People We Like: Conan O’Brien

In addition to being a brilliant comedian, Conan O’Brien has been a fixture of my evenings since 1993. O’Brien an avid guitarist himself, which he makes use of in comedy sketches, to accompanying musical guests, to penning the famous Marge vs. the Monorail episode of The Simpsons.

Conan O’Brien has also been bringing new music into my life for the last seventeen years. From The White Stripes‘ week long gig in 2003 on Late Night with Conan O’Brien, to thenewno2 in early 2009, to the U2-centric episode in 2005, to Mazzy Star in 1994, to Ani DiFranco in 1997.

My heart was touched when I saw Ted Leo post this to his twitter:

“Conan had us on his show twice, when no one else gave a crap. He was warm and enthusiastic and funny – a class act all around. Go Conan!”

and then made this blog entry:

“This is a mushy story about how a big and famous late night TV host helped a scrappy cynical punk guy who WANTED to believe, learn to believe (a little bit)…
Sounds heart-warming already, doesn’t it? Well let me assure you, it is! With all of this ruckus being kicked up about NBC’s late night TV line-up, I thought it might be nice to revisit my thoughts of 2003, when Conan O’Brien gave us our first of two appearances on his show – to date, the ONLY late night TV appearances we’ve ever made”

If this is indeed the end of O’Brien’s late night reign, he won’t be forgotten anytime soon.