BACKGROUND INFORMATION: Off the Strokes mailing list yesterday, I got the message that the Strokes were practicing two songs, and would perform both of them "if they had time". I laughed because there are always two performances on Saturday Night Live!
OPENING CREDITS: Only 3 Strokes were shown, so I was sort of freaking out, thinking "WHERE ARE THE OTHER TWO? AAAAAAH!" But then the missing two popped up in the picture and it was cool.
SHOW: I love Jack Black, but I really was not concentrating on the show because I was so excited about the Strokes. After each sketch I thought, "Are the Strokes on now?" And they never were. Weekend Update came on, and there was still no sign of the Strokes. I was fucking FREAKING OUT. I do not know anyone who worries nearly as much as I do over stupid little things. I kept thinking, "What if they're too cool for Saturday Night Live?" and "What if they missed their plane / bus / train / etc?" I wanted to cry. Eventually the Strokes did come on though.
PERFORMANCE ONE: LAST NITE
I SAW A PICTURE OF THE STROKES! So I jumped up and danced and sang the whole time. I think the house was shaking because our porch is not that sturdy. FAAAAB! was wearing a PINK Velvet Underground shirt. YES. OH MY FUCKING GOD. Albert holds his guitar up really high and I usually make fun of people who do that, but I didn't. Because he is good, unlike some people coughtheguysfromherman'shermitscough. They only did ONE close up of Nikolai! Nikolai! He is a cool, cool guy! WHY DOES NOBODY PAY ATTENTION TO HIM? I bet he is the coolest guy in the world. Julian. Oh man, Julian is the CUTEST buy in the world. Seriously. He kept looking right at the camera and his eyes were so PUPPY-LIKE! They were so puppy-like they made me say "Awwwwww!" His acne was not prominent. That is fine because it is SATURDAY NIGHT LIVE and everyone watches it. But I heart Julian's acne.
Now Nick. Oh man. I saved him for last for a reason. I have always thought he was good looking but AH. WHAT HAPPENED TO HIM? Earlier that day, Denise commented on how skinny he was and I sort of thought "Eh, yeah." But OH MAN. He makes Twiggy look fat. It is SICK. And his face was covered by his hair. I don't know what was going on with that. It looked like he wanted a fro too, but his hair is straight. I am worried about Nick, really. Most people are concerned that Julian is an alcoholic, but NICK. I will cry if he is anorexic.
SHOW: I checked the clock during every commercial break to see if there was time for another Strokes song. The last time I checked, there were only 8 minutes left. I was sad because I didn't think they'd be on. But they were. YESSS.
PERFORMANCE TWO: HARD TO EXPLAIN
On the mailing list, they wouldn't say which songs they would be performing. I figured one was Last Nite. And they played Hard to Explain! YESSS! It is one of my two favorites on the album (The other being The Modern Age). It was great. All of the comments on the first performance go for this one as well. I don't know what it was, but it sounded sort of... weak. It was definitely not their fault, as most bands on SNL sound weak, even if they are ROCKING OUT and I can never figure out why. Pauvre petit Strokes. The end of this song was great. Julian grabbed his jacket and I was all "WOOO, JULIAN!" My favorite part was then Julian went up on the drumset platform thing and he kissed FAAAAB! Yesss! Ah. Then Albert pulled Julian over and it looked like he was looking for some action too, but he was DENIED. Poor Albert. Julian looked really great right here, like he was really, truly happy. I love that look. They didn't really show Nick or Nikolai. They were just sort of walking around. Aw. Then FAAAAB! jumped off his drumset. Yesss! FAAAAB!
CREDITS: Usually they cut off the credits really early, but they didn't this time so yesss! I love the credits. I was looking out for Nikolai to see if he would just head for the back corner and not talk to anyone (like I would if I were ever in that situation). But he didn't! He talked to Dean Edwards! YESSS NIKOLAI AND DEAN! And FAAAAB! hugged Jack Black! And Albert sort of joined in on it. It was so great. Nick went over to KG, who was standing there being weird and he stuck his face right by KG's. I wanted to see what happened after that, but they switched to Horatio Sanz (wooo, like I care). Later they showed Nick picking up Amy Pohler. I bet she weighs more than he does, seriously. She is a lucky girl. They didn't really show Julian except when he was hugging Will Ferrel and at the end he was sort of standing around the back. I wanted to see him hug more people. FAAAAB! was on someone's back at the end, but I have yet to figure out who it was. Maybe it was Nick. Ouch.
