>> James: WELCOME BACK.
ALL WEEK LONG WE ARE FEATURING MUSICAL PERFORMANCES FROM THE
BRAND-NEW ALBUM, "ANGELHEADED HIPSTER: THE SONGS OF MARC BOLAN
AND T. REX."
THIS BRILLIANT COMPILATION WAS PRODUCED BY THE LATE HAL
WILLNER, WHO WAS AN ABSOLUTE MUSICAL GENIUS AND SOMEONE VERY
CLOSE TO ALL OF US HERE AT THE "LATE LATE SHOW."
OUR HEARTS BROKE WHEN HAL DIED OF COMPLICATIONS FROM COVID-19
IN APRIL.
HIS WIFE, SHEILA ROGERS, IS BELOVED FRIEND TO ALL OF US AND
SHE IS THE SUPERVISING PRODUCER HERE ON THIS SHOW.
HAL WAS PASSIONATELY WORKING ON THIS TRIBUTE ALBUM FOR SEVERAL
YEARS.
IT WAS RELEASED LAST WEEK AND FEATURES 26 EXTRAORDINARY COVERS
OF SONGS BY THE INFLUENTIAL GLAM-ROCK PIONEER MARC BOLAN AND
HIS BAND T-REX, WHO ARE TO BE INDUCTED THIS YEAR.
INTO THE ROCK AND ROLL HALL OF FAME.
TODAY, TO KICK OFF THIS WEEK, WE WELCOME TO THE SHOW A
SENSATIONAL MUSICAL DUO, SEAN LENNON AND CHARLOTTE KEMP MUHL.
THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR BEING HERE, GUYSO.
WE'RE SO HAPPY TO SEE YOU.
THANK YOU FOR JOINING US FROM SPACE.
( LAUGHTER ) NOW, AS I MENTIONED EARLIER, YOU
WORKED WITH THE PRODUCER HAL WILLNER ON THIS PROJECT.
HOW DID YOU MEET HAL AND WHAT DID HIS FRIENDSHIP MEAN TO YOU
BOTH?
>> HAL WAS A LEGENDARY FIGURE IN THE NEW YORK MUSIC SCENE.
I THINK WE MET HIM FIRST THROUGH REED.
HE'S SORT OF BEEN AROUND.
HE SORT OF WAS LIKE A FIXTURE OF NEW YORK CULTURE, AND, YOU KNOW,
HE HAD A REALLY BROAD UNDERSTANDING OF MUSIC.
HE WAS LIKE A MUSICAL ENCYCLOPEDIA.
HE WAS THE MUSIC DIRECTOR FOR THE SKITS OF "SATURDAY NIGHT
LIVE" SINCE I WAS AROUND.
SO HE WAS AN AMAZING COMPOSER OF COMEDY MUSIC BUT HE PRODUCED
RECRDS FOR MARIAN FAITHFUL AND LOU REED.
I GOT TO PLAY GUITAR ON MARION FAITHFUL'S ALBUM THANKS TO HAL,
AND I WAS IN OBSCURE SIDE PROJECTS WITH HIM.
WE WOULD DO IMPROV BANDS AND STEVE BUSCEMI DOING SPOKEN WORD
POETRY, REALLY ODD, OFF-KILTER STUFF.
AND HE WAS REALLY FUN AND OPEN TO EXPLORING NEW AVENUES.
>> HE WAS SPOTIFY BEFORE SPOTIFY.
HE HAD THE MOST OBSCURE REFERENCES.
LIKE IRANIAN FUNK AND LITHUANIAN DISCO.
>> HE WOULD SEND PLAY LISTS FROM HIS PHONE OF LITHUANIAN PORN
MUSIC.
( LAUGHTER ) HAVE YOU HEARD THIS ITALIAN MIME
COMPOSURE, HE ONLY MAKES ALBUMS WITH SEWING MACHINES, AND REALLY
WEIRD STUFF.
>> James: I KIND OF WANT TO HEAR THAT ALBUM NOW.
YOU'RE PERFORMING THE SINGLE "MAMBO SUN" BY T. REX.
EXPLAIN WHY T. REX AND MARC BOLAN ARE SO INFLUENCE TOLL THE
MUSIC WORLD.
>> IT'S VERY DEBATED WHETHER HIM OR BOWIE CREATED GLAM ROCK.
I THINK HE AND LILL RICHARD DID.
HE WAS VERY INFLUENTIAL.
>> PEOPLE WONDER WHAT HE WOULD HAVE DONE.
HE OBVIOUSLY HAD BIG HITS COVERED IN THE 80s by power
station.
SO HE'S KNOWN BUT HE BASICALLY DIED EARLY, SO HE COULD HAVE
DONE SO MUCH MORE WORK, AND HAL WAS A HUGE FAN OF HIS AND, YOU
KNOW, WE BOTH WERE BIG FANS, SO HAL WAS NICE ENOUGH TO LET US
SING ON THE RECORD.
>> YOU DID A BOOK REPORT ON UP WITH OF HIS POETRY BOOKS, RIGHT?
>> THAT'S A LITTLE EMBARRASSING.
I WENT TO ONE OF THOSE HIPPIE SCHOOLS AND DID A BOOK REPORT ON
MARC BOLAN'S POETRY BOOK CALLED "THE WAR LOCK OF LOVE" WHICH IS
ALSO MY NICKNAME FOR MY DOWNSTAIRS BITS.
( LAUGHTER ) >> James: THE ALBUM IS
BRILLIANT AND I IMPLORE EVERYONE TO CHECK IT
OUT.
PERFORMING "MAMBO SUN", FROM THE ALBUM "ANGELHEADED HIPSTER: THE
SONGS OF MARC BOLAN AND T. REX" WHICH IS OUT RIGHT NOW, HERE'S
SEAN LENNON AND CHARLOTTE KEMP MUHL.