After a week in which U2 took over not only his theater but also the entire street that he works on, David Letterman got back to the business of being funny on The Late Show last night. Of course, it didn't hurt matters much that his first guest was the eternally louche (his word, not ours) Russell Brand, who made an appearance to plug the long-awaited U.S. release of his U.K.-best-selling book, My Booky Wook. While we would've liked to have heard Russell's take on the recent crank-calling fiasco that ultimately cost him his job at the BBC, we’re of the mind-set that it never really matters WHAT Brand decides to discuss — as long as he’s discussing something, it's bound to be classic. Take, for example, his riff last night on smuggling drugs onto an airplane and subsequently getting kicked off; not only did it elicit genuine laughter from Dave (quite the accomplishment in and of itself), but also from us. Enjoy!

Also, just for the record, we recognize that Brand is a bit of a divisive dervish, in that some people don’t really appreciate his manic streak. However, we’ve long admired the energy and anything-can-happen vibe that he brings to his live performances, and that's the main reason he’s a close second behind Ricky Gervais for the guy we think deserves a shot at hosting a big awards show. That is all.

The Late Show With David Letterman [CBS]