The Valentine’s Day episode of Saturday Night Live was a somewhat painful affair, with the normally reliable Alec Baldwin locking his gaze with the teleprompter a lot, perhaps because he wanted to get awful skits like the “Wii makes you look like you’re jerking off” one* over as quickly as possible. Meanwhile, musical guests the Jonas Brothers suffered through the painful sound system during the sorta Andrew WK-ish “Tonight” and the jaunty “Video Girl,” and were apparently compensated by being allowed to appear in a few skits. Andy Samberg’s reimagining of the three Jonases as poofy-haired glam rockers called Property For The Queen was a treat, though, perhaps because the songs in the short had the advantage of being professionally mixed before they were broadcast. Clips after the jump.
“Tonight”
“Video Girl”
Property Of The Queen [Hulu]
Jonas Brothers - Tonight (SNL) [jonnyalisblog.com] [Dailymotion]
Jonas Brothers - Video Girl (SNL) [jonnyalisblog.com] [Dailymotion]
* That was the “wayne’s World” basement, right?
@Maura Johnston: I thought that was kind of hilarious though.
@sicksteanein: Um…as a drummer? That’s not very nice. They’re just talented in different ways.
All I know is that Nick is starting to make me feel rapey.
I still think their voices are painfully thin, but I enjoyed Property of the Queen very much, especially Kevin’s horrible mustache.
@sicksteanein:
It’s funny that you say that. When all was said and done I was (a) convinced the young one is the best actor of the bunch and (b) he should really go solo or may have the best luck with that when the opportunity presents itself (and I’m sure it will?)
They seem like perfectly nice boys. But like Taylor Swift, they have negligible voices at best. No one cares, of course, but still. Remember when teen-pop sensations could actually SING?
They seem like perfectly nice boys. But like Taylor Swift, they have negligible voices at best. No one cares, of course, but still. Remember when teen-pop sensations could actually SING?
I remember when teen-pop sensations could sing, but I also remember when they couldn’t write a lick, and today’s crop (at least Nick and Taylor) can, which is worth a lot.
@ChrisWillman: Taylor can write, but I’ve yet to see proof that the Jonases can come up with something melodically or vocally as good as any of Hanson’s singles. And those SNL performances did little to change that, though they made clear that the only one with a future seems to be Nick (is Joe anything more than a sometimes-singing Bez?).
@ChrisWillman: NSYNC wrote most of their songs from their final 2 albums (post-lawsuit, when they were allowed to be involved). And they could sing. And they didn’t pretend to play instruments to cover the fact that they couldn’t dance.
Christina has always written her own stuff. Even Britney wrote a lot. Not WELL, but she tried.
@Tauwan: @Thierry: I have heard this pro-Nick-solo argument in the teen girl fandom a million and one times and maybe it is true…but Joe still has the lock on Jonas charisma…if it’s not clear in TV performances, he still pretty much does all the entertainment heavy-lifting in their full concert performances, and his vocals surprise you, especially when he’s not singing Jonas-penned songs. (Also, Nick has been performing professionally about twice as long as his older brothers.)
@T’Challa: Negligible is right. Put up next to the Jackson 5 (or even the Osmonds) and it’s not even a fair fight. “Thin” is a good word.
And can I say that I’m absolutely sick of people trying to convince me that the band that released the horrid piece of tripe “When You Look Me In The Eyes” is something I should care about?
I don’t think I’ve ever listened to an entire Jonas Brothers song before, but the “sorta Andrew WKish” descriptor sucked me in. And you know, when they weren’t singing, it wasn’t that bad.
In other news, the back-up guitarist looks like Jonah Hill in an Elvis Costello costume.
I think they worked pretty well with the sound system…they had to tone themselves down a bit. And I will always love Joe’s voice I don’t care what anybody says.
@KurticusMaximus: His name is John Taylor and he’s also the Jonas Brothers’ musical director. Their whole band is great, adorable.
Also,Maura…I am not sure that is the right Hulu clip…
@ObtuseIntolerant: ok, what the fuck? i copied that right from the link and it turns into kojak?
I’d never seen the Jonases live in action until Saturday night and it makes it painfully obvious that Nick has more talent in his one drumming hand than Joe’s whole body.
Um, that Wii skit was hilarious, I thought.
@Lucas Jensen: the Wii skit is a win. Myself and my friends have caught ourselves side-eying each other during a particularly heated Wii Sports game or two.
@Thierry: This has got to be the first time that The Jonas Brothers have been mentioned in the same breath as The Happy Mondays. Well done!