Ear on TV: Week of 09.20.10: Pavement

Stephen Malkmus of Pavement at Sasquatch! Music Festival

Appetite for nostalgia seems boundless, as this week on talk shows makes perfectly clear. Nineties indie faves Pavement, Superchunk and Primus all perform this week, reminding us of the point in time when starting your band name with "the" became uncool.

Pavement announced their reunion last year, and have been both thrilling and disappointing audiences alike for a good chunk of 2010, just as it's always been. The sprawling guitar-heavy band move from chaos to pure pop climax at the drop of a hat, often requiring a few songs in the set to get 'loosened up.' They'll have to hit their stride a lot sooner this week, performing on both The Colbert Report (Monday) and Late Night With Jimmy Fallon (Thursday).

For the Fallon appearance, the indie rock legends held a contest for entrants to send in videos of them playing Pavement songs, with the winner getting a chance to play with the band on the set. The winner, Robert from Oklahoma, had the distinct advantage of his son dancing around in an ape suit. The father-son combo, shown in the video below playing "Grave Architecture," are kind of like Steven Malkmus and band mastcot/jester Bob Nastanovich when you think about it:


Meanwhile, in the other indie slack rock corner, North Carolina's Superchunk aren't so much reuniting as just deliberate in releasing their latest album, Majesty Shredding. It's been nine years since we had a Chunk joint, and even long since we've had one as unadorned and spunky as this one. The band is slated to pogo on the stage to "Digging for Something" on Fallon Monday night, and hopefully will sneak in a classic ("Slack MotherBEEPer" please?) for a web exclusive.

Finally, the wonderfully weird Primus have performing albums from their 90s catalogue in their entirety, like Frizzle Fry (1990), much to the delight of audiences. Last Wednesday in Los Angeles, the band taped a performance of songs of which a part will be used this Friday on Jimmy Kimmel Live. The small set included favorites spanning their career, including "Pudding Time," "Golden Boy," "Tommy the Cat," "Those Damned Blue-Collar Tweekers" and "Over the Electric Grapevine." If you listen closely, you can hear at least one person yelling out their classic call to arms, "Primus sucks!" (And no, they don't.)

Picks for the week
Monday, September 20
ABC: Jimmy Kimmel Live: Phoenix
CBS: Late Show With David Letterman: Chromeo
COMEDY CENTRAL: The Colbert Report: Pavement
FUEL: The Daily Habit: Dam Funk (REPEAT)
NBC: The Tonight Show with Jay Leno: OK Go
NBC: Late Night With Jimmy Fallon: Superchunk
NBC: Last Call With Carson Daly: The Walkmen
SYNDICATION: The Ellen DeGeneres Show: OK Go
TBS: Lopez Tonight: Michael Franti & Spearhead
Tuesday, September 21
ABC: Jimmy Kimmel Live: Band of Horses
CBS: Late Show With David Letterman: Maroon 5
FUEL: The Daily Habit: Fang Island (REPEAT)
NBC: The Tonight Show with Jay Leno: Sheryl Crow
NBC: Late Night With Jimmy Fallon: Merle Haggard
NBC: Last Call With Carson Daly: Nas & Damian Marley
SYNDICATION: The Ellen DeGeneres Show: Santana & India.Arie
Wednesday, September 22
CBS: Late Show With David Letterman: Tom Jones
CBS: Late Late Show With Craig Ferguson: Sara Bareilles
FUEL: The Daily Habit: Cali Swag District (REPEAT)
NBC: The Tonight Show with Jay Leno: Tommy Lee
NBC: Last Call With Carson Daly: Alberta Cross
Thursday, September 23
ABC: Jimmy Kimmel Live: Trombone Shorty
CBS: Late Late Show With Craig Ferguson: Bettye LaVette
FUEL: The Daily Habit: Vampire Weekend (REPEAT)
NBC: Late Night With Jimmy Fallon: Pavement
NBC: Last Call With Carson Daly: Janelle Monae
Friday, September 24
ABC: Jimmy Kimmel Live: Primus
CBS: Late Show With David Letterman: Jimmy Eat World
CBS: Late Late Show With Craig Ferguson: Willie Nelson
FUEL: The Daily Habit: Jemima Pearl (REPEAT)
NBC: Late Night With Jimmy Fallon: John Legend with The Roots
NBC: Last Call With Carson Daly: La Roux (REPEAT)
SYNDICATION: The Ellen DeGeneres Show: Maroon 5
Saturday, September 25
NBC: Saturday Night Live: Katy Perry (SEASON PREMIERE!)
PBS: Austin City Limits: Them Crooked Vultures (REPEAT)