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TUBE TUNES vol. 1, no. 5
Mailed Jan. 4, 2001

Happy New Year. Here's hoping you either had a great time at a party or Dick Clark and his ilk were able to get you through the night.

Need a resolution? How about this: Resolve to seek out more music on television. Sure, you can go to the Internet, but why not use that big dusty box in the corner for something other than Playstation?

There's no better way to start it off than with Ken Burns' "Jazz." No, I haven't seen a minute of it, but it has people arguing the merits of the music already, so it must have something going for it. Burns might have given short shrift to fusion, the avant garde and post-70s jazz, but his look at the early days of the form will prove to be invaluable, offering context and depth to subsequent listens.

And let me tell you, winter is jazz time. There's nothing like warm horns, big, pulsing drums and swinging pianos to get you through to spring.

So, what better way to find out what to watch than to keep reading Tube Tunes? If you need a dose during the week, check out http://www.oocities.org/tubetune

NEWS

Q: What is less lame than in years past but is still, without a doubt, lame?
A: The Grammys.

Whether you love him or hate him, Eminem and his four Grammy nominations go a long way toward legitimizing the Grammys. The industry is obviously torn -- the guy moves units faster than the cup guy at a kegger, but he's also the focal point of anti- everything crusaders.

The easy thing would have been to nominate him for best rap album and single, give the awards to Will Smith and be done with it. But no one took the easy way out here. Nominating Eminem's "The Marshall Mathers LP" for album of the year ensures that a lot of ink will be spilled further debating his (de)merits.

And Eminem isn't the only interesting pick in that category. Beck and Radio head join geriatric picks Paul Simon and Steely Dan in what should be an interesting contest.

Apart from that, however, the picks get a bit pedestrian and predictible. Madonna squeaks in with a weak track here, the boy bands hit with a weak track there, and pretty soon you've set yourself up for a long boring night in front of the television broken up by the sparks that will fly if Eminem actually shows.

That's what it's all about... for our purposes, anyway. The Grammys are the music industries best chance to shine, but it always chooses to offer up the most banal, over-played, pre-fab artists for our consumption. The best we can hope for is Eminem, Radiohead, Shelby Lynne (inexplicably nominated as best new artist for her album "I Am Shelby Lynne," which is at least her fourth or fifth) and a handful of others who might be able to shake things up a bit.

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

Friday, Jan. 5
Mercury Rev on Later with Jools Holland. BBCAmerica, 6 p.m. This show is almost always worth watching, but when you get a band as good as Mercury Rev in the house, it becomes a must-watch situation.

Saturday, Jan. 6
"Theremin: An Electric Odyssey." Sundance, 11 a.m. You hear it every once in a while, whether on "Good Vibrations" or a Jon Spencer track. Now find out how it works and how it was created. That's not even the best part, as the love story behind this is better than anything Hollywood churned out last year.

"Montery Pop." American Movie Classics, 9 p.m. D.A. Pennebaker turns his docu-cam on this 1967 music festival. See the Who, Simon and Garfunkel, the Animals and many, many others.

Sunday, Jan. 7
Glen Campbell on Behind the Music. VH1, 1 p.m. Campbell has done it all: He was a Beach Boy, he started his solo career with a novelty pop hit ("Guess I'm Dumb") and went on to be one of the biggest country stars of the 70s. At last, a "Behind the Music" subject worth covering.

Monday, Jan. 8
Ken Burns' "Jazz." PBS, 8 p.m. Already controversial, this 10-part documentary should do a lot for the genre. You'll either love it or hate it, but I doubt you'll go away knowing any less about America's greatest art. This installment deals with the beginnings of jazz.

American Music Awards. ABC, 7 p.m. If pap is more your thing, check out this vapid pop love-in. Everyone who made chart-topping, money-grubbing inconsequential music in 2000 will be there. Oh joy.

Tuesday, Jan. 9
"Jazz." PBS, 8 p.m. This installment deals with Louis Armstrong and Duke Ellington as jazz moves through World War I.

Outkast on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno. NBC, 10:35 p.m. This southern rap duo's latest, Stankonia, has made several year-end best-of lists. See what the fuss is all about.

Wednesday, Jan. 10
"Jazz." PBS, 8 p.m. This installment deals with the expansion of jazz.

Thursday, Jan. 11
Video Killed the Radio Star. VH1, 5 p.m. I know it seems odd, but VH1 is airing a show about music videos. Of course, they can't just show them, so they package them under the guise of showing different trends in video.

Friday, Jan. 12
Snoop Dogg on Cribs. MTV, 6 p.m. True, this isn't the sort of thing I'd normally recommend, but taking a tour of Snoop's house just has to be fun, doesn't it? If not, just file this with my Wu-Tang fascination and find something to watch on your own, OK?

Saturday, Jan. 13
"Head." AMC, 9 p.m. AMC's weekend fare is usually a bit more tame than this, so this is a treat. Here, the Monkees flame out in a gloriously druggy burst of oddity. The script was written by Jack Nicholson. Really.

Sunday, Jan. 14
Rest up for the resumption of "Jazz" on PBS. Or watch football. Or whatever.

Monday, Jan. 15
"Jazz." PBS, 8 p.m. This installment deals with the years 1929 to 1935, as America comes out of the Depression.

Tuesday, Jan. 16
Need another nap? That's better than what TV has to offer today. Better yet, why not read a book?

Wednesday, Jan. 17
"Jazz." PBS, 8 p.m. This installment deals with the years 1935 to 1937, as swing takes hold and Hollywood takes notice.

[JK]
posted by John Kenyon at 10:58 AM