Fleet Foxes

On Saturday, I flipped on NBC around midnight to see Taylor Swift doing a rather bland performance on "Saturday Night Live" and wondered, 'Why is Taylor Swift even on 'Saturday Night Live'?"

Yeah, she's the biggest-selling artist of 2008, but aren't there enough late-night and awards shows for her to play?

Shouldn't "SNL" be a little more left-of-the-dial?

Part of show's early reputation was built on throwing something out there that might shock the audience, or at least keep them awake. If you were around in the late '70s/early '80s, you'll recall the B-52's hitting the stage like surf-rock aliens on "Rock Lobster," Patti Smith torching the place with "Gloria" and Talking Heads resembling preppy robots on "Psycho Killer."


That was cutting-edge stuff being exposed to an audience probably more accustomed to Paul Simon and the Rolling Stones. Nowadays, there's still a thriving underground, but it seems like "SNL" just rounds up the biggest mainstream stars.

This Saturday, though, we get something different when the show gives the stage to Fleet Foxes, a bearded Seattle band from Sup Pop that frequented Top 10 lists this year with a debut record that brings CSNY-style harmonies into a new musical context. Mom and dad and their teenage kids will probably be digging this one.

At a time when the music industry really needs more new bands breaking out and replacing the old guard, it would be nice to see "SNL" go more in this direction and offset the superstars with contenders from indie-rock and indie hip-hop scenes.