The Tomorrow Show with Tom Snyder : Punk & New Wave

Once again Shout Productions brings us more rock legends, or more like punk and new wave legends.  Here on NBC's The Tomorrow Show with Tom Snyder, Shout relives the days when the punk rock and new wave trends hit the scene bringing us tri-colored mohawks and stylish safety pins for your cheeks or nose, whatever felt more apropos.  Hosting the festivities is Tom Snyder, a guy more clueless about music than the bands he interviews.  Pack a freshy-fresh, babies, and prepare to go retro.

Shout has put four shows on each of the two DVDs for this punk and new wave collection and it comes by way of The Tomorrow Show with Tom Snyder, which ran from October of 1973 to January of 1982 until David Letterman took over.  The show aired right after Johnny Carson, the king of late night, running from 1am to 2am.  At that time of night, Tom described his audience by stating that at that hour “you get the tokers and the smokers.”  

These eight show have to do with the punk rock revolution that was blowing up at the time.  As with another Shout release, The Dick Cavett Show: Rock Icons, Snyder’s show got some pretty hot acts for the time, such as Elvis Costello, Iggy Pop, and The Ramones   If you’re just in it for the music, the menu options lets you get right into it, but if you're a history freak-o like me, you may play it from the beginning.  

If anything, play the first show.  There isn't a performance by any of the bands, but Snyder interviews LA Times music critic Robert Hilburn, promoter Bill Graham and a punk-new wave producer Kim Fowley, who due to his heavy make-up, causes Tom to greet him with, "May I say, Kim, you look ridiculous tonight.”  This segment will give you some kind of a background to what this music rebellion was all about.  Halfway through the segment, the three men are joined by Paul Weller of the Jam and Joan Jett of the Runaways, who already seems to have the wisdom beyond her time, or so it seems.