Music on TV - Week of 05.23.11: Bon Iver

Four years ago, Justin Vernon holed up in his father's cabin out in the woods of Wisconsin and poured his broken heart into the eight songs of For Emma, Forever Ago, the debut for the outfit known as Bon Iver. By 2008, when Jagjaguwar picked it up for release, that album went on to achieve incredible success, the kind of success that creates a fair bit of pressure on the follow-up. But if For Emma set an unbelievably high bar for their self-titled sophomore release coming in June, then Vernon & co. seem more than up to the challenge.

Just check out the luscious advance single, "Calgary," which the band will perform on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon on Monday night. When just 15 seconds were previewed last month, you could feel the internet's heart skip a beat. iTunes was so excited that they accidentally leaked the whole album a month early. To further get folks excited, Jagjaguwar just released all the lyrics to Bon Iver on the net. I guess you could call that one a controlled leak of sorts. In the meantime, you can also download a free mp3 of "Calgary" from the label site.

Continuing the recent trend of reuniting late 70s/early 80s bands (The Feelies, Devo, Duran Duran, Scritti Pollitti, Human League), Boston's The Cars finally found a way to blackmail Ric Ocasek into a reunion -- perhaps it was threatening to go out as The New Cars with Todd Rundgren one more time. In any case, Move Like This sounds like the 90s never happened, returning The Cars to their mid-80s sound. On Tuesday, the original members (minus bassist/vocalist Benjamin Orr, who succumbed to cancer back in 2000) will perform "Blue Tip" on Fallon

Picks for the week
Monday, May 23
ABC: The View: Lady Gaga
ABC: Jimmy Kimmel Live: Foster the People
CBS: Late Show With David Letterman: The Vaccines
NBC: Late Night With Jimmy Fallon: Bon Iver
NBC: Last Call With Carson Daly: The Airborne Toxic Event
PBS: Tavis Smiley: Steve Earle
TBS: Lopez Tonight: The Game with SkeeTox
TBS: Conan: Yeasayer
Tuesday, May 24
ABC: Jimmy Kimmel Live: Britney Spears
NBC: The Tonight Show with Jay Leno: Ben Harper
NBC: Late Night With Jimmy Fallon: The Cars
NBC: Last Call With Carson Daly: Foster the People, MNDR
TBS: Conan: Beardyman
Wednesday, May 25
ABC: Jimmy Kimmel Live: Maybach Music Group featuring Rick Ross
COMEDY CENTRAL: The Colbert Report: Lupe Fiasco (REPEAT)
NBC: The Tonight Show with Jay Leno: Foster the People
NBC: Late Night With Jimmy Fallon: David Crosby & Graham Nash
NBC: Last Call With Carson Daly: Buck
TBS: Conan: Ben Harper
Thursday, May 26
ABC: Jimmy Kimmel Live: Big Sean
CBS: Late Show With David Letterman: Arctic Monkeys
NBC: Late Night With Jimmy Fallon: Amos Lee
NBC: Last Call With Carson Daly: Ra Ra Riot (REPEAT)
TBS: Conan: Tinie Tempeh
Friday, May 27
CBS: Late Show With David Letterman: Morning Teleportation
NBC: The Today Show: Rihanna
NBC: The Tonight Show with Jay Leno: INXS
NBC: Last Call With Carson Daly: The Knux (REPEAT)
Saturday, May 28
PBS: Austin City Limits: Steve Martin (REPEAT)