TV on the Radio - Return to Cookie Mountain

Release Date: September 12, 2006

★★★★★ Tracks:

I Was a Lover
Hours
Province
Wolf Like Me
Dirtywhirl

The best story behind TV on the Radio’s Return to Cookie Mountain is hearing how David Bowie’s vocals ended up on “Province.” Sometime around 2003, Dave Sitek sold a painting to a man who happened to be Bowie’s doorman. During the exchange Sitek asked if the buyer might pass along a copy of the band’s demo to the illustrious songwriter, and not only did the doorman oblige, but Bowie took the time to listen to it and came out the other end a full-fledged fan. Shortly after TV on the Radio’s Young Liars EP was released, Sitek was at a gas station when he received a call. When the man on the other end claimed to be none other than David Bowie, Sitek promptly hung up the phone. The group apparently had a friend who liked to act out a lot of practical jokes and Sitek assumed this was one of them. Bowie had to call back two more times, finally stating, “No, I’m really David Bowie,” before the reality of it began to sink in. “He probably said some really important things that I was just too startled to pay attention to,” Sitek says.

Since then Bowie has advised the band in a number of ways, and when TV on the Radio finally began working on their landmark record Bowie joined the group in the studio to collaborate on a song of his choosing. When asked about the recording process of Return to Cookie Mountain, Sitek was quoted as saying he wanted to make “music you will listen to when the whole world burns up,” and nothing on the record ignites cataclysmic imagery more so than “Province” does, the song Bowie chose to collaborate on. The voices of Adebimpe, Malone, and Bowie blend apocalyptic metaphors with cautious words on the irrevocable path the country appeared to be headed under the Bush administration. Stirring underneath, a barren bass line and distant guitar melody explode in to a wall of sound at the chorus while all three of them begrudgingly croon, “hold your hearts courageously as we walk in to this dark place...” The dust eventually settles in to an eerie four note piano line.

Return to Cookie Mountain’s greatness has been written about everywhere, from being listed on countless “Records of the Decade” lists to being fully endorsed by some of the biggest recording artists ever. Not only is it critically acclaimed, but it also found TVOTR gaining mainstream traction, charting as high as #46 on the U.S. charts. The group quickly began appearing on shows like SNL and Letterman, rocking arenas and benefit concerts, and even contributing a downloadable track to the Rock Band series. It’d be difficult for me to pick a favorite TV on the Radio record, but if I had to recommend one it’d probably be Return to Cookie Mountain due to a few key tracks. “Province” has already been mentioned but “Wolf Like Me” is the catchiest of the bunch; another song that represents Adebimpe’s preference for imagery and metaphors over direct storytelling, carnal instincts towards lust and love predominate the lyrics he so ferociously spews. In the end though my favorite might just be the waltzy “Dirtywhirl,” one of the most intriguing, contemporary takes on old soul and doo-wop I’ve heard.

TV on the Radio - Desperate Youth, Blood Thirsty Babes

Release Date: March 9, 2004

★★★★★ Tracks:

The Wrong Way
Staring at the Sun
Dreams
Ambulance
Don’t Love You

It was the summer of 2006 when I first moved to New York and it was the first time I heard TV on the Radio. The apartment my wife and I found bordered Sunnyside and Long Island City in Queens, and as I took my first adventurous walks around the urban sprawl that was my new neighborhood I would play “Staring at the Sun” on repeat, a song I had quickly become addicted to. It, along with the rest of Desperate Youth, Blood Thirsty Babes, was unlike anything I had heard. Perhaps it was coincidental, but the record sounded like a sonic representation of the New York I read about and was now seeing for the very first time; the mish-mash of cultures in the outer-boroughs mimicked the mish-mash of musical styles; the social and political messages resounded in the city that surrounded me; the vibrant, busy activity contrasted perfectly with the more isolated lyrics; the subways, spray paint and Five Pointz street art blended with the group’s post-punk influences. I was playing the soundtrack to the city I was now calling my new home.

As I took a deeper look in to TV on the Radio’s history the connection between the group and the city grew stronger. They originally formed around Dave Sitek and Tunde Adebimpe, both transplants who moved to Brooklyn in the early 2000s. It was around this time that the Strokes and the Yeah Yeah Yeahs broke it big, hurtling in a New York city music revival that's still growing today. TV on the Radio continued the trend by setting up shop in a neighborhood that quickly grew in to the city’s music mecca, Williamsburg. The group caught the attention of many with their early recordings, prompting them to begin working with the likes of the Yeah Yeah Yeah’s Nick Zinner and Liars’ Aaron Hemphill. But in my opinion, their pivotal moment came when Kyp Malone decided to join the band. Malone, a vocalist, guitarist, programmer, and Brooklyn native, really cemented TV on the Radio’s sound by adding additional guitar and programming, but most importantly, backing-up Adebimpe’s vocals with his signature falsettos. Between Dave Sitek’s phenomenal production, the group’s complex songwriting and lyricism, TV on the Radio had quickly developed in to one of the most interesting bands around.



Desperate Youth, Blood Thirsty Babes is considered the weakest collection of songs from TV on the Radio but I disagree with the sentiment. “Staring at the Sun” might still be my favorite overall track of theirs and although it was already released on the Young Liars EP, it’s the slightly altered version here I heard first and prefer. TVOTR's albums always start out with a bang, and “The Wrong Way” might be the best of them all. A blast of horns and a distorted bass line pave the way for a gorgeous piece of catchy, minimal electronica with Adebimpe tackling black stereotypes in his lyrics. “Dreams” is an eerily isolating song that sounds like it would fit along side some of Trent Reznor’s best work, and it wasn’t surprising to find out he guest appeared to sing it at one of their live performances. There are plenty more highlights here but none can trump the outstanding acapella track “Ambulance,” which contains some of the best lyrics TV on the Radio have ever written:

Oh i will be your accident
If you will be my ambulance
I will be your screech and crash
If you will be my crutch and cast
I will be your one more time
If you will be my one last chance
So fall for me

The last half of the record might rely a bit too much on their obvious Kid A-era Radiohead influences (TVOTR’s first record is entitled OK Calculator) but “Don’t Love You” and “Wear You Out” are both excellent nonetheless. Yes, Desperate Youth, Blood Thirsty Babes is not quite as grandiose as the two albums that would follow, but pound for pound there are just as many enjoyable moments here.