The guiding principle for John Mulaney’s musical guests on his Netflix talk show Everybody’s Live seems to be “why not.”
Why not have Kim Gordon and Kim Deal perform together as The Kims? Why not let Mannequin Pussy play on a church-themed set? Why not let a violinist do his thing in the same episode where comedian Stavros Halkias asked the former acting solicitor general of the United States if he masturbates?
It’s a good show, and in the latest episode, The Velvet Underground legend John Cale was paired up with arena headliner Maggie Rogers to sing “Shark-Shark,” a fun song from his 2024 album Poptical Illusion. Why? Why not?
Cale and Rogers also sat down for an interview with Mulaney. “Hip-hop is the new avant-garde,” Cale said. “You find so many strange and wonderful things are going on in the recording department.”
Elsewhere in the episode (which also featured Molly Shannon, Marc Maron, Ronny Chieng, and anesthesiologist Dr. Emily Methangkool to discuss if major surgery can be fun), Mulaney finally answered the question that’s been on everyone’s mind: What if Seinfeld was Phish? It would look something like this.
You can watch John Cale and Maggie Rogers on Everybody’s Live here.