Ear on TV: Week of June 8: Sonic Youth

For the first time in nearly two decades, Sonic Youth is an indie rock band. The band recently parted ways with Geffen, a label that once championed them, but towards the end of their relationship, wouldn't even call them back. Now free of the pressure to break into the *mainstream, Thurston Moore and crew are channeling the raw and discordant sound of their earlier days with their latest release, The Eternal, which is out this week.

*Remember when they appeared on Gilmore Girls? While it's entirely possible that it was of their own volition, I'm thinking an appearance on a Warner-owned primetime drama is a lot less likely to happen with their new label, Matador.

It will be interesting to compare and contrast their appearance on Letterman Wednesday night with their previous appearance three years ago, as I'm willing to bet there's going to be a lot more jumping around and/or tearing sh*t up this time out. The atonal beginning to "Sacred Trickster" alone sends a message that things are going to be different.

Meanwhile, West Africa's Amadou & Mariam are finally breaking through in the U.S. after nearly 30 years of playing together, thanks to the inspired Afro-pop of their latest album Welcome to Mali, which was produced by Damon Albarn (Blur, Gorillaz). The self-dubbed "blind couple from Mali," Amadou Bagayoko and Mariam Doumbia, will be making their network television debut on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon on Monday, more than likely performing the song "Sabali," after which, we'll have another reason to give thanks for having The Roots on Late Night. (They're responsible for booking most the music acts.)

Finally, remember more than a month ago when it was announced that Green Day were going to be playing three nights in a row on Last Call with Carson Daly? Since that announcement they've made appearances on SNL, Letterman and The Tonight Show, not to mention the massive promo buys on ESPN. With all that exposure, the only thing Carson Daly has going is that the band has so far has played "Know Your Enemy" so many times that hearing the band play at least two other songs is all that Daly can lay network TV claim to.

Playlist: Picks for the week
Monday, June 8
ABC: Jimmy Kimmel Live: The Airborne Toxic Event (REPEAT)
CBS: Late Show With David Letterman: Mos Def
FUEL: The Daily Habit: Margot & the Nuclear So and So’s
NBC: Late Night With Jimmy Fallon: Amadou & Mariam, The Roots
NBC: Last Call With Carson Daly: The Ting Tings (REPEAT)
Tuesday, June 9
ABC: Jimmy Kimmel Live: No Doubt
CBS: Late Show With David Letterman: Black Eyed Peas
FUEL: The Daily Habit: The Sounds
NBC: The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien: Bonnie Raitt
NBC: Late Night With Jimmy Fallon: Mos Def, The Roots
NBC: Last Call With Carson Daly: Green Day
Wednesday, June 10
CBS: Late Show With David Letterman: Sonic Youth
CBS: Late Late Show With Craig Ferguson: Theresa Andersson
FUEL: The Daily Habit: Timmy Curran
NBC: The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien: Rancid
NBC: Late Night With Jimmy Fallon: Manchester Orchestra, The Roots
NBC: Last Call With Carson Daly: Green Day
SUNDANCE: Spectacle: Elvis Costello With...: Elvis Costello, Lou Reed & Julian Schnabel (REPEAT)
Thursday, June 11
ABC: The View: Kanye West
FUEL: The Daily Habit: Margot & the Nuclear So and So’s
NBC: The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien: Neko Case
NBC: Last Call With Carson Daly: Green Day
Friday, June 12
ABC: The View: Black Eyed Peas
CBS: Late Show With David Letterman: P.J. Harvey w/ John Parrish
SUNDANCE: Derailroaded: Wild Man Fischer
SYNDICATION: The Ellen Degeneres Show: Black Eyed Peas (REPEAT)
Saturday, June 13
NBC: Saturday Night Live: Green Day (REPEAT)

Ear on TV: Week of June 1

The Conan O'Brien era for The Tonight Show begins this week, and for the debut on Monday, Pearl Jam is set to perform two new songs from their as yet untitled forthcoming album. One of the songs, "The Fixer," is also rumored* to be part of a Target promotion for the band, which is throwing fans for a bit of a loop.

*Rumors confirmed this morning, via official word from the band.

The once fiercely anti-corporate Pearl Jam find themselves in the same boat as other once guaranteed top-selling artists like U2 and Prince, in the unsteady waters of the recording industry. In order to make enough green, acts are co-opting their songs for TV commercials, shows, and even cutting exclusive deals with retailers. Prince did it with Target, and now the rumor is that Pearl Jam might be doing the same with the Minnesota-based store. This past Thursday, Pearl Jam played an invite-only show that saw Cameron Crowe directing the band in a promotion for Target. Several bloggers posted on it and then had their report removed, apparently forgetting they signed an NDA upon entrance.

While "everybody's doing it," Conan's guest for Tuesday night has taken it to the extreme. If you've watched any ESPN in the past few weeks, you've undoubtedly noticed that Green Day has suddenly become the house band. It's so widespread, even stories written for ESPN.com (like this one on the Stanley Cup Playoffs) are likening athletes to Green Day. I'm surprised they haven't changed the network name to GDSN, as Green Day seems to have purchased the channel outright. Whatever it takes to sell, I guess.

Playlist: Picks for the week
Monday, June 1
ABC: Jimmy Kimmel Live: No Doubt (REPEAT)
CBS: Late Late Show With Craig Ferguson: Tori Amos
FUEL: The Daily Habit: Big Pooh
NBC: The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien: Pearl Jam
Tuesday, June 2
FUEL: The Daily Habit: Ponytail
NBC: The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien: Green Day
NBC: Late Night With Jimmy Fallon: Paul Simon w/ Antibalas and The Roots
NBC: Last Call With Carson Daly: Diane Birch
Wednesday, June 3
CBS: Late Show With David Letterman: Steve Earle
NBC: Late Night With Jimmy Fallon: Dave Matthews Band
NBC: Last Call With Carson Daly: Lissy Trullie
SUNDANCE: Spectacle: Elvis Costello With...: Elvis Costello, Elton John (REPEAT)
Thursday, June 4
CBS: Late Show With David Letterman: Elvis Costello
NBC: Late Night With Jimmy Fallon: Doves
Friday, June 5
ABC: Jimmy Kimmel Live: Asher Roth (REPEAT)
FUEL: The Daily Habit: Say Hi
NBC: The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien: Chickenfoot
Sundance: Robyn Hitchcock: I Often Dream of Trains: Robyn Hitchcock
Saturday, June 6
PBS: Austin City Limits: Bloc Party, Ghostland Observatory (REPEAT)
VH1: Iron Maiden: Flight 666: Iron Maiden

Ear on TV: Week of 05.11.09 - Soulja Boy Tell 'em

Even though the hip-hop of Soulja Boy Tell' Em is not my cup of tea, you really have to admire what the 18-year-old has done in the short time he's been on the scene. Born DeAndre Way, the Atlanta native has helped usher in a new wave of Internet-savvy artists, with his embrace of social marketing and the viral nature of the web. Whether he's putting up another new YouTube video (the video for "Crank That" is the top viewed YouTube clip, at over 300 million views), Twittering through late-night jam sessions, or promoting his MySpace page on radio and television appearances, Soulja Boy has worked the Internet angle like a "playa macking his game."

It's fitting then, that he starts his week appearing on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, as Fallon just won a Webby award for "Person of the Year" for a similar geek embrace. Expect there to be a fair amount of tweets generated (?uestlove included - where's the Tweetup, son?) from the meeting on Monday night. But that's just the start to Soulja Boy's march on the airwaves, as he'll also hit BET's 106 & Park on Wednesday night and then even make an appearance on the season finale of The CW series The Game on Friday*. Of course, all these appearances mean he'll have a lot less time to post another YouTube video. Fans will just have to suffice with him on a much bigger screen.

*Soulja Boy also finds his way onto The View next week (May 25). Lil Wayne last month and now Soulja Boy? Yo mama is getting schooled in new hip-hop.

Elsewhere, two big artists have big expectations to live up to beginning this week. Rapper Eminem has been out of the limelight for five years now, which is an eternity in hype-driven rap. Between the party antics of Asher Roth (on Fallon Thursday,) and the internet-driven shallowness of Soulja Boy, Marshall Mathers is a bespeckled, cardigan-wearing picture of maturity. I for one, hope he schools the youngins (Eminem appears on Kimmel Friday.) Meanwhile, Green Day has the unenviable task of following up the multi-platinum smash that was 2004's American Idiot. Since that album was helped by having an unpopular President, won wonders how 21st Century Breakdown will do in the age of Obama. They'll have this week's SNL season finale to help make their case.

And finally, remember last week we told you about Yusuf Islam having to cancel shows and appearances last week due to visa problems? Well, the artist formerly known as Cat Stevens has finally made it over the border and playing his first US show in 33 years Monday night in Los Angeles (El Rey Theatre). He'll follow that with appearances on Leno (Wednesday,) The Colbert Report (Thursday,) and a rescheduled appearance on Fallon (Friday). The visa problems will no doubt make his Colbert appearance that much more meaty.

Playlist: Picks for the week
Monday, May 11
CBS: Late Show With David Letterman: The Killers
NBC: Late Night With Jimmy Fallon: Soulja Boy Tell' Em, The Roots
NBC: Last Call With Carson Daly: Ben Harper & Relentless7 (REPEAT)
Tuesday, May 12
FUEL: The Daily Habit: Fake Problems
NBC: Late Night With Jimmy Fallon: Lonely Island w/ The Roots
NBC: Last Call With Carson Daly: Cold War Kids
SYNDICATION: The Ellen Degeneres Show: Lady GaGa
Wednesday, May 13
BET: 106 & Park: Soulja Boy Tell' Em
FUEL: The Daily Habit: Bob Log III
NBC: The Tonight Show with Jay Leno: Yusuf Islam
NBC: Last Call With Carson Daly: Brett Dennen
SUNDANCE: Spectacle: Elvis Costello With...: Elvis Costello, She & Him, Jenny Lewis, Jakob Dylan (REPEAT)
Thursday, May 14
ABC: Jimmy Kimmel Live: Airborne Toxic Event
CBS: Late Show With David Letterman: Rick Ross with Magazeen
COMEDY CENTRAL: The Colbert Report: Yusuf Islam
FUEL: The Daily Habit: Crocodiles
NBC: The Tonight Show with Jay Leno: The Decemberists
NBC: Late Night With Jimmy Fallon: Asher Roth, The Roots
SYNDICATION: The Ellen Degeneres Show: Kelly Clarkson
Friday, May 15
ABC: Jimmy Kimmel Live: Eminem
CBS: Late Show With David Letterman: Mastodon
CW: The Game: Soulja Boy Tell' Em
NBC: The Tonight Show with Jay Leno: Kings of Leon
NBC: Late Night With Jimmy Fallon: Yusuf Islam, The Roots
NBC: Last Call With Carson Daly: Friendly Fires
SUNDANCE: The Rock and Roll Kid: Danny Sveinson
Saturday, May 16
NBC: Saturday Night Live: Green Day
PBS: Austin City Limits: My Morning Jacket (REPEAT)