KCRW's Harcourt hones 'Monkey's' musical edge

Small and wiry, flashing an enormous grin, Nic Harcourt, KCRW-FM's music director and host of the weekday radio show "Morning Becomes Eclectic," never works on one thing at a time. On a recent day, he's answering an interviewer's questions while DJing the last hour of his iconic show, periodically reminding listeners what station they are listening to and going over numbers for an upcoming pledge drive. At noon, he wraps up the three-hour program with a Devo ticket giveaway, removes his headphones and goes to his laptop to check his e-mails for his other job as music supervisor of CBS' new "Love Monkey," premiering tonight, a comedy whose creators hope to use music the way "Sex and the City" used Manhattan -- as a character unto itself.

"Love Monkey," based on the novel of the same name by Kyle Smith, follows the life of a thirtysomething music executive named Tom Farrell (played by Tom Cavanagh) and his stable of friends: his oldest best buddy; his pregnant, sly, sister; a good-natured former pro ballplayer; a swinging black guy; and a sassy girlfriend who always tells it to him straight. Like many shows designed to appeal to a 20- to 40-year-old demographic, the dialogue is fast and snappy, and the cast is suitably attractive (although Jason Priestley as the best buddy has gotten a bit puffy).

What sets "Love Monkey" apart is Farrell's dependence on music to frame and make sense of his life. Other television shows have had supporting characters whose defining quirks include a love of music -- like Rory Gilmore on "Gilmore Girls" or Seth Cohen on "The O.C." -- but "Love Monkey" is a show entirely informed by the details, debates and personas that music lovers obsess over. A vegan restaurant is cheesy because it plays Air Supply. Farrell's hot new co-worker, Julia, is cool because she gives him a boxed set of all the songs Bob Dylan ever recorded.

And this is where 48-year-old Harcourt comes in. Music informs this world and Harcourt, who has established himself as a pioneer on the musical frontier ever since he took over KCRW's signature morning music show almost eight years ago, informs the music selection. "My job [on 'Love Monkey'] is really to be an instigator, a suggest-or," Harcourt says in his trademark accent that lies somewhere between British, Australian and American (a result of having been born in England, then living and working in Australia and New York). "It's to give them ideas and feed them music."