“We wanted to be more like Zeppelin. We didn’t want to be locked into a specific style.” – Eddie Vedder
“I might be a fucking genius, or I might be the biggest dick ever. I don’t know.” – Conan O’ Brien
There is a really funny and revealing moment in Cameron Crowe’s excellent documentary, “Pearl Jam Twenty,” that deals with what the band’s guitarist/founder Stone Gossard calls, “the birth of no.” After getting wasted at an MTV party for Crowe’s 1992 movie “Singles,” which was the band’s only day off in weeks, Pearl Jam realized they couldn’t say yes to everything asked of them. Even though they were still just happy to be asked to do anything, the up and coming band couldn’t do it all, or it would have led to an inevitable burnout and breakup. There is a reason that the band is celebrating their 20th anniversary though. They are an amazing live band but they also say “yes” to many causes they believe in: anti-monopolies (Ticketmaster), voting, the innocence of the West Memphis Three, and Neil Young’s Bridge School Benefit. They say “yes” when it feels right, “no” when it’s too much, and try to add enough variety to keep themselves sane.
Consistent touring and a rabid following sustain the band financially, but their thoughtfulness and passion for social justice keep the band relevant; even if there relevancy ebbs and flows through the variety of pop music. Part of the appeal of “Pearl Jam Twenty” is re-discovering how great some of their lesser known albums really are – Yield, Riot Act, Binaural – and trying to figure out where the band fits into the rock landscape of the last 50 years.
In contrast to Pearl Jam, the artist known as Conan O’Brien has a tough time saying no, and that reluctance becomes the driving theme of the entertaining documentary, “Conan O’Brien Can’t Stop.” (Both of these are available on Netflix Instant right now – so between these flicks and the return of Arrested Development exclusively to Netflix, I’d say it’s a little premature to cancel that subscription.)
Crowe clearly loves Pearl Jam, so the “Singles” party is basically the most embarrassing segment in the movie; it’s really a doc for fans, by a fan. But “Conan O’Brien Can’t Stop” paints a very different picture of the man than the self-deprecating, excessively kind interviewer we know from late night. Conan is pissed about losing The Tonight Show, clearly, but he also seems to be a little tough to work with. He is funny as hell and probably one of the smartest people in show biz, but he borderline abuses his employees, even if it’s in a jokey, Conan-style way. (Borderline abuse except in the case of one poor writer, who Conan repeatedly punches in the arm and leg, hard.) This is not the Conan O’Brien we have seen on air for almost 20 years.
“Conan O’Brien Can’t Stop” follows Conan during his Legally Prohibited from Being Funny on Television Tour, a 30-city live comedy/music/variety show that took place in 2010 between The Tonight Show and his current TBS gig. An extended sequence in the middle of the film demonstrates how much Conan has trouble saying no, and how it has probably affected his career: during an L.A. show, his producer sets up a lengthy pre-show party and then post-show, he is visited by various friends and family of the tour’s backup dancers. Conan constantly worries he’ll lose his voice and since he sings quite a bit during the tour, it’s a legitimate concern. But his bitching about saving his voice sounds a bit juvenile – the movie does a great job of cutting from Conan’s complaints to then entertaining a large crowd of VIPs. He just can’t stop saying yes. (And even his ultimate no to NBC, refusing to move his show to 12:05am, came with a ridiculous multi-million dollar severance. So you can’t really call that taking a stand.)
But has that willingness to please everyone and be liked hurt his creativity? He worked on the Late Show from 1993 – 2009, then transitioned to The Tonight Show for the well-storied 8 month run, and is now doing almost the exact same show on TBS. I still think O’Brien is the best late night host right now, but his show definitely seems tired and his heart doesn’t totally seem in it. When he was forced to stretch creatively during the chaos of the end of his Tonight Show run, or during his tour, he was phenomenal: angry, spontaneous, and hilarious. It makes you wish he didn’t take all that NBC severance money so he could let loose on Jay Leno and the executives who fired him. And I think I would rather watch this angry, behind-the-scenes Conan than the current on-air version.
Pearl Jam learned to say no pretty early on – that, coupled with their ability to stretch creatively (change the set list every night, dabble in other bands/solo gigs), has kept them musically vital for two decades. Despite drastic changes in the pop music landscape, they still have a huge following. How many boy bands, teenage divas, and hip hop artists came and went during the last 20 years? And what about legitimate rock bands like the Killers/The Strokes/White Stripes/Phoenix? Very few artists have had the staying power of Pearl Jam, and the documentary attributes much of that sustainability to the band’s willingness to challenge themselves, along with Eddie Vedder’s immense creative energy.
I highly recommend both of these movies, even if you’re not a huge Pearl Jam or Conan O’Brien fan, just to get a look at the creative process and how different people deal with success. (But “Pearl Jam Twenty” is a must-watch for PJ fans like yours truly. Did I create my own Best of Pearl Jam CD and send it to my friends because of this movie? Yes, yes I did. Did I scream the words to Elderly Woman Behind the Counter in a Small Town last year at a Pearl Jam show? Yes, yes I did. Did I tear up a little bit while Eddie sang Release in the documentary? Maybe. Maybe I did.)
