rage against the machine
In the 50-year history of Saturday Night Live, the show’s myriad musical highlights have been paired with plenty of controversies, but creator and producer Lorne Michaels has asserted that no musical guest has ever been barred from returning.
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Michaels’ claims emerged in the new three-hour documentary Ladies & Gentleman… 50 Years of SNL Music, which premiered on NBC on Monday (Jan. 27). Alongside notable revelations in regards to the show’s musical history (including the fact that no one seems to know the melody to the SNL theme song), Michaels pushed back at long-standing reports that numerous artists have been banned from the show for various reasons.
“I’ll read it sometimes in the Post, ‘So and so’s banned for life,’” Michaels explained. “We’ve never banned anyone. We’re way too crass and opportunistic. If something’s hot, we’re going to go for it and have it on.”
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Though it’s not exactly clear where the reports that artists have been banned from SNL have emerged from over the years, a number of controversial appearances make it easy to see why bans would be expected.
One of the earliest incidents of an apparently banned performer came from a December 1977 episode in which Elvis Costello stepped in for the Sex Pistols. Despite planning to perform “Less Than Zero”, Costello switched up his set at the last moment and instead performed “Radio Radio” – a track that was critical of commercial radio in his native U.K. Undeterred by the negative reaction his appearance generated from the show’s staff, Costello later returned to the show in 1989, 1991, and again in 1999 where he parodied his first performance alongside the Beastie Boys.
Among the most notable examples of controversial musical guests was that of Sinéad O’Connor, who tore up an image of Pope John Paul II during an a cappella performance of Bob Marley’s “War” in 1992. Protesting sexual abuse within the Roman Catholic Church, O’Connor’s urging for viewers to “fight the real enemy” became one of the most infamous moments on the show’s history.
Other instances also include Los Angeles punk outfit Fear appearing on the show at the insistence of John Belushi in 1981, with their rowdy set reportedly causing $500,000 in damage. A 2004 performance from Ashlee Simpson also gained international notoriety after she was revealed to be lip-syncing due to illness, though she would later return the following year without incident.
The nascent documentary also featured further information about Rage Against the Machine’s 1996 performance, in which they appeared alongside then-presidential candidate Steve Forbes.
Following a version of “Bulls on Parade” (which was planned to feature upside-down American flags hung from their amps until stagehands intervened), bassist Tim Commerford vented his frustration by throwing one of the flags into Forbes’ empty dressing room. The incident caused the Secret Service to respond on behalf of the billionaire, locking the band down in their dressing room until the completion of the show.
The 50 Years of SNL Music documentary – which is co-directed by Oscar-winning Roots drummer Questlove – is part of SNL’s 50th anniversary programming, and arrived following the premiere of SNL50: Beyond Saturday Night on Jan. 16.
Rage Against the Machine‘s Tim Commerford sat down for an interview with Spin this week, in which he revealed his battle with prostate cancer, something previously unknown to the public.
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“I’ve been dealing with some pretty serious s—,” the 54-year-old rocker told the publication. “Right before I was about to go on tour with Rage, I had my prostate removed, and I have prostate cancer.”
“You can find yourself in a situation like I’m in where it’s like, f—, my whole life changed. With everything that happens to me now, I wonder, am I feeling this way because I have cancer? Am I losing my hair because I have cancer? Whatever it is, it makes me wonder if it’s happening because I have cancer,” he continued. “And prostate cancer is a very, very, very tough one because it’s connected to your sexuality. It’s hard to disconnect from that and when you’re forced into that situation, it’s a brutal psychological journey. […] It’s very hard for me to not break down and get emotional.”
Commerford noted that his bandmates know of his diagnosis, even though fans didn’t. “You can still be in great shape. When I got my physical, my doctor said I was in the best shape of any 50-year-old he’d ever seen there,” he explained. “There’s plenty of people that are in great shape that have cancer. And I’m hoping to continue as long as I can be that. I work out religiously, and I try my hardest to stay in shape. I’m still very proud of who I am. When I first got diagnosed, it f—ed with me on that level. But now I’m starting to feel this level of, ‘I’m going to be the fittest motherf—er with cancer that’s 54 that you’ve ever f—ing seen in your life.’”
Going forward, Commerford said that the “glass is half-full” in his eyes. “I go into a trance, and I just completely forget about it,” he says of performing and making music. “And it’s so beautiful. When I wake up in the morning, it’s like, ‘Oh, it’s a new day. Dope!’ Then it’s like, ‘Oh f—, I have cancer’ and you can’t stop it. It puts a dark cloud on the day. When I go jam with Mathias [Wakrat], I just tune out and it feels so good. Music has always been there in the toughest of times.”
RATM previously cancelled their planned 2023 North American tour in October due to singer Zack de la Rocha’s leg injury.
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