the Tonight Show host independently zeitgeisty. (Oh, and they played a new song, too.) The set looks great. The new set's sound is another issue.
A little muddier and more poorly mixed than the 30 Rock days. But we can let that slide for a night. That tune, titled "Get Some," will appear on Pearl Jam's Backspacer LP: PJ's forthcoming, independently released album which will be available via Target along with a "consortium" of other partners. Details on the release strategy at Billboard.
