WISH LIST: SNL BANDS

Saturday Night Live has been a beloved source of music for quite some time, at least for the (sometimes mindless) masses. However last spring tickled our funny bones when the producers wised up to some truly interesting and new talent, including Fleet Foxes, TV On The Radio, and Phoenix (all with huge hit records in the "indie" community). Now the list for the first month of shows has been announced and we're less than impressed. What happened to the golden ears, Lorne?

Let's observe:

Sept. 26 - Megan Fox/U2
Oct. 3 - Ryan Reynolds/Lady GaGa
Oct. 10 - Drew Barrymore/Regina Spektor
Oct. 17 Gerard Butler/Shakira [list via Idolator]

Honestly, this list is dumb. Let's analyze. Many things (should) go into consideration for choosing bands for SNL, including the obvious points here:

1. New Album
2. New Act Gaining Popularity
3. Old Act Reunion
4. Talent
5. Touring Through NYC

You get the point. Now look again, U2 makes sense because they are U2, but they are boring and their new material is like two months old. GaGa also kind of makes sense, but Regina Spektor? Where has she even been for the past year besides getting excited for her forthcoming SNL appearance? I understand that "popular" and "notable" are also heavy in the consideration, but plenty of so-called "trendy" artists have made a large enough splash to warrant a spot on SNL this season. Not to mention most, if not all of them playing the late night circuit in some capacity, at some point. So...

When in doubt, we make lists. Open letter to Lorne Michaels: here are Baeble's top five bands that should be playing SNL.

5. Julian Casablancas

The Strokes frontman will have a distinct following when his solo record, Phrazes For The Young drops towards the end of October. He has massive appeal, a new record, and major label support, effectively destroying any objection to his place on this list. And anticipation surrounding a strange preview video on his website sent blogs a twittering, what kind of electro-pop diversion with PotY take? This one seemed like a no brainer that would have thousands tuning in (or at least DVRing) who'd normally be out drinking or watching something else.

4. Yo La Tengo

These guys have been making music for years and years and they are still making it, and it's still awesome. So why not have these seasoned pros of songwriting gain new fans and attract old ones? The music they make has a mass appeal.

3. The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart

These relatively unknown indie rockers might be a stretch, but their fresh batch of shoegaze has had a stranglehold on our hearts since their debut album earlier this year. Now the Pains plan to release a quaint little EP (which we've heard, and it's good, y'all), and could really benefit from an SNL bump. The music is so radio friendly, and so attractive, it is a shock these guys aren't yet a household name.

2. The Flaming Lips

Reason? The new EP of course, but more importantly, the sketches! Wayne Coyne would make the best sketch in a million ways! Didn't you see that holiday movie?

1. The Dirty Projectors

Perhaps the most obvious, and the most painfully absent from the schedule, the most talked about band of the summer, arguably the biggest record of 2009 after Veckitimest. The Dirty Projectors are vying for the top spot of innovators of the year, and their chances are quite good: their quixotic mix of tempo mashing and yelping is as odd as it is addictive. And their spot on Late Night With David Letterman proved that the DP aren't going to stay under the radar for long. Let's hope this ranks slightly higher than "Steven Seagal hosting" on the SNL scale of possibilities.

Runner Up: Grizzly Bear

Honestly, the only reason I left them out is because something tells me we'll be seeing them late night regardless of this or anyone else's opinions. -joe puglisi