paul shaffer

What's happening on other blogs via the interweb.

• The first chapter of the Burn Notice novel The Fix, by Tod Goldberg, is up at the publisher's site.
• Michael Ian Black has a new book coming out, and a really funny blog.
• Nancy Grace makes an appearance in Hancock?!
• Paul Shaffer and the CBS Orchestra plays the full-length version of the Late Show theme.
• Rush Limbaugh vs. Bill O'Reilly.
• TV Guide has a short Q&A with former CNN newsman Aaron Brown.
• What is (or was) The Oaks?

Paul Shaffer, Late Show band leader, is writing a memoir about his show business career. The book will be out sometime in 2009.

Youngsters recognize Paul as David Letterman's band leader and occasional comic foil, but he actual started as the musical director on Saturday Night Live in the late '70s, appearing in pretty much any sketch that involved muscians, most notably Bill Murray's lounge singer bits.

Shaffer also starred in the short-lived sitcom A Year at the Top, about two musicians from Idaho who travel to Hollywood and are tempted by the devil's son to sell their souls for fame. This should not be confused with Top of the Heap, which was a Married with Children spin-off starring Matt LeBlanc. Also, don't confuse it with Top Cat, that's a Hanna Barbera cartoon.

Remember back in those heady days of the early- to mid-eighties, when David Letterman was considered to be the young, hip alternative to Johnny Carson? You remember... while Johnny was doing his 4,132nd Carnac sketch and putting on daring musical acts like Paul Anka, Dave was conducting elevator races, tossing watermelons off roofs, showing Jerry Lawler slap Andy Kaufman, and putting on bands like the Talking Heads.

Well, hold on to your bongs, Baby Boomers, and grab on to that flannel, Gen Xers: Letterman turns 60 today.

Yikes.

From time to time, we get commenters telling us that we write like we're jaded and don't like our jobs. Of course, this couldn't be further from the truth; we all feel very grateful that we get paid to watch and report on one of our favorite things to do in the world. And anyway, there are other writers out there who actually do sound bitter about having to write about TV, and that they'd rather be doing anything else but.

Take Tom Shales, the sourpuss who the long-time Washington Post TV columnist. His writing always conveys a sense that he'd rather be writing for the travel or food section, but he's been doing the TV beat so long, he's stuck. On his blog on TVWeek.com, he seems to have conjured up some sort of "feud" between David Letterman and his longtime band leader Paul Shaffer, and he uses that speculation to take a couple of cheap shots at Paul's comedic and musical abilities (Bob mentioned the post this morning in his review of TV-related blogs).

I'm reminding readers for two reasons. One, it's an important milestone for David Letterman. His guests tonight will be Bill Murray (who was on his very first NBC and CBS shows) and basketball player LeBron James. And two, The Late Show With David Letterman has been in repeats this week (and the end of last week), so some people might assume that tonight and tomorrow are repeat episodes too. But they're brand-spanking new.

The NY Daily News lists their Top 10 David Letterman moments, and they include Madonna's expletive-filled appearance, Sonny and Cher getting back together, and Oprah finally coming on the show. And if you're feeling nostalgic for his old NBC show, YouTube has some clips.

The show airs tonight on CBS at 11:35.

[via TV Tattle]

Wow, I feel really old.

David Letterman celebrates 25 years in the talk show seat (it's actually more, if you count his short-lived morning show that no one seemed to love but me) on February 1, and Bill Murray will come back to the show to help him celebrate the milestone. Murray was Letterman's first guest on the old NBC show in 1982 and his first guest on the CBS show in 1993.

The other guest on the February 1 show will be LeBron James. I'm not sure how that ties into the special day, but there you go. I'd rather see a regular, like Amy Sedaris, Steve Martin, Charles Grodin, Regis Philbin, or Tom Hanks. Hopefully they'll be some clips.

[via TV Tattle]

Well, this is...interesting.

Howard Stern continues his TV talk show tour to promote his Sirius radio show, and last week appeared on Jimmy Kimmel Live, but not in the same studio as Kimmel. At first it looks like Stern is sitting down in the chair next to Kimmel's desk, but you quickly realized that Stern is in New York City (Kimmel tapes in L.A.) and is sitting in front of a green screen to make it look like he's with Kimmel. You also figure out what's going on once you see Stern and Kimmel attempt to kiss and they can't quite line up their, um, tongues.

Stern also gives Kimmel a free Sirius Stiletto radio. He did the same thing on Letterman last week. I wonder if Dave and Paul feel cheap now? Video after the jump! (Note: the video also includes a 90 year-old woman having an orgasm.)

Hey, Letterman fans: have you been watching the show the past few weeks? Have you noticed the changes on the show? I think Dave has a new energy that we haven't seen in a while.

I mean, the show is always good, in my opinion, even in the times that the critics have said "Dave's not as good as he used to be." But something is different the past few weeks. Dave has gotten a little crazy again. He's doing surreal segments, like having staff member Sue come out in the middle of his talking to the audience with a bowl of trail mix and asking him if he wants any (and when he says "no," swearing at him and walking offstage). He's doing really irreverent stuff too, like having fake "experts" come on to be interviewed and having something crazy happen in the middle of the interview. There have been odd "breaking news" stories that lead nowhere, and he even had a running gag last week that showed a clip of The Tonight Show's Kevin Eubanks laughing at jokes (I'd love to know how they got permission to do that, if they did). And last night's episode! Dave not only had an opening little sketch (with ex head writer Gerard Mulligan), but he had a cigar in his mouth! (Not sure if it was lit, but it looked like it might have been).

So, Dave is always good, but lately he's been really good.

Hey kids, it's time to break out that ol' guitar, trombone, washboard, monkey trumpet, or whatever the heck else you play and join me in listing the best bands to ever grace the small screen. Today we're going to focus on real bands, but don't worry, there's another "The Five" right around the corner where we'll discuss the best fictional bands on television. But for now:

The Tonight Show Band (under Doc Severinsen): The Johnny Carson era of The Tonight Show came to an end when I was a sophomore in high school, and while I never had the same loathing for Jay Leno many others did, I don't think the show will ever be able to duplicate the vibe created by Carson, Ed McMahon, and bandleader Carl H. Severinsen (his friends call him "Doc"). Don't get me wrong, Kevin Eubanks and the current musicians on the show all have chops to spare, but Doc and his fellow bandmates had a kind of old-time classiness about them I couldn't help but admire. And who could forget those glittery, kitschy suits he used to wear?

If you're looking forward to the Strangers with Candy movie as much as I am, you should check out these three songs from the movie, currently available for your listening pleasure over on CBS' Late Show site. The songs were written by Paul Dinello and Late Show bandleader Paul Shaffer. The first song, "Betrayal," sounds like a slightly modified version of the main theme of the TV series. I also dig the disco-y funk of "She's A Fig Neutron" which nicely describes Jerri's ample frame and her penchant for both the men and the ladies. Of course, "Schizophrenalize" isn't without its charm, either. All in all, the songs are pretty funny, though I wouldn't mind rocking out to a little Buddha Stalin, too. I guess we'll have to wait and see if he shows up in the movie. Not many people can sing the phrase "diarrhea milkshake" with such passion.

[via Best Week Ever]