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Tom Snyder is probably remembered as much for the imitation Dan Aykroyd used to
do of him on “Saturday Night Live” as he is for his actual work on television,
but Snyder and his NBC show, “Tomorrow,” were decidedly important to punk and
new wave musicians in the late ‘70s and early ‘80s. Like his predecessor, Dick
Cavett, Snyder wasn’t afraid to sit his musical guests down and have in-depth
conversations with them about their music, their backgrounds, and their reasons
for doing what they do. No shock, then, that – also like Cavett – episodes of
Snyder’s show are being released by Shout! Factory.
“Punk & New Wave,” reportedly the first in a series of Snyder releases, is a
2-disc set, and, accordingly, there’s a “if you need one reason to buy this set,
here it is” episode on each disc. For Disc 1, it’s one featuring a roundtable
discussion about the punk / new wave music scene, including concert impresario
Bill Graham, Jam frontman Paul Weller, Runaways singer Joan Jett, and, uh, Kim
Fowley. (Trying to sum up Fowley in a few words is impossible; check his
Wikipedia entry
here.) The
“must see” episode on Disc 2 is the Snyder show that’s scored the most press –
at least amongst music fans – over the years: Tom’s confrontation with John
Lydon (and, to a lesser extent, Keith Levene) of Public Image Ltd.. The episode
has been widely bootlegged over the years, but you haven’t seen this as pristine
since the show was originally aired. If you need a good explanation as to why
Lydon never made much in the way of commercial headway in the States, watching
him here, playing the part of a smug son of a bitch to perfection, will clarify
things considerably. Levene tries to be at least a bit more cooperative, but
Lydon is such an asshole – and I’m a fan of the man, but, really, he’s awful –
that it descends quickly into a one-on-one grudge match between him and Snyder.
The interview which proves the most revelatory is not Lydon’s, however, but the
one with Patti Smith. If you only know her in her guise as the grumpy,
oft-pissed elder stateswoman of the New York punk scene, you will be
flabbergasted to witness her conversation with Snyder. She’s smiling and
grinning, enthusiastic throughout, and at one point gets on such a roll that she
begins to stumble over her words. “I’m getting all tongue-tied, Tom!” she says,
embarrassed. Perhaps the most interesting moment of her conversation comes when
she raves about, of all people, Johnny Carson. She’s practically giddy at the
fact that she’s seen his parking space outside Snyder’s studio, and Snyder
admits surprise that she’d be so impressed by him, given that she’s a star
herself. She explains that she’s watched Carson for twelve years and that she’s
found him to be “a human parachute. From watching him, I saw a guy who, when he
falls out of rhythm, he just finds a new rhythm…not to lose your confidence, but
just to slide into a new rhythm. There’s a certain amount of risk; that’s how I
do all my work. If you’re willing to make any kind of leap into the void, you’re
going to experience something that you never would’ve experienced before…and I
learned a lot of that from the old human parachute himself.”
Scattered throughout the two discs, you’ll also find appearances from Elvis
Costello and the Attractions, Iggy Pop, the Plasmatics (featuring Wendy O.
Williams in a Catholic schoolgirl outfit), and the Ramones. Thank heavens,
however, that Shout! Factory had the foresight to include a feature on the disc
where you can watch just the musicians’ segments; Tom Snyder is definitely an
acquired taste, a man with an eccentric, unique way of looking at the world, who
knows what he likes and doesn’t really care if anyone else enjoys it quite as
much as he does. This is never more clear than on the Smith episode, where his
lead guest is a guy named Don Rickles… not the comedian, who had been a guest on
the previous night’s show, but an actor / announcer with the same name…and
Snyder spends the better part of five minutes as he challenges Rickles to play a
round of the electronic game, Simon (remember that one, children of the ‘80s?).
Scintillating viewing it is not…but, somehow, it’s fascinating, if only because
you just can’t believe that what you’re watching was being aired on NBC. Sure,
in the wee hours of the morning, but, still…
Music fans will be spellbound by these live performances and interviews, and
those who enjoy all aspects of popular culture will appreciate the other
segments, too…but keep the remote handy, just in case.
~Will Harris
wharris@bullz-eye.com
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