Ear on TV: Week of 02.22.10

Coming to you straight from Cancun, here's your Music on TV sked. Great week to be on vacation, huh?

Now back to my regularly scheduled cerveza.

Playlist: Picks for the week (not worth building playlist for, sorry)
Monday, February 22
CBS: Late Show With David Letterman: Ben Harper (REPEAT)
Tuesday, February 23
CBS: Late Show With David Letterman: Robin Thicke (REPEAT)
FUEL: The Daily Habit: Mumford & Sons
Wednesday, February 24
CBS: Late Show With David Letterman: Ne-Yo (REPEAT)
SUNDANCE: Spectacle: Elvis Costello With...: Elvis Costello, Neko Case, Jesse Winchester, Ron Sexsmith, Sheryl Crow (REPEAT)
Thursday, February 25
ABC: Jimmy Kimmel Live: VV Brown
FUEL: The Daily Habit: The Dear and Departed
Friday, February 26
ABC: Jimmy Kimmel Live: Daniel Merriweather
CBS: Late Show With David Letterman: Lou Reed with Blind Boys of Alabama (REPEAT)
Saturday, February 27

Now Downloading: New Releases 02.16.10

I'm off to Mexico for the next 10 days, so forgive the brevity/sloppiness/unintelligible babble, as I'm firing this off between packing and shut-eye.

It's a deeper week than last, but not as top heavy. I've been loving this new Field Music release, and the Freeway & Jake One joint is a charmer. Elsewhere, there's the latest from Robert Pollard, Local Natives, Mumford & Sons, Adam Green, Tindersticks, Lightspeed Champion, Juliana Hatfield, The Art Museums and a special Preservation Hall Jazz Band benefit release featuring guest vocals from an eclectic collection of voices like Tom Waits, Jim James, Pete Seeger, Jason Isbell, Andrew Bird, Merle Haggard and more.

Playlist: New Releases 02.16.10

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Field Music - Measure
Stream / Purchase [mp3]

Measure, in musical terms, is a segment of time defined as a given number of beats of a given duration. With a band that's as precise as Field Music, it seems appropriate that their title be so... um... precise as well. While the band thrives on precision, they build chaos around that proper BritPop sound, bleeding the edge. Field Music went on hiatus back in 2007, citing a boredom with the rock format of guitar/bass/drums, and set out to release projects on their own that broke away from their perceived constraints. As such, we got interesting releases from School of Language (David Brewis) and The Week That Was (Peter Brewis). Measure is like a hodge-podge collection of these different styles in one release, mixing the experimentation of the Brewis bros. projects, and the more straight ahead / XTC-influenced BritPop of the band prior. It makes for an initially disorienting ride, but I've yet to grow tired of it's twists and turns. "Them That Do Nothing" sounds like it was written and Field Music had to reunite just to perform it (it's that good), while "Let's Write a Book" finds the band at it's simplest (and, in this context, greatest). It's a high-wire act all the way through, and at the end you may find yourself relieved that it's over, but exhilarated all the same.

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Freeway & Jake One- Odd Blood
Stream / Purchase [mp3]

I have to confess I'm not a huge Freeway fan, but when word got out he had Jake One in tow for this latest release, I was definitely on board. There's a reason that an instrumental version of the record had to be released as well, as the Seattle producer captures the essence of 70's soul so well, the rap often sounds like it gets in the way.

Free AOL Album Stream

Best part may just be the packaging:

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More on the radar (and in the mp3 player) this week:
Robert Pollard - We All Got out of the Army
Tindersticks - Falling Down a Mountain
Lightspeed Champion - Life is Sweet! Nice to Meet You
Preservation Hall Jazz Band - Preservation: An Album To Benefit Preservation Hall & The Preservation Hall Music Outreach Program / Free AOL album stream
Mumford & Sons - Sigh No More
Jason Faulkner - I'm OK... You're OK (AOL Album stream)
The Art Museums - Rough Frame EP
Juliana Hatfield - Peace & Love
Adam Green - Minor Love / Free AOL album stream / "What Makes Him Act So Bad", "Castles and Tassels" [mp3]
Blue Brain - Soft Power / Free AOL album stream / "Ten By Ten" [mp3]
Local Natives - Gorilla Manor / "Sun Hands" [mp3]
The Seven Fields of Aphelion - Periphery
Dum Dum Girls - Jail La La
Ben Sollee and Daniel Martin - Dear Companion / Free AOL album stream / "Something, Somewhere, Sometime" [mp3]
Smoking Popes - It's Been a Long Day / Free AOL album stream
Son Lux - Weapons EP / "Weapons V" [mp3]
Scanners - Submarine / Free AOL album stream
Mark Matos & Os Beaches - Words of the Knife
Backyard Tire Fire - Good to Be
My Name is Khan

REISSUES
Fela Kuti - Open & Close/Afrodisiac
Fela Kuti - Roforofo Fight/The Fela Singles
Fela Kuti - Koola Lobitos 64-68/The '69 L.A. Sessions

tags: music, album review, field music, freeway & jake one, indie rock, new releases, rhapsody

Lost "The Substitute": I'm Not a Number, I'm a Free Man!

"The Substitute" was a much better episode than last week's, but the third night into a Lost season (fourth hour in seasons with a 2-hour premiere) always seems to be the one that kicks things into high gear, and that's definitely the case here.

On the island, it's mostly the Smokey and Sawyer show, where we see our anti-hero start to step outside the mourning funk he's been in and back to the sarcastic quipster from days of old. As Smokey approaches Sawyer's Dharma accommodations, we hear The Stooges' "Search & Destroy," a fitting song in so many ways. The song was written after an article in Time describing one of the US military's battle tactics in the Vietnam War. Search for the enemy, kill, then get out. It took Essau/Smokey/Man in Black/NotLocke years to kill Jacob, but now he's trying to make his exodus. How's that going to work, I wonder... and who is that mysterious kid who is telling him he "broke the rules"? A young Jacob, perhaps... "the world's forgotten boy?"

I enjoyed Smokey taking the black rock from the scales and tossing it into the ocean. "Inside joke," he tells Sawyer. How many games of backgammon did the Man in Black lose to Jacob, I wonder? It's here we get a peek at what the numbers are all about. Jacob associates the numbers with 'candidates,' and on the ceiling/wall there are a plenty of recognizable names, going back, no doubt, to at least the Black Rock ship (certainly, the US Army from the 50s is well represented). The way SmokeyLockManinBlack explains it, candidates are there to eventually take Jacob's (and, I imagine, SmokeyLockManinBlack's place) and perhaps Sawyer is being set up to be his substitute -- with Jack possibly acting as Jacob's? It reminded me of Desmond in Season 2, waiting for his replacement in the hatch, like Jacob and MiB are just pushing their own button until they get relieved of their duty by some poor substitute.

Between the numbers and the cave off the ocean, Lost has never seemed more like The Prisoner than this. The concept of free will and destiny were always there, but now that our castaways were also assigned numbers, the shadow of Patrick McGoohan's creation is more apparent than ever.

The alt-story line of Locke as mostly well-adjusted was also more interesting than what we saw w/ Kate's post LA X storyline. He's not the pathetic Daddy-issues Locke from the flashbacks, that's why Helen (welcome back Katy Seagal) is still with him. And any reason to show Ben Linus as a pretentious European History teacher is a fine story indeed.

Song: "Search & Destroy" - Iggy & the Stooges

Sasquatch 2010 Lineup Revealed!

Tonight at the Crocodile, Sasquatch celebrated a launch party with Surfer Blood, Atlas Sound and Fresh Espresso, but the real attraction was Sasquatch's 2010 lineup.

We has assumed that a reunited Pavement was one of the headliners, but that turned out to be a red herring, and the three Sasquatch ended up with were on hardly anyone's radar. Massive Attack, My Morning Jacket and Ween. Playing armchair festival runner for a second, besides Pavement, Vampire Weekend, MGMT, or even Public Enemy might have been better choices instead of Massive Attack or Ween, but I never usually worry who's on the main stage at the end of the night... the second stage is where I always end up.

Here's the deets, UPDATED! with day-by-day tentative scheduling:

Saturday, May 29th
My Morning Jacket / Vampire Weekend / The National / Deadmau5 / Broken Social Scene / OK Go / Wale / Public Enemy / The Hold Steady / Miike Snow / Z-Trip / Brother Ali / Minus The Bear / WHY? / The Very Best / Portugal. The Man / Mumford & Sons / The Lonely Forest / Nurses / The Middle East / Patrick Watson / Laura Marling / Morning Teleportation / Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros / Fool's Gold / Garfunkel & Oates / Dam-Funk

Sunday, May 30th
Massive Attack / Pavement / LCD Soundsystem / Tegan and Sara / Kid Cudi / Nada Surf / Dirty Projectors / The xx / The Long Winters / Simian Mobile Disco / Midlake / Girls / Vetiver / The Tallest Man On Earth / YACHT / Booka Shade / Caribou / Avi Buffalo / City and Colour / Cymbals Eat Guitars / A-Trak / Fruit Bats / tUnE-yArDs / Local Natives / Freelance Whales / Jets Overhead / Rob Riggle / Luke Burbank

Monday, May 31st
Ween / MGMT / Band of Horses / She & Him / Passion Pit / The New Pornographers / Drive-By Truckers / Boys Noize / Camera Obscura / The Temper Trap / Dr. Dog / Neon Indian / No Age / The Mountain Goats / Phantogram / Quasi / Japandroids / Mayer Hawthorne & The County / The Low Anthem / Fresh Espresso / Hudson Mohawke / Telekinesis / Past Lives / Yes Giantess / Craig Robinson

Ear on TV: Week of 02.15.10: Mumford & Sons

Mumford & Sons, one of the hottest UK acts to make it over the pond in awhile, take a truly American country-folk sound and do it up better than a limey really has a right to. Perhaps it's that they mix in the energy of a lively pub and build their songs to a fever pitch, like an evangelical minister on his game.

Touring in support of their debut release, Sigh No More, the UK quartet has already brought American audiences to their feet, bringing down the house at the Troubador in Los Angeles last week. The band has their US network television debut Wednesday night on The Late Show with David Letterman, playing the song "Little Lion Man," a song declared by UK DJ Zane Lowe (Radio 1) as "the hottest record in the world." When was the last time you heard that about a song that featured a banjo, front and center?

TMeanwhile, you'd be hard pressed to find a band that can squeezes more drama and pure joy out of every note than Fanfarlo, The five-piece's rich instrumentation and inventive arrangements may have folks crying Arcade Fire rip-off, but if there's a band to be derivative of, it's not a bad choice. Fanfarlo make their network television debut on Letterman as well. On Monday night, their summery folk-pop will be sure to buff up enough of a shine on Paul Shaffer's head to blind the viewers at home. Consider this your warning.

Playlist: Picks for the week
Monday, February 15
CBS: Late Show With David Letterman: Fanfarlo
OVATION: Mahalia Jackson: The Power and the Glory: Mahalia Jackson
SYNDICATION: The Ellen Degeneres Show: Rihanna
Tuesday, February 16
ABC: Jimmy Kimmel Live: Sade
CBS: Late Show With David Letterman: Mary J. Blige
OVATION: Masters of American Music: Billie Holiday: Billie Holiday
OVATION: The Search for Robert Johnson: Robert Johnson
SYNDICATION: The Ellen Degeneres Show: Sade
Wednesday, February 17
CBS: Late Show With David Letterman: Mumford & Sons
CURRENT: Embedded: Nipsey Hussle, Telepathe, Zee Avi, Moby, Josh Ritter
FOX: Lopez Tonight: Snoop Dogg
FUEL: The Daily Habit: Dam Funk
SUNDANCE: Spectacle: Elvis Costello With...: Elvis Costello, Levon Helm, Nick Lowe, Richard Thompson, Allen Toussaint
Thursday, February 18
ABC: Jimmy Kimmel Live: Robin Thicke
CBS: Late Show With David Letterman: Daniel Merriweather
FUEL: The Daily Habit: OK Go
Friday, February 19
ABC: Jimmy Kimmel Live: Wale
FUEL: The Daily Habit: Dam Funk
OVATION: Marvin Gaye: Live in 76: Marvin Gaye
Saturday, February 20
Sunday, February 21
OVATION: Welcome to Death Row: The Rise and Fall of Death Row Records
OVATION: IMPACT!: Run DMC & Aerosmith - "Walk This Way": Run DMC & Aerosmith

Now Downloading: New Releases 02.09.10

February can be the cruelest of months, even with its brevity. One week you'd swear it was Spring, the next week, you're spitting icicles. The release schedule kind of feels like that as well. To wit, we're (mostly) blessed this week with new releases from Hot Chip, Yeasayer and the influential Gil Scott-Heron's first in 28 years. There's also notable new joints from The Watson Twins, Panthu Du Prince, Kath Bloom, Massive Attack and also staging a comeback, Sade.

Playlist: New Releases 02.09.10

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Hot Chip - One Life Stand
Stream / Purchase [mp3]

With their fourth release, Hot Chip seem to have matured and realized they're romantics at heart. One Life Stand is an awfully serious album in comparison to prior releases, its fuller, richer and their most consistent affair. If it doesn't attract as much attention, it's only because they don't have a killer track like "Over and Over," or "Ready For the Floor." Instead, it's a collection of great songs that are closely related to each other, a thematic collection. The title track is the closest thing to a hit here, while the rest are content to just be good-to-great, a contentment that washes over the album lyrically as well. If Hot Chip are indeed content, at least they're resting their laurels at a nice peak.

Free AOL album stream

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Yeasayer - Odd Blood
Stream / Purchase [mp3]

When Brooklyn's Yeasayer came out of nowhere in 2007 with their Eastern-tinged debut All Hour Cymbals, they didn't seem so much polarizing as just part of the scene with fellow artists Animal Collective and Dirty Projectors. After hearing their follow-up Odd Blood, that debut almost seems like an elaborate set up now. Even the opening track here, "Children," sets us off in all kinds of wrong directions, with its industrial edge and weird vocal treatment, as the rest of the album really aims to please far more than freak us out. Between the pugilistic fantasy of "Ambling Alp," the bouncy "Rome" and an oddly romantic "O.N.E.," Yeasayer manage to please as well as remain as just strange enough in it's embrace of world rhythms to avoid a saccharin existence. As I mentioned in the previous post, Security-era Peter Gabriel is a good comparison here, mixing romanticism, pop and African polyrhythms. While it's bound to confound early fans, I feel like Odd Blood, with time, will win them all back in the before they're through.

Free AOL Album Stream
Download: "Ambling Alp" [mp3]

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More on the radar (and in the mp3 player) this week:
The Watson Twins - Talking to You, Talking to Me / Free AOL album stream
Gil Scott-Heron - I'm New Here / Free AOL album stream
Kath Bloom - Thin Thin Line
Pantha Du Prince - Black Noise / Free AOL album stream / "The Splendour" [mp3]
Allison Moorer - Crows
Galactic - Ya-Ka-May
Massive Attack - Heligoland
Blue Brain - Soft Power / Free AOL album stream / "Ten By Ten" [mp3]
Sade - Soldier of Love / Free AOL album stream
HIM - Screamworks: Love In Theory and Practice
Reckless Kelly - Somewhere in Time
You Say Party! We Say Die! - Xxxx

REISSUES
Buzzcocks - Another Music in a Different Kitchen

tags: music, album review, yeasayer, hot chip, indie rock, new releases, rhapsody

Chuck, Lost, Obama and the Culture of Now

While it's not the first time rabid fans of a show threw their remotes at the screen in unwarranted disgust, this week seemed different for some reason.

First came the so-dubbed Chuckpocalypse, where the Chuck and Sarah got cozy at the end with others. It's obvious a set-up for Chuck and Sarah to realize they still love each other, but the NOW crazies went to the message boards and comments (Sepinwall's post), so much so that it even generated commentary from creator & showrunner (Chris Fedak & Josh Schwartz).

Meanwhile, this week's episode of Lost was clearly a plot mover, setting up things to come, but since this is the final season, and season five (and first two eps this season) were so good, fans accused it of filler. Cries of "Nikki and Paula" along with "Stranger in a Strange Land" (the two worst things about Lost - season 3) were heard loudly, even as unfounded as they were.

Besides being fans complaining about their favorite show, these reactions have one thing in common: an utter lack of patience and/or faith in the writers of respective series. It reminds me of the overreaction going on right now politically to President Obama's performance thus far. Please everyone, take a deep breath and watch it unfold. There is a plan.

Playlist: Chuck - Episode 3.07
1. "Can't Stop Feeling" - Franz Ferdinand
2. "Let's All Die" - Jack Penate
3. "Astair" - Matt Costa

Previously: Lost "LA X": Best of Both Worlds
Previously: Chuck vs the Nacho Sampler: Mish with the Manoosh

Ear on TV: Week of 02.08.10: Yeasayer

Brooklyn's Yeasayer is ready for their close-up. After releasing one of the more adventurous albums of 2007 with their world music-influenced debut, All Hour Cymbals, the Brooklyn band returns with a romantic album full of 80s synth sounds and the kind of hummable pop melodies that so often amount to backlash from early fans. They had previously positioned themselves between Animal Collective and Dirty Projectors in their sensibilities, but with Odd Blood, they sound closer to Depeche Mode -- if Martin Gore had been influenced by African polyrhythms.

Perhaps a better comparison would be to Security era Peter Gabriel, and that's no accident. The band recorded the album at the home of drummer Jerry Marotta, who played with Gabriel during that time. Since everyone is about to do Peter Gabriel covers, I'm thinking Yeasayer is perfect for Gabriel's "I Have the Touch".
The band will be putting the synth-heavy sound on display Wednesday night, playing lead single and pugilist yarn "Ambling Alp" on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon.

Meanwhile, the folks in charge of the opening ceremonies for the Winter Olympics up in Vancouver have kept a pretty tight lip, up to now, on what we can expect to see. In the past couple days, however, promos have revealed some of the music artists, and when the headliners are Nelly Furtado, Bryan Adams and Sarah McLachlan (who wrote the theme song for the games), perhaps it's no wonder no one was beating that drum very loudly. It's Canada's night, but ratings-starved NBC was probably hoping for some demographic help ala Justin Bieber or Avril Lavigne (keep Nickelback away from the torch, please). Not performing live, but still making a debut is the second coming of "We Are the World," featuring contributions from over 50 artists, including Lil Wayne, Eminem, AR Rahman, Kanye West and the Beach Boys' Brian Wilson (that was the sound of my head exploding).

Finally, The Soft Pack makes their network television debut on The Late Show with David Letterman on Friday night, likely playing their infectious lead single "Answer to Yourself." Oddly enough, their straight-forward indie rock sound comes across as fresh to these ears, as seems like we've been devoid of good releases from The Strokes and their ilk for a couple years.

Playlist: Picks for the week
Monday, February 8
ABC: Jimmy Kimmel Live: The Bravery (REPEAT)
CBS: Late Late Show With Craig Ferguson: Patty Griffin
FUEL: The Daily Habit: Jemina Pearl
Tuesday, February 9
ABC: Jimmy Kimmel Live: Ryan Bingham
CBS: Late Show With David Letterman: Sade
NBC: The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien: Matisyahu (REPEAT)
NBC: Late Night With Jimmy Fallon: Regina Spektor
Wednesday, February 10
ABC: The View: Sade
ABC: Jimmy Kimmel Live: Editors
FUEL: The Daily Habit: Switchfoot
NBC: Late Night With Jimmy Fallon: Yeasayer
SUNDANCE: Spectacle: Elvis Costello With...: Elvis Costello, Neko Case, Ron Sexsmith, Jesse Winchester, Sheryl Crow (REPEAT)
Thursday, February 11
NBC: Late Night With Jimmy Fallon: Neon Indian
Friday, February 12
ABC: Jimmy Kimmel Live: Dashboard Confessional
CBS: Late Show With David Letterman: The Soft Pack
FUEL: The Daily Habit: Duane Peters & The Great Unwashed
NBC: 2010 Winter Olympics Opening Ceremonies: Nelly Furtado
Saturday, February 13
PBS: Austin City Limits: Them Crooked Vultures

Now Downloading: New Releases 02.02.10

New release post-Grammys week is always a crapshoot. Most labels avoid it like the plague, as it's the week award winners see sales bumps, but there are enough music fans out there (namely, me) who don't give a rat's ass about who won a Grammy. For those of us, there are some scraps like the new release from (the band formerly known as The Muslims) The Soft Pack and the latest from Dead Moon offshoot Pierced Arrows. This week also sees new releases from The Album Leaf, Midlake, We Are Wolves, The Brunettes and the soundtrack to Shutter Island.

Playlist: New Releases 02.02.10

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The Soft Pack - The Soft Pack
Stream / Purchase [mp3]

The name 'The Muslims' was never really going to work for this San Diego surf-punk outfit, especially with this album they've released under their new name, The Soft Pack. Songs like "C'Mon," "Answer to Yourself," "Pull Out" and "Parasites" seem targeted for a larger audience than the grimier tracks they released under their former, less marketable name. Singer Mark Lamkin, who at times sounds an awful like Sam Roberts, delivers his lines as straight-forward as the reverb-soaked guitars, and if it's welcoming that they sound a little like the Strokes at times, it's because it's been awhile since there was some straight ahead indie rock to root for.

Saw them open for Phoenix recently and dug their set, even if your ears had to squint to hear it through the nightmare acoustics of the Showbox SODO location. Look forward to them headlining on their own next time they come through.

Free AOL album stream
Download: "Answer to Yourself" [mp3]

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Pierced Arrows - Descending Shadows
Stream / Purchase [mp3]

When frontman Fred Cole broke-up Dead Moon after nearly 20 years together, most knew it wouldn't be too long before he, and wife Toody, were back on the horse. Pierced Arrows was formed shortly after, and this, their sophomore release has moments that rank with the best that Cole has recorded in his 46 years performing. Cole is 61-years old now, though, and his voice sometimes sounds like a fragment of what it was. Between that and the often sloppy execution, it can feel too amateurish at times (even for Dead Moon), but highlights like "Buried Alive" and Tonight's the Night ferocity of "Let it Rain" more than make up for it.

Album Streaming at Vice Records
Download: "Let It Rain" [mp3] / "Paranoia" [mp3]

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More on the radar (and in the mp3 player) this week:
The Album Leaf - A Chorus of Storytellers / Free AOL album stream / "Falling from the Sun" [mp3]
Midlake - The Courage of Others / Free AOL album stream
We Are Wolves - Invisible Violence / Free AOL album stream
Shutter Island (Music From the Motion Picture)
The Brunettes - Paper Dolls
Priestess - Prior to the Fire
Glossary - Feral Fire
Husky Rescue - Ship of Light
Bassekou Kouyate & Ngoni Ba - I Speak Fula
Glossary - Feral Fire
Sourpatch - crushin
Toro Y Moi - Causers of This
Pepi Ginsberg - East is East
Wakey!Wakey! - Almost Everything I Wish I'd Said The Last Time I Saw You...
Pepi Ginsberg - East is East

REISSUES
The Units - History of the Units: The Early Years 1977-1983
Attitude Adjustment - The Collection


tags: music, album review, pierced arrows, the soft pack, indie rock, new releases, rhapsody

Lost "LA X": Best of Both Worlds

Throughout it's run, Lost has felt free to dip into the realm where physics, philosophy and theology meet, and with this, the final season (and premiere two-parter)"LA X," they've managed to hit on all three at once.

When Season 5 ended with a white screen, most thought (ie, me) it would be a reboot, as the other options swayed between most the cast dying in a nuclear bomb blast and more time travel. When Darlton claimed there'd be a new narrative tool this season, I guess we should've guessed they'd combine the options, and use a philosophy/theology/physics theory to back it up (parallel worlds of theodicy).

Since the series has moved to Tuesdays, I'm once again going to be last to seeing it as it coincides with my league basketball games (last season, it was the Dish/Fisher Communications stare down that kept Lost off our tv). Given the lateness, and the abundance of commentary out there, I'm going to keep my posts short, and link to everyone else's that have already come prior.

Read these TV critics posts and you'll have all your Lost bases covered.
Top of every Lost recap list should be Doc Jensen's posts for EW.
Todd VanDerWerff's coverag for the LA Times
James Poniewozik's posts for Time
Alan Sepinwall's take on "LA X"
Chicago Tribune's Mo Ryan is still scraping her brains off the floor
Myles McNutt's excited musings
AV Club's Noel Murray

Previously: The music from Lost seasons 1-5

Beginning of the End to LOST: The Music

While recently re-watching the first five seasons of Lost in preparation, I'd greatly underestimated the amount of popular music used in the series -- though the total amount of songs spanning the five season still falls just shy of 50. But I guess when you've got a composer the caliber of Michael Giacchino (Up) at your disposal, there's not as much call for it.

People still listen to music, though, and even after Hurley's batteries died, the music played on. Witness the opening to season two, with Mama Cass' "Make Your Own Kind of Music" ("Man of Science, Man of Faith") acting as an introduction to what lies within the mysterious hatch. Juliet popping on Petula Clark's "Downtown" ("A Tale of Two Cities") to introduce us to a very normal 'others' existence on the island. Bearded Jack's angst-y drive to the Hoffs-Drawlar funeral home was to Nirvana's "Scentless Apprentice" ("Through the Looking Glass"), a subtle nod to the timeline revealed in the newspaper -- April 5 of 2007, the 13-year anniversary of Kurt Cobain's death. And how appropriate was the use of "Three Cigarettes in an Ashtray" from Patsy Cline (already an artist associated with Kate) for Juliet's perspective in the Kate-Sawyer-Juliet love triangle.

Already eagerly anticipating what musical clues will be dropped our way for this final season.

Playlist: Lost - Seasons 1 through 5
1. "Leavin' On Your Mind" - Patsy Cline (Ep 1.03, "Tabula Rasa")
2. "Wash Away" - Joe Purdy (Ep 1.03, "Tabula Rasa")
3. "Are You Sure" - Willie Nelson (Ep 1.06, "House of the Rising SUn")
4. "I Shall Not Walk Alone" - The Blind Boys Of Alabama (Ep 1.08, "Confindence Man")
5. "La Mer" - Charles Trenet (Ep 1.12, "Whatever the Case May Be")
6. "These Arms Of Mine" - Otis Redding (Ep 1.14, "Special" / Ep 2.19, "S.O.S.")
7. "Delicate" - Damien Rice (Ep 1.17, "In Translation")
8. "I Got You (I Feel Good)" - James Brown (sung by Hurley in Ep 1.21, "The Greater Good")
9. "Redemption Song" - Bob Marley (sung by Sawyer in Ep 1.24, "Exodus Pt. 2")
10. "Make Your Own Kind Of Music - Mama Cass Elliot (Ep 2.01, "Man of Science, Man of Faith" / Ep 2.02 "Adrift" / Ep 3.08, "Flashes Before Your Eyes")
11. "My Conversation" - The Uniques (Ep 2.04, "Everybody Hates Hugo")
12. "Easy Money" - Billy Joel (Ep 2.04, "Everybody Hates Hugo")
13. "Waste Awhile" - Solly (Ep 2.04, "Everybody Hates Hugo")
14. "Up On The Roof" - The Drifters (Ep 2.04, "Everybody Hates Hugo")
15. "Stay (Wasting Time)" - Dave Matthews Band (Ep 2.06, "Abandoned")
16. "Outside" - Staind (Ep 2.08, "Collision")
17. "The End Of The World" - Skeeter Davis (Ep 2.09, "What Kate Did")
18. "Walkin' After Midnight" - Patsy Cline (Ep 2.09, "What Kate Did" / Ep 2.20, "Two For the Road" / Ep 3.15, "Left Behind")
19. "He's Evil" - The Kinks (sung by Charlie in Ep 2.10, "The 23rd Psalm" and in Ep 2.12, "Fire + Water" )
20. "Moonlight Serenade" - Glen Miller (Ep 2.13, "The Long Con" / Ep 3.01, "A Tale of Two Cities")
21. "Catch A Falling Star" - Perry Como (Ep 2.15, "Maternity Leave")
22. "Pushin' Too Hard" - The Seeds (Ep 2.16, "The Whole Truth")
23. "Compared To What?" - Les McCann (Ep 2.17, "Lockdown")
24. "The Hard Way" - Kasey Chambers (Ep 2.20, "Two For the Road")
25. "Downtown" - Petula Clark (Ep 3.01, "A Tale of Two Cities" / Ep 3.16, "One of Us")
26. "I Feel Like Going Home" - Muddy Waters (Ep 3.03, "Further Instructions")
27. "I Wonder" - Brenda Lee (Ep 3.05, "The Cost of Living")
28. "Slowly" - Ann-Margret (Ep 3.06, "I Do")
29. "Building A Mystery" - Sarah McLachlan (Ep 3.08, "Flashes Before Your Eyes")
30. "Wonderwall" - Oasis (sung by Charlie in Ep 3.08, "Flashes Before Your Eyes")
31. "Show Me The Way To Go Home" - Bing Crosby (sung by Sawyer in Ep 3.09, "Stranger in a Strange Land")
32. "Shambala" - Three Dog Night (Ep 3.10, "Tricia Tanaka is Dead" / Ep 3.20, "The Man Behind the Curtain")
33. "Rondo alla Turca in A major - Allegretto, KV 331 from Sonata No. 11" - Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (Ep 3.10, "Tricia Tanaka is Dead")
34. "Rump Shaker" - Wreckx-N-Effect (Ep 3.14, "Expose")
35. "Scentless Apprentice" - Nirvana (Ep 3.23, "Through the Looking Glass")
36. "Good Vibrations" - The Beach Boys (sung / typed in by Charlie in Ep 3.23, "Through the Looking Glass")
37. "Xanadu" - Olivia Newton-John (Ep 4.04, "Eggtown")
38. "Prelude, Op.3, No. 2 in C# Minor" - Sergei Rachmaninoff (Ep 4.09, "The Shape of Things to Come")
39. "Everyday" - Buddy Holly (Ep 4.11, "Cabin Fever")
40. "Gouge Away" - Pixies (Ep 4.13, "There's No Place Like Home")
41. "Shotgun Willie" - Willie Nelson (Ep 5.01, "Because You Left")
42. "Dream Police" - Cheap Trick (Ep 5.02, "The Lie")
43. "Candida" - Tony Orlando (Ep 5.08, "LaFleur")
44. "Ride Captain Ride" - Blues Image (Ep 5.09, "Namaste")
45. "I Can't GIve You Anything But Love" - Django Reinhardt (Ep 5.10, "He's Our You")
46. "Fantaisie-Impromptu In C# Minor" - Frederic Chopin (Ep 5.14, "The Variable")
47. "Three Cigarettes In An Ashtray" - Patsy Cline (Ep 5.16, "The Incident")

Chuck vs the Nacho Sampler: Mish with the Manoosh

Fresh off last week's solo "mish," the evolution from Geek to Spy again moves quickly* this week for Chuck. For an episode that is still really meant to set up future episodes, there was a lot of fun to be had, and I keep thinking how much I enjoyed this episode, and yet it's the lesser of the first six we've seen in the show's third season.

*The opening scene with flashback to the pilot, while initially a setup for Kristen Kreuk's entrance (to Datarock's "Amarillion"), was a great illustration of just how far Chuck (and, for that matter, Chuck) has come.

Acting like a parallel to season one highlight "Chuck vs. the Sandworm," "Nacho Sampler" not only has Chuck helping a fellow geek, Manoosh (played by aerospace engineer, standup comedian, end fellow Seattle native Fahim Anwar), but also revisiting similar geek cultural touchstones (Battlestar Galactica, Y: The Last Man). In the end, though, Chuck is a long ways from season one, perhaps too far from it.

Musically, besides the Datarock opening, hearing my old karaoke stand-by "Rock the Casbah" backing (the hilarious) Weap-Con was delightfully reminiscent of the Clash's video for it. Also noticed some of Tim Jones' score harkened back to "Chuck vs the Cougars," the Tangerine Dream-like ominous bits that semed like an homage to Risky Business.

Playlist: Chuck - Ep3.06
1. "Amarillion" - Datarock
2. "Danny Trejo" (feat. Niña Dios)" - Plastillina Mosh
3. "Merrymaking at My Place" - Calvin Harris
4. "Rock the Casbah" - The Clash
5. "40 Day Dream" - Edward Sharp & the Magnetic Zeros

Previous: Chuck vs First Class

Ear on TV: Week of 02.01.10: The Who do Super Bowl XLIV

When The Who take the stage this Super Bowl Sunday for the halftime show, they'll be taking part in a relatively new tradition -- that of veteran rock artists doing their thing while keeping the airwaves safe in a post-wardrobe malfunction world. Since Jane Jackson and her FCC frightening act, the halftime show shifted dramatically from multiple artists with choreographed dance numbers to single artists performing their hits, often in medley form.

Paul McCartney, The Rolling Stones, Prince, Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers, Bruce Springsteen and now The Who, have all won the honor chronologically since, and aside from a suggestive guitar silhouette from Prince, and an overzealous crotch impacting slide from Springsteen, the event has successfully avoided controversy. And unless Pete Townshend's bloody arm flies off during a trademark windmill, The Who's show should be pretty safe as well. They've already leaked the songs their performing in medley -- "Baba O'Riley," "Pinball Wizard," "Tommy, Can You Hear Me?," "Who Are You," and "Won't Get Fooled Again" -- the same songs that Townshend has complained about being the only songs of their extensive catalogue that get any play. But they are playing on the network to the CSI franchise, so at least those viewers will be pleased with the dinosaur-heavy choices.

Speaking of dinosaurs of rock, the supergroup Them Crooked Vultures make an appearance this weekend on Saturday Night Live. Featuring a lineup of Dave Grohl (Foo Fighters, Nirvana), Josh Homme (Queens of the Stone Age) and John Paul Jones (Led Zeppelin), they might be the heaviest sounding band to take the stage at 30 Rock. While John Paul Jones was always in their minds to play bass in the band, Sir Paul McCartney recently revealed he was almost the bass player, after a meeting between Grohl and him following Macca's Grammy performance last year. Hard to imagine that Hohner bass playing that heavy, but there you have it.

Elsewhere, best not miss the subtle indie synth pop of UK's Hot Chip, who appear on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon Thursday, evening in support of their latest release, the surprisingly romantic One Life Stand (out next week, but streaming free this week on their MySpace page).

Finally, on VH1 this Saturday is the documentary Soul Train: The Hippest Trip in America, which looks back on 35-year running creation of Don Cornelius. For much of its run from 1971-2006 (over 1,100 episodes), the "black American Bandstand" introduced its viewers to the best in R&B, Soul and Hip-Hop, championing talent like Aretha Franklin, Smokey Robinson, Al Green and that Soul Train Line of dancers. Also of note is that The Roots and Fallon drummer Ahmir Khalib "?uestlove" Thompson does the score, and Cornelius ends the film the same way he did the series, with the parting "we wish you LOVE, PEACE, AND SOUL!!!"

Playlist: Picks for the week
Monday, February 1
CBS: Late Late Show With Craig Ferguson: They Might Be Giants w/ John Hodgeman (REPEAT)
FUEL: The Daily Habit: Trash Talk
NBC: Late Night With Jimmy Fallon: New Kids on the Block
NBC: Last Call With Carson Daly: Doves (REPEAT)
SYNDICATION: The Ellen Degeneres Show: Rihanna
Tuesday, February 2
CBS: Late Show With David Letterman: Ben Harper & Relentless7
FUEL: The Daily Habit: Alberta Cross
NBC: The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien: Neko Case (REPEAT)
NBC: Late Night With Jimmy Fallon: Motion City Soundtrack
NBC: Last Call With Carson Daly: Crocodiles (REPEAT)
Wednesday, February 3
SUNDANCE: Spectacle: Elvis Costello With...: Elvis Costello, Bono & The Edge (U2) (REPEAT)
NBC: Last Call With Carson Daly: Metric (REPEAT)
Thursday, February 4
ABC: Jimmy Kimmel Live: The Bravery
CBS: Late Show With David Letterman: Robin Thicke with Nicki Minaj
NBC: Late Night With Jimmy Fallon: Hot Chip
NBC: Last Call With Carson Daly: The Raveonettes (REPEAT)
Friday, February 5
CBS: Late Show With David Letterman: The Swell Season
CBS: Late Late Show With Craig Ferguson: Jill Scott
FUEL: The Daily Habit: Shadows Fall
NBC: Last Call With Carson Daly: Lisa Hannigan REPEAT)
SYNDICATION: Live With Regis and Kelly: Robin Thicke
Saturday, February 6
NBC: Saturday Night Live: Them Crooked Vultures
PBS: Austin City Limits: Madeleine Peyroux, Esperanza Spalding
VH1: Soul Train: The Hippest Trip in America: Chaka Khan, Patti LaBelle, Smokey Robinson, Snoop Dogg, Aretha Franklin
Sunday, February 7
CBS: Super Bowl XLIV: The Who