Ear on TV: Week of October 15

On paper, it's a bit of a thin week, but there's still plenty of treasures out there to be had. On Letterman Thursday night, Band of Horses perform "Is There a Ghost" from their second full length, Cease to Begin, and it will be interesting to compare it to last year's network television debut on the same program, where front man Ben Bridwell was noticeably nervous.

Meanwhile, two dance-oriented duos make their network television debut this week. First up is the Austin electro-dance rock duo Ghostland Observatory who appear on Conan Tuesday night, and when they perform "Sad Sad City" the studio audience won't be able to stay in their seats. Same goes for Chromeo when they appear on The Jimmy Kimmel Show Wednesday night, as their electro-funk, while sometimes ironic, is always irresistable. They claim to be "the only successful Arab/Jewish collaboration since the beginning of time," so there's that as well.

Elsewhere, Spoon is becoming nearly ubiquitous, hitting Conan Thursday night. Thank goodness Spoon are at a point where they can dictate which songs they play, as they have yet to play the same song twice, to my knowledge. One can only guess which song from Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga they'll play this week.

Playlist: Picks for the week
Monday, October 15
SYNDICATION: The Ellen Degeneres Show: Angie Stone
Tuesday, October 16
CBS: Late Show With David Letterman: Sondre Lerche
NBC: The Tonight Show with Jay Leno: PJ Harvey
NBC: Late Night With Conan O'Brien: Ghostland Observatory
Wednesday, October 17
ABC: Jimmy Kimmel Live: Chromeo
NBC: Late Night With Conan O'Brien: Mute Math
Thursday, October 18
ABC: Jimmy Kimmel Live: Talib Kweli
CBS: Late Show With David Letterman: Band of Horses
CBS: Late Late Show With Craig Ferguson: They Might Be Giants
NBC: Late Night With Conan O'Brien: Spoon
NBC: Last Call With Carson Daly: Teddybears (REPEAT)
Friday, October 19
FUEL: The Daily Habit: Every Time I Die
IFC: The Henry Rollins Show: The Blood Brothers
NBC: Late Night With Conan O'Brien: Brother Ali
Saturday, October 20
NBC: Saturday Night Live: Kanye West (REPEAT)
PBS: Austin City Limits: Femi Kuti

tags: music, television, soundtrack, talk shows, spoon, chromeo, ghostland observatory, band of horses, indie rock, rhapsody