As passionate as ever, but now with a little more polish, TV on the Radio's second album (and Interscope debut), Return to Cookie Mountain, is their most satisfying work since they exploded onto the scene with Young Liars. More than some of their indie rock peers, TV on the Radio seems comfortable on a major label. They've always been a band with a big, unapologetically ambitious sound, and on Return to Cookie Mountain, they give that sound room to breathe with a lush, expansive production. The sonic depth throughout the album is a sharp contrast with the density of their first full-length, Desperate Youth, Blood Thirsty Babes, which was so jam-packed with sounds and ideas that it was nearly suffocated by them. However, Return to Cookie Mountain is hardly slick or dumbed-down for mass consumption. In fact, the opening track, "I Was a Lover," is one of the band's most challenging songs yet, mixing a stuttering hip-hop beat with guitars of Loveless proportions and juxtaposing inviting vocal harmonies and horns with glitches and trippy sitars. "Playhouses" is only slightly less radical, with its wildly syncopated drumming and Tunde Adepimbe's layered, impassioned singing. At times, Return to Cookie Mountain threatens to become more impressive than likeable -- a complaint that could also arguably be leveled against Desperate Youth as well -- but fortunately, TV on the Radio reconnects with, and builds on, the intimacy and purity that made Young Liars so striking. David Bowie's backing vocals on "Province" are only one part of the song's enveloping warmth, rather than its focal point, while the album's centerpiece, "A Method," is another beautiful example of the band's haunting update on doo wop. Meanwhile, the mention of "the needle/the dirty spoon" on "Tonight" cements it as a gorgeous but unsettling urban elegy. As with all their other work, on Return to Cookie Mountain TV on the Radio deals with the fallout of living in a post-9/11 world; politics and morality are still touchstones for the band, particularly on the anguished "Blues from Down Here" and "Hours," on which Adepimbe urges, "Now listen to the truth." Notably, though, the album builds on the hopeful, or at least living for the moment, vibe that emerged at the end of Desperate Youth, Blood Thirsty Babes. The sexy, funky "Wolf Like Me," which is the closest the album gets to ock in any conventional sense of the term, and "Dirtywhirl," which spins together images of girls and hurricanes, offer erotic escapes. And by the time the epic final track, "Wash the Day," revisits the sitars that opened the album with a serene, hypnotic groove, Return to Cookie Mountain gives the most complete representation of the hopes, joys, and fears within TV on the Radio's music.
I really don't remember when, where, or how TV on the Radio crept into my life. In fact, I don't even remember buying the album at all. The only proof I have of this fact is that I'm currently staring at its empty jewel case, as the CD spins in my stereo system for the umpteenth time.And, fittingly, I could not give less of a damn.Because I can honestly say, with no twinge of hyperbole, that ...
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Last week, hipsters, economists, artists, humanists alike gathered, slurped sweet concoctions, and raved at SFOTE's fundraiser at New York's sleek Tribeca Grand Hotel. Though I am always skeptical of these type of charity events held in luxury venues (Whatever happened to bake sales? A hipster street bake sale (w. drums and breakdancing on the street) would be far cooler and far less pretentio...
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One of the most fascinating aspects of TV on The Radio is their capacity to metamorphose their songs in a thousand ways, whether it be a quiet, acoustic sound, or a full-blown live guitar assault.But this particular radio session is special - the expansive, laid-back pace of the songs, the almost intimate environment they create, it all adds up to something more than a quick radio session.The s...
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7. TV on the Radio - Wolf Like Me (from "Return to Cookie Mountain")This song is so damn cool that it exhibits some kind of paradox. Stuff this cool isn't supposed to be knowable, it's always supposed to be ultra-obscure or lost to the mists of time. But here it is. If I saw this song played live, I'd probably dislocate my hips from dancing too much. It's that cool. It's so cool that you almost...
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...A few weeks ago I was telling you about a TV on the Radio EP that was coming out, well I got it in the mail yesterday and I'm loving it...while there's only four cuts, I think it captures what I heard the first time I saw them live (opening for Massive Attack "*at the Hollywood Bowl*":http://mog.com/CrashPryor/blog_post/15539 last year) ...if you'll recall, I went to the Amoeba Music store ...
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This is a unique band worth checking out... great album that came out in 2006 called Return to Cookie Mountain... This track is called Wolf Like Me
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let's admit something: I watch MTV. I don't listne to many fo the bands they promote/show for the few hours their flagship station plays during the day, otuside of a few hip-hop artsists. In fact, i think the only "MTV" artist I actually like is My Chemical Romance. MTV has not served as a place for independent artists since the demise of the program "120 Minutes", which has been shrunk down, m...
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Holy Moses.As if I didn't think enough of TV On The Radio already, they managed to crank up my awe a few more notches with their recent Celebrity Playlist on iTunes...wherein they profess appreciation for everyone from Serge Gainsbourg to Destiny's Child to Gillian Welch.Check it out here.* You need to have iTunes installed to view the playlist...natch.
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I finally restored my grandfathers classical to playability this last week. Its 40 years old, and hopefully my last for while I am already neglecting the others. I am unaware as to what toasty means but my mog-o-meter is indicating it...I'm guessing it has something to do with my lack of commitment to mogging which is changing...the whole concept is great, and I definitely need some new Ch...
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holy moses. "wolf like me" is incredibly addictive. this song has amazing texture, and every time i listen to it, i hear something else within the many layers that i didn't hear before. i bet they're amazing live. where did these guy come from?
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I don't think I've mentioned it yet, but TVOTR has to be one of my favorite bands. Totally progressive, and very enjoyable. I saw them live not too long ago with Massive Attack at the Hollywood Bowl. Amazing show, although it's too bad TVOTR's set was cut off early due to time constraints. The first song I heard by TV On The Radio was "Staring at the Sun". I was immediately hooked, and on ...
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Welp - my digital library is up for all to browse and make fun of. I'm often asked, "why, WHY do you need all of those songs - you won't listen to them all?"Well, every song that's on my iPod I have listened to at least once. AND - I need constant adventure in my life - and I find it absolutely fascinating and hysterical when it's "Shuffle Thursdays." (This is when I shuffle option my entire li...
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I just made myself a new playlist, and I put this song on it and remembered how much I love it. I was a lover, by TV on the radio.
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The five piece indie rock group from New York City TV On The Radio has announced a Fall tour which will span most of North America and include a spot at the Treasure Island festival in San Francisco on September 20. TVOTR released an EP entitled Live at Amoeba Music featured live tracks recorded during an in-store performance at Los Angeles music store at Amoeba Music on September 22, 2006. The...
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"Ha Ha Ha Ha. Yeah probably."Don't ya just know it. ;) I finally got around to getting an album by TV On The Radio. Wow. After listening to this song, I hit repeat, repeatedly. I enjoyed this video too...I could go on about how I feel about them so far, but Emit pretty much summed up my feelings and reactions in a previous post. He's good like that. http://mog.com/emit/blog_post/75565
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Last week, hipsters, economists, artists, humanists alike gathered, slurped sweet concoctions, and raved at SFOTE's fundraiser at New York's sleek Tribeca Grand Hotel. Though I am always skeptical of these type of charity events held in luxury venues (Whatever happened to bake sales? A hipster street bake sale (w. drums and breakdancing on the street) would be far cooler and far less pretentio...
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...I'd put up a post about TV on the Radio when I went to see them "open for Massive Attack at the Hollywood Bowl":http://rhinorecords.blogspot.com/2006/09/tv-on-radio-yo.html back in September...when I downloaded those TV shows I was talking about onto my iPod the other day, one of them were the first four episodes of Grey's Anatomy...on the wrap up montage of the fourth episode, the part wh...
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I checked "TV on the Radio":http://www.jambase.com/headsup.asp?storyID=9181 live for the first time last night at the Hollywood Bowl and I must say, I was impressed...these cats really know how to write those fuzzy-ass yet still organic bass'n guit-fiddle hooks that make you wanna holler and throw up both your hands; the way that they're melded together truly made for a edifying moment at the ...
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...A few weeks ago I was telling you about a TV on the Radio EP that was coming out, well I got it in the mail yesterday and I'm loving it...while there's only four cuts, I think it captures what I heard the first time I saw them live (opening for Massive Attack "*at the Hollywood Bowl*":http://mog.com/CrashPryor/blog_post/15539 last year) ...if you'll recall, I went to the Amoeba Music store ...
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..I go from one of my worst to one of my better ones... I do like the way this one turned out... (although some people thought it was a bit creepy, I was going for a sense of wonder and mystery... works for me.)..TV on the Radio don't need people like me telling people like you how cool they are. TV on the Radio, like 'em or not, are cool. The concert this poster was for, featured one of the gr...
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Yoshi and me know how to have a good time. Sure, there are some risks, but sometimes you've got to grab the Bowser by the horns if you're ever going to truly understand what it is to be alive.It seems like it should make me sad that the best days of my life were created by mode 7 multi-layer graphics processing, but it doesn't. I'm one of the lucky ones, one of the thousands upon thousands wh...
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TV on the Radio are up for a Best Video Woodie Award from MTVU on November 15th. They are competing against Justice, Say Anything, RJD2, and Motion City Soundtrack. You can watch each of the videos that are up for the award and vote on the MTVU page. The award ceremony takes place November 15th at 8pm.Here is the video for TV on the Radio's "Province":PROVINCE - TV on the RadioUploaded by se...
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Paste decided to post a list of TV on the Radio's 11 Best Songs of All-Time...(Right Now). The list seems pretty pretentious but they made the list because they can always go back and change it if they happen to change their minds on certain songs sort of a CYA on their part in case public opinion shifts on certain songs. How can they omit 'Dancing Choose' it is easily the catchiest song on "...
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"Epic" "A monstrous beast of an album" "Best album of the year" "Best album of the decade" are all things I've read of the new TV On The Radio album Return To Cookie Mountain.The album sees the boys on Interscope records, no longer with Touch and Go, but that not-so-amicable split is another story. It also finds them at their second full-length (ok, third, for those of you "Ok Calculator" folks...
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...for telling me to get Return to Cookie Mountain and then listen to it in headphones.Man, you were so right. This album is excellent.
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let's admit something: I watch MTV. I don't listne to many fo the bands they promote/show for the few hours their flagship station plays during the day, otuside of a few hip-hop artsists. In fact, i think the only "MTV" artist I actually like is My Chemical Romance. MTV has not served as a place for independent artists since the demise of the program "120 Minutes", which has been shrunk down, m...
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Take some time to listen to National Public Radio this weekend. Really
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| Title | Lyrics | Buy |
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| 1 I Was A Lover |
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| 2 Hours |
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| 3 Province |
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| 4 Playhouses |
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| 5 Wolf Like Me |
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| 6 A Method |
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| 7 Let The Devil In |
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| 8 Dirtywhirl |
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| 9 Blues From Down Here |
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| 10 Tonight |
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| 11 Wash The Day Away |
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| 12 Untitled |
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| 13 Snakes And Martyrs |
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| 14 Hours (El-P Remix) |
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| 15 Things You Can Do |
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Click to purchase…
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 "Return to Cookie Mountain")
