-I'm hanging out with the one and only Fred Armisen! Fred.
[ Cheers and applause ]
Last time, I asked you --
I begged you to do some impressions, and you did.
And you were very nice.
And now I'm asking you again to do another thing.
I don't know why I'm asking you to work.
-Here's what we're gonna do. -Okay.
-This is something I'd like to try.
-Alright. This is what I'm talking about.
[ Cheers and applause ]
-So, what I want to do is
I want to give examples of strumming styles.
But this is going to be, like, strumming styles of punk
and alternative music from 1970 to 2000.
This is a sort of truncated version of, like,
how people played the guitar.
So we'll start with 1970,
and there were fewer, like, solos and stuff like that.
It was a little more rh--
They had more, like, rhythm to it and percussion.
So like, something like Velvet Underground was kind of like...
♪ Going down the boulevard with the flower ♪
[ Laughter and applause ]
That kind of thing, right?
[ Laughter ]
-Boulevard.
-So then like -- So then like mid-'70s,
there was stuff like the Ramones and stuff at CBGB's,
very driving like...
♪ I just want to watch TV ♪
♪ My baby's giving me a lobotomy ♪
[ Both singing gibberish ]
That kind of thing. -Yeah.
-But then in ---
-Going down the boulevard with a flower.
[ Laughter ]
-And then in England, like 1977, same kind of thing,
but, like, a little more angular and sort of like...
♪ Don't go to the ambulance ♪
♪ Don't go to the ambulance, don't go to the ambulance ♪
♪ -Don't run on ♪ Yeah, love that.
-Yeah, that kind of thing. -Yeah.
[ Cheers and applause ] -Thank you.
Then like 1980, like post-punk,
they sort of, like, didn't do chords that much.
It was a little bit more like...
♪ I am a neon light ♪
[ Laughter ]
-Wow. [ Cheers and applause ]
♪ I am a neon light ♪
♪ I am the neon light ♪
Yeah, that's great. Love that.
-Then early '80s, there was like
a sort of like country music feel to, like, punk.
It was kind of like...
[ Singing indistinctly ]
Yeah, that kind of thing. [ Cheers and applause ]
And then there was like a sort of mid-'80s, late '80s,
like Sonic Youth would do this thing where, like, the chords
would be a little discordant.
So it'd be like...
♪ Candlelight ♪
♪ On a booth ♪
-Yeah, yeah, yeah.
[ Cheers and applause ] Wow. That's exactly right. Yeah.
I remember that.
-And then do you remember the early '90s,
like a little ska thing happening?
And very playful, kind of like...
-Yep.
♪ -Your mom and dad were the best you ever had ♪
[ Both singing gibberish ]
-Yeah, yeah.
-That kind of thing. [ Cheers and applause ]
And then Seattle, Pacific Northwest, you know,
they did a lot of octaves, like...
Kind of like half time, like...
♪ Yeah ♪
[ Laughter ]
♪ Yeah ♪ [ Laughter ]
-Yeah, yeah, exactly.
-Then like, Sleater-Kinney would be, like, more single notes.
♪ Don't go, sister ♪
♪ Out of control ♪
-Yeah, that's right. Love that.
-And then like 2000, things got very melodic,
a lot of clear chords, you know.
Like crooning, a lot of, like, happy singing.
You know, like...
♪ Come out with me again ♪
♪ I'd like to take you to the stratosphere ♪
Yeah, you know?
[ Both singing indistinctly ]
Kind of like Strokes kind of. -Yeah, yeah, love that.
[ Cheers and applause ]
♪♪
Fred Armisen, everybody!
Season five of "Big Mouth" premieres Friday on Netflix.
We'll be right back with a performance from Lucy Dacus.
Stick around, everybody.
♪♪