Just when I was getting worried for a while that the super-aggro, mass-culture-canned version of dubstep (see: Skrillex, Excision) was starting to completely fill out the mainstream’s understanding of electronic music, legendary English innovators Portishead calmed me down. The trip-hop act showed up on “Late Night with Jimmy Fallon” to play a brand new song and a classic, for the first time on American TV in 13 years. 

Watch (or rather, experience) “Chase the Tear,” which the band is currently promoting as a 12” release, and “Mysterons,” a haunting song that will probably outlive us all:

From here on out, it’s a pretty safe bet that a Justin Timberlake late-night appearance equates to another installment in the “History of Rap” series, which, as of last night, is now up to three. I think “Part I” will always remain the best just because: 

1. it was completely unexpected,
2. that two white guys slipped from Eminem’s “The Real Slim Shady” straight into Missy Elliot’s “Work It,” each with its little nonsense-isms, and
3. they capped it with the crowd spontaneously singing the chorus to Jay-Z’s love letter to New York.

De La Soul, Sir Mix-a-Lot, Young MC, House of Pain, Coolio, The Fugees, OutKast, Snoop, Kanye, Nicki Minaj and “H.O.R.” mainstays Beastie Boys all get the treatment here. Decide which one you like best: