Fred Armisen's punk life

If I told you to 'put a bird on it', you’d know immediately what I meant. This iconic sketch from Portlandia is the work of Fred Armisen. He’s a comedian who has filled our screens for almost 20 years; as a cast member on Saturday Night Live, alongside his best friend Carrie Brownstein co-creating Portlandia, and more recently on the mockumentary series Documentary Now. Music has been central to Fred’s comedy the whole way through, and that makes sense when you know that he started his creative life as a drummer. In fact it was during a visit to SXSW back in 1998, playing in a couple of bands, that he made his first mockumentary. It got people’s attention, and four years later, he was on SNL. Fred Armisen lives a punk life, creating and recreating his identity across every character he plays, and finding the connection in brilliant songs. Here are just five.

Bad Brains - ‘Big Take Over’

Meat Puppets - ‘Up On The Sun’

Jessica Pratt - ‘This Time Around’

The Damned - ‘Under The Floor Again’

Sleater-Kinney - ‘Start Together’