artspolitics

I admit I didn’t like Conan at first. When he took over Late Night from David Letterman in ‘93, I didn’t understand why this pale man I never heard of got this show. However, watching his show one night in the summer of ‘97, I finally got it, with the hilarious bits like, ” If They Mated”.  I learned that the sillier and weirder Conan was, the funnier the show was. Now that he’s taken over The Tonight Show from Jay Leno, I still feel the same.

While Letterman perfected weird humor in late night, Conan is bringing it to a younger audience. While Letterman has Stupid Pet Tricks mixed in with biting satire of Dick Cheney, Conan is strictly about the laughs, from ” The Year 3000” to blowing up wax statues of Henry Winkler and Tom Cruise. My mom watches the show with me and often says, ” This show makes no sense. Why can’t he more like Jay Leno?” Because, Mom, Jay Leno wants to please elderly people like you. Conan wants to do a show to please himself. I think that self-deprecating jokes and bits with Slash and Mr.T make for  fine late-night comedy.

I also love Conan’s taste in music. I know he has bands on his show he likes ( for the most part). NBC may force a Lynyrd Skynyrd through, but alternative rock favorites Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Monsters of Folk, and whatever band Jack White is in will always be featured on Conan’s show. Other than Letterman and Colbert, Conan has the best musical guests. I hope that Conan ( and Celebrity Jeopardy champion/sidekick Andy Richter) continue to have a show that mixes the absurd, timely, and just plain funny.