Music on TV - Week of 01.16.12: Fishbone, Fleet Foxes

Angelo Moore of Fishbone in a scene from Everyday Sunshine: The Story of Fishbone.

As much as the VH1 Behind the Music series was great for music documentaries in theory, in practice it's tried and true formula has made for a lot of lazy filmmaking. Thankfully, that's not the case with the music doc Everyday Sunshine: The Story of Fishbone.

It's a really hard documentary to get right. You have a devoted fan base that knows everything, but as a filmmaker you want to tell a universal story that anyone can identify with. - Filmmaker Chris Metzler

The film, while still in its theatrical run, is getting a national television debut this Sunday, launching the 4th season of AfroPoP on PBS. Sadly, the Seattle-Tacoma market has yet to pick up any of the great AfroPop entries thus far, so no matter where you are, make sure to check your local listings. (Unless your in the aforementioned Sea-Tac area, as both KCTS and KBTC are leaving us high and dry on this one).

Luckily, the DVD comes out a month later (February 21), so the wait is minimal in that regard.

Fleet Foxes and Joanna Newsom on Austin City Limits Saturday. Photos by Scott Newton

Speaking of being left high and dry by our local PBS stations, both KCTS and KBTC have been notoriously absent in the airing of the long running Austin City Limits. This week sees the potent combo of Fleet Foxes (they're local, fer crissakes) and harpist/sprite Joanna Newsom. While PBS has enjoyed the success of Downton Abbey (deservedly so -- congrats on the Golden Globe win for, what was it again? A mini-series?There's a second season in my DVR queue that tells me otherwise), a lot of interesting cultural programs (like AfroPoP and ACL) continue to get passed over.

Elsewhere, the always great 7-piece from Wales, Los Campesinos!, make an appearance on Letterman Friday to belatedly promote their 2011 release, Hello Sadness. While completely a break-up album, Hello Sadness was written and recorded shortly after frontman Gareth had a sad break up with is girlfriend, so much of that sadness set the tone for the recordings. Their live act is too energetic for anyone to think it too depressing, thankfully.

Picks for the week
Monday, January 16
ABC: Jimmy Kimmel Live: Boyz II Men (REPEAT)
CBS: Late Show With David Letterman: Seal
NBC: The Tonight Show with Jay Leno: Parachute
NBC: Late Night With Jimmy Fallon: Chiddy Bang
NBC: Last Call With Carson Daly: Goldheart Assembly (REPEAT)
TBS: Conan: St. Vincent
Tuesday, January 17
ABC: Jimmy Kimmel Live: Grouplove
CBS: Late Show With David Letterman: Kathleen Edwards
NBC: Late Night With Jimmy Fallon: Outasight
NBC: Last Call With Carson Daly: Thievery Corporation (REPEAT)
Wednesday, January 18
CBS: Late Show With David Letterman: Ellie Goulding
NBC: The Tonight Show with Jay Leno: Parachute
NBC: Late Night With Jimmy Fallon: Wale
NBC: Last Call With Carson Daly: The Decemberists (REPEAT)
Thursday, January 19
ABC: Jimmy Kimmel Live: Keke Palmer
CBS: Late Show With David Letterman: Joseph Arthur
NBC: Late Night With Jimmy Fallon: The Avett Brothers
NBC: Last Call With Carson Daly: Foster the People (REPEAT)
Friday, January 20
ABC: Jimmy Kimmel Live: Filter
CBS: Late Show With David Letterman: Los Campesinos!
NBC: Late Night With Jimmy Fallon: Cults
NBC: Last Call With Carson Daly: Mona (REPEAT)
Saturday, January 21
PBS: Austin City Limits: Fleet Foxes, Joanna Newsom
Sunday, January 22
PBS: Everyday Sunshine: The Story of Fishbone: Fishbone