David Letterman highlights a particularly boneheaded 2013 Mesabi Daily News headline in this screen shot from a segment about funny small town news. Letterman’s last show is Wednesday, and Duluth-native and Iron Range-raised Bob Dylan will be his Tuesday musical guest.
I’m working on a column about David Letterman’s retirement from the Late Show this week. I wrote about Letterman and late night TV some back in April, but the reality of it is upon us.
Wednesday will be Letterman’s last show and the guests haven’t been announced. But Tuesday’s show brings a big name with an Iron Range connection: music legend (and rare TV guest) Bob Dylan.
Letterman also played a big role in putting Duluth-based band Trampled by Turtles on the national map.
The guy’s show meant a lot to me at a very important time in my life, and for that matter so did Dylan’s music. My goodness, what song will he play?
So Tuesday night is set, folks. Jimmy Fallon will have to do his song-and-dance act without me watching.
If the pattern holds, even Dylan’s band won’t know what song they’re playing until they hit the stage. See paragraph four, here:
http://longandwastedyear.com/2014/06/13/late-night-with-david-letterman/
This Letterman deal is a bit meaningful. Pretty symbolic. I feel as though Letterman represents a dividing line between the whiny khaki people and the grittier thing. I should start smoking.
I was thinking about it at work the other day. Only a couple decades ago most people would be smoking inside while working. Now all the smokers walk great distances in the rain to escape the property in order to smoke.
I also thought about how abortion is between a woman and her doctor. Apparently every metabolic reaction within my mind must be measured, though. The chemicals in my body and brain are everyone’s business. Pretty sure any chemicals I put in my body save lives.
Somehow I see this as all linked to Letterman leaving. I don’t mean in a causation sense. However, there is definitely a correlation. Is this progress?
Haven’t the foggiest idea what Trevor is talking about.
Just adding, I thought Dylan was weird when he first achieved fame, and his “performance” last night on Letterman validated my opinion…once again.
I enjoyed Letterman’s wry, mildly sardonic sense of humor on his show. He didn’t suffer fools gladly but also poked fun at himself with a dry delivery. That type of humor is so similar to the humor of Iron Rangers I heard growing up. Scandinavians were and some still are quite good at delivering subtle zingers with a straight face.