Thirty years ago Elvis Costello got himself banned from Saturday Night Live. The circumstances were surprising considering how SNL presented itself as counter–cultural, but Costello had planned to perform "Radio Radio," his critical indictment of mainstream radio and the show immediately condemned the idea.

Eight seconds into the song Elvis promised, "Less Than Zero," the band stopped and performed "Radio Radio" anyway, earning him a ban from the show for more than a decade and proved that the man was cooler than Lorne Michaels.