Five forgotten Saturday Night Live musical guests, 2000-2010
Posted
by David Hudnall
on Thu, Nov 18, 2010 at 9:47 AM
click to enlarge
Florence, a mere cog in a larger machine.
This Saturday, the musical guest on Saturday Night Live is Florence and the Machine. (With host Anne Hathaway: Snore.) I kind of like a few Florence and the Machine songs I guess, but I also get the feeling that in a few years I maybe won't even remember who or what Florence and the Machine was.
That they got booked on SNL got me thinking: They must have a great publicist. But also: Who are some other acts that have graced the SNL stage that nobody remembers anymore? There must be tons of 'em!
From 2000 to 2010, the show actually has a pretty good track record. Not in terms of quality acts, no, no, no, but in terms of acts that casual music fans would have heard of or remember. Once you go back to the early 1990s, and especially the '80s, you start seeing bands that sound made-up. On a future post we will list those. Today, though, let us examine the stinkers of the aughts.
5. P.O.D.
I hadn't thought of P.O.D. for at least five years before researching this list. In 2002, they performed "Alive" and "Youth of the Nation" on the show. P.O.D. are born-again Christians who play nu metal, and yet somehow I think I might secretly like both of those songs.
4. The Ting Tings
They're British, they're hot, they dress weird, they're a boy-girl duo -- the Ting Tings have all the makings of a fad band. They performed their average hit "That's Not My Name" on SNL earlier this year. Maybe their new album will be really cool and they will end up being a substantial, lasting band. Maybe. But I'm thinking probably not.
3. J. Kwon
In 2004, J-Kwon performed "Tipsy," a song I have certainly not forgotten and still think is incredible. They cut his second song from the show to make room for Jimmy Fallon's farewell sketch, at which point I am guessing J-Kwon wiped the sweat off his brow and confessed that he was just planning on doing "Tipsy" again.
2. Duffy
God damn, Duffy is super hot. And her neo-soul revival tunes are decent. But the neo-soul revival, like the late-1990s swing craze, will eventually peter out, if it hasn't already, and Duffy will need to reinvent herself if she ever wants SNL-level exposure again. I'm pulling for her. Still, I couldn't remember the names of any of her hits.
1. Macy Gray
Let's all make a pact to continue forgetting about Macy Gray and this garbage song, which she performed on SNL in 2001.
