Tonight's Musical Guest, Today
The Beatles on Ed Sullivan. Nirvana on Saturday Night Live. Warren Zevon on David Letterman. Sometimes, late-night TV musical performances live on forever. Most don’t. But we still want to talk about them.
Each week on “Tonight’s Musical Guest, Today”, long-time friends Alex Beaton and Jon Hillman dive in on the music and cultural memory of a band through the arc of their late-night TV performances. Watch along with Alex and Jon as they examine and react to these musical history moments preserved in the amber of time alongside two celebrity guests and a talk show host.
From Conan to Colbert, Letterman to Leno, or SNL to MadTV, there is no shortage of iconic late-night musical moments. And no end to the ones you don’t remember.
- Update frequency
- every 14 days
- Average duration
- 132 minutes
- Episodes
- 58
- Years Active
- 2023 - 2025
Grab Bag: New Year's Eve Performances
It's a night of celebration and watching musicians and celebrities awkwardly count down numbers together. We're ringing in 2024 with our second-ever GRAB BAG episode on New Year's Eve performances!
Th…
Green Day with Ryan Agate
From Gilman to the Grammys, they are arguably the biggest American punk band of all time. It's GREEN DAY week!
Joining the show is long-time and legendary (as proclaimed by us) Boston music venue book…
Coldplay with Josh Terry
Maybe you love to hate 'em. Maybe they're a guilty pleasure. Or maybe like most humans on earth you casually enjoy 'em. Either way, It's COLDPLAY week!
Joining the show is music critic and writer of t…
No Doubt
They sparked a national obsession with ska horns and new wave keyboard while being led by one of the most famous frontwomen of the 1990s. It's NO DOUBT week!
The clip journey this week takes the show …
1960s Aretha Franklin
T-M-G-T-P-O-D! Find out what it means this week! We're going way back into the era of bright light variety specials to talk the Queen of Soul. It's 1960s ARETHA FRANKLIN week!
The guys discuss Aretha’…
Rancid with Courtney Denison
We got hella mohawks and ska hats at the ready for this one. It's RANCID week!
Joining the show to break down all things bay area punk is the lead singer and guitarist of Boston-area band Bad Idea USA…
Nirvana with Rory Phillips
We're talking about a band important enough that we use them in our show description. It's NIRVANA week!
One of the pod's musical heroes is here to talk about his own musical hero. Musician and produc…
Grab Bag: One-hit Wonders
We're grabbing a bag, shaking it up, and pulling out some clips this week. It's our first ever GRAB BAG episode on famous one-hit wonders!
Alex and Jon walk 500 miles with the Proclaimers on Letterman…
Sum 41
They stormed the early 2000s like their name was El Niño. But what happened once the storm died down? It's SUM 41 week!
Alex and Jon go solo to talk about the startling meteoric rise and winding trans…
R.E.M. with Keith Phipps
Stipe. Buck. Mills. Berry. Beaton. Hillman. One of the most important and significant American bands of all time gets the TMGT treatment. It's R.E.M. week!
Joining the show to talk 32 years, 15 albums…
Blink 182 with Michael Hurley
What's the worst way to understand a legendary pop punk band famous for shaky live sets and funny stage banter? How about watching their late night tv show performances? This week on Tonight's Musica…
Andrew W.K. with Kenny
A voice unlike any other. Or maybe voices? We'll talk about it. This week, we're getting out the detective whiteboard and partying all the same. It's ANDREW W.K. week!
The guys couldn't do this one al…
Sheryl Crow
9 Grammy Wins. 32 Nominations. Over 50 million records sold. And now a TMGT episode? Yep. This week on Tonight's Musical Guest, Today, we're talking about the great SHERYL CROW.
The guys explore their…
Limp Bizkit
Nobody asked for it. We're doing it anyways. Turn your red hats backwards and stick those cookies up your yeahs. It's time for the LIMP BIZKIT episode on Tonight's Musical Guest, Today.
Alex owns up t…
A Tribe Called Quest with Dart Adams
They were the voices of a movement and moment for rap in the 1990s. And it all played out on late night TV. This week on Tonight's Musical Guest, Today, we're talking A TRIBE CALLED QUEST!
And speakin…
Rage Against the Machine
How did one of the best live bands of the 1990s come off on late night TV? Turns out, quite well! For the second episode ever of Tonight's Musical Guest, Today, we're digging in on the incomparable R…
Weezer
It's the very first episode of Tonight's Musical Guest, Today! Hooray. This is the podcast where we discuss the cultural memory and career arc of bands and artists through their late night tv show pe…
TMGT Trailer
The Beatles on Ed Sullivan. Nirvana on Saturday Night Live. Warren Zevon on David Letterman. Sometimes, late-night TV musical performances live on forever.
Most don’t. But we still want to talk about …