Ear on TV: Week of 10.18.10: Die Antwoord

Die Antwoord appear on Jimmy Kimmel Wednesday

When the South African hip-hop mystery that is Die Antwoord makes their network television debut Wednesday on Jimmy Kimmel Live, there's bound to be a clear divide of love and hate among viewers. And that's just they way Die Antwoord's Ninja and Yo-Landi Vi$$er would want it to be.

Die Antwoord, who's debut $o$ was released last week, is essentially an art project from hip-hop provocateur Waddy Jones (Ninja), a sort of musical cousin to the work of Sacha Baron Cohen (Ali G, Borat, Bruno). 'Zef style,' as it's now commonly called, is a manic, rave-inspired hip-hop mixed with a trailer-trash aesthetic. With rat tail haircuts, garish colors and thrift store rejected clothing, it's anti-fashion at it's most polarizing, and Die Antwoord are so fully committed to the act now, it's becoming harder to call it, in fact, an act.

The trio (the act also includes the Offensive Lineman-sized DJ Hi-Tek) has been involved with making a mockdocumentary style film entitled The Answer with these characters, chronicling the formation and leading up to their signing with Interscope. Rumors have it that early clips have been impressive enough to warrant Yo-Landi an audition offer from David Fincher for The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo (keeping with the Die Antwoord mystique, she naturally turned it down). Here's footage from their film, which also serves as a kind of music video for the track "Beat Boy:"



Picks for the week
Monday, October 18
ABC: Jimmy Kimmel Live: MGMT
CBS: Late Show With David Letterman: Maroon 5 (REPEAT)
FUEL: The Daily Habit: Gogol Bordello
NBC: The Tonight Show with Jay Leno: Weezer(REPEAT)
NBC: Late Night With Jimmy Fallon: Justin Timberlake, Belle & Sebastian (REPEAT)
NBC: Last Call With Carson Daly: Nas & Damian Marley (REPEAT)
TBS: Lopez Tonight: Neon Trees
Tuesday, October 19
ABC: Jimmy Kimmel Live: Mumford & Sons
CBS: Late Show With David Letterman: Gorillaz (REPEAT)
FUEL: The Daily Habit: Frightened Rabbit
IFC: 360 Sessions: Daniel Merriweather
NBC: The Tonight Show with Jay Leno: David Gray(REPEAT)
NBC: Late Night With Jimmy Fallon: Robert Plant (REPEAT)
NBC: Last Call With Carson Daly: Menomena (REPEAT)
Wednesday, October 20
ABC: Jimmy Kimmel Live: Die Antwoord
FUEL: The Daily Habit: As I Lie Dying
NBC: The Tonight Show with Jay Leno: OK Go(REPEAT)
NBC: Late Night With Jimmy Fallon: John Legend & The Roots (REPEAT)
NBC: Last Call With Carson Daly: The Morning Benders (REPEAT)
TBS: Lopez Tonight: John Legend
Thursday, October 21
CBS: Late Show With David Letterman: N.E.R.D. (REPEAT)
FUEL: The Daily Habit: Andrew W.K.
NBC: The Tonight Show with Jay Leno: Tommy Lee's Methods of Mayhem(REPEAT)
NBC: Late Night With Jimmy Fallon: The Cast of Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson (REPEAT)
NBC: Last Call With Carson Daly: Japandroids (REPEAT)
Friday, October 22
CBS: Late Show With David Letterman: Tom Jones (REPEAT)
NBC: Late Night With Jimmy Fallon: Teenage Fanclub (REPEAT)
NBC: Last Call With Carson Daly: Los Campesinos! (REPEAT)
SYNDICATION: The Ellen DeGeneres Show: One eskimO
Saturday, October 23
NBC: Saturday Night Live: Kings of Leon
PBS: Austin City Limits: Alejandro Escovedo, Trombone Shorty