Conan Loves Reading Obituaries (Feat. Ezra Koenig) | Conan O'Brien Needs A Friend

who are the people that that you look to. you know whether musicians artists. people that you careers you look at and. think okay that I mean. it's last time I saw Bob Dylan here in. La at the Pantages Theater and he was. touring his last album which had that I. don't know if you guys heard the the 17. minute JFK song Murder most foul yeah I. did hear that I thought that was just. such a Monumental achievement and I. thought wow this guy's this is the best.

popular music ever recorded by an. 80-year-old he's pushing into territory. we've never seen before so that that was. inspiring but then if I'm honest I've. always been really excited about story. like another famous songwriter of course. is Leonard Cohen he he had cool albums. up until the end of his life but I. really think one of the reasons I was. always the most interested in him was. because he had that period where he went. up Mount Baldi um you know to study with. his uh zen teacher for like seven years.

and I and then I started to realize that. I've always been so interested in people. who take Serious time off um or people. who kind of disappear for a while um in. some ways those are like the most. inspirational stories because sometimes. they come back and do great work like. Leonard con and then sometimes they. don't and even that's kind of cool I. find that inspiring too just to know. that it's possible so you're telling me. to go away yes just like seven.

years I'll be dead I haven't got seven. years um no but I I do understand. completely what you're saying and I. think about people in comedy and I think. about the people that have done. consistently good work you know Steve. Martin Marty Short they're. both faster than and funnier than most. people I'm ever going to meet and uh. they've got a bunch of years on me they.

don't want me to say how many but. they're 115 years old individually not. not added up and um and that always I. always look to those people and Bob. newart who just passed was so funny and. throughout his career starting in 1960. and going through all these different. permutations he was so smart and so. funny and so quick right up to the end. of his life and I Liv to be I believe 96. I to those people and I think no they.

there is a way to do it we live in a. society. where people think they have to be. trending all the time and they have to. be discussed all the time and I think no. I know exactly what you're talking about. people can have they can have a little. Peak and then they can go away for a. while and think and regenerate and then. come up with something else I get that I. like that I mean it's like when there's. a We Are the World doc umentary that uh.

that was great a lot of people watched. it really enjoyed it and you see this. moment Bob Dylan in the mid 80s y that a. lot of people remarked on he seems so. nervous and and it's and maybe part of. it is he felt like does my voice sound. good on this song whatever but also part. of it is that Bob Dyan in the mid 80s. was releasing his least loved albums. yeah they always have some a few great. songs on them there's like some classic. stuff but but either way he was it. probably felt a little bit random for. him you know a guy who in the 60s and 7s.

crushed it so hard in the ' 80s still. trying to like figure out how he could. relate to the sounds of the day and. there he was surrounded by these people. who were breaking new ground for how big. and influential a pop star could be. Bruce Springsteen in the 80s Michael. Jackson whatever. so of course that was like a weird. moment for him in his life and yet you. know he consistently I don't know he. never really went away he seems to like. to work he released tours a lot releases. albums but you know he just like kept on.

trucking and eventually he was back to. releasing more loved albums but then you. go back and you're like that was cool. work I don't know what it felt like for. him looked a little uncomfortable in the. in the documentary yeah I think in the. documentary too he's around these people. who can belt yes and of course that's. not uh Bob Dylan's thing and so he's. working with people who are you know. kind of saying like you know really hit. this and he's like I don't really do. that you know and but but you're right.

you can take a snapshot of anybody at. you know a moment in their. career and it doesn't tell you the whole. story you know and I think it's why um. I'm always kind of fascinated it sounds. like I'm making a joke and I'm actually. not I find obituaries to be one of the. most interesting parts of the newspaper. because they tell the whole story like. there's going there's no more story to. this person this person has passed and. they're gone and sometimes if it's a.

fascinating person I read an obituary. once and it was uh Stalin's daughter and. she had lived this I mean she's born. she's living in the Kremlin Stalin's her. dad she lives through all that but then. after he dies she goes off and she. becomes like a jet Setter in London in. the 60s but then she ends up at the end. of her life after 15 different chapters. she ends up being this little old lady. who's living in like a small Hut in. Montana and.

yeah literally in Montana some place in. the in in the you know like in the. plains and you look at the whole Arc of. her career and it has like 75 different. crazy improbable chapters and I thought. that's a life I love you know but you. could take any one moment from it and. not see the whole story if you just. checked in on that one moment yeah. totally and I think what you're what. you're talking about is for uh musicians. you can check in on them at a moment and. not.

see you know not get the right picture. of what they're up to or where they're. going oh yeah of course and then also. the the you know timing is everything so. like you release an album you do your. best you hope that people like it and. judge it on its merits but of course. like when when our first album came out. of course I'm very proud of that album I. think it's a great album people still. Discover it today so but that was also a. little bit of a moment where people were.

interested in bands from New York yeah. you know it was also this moment when. the major labels were a little bit. confused I always think of it as this. brief historical period between um. between Napster and Spotify which kids. today will never know about it was a. really brief window so it wasn't the 90s. people were buying CDs hand over fist. nor was it like The Empire Strikes Back. moment where the major labels were kind. of like oh we know we actually know how. to do this again figured it out it was a. weird moment and people were interested. in you know what they called Indie and.

you know so again I'm not taking. anything away I'm very proud of the. album but it's a good timing yeah you. know if that people always used to ask. us questions like does it ever bum you. out that people are buying less CDs. pretend it's like 2008 does CD cells are. way down do you wish you'd came out in. 1998 and I just remember thinking I have. no idea what how we would have fit in in. 1998 it could have been way worse. actually yeah why would I assume that in. 1998 we would have been like Matchbox 20. or something for all I know 1998 it.

never would have gotten off the ground. because so anyway the these moments you. guys would have had huge hair in the 80s. like be dancing with a snake you know. right we we might have been even more. Indie in 1998 and so anyway that's all. to say that like there are these bigger. moments you know the forces of reality. that come and go and there's headwinds. and Tailwinds and at at some point you. know that's so much bigger than you you. know exactly what you're talking about. because.

I was very craz lucky to get into what I. was doing in television in. '93 but TV audiences start eroding. rapidly about seven years. into when I'm working on a big Network. and it's becoming more about cable and. everything and so you could have people. say to me don't you wish you had been. come along started in like 1958 and then. you could have you're like this is this. dumb question because then I wouldn't.

get to do what I'm doing now or we. wouldn't have videos online. so there was a time if you took a. snapshot of of me and the late 2000s. where you'd say well this is just a. terrible time or to be trying to do this. uh be a late night talk show host. because it's becoming whatever if it's. becoming less and less relevant or. audiences are getting smaller uh but no. it was the perfect time because you. could you know make it your own so I. understand exactly what you're saying. window you yeah was there another time.

because you got to do like the in the. 90s the the sense of humor you had would. that have would you have been allowed to. do that in the I wasn't really allowed. to do it in the '90s. people I work for were not happy.