Me too. Did you happen to catch the one with an incredibly young Howard Stern wearing a cheesy porn mustache and actually speaking in coherent, intelligent, totally self-deprecating sentences? Cracked me up.

New show tonight! Jennifer Anniston and Ryan Adams are on. I hope Dave shows some pics from his visit to Iraq. Maybe Paul and Biff will talk about it too.

Wahoo Ryan Adams! I didn't know he was supposed to be on so that's a pleasant surprise.

Some notes on tonight's show...

* I wish someone would set me up on a blind date with someone that looked like Jennifer Aniston.

* I'm interested to hear more about this New Year's party at Courteney Cox's house. What do you think Pitt and Arquette do while the girls are off hanging out?

Brad: Uh...so...how're things with you?
David: They're awesome! Wanna watch the DVD of Ready to Rumble?
Brad: No, that's ok.

* Ryan Adams' Christmas gift was apparently Rivers Cuomo's wardrobe.

Rivers and Ryan. Mmmm. What a nice sammich.

I loved hearing Dave's tales from Iraq, especially the story about 'Bitch Face' and the guy who asked if he could 'take Leno'. I wish he had let Paul talk a little more, since he was there too, but Bravo Dave!

Does Jennifer Aniston seem incredibly phony to anyone else? I haven't seen her on many talk shows, and while I recognize that she's really nothing like Rachel, her own personality is not really clear.

So I was watching last night, and Dave said Howie Day (who I love) was going to be on. I kept flipping back to CBS, so I don't see how I missed it. Did anyone see this?

I haven't seen last night's show yet, but Monday night I heard him promo three guests. When there's three guests, it's always possible one will get the boot, uh, be invited back at his/her earliest convenience.

Dave said Howie Day would be on next Wednesday.

I'm wondering what happened to "The Girls" - the models that have been part of the show for so long? They've both been missing from the show for a while, but I figured it was because of the holidays. Now we're back to new shows, and still no girls....

Why couldn't grinder girl and hula girl go missing instead?

WORD! What is their purpose? They make me sick.

I think their purpose is to keep Dave interested in the goings-on. He certainly seems attentive when they're around. It also kind of makes fun of how lame these cheesy bits are, in an ironic old time showbiz way.

I don't pay attention when they're on and don't miss them when they're not on. I met hula girl once at a charity event - she seemed nice and was wearing a much more conservative lycra outfit (it was a kid's charity).

The models are there, they're just different models now. Of the old standard models, Nadine has apparently left modelling to pursue photography, she had some pics in a photo magazine. Andrea, the other, gets other gigs sometimes, dunno if she's out of the biz completely or just busy or got groped by Paul or what.

Loved the Unfair Edits, and I really hope they do more of them. I'd like to think they're making fun of Michael Moore, so maybe in the future the clothes can change between edits.

I love the Unfair Edits too; you'd think that they'd be getting pretty old after being on every night for a week, but they still make me laugh out loud uncontrollably.

Was anyone else baffled by the performance of last night's band, The Darkness? To me, they seemed to be . . . well, not exactly good, but rather, y'know, the exact polar opposite of good. Their song started out well enough, but eventually it became obvious that the lead singer (who was clad in a chest-baring jumpsuit that might have come from David Lee Roth's yard sale) was going to be doing about half of the song in a falsetto voice - not a rock'n'roll falsetto voice, mind you (like, say, Led Zeppelin's Robert Plant), but more like a comical falsetto voice (like, say, Saturday Night Live's Mister Bill).

I'm not sure if this is a Spinal Tap-style mock band; or if it's a really bad band that got booked on The Late Show by sheer luck; or if it's a really good band, and I'm too unhip to realize it. (With my luck, that last explanation is the correct one. Man, where is that AARP application?)

ETA: OK, questions are answered in the post below; the answer being yes, they are real. Though if you ask me, that's "real" as in "real crappy." Why doesn't Perry Como make any records anymore? And where did those kids hide my dentures? Oh, forget it; I'm going back to bed.

The Darkness is *huge* in the UK and the video for "I Believe in a Thing Called Love" has been getting airplay for months in the US. There's been talk about them in the Music Video thread for awhile. They are campy and ridiculous and no one really takes them seriously, but they are a real act.

I listen to the Virgin Radio Internet Feed at work and I fell in love with "I Believe In A Thing Called Love." The Darkness is my favorite new band, and I hope to see them once they tour Stateside. There was an article about them in Entertainment Weekly a few weeks ago which hints at the start of a backlash in the UK. To me, they're a straight-up rock band with the catchiest hooks and tunes I've heard in a long time. However, I couldn't judge whether they've got the goods live or are just plain hokey; missed Letterman from passing out battling my flu.

I thought the Darkness did well on the show, but that overall their act doesn't translate as well on tv. I got to see them play at an in-store last week and they were just awesome. They're a fantastic live band.

Dave made a surprise visit to the Howard Stern show this morning.

Check it out.(scroll down to 7:20)

I just read in TVGuide Online that CBS ran a photo of Jay Leno in the ads for People's Choice Awards (Dave & Jay were nominated).

Apparently there's been quite a bit of groveling from the suits. Moonves called personally to apologize, and on the CBS web site, Dave's section has been moved up to the top right corner to a more visible part of the page. Don't know if that was already in the works, but it was in its old location yesterday.

And they wonder why Dave won't play along with all their idiotic games.

And while I'm briefly mentioning Leno, will somebody please tell me why that load is appearing on Inside the Actor's Studio, other than the fact that NBC owns Bravo. What's he been in, like one movie, that old one about the rock & roll dj?

Hell Dave was in Cabin Boy!!

The Stern link is blocked from my office (surprise), but I did hear Dave Monday morning. It was great because Howard immediately became uncomfortable because he knew Dave was uncomfortable being in the studio, or that he was somehow coerced into appearing live. I think they can genuinely relate to each other, but are both so socially awkward that they're unable to figure out a way to be friends.

They talked about Howard's last appearance on Letterman & I guess Dave does realize it's tough for Howard to come on his show as well, so he returned the favor. Plus it was Howard's 50th birthday, so it was a special occasion.

How weird is it that Howard Stern and Rush Limbaugh have the same birthday? Not as weird as Dave sharing a birthday with Shannen Doherty!

Great article about Dave v. Jay and late night in general.

yoyoelizabeth, you need to be a member of the site to see that article.

Could you give a brief (non-copyright-infringing) summary of what the article says? Much appreciated.

tita, the article written by Steve Johnson of the Chicago Tribune basically rehashes the Dave vs. Leno late-night battle and can be best summarized by this short excerpt from the article:

You can read the article here without registering.

Maybe we find out all this time he was just "acting" like a load.

If true, damn he is good.

The Shins are on tonight? So, so awesome.

Delusional, thy name is Jeff Zucker. Wit + freshness in comedy + Leno = On what planet?

moonkat and nowandlater, thank you both very much for the excerpt and the link to the article.

Dave's kicking ass in the sidebar poll to that article, that's for sure.

I loved him calling out the CBS stooges Monday night. Les jumped in a hurry. Also, it seems there will be no February 10th anniversary celebration of the Late Show, mainly due to Dave not wanting one.

NBC feels Leno is fresh?

So that's why Leno is doing a complete rip-off of "Stupid Pet Tricks" AND "Stupid Human Tricks."

God, I hate NBC execs.

God I love "old time entertainers," I am not a big fan of Bette Midler, either her music or her acting but she is such a charming guest. Not to mention a truly classy move mentioning that Rosemary Clooney deserved the Grammy.

Just watched Monday's show and hearing Les Moonves grovel was hilarious. Dave had a sarcastic gleem in his eyes the whole time they were on the phone.

Last night's CBS Mailbag actually made me laugh with the Manute Bol bit. I didn't expect him to get in the shower. Poor George.

I can't believe it's been four years since Dave's surgery.

Is it just me, or is Dave's utter disdain for President Bush becoming more and more obvious lately? Sure, he takes shots at Howard Dean and the other Democrats, but his stabs at Bush - like the "reality show" bit the other night - seem much more cutting. And a hell of a lot sharper and more insightful than anything Leno would dream up.

I think he just gets whomever is in the office. Clinton was just slammed for sex which can only be so edgy. Bush gets slammed for stupidity, which has a edge to it.

I love the unfair edits.

I think the jokes about Bush are harsher than the ones about the Democrats running just because there is so much more material to criticize Bush for and make jokes out of. I really liked the one Dave said tonight about the space thing (paraphrasing) "I'm thinking the moon's alright, but how about we go to Afghanistan and find bin Laden?". And the "Where does Bush think he's getting money to go to Mars?" on the Top Ten.

The past week or so it's seemed like all the media is talking about mars yay! while I've been scratching my head trying to figure out why no one is standing up and shouting "You idiot! We have no money!". So even the smallest comments that Dave makes about how dumb it is to be focusing on space at this time make me very happy.

I also love the unfair edits. And I still love Will It Float. The ridiculous and pointless bits are part of what I like about Dave's show. I wish they'd do the referee (sp?) or Footlocker employee one again.

Oh, I agree, but Dave's tone lately strikes me as going beyond the normal let's-make-fun-of-the-prominent-flaw-of-the-guy-in-office humor that's the stock in trade of, say, Leno. Like tonight. While the joke about Howard Dean being short was pretty mild and inoffensive, the "joke" about money spent on Mars versus looking for bin Laden was barely even a joke, and more a political statement. It just seems clear to me that Dave's contempt for Bush is barely even hidden any more. Not that it bothers me, mind you - I'm more than happy to see the media expose Bush, for a change - but it surprises me to see him reveal his political leanings so discernible. Then again, with Leno's cheerleading for Schwarzenegger maybe Dave felt free to speak his mind.

Last night I was taping over some old shows from early 90s and was randomly taping Letterman. During the show and tell with audience, we could not believe it. remember Mackie Smith who did the singing and ear pop ? We live near Erskine college and my sister goes to school and works there. She has seen him around and he has been our church a few times (a lot of college students go.) Anyways a prof always takes students on a January tour and one day they had signs on Today show and last night letterman. How cool.

Was there a reason that Christina Aguilera was on Dave last night? It's not often that someone is the lead guest on a talk show with absolutely nothing to promote but a year old album. It's not like she's even done anything lately. I thought maybe she was going to be there to promote her tour DVD which was supposed to be coming out soon, but I found out it got pushed back to April, and they never even mentioned it, anyway. So did she just not have anything else to do or am I missing something? And the song she sang, "Walk Away", isn't even going to be a single. It just completely surprised me to see her as the guest last night when she didn't have anything to promote. I'm not complaining because I think she's a talented girl and love her album, but it was just weird.

I was wondering the same thing, MC SammyD. The only thing I can think of is maybe they had her on because she was nominated for a bunch of Grammys. Dave mentioned that a couple times.

That makes sense. But Christina is scheduled to perform on the Grammy's, and doesn't NARAS have some sort of policy on their performers performing on other shows within a month or so prior to the awards? I know that when the American Music Awards used to air in January, performers at that show couldn't perform at the Grammy's. And I remember watching The View (Lord, help me) a few years ago, several weeks before the Grammy's aired, with Britney Spears as a guest (Oh please, Lord! HELP. ME.) and they said she couldn't perform because she was going to be performing at the Grammy's. Unless they were lying. Or maybe CBS is going to be airing the Grammy's, and since Dave is on CBS she can perform there. I don't know. It's all so confusing.

Wow! After all the jokes Letterman made, and continues to MAKE about Clinton the right wingers come crawling out to complain about Bush jokes!

Chambliss, I don't know if your comment was directed at me, but if so you should know that I wasn't complaining about the jokes about Bush - far from it. I was merely observing. I just think that the tone of the jokes about Bush seems different from those about Clinton. I never got the sense that Dave had contempt for Clinton as a man, or feels he is unfit for the office, but I do somehow get the sense he feels that way about Bush, from what he's been saying lately. And let's just say I don't disagree with that stance. So maybe I'm just projecting.

But in any event my comments were meant as an observation, not as a political argument, and certainly not as a complaint. But I don't want to dwell on my own political leanings, since the thread ain't about me.

I think it's been that way all along though, not just recently. Before the election he referred to Bush more than once as a, "huge boob," he made the summit comment about Bush and Leno, and Bush did himself no favours in that department when he did the sat link. Bush also didn't come off so well when he cleaned his glasses on Maria.

In general, I think he does just exploit the obvious - with Clinton he made weight jokes, intern jokes, with Bush it's giant boob (and I don't mean the ones on Monica - thank you, I'll be here all week!) jokes. I think those might feel more personally attacking because they kind of are - 'wow, that guy likes fries,' seems to me less attacking than 'wow, that guy is dumb as a box of fucking rocks.'

However, since the Times Mag brouhaha, I think he's been a tiny bit more open about his views in his own way - like how he felt about invading Iraq and Afghanistan. But I don't think the general jokes are it.

I think Dave'll make fun of anybody if it's a good joke, heck he makes fun of Martha Stewart, but then when he's chatting after the monologue, he talks about how she's being railroaded and it's such a bunch of bs for her to even be on trial.

Bush's gaffes and his jumping around from Bin Laden to Hussein to WMDs to Mars is a very easy target, like Clinton's sexcapades, which Dave is still joking about. He's used the Paul O'Neill "Bush was disengaged during Cabinet meetings" comment to make jabs about Clinton "disengaging" when Hillary walked into the Oval Office.

I love Unfair Edits. And all of the wacky President Bush bits, like Joke That's Not a Joke.

As for Dave's political leanings, I have watched him for more than 20 years and have never sensed anything more than him finding a lot of humor in politicians. I never felt Dave was/is conservative for his Clinton jokes and never sensed he was/is liberal for his Bush jokes. Dave's an equal opportunity commentator on the absurd.

Dave is most likely a moderate Independent. He got pissed off a few years ago when an article theorized that he was a non-voting Republican. Where he said he didn't have any party affiliation but he damn well voted and got the County Clerk to verify his voting record.

He is a registered independant, but has been a registered democrat.

Dave's Dean imitation is so damn funny. It's not even as over the top as the real thing, and when Dave said "why can't he be president?", o.k. it would make a lot of great jokes but please, nooooo.

Whichever way Dave's jokes break (either left or right in the political spectrum), I love his political wiseacre ways. “The Daily Show” followed by the “Late Show” every night keeps me sane in a cold, harsh and overly dumb political pundit world. I totally get why a lot of people's main news sources are late night talk shows.

I thought his best Dean joke -- aside from the great imitation of the speech -- was the "hockey dad" line. "Americans are wondering if they want a President with the personality of a hockey dad."