Lana Del Rey's new album "Born To Die" won't be out until Jan. 31, but her performance on "Saturday Night Live" has stirred up all the wrong kinds of publicity.
Lana Del Rey has stirred up a storm even before her first physical album is even released.
On Saturday, Jan. 14, Del Rey appeared on "Saturday Night Live" and delivered what has been called one of the worst musical performances in the show's history. And that's saying something. The truth is, outside of the show's first few years, "Saturday Night Live" has had a long history of embarrassing performances, and Del Rey, a talented artist whose next-big-thing marketing campaign may turn off potential fans, has turned in very good performances elsewhere (search YouTube for her appearance on "Later ... with Jools Holland"). TV, in general, has given music a lot of embarrassing moments. I thought it was a good time to review some of them.
Elvis appears on "The Steve Allen Show" with a real "hound dog," 1956
It all starts here: Steve Allen's producers were so skittish about rock 'n' roll that they insisted Elvis Presley appear in a tux and perform his hit "Hound Dog" to a bored bassett hound to dilute rock's scary magic on youth. Even the dog looks embarassed.
Bob Dylan on the "Grammy Awards," 1998
Bob Dylan has never had much luck on TV. For some reason when the TV cameras go on ol' Bob starts mumbling lyrics and looking like he's about to pass a kidney stone and gives no indication that he can be a great live performer. Imagine poor Bob's thoughts when he's performing a pretty darn good version of "Love Sick" on the Grammys and a crazed, shirtless dancer with "Soy Bomb" scrawled across his chest begins gyrating beside him. Security finally dragged "Soy Bomb" off, but no one remembers that Dylan sounded pretty good that night.
"Super Bowl XXXVIII," 2004
Nobody remembers if Janet Jackson and Justin Timberlake were any good during the 2004 Super Bowl halftime show either. All they remember is a one-second shot of Jackson's pierced nipple when Timberlake ripped part of her dress off. It was one time imagination was definitely better than reality. Now "Nipplegate" and "wardrobe malfunction" are part of our vocabulary, and the Federal Communications Commission decency guards are always on high-alert.
Nicki Minaj accidentally let a nipple say "good morning" on "Good Morning America" in August, 2011, but it didn't raise nearly so much of a fuss.
The Rolling Stones, "The Ed Sullivan Show," 1967
Things were so decent in 1967 that producers of "The Ed Sullivan Show" thought the Rolling Stones' song "Let's Spend the Night Together" was far too racy. They asked the Stones to change it to "Let's Spend Some Time Together." The band complied and Mick Jagger rolls his eyes nearly every time he sings the line.
Lou Reed hosts "The Midnight Special," 1978
I'd have loved to have been watching when the person who booked Lou Reed to host America's clean-cut late night music program "The Midnight Special" actually listened to Reed's lyrics. Reed was yanked as host at the last minute and replaced by Journey. Reed was instead interviewed on the show by Flo and Eddie (Mark Volman and Howard Kaylan of the Turtles). Uncomfortable doesn't begin to describe it.
"Chris Gaines" appears on "VH-1's Behind the Music" and "Saturday Night Live," 1999
In 1999, Garth Brooks was music's biggest star. He conquered the business through country radio, but he ached to be edgy. Thus, he created alter-ego Chris Gaines. He recorded an album under that name, planned a movie and appeared on TV. Unfortunately, Brooks' idea of "edgy" sounded like Kenny Loggins.
Ashlee Simpson on "Saturday Night Live," 2004
Whatever anyone says, this was the very worst musical moment on "Saturday Night Live." Ashlee Simpson is all ready to lip-sync one song and the track of another song starts playing. Kids in talent shows handle it better than Simpson, who did a little dosey-do dance and left the stage while her taped voice echoed through the studio. Del Rey may have stank, but she stank with her own voice and didn't walk off stage.
© 2012, Knoxville News Sentinel Co.
Want to use this article? Click here for options!
- |
Comments » 1
GoodScout writes:
Don't forget The Who's appearance on the Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour in 1967. The Who destroyed their equipment with explosive results as drummer Keith Moon detonated his drum kit. Years later, during filming of The Kids Are Alright, Townshend claimed that the event was the start of his tinnitus. The drum kit had been loaded with an excessive amount of explosives after Moon bribed a stage hand. The resulting explosion was much more powerful than had been anticipated by anyone, including Moon himself. Music channel VH1 listed the event at #10 on their list of the 100 Greatest Rock 'n' Roll Moments on Television. Enjoy: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d9-Jdu...
Share your thoughts
Comments are the sole responsibility of the person posting them. You agree not to post comments that are off topic, defamatory, obscene, abusive, threatening or an invasion of privacy. Violators may be banned. Click here for our full user agreement.