After 2.5 years of discussing the cultural memory and career arc of bands and artists through their late night tv show performances, we're taking our first hiatus. And there was only one thing we could do to celebrate: talk about ska for over 3 hours. It's our GRAB BAG: SKA-TACULAR!

And there was only one person that could pick it up with us: best friend of the show and creator of our theme song Kenny! The guys and Kenny surf all the waves of ska, discussing its roots, suits, and sixty years of upstrokes. Inventors of the genre The Skatalites reunite for a performance on Conan in 1994. The two-tone era is equal parts catchy and serious with incredible clips of The Selecter and The Specials. Fishbone sets the stage for 3rd wave, including a beach party movie cameo that requires discussion. The Mighty Mighty Bosstones and Reel Big Fish encapsulate that beautiful moment in 1997 when ska dominated our lives. And The Interrupters have the first big ska hit in 20 years after supporting Ron Paul for President.

Want to learn the name of almost every ska band? Listen to this episode! But if you want to watch along with us, check out the links below for the performances discussed this week!

We'll be back sometime in 2026. Skank on.

Police Woman by The Skatalites, 3/15/1994 on Late Night with Conan O'Brien

Murder/Danger/Missing Words by The Selecter, 2/19/1980 on The Old Grey Whistle Test

Gangsters/Too Much Too Young by The Specials, 4/19/1980 on Saturday Night Live

Ugly/When Problems Arise by Fishbone, 1987 on The Late Show with Joan Rivers

The Impression That I Get/The Rascal King by The Mighty Mighty Bosstones, 1997 on MTV Motel California

Sell Out by Reel Big Fish, 7/28/1997 on Oddville, MTV

She's Kerosone/Take Back the Power by The Interrupters, 7/26/2018 on Jimmy Kimmel Live!

This is a band that defined early 2000s emo for so many (including us). And it turns out the band drama was even messier than their lyrics. It's TAKING BACK SUNDAY week!

The guys have an important show announcement up top before reexamining their short-lived intense fandom with these Long Island heroes. It takes a while to get through the early rise and messy bitch drama of Tell All Your Friends before we get to some performances, including an era-defining acoustic performance on Last Call with Carson Daly. Alex and Jon discover they remembered this band all wrong with the two-album run of Fred Mascherino being by far the best era of the band. And stick around for a critical analysis of Denny's 2008 emo/screamo adopt-a-band all nighter menu featuring a Hoobastank burrito.

Want to watch along with us? Check out the links below for the performances discussed this week!

Cute Without the E (Cut From the Team)/Message in a Bottle, 9/9/2003 on Jimmy Kimmel Live!

You're So Last Summer, 11/11/2003 on Last Call with Carson Daly

A Decade Under the Influence, 10/8/2004 on The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson

MakeDamnSure, 7/24/2006 on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno

Liar (It Takes One to Know One), 12/20/2006 on The Late Show with David Letterman

Sink Into Me/New Again, 6/2/2009 on Jimmy Kimmel Live!

Better Homes and Gardens with the Contemporary Youth Orchestra, 7/22/2015 on The Alternative Press Music Awards

Wake up! This LA by way of Armenia heavy metal/death metal/middle eastern/jazz fusion four-piece stunned mainstream culture at every turn. It's SYSTEM OF A DOWN week!

We recap the rich and tragic familial history and musical origins of Serj Tankian and co. before jumping into 3 tv performances across the span of 3 years for SOAD's classic self-titled debut. That includes a pretty ridiculous Fred Durst sidebar and our triumphant return to the short-lived TV home of late 90s nu-metal, Farmclub.com. Toxicity becomes huge amid 9/11, with a rare TV clip of Chop Suey! on MTV Latin America. And we return to Fuse's Uranium with Mistress Juliya Chernetsky to unfortunately find her trying to survive the interview from hell.

Want to watch along with us? Check out the links below for the performances discussed this week!

War?, 11/9/1998 on NPA (French TV)

Spiders, 3/16/2000 on Late Night with Conan O'Brien

Sugar/Suggestions, 6/12/2000 on Farmclub.com

Chop Suey!, 10/24/2002 on MTV VMAs Latin America

Interview (Part 1, Part 2, Part 3), 2005 on Fuse's Uranium

B.Y.O.B/Aerials, 5/7/2005 on Saturday Night Live

While coming up in the Portland post-punk scene, this singer/songwriter recorded a batch of lo-fi acoustic demos on a whim. What followed was a once-in-a-generation rise and fall fueled by some of the most beautiful songwriting of the past 30 years. It's ELLIOTT SMITH week!

Returning to the show is pod-favorite and fellow Texan Rory Phillips (The Impossibles, Slowreader, The Stereo)! Rory and the guys discuss the upcoming Slowreader reunion shows before diving into the incredible music and turbulent life of Elliott. Clip one is likely the most surreal ever on the show, with Elliott somehow ending up on a zany 90s morning show hosted by Tom Bergeron and a puppet. Good Will Hunting changes everything with an Oscars performance that defines his public persona for the rest of his life. And full band performances on SNL, Conan, and Letterman capture the power poppier side of Elliott. 

Want to watch along with us? Check out the links below for the performances discussed this week!

Clementine, 7/28/1995 on Breakfast Time

Miss Misery, 3/5/1998 on MTV Live with Carson Daly

Miss Misery, 3/23/1998 on The Oscars

Waltz #2 (XO), 8/20/1998 on Much Music Canada

Waltz #2 (XO), 10/17/1998 on Saturday Night Live

Son of Sam, 4/21/2000 on Late Night with Conan O'Brien

Stupidity Tries, 7/21/2000 on The Late Show with David Letterman

Check out Rory and Slowreader at their upcoming reunion shows in Austin, TX!

Do we stress you out? Our sweaters are on backwards and inside out this week to talk about an artist that took over the world in 1995. But what about before and after? It's ALANIS MORISSETTE week!

Joining the show is past guest Courtney Denison and her husband/musical partner Sean Farrell of Boston pop punk band Bad Idea USA! We begin this week discussing Alanis' often forgotten teenage dance pop days in Canada with a 1992 daytime talk show appearance in her native land. The Jagged Little Pill-era live band featuring Taylor Hawkins is ridiculously good with appearances on Letterman and SNL. A 1999 Grammy's performance off of the City of Angels soundtrack requires a sidebar on the fashion of AJ McLean of The Backstreet Boys. And we wrap up discussing the biggest selling albums of the 1990s.

Want to watch along with us? Check out the links below for the performances discussed this week!

Change is a Waste of Time, 11/24/1992 on The Dini Petty Show

You Oughta Know, 8/17/1995 on The Late Show with David Letterman

Hand in My Pocket/All I Really Want, 10/28/1995 on Saturday Night Live

Joining You, 12/17/1998 on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno

Uninvited, 2/24/1999 on The Grammy Awards

Hands Clean/Your House, 2/27/2002 on Last Call with Carson Daly

Everything/Out is Through/Ironic, 5/14/2004 on Later...with Jools Holland

Follow Bad Idea USA on Instagram and see them live soon!

Founders of Seattle grunge, this sludgy hard rock outfit combined crazy technical prowess with hair-raising vocals. Led by a one-of-kind lead singer, they defined a movement that persists to this day. It's SOUNDGARDEN week!

Jon and Alex deal with the fallout of being cancelled by the anti-Dave Grohl internet movement before tracking the twists of a band that mostly avoided TV appearances! Clip 1 finds the band on a short-lived awards show put on by the College Media Journal and the USA Network. Steve Issacs returns to the show right as grunge is taking over, with Soundgarden blasting through Outshined and Slaves & Bulldozers on Hangin' with MTV. Superunknown is a huge hit and the band is hardly on TV for it, except for a 40-minute Japanese grunge special. And we discuss the band's 2010s reunion with clips on Conan and Jools Holland before Chris Cornell's tragic ending.

Want to watch along with us? Check out the links below for the performances discussed this week!

Ugly Truth/Big Dumb Sex reprise, 10/26/1989 on the CMJ New Music Awards

Outshined/Slaves & Bulldozers, 12/11/1991 on Hangin' with MTV

Fell on Black Days/Spoonman, 2/8/1994 on Sony Music TV Japan

Pretty Noose/Burden in My Hand, 5/18/1996 on Saturday Night Live

Black Rain/Hunted Down, 11/9/2010 on Conan

Been Away too Long/Taree/Rusty Cage, 11/6/2012 on Later...with Jools Holland

This artist melded 70s southern soul with 80s hip hop and earned a royal title for it in the process. Equal parts tough and diva, she took over the R&B world in 1992 and never left. It's MARY J. BLIGE week!

Joining the show is journalist, author, and Mary superfan Craig Seymour! Luckily, Craig is prepared to school the guys on the immeasurable impact of Mary's early albums and the way it shaped modern hip hop/R&B forever. Clip 1 has Jennifer Lopez, Rosie Perez, and Jim Carrey backing up Mary on In Living Color. My Life is a huge album without a huge single, but a full-band version of "You Bring Me Joy" still kills on Conan. Queen Latifah brings together Mary and Lauryn Hill for a once-in-a-lifetime collaboration on TV. And we end with the 2022 Super Bowl, with Mary fitting right in alongside other legends of hip hop (and 50 Cent).

Want to watch along with us? Check out the links below for the peformances disucssed this week!

Reminisce, 11/2/1992 on In Living Color

You Bring Me Joy, 5/19/1995 on Late Night with Conan O'Brien

Thank You Lord/Not Gon' Cry/Love is All We Need with Nas, 3/7/1997 on The Soul Train Awards

All That I Can Say with Lauryn Hill, 2/4/2000 on The Queen Latifah Show

Family Affair/No More Drama, 5/3/2002 on Later...with Jools Holland

Be Without You/Stay With Me/Runaway Love with Ludacris and Earth, Wind, & Fire, 2/11/2007 on The Grammy Awards

Family Affair/No More Drama with Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, 50 Cent, Kendrick Lamar and Eminem, 2/13/2022 on The Super Bowl Halftime Show

In the mid 70s, some arty weird kids in Athens, GA shared a volcano cocktail at a Chinese restaurant. That party took them to many others, armed with hugely influential guitar licks, beehive hairdo wigs, and dancing from another world. It's THE B-52s week!

It's episode number 50 of TMGT, and the show kicks off with a performance on SNL that changed Dave Grohl's life. Jon insists on covering a clip of the band at the 1982 US Festival despite it having no place within the dumb format of this podcast. The "Whammy" era is captured on UK TV, and uh, it's not great! The guys discuss the lasting influence of the late great Ricky Wilson, and his absence is sorely felt on a 1987 clip from a UK children's show. And a comeback performance of "Love Shack" on Letterman almost makes Jon cry.

Want to watch along with us? Check out the links below for the performances discussed this week!

Rock Lobster/Dance This Mess Around, 1/26/1980 on Saturday Night Live

Give Me Back My Man, 9/3/1982 at The US Festival

Song for a Future Generation/Whammy Kiss/Butterbean, 1983 on Switch

Wig/Planet Claire, 7/11/1987 on Get Fresh

Love Shack, 6/20/1989 on Late Night with David Letterman

Cosmic Thing/Channel Z, 4/21/1990 on Saturday Night Live

Is That You Mo-Dean?, 8/31/1992 on Hangin' with MTV

She emerged from the caves of Iceland with a singular voice and singular vision. As the ultimate blank check artist, she combined international textures with innovative electronic landscapes to both astound and baffle listeners. It's BJÖRK week!

Björk leans into her Sugarcubes and London club influences early with quirky and catchy performances on Conan and Leno. A turmoil-filled run up to Homogenic produces an intense 1997 performance on Jools Holland with an Icelandic string octet. The swan dress overshadows a sparse and haunting Oscars performance of I've Seen it All. Björk is backed by a renowned harpist, found sound DJ producers, and a Greenland Inuit women's choir on Japanese television. And Alex and Jon display a shocking lack of knowledge regarding the female anatomy. 

Want to watch along with us? Check out the links below for the performances discussed this week!

Human Behaviour, September 14th, 1993 on Late Night with Conan O'Brien

It's Oh So Quiet, November 2nd, 1995 on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno

Hunter/Bachelorette/Joga, November 28th, 1997 on Later...with Jools Holland

I've Seen it All, March 25th, 2001 on The Oscars

Pagan Poetry/Generous Palmstroke, January 14th, 2002 on News23 Tokyo Television

Earth Intruders/Wanderlust, April 21st, 2007 on Saturday Night Live

The Gate/Blissing Me/Courtship/The Anchor Song, May 22nd, 2018 on Later...with Jools Holland

Mix 1 part traditional irish folk, 2 parts punk, and 3 parts irish whiskey (just not the protestant kind): stir and drink well. Grab a Guinness and sing along: it's THE POGUES week!

Joining the show is a long-time friend who played many a sweaty Boston punk show with Alex and Jon over the years, Kevin Bogart (Trophy Lungs, Better Sense)! Kevin and the guys discuss the upcoming New Warden/Trophy Lungs reunion show at O'Briens before tackling the idiot savant genius nature of Shane MacGowan. We kick off the show with The Pogues baffling a crowd of hip London teens on The Tube. A French filmmaker produces a TV documentary for British television at the height of Rum Sodomy & the Lash. The Pogues join the nation of Ireland by honoring 25 years of The Dubliners, and it is the most Irish thing you'll ever see. And Fairytale of New York sends Shane and the guys off on a path of fame and messiness that ends today with a Letterman clip in 1993 (without Shane).

Want to watch along with us? Check out the links below for the performances discussed this week!

Sally MacLennane/Whiskey, You're the Devil/Boys From the County Hell/Waxie's Dargel, November 1st, 1985 on The Tube 

Part 1/Part 2/Part 3, February 15th, 1986 TV French special by Antoine de Caunes from Rock Arena

Irish Rover with the Dubliners/Auld Triangle group sing-along, March 6th, 1987 on RTE The Late Late Show Tribute to 25 years of The Dubliners

Fairytale of New York with Kirsty MacColl, December 1st, 1987 on Top of the Pops

Fiesta/Streets of Sorrow-Birmingham Six (4:20 mark), April 15th, 1988 on Friday Night Live

White City/The Body of an American, March 17th, 1990 on Saturday Night Live

Tuesday Morning, October 22nd, 1993 on The Late Show with David Letterman