by Bill Pearis

Fred Armisen & friends / Stefon & Seth / Kanye & Ben on SNL

Even without Kanye's musical appearance, last night's Ben Afleck hosted Saturday Night Live season finale was especially eventful (and teary) as it was the final show for three long-running star players: Bill Hader, Fred Armisen and Jason Sudekis.

Fred got his farewell moment via a sketch featuring his punk character Ian Rubbish who performed song called "It's Gonna Be a Lovely Day." His band featured fellow departing castmembers Hader and Sudekis (and Taran Killam, sure to be a big player next season), and then he welcomed a cavalcade of musical talent onstage, including his Portlandia costar Carrie Brownstein, Sonic Youth's Kim Gordon, Dinosaur Jr.'s J Mascis, Aimee Mann, Michael Penn, and the Sex Pistols' Steve Jones. With a chorus of "It's been alright, I've had a lovely night," it was a nice little sendoff. Video of that is below.

Hader got his sendoff moment, as expected, as Weekend Update nightlife correstondent Stefon, where anchor -- and soon to be Late Night host -- Seth Meyers finally gives in to his advances. "Weekend Update" also featured a surprise appearance by former co-anchor Amy Poehler who came out for "REALLY??" and stuck around to read the news. Seth, who is also SNL's head writer, will leave midseason next year to take over for Jimmy Fallon who is moving up to The Tonight Show.

Hader, Armisen, Sudekis and Meyers' departure leaves a giant comedy hole for next season. It will be interesting to see how Lorne Michaels fills it.

Videos below...

Continue reading "Fred Armisen, Bill Hader & Jason Sudekis bid SNL farewell w/ help from J. Mascis, Carrie Brownstein, Amy Poehler + more"

Santigold @ Bowery Ballroom, 12/10/2012 (more by David Andrako)

As you may have seen last night, HBO's Girls won big at the Golden Globes, grabbing both Best Comedy series and Best Actress for creator/star Lena Dunham. At the same time Dunham was giving her acceptance speech, Season 2 of Girls (now featuring Donald Glover as Hannah's new boyfriend) was making its debut on the pay cable channel.

The soundtrack to Girls just came out last week and one of the songs exclusive to it is Santigold's "Girls." We've got the premiere of its video right here in this post. Shot here in NYC the cool little clip features girls from all walks of life (and all ages) lip-synching to the track and you can watch it below. The Girls soundtrack also features Sleigh Bells, Fleet Foxes, Robyn, Belle & Sebastian and more.

Santigold played Bowery Ballroom back in December and her only upcoming live date is at the House of Blues in Los Angeles on February 9. Video and Girls OST artwork and tracklist below...

Continue reading "Santigold sings about 'Girls' (video premiere); 'Girls' wins big at Golden Globes - soundtrack out now"

Aimee Mann's holiday show @ Nokia Theatre (more by Chris La Putt)

Aimee is visited by the ghosts of Christmas Shows past, present, and future to learn the true meaning of the Christmas show. Featuring Aimee Mann, Michael Penn, John Krasinski (The Office), Michael Cera (Superbad), John C. Reilly (Walk Hard), Grant Lee Phillips, and Paul F. Tompkins. Directed by Tim Heidecker (Adult Swim's "Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job!")

Continue reading "Aimee Mann's Christmas Carol (2008 video w/ Michael Cera, John C Reilly and more...) "