Trying to Love Monkey

Okay, I admit it: my wife and I watch Love Monkey, the new show staring Tom Cavanagh as a super-hip A&R rep. I enjoy the clever dialogue and the music snobbery. The show, in some ways, seems to borrow the best parts of High Fidelity to create a unique show with a likeable cast. Plus, as you know, I am a music snob myself.

My problem with the show is that despite it's portrayal of "Tom" as this uber-hip record scout, up to his eyeballs in music snobbery, the soundtrack for the show is remarkably banal. I mean, Tom's big discovery is a kid named Wayne who basically sounds, and even looks a little, like the next John Mayer. My question is: how can you pretend to be hip and offer the world the next John Mayer. One is too much.

I know, there are a few interesting cameos. I liked seeing Ben Folds run into Tom on the street, but the soundtrack, which one would assume to be the hippiet soundtrack on TV, isn't even as hip as the OC. I mean even this week's episode of My Name Is Earl featured Joe Jackson's "Time" and The Doors' "Peace Frog," while How I Met Your Mother featured Pavement.

My one piece of advice to the producers of Love Monkey, which I do really enjoy, is that if you are going to do a show about a hip music scout, have some hip music. Other shows prove it is possible, so do it.

And for those of you who haven't tuned it yet, do so, before the network cancels the show.

And as I bid adieu, here are the last 10 songs from my iPod:

1. "Albuquerque" by Neil Young
2. "Of Course" by Janes Addiction
3. "Drool Collection" by Superchunk
4. "Shadowplay" by Joy Division
5. "Arms Aloft" by Joe Strummer & the Mescaleros
6. "Green Grow the Rushes" by REM
7. "Subtle Gear Shifting" by Guided By Voices
8. "Go to the Mirror!" by The Who
9. "I Hate Children" by the Adolescents
10. "So Alive" by Ryan Adams