Music

These Clips Of ‘Saturday Night Live’ Hosts Introducing The Musical Guest Are Nostalgic Gold

Daniel Craig stonily introducing the Weeknd should be an exhibit in the Louvre.

SNL musical guests photo

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Saturday Night Live is one of the most talked about TV shows in American network history, a treasure trove of hilarious skits, wild musical performances, and shining displays of talent. It’s also ripe for memes, perhaps none as popular as Daniel Craig introducing The Weeknd in March 2020.

Yep, if you’ve spent even half a second on the internet, then you’ll have seen the moment that the James Bond star introduces that episode’s musical guest. The clip is a tiny shred of pure, unadulterated joy.

The whole thing is incredible, from Craig’s resigned look to that wonderful, gentle shrug of his shoulders. It’s the perfect introduction to the weekend, a harbinger of good things to come and one of the few shining lights on an internet too often clouded by bad discourse and heinous takes.

But as it turns out, Craig’s introduction isn’t the only Saturday Night Live shred of gold. A Twitter account called, quite simply, ‘SNL Hosts Introducing the Musical Guest’ has been compiling the moments in which an array of stars were called upon to introduce that night’s band, and the results are both joyful and deeply, deeply cursed.

For instance, on the joyful front, here’s a clip of Paul Giamatti introducing Ludacris and Sum41…

An always hot Elliott Gould clearing the stage for Leon Redbone…

Tom Hanks making space for Sade…

Presidential hopeful Al Gore introducing Phish…

And a very youthful-looking Quentin Tarantino applauding The Smashing Pumpkins.

On the cursed front, there’s Adrien Brody’s infamous Rastafarian impression…

A very awkward Senator John McCain introducing the White Stripes…

And the deeply bizarre sight of former US President Donald Trump stoically announcing the appearance of Toots and the Maytalls.

If you want more, head over to the Twitter account — you could find a lot worse ways to spend your time than trawling through that chaotic back catalogue.