Music on TV This Week: SpectacleElvis Costello debuts his new talk show on Sundance.
Elton John with host Elvis Costello on the musical/talk show 'Spectacle' -
Sundance
People have been telling Elvis Costello that he should host his own show for many years now it seems, but it took the last person, Elton John, for it to finally stick. Premiering this Wednesday on Sundance is Spectacle: Elvis Costello With..., a talk show with music as both its subject and its highlight. The first guest, fittingly enough, is Elton John, who performs double duty here as executive producer of the show, and who's mostly responsible for Costello taking on the project. Spectacle is like no other talk show before it in that nearly equal time is given to talking about music as there is to performing it, and the depths in which the discussions venture tread into the realm of true music geekdom (be still my beating heart). Future guests include the varied talents of Tony Bennett, The Police, Smokey Robinson, President Bill Clinton (with his saxaphone,) Jenny Lewis, She & Him and next week's guest Lou Reed -- who actually cracks a smile. The format is loose and comfortable, putting even the prickliest of artists (Reed) completely at ease. The performances are generally covers, as Costello starts the night by performing a favorite song by that night's feature artists (for the premiere, it's John's "Border Song", see video) and later Costello and guest will play another artist's song. It's essentially fans of music who just happened to be famous, getting together and talking about what they love (and, since there's all these instruments nearby, they play some music as well). For real fans of music, it's a real treat. Costello picked a great week to launch Spectacle, since most talk shows are on vacation this week, except for Leno and Jimmy Kimmel. Tom Jones, who we profiled last week, manages to hit both (Leno on Wednesday, and Kimmel on Thursday). Playlist: Picks for the week drake lelane Most Popular Stories
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