Monday, May 19, 2008

Ear on TV: The Week of May 19

It's been about a year since I originally sang the praises of the Nick Jr. program Yo Gabba Gabba, and much has happened since. Besides becoming reoccurring joke with Joel McHale on The Soup! and premiering to success in Canada and the UK, it's also caught on with drug-induced college kids. One thing that hasn't changed, though, is that The Shins are still scheduled to appear on the program. Finally, the performance taped last year will air this Friday in an episode called "Imagine." Shins frontman (and recent parent) James Mercer contributed the original song "It's OK, Try Again" for the program (see video below) and one can imagine it appearing eventually on a soundtrack, along with other YGG! hits like "Party in my Tummy" and The Trebling Blue Stars version of ""I Found Love" (a great The Free Design cover). YGG started work on their second season last week, and already on confirmed to appear is the band I'm From Barcelona.

Elsewhere, the (almost sickingly) cute married duo Mates of State appear on Conan Tuesday night to perform a song from their new album Re-Arrange Us, which is hits shelves earlier that day. With lead single "Get Better," we're asked to 'throw our politics away,' and dig their MOR piano-based ballad. It makes me miss the band's more inventive pop writing of the past, but at least there are still plenty of brilliant flashes in the album (especially with my new fave "The Re-Arranger").

Finally, R.E.M. recently shot a performance for the upcoming 34th season of Austin City Limits, but for some reason, 'upcoming' has changed to 'this weekend.' So why exactly is PBS moving ACL's season premiere up about four months? My guess is it has something to do with R.E.M.'s summer tour kicking off this weekend -- Willie Nelson doesn't even get that kind of favor.



Playlist: Picks for the week
Monday, May 19
CBS: The Early Show: Lenny Kravitz
CBS: Late Show With David Letterman: Sara Bareilles
CBS: Late Late Show With Craig Ferguson: Estelle
FUEL: The Daily Habit: From First To Last
FUSE: The Sauce: Ashes Divide
NBC: Late Night With Conan O'Brien: Devotchka
NBC: Last Call With Carson Daly: Ben Harper
SYNDICATION: Live With Regis and Kelly: Natasha Bedingfield
Tuesday, May 20
CBS: The Early Show: Lenny Kravitz
NBC: The Today Show: Jason Mraz
NBC: Late Night With Conan O'Brien: Mates of State
NBC: Last Call With Carson Daly: The Flobots
SYNDICATION: Live With Regis and Kelly: Sara Bareilles
Wednesday, May 21
ABC: Jimmy Kimmel Live: The Kooks
CBS: Late Late Show With Craig Ferguson: k.d. lang
NBC: The Today Show: Al Green
Thursday, May 22
ABC: Jimmy Kimmel Live: Death Cab for Cutie
CBS: Late Show With David Letterman: The Republic Tigers
FUEL: The Daily Habit: The Heavy
NBC: Late Night With Conan O'Brien: Atmosphere (Rap)
NBC: Last Call With Carson Daly: Tristan Prettyman
Friday, May 23
ABC: Jimmy Kimmel Live: Neil Diamond
CBS: Late Late Show With Craig Ferguson: Duffy
FUEL: The Daily Habit: Atmosphere (Rap), Chuck D
NICKJR: Yo Gabba Gabba: The Shins
RAVEHD: Later with Jools Holland: Hot Chip, Sheryl Crow, Sugarush Beat Company, The Imagined Village, Liza Minnelli, Jacob Golden
Saturday, May 24
BBCAMERICA: The Graham Norton Show: Duffy
NBC: Saturday Night Live: Gnarls Barkley (REPEAT)
PBS: Austin City Limits: R.E.M.

2 comments:

Shawn Anderson said...

Picks for the week of 05.19.08

1. Bring It On - Lenny Kravitz
2. Love Song - Sara Bareilles
3. No Substitute Love - Estelle
4. Worlds Away - From First To Last
5. Enemies - ASHES dIVIDE
6. Along the Way - DeVotchKa
7. Steal My Kisses - Ben Harper
8. Love Like This - Natasha Bedingfield
9. Make It Mine - Jason Mraz
10. Goods - Mates of State
11. Handlebars - The Flobots
12. Always Where I Need To Be - The Kooks
13. I Dream of Spring - k.d. lang
14. Lay It Down - Al Green
15. No Sunlight - Death Cab For Cutie
16. Golden Sand - The Republic Tigers
17. That Kind Of Man - Heavy
18. Puppets - Atmosphere
19. Hello - Tristan Prettyman
20. Make It Funky - Chuck D
21. Pretty Amazing Grace - Neil Diamond
22. Mercy - Duffy
23. Wipe My Butt - The Shins
24. Ready For The Floor - Hot Chip
25. Who's Gonna Save My Soul - Gnarls Barkley
26. Living Well Is The Best Revenge - R.E.M.

emily said...

Regarding the R.E.M. ACL show that is set to premiere this weekend...
The band asked us to air it earlier since their tour starts this weekend and we were happy to accommodate them. Our schedule is such that bands who tape early in the spring have to wait until October or later for the shows to air, which can be frustrating to both fans and the band. Also, with this fall's election, PBS pledge drives and the Olympics, we have been considering changing up the way our season is structured, and have been looking for opportunities like this where we can present a very special episode at a time that is not during our usual new season. The R.E.M. show will air again in October as the first episode of our "traditional" 34th season.