Jagger on SNL
IT’S ONLY ROCK & ROLL BUT WE WATCHED IT: Every once in a while, a rock & roll performance on a TV show blows away expectations and achieves instant greatness—Elvis Costello’s “Radio Radio” and Neil Young’s “Rockin’ in the Free World immediately come to mind, and those indelible performances were on Saturday Night Live. The show did it again not once but twice during the season finale, thanks to the pairings of host Mick Jagger with Foo Fighters and Arcade Fire, the latter band pulling off a thrillingly raw workout on “The Last Time,” which you need to watch right now if you haven’t yet watched the show. Mick, who was in every single skit, was terrific on a show that also included a number with Jeff Beck and a touching sendoff for Kristen Wiig. (5/21a)
