In the realm of current TV stars, Hugh Laurie is about as rock star as you can get. The guy rides a motorcycle, plays in a band called Band From TV (other members include James Denton from Desperate Housewives on guitar and Greg Grunberg from Heroes on drums), and can often be found sporting a James Dean-ish leather jacket and shades. Laurie may not be the latter-day Elvis, but he’s as close as any small-screen star has come in recent memory; a slew of fan sites, including one called EmbraceTheHughLove.com, devote countless megabytes to his worship. (If you need more evidence, see the profile in our current issue.)
Laurie doesn’t just look the part — he also weighs in on music the show features. “[Hugh] is my secret weapon,” House executive producer and musical supervisor Katie Jacobs tells us, adding that she often asks Laurie to help select songs the show might potentially use. He’s even brought lesser-known artists to her attention: because of Laurie, Jacobs used the Jon Cleary track “Got to Be More Careful” in an episode during the first season.
In its three seasons on air, House has joined TV hits like Grey’s Anatomy and CSI on a growing list of shows lauded for their stellar music selections. (Zero 7, Damien Rice, Snow Patrol, Gorillaz and Donovan are just some of the artists whose tracks have been the backdrop for episodes of House). However, according to Jacobs, House’s soundtrack has a sound and personality of its own — one that reflects the personality of the title character. “House [the character] has many sides: he is dark and brooding, he’s funny, sexy, he’s an adult. There are so many ways to go with the music for the show. We do what feels right,” says Jacobs. She says that she and Laurie mostly see eye to eye when it comes to choosing music for the show, attempting to make choices that support the character or the story shying away from anything they jointly deem “too poppy.”
Jacobs says Laurie had no hand in arranging the stellar Dave Matthews spot or an upcoming guest appearance by All-American Reject Tyson Ritter. But she says he was thrilled about acting opposite the artists. (Matthews played a piano prodigy with a mental disability on the March 6th episode of House; Ritter will play himself in the April 3rd episode, which will feature a scene in which he’s being photographed for the cover of a certain popular music magazine — ahem.)

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- Portions of Album Content Provided by All Music Guide © 2008 All Media Guide, LLC.