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TV on the Radio : (L to R) Sitek, Adebimpe, Malone |
I don't like pop music. The term tends to turn my stomach. Not because I like or dislike music based on genre or label (which are clearly the worst criteria of all), and it's definitely not that I like seeing artists struggle for record sales. I have such disdain for what is generally considered "popular" music because it seems that almost every pop song (from The Strokes and The Vines to Britney Spears and Avril Lavigne to Usher and R. Kelly) is either impossible to differentiate from whomever sits next to them on the charts or, at their best, a mix of who dominated years ago. And it's not even that these bands aren't good, because for the most part they are talented, they just don't add anything new to the conversation. They are merely cashing in on what's already been said. It's that inability to say something original that is generally my biggest gripe with music of all kinds, that and the pretentious, pre-fabricated attitude that dominates the day. But TV on the Radio falls somewhere on the pop line, and I definitely like TV on the Radio. "Indie-pop?" Sure. "Rock-pop?" Definitely. "Socially conscious and politically driven pop?" You bet. "Experimental pop?" Without question. "Regurgitated, I gotta get a hit pop?" Not even close. Somehow TV on the Radio has pulled off one of art's greatest tricks; creating something that is both unique and accessible enough for mass appeal. And they do it while staying true to who they are, allowing it to come off as completely genuine. Thus we find ourselves with something truly worth tuning into.
Prior to joining TV on the Radio, Kyp Malone, who now plays guitar, sings and manipulates loops for the band, received a copy of the rough mixes for what would become one of the most noticed and impressive releases of 2003, the band's debut EP, Young Liars. In commenting on Young Liars Malone told me, "Nothing comes from nowhere, and nothing is without its precedence, but it seemed as original as anything that I had heard in a long time. They gave the mixes to me and I played them at work at the bookstore and café I was working at, and everyone from hipsters to middle-aged tourists from the Midwest all asked me who it was. It was kinda strange what a broad group of people were interested in it." Understanding this difficult dichotomy of being original and also interesting to "tourists from the Midwest" is critical to getting one's head around TV on the Radio.
The band was born in 2001 when multi-instrumentalist, producer, all around artist David Andrew Sitek and animator, artist, closet singer Tunde Adebimpe (who spent several years growing up in Nigeria) found themselves living in the same Brooklyn loft. The fact that both men have a history in visual arts, with Tunde working as an animator for MTV's Celebrity Death Match, is as important as the fact that Sitek has produced both the Yeah Yeah Yeahs and the Liars. They aren't tied down by music school bullshit and their vision is far bigger than genre, hits, sales, drugs or girls. There is something distinctly artistic about TV on the Radio - in some ways similar to the art rock of early Genesis mixed with weirdos Ween - but perhaps that's mostly due to Tunde's soaring, enveloping vocals which at times do call Gabriel to mind, and Sitek's raging guitar and loose stage presence ala Ween.
TV on the Radio (L to R)
Buton, Malone, Sitek, Adebimpe, Smith |
It wasn't long after Sitek and Tunde joined forces that they welcomed Kyp Malone (who joined just after Young Liars was completed) to the band, and eventually drummer Jaleel Buton and bassist Gerard Smith (both of whom jumped on board prior to their first national tour). In regards to joining the band Malone explains, "I worked at a café... and Gerard, who now plays bass in TV on the Radio brought Dave [Sitek] in for a coffee. Dave was making fun of the records I was playing, so we were arguing about records and then I was at his house one day and saw his recording equipment. I started borrowing recording equipment from him so I could record my band, because I had bought a guitar from him and I got him stoned when I had pot. I don't do that any more, but he certainly did a great deal, and I filled him with caffeine. They have a record, CD-R release called OK Calculator and Dave gave me that--maybe Tunde did--it's kinda getting foggy now. But I went to go see them play at the Stinger Bar, and I didn't really understand what they were doing. I don't think they really understood what they were doing at the time. But then once they started recording Young Liars my mind was fucking blown by the music. So when they asked me to play, I was more than happy to play with them."
It was their 2003 Touch and Go release Young Liars (which features Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Liars and Martin Perna of Antibalas who also plays sax and flute on their 2004 full-length Desperate Youth, Bloodthirsty Babes) that forced the music world to open their eyes and ears to TV on the Radio. With hugely varying influences ranging from white noise synth-pop, doo-wop vocals, heavily-distorted indie guitars, post-punk angst, dreamy soundscapes, programmed beats, generous loops, barbershop quartet and a core rock ethos it was impossible to deny the relevance of what was being done. When asked to describe TV on the Radio's music Malone says, "As a rough answer I always say, it's rock and roll. Because in my mind that's a really broad category. And words have different meanings for different ears, but I think it's basically rock and roll. I don't think that it's rock in the way that I hear it in popular music, or what I've seen as rock this summer at festivals in Europe and what not, but my answer would be that it's rock and roll. At the same time I really really really hope that whenever we achieve what we are aiming towards with this project that it won't be thought of as a rock band anymore."
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