MGMT Avoids Strike; Prophet Profits
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Thanks, Dave. Over the past couple of nights, I’ve been jazzed to see some top-notch music on fresh installments of “The Late Show with David Letterman” - despite the ongoing Writers’ Guild strike that has been crippling the TV and film industries for weeks.On Tuesday, I caught the Brooklyn-based, tongue-in-cheek, quasi-psychedelic prog-pop-rock ensemble MGMT who remind me of the most baroque British bands of the late ‘60s and early ‘70s, and who were first brought to my attention by Trusted MOGger and noted gap-filler Neill; and the mighty Bill Medley, one half of the classic soul duo the Righteous Brothers (“You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin',” “Unchained Melody,” etc.), who sat in with Paul Shaffer and the CBS Orchestra for the length of the episode. Clad in capes that made them look like a suburban Dungeons & Dragons club, MGMT nonetheless slayed their baroque, ridiculously catchy mix of synth-rock and sarcasm “Time to Pretend,” which opens their full-length debut Oracular Spectacular.Then, Wednesday’s show featured Bay Area luminary Chuck Prophet and his doughty band - aided and abetted by Shaffer’s ensemble - doing a potent run-through of “Doubter of Jesus” from his current album Soap and Water.As usual, Letterman’s bookers came up with a couple of winners.While supporting the strike, I’m a little torn. I’d like to see the business ramp up again with new movies and episodes of favorite shows going back into production. I have a personal stake in a couple of projects, too, and I want them to get some traction. But there are issues that must be addressed, especially as regards procuring a fair writers’ royalty for streaming video and digital downloads as the entertainment business becomes more reliant on the Internet for distribution of product.So I wait. Meanwhile, a few production companies with foresight and a sense of decency have made or are making side deals with the Guild. First among them was Letterman’s Worldwide Pants, which independently produces CBS-TV’s late-night talk-show block comprised of Dave’s program and “The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson.” They went back into production with waivers, unlike the competing (and supposedly writer-less) programs on NBC (“The Tonight Show with Jay Leno,” “Late Night with Conan O’Brien”) and ABC (“Jimmy Kimmel Live”) which are being picketed by the Guild.Loyal to the Guild and a Letterman fan, it was no big leap to tune into “The Late Show.” I was rewarded with MGMT and Prophet. And not a scab in sight.
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