I have watched every episode of The Tonight Show since Jimmy Fallon took over. I understand the criticism of his work there... he's not the greatest comedian and his interviews tend to wander... but that's not the point. The guy just knows how to have fun and get his guests to have fun with him. And because of that, it's easy to tune in and let Jimmy take you away from the troubles of the day. And for that I love the guy. He never fails to make me laugh, and having The Roots as his house band guarantees that you're going to hear some good music to boot... even if you don't like the musical guest.
Fallon has a number of bits that I enjoy, but sitting at the top of the list is where Jimmy and The Roots get a musician to perform one of their hits... accompanied by instruments from a kid's classroom.
The result is funny... but the song is always great too! In catching up on shows I missed while I was away, I ran across his best one yet. Meghan Trainor showed up to sing her track All About That Bass.
It's fantastic...
If you missed it, here's a few of my other favorites. Including Robin Thicke's Blurred Lines...
And Carly Rae Jepsen singing Call Me Maybe...
And, of course, the time Sesame Street visited to sing their theme song. How anybody can watch this and not smile is beyond me...
And then there's The Roots. Holy crap are they talented. They can do anything having to do with music. And I've seen Questlove fill in on drums more than a couple times for visiting musicians. Flawlessly. I have no idea how he does it. Just massively great at his job, I guess.
If you're not a fan, here's a video where The Roots backed Miley Cyrus acapella on We Can't Stop...
So people can criticize Jimmy Fallon all they want, but there have been times where watching him on The Tonight Show has been the best part of my day.
I can't offer a better endorsement than that.
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Excellent assessment.
I’m old school– early Carson, then he couldn’t retire fast enough for me to get to Letterman. But that’s all in the old days before all the jokes required applause in place of genuine laughter.
Don’t watch a whole lot of late night anymore, but when I do, I agree that Fallon is the most refreshing host since Kimmel came on the scene.
The classroom music segments are among Katie’s and my favorites as well. But who is Meagan Trainor? Never heard of her or that song.
?uestlove is such a ridiculously talented dude. Just wow.