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TUBE TUNES vol. 1, no. 6
Mailed Jan. 18, 2001

Wow. What a great time for music on television. Even if you don’t like “Jazz” (or jazz, for that matter), you still have a bounty of opportunities with the award show season coming up to catch a lot of televised performances.

Here’s hoping this e-mail list and the accompanying web site, http://www.oocities.org/tubetune, provide you with plenty of choices.

NEWS

As if the whole outlaw/renegade notion of rock ’n’ roll hasn’t suffered enough with the constant commercialization of the form, one of the larger-than-life bad boys or rock is going legit.

Gene Simmons, he of the cow-tongue, fire and blood routine, will host a documentary, about “The Secret History of Rock 'n' Roll,” on Court TV, according to the Associated Press. The show, which will air in June, will offer a revealing glimpse of the real goings-on behind the scenes of the rock world.

Keep in mind that Simmons, the bass player for Kiss, is 51 years old (the God of Thunder is this close to AARP qualification) and thus too old, really, to know what the current state of debauchery entails. But worse, perhaps, is that Simmons, whose entire career is based on secrecy and subterfuge (and, I’ll admit, radio-ready riffs interspersed with double-entendre), seems rather traitorous to pull back the curtain now.

If nothing else, his expose should be entertaining. I mean, who could forget his turn opposite Tom Selleck in that great futuristic flick a decade or two back? You know, that one movie... OK. Give me a minute, it’ll come to me...

REVIEW

It’s a bit early to call it a rousing success, but Ken Burns’ “Jazz” is a remarkable production. His oft-copied style – which includes languorous shots of photographs and unattributed reminiscences – can be nap-inducing. But with a subject like jazz, it seems to work perfectly, the energy of the music balancing the more laid-back tone of the film.

A real jazzbo could go for an hour or more without learning anything new, but the presentation and archival video and audio puts that old information in such appealing context that you’d be hard pressed to complain.

Burns does set a tone by relying so heavily on Wynton Marsalis, using the backward-looking trumpeter as his first and most-heard voice. That first utterance (was that the start of the gumbo references?) lets fans of modern jazz know that this is not a film for them. It is a primer for the uninitiated and a rekindling of spirit for everyone else.

But I must admit that Marsalis knows his stuff when talking about Louis Armstrong or the state of affairs in New Orleans when jazz was birthed. It will be interesting to see if Marsalis turns mean when the music takes a turn toward the avant garde and away from the well-mannered swing and be-bop that he promotes.

So far, so good.

PROGRAMS OF NOTE
(all times CST; days begin and end at 5 a.m.)

Tonight
Grandaddy on the Late, Late Show with Craig Kilborn. CBS, 11:35 p.m. This critically lauded band makes a stop on late night TV to play a track from its top 10-list favorite "The Sophtware Slump."

Friday, Jan. 19
John Cale et al on Later with Jools Holland. BBCAmerica, 6 p.m. Cale is certainly the most interesting performer on tonight's line-up. The former Velvet is always good for a head scratch.

Merle Haggard and the Derailers on Austin City Limits. PBS, 9 p.m. The Hag is one of the godfathers of the Bakersfield sound, and the Derailers are one of his disciples (though they hew more closely to Buck Owens' take on that
classic sound). Both should tear the roof off.

Richard Ashcroft on Late Show with David Letterman, 10:35 p.m. Ashcroft, the leader of the Verve, brings his solo pretensions to the US airwaves. For anyone who has seen his MTV2 staple “Song for the Lovers,” here’s hoping he doesn’t end this with a similar trip to the loo.

Saturday, Jan. 20
Outkast on Soul Train. Syndicated, check listings. Yeah, this is a bit of a departure, but I’m rather taken by the group’s latest single, “Mrs. Jackson.” And would you get a load of those outfits?

Sunday, Jan. 21
John Coltrane on Bravo Arena. Bravo, 11 a.m. This show deals with the fascinating church based mainly on Coltrane’s A Love Supreme album. The San Francisco-based Church of St. John Coltrane must surely have the most amazing services…

Monday, Jan. 22
"Jazz." PBS, 8 p.m. This episode, no. 6, is "Swing: The Velocity of Celebration (1937-1939)."

Amy Rigby on Late Night with Conan O’Brien. NBC, 11:35 p.m. This repeat from October gives Rigby, one of the great unsung female singer songwriters, a forum for her latest, Sugar Tree.

Tuesday, Jan. 23
"Jazz." PBS, 8 p.m. This episode, no. 7, is "Dedicated to Chaos (1940-1945).."

Wednesday, Jan. 24
"Jazz." PBS, 8 p.m. This episode, no. 8, is "Risk (1945-1955)."

Thursday, Jan. 25
Outkast on MTV Cribs. MTV, 6:30 p.m. If you liked this rap duo on Soul Train a couple of nights back, why not check out where they live? This show is becoming a favorite, as the newly rich try to showcase their suddenly posh lifestyles.

Friday, Jan. 26
Beck et al on Later with Jools Holland. BBCAmerica, 6 p.m. This is becoming my Friday staple, but until US TV comes up with something better, this former Squeeze-man will reign.

Saturday, Jan. 27
Elliott Smith on Saturday Night Live. Comedy Central, 5 p.m. This repeat finds our hero performing a track from his XO CD.

Sunday, Jan. 28
Sting on the Super Bowl preview show. CBS, 2 p.m. Yeah, when you think football, you think of fading new wave pop stars...

Monday, Jan. 29
"Jazz." PBS, 8 p.m. This episode, no. 9, is "The Adventure (1955-1960)"

Tuesday, Jan. 30
Rainer Maria on Trackers. Oxygen Network, 3 p.m. This trio had big buzz a couple of years ago, and it would be a good guess to assume I will build again with the group’s new disc, Better Version of Me.

Wednesday, Jan. 31
"Jazz." PBS, 8 p.m. This episode, the final of 10, is "A Masterpiece by Midnight (1960-Present)."

By the way, if you read this far, you deserve something special. Gene Simmons and Tom Selleck starred in 1984’s sci-fi flop “Runaway.”

[JK]
posted by John Kenyon at 11:34 AM