Ear on TV: Week of 03.08.10: Broken Bells

Holy smokes, this week is packed! First up is Broken Bells, the much anticipated collaboration between Danger Mouse and the Shins' James Mercer, and they hit the talk show circuit this week in promotion of their self-titled debut release, playing Letterman Tuesday and Fallon Thursday.

Producer extraordinaire Danger Mouse (a.k.a. Brian Burton) is at home in collaborating, having already paired himself up with the likes of Cee-Lo (Gnarls Barkley), Damon Albarn (Gorillaz), MF Doom (Danger Doom) and David Lynch with Sparklehorse* (Dark Night of the Soul). In James Mercer, Burton finds a kindred soul, as both are fascinated with sixties pop, and it's reflected in the recording. The Zombies, Love, Pet Sounds and even famed Italian film composer Ennio Morricone -- they're all well represented here.

*Sadly, Sparklehorse songwriter Mark Linkous committed suicide yesterday, tragically right as his collaboration with Danger Mouse finally gets a release date after toiling the past year in legal trouble.

Meanwhile, Joan Jett is on the talk show circuit in part to help promote the film The Runaways, which follows Jett's original Runaways band from the seventies. Unfortunately, the film's release date has been pushed back a month, but Jett is still set to perform, along with the Blackhearts, on The Tonight Show Tuesday night.

Elsewhere, Pearl Jam is set to perform for the fifth time on Saturday Night Live, having previously graced the stage in 1992, 1994, 1996 and (gulp) 2006. Ted Leo (and the Pharmacists) will be rocking Fallon on Monday night in support of his latest burner (The Brutalist Bricks). I expect a flurry of tweets, as both Leo (@tedleo) and ?uestlove (@questlove) are fairly prolific on Twitter. We've already learned that Leo is shaving for tonight's performance (can you match that, Questo?). Then on Friday, Vampire Weekend will stop by Fallon, making it their late night coverage complete for the year.

Also: The third season of the children's program Yo Gabba Gabba kicks off this week, featuring music from Weezer, Of Montreal and Mos Def. Oh, to be a child again.

Playlist: Picks for the week
Monday, March 8
FUEL: The Daily Habit: Timmy Curran
NBC: Late Night With Jimmy Fallon: Ted Leo
NICK JR: Yo Gabba Gabba: "Weird Al" Yankovic, Sarah Silverman
Tuesday, March 9
CBS: Late Show With David Letterman: Broken Bells
FUEL: The Daily Habit: Black Rebel Motorcycle Club
NBC: The Tonight Show with Jay Leno: Joan Jett & the Blackhearts
NBC: Late Night With Jimmy Fallon: The Allman Brothers Band
NBC: Last Call With Carson Daly: David Gray
NICK JR: Yo Gabba Gabba: Weezer
Wednesday, March 10
ABC: Jimmy Kimmel Live: Manchester Orchestra
CBS: Late Show With David Letterman: Alkaline Trio
FOX: Lopez Tonight: Lenny Kravitz
FUEL: The Daily Habit: Free Energy
NBC: Late Night With Jimmy Fallon: The National
NBC: Last Call With Carson Daly: Lisa Hannigan
NICK JR: Yo Gabba Gabba: Of Montreal
SUNDANCE: Spectacle: Elvis Costello With...: Elvis Costello, Bruce Springsteen [part 1] (REPEAT)
Thursday, March 11
ABC: Jimmy Kimmel Live: Gin
CBS: Late Show With David Letterman: John Hiatt
FOX: Lopez Tonight: Ozzy Osbourne
NBC: Late Night With Jimmy Fallon: Broken Bells with The Roots
NBC: Last Call With Carson Daly: Weezer
NICK JR: Yo Gabba Gabba: Mos Def, Devo, The Aquabats
Friday, March 12
CBS: Late Show With David Letterman: Drive-By Truckers
FUEL: The Daily Habit: We Were Promised Jetpacks
NBC: Late Night With Jimmy Fallon: Vampire Weekend
NBC: Last Call With Carson Daly: Lily Allen
Saturday, March 13
NBC: Saturday Night Live: Pearl Jam