I bet you weren’t expecting to run into an article on Jimmy Fallon on this website. I have good reason though.
Fallon
knows his audience, and makes sure to keep his target demographic interested. Not only is he the youngest current
late night talk show host, his show is catered toward the youngest
audience. While not all fans may
not like his spoof of the Jersey Shore, or the beer pong game, or something
like “Spanx But No Spanx,” the point is that we get it. I’d love to see Letterman try to toss a
pong ball into a cup of beer with Ben Kingsley, but I’m not holding my
breath. Fallon is able to do all
sorts of gag sketches and goofy bullshit, but his presentation and attitude are
all so fun that no one minds. No matter what he does he’ll never take anything
too seriously.
Fallon has a few famous and
influential pals from his SNL days, including (still-relevant) comedy icons
like Will Ferrell, Amy Phoeler, Tina Fey, Bill Hader and more. It’s always a delight to see these
former SNL cast members get interviewed, but does anyone else feel like it
doesn’t make a difference? These
are some of his best friends yet he has the same enthusiasm for when he
interviews a Nickelodeon star. Fallon
seems to respect and admire EVERYONE.
He is grateful for his show and he always respects the career of the
given guest. Youtube sensation,
animal expert, athlete, young artist, movie star, it doesn’t matter to
Fallon. It’s like he has been
waiting his whole life to ask Dog the Bounty Hunter where he likes to eat
breakfast, or how long Helen Mirren has been knitting for. When it comes to the musical guests, he
loves being ahead of the times. He
proudly holds up the vinyl for the artist, shouts excitedly when it’s a TV
debut, and lets the music speak for itself, without taking too much credit.
Beyond the first couple of episodes
(watching Fallon imitate Robert De Niro to his face was pretty rough) I’ve
never seen an episode of Fallon that made me uncomfortable. Conan is self-loathing and quite
obviously depressed sometimes. Letterman is biting and sarcastic and, although
very funny, I felt bad watching him verbally slaughter Paris Hilton after she
got out of jail. Kimmel, my runner
up to Fallon, is a little flat sometimes, like he doesn’t quite care what is
going on. Craig Ferguson is too
talkative, he interviews himself half the time, and his guests are never
stellar. Who even likes Leno at
all? That’s what I thought.
He has an incredible online
presence (I barely ever watch the show on TV, it’s always Hulu for me). With several million twitter followers,
games like “Late Night Hashtags”, and all sorts of online/internet influenced
sketches, he still doesn’t threaten the older generations. He can have Sir Ian McKellan and De
Niro playing pictionary and no one in the audience will think anything of
it. Followed by a sketch that is
completely about Robert Pattinson (“Bothered with Robert Pattinson”), it makes
total sense to the audience that Fallon can take the show in any direction, as
long as there is a goofy moment coming up.
His
“History of Rap” sketches are gorgeous. It’s been a long bumpy road trying to
get rap in a comfortable place in American culture. Fallon’s sketches make rap seem so jovial and historical
that most of the audience couldn’t give a shit what song it is, as long as
Jimmy and Justin Timerlake are hi-fiving while they sing it. The other chunk of the audience, hip
hop fans, are enthused when they hear the next snippet of 15 seconds come up,
and they recognize it as a De La Soul or Rakim song.
His show is just about the only
place on primetime that can get away with airing the TV debut Odd Future,
dressed in ski masks and shouting about aborting babies and murder. Odd Future bandmate Frank Ocean also
made his TV debut on Fallon, and performed on SNL not long after. Hardcore legends Refused had never
performed on network TV until Fallon gave them the slot. ASAP Rocky, Neon Indian, Ariel Pink’s
Haunted Graffiti, Danny!, Grimes, Kendrick Lamar, Joey Badass, and tons more
have made their network TV debuts on Fallon, and I’m sure none of those acts
will soon forget it.
Who
are we kidding? The Roots are the reason for this article. They get at least 50% of the credit for
the show’s success, and Fallon will be the first to admit it. Nearly every guest makes some sort of
gracious comment, dance, bow, acknowledgement to the Roots as they walk on
stage.
I
wasn’t the only one scratching my head when I heard that: a) Jimmy Fallon was
getting his own talk show, and b) the Roots were going to be the house
band. Why? Why would Fallon be the
top choice? He’s the dude who
ruined most of his SNL sketches, made a few awful movies, and disappeared for a
while. And why would the Roots
kill their careers so early? This surely must mean they can’t tour, make new
music, expand their careers, etc.
I was so fucking wrong.
Fallon has proved to be a fantastic host, becoming very comfortable in
his place as the years go on, breaking late night boundaries and redefining the
layout for future late night shows.
Fallon goes where other shows don’t, not in a shocking way, in a modern
way. His incorporation of music
makes the show twenty times better than other late night shows, not to mention
he turns to Questlove and Black Thought every few minutes for a sketch.
The
Roots have released two of their best albums since being Fallon’s house
band. They still plays shows all
over the place, doubling up their schedules and truly living up to their title
as the hardest working band in late night. Questlove is producing a handful of new albums, Black
Thought is still getting features on other rappers’ songs, and the Roots have
become the quintessential New York band, headlining every festival that comes
to town, and bringing thousands of fans everywhere they go.
I’m
willing to bet everything I own that Questlove is responsible for a large
portion of the show’s musicality.
Either he is making the decisions, or he is the one making it happen. As the bandleader, Questo is the one
organizing every transition between commercials, choosing the intro music
(remember when he played Fishbone’s “Lyin Ass Bitch” for Michelle Bachman, and
no one really gave a fuck? G), planning music-based sketches, etc. He is the second face of the show. I like Higgins, but I feel as though
Questo makes a much better sidekick.
The Roots have Slow-Jammed the News with Barack Obama, staged the Air
Drum Challenge, backed Sing It Like You Mean it for audience members, and
performed on-the spot songs for Freestylin with the Roots.
They
back every performer they can. If
the artist playing at the end of the show will allow it, the Roots will play as
their band. Some of the more
exciting examples were Odd Future’s “Sandwiches”, “What’cha Want” with the
Beastie Boys, “Straight Outta Compton” with Ice Cube, and about 400 more. They’ve backed everyone from Beyonce,
to Julian Casablancas, to Nas, to James Murphy to Carly Rae Jepsen. They never
sound out of place. Their sketches are always welcome, they are adored by
all. Who gets that kind of
reputation nowadays?
The
marriage of comedy and hip hop has never been so pure. The Roots are a very straightforward
and respectable hip hop act. They
don’t make thug or pop rap, nor do they consider themselves underground royalty
like other rappers who don’t make the top 40. They are an album sort of band, people generally remember
the full album titles rather than the individual songs. They are musicians, advancing the genre
with intricate rhythms and an ever-present live band vibe, making the sound
wholesome and complete, something DJ sets and mic-only rap performances
lack. Fallon is a lovable and
innocent comedian. He doesn’t make
dirty sex jokes, or force his guests to tell inappropriate stories, he is a
straightforward and family friendly comedian. The combination of a respectable and genre-defining band,
with a humble and friendly comedian results in a warm and merry take on a TV
genre that has become too stale and repetitive.
It’s
simply fun to watch. The fact that
Fallon can giggle through any sketch unscathed, and that if he does manage to
disappoint, the Roots are always there to pick up the slack. It is truly the best and most efficient
mutual relationship in late-night history.
