Music >> Artists >> Alternative
Formed:
2001 in Brooklyn, NY

Genre:
Alternative

Years Active:
'00s, '10s






TV On the Radio

Biography

From their beginnings as Brooklyn-based experimenters to one of the most acclaimed bands of the 2000s and 2010s, TV on the Radio mixed post-punk, electronic, and other atmospheric elements in vibrantly creative ways, and are both visual artists as well as musicians. The group began when multi-instrumentalist/producer David Andrew Sitek moved into the building where vocalist Tunde Adebimpe had a loft; each of them had been recording music on his own, but realized their sounds worked well together. Sitek's brother Jason began playing drums and other instruments with the pair during their recording sessions, which resulted in OK Calculator, a self-released disc of four-track recordings. Jason Sitek left the band for a short time due to other musical commitments but returned to the band when it recorded its Touch & Go debut, the Young Liars EP. . After the EP was completed, TV on the Radio added guitarist/vocalist Kyp Malone to their fold. Young Liars, which also features the Yeah Yeah Yeahs' Brian Chase and Nick Zinner, was released in summer 2003 to critical acclaim, coinciding with their gigs opening for the Fall. Their first full-length release, Desperate Youth, Blood Thirsty Babes, arrived in spring 2004. The band remained busy for the rest of the year, embarking on its own tours as well as dates with the Faint and the Pixies. That fall, they released the New Health Rock EP and won the 2004 Shortlist Music Prize.

In 2005, the band kept busy with touring and returned to Sitek's Stay Gold studio to work on its second album. They also made an MP3 criticizing President George W. Bush, "Dry Drunk Emperor," available on their website. TV on the Radio signed with 4AD for European distribution of their albums and moved to Interscope in the U.S. In summer 2006 they resurfaced with Return to Cookie Mountain, a more polished but still searching collection of songs that featured David Bowie on backing vocals. The band went in a sleeker direction on 2008's Dear Science, which featured cameos from Antibalas and Celebration's Katrina Ford.

The band went on hiatus following Dear Science. Malone worked on his own project, Rain Machine, and appeared on Iran's 2009 album Dissolver, while Sitek formed the collaborative pop project Maximum Balloon, which released its self-titled debut in 2010. As planned, their hiatus ended the following year, and TV on the Radio released their fifth album, Nine Types of Light, early in 2011. In March of that year, the band announced that bassist Gerard Smith, who had joined the TV on the Radio lineup in 2005, was suffering from lung cancer; the following month, on April 20, 2011, Smith passed away at the age of 34 as a result of the disease. Later that year, the band released World Cafe Live, taken from a set recorded for National Public Radio. Late in 2014, TV on the Radio returned with Seeds, a hopeful, streamlined-sounding set once again featuring production by Sitek.

Top Albums


1. Test Pilot (..
Return to Cookie Mountain, TV on the Radio
2. Return to Co..
Dear Science (Bonus Track Version), TV on the Radio
3. Dear Science..
Seeds, TV on the Radio
4. Seeds
Nine Types of Light, TV on the Radio
5. Nine Types o..
Dear Science, TV on the Radio
6. Dear Science
Desperate Youth, Blood Thirsty Babes, TV on the Radio
7. Desperate Yo..
Young Liars - EP, TV on the Radio
8. Young Liars ..
Nine Types of Light (Deluxe Version), TV on the Radio
9. Nine Types o..
Live Session (iTunes Exclusive) - EP, TV on the Radio
10. Live Session..
New Health Rock - Single, TV on the Radio
11. New Health R..
World Cafe Live EP, TV on the Radio
12. World Cafe L..
Million Miles - Single, TV on the Radio
13. Million Mile..
Mercy - Single, TV on the Radio
14. Mercy - Sing..
Chemical Peels - Single, TV on the Radio
15. Chemical Pee..
Will Do - Single, TV on the Radio
16. Will Do - Si..
Read Silence - EP, TV on the Radio
17. Read Silence..
Wolf Like Me - Single, TV on the Radio
18. Wolf Like Me..

Top Songs

NameAlbumTimePrice
1.
Happy IdiotSeeds3:03$1.29
2.
Wolf Like MeReturn to Cookie Mountain4:39$1.29
3.
Careful YouSeeds5:12$1.29
4.
Test Pilot (Chilly Gonzales Re-Make)Test Pilot (Chilly Gonzales..3:36$1.29
5.
HeroesWar Child - Heroes, Vol. 15:39$1.29
6.
DLZDear Science (Bonus Track V..3:48$1.29
7.
Staring At the SunDesperate Youth, Blood Thir..4:01$0.99
8.
TroubleSeeds4:34$1.29
9.
Test PilotSeeds4:41$1.29
10.
Will DoNine Types of Light3:44$1.29
11.
SeedsSeeds4:44$1.29
12.
LazerraySeeds3:37$1.29
13.
WinterSeeds3:41$1.29
14.
Right NowSeeds4:23$1.29
15.
RideSeeds6:29$1.29
16.
Love StainedSeeds4:20$1.29
17.
Could YouSeeds4:01$1.29
18.
QuartzSeeds3:58$1.29
19.
Family TreeLate Night Tales: Snow Patr..5:33$0.69
20.
Million MilesMillion Miles - Single4:23$1.29
21.
MercyMercy - Single3:17$1.29
22.
Staring At the Sun (Demo) [Bonus Tra..Desperate Youth, Blood Thir..6:17$0.99
23.
You Could Be Love (Bonus Track)Desperate Youth, Blood Thir..7:16$0.99
24.
Wear You OutDesperate Youth, Blood Thir..7:20$0.99
25.
Bomb YourselfDesperate Youth, Blood Thir..5:31$0.99

Top Music Videos

Wolf Like Me, TV on the Radio
1. Wolf Like Me
Province, TV on the Radio
2. Province
Golden Age, TV on the Radio
3. Golden Age
Dancing Choose, TV on the Radio
4. Dancing Choos...
Will Do, TV on the Radio
5. Will Do
Happy Idiot, TV on the Radio
6. Happy Idiot
Caffeinated Consciousness, TV on the Radio
7. Caffeinated C...
Lazerray, TV on the Radio
8. Lazerray
Second Song, TV on the Radio
9. Second Song
Caffeinated Consciousness, TV on the Radio
10. Caffeinated C...
Test Pilot (Chilly Gonzales Re-Make), TV on the Radio
11. Test Pilot (C...


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