TDS Time Machine | Rock Stars - Pt. 1

Summary

The Daily Show: Ears Edition

Episode: TDS Time Machine | Rock Stars - Pt. 1
Date: November 8, 2025
Host: Comedy Central Team (primarily Jon Stewart)
Notable Guests: Bruce Springsteen, Questlove, Brittany Howard, Phil Collins, Chuck D & Tom Morello, Amy H. Wolving & Gibby Haynes

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Episode Overview

Part 1 of "TDS Time Machine | Rock Stars" gathers legendary musicians and storytellers for wide-ranging conversations about the enduring resonance of music, the often tumultuous relationship between artists and society, and the personal journeys behind some of today's most iconic figures. From the camaraderie and trials of rock bands to the persistent sociopolitical role of music and the wild history of indie clubs, this episode delivers heartfelt reverence, humor, and hard truths through each guest's lens.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Bruce Springsteen: The Enduring Spirit of the E Street Band

[00:17–08:02]

Love, Camaraderie, and the Reality of 40+ Years

• Springsteen describes the E Street Band’s dynamic as a mix of love and hate, akin to lifelong friends or family:
  • “It's the same four, six, seven people that you went to high school with and then lived with your whole life... That's either going to be incredible or your living nightmare. Luckily, in our case, it's almost always incredible.” (Springsteen, [02:18])
• They actively avoid “reverting” to their high school selves while still drawing on their shared history.

Music as a Response to Crisis

• The band’s rehearsal process isn’t about playing notes—they focus on crafting shows that bridge history, new material, and the current cultural moment.
• Springsteen notes:
  • “Our band was built from the beginning for hard times... people come to storytellers when times are like that.” ([03:39])

Navigating Politics and Audience Expectations

• Acknowledges boos from audiences, including during the Bush administration, and explains how he processes dissent:
  • “They boo, you know… I always assume that when you have a...I go out and I play to many audiences at night... I take it into consideration but I don’t let it define what we do, how we do it, or what we're trying to do.” ([05:09])

The Inspiration for Jon Stewart

• Stewart movingly credits Springsteen's music with his own journey:
  • “You introduced me to the concept of the other side... the joy of it is chasing that dream. And that was my inspiration for leaving New Jersey and going to New York. And bless you, my friend, you're the man.” ([07:05])

Memorable Moment:
Springsteen to Stewart:
“All I can say is, you have done well, grasshopper.” ([07:52])

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2. Questlove: Restoring Lost Black Joy and History

[08:02–16:13]

On "Summer of Soul" and the Black Woodstock

• Questlove shares the origin and impact of his Oscar-nominated documentary, Summer of Soul, chronicling a largely forgotten 1969 Harlem music festival:
  • “I get word backstage at the Tonight Show… about these so-called black Woodstock. I refuse to believe it… how come I didn't know that over 300,000 people gathered in Harlem for a collective six weekend affair with Stevie Wonder? …Black erasure, is it this easy?” ([10:10–11:28])

The Nuances of Erasure and Representation

• Explores how systemic racism isn't always overt:
  • “There's benign levels of racism as well… black joy is the component that shows that we're human, you know, and this could have been that moment had it gotten the spotlight that Woodstock had gotten.” ([11:28])

Cultural Impact and Healing

• Describes the festival as a deeply significant healing event for the black community and a missing element in the American cultural story:
  • “This was a community trying to heal… we were robbed of that, not just as black people, but the world to see… that's the missing fiber element in telling our stories from the civil rights period.” ([13:23])

Notable Quote:
Questlove on code-switching and acceptance:
“Even when you're the number one singing group in the world, you still have to code switch and you still have to always be on guard… you have longings for just love from your people.” ([15:13])

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3. Brittany Howard: Owning One's Story Through Music

[16:13–21:25]

Authenticity and Artistic Courage

• Howard emphasizes being herself and creating spaces for others to do the same:
  • “I'm just who I am... I'm coming up here and just trying to make people feel more comfortable about being who they are and to embrace that.” ([17:01])

Songwriting as Testimony

• Shares the deeply personal origins of her song "Goat Head," which recounts the racist attack her parents endured for being an interracial couple:
  • “When [my father] woke up the next morning to go to work, his car, the windshield was bashed in and the tires were slashed and slurs written on the car, and in the back seat was a goat's head. And they basically were saying, stop this now. Stop this love that you guys share.” ([18:55])

Creating from Pain and Gratitude

• The album Jamie is named for her late sister, who inspired Brittany’s creativity:
  • “She taught me... how to use my mind to create the world that I wanted… it was only appropriate to say, thank you and put her name on it.” ([20:25])

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4. Phil Collins: Charmed Musical Life & Generational Legacy

[21:25–25:44]

Memoir and Musical Milestones

• Collins discusses writing his memoir Not Dead Yet, highlighting both family life growing up and his extraordinary music career.
  • “I was in that environment [Abbey Road] and it's just, it was a wonderful time to be alive, the 60s, you know, because it was all happening for the first time.” ([23:22])

Passing the Baton

• Reflects on sharing the stage with his sons, especially Nick, a teenage drummer:
  • “I've got three sons… The oldest one's 40, Simon… Nick is 15, he'll be 16 by the time we go on the road. But poor Matthew, who's 11, doesn't play... At one point there was three drum kits in the same room.” ([24:51])

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5. Chuck D & Tom Morello: Music as Resistance (Prophets of Rage)

[26:25–31:58]

The Story Behind the Name

• Chuck D and Tom Morello discuss how Prophets of Rage brings together Rage Against the Machine, Cypress Hill, and Public Enemy:
  • “Shortest band meeting we ever had... He's the prophet, I'm the rage.” (Chuck D, [26:42])

Political Activism and Art

• Tom Morello details his disillusionment with electoral politics and how music provided a more honest platform:
  • “If electoral politics are a world where I can't tell a racist to go to hell, then that's not the right job for me.” ([27:18])

On Not Making "Pretty Music"

• Addresses fan backlash to political messaging and the role of music in challenging power:
  • “If you're making music that everyone can agree on, you're probably making pretty music.” (Chuck D, [29:01])
  • “Paul Ryan's... basically the epitome of the machine we've been raging against our entire career.” ([29:49])

The Persistence of Injustice

• Chuck D parallels today’s struggles with those of previous generations:
  • “1986… That's Reagan and Bush and Thatcher… 2017, you're talking about the president… But the biggest difference is that older people move on and transition and younger people come in, but the stench of racism hovers over and is institutionalized.” ([30:45])

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6. Amy H. Wolving & Gibby Haynes: City Gardens & the Punk Club Era

[32:06–40:05]

The Legend and Chaos of City Gardens

• The Trenton, NJ club was a waystation for countless bands (“between New York and Philadelphia”), and famed for its rowdy, even dangerous atmosphere:
  • “We were robbed while we were on stage.” (Gibby Haynes, [32:31])
  • “It was the most dangerous place to ever go.” (Host, [32:44])

Finding Community and Self

• Wolving describes the club as a salvation for misfits before the Internet:
  • “If you wanted to meet other misfits... you had to go out of your house, you had to go to a club and find these people... It was a judgment-free zone.” ([34:31], [35:00])
• Fanzines and indie booking agents kept the underground connected in the '80s and '90s.

Wild Stories

• From being stabbed on stage to naked performers and rowdy soccer moms, the segment revels in the chaos that fostered creativity:
  • “I got stabbed on stage one time, but generally you didn't really experience that on stage. There was a certain amount of respect paid to the band.” (Gibby Haynes, [36:48])

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Notable Quotes & Moments (With Timestamps)

• Bruce Springsteen:

  • “It's love and hate, of course, you know... Luckily, in our case, it's almost always incredible.” ([02:18])
  • “Trying to find a show that you haven’t done before that both sort of contains the history that you share with your audience. Contains the new music that you’ve written and contains some way to capture the moment that’s occurring out in the world right now.” ([03:03])

• Jon Stewart:

  • “You introduced me to the concept of the other side... the joy of it is chasing that dream.” ([07:05])

• Questlove:

  • “Black erasure, is it this easy?... black joy is the component that shows that we're human, you know, and this could have been that moment had it gotten the spotlight that Woodstock had gotten.” ([11:28])

• Brittany Howard:

  • “Goat Head is a story... my mother told me... [about] his car... in the back seat was a goat's head. And they basically were saying, stop this now. Stop this love that you guys share.” ([18:55])
  • “[My sister] taught me... how to use my mind to create the world that I wanted.” ([20:25])

• Phil Collins:

  • “I was 19 and I was in that environment [Abbey Road] and it's just, it was a wonderful time to be alive, the 60s... it was all happening for the first time.” ([23:22])

• Chuck D:

  • “If electoral politics are a world where I can't tell a racist to go to hell, then that's not the right job for me.” ([27:18])
  • “If you're making music that everyone can agree on, you're probably making pretty music.” ([29:01])

• Amy H. Wolving:

  • “We were suburban kids... there was this club that was a little oasis for us. That was a judgment free zone.” ([35:00])

• Gibby Haynes:

  • “We were robbed while we were on stage.” ([32:31])
  • “I got stabbed on stage one time, but generally you didn't really experience that on stage.” ([36:48])

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Timestamps for Important Segments

• [00:17] – Start of Bruce Springsteen discussion
• [08:02] – Questlove interview on "Summer of Soul"
• [16:13] – Brittany Howard’s journey and “Goat Head”
• [21:25] – Phil Collins on memoir and family
• [26:25] – Chuck D & Tom Morello: Prophets of Rage
• [32:06] – City Gardens/club culture with Amy H. Wolving & Gibby Haynes

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Tone and Style

The episode is heartfelt, irreverent, and sincere—balancing deep personal stories, societal critiques, and sharp comedic banter. Jon Stewart’s admiration for his guests is palpable, allowing space for both vulnerability and laughter.

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Final Takeaways

• Music is as much about community and healing as it is about entertainment.
• The roles musicians play stretch from personal truth-tellers to cultural historians to political agitators.
• The stories behind the music—from punk’s wildness to pop’s legacy—reveal as much about society as about the artists themselves.
• This episode honors not just rock stars, but the enduring power of the rock star spirit: defiant, loving, and always searching for connection, meaning, and a damn good song.

Transcript

[Host]

You're listening to Comedy Central.

[Interviewer / Host]

What do you want me to say? What do you want me to say? My guest tonight, my favorite legendary musician. New album is called Working on a Dream. He goes on tour with the E Street Band in the United States and Europe beginning April 1st. Please welcome to the program, Bruce Springsteen. Thank you. Enjoy, enjoy. Soak it in. Soak it in.

[Bruce Springsteen]

Nice to see you. Good to see you, too.

[Interviewer / Host]

My first question, could you sign this? Buddy of mine is Swedish, Jon, spelled spelled J, O, N. You can do it later. It says here you're from New Jersey.

[Brittany Howard]

Yeah.

[Interviewer / Host]

It's great to see you. Now, you, 40 years with the E Street Band.

[Bruce Springsteen]

Yeah, that's. You know, when we start rehearsal, we get everybody in the room and the guys that can stand get to go up front. The guys that sit, they have to go in the back, you know.

[Interviewer / Host]

Is it like when I get together with guys that I knew when I was in high school, when I was younger, we revert back to the age when we met.

[Bruce Springsteen]

We've worked it out so we don't do that.

[Interviewer / Host]

So you can get things done. It's much smarter.

[Bruce Springsteen]

I sort of. There was a thing like when the band picked up again, that was one of the rules, that we don't revert back to the age when we met.

[Interviewer / Host]

Because you've been back now. It's 10 years since the band is now back together. What is it you talked about? When you've been together that long and you've been playing together that long, it turns into something like love. And is that what this. Is it, love?

[Bruce Springsteen]

Sure, it's love and hate, of course, you know. No, it's like imagine it's the same four, six, seven people that you went to high school with and then lived with your whole Life, and you're 60 years old and you turn around every night and they're all still there. That's either going to be incredible or it's going to be your living nightmare. And luckily, in our case, it's almost always incredible, you know, and so rehearsals.

[Interviewer / Host]

When you get together and you start rehearsing at that point, is it all so natural? How do you work together? Because your shows are always so tight but so joyous. How's that process work?

[Bruce Springsteen]

We don't really rehearse the rehearsal. We did that the last 40 years, you know. So what we do mainly is we get together and you try to find. You try to find a show that you haven't done before that both sort of contains the history that you share with your audience. Contains the new music that you've written and contains some way to capture the moment that's occurring out in the world right now. You know, I think people come. We've had an enormous moral, spiritual, economic collapse. People go to storytellers when those. When times are like that. And our band was built from the beginning for hard times. You know, that was the music we wrote. That was the way that we played. And so I think. Trying to sort of. I think people are out there right now. They're looking for. The country's lost its moral center, which is something you've joked about and talked about over the. You know, but it is true. It's almost. It's very. It's very. The only thing that can remind me of is a bit post Watergate, when there was a rootlessness to.

[Interviewer / Host]

And that's when you really struck a chord. Was that 74, 75. Yeah.

[Bruce Springsteen]

And so it's similar to that in a sense, that the idea of work and service to the public being a part of your work feels like it's been stripped away, that people drank a whole lot of their own Kool Aid, that there was this subculture of people that basically brought down the country and were in the position to do that. And everybody out there is footing the bill, so. And you've seen President Obama struggling to find a. Where's the moral center of the argument he's making right now? You know, and it's hard to find.

[Interviewer / Host]

And struggling with the political. You know, that's the one thing that, you know, as an artist, you probably don't have the burden of, is finding the politics. But how do you balance that with your audience? Because your audience is also. Can be conservative, blue collar. They might reject some of the political arguments. Does that come into play when they do that?

[Bruce Springsteen]

They boo, you know.

[Interviewer / Host]

Now when they do that, do you just pretend they're saying, bruce?

[Bruce Springsteen]

Yes, I do. I think that's wise.

[Interviewer / Host]

I think that's a smart move.

[Bruce Springsteen]

But unfortunately, believe it or not, you can tell the difference. And so, you know, it happens over the past. Certainly during the Bush administration, you know, we had a variety of times at night, right? People boo. They boo what you're saying. They don't like what your ideas are. But that happens. You know, I once had. There was a situation when, you know, we played in New York shortly after the Amado Diallo shooting. And I remember we began the song and the gentleman rushed the stage and flipped us the New Jersey state bird as we were going into the song, you know, and then they go back to their seats and they're cheering the next tune, you know, so it's. But it's just part of what we do. I always assume that when you have a. I go out and I play to many audiences at night. There's the audience that comes because they want to hear their favorite songs. There's an audience that comes because they're interested in the philosophy and the ideas of what you're doing. There's many, many different audiences. And I take it into consideration when I go out there, but I don't let it def what I do, how we do it, or what we're trying to do on any given night, you know, so.

[Interviewer / Host]

But the shows I always connected with, you could always tell there was a foundation and a heart to it. And I must tell you just purely on a personal basis, you know, people always talk to me about who are your influences, what made you do what you do. I can say I draw a line. I do what I do because of Bruce Springsteen. And I'll tell you why. You introduced me to the concept of the other side. You introduced me to the concept of you go through the tunnel and you take a chance and you can work to get away from your circumstance. And by working to get away from your circumstance, you can make something better of yourself. But there's no guarantee. What I loved about what you do and your music is. It's complex. It's that you can work to change what you do. But when you get to the other side, you may be the rat and you may get gunned down in the street, but you know what? The joy of it is chasing that dream. And that was my inspiration for leaving New Jersey and going to New York. And bless you, my friend, you're the man.

[Bruce Springsteen]

All I can say is, so I.

[Interviewer / Host]

Just wanted to thank you personally from the bottom of my heart, giving me something to put into the dashboard as I drove a U Haul van through the Holland Tunnel.

[Bruce Springsteen]

All I can say is, you have done well, grasshopper.

[Interviewer / Host]

So you're a good.

My guest tonight is the legendary drummer and co founder of the Roots, Amir Questlove Thompson. He's here to talk about his award winning documentary, Summer of Soul, which was just nominated for an Oscar.

[Questlove]

We brought everything to the park, you.

[Host]

Know, the blankets, the Vaseline for the knees.

[Questlove]

It was the ultimate black barbecue. And then you start to hear music.

[Host]

And someone speaking and you knew it was something bigger.

[Interviewer / Host]

Ladies and gentlemen, the Fifth Dimension.

[Questlove]

Man.

[Interviewer / Host]

Now I want to watch it again. Thank you. You know, now I want to welcome to the show.

[Questlove]

Thank you.

[Bruce Springsteen]

Thank you.

[Interviewer / Host]

How you doing, sir? How've you been?

[Questlove]

This is great.

[Host]

I love this.

[Interviewer / Host]

There are a few people I know who have had more jobs than you and excel at more jobs than you. I know many people who've had more jobs than you, but for a bad reason. I don't know many people who have had as many jobs as you have and just done well at.

[Questlove]

I was one of those people, though, because at one point I thought there was honor in sort of matching James Brown and the hardest working man in the show business. Once I stopped doing everything, then a whole new world of magic opened that I never knew of. And one of them is what I called storytelling or directing, which this definitely wasn't on my, my, my bingo card back in 2005. But if you look at it, everything I've done to this point is preparing for this moment. This point. Because I mean, those 40 hours could go. The 40 hours of the footage that sat in the basement for five decades.

[Interviewer / Host]

Yeah, I still don't. Wait, wait, let's just talk about that. I still don't understand this because nobody has seen all of these performances. Nobody has seen these moments. Nobody has seen what happened in Harlem in 69. I need to start with that. So how did you even begin to find 40 hours of footage of. It would be like, it would be like somebody now finding, hey, I found a concert. It was Jay Z and Beyonce and like Michael Jackson and like, just like everyone, right? And I was in a basement.

[Questlove]

I resected this film and I refuse to believe it. I get word backstage at the Tonight show that these two gentlemen want to talk to me about these so called black Woodstock. And I was like, black Woodstock? Well, I'm thinking of Woodstock. And you're saying there was a black version of that. And then I was like, well, wait a minute. I'd like to think that I was a music expert or knew things like, how come I didn't know that over 300,000 people gathered in Harlem for a collective six weekend affair with Stevie Wonder? Stevie Wonders, last known BB King, Mavis Staples. Like, how come I didn't know about this? And you know, I was like, call another B. You heard of black Woodstocker dinner? No, I never heard of it.

[Interviewer / Host]

And so I don't understand how that's possible.

[Questlove]

I didn't believe it. I didn't believe that it happened. So the very first meeting, I just thought that these two were trying to just scam me for like Tonight show tickets or whatever. That's what I Thought it was. And then they came by the next week with a hard drive. And even then I was like, well, the footage must be bad. Or maybe Stevie had an off day or.

[Interviewer / Host]

Right, right, right.

[Questlove]

And everything I saw was magic. And, and to this day, the reason why, even when I agreed to do this, at first I was just going to compile like 17 songs.

[Interviewer / Host]

Yes.

[Host]

Wow.

[Questlove]

Like a mixtape, you know, that sort of thing. But the curiosity kept burning me inside that, like the question I asked is, is, is black erasure this easy? And that's the thing, I think oftentimes when, you know, when we speak of like Black Lives Matter or, you know, is that racist or not racist? I think people think of the most extreme definition of it. Like, in their minds they're saying, well, I've never once hung somebody to a cross or castrated them or set them on fire, so I'm not racist. But there's other, there's benign levels of racism as well. And even as sort of the, sort of the dismissal of like, well, we'll pass, you know, we're good. For a lot of people, their first view of us was either in blackface or mired in trouble or controversy or, you know, getting arrested, getting hosed down and. But black joy is the component that shows that we're human, you know, and this could have been that moment had it allowed been, you know, the spotlight that Woodstock had gotten.

[Interviewer / Host]

It was also a crucial time as well. You know, it's the summer of 69. So many things were happening in America.

[Bruce Springsteen]

A lot happening.

[Questlove]

Right.

[Interviewer / Host]

You know, a lot was changing in the country. And I remember watching this, I, I had never seen it. I had never seen something like this. To your point, a lot of what you see from that time period is a, is a very one dimensional view of black America. So it seems like black America has only existed in strife for a long time.

[Questlove]

Exactly.

[Interviewer / Host]

And ex. And, and only strife, I should mention. And then you, and you're like, man, this is. I, I couldn't believe the scale. I couldn't believe the party people were having. I couldn't, I having. I couldn't believe like, who was there and how they were there, who was performing and, and what it signified. When you, when you told that story, what do you think the significance of this event was?

[Questlove]

The, the significance of the event, at least what I got from it was that this was a community trying to heal. And so for me, shall I say a really beautiful gander into the infinite possibilities of what a future is. You're seeing Stevie Wonder a mere two years before his genius period, you're seeing Nina Simone give one of her very first non jazz, non love song, non Broadway musical performances. Like Nina Simone stepping into her activism shoes in real time. So you're seeing all these artists, but really you're also just watching the people. And that's the thing. Like, when I say, like, we were robbed of that, not just as black people, but the world to see, you know, oh, family's just like mine, being just like mine. Happiness just like. And that's, and that's sort of the, that's sort of the missing fiber element in telling our stories from the civil rights period that people don't know.

[Interviewer / Host]

You look at America's story over and over. It's such a giant country, you know, where if people don't have an interaction with the people on the ground, you don't know a black person, you don't meet a Hispanic person. You don't know. Do you get what I'm saying?

[Questlove]

Right.

[Interviewer / Host]

You can get into a.

[Questlove]

Knowing someone at your job doesn't mean.

[Interviewer / Host]

Right, right. And maybe you don't even. That's what I loved about this documentary. I think it's to, to what you're saying is it showed a joy, it showed a normality. It showed a.

[Questlove]

There's just a human element that I didn't even know I was looking for. Like, because I didn't know that this was gonna invoke some sort of emotion out of Merlin McCoo as she's watching herself. I'm thinking, like, you hosted Solid Gold. Like, how do you remember this very specific show back then? But, you know, when she started to really open up about code switching.

[Interviewer / Host]

Yes.

[Questlove]

And, you know, something that every black person relates to on the professional job. And even I needed to see that. Like, wow, even when you're the number one singing group in the world, like, you still have to code switch and you still have to always be on guard, and you're never comfortable. And, you know, you have longings for just love from your people.

[Interviewer / Host]

Right.

[Questlove]

Yeah.

[Interviewer / Host]

You just want to be accepted. I, I, I won't lie. I think, I think you deserve every award that this film has won and is going to win because it's.

[Phil Collins]

Thank you, man.

[Interviewer / Host]

You know what it is, man? It's, it's the, it's telling a story from history that is lost. It's sharing a joy from history that is, that is lost. And I think it's something that people need today where you go, like, you know, yeah, we can fight here. We can Argue here. We can. We can. We can deal with what we need to deal with.

[Phil Collins]

Mm.

[Interviewer / Host]

But at the end of the day, don't forget Joy, because that's what makes us human. So thank you, man. Thank you for being here.

[Chuck D]

Thank you.

[Interviewer / Host]

Thank you for the documentary.

Thank you.

Now I'm gonna watch it again. I watched the clip, and now I'm back in.

[Questlove]

Let's go watch it right now. Let's do it right now.

[Interviewer / Host]

Let's watch it right now.

All right.

My guest tonight is a Grammy Award winning musician. You know her from Alabama Shakes. Her debut solo album is called Jamie. Please welcome Brittany Howard. Welcome, welcome, welcome to the show.

[Brittany Howard]

Thank you for having me.

[Interviewer / Host]

It is truly such a great honor to have you here. Not just because I'm a fan of your music, because I'm. I'm a fan of how much people are a fan of your music, which sounds like a weird thing, but I always love artists that just get people excited wherever they go. Like, have you. Have you ever wondered why people love everything you do, just beyond the music?

[Brittany Howard]

Well, I like to think I'm just who I am. I'm not putting on any false fronts, and I'm coming up here and just trying to make people feel more comfortable about being who they are and to embrace that. And I feel like that's kind of the best thing I can do right now at this moment in time is just be yourself. Just be myself.

[Interviewer / Host]

I feel it.

Thank you.

I love you. And being yourself has been really good. You know, you have a bunch of Grammys with Alabama Shakes. And now with your debut solo album, two Grammy nominations. Congratulations.

[Phil Collins]

Thank you, thank you, thank you.

[Brittany Howard]

It's been wild. It's been a wild ride. You know, I used to work for the post office. I used to work for Cracker Barrel. I used to work for Shoney's. I don't know if y' all know what that is. I've had so many jobs, and in the back of my mind, I was like, but I'll always do music and I'll always love music, but this might be the best I get for now, but I still got that dream. And then being here on a show, this is the first time I've ever spoken on the show. That's wild. That's wild. Having Grammys, that's wild.

[Interviewer / Host]

It is wild.

[Brittany Howard]

It's crazy.

[Interviewer / Host]

You've been on a wild journey, and it is a scary step to take because, you know, Alabama Shakes is really successful. You guys are headlining festivals, and you, you know, you.

You.

You're Selling out smash concerts, and. And then you go out and you. And you create a solo album, which is a terrifying stage for any musician to.

[Questlove]

To.

[Interviewer / Host]

To. To take in their career, you know, to. To move to that next stage. The stories that you write, you know, in the music and the songs and. And what you're talking about is truly one of the most personal experiences I've heard in. In songs that you've been on, you know, for instance, the song Goat Head. Mm is. Is a story of your mom and dad and how, as an interracial couple, people did not want them to exist. Could you tell the audience what Goat Head is inspired by?

[Brittany Howard]

Yeah. Goat Head is a story. This song started as a story that my mother told me when I was around 14 years old. I grew up, and I was very lucky to have the ignorance that my mother's white, my father's black, and we all get along for the most part, and we love each other. And I thought that was gonna be my experience in the world. When I got a little bit older, my mom was like, no, no, no, no. It was not easy. My mom told me this story about sleeping in her apartment and my father coming to visit. And when he woke up the next morning to go to work, his car, the windshield was bashed in and the tires were slashed and slurs written on the car, and in the back seat was a goat's head. And they basically were saying, stop this now.

[Interviewer / Host]

Right?

[Brittany Howard]

Stop this love that you guys share. And that was hard to hear. And it's always been in the back of my mind, and it's always been there. And once I wrote this song, I had a chance to release it, you know, And I think telling my parents story, even if it's not my story, I think it's doing them some good too. Just to say this happened, this was wrong, and this is what happened. And I think other people need to hear about this.

[Interviewer / Host]

It's a beautiful record. I can genuinely see why it has been nominated. Everyone who listens to it loves it, including myself. One last part of it that touched me in a way that I wasn't expecting, because it's not one of the songs, but rather the title of the album is Jamie.

[Brittany Howard]

Yes.

[Interviewer / Host]

Why did you call the album Jamie?

[Brittany Howard]

Yeah. I had a sister, you know, older sister. She passed away when I was nine. She was 13 years old. She had a really rare type of cancer called retinoblastoma. And I lost her at a young age. And she taught me everything about being creative and using my imagination. Because when I was growing up, we didn't have a lot of money. We didn't have all the video games and all this stuff. You know, it was just us outside. And my sister would say, well, you can write a song, you can have a good time, or we can go play in this creek, or we can go find snakes. You know, I grew up in Alabama, so we was out there in the creek looking for snapping turtles. But she taught me how to use my mind to create the world that I wanted. And so when it came time for me to make a record like this, this record is so much of my world and so much of how I feel that it was only appropriate to say, like, thank you and put her name on it.

[Interviewer / Host]

Congratulations. Welcome back to the Daily Show. My next guest is a legendary musician who has sold hundreds of millions of records throughout his career and just released his memoir called Not Dead Yet. Please welcome Phil Collins.

[Phil Collins]

Wow.

[Interviewer / Host]

Thank you for being here. But I want to talk to you about the book. Is this. I. I couldn't find another one. This is your memoir? This is it?

[Phil Collins]

This is it, yeah. Yeah.

[Interviewer / Host]

Like, I feel like you've lived many memoirs worth of memories of information. Why now?

[Phil Collins]

Well, I mean, I've been wanting to do it since the 90s, you know, and I kind of felt at the time is kind of why not? You know, I was pretty much doing nothing when I started writing this. I started doing the. I Don't say anything funny. In 2010. I started writing the early chapters. That was the fun stuff.

[Gibby Haynes]

Yeah.

[Phil Collins]

Dad, mom, brother, sister. And then when it came to the music, I kind of glazed over. Cause it was so dense. And putting it in order seemed like a huge mountain to climb. So I got together with a journalist called Craig McLean, who helped me sort through that mud.

[Interviewer / Host]

You lived a pretty remarkable life, especially with how you got into music.

[Phil Collins]

To be.

[Interviewer / Host]

To be telling stories about going to Abbey Road at the height of the Beatles, to be in an environment where you're referring to Eric Clapton by just Eric. I mean, there's stories where you say Eric, and you're like, I'm sorry, Eric who? And it's like, oh, Eric. Oh, the Eric Clapton is. Do you ever look back and realize how magnificent that was?

[Phil Collins]

Oh, yes, absolutely. I mean, never a day goes by, really, when I don't appreciate how lucky I've been. I mean, the thing with Eric Clapton was that the first time I came into contact with him was I was at a bus stop getting the last bus home in my end of the line house in Hounslow. Which is a suburb of London. And I was. There was a club in Hounslow called the Attic. And I remember hearing this driving in my car, smoking my cigar, you know, and it was NSU by Cream. And I was standing at the bus stop and I was listening to this thinking, man, what another world that is. And 25 years later I'm producing him, you know, and he's my, one of my best mates. So these, My life has been charmed like that. I've played with a lot of my heroes. The Abbey Road thing, you know, was for George Harrison's first solo album and Ringo was there, Billy Preston was there, Phil Spector was producing, you know, and I was, I was 19 and I was in that environment and it's just, it was a wonderful time to be alive, the 60s, you know, because it was all happening for the first time.

[Interviewer / Host]

You, you, you've now had the opportunity though, to say yes to an up and coming artist who is really following in your footsteps. And that's your son. What is that like now, sharing that experience with.

[Phil Collins]

Well, it's wonderful. I mean, he played the US Open, he played the shows. I did three kind of short charity shows this year and he played and he's, he's a fantastic Drummer. I've got three sons, you know, the oldest one's 40, Simon, and he's a wonderful drummer and he's got his own career. Nick is 15, he'll be 16 by the time we go on the road. But poor Matthew, who's 11, doesn't play.

[Interviewer / Host]

The drums well, he probably realized the noise in the house was just. Yeah, I mean, that's quite a family to have where everyone's playing the drums, no one's doing guitar or anything.

[Phil Collins]

I mean, at one point there was three drum kits in the same room, you know, and he said, I'm not going for it, dad. And I don't feel like a Collins because I don't play the drums, which is sad, you know, when a sort of nine year old says that and he said, and besides, Nicholas told me last night that I was adopted.

[Interviewer / Host]

So it runs in the family then. Yeah, it runs in the family. It's a truly beautiful book. Thank you so much for your time. Thank you for writing it. New single is coming out, the memoir Not Dead yet and the singles are both available now. Phil Collins, everybody. My guests tonight are legendary musicians and members of the supergroup Prophets of Rage, whose self titled debut album comes out on Friday. Please welcome Chuck D and Tom Morello. Welcome, welcome, welcome to the Show.

[Chuck D]

Thank you very much for having us.

[Interviewer / Host]

So good to have you. Welcome to it.

[Host]

Great to be here.

[Interviewer / Host]

I like this. A supergroup. Two superpowers connecting three, including Cypress Hill. That's true.

[Chuck D]

Yes.

[Gibby Haynes]

Big real for.

[Interviewer / Host]

Yeah. That is powerful. Let's talk about the name Prophets of Rage. Why that name? Cause, I mean, there were so many variations.

[Questlove]

Sure.

[Chuck D]

Well, it's the shortest band meeting we ever had. Prophets of Rage is members of Rage against the Machine, Cypress Hill and Public Enemy.

[Interviewer / Host]

Right.

[Chuck D]

There is a Public Enemy song called Prophets of Rage.

[Interviewer / Host]

Right.

[Chuck D]

So when we were singing, what should the name of our band be? Chuck D suggested Prophets of Rage. He's the prophet, I'm the rage.

[Interviewer / Host]

Oh, nice, nice. Let's talk a little bit about that rage. Um, you have been someone who has been. You've been political for a very long time. I mean, most of your life. Uh, you also worked in politics, which I never knew about you. I mean, you worked for a senator in California when you were really young.

[Chuck D]

That's correct.

[Interviewer / Host]

And after that, you said you never wanted to involve. Be involved in politics in that way ever again.

[Chuck D]

It cured me forever.

[Interviewer / Host]

Cured you? Why?

[Chuck D]

Yeah, Yeah. I was the scheduling secretary for United States Senator Alan Cranston for two years. And it cured me for two reasons. One was because it was entirely about money. Most of the day was spent putting the senator on the phone with wealthy Democrats, wealthy Republicans, wealthy people who. He would ask for money, and none of that money came for free. But that's not the main reason. The main reason is one day I received a telephone call from a lady. She was complaining because there were Mexicans moving into her neighborhood. I said, ma', am, you can go to hell. Thinking I had done the senator's business. And, you know, I hung up. And great. So she ended up calling. I got yelled at for two weeks. And I thought to myself, if electoral politics are a world where I can't tell a racist to go to hell, then that's not the right job for me.

[Interviewer / Host]

A lot of people in music go, you know, stay out of politics and don't get into it because you have fans that buy your music from either side. This is not something you have gone for from the beginning. Honest, straight to the point. This is your point of view. This feels like an evolution. Was it inspired in some ways by Donald Trump?

[Host]

Um, no. Well, you know, Donald Trump was part of it. As this came together with Tom basically saying that this infuriated them so much that it was, you know, more about than just tweeting about it or Going to social media, we can do something about it. We can do something about it. And what we do musically to bring the noise and make people aware. And it's one thing about turning fans off, but one thing we've been is fearless with our music, and I was raised being born in this city, is to be fearless and say what you need to say and say what needs to be said. And that's been pretty much my track line right throughout.

[Chuck D]

If you're making music that everyone can agree on, you're probably making pretty music.

[Interviewer / Host]

My view.

[Phil Collins]

Touche.

[Interviewer / Host]

I like that. Let me ask you this, though. Let me ask you. This is interesting. When you heard or did you hear that Paul Ryan said he was a huge fan of Rage against the Machine, did you. Did you think to yourself, like, does he know who you are? Has he actually heard the lyrics?

[Chuck D]

Yeah, yeah.

[Interviewer / Host]

Maybe he just hears the music.

[Bruce Springsteen]

Yeah.

[Chuck D]

Well, I mean, first of all, there's no political litmus test to being a fan of the bands. And one of the most inspiring stories that I hear every day is people come up, they got into our bands because of the aggression of the music, and they were exposed to a different point of view. That's totally cool. Paul Ryan's point of view. However, he does do a lot of raging against women, against gays, against unions, against workers, against the environment.

[Interviewer / Host]

So that's his machine.

[Phil Collins]

Yeah.

[Interviewer / Host]

Oh, man.

[Chuck D]

Got me wrong. He's basically the epitome of the machine we've been raging against our entire career. So while he does, he may use Rage against the machine for his PX90 workouts. Let's see. Let's get in the pit. You're welcome to any ship, props, raid, show in the pit and let nature take its course.

[Phil Collins]

Oh, wow.

[Host]

And you wonder like, you know, his teen spirit just exploded when he made that statement, you know?

[Chuck D]

Yeah, yeah. First of all, you're not. You're not allowed. I mean, he was trying to. I don't know what he was trying to do when he said that, but sort of piggyback on some of the coolness or whatever, and then we just weren't about to let him get away.

[Interviewer / Host]

With, well, what do you want people to take from the music? Because, I mean, you created music in a time when you were responding to something that was happening, you know, fighting the power. When you look at what's happening now, if you. If you look at that Chuck D. And if you look at this Chuck D in this day and age in 2017, have you noticed a shift in the environment or do you feel like in some ways you are still fighting against the same power, or is it a power that has in some way shifted or morphed?

[Host]

I started out 1986 as a professional during R and B. That's Reagan and Bush and Thatcher was chopping up the planet. You know, Nelson Mandela was in prison. There was a wall up, you know, 2017, you're talking about the President of the United States building a wall. You know, so Mr. Mexico, let's build this wall might be the statement, but the biggest difference is that older people move on and transition and younger people come in, but the stench of racism hovers over and is institutionalized. And we feel as musicians that we have the universal language and passport to tell the whole world to be accountable and responsible. As you know, you're grooving to the, you know, to the grooves and the beats, right? So that's probably the biggest difference is that we can, we could kind of like synergize with the world's language of how ridiculous it is. In some places the world could connect a lot better than it used to. What are we going to do with this avenue? And right now with profits of rage.

[Interviewer / Host]

You guys are doing it, man. Thank you so much for being on the show. Thank you very much.

My guest tonight, she is the co author of the new book no Slam Dancing, no Stage, no Spikes in oral history of the legendary City Gardens. He is the frontman of the Butthole Service who used to perform often at the club. Here's a peek at the upcoming documentary about City Gardens called Riot on the Dance Floor.

It was a really filthy club.

[Gibby Haynes]

We were robbed while we were on stage.

[Interviewer / Host]

I walked into the bathroom and there.

Was this dude crumpled up on the.

[Bruce Springsteen]

Floor with blood running down his head.

[Interviewer / Host]

It was the most dangerous place to ever go. I was told over and over again, don't go there, you'll get your head kicked in. Skinheads. It's just a rough, rough place.

We called it home. Please welcome Amy H. Wolving and Gibby Haynes. Come on out the love baby. Sit, sit, sit. How are you guys? Nice to see you. I think, by the way, sir, a fitting tribute on the arm. Guar Dave Rocky, of course, Guar Otis youngest. A very, very sad situation, but also used to come to the club. So let me ask you first, I'll ask you Gibby first and then we'll talk about the book. This was in Trenton, New Jersey. Yes, it was. By all accounts hole.

[Gibby Haynes]

Absolutely.

[Interviewer / Host]

Why do you think such good bands? One of the first concert I ever saw there was Butthole servers opening for Dead Kennedys. Why do you think this was a must stop on these bands tours?

[Gibby Haynes]

It was a place you could play between New York and Philadelphia.

[Interviewer / Host]

So it was purely a convenience situation.

[Gibby Haynes]

Absolutely.

[Interviewer / Host]

Oh man, absolutely. I thought there was an essence to.

[Gibby Haynes]

It that maybe people just got lost on the turnpike.

[Interviewer / Host]

What made you decide to get an oral history of this club? You know, I bartended there for a couple of years and went there for many more, but I don't think we thought it was a legendary club at the time.

[Amy H. Wolving]

No, we didn't, we didn't. We took it for granted.

[Interviewer / Host]

Right.

[Amy H. Wolving]

And the book is really a time capsule about indie music in the 80s and 90s before technology came in and changed everything. I mean, historically, it wasn't that long ago, maybe 30 years, but technology wise, it was late years ago. There was no Internet, there were no cell phones. And if you wanted to meet other misfits and, you know, people who didn't really fit in, you had to go out of your house, you had to go to a club and find these people.

[Bruce Springsteen]

Right.

[Amy H. Wolving]

And I think the fact that we all went there really stoked our creativity. And we were suburban kids, we were stuck sort of in the middle of Philadelphia and New York, and yet there was this club that was a little oasis for us. That was a judgment free zone. You could go, you could be yourself, you didn't have to worry about people looking down on you. And I think that for a lot of us who went there, it was just a way to really express ourselves and really find out who we were.

[Interviewer / Host]

Now these bands back at this time were there the touring groups. You know, you saw CRO Mags, Agnostic Front used to play there. Guar used to play there all the time. The Ramones, Bad Brains, all these incredible musicians would come through there. Were you all. Was there without the Internet? Was there sort of an underground circuit that you all knew about? These were all the clubs as you went along the east coast or the West Coast. These are the clubs where this type of music still flourishes.

[Bruce Springsteen]

Yeah.

[Gibby Haynes]

What they had back then they called fanzines, right? And those were circulated around the United States. And that's basically how you found out about, about these different clubs. And then there were indie booking agents that would get you into these different places.

[Interviewer / Host]

The guy who booked this club, this is one of the more amazing things, was a US postman. Randy Now.

[Amy H. Wolving]

Yes, Randy now. And he was a postman. And just his love of music, right, was it really pushed him to create this club. And this Environment. I think that's part of it too. That it really came from a place of love.

[Interviewer / Host]

Right.

[Amy H. Wolving]

That it wasn't all about commerce or all about money.

[Interviewer / Host]

I'm glad it came from a place because inside was mostly punching. I remember there was a good deal of punching. Although from the stage. Was that typical? Do you. You know, was this unusual to this club, the violence that took place in there? Was that what that scene was?

[Gibby Haynes]

At that time the bands were usually immune from the violence occasionally. I mean, I got stabbed on stage one time, but generally you didn't really experience that on stage. There was a certain amount of respect paid to the band.

[Interviewer / Host]

Right. It was interesting. That's why I liked being behind the bar. Because there were two oases in that. There was the bar area and the stage area. But in between an awful lot of buffs.

[Amy H. Wolving]

You still have this buffer. You had this buffer at City Gardens and you have it here now.

[Interviewer / Host]

This was. Yes. And generally after the interviews, I am tipped. It's still the same way as it as. As it worked out Now. Now you were there for a legendary show. This was a show. It might have been 86 or 87. And I don't even know if you'll remember this show, but show the. We have a picture of it from. This was butthole servers on stage. That's. That's fire. And I don't know if you can see this. Gibby. There's a naked woman behind you.

[Gibby Haynes]

No, she's got some. She's got a tea back on.

[Interviewer / Host]

Oh yeah, no, you're right. I'm sorry. She does have some underwear. And if I remember correctly, and you can tell me if this is wrong on this night. We used to do all ages shows, so these were the hardcore shows. And you'd have kids there, 12 to whatever, but you had a performer who enjoyed not having the fabric. Yeah, touchety.

[Phil Collins]

Yeah.

[Gibby Haynes]

Yes.

[Interviewer / Host]

And so something happened where they pulled the sound. Do you remember any of this?

[Gibby Haynes]

Yeah, well, you know, the main thing that was really kind of the way every night went for us. The main thing I remember from that show was after the show was over, I was backstage totally getting bitched at by this hormone crazed soccer mom that was telling me about how irresponsible I was for performing that way in front of her 14 year old son that she had taken there. And I was like, what are you doing? After the show just made her angrier.

[Interviewer / Host]

I think I could see why that would make her somewhat angrier. It was that kind of anarchy that in a weird way I think spurred a lot of creativity. I mean, I remember feeling relief at being able to come to this place and seeing truly anarchic things happen.

[Amy H. Wolving]

And it was an anything goes atmosphere. And it wasn't, you know, in a big city.

[Interviewer / Host]

Come on. Apparently, fire was one place you couldn't go. Exactly.

[Amy H. Wolving]

The best part about that story is after all of this chaos, fire, the band refused to leave. They had to call the police to get you out of there.

[Gibby Haynes]

There's only one reason for a band to not leave.

[Interviewer / Host]

I think I know what that may be. Jesus, he didn't come up with the bag of money.

[Bruce Springsteen]

I'm thinking.

[Gibby Haynes]

I'm thinking maybe.

[Amy H. Wolving]

Well, they had a clause in your contract that said if you try to burn the place down.

[Interviewer / Host]

Exactly.

[Amy H. Wolving]

We don't have to pay.

[Gibby Haynes]

I was waiting for the soccer mom.

[Interviewer / Host]

To drop my kid off, come back and see you. Waiting for the stab wounds to. Well, I'm delighted that you put it down. It was one of the favorite times in my life. I really had such an amazing time there. And I thank you for all the great shows that were there. You have a show. Carnegie Hall. Is that correct?

[Gibby Haynes]

Carnegie Hall. Paul Simon song. Someone didn't get the memo.

[Interviewer / Host]

Gibby Haynes performing at Carnegie Hall. This is Monday. Monday, 31st benefit concert benefiting music education programs. I don't imagine that they light people on fire at Carnegie hall, but I haven't been there in a while. Could happen. So I'm hoping no slam dancing, no stage diving, no spikes. It's on the bookshelves now. Gibby Haynes and Amy H. Wolfing. Thank you.

Explore more shows from the Daily show podcast universe by searching the Daily Show. Wherever you get your podcasts, watch the Daily show weeknights at 1110 Central on Comedy Central and stream full episodes anytime on Paramount.

[Host]

This has been a Comedy Central podcast.