TV on the Radio is an American band formed in 2001
in Brooklyn, New York, whose music spans through numerous diverse
genres, from
alternative rock and
electro to
free
jazz and
soul. The group has
released several
EPs including their
debut
Young Liars (2003), and
three acclaimed albums:
Desperate Youth, Blood
Thirsty Babes (2004),
Return to Cookie Mountain
(2006), and
Dear Science
(2008).
TV on the Radio is composed of
Tunde
Adebimpe (vocals/loops),
David
Andrew Sitek (guitars/keyboards/loops), Kyp Malone
(vocals/guitars/loops) along with
Jaleel
Bunton (drums/vocals/loops) and
Gerard Smith (bass/keyboards). Other
contributors include
Katrina Ford of
Celebration (vocals),
Kazu Makino of
Blonde
Redhead (vocals),
Martin Perna of
Antibalas (saxophones, flute),
David Bowie (vocals) and
Nick Zinner of
Yeah
Yeah Yeahs (guitar). The band has also played live covers of
Bauhaus songs with
Peter Murphy and
Nine Inch Nails frontman
Trent Reznor.
History
The first release from TV on the Radio (initially just founding
members Adebimpe and Sitek) was the self-released
OK Calculator (the title being a
reference to
Radiohead's album
OK Computer), the majority of
which is wildly different from their later sound, with elements of
electronica,
hip hop and
turntablism. They were later joined by Kyp
Malone, and released the
Young
Liars EP in 2003 to critical
acclaim. This was followed by the full-length debut,
Desperate Youth, Blood
Thirsty Babes which earned the band the 2004
Shortlist Music Prize. They released a
second EP,
New Health Rock,
later that year.
Their second studio album,
Return to Cookie Mountain,
leaked in early 2006 and garnered pre-release praise from such
outlets as
Pitchfork Media before
its official release in July overseas. U.S. and Canadian release
was in September on
Interscope.
The album received critical acclaim after its release from many
sources, including
Spin Magazine which
named
Return to Cookie Mountain its Album of the Year for
2006. The album features guest appearances from
Celebration,
Dragons of Zynth,
Martin Perna and
Stuart D. Bogie of
Antibalas,
Blonde Redhead,
Yeah Yeah Yeahs' Nick Zinner, and
David Bowie.
The band's newest album,
Dear
Science, was released September 23, 2008 on Interscope.
The album was made available for streaming on their
MySpace page and subsequently leaked onto the
internet on September 6, 2008. The album received wide-spread
critical acclaim; it was named the best album of 2008 by
Rolling Stone,
The
Guardian,
Spin Magazine,
The Onion AV Club,
MTV,
Entertainment Weekly, the
Pitchfork Media's readers poll as
well as the influential
Pazz and Jop
critic's poll. It was also named the second best album of 2008 by
NME and the fourth best album of 2008 by
Planet Sound.
On September 22, 2008, they performed "Dancing Choose" off the new
album,
Dear Science, on the
Late Show with David
Letterman (screened Sept 26th). They also appeared on
Later with Jools
Holland on September 30, 2008, performing "Golden Age" and
"Dancing Choose", which were the same songs they performed on
Saturday Night Live on
February 7, 2009. The band also performed "Dancing Choose" on the
February 9, 2009 episode of
The
Colbert Report.
The band's song "Wolf Like Me" came in at number 98 in radio
station Triple J's 2009 Hottest 100 Songs of All Time poll.
On September 3, 2009,
Tunde Adebimpe
announced that TV on the Radio would be taking a year long hiatus.
Guitarist Kyp Malone's solo album under the name
Rain Machine was released on September 22nd,
2009 on
ANTI-. It is very personal, and
focuses on a number of issues that are important to Malone.
On November 27th 2009, the band
Phish
performed the TV on the Radio song
Golden Age at Times
Union Center, Albany, NY.
Discography
Albums
EPs
| Release date |
Title |
Label |
| July 8, 2003 |
Young Liars |
Touch and Go |
| June 25, 2004 |
"Staring at the Sun" |
4AD |
| 2007 – iTunes |
Live Sessions |
Touch and Go |
| March 27, 2007 |
Live at Amoeba
Music |
Interscope |
| April 14, 2009 |
Read Silence |
Interscope |
Singles
Other
Remixes
- Beck "Dark Star (TV on the Radio Remix)" (2007), Interscope Records
- Bumblebeez 81 "Pony Ride (TV on the Radio Remix)"
- Fischerspooner "Never Win (Dave Sitek Remix)" (2005), FS Studios
- The Knife "Marble House (Dave Sitek Remix)" (2007), Brille Records
- Nine Inch Nails "Survivalism (Dave Sitek Remix)" (2007),
Interscope Records
- Lee "Scratch" Perry "Fire In Babylon (Dave Sitek Remix)"
(2006), Narnack Records
- Nat
"King" Cole "Nature Boy" (TV On The Radio Remix) (2009) Capitol Records
Videography
- Staring at the Sun (March 2004, directed by Elliot
Jokelson)
- Dreams (May 2004, directed by Elliot Jokelson &
UVPhactory)
- Wolf Like Me (August 2006, directed by Lee Lennox)
- Wolf Like Me (September 2006, directed by Jon Watts)
- Province (January 2007, directed by Jeff Scheven)
- Me-I (May 2007, directed by Daniel Garcia & Mixtape
Club=Chris Smith, Jesse Casey & Michelle Higa, semi-official as
it was done to promote a compilation
album put together by Adult Swim
called "Warm &
Scratchy")
- Golden Age (September 2008, directed by Petro
Papahadjopoulos)
- Dancing Choose (September 2008, directed by Brad & Brian
Palmer)
- Breaking Bad Season 2, episode 10. (Directed by Vince
Gilligan)
References
- Dahlen, Chris. " Return to Cookie Mountain". Pitchfork Media,
July 5, 2007. Retrieved on June 24, 2007.
- " The 40 Best Albums of 2006". Spin, December
14, 2006. Retrieved on November 02, 2007.
- Rain Machine Interview
- Billboard.com – Artist Singles Chart History – TV
on the Radio
External links
Wikis
Quiz
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