Ear on TV: Week of 03.23.09: Prince!

In what is undoubtably the busiest week any one performer could undertake, Prince, the one man media empire, unleashes his assault across the internet, the airwaves, the city of Los Angeles, and finally, Target shoppers. Three, it seems, is the magic number, starting with the Purple One himself, who all by himself is the holy trinity of the music business - performer, manager and record label unto himself. On Tuesday, March 24, his website LOtUSFLOW3r.com will officially launch, allowing members instant access to digital downloads of three new albums, lyric sheets, exclusive photos from both past and present, live concert footage and early warning on upcoming events. But like the count off from a drummer, that's just the start.

On Wednesday, Prince begins his three night stay on The Tonight Show, culminating with an outdoor performance on Friday night, and those who remember his last two noteworthy outdoor performances (Super Bowl in 2007, Coachella in 2008,) know that it's not something to be missed. Prince famously debuted a new song almost a year ago on Leno, so he must feel comfortable with The Chin, and vice versa, as Prince has also been booked to join in on the celebration of Leno's final days as The Tonight Show host, performing on the show May 28.

Then, as if to answer the inevitable "aren't you just copying U2?" question, Prince will be playing three shows in three different venues across Los Angeles on Saturday night. Just trying to navigate traffic in catching parts of these shows as an attendee sounds impressive, let alone actually playing them. All this leads up to the release of three albums on Sunday, March 29, via an exclusive arrangement with fellow Minneapolis entity Target (I guarantee you someone somewhere is putting the albums on their wedding registry). LOtUSFLOW3R is Prince's rock album, an album begging for it's own Guitar Hero version that's nearly impossible to master. MPLSoUND is the dance-funk album, probably the most consistent album, and more in line with Prince's recent revival since 2004's Musicology. The third album features his new protege Bria Valente on vocals, with his Royal Badness writing, producing and playing the instruments. It's predictably the clunker of the three, but since it's only $11.98 for all three, it's hard to complain too much. I just look at it like someone took care to organize all the songs I don't care for together on a disc I can conveniently lose. While that particular 'feature' is unintentional, you can still add it to the list of things Prince is schooling the record industry on.

Playlist: Picks for the week
Monday, March 23
CBS: Late Show With David Letterman: Bloc Party
FUEL: The Daily Habit: Cut Off Your Hands
NBC: Late Night With Jimmy Fallon: Morrissey, The Roots
Tuesday, March 24
CBS: Late Show With David Letterman: White Lies
CBS: Late Late Show With Craig Ferguson: Chicago
NBC: The Tonight Show with Jay Leno: PJ Harvey w/ John Parish
NBC: Late Night With Jimmy Fallon: Gambriella Cilmi, The Roots
NBC: Last Call With Carson Daly: Chris Cornell
SYNDICATION: The Ellen Degeneres Show: Kelly Clarkson
Wednesday, March 25
ABC: The View: The Blind Boys of Alabama
CBS: Late Show With David Letterman: Jesse Harris with Norah Jones
CBS: Late Late Show With Craig Ferguson: Ra Ra Riot
FUEL: The Daily Habit: Swim Party
NBC: The Tonight Show with Jay Leno: Prince
NBC: Last Call With Carson Daly: Chris Cornell
Thursday, March 26
CBS: Late Show With David Letterman: U2 (REPEAT)
FUEL: The Daily Habit: Matt & Kim
NBC: The Tonight Show with Jay Leno: Prince
Friday, March 27
ABC: Jimmy Kimmel Live: Lil Wayne
CBS: Late Show With David Letterman: Lyle Lovett and John Hiatt (REPEAT)
CBS: Late Late Show With Craig Ferguson: The Damned (REPEAT)
NBC: The Tonight Show with Jay Leno: Prince
NBC: Late Night With Jimmy Fallon: N.E.R.D., The Roots