No doubt you’ve kept abreast of the late night shake-up unfolding over the past couple weeks. I have to admit, I myself feel a bit guilty about Conan’s sudden change in fortunes (relatively speaking). I’m sure many of my demographic feel similarly—for it was us that fueled the success of NBC’s lanky, wire-framed longshot. Conan was a late night staple in dormitory halls across America as undergrads settled in to get some rest before their 11AM Romantic Era seminar. But then we grew up, and got jobs, and stopped watching TV—especially that of the late night variety.

I turned my back on Conan. I got tired of the string-dance and the self-deprecating humor. When I did feel the need to combat insomnia with late night programming, I more often than not found myself flipping to Craig Ferguson, or reruns of Arrested Development on Hulu. Unfortunately, a large portion of Conan’s viewership grew into adults who couldn’t be counted on for boob-tube loyalty. And just like that Conan lost his slot on The Tonight Show, and now that cheesy mother-fucker Jay Leno is back.

Because I’m a sentimental sucker, I decided to watch Conan’s last show. It was ok—a laugh here, a fuzzy memory there, a performance from Will Ferrell that reminded me how funny he used to be before he made thirty-seven movies. Things even got teary-eyed for just a moment, as gratitude was bestowed upon late night’s red-haired prince. In spite of Tom Hank’s sentimentality and some heart-string-tugging video montages, I thought one of the nicest moments came after Neil Young finished an entrancing performance of “Far From Home.” As the Canadian folk-hero shook hands with Conan while the audience applauded he leaned in and told Conan, “thanks for everything you’ve done for new music.”

Neil had a great point. Over the years Conan had opened his stage to a long line of performers who would have never normally dreamt of seeing a minute of network television airtime. Conan’s show was built for a younger audience from the start, and this meant he had to dip outside the regular stable of musical talent making the rounds on talk and variety shows. Often as an undergraduate, it was the allure of the musical guest that kept my eyes open that extra fifty-five minutes on a weeknight.

As Conan’s ship sales into distant waters, I wanted to share some of the more memorable performances I could recall from those drug and alcohol fueled years. This is a short list of what is surely many—please feel free to share any I’ve neglected to mention.

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Animal Collective – “#1″

DFA 1979 – “Romantic Rights”

White Stripes – “Let’s Build A Home”