Austin City Limits – Changing with the Seasons

Every so often we’ll get an email from a long-time ACL viewer expressing displeasure with a recent episode or the “direction” that the series has taken in recent years. The general theme of these emails is “what’s happening to Austin City Limits??” Have we lost our focus? Why are we booking these young rock bands or indie artists who, in their opinion, can’t sing, can’t play a musical instrument, and basically have no talent?

Ironically, of course, we also receive many more emails praising these same acts, thanking us for having them on, and asking us to book more of the same.

One person’s sugar is another’s poison. When it comes to music tastes, we all have different opinions. But because we genuinely respect the opinions of our viewers – especially those who have been watching for many years, if not decades – we want to get back to that question: “What’s happening to Austin City Limits??”

In most respects, not much has changed about our basic approach to talent – presenting an eclectic mix of all sorts of musical styles, genres and generations. Even in the first 10 years, the bookings ranged from Austin classics like Asleep at the Wheel and Jerry Jeff Walker to Tom Waits, Ray Charles, Roy Orbison, Neil Young and Stevie Ray Vaughan.

For a 35+-year-old music show to not only survive, but thrive, it must also evolve. ACL has never been only about celebrating our roots or the past; it’s as much about celebrating the present and the future. “Discovery” of new, emerging talent has always been a part of our mission.

When a show like ours presents music from hip hop to country, Americana to jazz, indie rock to classic rock, bluegrass to blues and everything in-between, it’s inevitable that most viewers will like some of it more than others - although it’s great that most of our fans seem to share our eclectic tastes. If you occasionally don’t like some of the shows you see, we hope you won’t throw your remote control at the TV in disgust and swear never to watch again. I can almost guarantee that you’ll find something to your liking if you keep coming back to join us on this great musical journey that’s approaching four decades.

That being said, we welcome any suggestions you have about who you would like to see on ACL in the year ahead. Thanks to our Twitter followers for all their ideas…feel free to send us yours!

TERRY LICKONA

executive producer

AUSTIN CITY LIMITS

World Cup

If you haven’t gotten K’NAAN’s infectious “Wavin’ Flag” stuck in your head yet, you will soon. When the World Cup begins in June, the song will be played on TV and online broadcasts, commercials, and at all FIFA matches and events. K’NAAN recorded a new, remixed version of the song for the World Cup, which you can see here. Kudos to FIFA for making such a great song selection! K’NAAN is a super nice guy who deserves success on this level, and we couldn’t be happier for him!

K’NAAN’s Austin City Limits episode featuring “Wavin’ Flag” premieres this weekend. To see the episode version of the song, watch the clip on the ACL homepage or on the episode page.

It’s that time again…we’re starting to generate our upcoming season’s talent wishlist. Who would you like to see on ACL this year? Our rough guidelines: needs to be an artist/band who is touring nationally or has a VERY strong regional following; has music distributed nationally (other than just digitally - i.e. we can go to a music store and purchase a CD); and should be someone who has a new record coming out and/or is touring in 2010. There should be some amount of buzz and media coverage around the band if they are up-and-coming; of course we are always looking for established legacy artists as well. Also, we try not to repeat acts we’ve already had on the show for 3-4 years.

ACL Associate Producer Leslie Nichols has been taking suggestions from her Twitter followers; here’s a list of what they’ve come up with so far. Chime in with your own suggestions! And, if you aren’t already, be sure to follow Leslie on Twitter at @TheOtherLeslie - she live tweets taping days and always has the best inside scoop on ACL.

Adam Taylor

Alice in Chains

Amos Lee

Ani Difranco

Aretha Franklin

Band of Horses

Beach House

Beastie Boys

Beirut

Belle & Sebastian

Ben Gibbard

Big Smith

Blur

Bob Mould with special guests Richard Thompson, Jeff Tweedy & Ron Sexsmith

Bon Iver

Brandi Carlile

Brian Wilson

Cake

Califone

Centro-Matic

Charlie Parr

Cheap Trick

Companion

Dan Mangan

David Gray

Dawes

Dolly Parton

Down

Drive-by Truckers

Eastmountainsouth

Efterklang

Elbow

Elvis Perkins in Dearland

Ezra Furman and the Harpoons

Fleet Foxes

Frightened Rabbit

Gilberto Gil

Goldfrapp

Gomez

Gossip

Gov’t Mule

Ha Ha Tonka

Hayes Carll

Him

Iggy & The Stooges

Ike Reilly

Jason Aldean

Jesse Sykes & The Sweet Hereafter

Jesse Woods

Jessie Baylin

JJ Grey & Mofro

Joe Henry

Joe Pug

Jose Gonzales

Josh Ritter

Justin Jones

Justin Townes Earle

Kings of Convenience

LCD Soundsystem

Legendary Crystal Chandelier

Lisa Germano

Lykke Li

Lyle Lovett

M.I.A.

Maroon 5

Meat Puppets

Michael Franti & Spearhead

Monahans

Monsters of Folk

Nada Surf

Neil Finn

Neil Young

Nelo

New Pornographers

Nina Nastasia

Norah Jones

Owen Temple

Passion Pit

Paul McCartney

Pavement

Phoenix

Pinetop Perkins

Pleasant Grove

Polyphonic Spree

Primal Scream

Radiohead

Rev. Horton Heat

Riders of the Circle B

Robert Earl Keen

Robert Plant & Alison Krauss

Seasick Steve

Shearwater

Sigur Ros

Sonny Rollins

Soundgarden

South San Gabriel

Spoon

Swell Season

Talib Kweli

The Dead Weather

The Farewell Drifters

The Gracious Few

The Heavy

The Hold Steady

The Low Anthem

The Nadas

The National

The Roots

The Shins

The Strokes

The Toadies

The Twilight Singers

Tift Merritt

Todd Snider

Tom Waits

Tommy Emmanuel and Thom Bresh

Tommy Womack

Vampire Weekend

Vetiver

White Denim

White Rabbits

Will Johnson

William Elliot Whitmore

Wintersleep

Yeasayer

Yo La Tengo

Yonder Mountain String Band

K’NAAN

In an episode that says as much about AUSTIN CITY LIMITS as any previously recorded episode in the show’s 35-year history, ACL is proud to premiere its first all hip-hop show. The January 16 episode pairs rising Somali-Canadian rapper K’NAAN with the accomplished, renowned Mos Def for an hour of provocative, cutting-edge music.

“On the same day that the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum declared ACL a ‘historic rock and roll landmark,’ we made history once again when we recorded our first-ever ACL hip hop show,” said show producer Terry Lickona of the October 1 taping. “I was surprised that both K’NAAN and Mos Def were very familiar with ACL’s history, and honored to be the first true rappers to perform on our stage (Mos admitted to having ‘a little butterflies’). No matter the genre, their music comes from the heart and connects with the heart. K’NAAN is on the verge of stardom, and Mos is already a legend. Whether you’re a fan or not, their music is universal and irresistible.”

Mos Def

Delivering a set that was as moving as it was entertaining, K’NAAN wowed the audience on hand. The young rapper delivered his “richly detailed rhymes” (Entertainment Weekly) with the grace of a seasoned ACL veteran, not the ACL novice he actually was. Mos Def reminded the audience of what an accomplished artist he is from the moment he stepped on stage. Accompanied by two DJ’s, he filled the room with his talent and exuberance performing songs from his recently acclaimed solo album The Ecstatic and more.

What do you think of ACL’s foray into hip hop? It certainly speaks to the continued diversification of Austin City Limits.  More on that to come soon!