Soundtracking Wednesday Night: Bionic Birdhouse

Since there's not really a show that's consistently warrants special musical attention on Wednesday -- a night of primarily freshman series -- here's a grab-bag of what went down.

First, congratulations are in order for Pushing Daisies, who gets picked up for the full season. I guess congratulations are in order for television viewers as well, who have shown the good taste to make this quirky show a hit. Last night, for the second time this season, Olive (Kristin Chenoweth) breaks out into song, this time with Aunt Vivian (Ellen Greene) singing harmonies on They Might Be Giant's "Birdhouse in Your Soul" (see video). It was brief, but probably just the right amount of singing, as Olive's turn at "Hopelessly Devoted To You" dragged on a bit too long a couple episodes ago.

Hearing Chenoweth and Greene singing was kind of an anticipated event, given their musical history. Chenoweth most recently with her role as Glinda in Wicked and Greene with her memorable role as Audrey in Little Shop of Horrors. Combine that with the precious pairing of They Might Be Giants with Pushing Daisies and my twee meter nearly burst.

Meanwhile, Bionic Woman made great strides with their fifth episode in, showing that fill-in showrunner Jason Katims (performing double-duty with his Friday Night Lights) might have the ship righted after the rocky start. Just in time, too, as another Jason (Cahill) is now stepping in to take the reigns -- for good, one hopes. Cahill comes on board with experience with a Sopranos pedigree, which is well respected these days, especially given the products that Sopranos vets Matthew Weiner (Mad Men) and Todd Kessler (Damages) recently put out. As far as music goes, you can't help but wonder if Katims had anything to do with the upgrade on that front as well, as songs from Ben Kweller, Rilo Kiley and Ani DiFranco spiced up the drama a bit this time out, much like FNL. Thankfully, Jason Cahill worked under David Chase, a man who understands the importance of music, and I'm guessing some of that rubbed off on him. Let's hope so, anyway.

Lastly, I'm just including some of the songs from ladies choice dramas Gossip Girl and Private Practice, because I either just skimmed through (GG) or didn't bother to watch (PP). Though, from what I could tell, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Nekta and Beck livened up an otherwise droll masquerade ball, but that's all I'm dishing on GG, JQP.

Playlist: Soundtracking Wednesday Night - 10.24.07
1. "Birdhouse In Your Soul" - They Might Be Giants - Pushing Daisies, Ep 104
2. "Nothing Happening" - Ben Kweller - Bionic Woman, Ep 105
3. "Silver Lining" - Rilo Kiley - Bionic Woman, Ep 105
4. "Recoil" - Ani DiFranco - Bionic Woman, Ep 105
5. "Kiss, Kiss" - Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Gossip Girl, Ep 106
6. "Guess Who" - Nekta - Gossip Girl, Ep 106
7. "Timebomb" - Beck - Gossip Girl, Ep 106
8. "Happy Ending" - Mika - Gossip Girl, Ep 106
9. "What I've Done" - Until June - Private Practice, Ep 105
10. "Mas Que Nada" - Sergio Mendes - Private Practice, Ep 105

tags: music, television, soundtrack, pushing daisies, bionic woman, gossip girl, they might be giants