Phone with canadian Prime MinisterJustin Trudeau yesterday amidst increased tensions on trade. Im guessing trump wanted to trade faces . [ laughter ] [ applause ] and then ill just have yours for a week. You have mine for a week. And then [ laughter ] and then well just see what happens. [ light laughter ] President Trump signed an order today that allows the department of the interior to review whether National Monuments across the country should be eliminated or modified. For example, heres his proposal for the statue of liberty. [ laughter and applause ] but i think we all know which National Monument he really wants to modify. [ laughter and applause ] according to reports, a group of buyers led by derek jeter and jeb bush has won the auction to purchase the miami marlins. Jeter is excited to get back to baseball while jeb is excited to get back to losing. [ audience ohs ] [ light laughter ] ive missed it. Ive missed it and its all i know. [ laughter ] today was first lady melania trumps birthday, and after she blew out the candles, nobody had to ask what she wished for. [ audience ohs ] [ cheers and applause ] the nfl draft is this week. And the Houston Texans will announce some of their picks from outer space using astronauts aboard the International Space station. Meanwhile the patriots will announce their picks from a russian spy satellite. [ light laughter ] a Costume Designer recently debuted a dress that looks like a pizza with pepperoni, sliced olives and bell peppers. Said chris christie, no, no. Leave it on. [ laughter ] [ applause ] and finally, United Airlines is inig giant rabbit died on a flight from london to chicago. He was survived by his wife and 167 children. [ laughter and applause ] ladies and gentlemen, we have a great show for you tonight. I guess the lesson there is dont dont end on a joke about a dead rabbit. [ light laughter ] if we learned anything tonight, its that. We have a great show for you tonight. From nbcs the blacklist, one of our favorites, james spader is back on the show [ cheers and applause ] so excited about this. He is an iconic american singer songwriter whose new album sad clowns and hillbillies is out friday. Here to chat with me about his amazing career and perform a new track for us, with very special guest country superstar martina mcbride, John Mellencamp is joining us tonight. How about that . [ cheers and applause ] a legend. Couple of legends in the house tonight. So very excited to talk to our guests. But before we get to all that, as donald trump nears the 100th day of his presidency, he is executive orders hes signed and pushing a new plan to cut taxes on corporations. For more on this, its time for a closer look. [ cheers and applause ] seth this saturday will mark the 100th day of trumps presidency and trump is desperate for positive accomplishments to celebrate. Yesterday his white house released a statement bragging that trump will have signed 30 executive orders during his first 100 days. Which is ridiculous. Claiming youve been a good president just because youve signed a lot of executive orders makes no sense. But dont just take it from me, take it from this guy. We have a president that cant get anybody to do anything. So he signs, you know, executive orders. And the country wasnt supposed to be that way. We have a president that cant get anything done, so he just keeps signing executive orders. And he goes around signing all these executive orders. Its a basic disaster. You cant do it. Youre supposed to get together and pass a law. He doesnt want to do that because its too much work. So he doesnt want to work too hard. He wants to go back and play golf. [ laughter ] it is at this point like a law of physics for every trump action there is an equal and opposite trump clip. [ laughter ] i swear, if trump said the bathroom was down the hall and to the right, im sure wed find an old clip down the hall and to the left. [ laughter ] seth dammit [ cheers and applause ] this is still the best trump quote about obama and executive orders. I dont want to use too many executive orders, folks. You know . Because, you know, executive orders sort of came about more recently. Nobody ever heard of an executive order. Then all of a sudden obama, because he couldnt get anybody to agree with him, he started signing them like they were butter. [ laughter ] seth do you sign your butter . [ laughter ] are you one of those guys who puts your name on everything in the fridge . [ laughter ] of course, trumps previous comments about executive action havent stopped his supporters like new Jersey Governor Chris Christie from giving him high marks for his first 100 days and specifically citing his executive orders as a reason. What grade would you give him . Listen, id give him a b, um, so far. A b . I would. Id give him a b. And i would say the reason i give him a b is first and foremost because of neil gorsuch. I also think some of the things hes done by executive action have been very good on the regulatory side. Seth i like that christie thinks he is playing hard to get by giving trump a b. [ light laughter ] im not giving you an a, donald. Im giving you a b. Chase me. [ laughter and applause ] also, i can imagine i can imagine trumps reaction to getting a b. Thats ridiculous. Everyone knows the highest grade is a c. [ laughter ] so christie likes trumps executive orders. I wonder what he had to say when president obama used executive action to get things done. Now this president wants to act as if hes a king, as if hes a dictator. The president wants to do things without working with his congress, without working with the legislature, without getting the consent of the american people. Dictatorships not leadership, john. And hes acting like a dictator. And a petulant child. Seth yeah, thank god we no longer have a president who acts like a petulant child. Quiet, quiet, quiet. Sit down. Sit down. Okay, sit down. A very insulting question. Wait a minute. I dont have to tell you. I dont have to tell you. Im not gonna tell you. Im just telling you. You know, youre dishonest people. Seth and i dont want to go to bed. I go to bed when i want to go to bed. [ laughter and applause ] and i am having im sorry to say i am having skittles for dinner. [ laughter ] but trump isnt the only one whos faced criticism in the first 100 days. There is also his daughter and assistant to the president , ivanka trump. There have been a lot of questions about what exactly ivankas role is and what makes her qualified for it, as well as her conflicts of interest in connection to her own business. Yesterday she appeared at a panel in germany on female business leaders, and instead of lobbing softball q moderator grilled her. The german audience is not that familiar with the concept of a first daughter. Id like to ask you what is your role . Whom are you representing . Your father as the president of the united states, the american people, or your business . Seth man, leave it to a german moderator to ask the most cutting questions. [ in german accent ] why you are here . What is your purpose . Explain yourself. Also, you are smiling, but i do not think you are happy. Is it a [ laughter ] is it a fake smile . Yes . [ light laughter ] and then later ivanka tried to claim, incredibly, that her father was actually a champion for families, and again the moderator followed up with a tough question. Watch ivankas face after the moderator jumps in. Hes been a tremendous champion of supporting families, and enabling them to thrive in the new reality of you you hear the reaction from the audience, so i need to address one more point. Some attitude towards women your father has publicly displayed former times might leave one questioning whether he is such an empowerer for women. How do you relate to that . Or are things changing . What is your comment on that . Seth [ in german accent ] i notice now that your smile is gone. [ laughter ] is it safe to say that this current dead face is a better indicator of your true feelings . [ light laughter ] so as trump approaches the 100day mark, hes done a total 180 on executive orders, and there are questions swirling about key members of his administration. And then there are ways in which trump has just completely backtracked on some of the signature issues of his campaign. Take, for example, nato, which he repeatedly called obsolete. Now not only is trump reversing himself, he is literally pleading ignorance. He told the associated press, they had a quote from me that nato is obsolete. I was on wolf blitzer. very fair interview. So they asked me wolf asked me about nato. And i said two things. nato is obsolete, not knowing much about nato. Now i know a lot about nato. [ laughter ] you see, st whats the problem . Why is that problematic . [ applause ] and then of course, theres the wall. Trump has been locked in a showdown with republicans in congress over including money for the wall in a bill to fund the government. And after initially insisting on money for the wall, trump finally relented and indicated that the border wall funding could wait until september. And that crushed many of trumps hardcore supporters like heartbroken Rush Limbaugh who had to break the news to his audience. Watch how long it takes him to get to that bad news. Im not happy to have to pass this on. Im very, very troubled to have to pass this on. And i want to say at the outset that i hope my interpretation is wrong. And i hope this is not the case. But it looks like from here, right here, right now, it looks like President Trump is caving on his demand for a measly 1 wall. Seth he sounds like a doctor giving next of kin some terrible news. [ light laughter ] im sorry to be the one to tell you this, but there were complications and we will to remove your grandmothers wall. [ laughter ] and now mexicans are pouring into her liver. [ light laughter ] after the disappointed reactions from his hardcore supporters started rolling in, trump did everything he could to reassure them the wall would in fact be built, although it didnt really seem like he had given the timeline much thought. The wall gets built. 100 . When . When, sir . When, sir . When . When, mr. President . When, mr. President . When will the wall get built . When will the wall get built . Soon. Soon. Thank you, behind you. Were already preparing. Were doing plans. Were doing specifications. Were doing a lot of work on the wall. And the wall gets built. In your first term . In your first term . The wall is very, very important. In your first term . Well, its certainly gonna yeah. Yeah. Sure. [ light laughter ] seth yeah. Yeah, sure. Hes like a dad whde to his kids. [ laughter ] are we going, dad . Are we going . Yeah. Yeah, sure. [ laughter ] why the [ bleep ] did i mention disneyland . [ cheers and applause ] disneyland. So the president has very little to show for his first 100 days, which may be why trump, who sold himself as a champion of the forgotten man, is setting his sights on a new goal, a giant tax cut for corporations. The Trump Administration announcing a sweeping tax reform plan slashing rates for individuals and businesses across the u. S. What he says could be the biggest tax cut weve ever had. The tax reform plan will cut the Corporate Tax rate from 35 to 15 . Seth who could possibly benefit from such a massive tax cut . Okay, fine. But besides him. [ laughter ] okay, yeah, fine, but besides him. Okay, yeah, but fine, but besides her. Okay, yeah, but besides him. Oh, boy [ laughter and applause ] knew it was coming, and he still [ applause ] phew now the details of this plan, which trump has been working on with his treasury secretary steve mnuchin, are still very unclear. When he sat down with the ap this week to talk about his first 100 days, trump tried to offer a preview of the tax plan. But im not sure he really helped clarify things all that much. This is the actual transcript from the aps Oval Office Interview with trump. Notice how many time the reporter who is in the room with trump could not understand what he was saying. Were going to be doing major tax reform. Heres part of your story. Its going to be a big unintelligible. Everybodys saying, oh, hes delaying. Im not delaying anything. Ill tell you the other thing is unintelligible. Weve been working on it. Unintelligible. Secretary mnuchin is a very talented person. Very smart, very successful. Unintelligible. Were going to be putting that out on wednesday or shortly thereafter. Let me leave a little room just in case unintelligible. [ laughter ] trumps answers are literally just mad libs now. [ laughter ] ill tell you about my tax plan. Its going to be a big sandwich. [ laughter ] secretary mnuchin is a very successful basketball player. [ applause ] just leave me a little room just in case china. [ laughter and applause ] so trump is racing is racing to commemorate his 100th day in office by signing a slew of executive orders pushing tax cuts for corporations and abandoning his key promises. Donald, do you really think any of this is going to work for voters . Um, yeah. Yeah. Sure. Seth this has been a closer look. [ cheers and applause ] well be right back with james spader, everybody [ cheers and applause ] dear predictable, theres no other way to say this. Its over. Ive found a permanent escape from monotony. Together, we are perfectly balanced, our hearts racing as one. I know this is sudden, but they say if you love something. Set it free. See you around, giulia is thno, its, uh, breyers gelato indulgences. You really wouldnt like it. Its got caramel and crunchy stuff. I like caramel and crunchy stuff. Breyers gelato indulgences. Its way beyond ice cream. At red lobsters lobsterfestime. Any of these 9 lobster dishes could be yours. So dont resist delicious new lobster mix and match or lobsterfest surf and turf because you wont have this chance for long. Schick hydro ® vs a lube strip. With seven hydrating gel pools. That give you 40 less friction. Its designed like no other razor to protect from irritation. Schick hydro ® free your skin. ® [ cheers and applause ] seth welcome back, everybody. Please, give it up for the 8g band right over there. [ cheers and applause ] also, this week, we have had two incredible musicians adding their vocal talents to the band. Last year, they performed here in support of their critically acclaimed album, good grief. From lucius, please welcome jess wolfe and Holly Laessig everybody [ cheers and applause ] so happy to have you guys here. And on drums, from right here in new york city, the equally incredible Allison Miller is here. Thank you so much. [ cheers and applause ] for coming back and spending time with us allison. Our first guest tonight is an know from shows like boston legal and the office. He stars in the blacklist which airs thursday nights at 10 00 on nbc. Lets take a look. And if my instincts are correct, shes going after more of my people right now. Im off to see an individual who i believe, also employed her services. I suggest that you start at the bar where perocio was last seen. See what you can find at the abduction site. Keen, go with reddington. So i get a babysitter now, i havent had a babysitter since brenda gilroy. My god, potpies, Lawrence Welk bath time with brenda, still my perfect saturday night. Seth please welcome back to the show our friend james spader everybody. [ cheers and applause ] seth welcome back, james. Thank you, cheers. Seth its always so great to see you. And i was very happy to see you backstage before the show, because last time you came here, i dont even think i had a chance to say hi, because you were not here when the show started. No. Seth you had a very harrowing trip here last time. It was harrowing well it was yes. You know, i think you ended up taping two guests before me or something. Seth yeah, you showed up late. Yeah. [ laughter ] i did, very. I used to live down in greenwich village. And it would take about 15 minutes to get up here. And so, even though your show is very, very prudent and very well prepared, they always give about 45 minutes or so seth sure. Or an hour prior to when one is supposed to be here, to get here. Well, i just ignore it and [ laughter ] give myself 15 minutes. Like thats always been the way im generally late to things. I always base my time on the shortest time its ever taken to get from one place to another. [ lighug so i say, if it was one freakish time that it took me ten minutes to get to work, i assume from that point forward that it takes ten minutes to get to work. Seth got it. [ light laughter ] youre an optimist. Im an optimist. Seth you never think anything is going to go wrong. Yeah. Anyway, so i got in the car. Im giving myself about 15, 20 minutes to get up here, and we ran into terrible, terrible traffic. I cant remember when it was but, i think it was just at the time when all of a sudden the traffic was being rerouted a lot because of trump tower. Seth yeah. And, so seth you gave yourself 15 minutes and the president lived here. And the president lived here, and [ light laughter ] and so, i was coming up sixth avenue, and it was just taking forever. And im calling the publicist on the phone saying were really, really late. And she said yes, i know. [ laughter ] and i said it really doesnt seem as if like were going to make up any time at all. And she said, well, you know, maybe we should and really, you guys started taping the show. You then started taping the first guest the second guest and so on. And im still checking in and were still bumper to bumper traffic. And so finally the publicist said, okay, you know what . Just maybe if you jump out of the car like a block, because we were in a parking lot really. Jump out of the car in a parking lot, you know, a block away, and just walk right up to the front entrance and and ill be waiting for you. So i jumped out of the car and i walked up to the front entrance, and she was no where to be seen. And it was right in front of Rockefeller Center which is, as you all know, theres a lot of tourists and people coming and going, right . [ light laughter ] well, when im in a public place, i try to keep moving. cause i can stick out like a sore thumb. And sure enough, i was. Im right in front of Rockefeller Center just sort of standing around, like this. [ laughter ] and you know, nobody is standing around in front of Rockefeller Center. You know, i mean, everybody is either coming or going, you know. Standing there, like this. And people seth and im sure some people they thought, you were doing it on purpose to get attention. I dont know. [ laughter ] but they were but they were definitely paying attention. [ talking over each other ] seth especially because youre on an nbc show, you went in front an nbc building and just stood there. And i just stood there. Seth yeah. [ laughter ] or they thought i was a cutout or something, you know . Like i was i was a promotional device. [ laughter ] of some sort. Anyway, so its starting to get uncomfortable. People are coming up. And and listen, people come up a lot on the street, and its wonderful, and i appreciate it, and its great. But im usually able to sort of, move on. You know . Im usually on my way somewhere, so im able to sort of say great, thank you so much. It was great to see you. Yes, thank you. [ light laughter ] and and get out of there. But i was stuck. I was waiting for somebody who wasnt there. So im calling her on the phone, im saying are you coming . I said people are starting to come up and like, they want to take pictures and shouldnt i be getting inside anyway . We should be making the show, you know. So she said, you know what . Go inside the building. If you go in go inside the building, and theres an elevat right. Go there. Well meet you there. Were on our way. Were so sorry. Things have gotten delayed getting down and you know. So i go in the building. Its worse. Now im its really well lit. And theres a lot of people, and im just now im just standing by an elevator bank. [ laughter ] like this. You know, saying hello. And people are coming up. They want to pose and pictures, and so on and so forth, and everything else. I finally i call her back again. I say really, weve got to do something. I either that or i need to leave. I mean, this is just its getting worse. And she said no, no, no. Were seconds away. I hang up the phone, and all of a sudden i feel a sort of breeze, in an odd area. And i look down, and my zipper is broken. [ laughter ] and my pants are pulled wide [ laughter ] theyre a fitted pair of pants. And everythings right there. Ive been posing for pictures on the street. [ laughter ] you know, in front of the elevators and everything else. So anyway, i got up here seth it was like someone in yes, yeah. Seth you were at times square elmo, but for james spader. I know, i know. In a bad costume. So anyway, i came up here, and i had to borrow a pair of pants to do the show. And i think they were your pants. Seth really . Today yesterday i was on the phone with one of your producers and and he asked about the pants. And so i while he was on the phone with me, i walked into the closet and i found them. And they say sm on the inside. Seth yeah. Theyre a pair of black blue black jeans. Seth i think my question is why do you still have my pants . [ laughter ] i still have your pants. Seth have you been wearing them . No, but i wasnt going to then i mean, when i finished when i finished the show that night, i wasnt going to just put on back on my pants with seth yeah, of course. You know, yeah. Seth i dont know, it sounded like the damage had been done. [ laughter ] so they were nice enough to let me wear the pants home. Seth yeah. And you know what . Theyre a nice pair of black jeans. Ive been wearing them. Seth you have been wearing them . I know, ive been wearing your pants a lot. Seth okay, great. Well then, thank you so much seth yeah. [ laughter ] thats im sorry about the awkwardness of that. Thank you for working through it. And theres another you shoot the show in new york, which is really exciting to have a show that shoots here in new york. But you have some awkwardness doing blacklist in the city sometimes. Well, you know, new york city doesnt really new york city is the greatest city in the world. I mean, i really wouldnt [ cheers and applause ] you know, i wouldnt live anywhere else. I really i just love it here. And i wouldnt want to work anywhere else, but i must say, you know, you are just to get through the day in new york is a great effort for all new yorkers. [ laughter ] you know . Its a great effort for all new yorkers. And anything that one does to hinder that effort, is just unfair. And thats including shooting a Television Show on the street. Seth right, new yorkers youre saying, are not excited to see a tv show . Well no, of course not. I mean, i you know, if i walking down the street, and its not my show, im like what the [ bleep ] are you doing . [ laughter and applause ] seth yes. And you know i mean, can i tell you something . I actually, i i think on three different occasions i came home at the end of a long day and there was a spinoff, theres been a spinoff of our show thats been on for a bit, called redemption. Im on the blacklist. Seth yeah. And theres been sorry. [ light laughter ] i realize i hadnt even mentioned it. But anyway, theres been this spinoff thats been on, and three different times ive come home into my house, this is when i was living in the village, and theres been some, you know, all the trucks and the trailers and the cones and all the crap that goes along with shooting a Television Show or a movie or something, parked in front of my apartment building. And or the town house i had an apartment in. And i come home and i said, who the hell is this . [ light laughter ] and it was our spinoff. [ laughter ] sitting there, in front of our place. But anyway, so, you know, its a hindrance. A really crazy thing there are places around the city called hot zones, which is a location managers sort of lingo for places that have been so egregiously abused and exploited by either film or Television Shows, that they no longer can get permission to shoot there. For, like, the foreseeable future. Because theyve been shooting there so much, you know, where like, you know, sex in the city is shot there 1,000 times. Seth right. You know, because one of the kids, you know, one of the girls, you know, kids im like a grand father or something. [ laughter ] one of the kids. Seth yeah. Theyre all my contemporaries. Seth yeah, exactly. Why are you calling them kids . I dont know, i dont know. I dont know what happened. Seth Sarah Jessica parker is your daughter, right . [ laughter ] yes, yes. Anyway, so, you know, you get by and thats always exciting. But i must say, you do have to remind the production assistants who are, you know, detouring pedestrians to be polite and be pleasant because, you know what . Theyre, you know, we wouldnt be there we wouldnt be here without that. So, you know. Seth and i think the reward for new yorkers is, you know, sometimes there will be a set that will you know, get in your way and slow you down, and then sometimes youll just be walking by and youll see james spader with his fly down just taking pictures. [ laughter and applause ] thank you so much for being here. Always a pleasure to have you. [ cheers and applause ] the blacklist airs thursday nights at 10 00 on nbc. Well be right back with more late night. [ cheers and applause ] welcome to maxx you. You are whimsical, vibrant, statement making. You stand out in a crowd. And are pulled together. You follow your own lead and show your strength. Always comfortable in your own skin. We see what makes you unique. 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Thats what you get for bundling home and auto jamie you get sneakygood coverage. Thanks. Were gonna live forever red line, 20 minute delay. Oh, no. rhythmic clatter cant get a signal . So annoying, right . Yeah, and im late for a job interview. Hey, man, can you just nix it, just for like two seconds . Thank you. You need verizon. They have the largest, most reliable 4g lte network in america. Its made to work in places like this. With verizon unlimited, we could video chat the interview in hd right here. Okay. Hey, man, ill cue you. vo when it really, really matters, you need the best network and the best unlimited. Just 45 per line for four lines. Im a people person. drumming resumes [ cheers and applause ] seth welcome back, everybody. Now, during his first 100 days in office, President Trump has given a lot of speeches and they all tend to have one of two of different styles. Concise and controlled like his address to congress or loose and off the cuff like most of the rest of them. Well it turns out, thats because trump has two different speechwriters. And were lucky to have them with us. Please welcome Susan Maxwell and toby carlton, everybody. [ cheers and applause ] pleasure. Seth so thank you guys so much for being here. Hello, seth. Fantastic, seth. I mean look at this. [ light laughter ] look at all this. I mean, really. Seth now susan, you write the speeches for President Trump that are on a teleprompter, right . Thats correct. Seth and toby, you write the speeches that arent . I do. Great speeches. [ light laughter ] i only use the smartest words. [ light laughter ] words from the best colleges. Seth okay, and what qualities are important for a great speech . I find it important to include policy objectives and powerful imagery. Heres what a speech needs. Sentence fragments, some random numbers and the word immigrants. [ laughter ] seth okay. Can you give us an example . Seth i could definitely. Okay, heres the thing. Sentences, okay, they dont need a beginning, middle and okay look, i could have won the popular vote. I mean, unemployment was really high. So you see what i mean . Let me tell you, no one eats more cheese than those well heres the thing. [ light laughter ] some people are saying most people are saying its 40 its more like 80 , but if you really look at the numbers, the thing isim okay wow. [ cheers and applause ] seth are there any other differences in your styles . I focus on the issues that matter to Trump Supporters like bringing back jobs and making people feel safe. And i like to call people names. Low energy jeb, little marco. Weiner breath seth. [ laughter ] seth hey. I hated to say it. I really did. [ light laughter ] seth, im also careful to write all of my speeches using concrete, wellresearched facts. And i like to make facts up. Did you know all poor people are left handed . [ light laughter ] seth thats not true. Youre fake news i drop fake news in every one of my speeches. Seth also, are you getting lower in your seat as we are going . Im very comfortable in my own skin. Seth okay. [ light laughter ] you know, oh and another thing i always do, is i like to throw in contradicting statements about his relationship with vladimir putin. Like i have never met putin. I have met putin. Dont know the guy. Hes my best friend. Never laid eyes on him. Vladimir who . I gave him my kidney. Seth okay. [ laughter and applause ] is there a difference in how you both prepare the president to give a speech . Absolutely. Before the president s speech to the joint session of congress, i handed him a 55 page document and then we rehearsed his delivery for hours. [ laughter ] and before he goes on the stage, i hand him his hair. [ laughter and applause ] seth okay is there is there anything else you do to prepare the president to give a speech . Yes, i tell him to pick one or two people in the crowd to focus on. [ light laughter ] and i tell him if he sees a black person in the crowd, to point them out. [ light laughter ] seth and where, if you dont mind my asking, where did you go to college . Unintelligible. Seth okay, great. [ laughter and applause ] before we go, is there any advice you would give to aspiring speechwriters . If i had any advice for aspiring speechwriters, i guess it would be to choose your words carefully. Okay, well most writers, they dont even think about everyone says so. But bill oreilly, great guy. [ light laughter ] you know, and i say at 70 but maybe its like 90 of the 70 , you know, because heres the thing, weiner breath seth, immigrants. Seth okay. [ laughter and applause ] seth, our style might be different, but when it comes down to it, toby and i are really saying the same thing. Donald trump is our president. And no matter what your political views, you need to respect that. Suck it, losers. Seth i dont like this guy. Trumps speechwriters, everyone. [ applause ] well be right back with John Mellencamp. [ cheers and applause ] im dr. Kelsey mcneely and some day you might be calling me an energy farmer. Energy lives here. New degree ultraclearnt saving black white. Othes. No yellow stains on white clothes. No white marks on black clothes. New degree ultraclear black white. It wont let you down. Is thno, its, uh, breyers gelato indulgences. You really wouldnt like it. Its got caramel and crunchy stuff. I like caramel and crunchy stuff. Breyers gelato indulgences. Its way beyond ice cream. Well its a perfect nespresso hold on a second. Orge. Mmm. [mel torme sings comin home baby] hey there. Want a lift . Where are we going . No dont tell me. Let me guess. Have a nice ride. How far would you go for coffee thats a cup above . I brought you nespresso. Nespresso. What else . If yits usually because you were driving too fast or you didnt look before you turned or you didnt stop for someone in the crosswalk. Pedestrians dont come with airbags. Seth welcome back, everybody. Our next guest is a grammy winning singersongwriter and member of the rock n roll hall of fame. He kicks off his all new sad clowns and hillbillies tour june 5th. Hell be joined by 13time grammy Award Winning singersongwriter emmylou harris, as well as carlene carter. Please welcome to the show, John Mellencamp, everybody. [ cheers and applause ] seth thank you so much for being here, john. Happy to be here. Seth im very honored to you have with the show but i also feel like its a unique opportunity to talk to youre an activist and yet there is a lot of talk about the bubble these days. You live in indiana. You live in a red state. How has that been for you . And youve been doing that your whole life. Well, you know, Everybody Knows me there. So theyre pretty particular when they talk to me about politics which is never. Seth okay. [ light laughter ] so they just stay away. Dont talk to mellencamp about that. cause we know where he stands. Seth okay. But it gives you a different perspective. And you know, it always surprises me, you know, when there is an election, what happens. You know, i drive down the street and i see these signs in peoples yards you know, and its like you just know that its like theyre voting against their interests. But you know, i put a bunch of signs out but the republicans stole them. [ light laughter ] seth they really did. They just took them away . They took them out. Seth well you talk obviously youve been inspired by where you come from. You write songs about every day people. And i feel like you take time to write about the sort of forgotten americanat the ones who were susceptible to the trump message. How do you feel they are with him now after 100 days . Do you have any sense of that . Well, i think that, you know, pretty believing, i think. I think they still believe, you know . I mean like my position is that im i want a front row seat. I just want to sit here and watch this and see how weird it can get. [ light laughter ] how weird is this going to get . Seth so far pretty weird. [ light laughter ] yeah. Seth it is even i thought it would be weird. Its been weirder than i thought it would be. [ light laughter ] oh, its going to get a lot weirder. Seth you think its gonna get a lot weirder . Oh, yeah. Seth okay, thats something to look forward to. Because there is going to be a lot of this, you know. A lot of back pedaling and its like well im going to get around to this. Seth it doesnt seem fair to me that people should have more than one incredible talent. We know about you as a singersongwriter. Youre an accomplished painter. And thats actually kinda what you thought your path would be, yeah . Yeah. I came to new york originally in Art Student League. And i was singing in bar bands since i was like 13, you know. And i had some demo tapes that the bar band had made. So i just thought well im in new york, ill drop them off. And before i even got back to indiana, i had received a call that said hey, we want to talk to you about signing a record contract. It was like, well, let me see. The Art Student League wants money. [ light laughter ] these people want to pay me money. So, you know, that was the way it worked for me. Seth but you kept it up over the years. You still painted. And is it true that bob dylan was the one who convinced you to sell your paintings . To start selling them . How did you know that . Seth we do research here, yeah. [ laughter ] im Close Friends with bob. [ laughter ] he told me not to sell mine. [ laughter and applause ] thats a good one. No santa claus. [ light laughter ] seth exactly. Is everybody in on this . Seth did bob see them, and say you should sell them . Uh, yeah. He was in my studio and said i have hundreds of paintings sitting around. He said what are you going to do with them . I said i dont know. He said, why dont you sell them . And i said, to who . Whod want these things . And he said, well i sell mine. And i said, well, okay. [ light laughter ] you know, cause it never really dawned on me to want to try to sell. Seth sure. It was my hobby, you know . It turned into a hobby and but i do it all the time. I just spent 36 days and did not leave my i have a house and i have an art studio and i didnt see anybody for 36 days except the people that work in my house. Seth and was that just did you have just some inspiration that you felt like oh, ive got to get this work out now . What makes you work for 36 days straight on something . Well, you know, when youve been you know, when you make stuff up, when you make we call it create stuff, the longer you do it, the more open you become to it. So, you know, ill be painting, you know, and a voice will go, hey, john, you might want to like put the paintbrush down and write these words down. And ill go, i dont want to. I want to keep painting. And then finally the voice will get the best of me and ill write the song down. And then ill find it a couple days later and go, wow, when did i write this . [ light laughter ] this is not too bad if i just change a few words here and there, you know. So, you know, it kind of keeps you open. You become like a conduit for ideas. You know, so i dont i dont have to sit around and go, i need to write a song about this, i need to write a song about that. You know, i just dont do that anymore. They just kind of are sent to me. And i go, thank you wherever it came from. And then i go back to painting. Seth well, im so glad thats the process these days. And thyo im looking forward to it. [ cheers and applause ] thank you. Seth the album sad clowns and hillbillies is in stores friday. Well be right back with music from John Mellencamp. Take on the mainstream. Introducing nissans new midnight edition. No yellow stains on white clothes. No white marks on black clothes. New degree ultraclear black white. It wont let you down. Red line, 20 minute delay. Oh, no. rhythmic clatter cant get a signal . So annoying, right . Yeah, and im late for a job interview. Hey, man, can you just nix it, just for like two seconds . Thank you. You need verizon. They have the largest, most reliable 4g lte network in america. Its made to work in places like this. With verizon unlimited, we could video chat the interview in hd right here. Okay. Hey, man, ill cue you. vo when it really, really matters, you need the best network and the best unlimited. Just 45 per line for four lines. Im a people person. drumming resumes this blue goo leaves a residue quit playin with my eyes,ghter. Goo. So, seventh generation developed this powerful natural detergent it gets your clothes clean. Really clean. Buh bye blue goo, and come clean with seventh generation. Inthousands ofk barrels lay silent aging, building a fuller smoother flavor that only comes from being aged four long years at jim beam our history is made from the inside poured over ice and serve with club soda and a fresh lemon wedge to make a crisp, refreshing jim beam apple and soda. Im at higher risk fore as depression. Ave a stroke. Im 26 more likely to develop an irregular heartbeat. I have a 65 higher chance of developing diabetes. No matter who we are, these diseases can be managed or prevented when caught early on. Because with better research, the right medicine, and with doctors who help keep me healthy to begin with, we will thrive. [ cheers and applause ] seth here to perform his song grand view with the incredible martina mcbride, welcome back John Mellencamp. [ cheers and applause ] just an old country boy wearing my oshkosh boots walked by the trailer factory every day on my way to school early on in life the only thing i wanted to do was buy me a trailer and move it down to grandview got out of high school got on at whirlpool bought me a car two guitars and everything me and patty were falling in love before the summer was through i started thinking about trailers and high lots in grandview it was a scorching summer night we just left the dairy bar we was sitting out on ridgeland road in the front seat of my car i said patty if you marry me babe ill take good care of you ill buy a brand new trailer and move it down to grandview she said ah your wedding song it sounds real nice and i could sure get off on sleeping with you at night but i tell ya what baby you want me heres what to do i want a brick home like my mothers aint movin down to grandview thats what she told me theres been a lot of years a lot of debt a lot of pain our youngest babys movin out when she gets married next spring when the bash is over ill tell you what im going to do picked out gonna move it down to grandview i got this 28 by 70 doublewide we could slide it on in there honey we can chock those wheels real good i want it settin nice and level back it on in there boys and dont get no mud on my front porch cause the son of a bitch is brand spankin new baby stick it into grandview stick it into grandview stick it into grandview slide it on in there honey stick it into grandview stick it into grandview [ cheers and applause ] seth John Mellencamp and martina mcbride, folks the album sad clowns and hillbillies is out friday. And head over to latenightseth. Com for a performance of his classic hit, jack diane. Well be right back. [ cheers and applause ] [ cheers and applause ] seth my thanks to james spader, John Mellencamp, martina mcbride, everybody. [ cheers and applause ] lucius, Allison Miller, 8g band. Stay tuned for carson daly. Well see you tomorrow. [ cheers and applause ] carson hey gang, youre watching last call. Im carson daly, thanks so much for finding us. Weve got a great show coming your w, featuring the white