Ear On TV: Week of September 10

Will you remember where you were when Kanye West took on 50 Cent for tops of the charts on that fateful day, September 11? The pair met up for this week's issue of Rolling Stone (pictured,) comparing tomorrow's release date to a big boxing match, complete with all the chest-thumping and finger-pointing that goes with the lead up to the main event (West's Graduation, vs 50 Cent's Curtis.) 50 Cent, for one, acknowledges it's all just hype to sell the records, even copping to the lie that West was changing his release date.

Meanwhile, on the September 11 release day, they'll be both appearing on BET's 106 & Park, squaring off in a duel hosted by ESPN's Stuart Scott. Both will perform songs from their respective albums, and Scott will be there to break it down. Both artists will also hit the traditional talk show route, in fact they'll both perform on Jimmy Kimmel Live this week. 50 Cent is up first, performing Tuesday night, while Kanye stops by on Thursday night. West gets in one last appearance, hitting Ellen on Friday, like a last punch before the bell. Speaking of punches, let's hope he's calmed down after his (seemingly predictable) awards show rant last night (Kanye West Loses It Again, Says He'll 'Never Return To MTV.) Or was that more PR for tomorrow's release? If you're wondering who to root for, Hip-Hop blogger and DJ Jay Smooth has a suggestion: Neither... in fact boycott 'em all this week.

But back to the September 11 date... 50 Cent and West seem to have some memory loss when talking about it in the interview. Kanye even has the gall to think that folks are talking about the date as if he and Fiddy invented it, saying "...now people gonna remember this date for the rest of their life." As if they already didn't.

It's not all Fiddy and Kan-aye this week, though, as Spoon finally makes some appearances in support of their July release Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga. Brit Daniels and co. hit Leno on the day West and 50 Cent invented, and then play Wednesday night on Late Late Show With Craig Ferguson, two appearances that guarantee to be far more humble then the previous artists profiled.

Playlist: Picks for the week
Monday, September 10
CBS: Late Show With David Letterman: Glen Hansard, Markéta Irglová
NBC: Late Night With Conan O'Brien: Bad Religion
NBC: Last Call With Carson Daly: Glen Hansard, Markéta Irglová REPEAT
Tuesday, September 11
ABC: Jimmy Kimmel Live: 50 Cent
BET: 106 & Park: Kanye West, 50 Cent
NBC: The Tonight Show with Jay Leno: Spoon
NBC: Late Night With Conan O'Brien: Chesterfield Kings
SYNDICATION: Live With Regis and Kelly: Lyle Lovett
Wednesday, September 12
ABC: Jimmy Kimmel Live: Modest Mouse
CBS: Late Late Show With Craig Ferguson: Spoon
NBC: The Tonight Show with Jay Leno: The Bravery
NBC: Late Night With Conan O'Brien: Lyle Lovett
Thursday, September 13
ABC: Jimmy Kimmel Live: Kanye West
NBC: Last Call With Carson Daly: Teddybears
SYNDICATION: The Ellen Degeneres Show: Rihanna
Friday, September 14
ABC: Jimmy Kimmel Live: Hot Hot Heat
CBS: Late Show With David Letterman: Chamillionaire
IFC: The Henry Rollins Show: Peaches (REPEAT)
NBC: Late Night With Conan O'Brien: The Used
SYNDICATION: The Ellen Degeneres Show: Kanye West

tags: music, television, soundtrack, talk shows, 50 cent, kanye west, hip-hop, spoon, indie rock, rhapsody