Ear on TV: Week of 12.28.09: NYE with Rihanna & Jay-Z

New Year's Eve has always been steeped in tradition -- whether you're singing "Auld Lang Syne" or eating 12 grapes at the stroke of midnight, there's a familiarity to the proceedings. But sometimes you need to break from tradition, and for the past few years, it's become apparent that Dick Clark's Rockin' New Year's Eve has worn out its welcome. Some have pointed to Clark's unfortunate stroke back in 2004 and his resulting slurred speech as one reason for the event's failing, but I'd argue that it's really that the Rockin' New Year's Eve has gotten decidedly less 'Rockin' since Ryan Seacrest signed on as co-host and executive producer. This year's headliners are Jennifer Lopez and Black Eyed Peas -- where exactly is the rock?

Instead, it's been Carson Daly who's reigned over the real 'Rockin' New Year's since he started back in 2003, hosting NBC's New Year's Eve with Carson Daly. This year, Daly welcomes Green Day, who play Times Square live, and a taped performance\ from Rihanna, who was joined on stage last week during snow fall by Jay-Z for the smash hits "Umbrella" and "Run This Town."

Meanwhile, most programming is taking off the week, but IFC's Dinner With the Band has a new episode, this time featuring electropop purveyors YACHT in the kitchen with chef Sam Mason. The band are strict vegans, so the menu will be meatless. The performance in the living room, however, will be very meaty, thank you very much.


Playlist: Picks for the week
Monday, December 28
CBS: Late Show With David Letterman: Tori Amos (REPEAT)
CBS: Late Late Show With Craig Ferguson: Rodrigo y Gabriela (REPEAT)
FUEL: The Daily Habit: 3 Inches of Blood
NBC: Late Night With Jimmy Fallon: Bon Jovi (REPEAT)
NBC: Last Call With Carson Daly: OK Go (REPEAT)
Tuesday, December 29
CBS: Kennedy Center Honors: Bruce Springsteen (honoree), Eddie Vedder, Ben Harper, John Mellencamp, Herbie Hancock, Dave Brubeck (honoree), Aretha Franklin
TBS: Lopez Tonight: Carlos Santana (REPEAT)
FUEL: The Daily Habit: The Bravery
IFC: Dinner With the Band: YACHT
NBC: The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien: Grizzly Bear (REPEAT)
NBC: Last Call With Carson Daly: Black Lips (REPEAT)
SYNDICATION: Live With Regis and Kelly: Twisted Sister
Wednesday, December 30
TBS: Lopez Tonight: Mary J. Blige (REPEAT)
NBC: Late Night With Jimmy Fallon: Mos Def & Talib Kweli (REPEAT)
Thursday, December 31
CBS: Late Show With David Letterman: Ray Davies (REPEAT)
CURRENT: Embedded Marathon: Thievery Corporation, Amanda Palmer, Delta Spirit, Common, Lykke Li, Bloc Party, Mos Def, Silversun Pickups, The Decemberists, Raphael Saadiq, Sebastian Tellier, Emiliana Torrini, Les Savy Fav, Elvis Perkins, Jason Isbell, F****d Up, White Rabbits, Amazing Baby, Black Lips, Nipsey Hussle, Telepathe, Zee Avi, Moby, Josh Ritter
FUEL: The Daily Habit: Youth Brigade
NBC: New Year's Eve with Carson Daly: Green Day, Rihanna, Jay-Z
NBC: Last Call With Carson Daly: Matisyahu (REPEAT)
Friday, January 1
NBC: Last Call With Carson Daly: Peaches (REPEAT)

Ear on TV: Week of 09.14.09: Jay-Z on Jay Leno

Say what you will about Jay Leno and the inanity of NBC's decision to hand him the entirety of the 10PM time slot, but the guy knows a good booking when he sees one. Jay-Z? Sure, it being the morning after the MTV Music Awards, Jay-Z is a good get, but the fact that Kanye West is joining him is prime trainwreck material, given his penchant for post-awards show blow-ups. [And this year he managed to even out Kanye himself, by self-destructing during the broadcast.] Rihanna even joins in the fun, giving Leno a three-for-one deal, which is good considering the show doesn't plan on booking many music acts.

But what of Jay-Z's decision to appear on Leno? I've got this theory when HOVA was planning out the marketing of his latest album, The Blueprint 3, he stumbled across the website Stuff White People Like. In the past couple weeks, Jigga man has sat down with Bill Maher on Real Time with Bill Maher, danced with Beyonce at a Grizzly Bear concert and been party to a (great) commercial for Rhapsody. At this rate, we might expect him to show up early Monday night to play some hacky sack with a plate of hummus in hand.

Also returning to TV this week is Carson Daly, whose Last Call With... program took the whole summer off. It was sad enough that they took away Daly's studio, forcing the talk show to operate nomadically from the road for the past year. Last Call welcomes Franz Ferdinand (Monday), Metric (Tuesday) and Pete Yorn* (Wednesday) for its return, but will it be enough to keep folks watching after NBC's three hours of talk shows prior?

*Let's start a rumor now that ex-girlfriend and album partner Scarlett Johansson will join him.

Elsewhere, French breakthrough act Phoenix brave The Tonight Show stage on Tuesday, while later that night rapper Ghostface brings his distinct skillz to Fallon, no doubt getting some help from The Roots. Then on Wednesday, The Flaming Lips sprinkle their magic dust on The Colbert Report, growing the host's hair back to its non-military issue length.

Playlist: Picks for the week
Monday, September 14
ABC: Jimmy Kimmel Live: Maxwell (REPEAT)
CBS: Late Show With David Letterman: Cage the Elephant (REPEAT)
CBS: Late Late Show With Craig Ferguson: Juliette Lewis (REPEAT)
FUEL: Check 1, 2: Santigold
NBC: The Jay Leno Show: Jay-Z w/ Rihanna & Kanye West
NBC: The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien: Dave Matthews Band
NBC: Late Night With Jimmy Fallon: Rufus Wainwright
NBC: Last Call With Carson Daly: Franz Ferdinand
Tuesday, September 15
ABC: Jimmy Kimmel Live: Kelly Clarkson
CBS: Late Show With David Letterman: Care Bears on Fire (REPEAT)
FUEL: The Daily Habit: Dungen
NBC: The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien: Phoenix
NBC: Late Night With Jimmy Fallon: Ghostface
NBC: Last Call With Carson Daly: Metric
Wednesday,September 16
ABC: Jimmy Kimmel Live: Pink
COMEDY CENTRAL: The Colbert Report: Flaming Lips
CBS: Late Show With David Letterman: John Fogerty (REPEAT)
NBC: The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien: Yeah Yeah Yeahs
NBC: Last Call With Carson Daly: Pete Yorn
SUNDANCE: Spectacle: Elvis Costello With...: Elvis Costello, Diana Krall (REPEAT)
Thursday, September 17
FUEL: The Daily Habit: Dredg
NBC: The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien: Louis CK
SYNDICATION: The Ellen Degeneres Show: Maxwell
Friday, September 18
ABC: Jimmy Kimmel Live: Shakira
NBC: The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien: Nelly Furtado
NBC: Late Night With Jimmy Fallon: Megadeath
Saturday, September 19
NBC: Saturday Night Live: Green Day (REPEAT)

Now Downloading: New Releases 09.01.09

It's a slow one this week, which is fine considering the reunion extravaganza happening next week (Polvo, Os Mutantes). As such, we'll poach Jay-Z's latest (which is available exclusively this week on Rhapsody) and take a gander at A.A. Bondy's latest. They Might Be Giants will get their own post (once I have a chance to listen / see) next week, but their latest kidtastic adventure is available on iTunes this week. Outside of that, Datarock's latest finally gets physical release here, and there's a greatest hits compilations for both Drive-By Truckers and The Apples in Stereo.

Playlist: New Releases 09.01.09

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Jay-Z - The Blueprint 3
Stream / Purchase [mp3]

Normally, a Jay-Z release just kind of goes through me like cheap beer. I drink it down and I'm in the bathroom an hour later, and that's that. But this one is sticking to me for some reason, in part because it has the feel of real instruments for much of it. The opening track, "What We Talkin About", even employs Luke Steele of The Sleepy Jackson fame (now of Empire of the Sun), who can be heard jackin' the TV on the Radio-like chorus. That's right, I said TV on the Radio. In the past week, Jay-Z's been on Realtime with Bill Maher, danced and gave props to Grizzly Bear, and now is being featured in a dope Rhapsody commercial. It's like Jay-Z started reading Stuff White People Like to prep the marketing of the album. It worked on me, I guess, as I'm digging this album, Stylistically, it's a bit too all over the map for me to declare it a great album, but it holds my interest, which the first Jay-Z thang for me since Danger Mouse mashed him up with the Beatles for The Grey Album.

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A.A. Bondy - When The Devil's Loose
Stream / Purchase [mp3]

When A.A. Bondy ditched the electric Nirvana-ish guitar rock of his band Verbena in favor of a rootsy acoustic approach for his solo album, it was quite a change. Seeing him a few times since on tour, you could sense the angst and noise was creeping back in, and while When the Devil's Loose is still a mostly quiet affair, some of that angst has made it's way back in. The death and religion themes, meanwhile, have remained the root of Bondy's content, from Verbena until now, and outside of Mark Lanegan, there's not many that can do it better.

Free AOL Album Stream
Download: "When the Devil's Loose" [mp3]
Download: "I Can See the Pines Are Dancing" [mp3]

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More on the radar (and in the mp3 player) this week:
They Might Be Giants - Here Comes Science / Free AOL Album Stream / "Electric Car", "I Am a Paleontologist" [mp3]
Datarock - Red
David Bazan - Curse Your BranchesP / Free AOL Album Stream / "Bless This Mess" [mp3]
Drive-By Truckers - The Fine Print (A Collection Of Oddities And Rarities 2003-2008) / Free AOL Album Stream
Apples In Stereo - #1 Hits Explosion / Free AOL Album Stream
Richard Lloyd - The Jamie Neverts Story
Reverend Horton Heat - Aim & Ignite
Brandi Shearer - Love Don't Make You Juliet / Free AOL Album Stream
Andrew W.K. - 55 Cadillac
Emmy the Great - First Love
Pitbull - Rebelution
Juliette Lewis - Terra Incognita / Free AOL Album Stream
MadLove - White With Foam

REISSUES
Mr. Scruff - Keep it Real (10th Anniversary Analogue Remaster Edition)
Those Bastard Souls - Twentieth Century Chemical
Ladyhawke - Ladyhawke Special Edition

tags: music, album review, Jay-Z, TMBG, indie rock, new releases, rhapsody

Ear on TV: Week of November 20

"I am the Mike Jordan of recording..."
"Show Me What You Got" - Jay-Z

When Jay-Z announced his retirement back November 25th, 2003, he was going out on top. With a sold out tour, top of the charts album (The Black Album,) and Beyonce on his arm, even Jordan had to be jealous. But just like Mike, he wasn't content to watch as part-owner of the game, so he's back with a new album tomorrow, Kingdom Come, which, alas, is more akin to the Wizards-era Michael - all the talent and smarts, but none of the gravity-defying ups.

This week, Jay-Z makes his first post-retirement appearance on Ellen (Tuesday) and it's the Tivo/DVR moment of this sweeps crazy month when you factor in Ellen's other guest icon from the 90's who also retired from the game: Bill Clinton. Maybe being paired with Jay-Z's comeback will be an inspiration for the President.
"Get the f*ck out the throne you clone, the king is back!"

Playlist: TV Appearances Week of November 20
Album: Kingdom Come - Jay-Z (AOL listening Party)

Monday, November 20
CBS: Late Show With David Letterman: DJ Shadow, Q-Tip
NBC: The Tonight Show with Jay Leno: Chris Cornell
NBC: Last Call With Carson Daly: Fiona Apple (RERUN)

Tuesday, November 21
NBC: Late Night With Conan O'Brien: Robyn Hitchcock
SYNDICATION: The Ellen Degeneres Show: Jay-Z

Wednesday, November 22
ABC: Jimmy Kimmel Live: Jay-Z
CBS: Late Show With David Letterman: Lupe Fiasco, Jill Scott
NBC: The Tonight Show with Jay Leno: Nelly Furtado

Thursday, November 23
CBS: Late Late Show With Craig Ferguson: Akon (RERUN)
NBC: The Tonight Show with Jay Leno: Nelly Furtado
NBC: Late Night With Conan O'Brien: The Brand New Heavies

Friday, November 24
ABC: Jimmy Kimmel Live: Regina Spektor (RERUN)

Saturday, November 25
NBC: Saturday Night Live: Beck (RERUN)
PBS: Austin City Limits: Franz Ferdinand, What Made Milwaukee Famous

tags: music, television, soundtrack, talk shows, jay-z, michael jordan, bill clinton, hip-hop, rap, ellen degeneres, rhapsody