Vlog 025 - Ariel Pink | Sonic Youth | Don Kirshner ...

Word has it that LA-based freak folkie Ariel Pink doesn’t like to play his music live. If that's really the case, what on earth was he doing then on Jimmy Fallon last Thursday, listlessly skulking about the stage pretending to answer the telephone? We hate to be harsh, but simply fail to see what all the fuss is about - maybe you can enlighten us. Have a look at "Round and Round", a song that Pitchfork voted the best of last year. It's always a pleasure when the members of Sonic Youth grace us with their musical presence, and their Austin City Limits set on Saturday night, while only five songs long, was enough to restore our faith in the music-on-tv format. For you, we chose the opening track, a Thurston Moore penned rocker called "No Way" for inclusion in this weeks episode, but do check out their entire latest 2009 release "The Eternal", which harkens back to their more indie roots. The passing of Don Kirshner on Monday January 17th didn't really make waves beyond the music industry circles, and though you might not have heard of him, odds are you've enjoyed some of the music he had a hand in nurturing, producing, or filming: everyone from Neil Diamond to Carole King to the Monkees can thank Kirshner for helping them reach a mass audience. Kirshner's two television ventures, In Concert, and the longer running Don Kirshner's Rock Concert, are, like Soul Train and the Midnight Special staples of American music television, pre-MTV. Unlike those other two shows, DKRC has not been treated to any kind of comprehensive DVD retrospective, but we sure hope that changes in the months and years ahead. There's enough footage out there on single artist DVDs and fan comps however, to paint a picture of the importance of DKRC's place in rock and roll history, and we devote the remainder of this episode to sharing with you some highlights from its extraordinary eight year run, beginning with the Ike and Tina Turner Revue, heating up the stage with "Baby Baby Get It On". Other selections include "Silver Train" from ...