REVIEW

DVD Review: The Tomorrow Show - Punk & New Wave

Written by El Bicho
Published March 03, 2006

Once again Shout Productions brings us more rock legends, or more like punk and new wave legends. Here on NBC's The Tomorrow Show with Tom Snyder, Shout relives the days when the punk rock and new wave trends hit the scene bringing us tri-colored mohawks and stylish safety pins for your cheeks or nose, whatever felt more apropos. Hosting the festivities is Tom Snyder, a guy more clueless about music than the bands he interviews. Pack a freshy-fresh, babies, and prepare to go retro.

Shout has put four shows on each of the two DVDs for this punk and new wave collection and it comes by way of The Tomorrow Show with Tom Snyder, which ran from October of 1973 to January of 1982 until David Letterman took over. The show aired right after Johnny Carson, the king of late night, running from 1am to 2am. At that time of night, Tom described his audience by stating that at that hour "you get the tokers and the smokers."

These eight shows have to do with the punk rock revolution that was blowing up at the time. As with another Shout release, The Dick Cavett Show: Rock Icons, Snyder's show got some pretty hot acts for the time, such as Elvis Costello, Iggy Pop, and The Ramones. If you're just in it for the music, the menu options lets you get right into it, but if you're a history freak-o like me, you may play it from the beginning.

If anything play the first show. There isn't a performance by any of the bands, but Snyder interviews LA Times music critic Robert Hilburn, promoter Bill Graham and a punk-new wave producer Kim Fowley, who due to his heavy make-up, causes Tom to greet him with, "May I say, Kim, you look ridiculous tonight." This segment will give you some kind of a background to what this music rebellion was all about. Halfway through the segment, the three men are joined by Paul Weller of the Jam and Joan Jett of the Runaways, who already seems to have the wisdom beyond her time, or so it seems.

As weird as this first interview gets, the best of those is yet to come. Good old John Lydon, you know, Johnny Rotten from The Sex Pistols, shows up with his buddy. Oh yeah, now I know why Lydon called himself Rotten, cause he was. What a fucking asshole, and his P.I.L. partner, he was such a clownshoe. I can't even remember his name, and he sure as hell ain't worth putting on the DVD again just to find out. Although Snyder is clueless when it came to the punk scene, he showed that he was a professional when dealing with stuck-up, snot bag brats like rotten Lydon.

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This writer is a member of The Masked Movie Snobs, a collective that fights a never-ending battle against bad entertainment.
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DVD Review: The Tomorrow Show - Punk & New Wave
Published: March 03, 2006
Type: Review
Section: Video
Filed Under: Music: New Wave, Music: Punk Rock, Video: Talk Show
Writer: El Bicho
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Comments

#1 — March 3, 2006 @ 09:39AM — Sean [URL]

Unfortunately, they could nto get the rights to the performance by the Clash, which was transcendent.

That performance is heavily bootlegged and can be had if you knwo where to look.

#2 — March 3, 2006 @ 09:49AM — Dave Nalle [URL]

Tell us where to look, dammit!

Dave

#3 — March 3, 2006 @ 13:29PM — zingzing

lydon's PIL partner was keith levene, who, like lydon, is a better performer (he is probably the best (read: most creative) guitarist of the era) than he is a speaker. you know... that's WHY THEY PLAY IN A FUCKING BAND... they aren't speakers, and neither ever particularily pandered to an audience, especially one like this. if you don't like rotten, you're just falling into his trap. if you do, you're also in the same trap. it's a good trap. that said, if you don't like PIL, you've just got really bad or boring taste. or maybe it's just different from mine. PIL is the fucking greatest!

#4 — March 3, 2006 @ 16:04PM — Sean [URL]

Right on about Keith Levene. He was very innovative and deserves guitar god status for the riff to "Public Image" if nothing else.

As for finding the Clash clips, check out dimeadozen or Satch's Forums.

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