The 1990's had, easily, the most female lead singers in rock history, and they were so good. Belly Mazzy Star The Cranberries Tori Amos Sixpence None The Richer Alannah Myles Lisa Loeb The Sundays 4 None Blondes Frente Jewel Sarah McLachlan Veruca Salt are the ones that come to mind, and that is a lot in comparison to other decades.
Tanya Donelly is such a dainty, elegant flower of a woman; what a great, talented beauty. I should also add that Gail Greenwood is equally stunning and gifted. Cool band.
Indie music is a term that means independent music. It has nothing to do with a style but an approach to how a band used to record and distribute their music
Her expression at the end seems to show she knew how cool that performance was. They go into concrete blonde at the end, which adds to the whole thing a bit too.
Good news, Tanya Donnelly is touring with Throwing Muses. I saw them in DC last night, and she did this song. Her band does not have a drummer, and she called it the "hootenanny version". Great show.
Agreed. Not one of her better performances. She was better as a studio musician. Some people just are. Remember when I saw the Cure live. They were 10 times better than studio work.
I honestly never understood why Paul's band always had to join in with -- and even displace some of -- the guest bands. I mean, the backing vocals really suck here. Couldn't they just let the band come out and play?
I was always told they turned Paul Shaffer's mike off during the performances just so that he could feel a a part of things, but listening to this, he made things MUCH worse
Thank you for posting, I remember when this came out, then the Pixie merger. Always been a fan of the band, & they needed exposure at that time, but they do rehearse with Paul & the others. The only thing I can't get past is.....Letterman's band's background vocals SUCKED. She is a rocker & has such a sweet voice, they just COULD NOT HARMONIZE. If you can't keep up, step aside.
Tanya's not the easiest singer to harmonize with if you're a dude. Where was this magic backup singer supposed to come from for a single performance? I think they did OK. The background vox are low in the mix anyway.
@@chuckschillingvideos Fair enough bro. We all have our opinions & musical taste is very personal. This reminds me of very early SNL musical performances (70-80's). My friends & I would stay up late to watch. And we were almost always disappointed by the sound quality or performance (check the Clash out). My point was the band was seeking exposure at that time. I guess there is no such thing as bad publicity. And Paul Schaefer was the one in charge. Hopefully, I'd have the guts to mention the backing vocals were off key in rehearsal. I wasn't there & don't know how it went down. If Will had said, "It's an honor to back you up on vocals." I couldn't say, "Dude, you're off key." I am really stoked to be able to go online and watch these old performances from a time when we had to use videocassette recorders, or rent a videotape, to watch it again.
I've seen her play a lot of really cool, unusual guitars through the years. Not sure what she's playing here but in the Gepetto she plays a beautiful Hank Marvin model Burns.
@@FlameFlickers you’re right, it’s an SG 90 Double! I was looking at the inlays, pickguard, pickups and control layout, all of which are the same. All that’s missing is the lightning bolt where the strings come through the body. Gibson is always making guitars that are almost identical but have different names.
Dave and Conan always had the best musical guests. I've always felt like Paul and Max had something to do with that, I don't know if that's actually true, but that's what I tell myself. But I really dig it especially when Paul joins in! Both shows have introduced me to many new bands/artists and entertained me musically for many, many years!
If you're referring to the bass player, that's Will Lee, who is acknowledged as one of the best players on the planet. He appears to be reading this chart down, vocals included. Whoever had the idea to forego rehearsal I don't know, but good luck to YOU on getting to a position of being the bassist in a band on the most popular late-night talk show of its generation and reading a chart live.
@@tomshea8382 Okay. I have nothing but respect for Paul and Will as musicians. This track is the only time I can recall that Will attempted to sing. And I love the album, Star. There are no male vocals on it at all. Why did the guys sing along with Tanya ?
Was that the reason? Because from what I remember during that time, they did it to every band. Any case, talent stomped on by industry to the point where bands like this are extinct. Today's music is devoid of home gown talent that thrived in the 90s. We got Gaga Brittany Swifted soulless machine product for the masses to consume, and all the kids want to be murican idols. Maybe Tanya's daughter and her gen will be wise to the process and let their souls shine. :)
Thrunavulax Tenticle NYC unions are notoriously thuggish, so I wouldn't be surprised if they did "twist a few arms" to ensure their dues paying musician members played all the high profile gigs at that time.
Fred Abong was their original bassist but left the band shortly after Star was finished, so really the only member absent here at this time was Chris Gorman, the drummer. Gail wasn't around yet. You'll notice there's no bass player in the Feed The Tree video because of this. Still strange.
Few things: - what's with Tanya and the guitarist walking onstage before lol? Were they trying to make that a "thing"? - man I miss opaque nylons - "new band Belly" made me sad. 1 year and another terrific album later they became that "old band" - that friggin stomp lol.
I think think walking onstage thing had to do with the fact that for many years, Letterman's band was the backing band for nearly all (if not all) of the musical acts, instead of having the actual band play. That always annoyed me a bit, and fortunately he ended that practice either right after he moved to CBS or fairly soon after
Well just because they are girls does not make them cooler. and you did not mention the Breeders, who I happen to love since I love Kim Deal....and yes, Kurt loved those bands, but that is not what we were talking about. I Enjoyed L7 and Bikini Kill and the Breeders (the breeders were the best of that group for me, easily) Being girls does not simply make them cooler than the bands I mentioned, any more than being boys would make some lame band like Milli Vanilli better than the Breeders.
The Paul Schaefer people should not have been injected into this performance for any reason, It was a unwelcome intrusion with off key un-professionalism tainting the quality of an excellent song. I'm surprised Belly allowed this travesty to occur.
Scott Ballard a SIDE EFFECT from the NBC rules of following Johnny that Paul couldn't have a full band and had to interact with the bands sometimes meaning not ALL members would be on display!
I agree... Not a great performance and something tells me Tanya's mom called the next day and asked her if she forgot to wear a slip under her dress (not that I'd complain mind you).
Well, it was only half (or, perhaps two thirds, depending upon when this was recorded) of Belly. Chris Gorman isn't here. I'm not sure about the timing of Gail Greenwood's joining the group but I suspect she had not yet joined, since she was also not included in the Feed the Tree video. In any case, they're playing with a rhythm section they'd never met before that day, so in my opinion any faults in the performance should be given a pass.
@@jackjude Impossible to tell for sure, since both he and Anton Fig have had similar long hairstyles, but I rather doubt it since he is given absolutely no time on camera. And I don't think it really sounds like him all that much either. Not to mention, Dave didn't even look his way after the performance, whereas a point to shake Tonya and Tom's hands. You'll also note that the band goes right into the next tune (drummer included) as the scene ends. Do you really think they would have asked Chris to learn that? No, it makes much more sense that Chris is NOT here, for whatever reason.
My friend must have a different opinion of what an ugly girl is? The first time I heard this song, I remember saying:"if this girl looks have as sexy as her voice, I'm liable to start stalking." My friend (from the UK) said "you had better just paint an image or you will really be let down." He went on to say far worse. Not only do I still love her voice (although not as much on Letterman), she is ANYTHING but "the giant letdown," I was warned about.
I read she liked to drink red wine before playing live for her nerves and to make it more fun. I didn't like the backing vocal guy in this, she'd probably sound better singing it alone and someone's guitar went out of tune. But I can forgive it all cuz of her hotness.
is this a post to amp people up and get a response? cuz bikini kill and L7 are probably the coolest punk/metal/grunge bands ever. also...Distillers, Kittie and million other female acts. but carry on on your women hate theme which grows like a tumor.
All the guys are thinking ' come on girl, this is our big break on TV and you pick now to act like a freak and sing like one too?' And....they were one hit wonders from this day into history. Too bad...
While I do not agree at all with the anti-woman slant of the previous poster, come on....Bikini Kill and L7 cooler than the Sex Pistols, Black Flag, Nirvana, Soundgarden & Black Sabbath? Just, no. As for the Distillers, I am a big fan of Brody Dalle and find her far superior to both Bikini Kill and L7.
