Spectacle: Guitar Pull Ups

My consolation prize in not being able to watch Lost (damn you Fisher Communications) is that I can take in some Spectacle. It was in the form of a Johnny Cash style 'guitar pull,' with everyone sharing songs and pleasantries. While several guitars were out of tune there was a few nice moments, like Kristofferson's grizzled delivery of a couple of his classics. But his most well known song, "Me and Bobby McGee," got the group treatment, and suffered from meandering and muttering.

Honestly, though, throughout I found myself pausing the episode repeatedly to try and find some way online to watch/download/mainline the Lost premiere. I'm not in the habit of doing it, but it seems last night was a frustrating affair for the usual downloaders. As of midnight, there was still no proper rip of the first episode, and yet, a ridiculous amount of options for downloading the second episode.

1. "Big River" - Johnny Cash - sung by all
2. "Small Town" - John Mellencamp
3. "How Many Time Have You Broken My Heart" - The Little Willies (video) - Norah Jones music to Hank Williams lyrics
4. "Sunday Morning Coming Down" - Kris Kristofferson
5. "Seven Year Ache" - Rosanne Cash
6. "From Sulfur to Sugarcane" - Elvis Costello (unreleased, written but not used for the film All the King's Men)
7. "Longest Days" - John Mellencamp
8. "April 5th" - Rosanne Cash w/ Elvis Costello, Kris Kristofferson (Unreleased)
9. "Here Comes That Rainbow Again" - Kris Kristofferson
10. "Me and Bobby McGee" - Kris Kristofferson - sung by all

Ear on TV: Week of January 19: LMFAO

If you've shaken your thing in a dance club the last year, the music of LMFAO is surely familiar, be it their self-produced singles like "I'm in Miami, Bitch" and "Lil' Hipster Girl" or remixes for Fergie, Kanye West ("Love Lockdown") and Katy Perry ("Hot n' Cold"). Now signed to Interscope, the Hollywood Hip-Hop duo is finally poised to release an album of their already impressive catalogue of 'hits' (appropriately entitled Party Rock,) to be released next month.

RedFoo and Blu Sky, the stage names of the uncle/nephew combo, aren't waiting around for silly things like release dates to start the party going, though, as they
make their network television debut on Carson Daly this Tuesday. Says RedFoo (the uncle) "We want to be seen as much as possible. We want to be so big that we can't even walk down the street." After enough folks see them perform "I'm in Miami, Bitch," there's a decent chance that they'll get their wish.

Elsewhere, Spectacle this week welcomes singer/songwriters Kris Kristofferson, Rosanne Cash, Norah Jones and John Mellencamp for a good old fashioned "guitar pull," where a group of artists sit in a circle and trade songs and stories. Johnny Cash famously held them, with Kristofferson and Cash's daughter Rosanne were often in attendance. Elvis Costello makes an interesting proxy for the man in black, and I guess having Jones and Mellencamp make the affair a little more consumer friendly.

Playlist: Picks for the week
Monday, January 19
CBS: Late Show With David Letterman: Broken Social Scene presents Brendan Canning (REPEAT - video)
FUEL: The Daily Habit: Japanese Motors
NBC: Late Night With Conan O'Brien: Q-Tip
SYNDICATION: The Ellen Degeneres Show: T.I.
Tuesday, January 20
ABC: The Neighborhood Inaugural Ball: Beyonce, Jay-Z, Stevie Wonder, Mary J. Blige, Mariah Carey, Faith Hill, Alicia Keys, Shakira
IFC: The Henry Rollins Show: Sinead O'Connor
NBC: Late Night With Conan O'Brien: Los Straitjackets
NBC: Last Call With Carson Daly: LMFAO
SYNDICATION: The Ellen Degeneres Show: Beyonce
Wednesday, January 21
FUEL: The Daily Habit: Zion I
SUNDANCE: Spectacle: Elvis Costello With...: Elvis Costello, Kris Kristofferson, Rosanne Cash, Norah Jones, John Mellencamp
SYNDICATION: The Ellen Degeneres Show: Beyonce
Thursday, January 22
CBS: Late Show With David Letterman: Of Montreal (REPEAT - video)
NBC: Last Call With Carson Daly: Company of Thieves
Friday, January 23
CBS: Late Show With David Letterman: Todd Rundgren (REPEAT - video)
Saturday, January 24
NBC: Saturday Night Live: T.I. (REPEAT)
PBS: Austin City Limits: Manu Chao