Ear on TV: Week of September 29

The way soul singer Nikka Costa tells the story, there was a difference of a opinion between the kind of music she wanted to make and what Virgin Records wanted from her. "Why do you have to scream like that?" was an example of the kind of questions Costa had to endure. Credit the 31-year old Costa with sticking to her guns, as her forthcoming album, Pebble to a Pearl, doesn't hold back on her soulful scream, which you can witness for yourself as she performs the first single "Stuck to You" on Leno Wednesday night. It certainly helped moving to the reborn Stax Records label, given their influence on Costa's soulful delivery.

Speaking of sticking to his guns, Pete Seeger has been going at that vocation for a long time, finding a cause to sing about either with The Weavers, The Almanac Singers, or solo going back to even before the Spanish Civil War. His career has survived being blacklisted during the McCarthy era, and was one of the first to take up the cause of the environment. Seeger co-founded the Hudson River Sloop Clearwater in 1966, and he's still singing about the effects of pollution on the river, with the song "Throw Away That Shad Net (How Are We Going To Save Tomorrow?)" on his latest release, At 89. This national treasure plays Letterman Monday, and at nearly 90 years old, we should relish every appearance we can get from him.

Finally, Lucinda Williams is getting ready to release, Little Honey, which might be her best album since 1998's Car Wheels on a Gravel Road. She performs the first single, "Real Love,", on Letterman Thursday, and Jackson Browne fans might notice that the song blatantly lifts a guitar line from Browne's "Boulevard." So much so, in fact, that I'd venture to guess that Browne must have some songwriting credit, or at least his blessing, because as he sings in that song, "nobody rides for free (nobody, nobody)".

Playlist: Picks for the week
Monday, September 29
CBS: Late Show With David Letterman: Pete Seeger
FUEL: The Daily Habit: Team Robespierre
NBC: Late Night With Conan O'Brien: The Watson Twins
Tuesday, September 30
ABC: Jimmy Kimmel Live: Elvis Costello
CBS: Late Show With David Letterman: The Virgins
CBS: Late Late Show With Craig Ferguson: Alice Cooper
NBC: Last Call With Carson Daly: Dan Le Sac Vs Scroobius Pip
Wednesday, October 1
FUEL: The Daily Habit: Aesop Rock
NBC: The Tonight Show with Jay Leno: Nikka Costa
PBS: Tavis Smiley: The Nightwatchman
Thursday, October 2
CBS: Late Show With David Letterman: Lucinda Williams
CBS: Late Late Show With Craig Ferguson: Michael Franti & Spearhead
FUEL: The Daily Habit: Man Man
NBC: Late Night With Conan O'Brien: Ben Folds
NBC: Last Call With Carson Daly: Cut Copy
SUNDANCE: Live From Abbey Road: Stereophonics, Colbie Caillat, Joan Armatrading
Friday, October 3
CBS: Late Late Show With Craig Ferguson: Randy Newman
FUEL: The Daily Habit: Foals
IFC: The Henry Rollins Show: Queens of the Stone Age (REPEAT)
NBC: The Tonight Show with Jay Leno: T.I.
NBC: Late Night With Conan O'Brien: Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds
NBC: Last Call With Carson Daly: Grizzly Bear (REPEAT)
SYNDICATION: Live With Regis and Kelly: Robin Thicke
Saturday, October 4
NBC: Saturday Night Live: The Killers
PBS: Austin City Limits: R.E.M. (REPEAT)
Sunday, October 5
A&E: Private Sessions: Squeeze (REPEAT)