The group has released several EPs including their debut Young Liars (2003), and five studio albums: Desperate Youth, Blood Thirsty Babes (2004), Return to Cookie Mountain (2006), Dear Science (2008), Nine Types of Light (2011), and Seeds (2014).
For most of the band's existence, the core TV on the Radio lineup has been Tunde Adebimpe (vocals/loops), David Andrew Sitek (guitars/keyboards/loops), Kyp Malone (vocals/guitars/bass/loops), Jaleel Bunton (drums/vocals/loops/guitars) and Gerard Smith (bass/keyboards) as official members.
The band's Bio from their website:
TV on the Radio gets to do anything. Like a small platoon whose pleasing impenetrability is their core, the band consistently confounds expectations while managing to balance respect from critics and peers alike. The result is TV on the Radio gets to do anything they want. This freedom is their engine.
“It’s about doing what feels right,” says singer Tunde Adebimpe. “I really feel like this band is something that is expansive and always changing and growing. If we wear our influences on our sleeve, it’s a pretty crowded sleeve.”
It’s no different with Seeds, the new and fifth proper studio album that Adebimpe has made along with Jaleel Bunton, Kyp Malone, and David Andrew Sitek (who also produced it). Having long outlasted that early 2000s fascination with all things Brooklyn to which the hip willfully succumbed, they continue to conquer music on their own terms. This album serves as another step in continuing to heed their reputation as “the most vital, current band in America” (Associated Press).
This go-round the songs are immediate and triumphant, textured with storytelling hooks and possibly the most honest music this band has ever composed. They’ve hit a point where they’re OK being straight-up beautiful without having to manipulate prettiness into whatever unforeseen shape.
Slate says Seeds has “TV on the Radio’s best songs in years. They are sounding sharper than ever.” And the band knows it. Adebimpe has already said this is the band’s best record. Not a boast, just an observation.
“I feel like I knew it before we were done,” he says immediately. “I was so excited by the songs while we were making them, I wanted to get more and more and more into it. The general feeling going into it was, 'We're still here. Our friendship with each other is so strong. Being in a band, at its best times, is like being... well, let’s say whenever things are going really well, we're like ‘cool, Voltron's back together.’“
The TV on the Radio guys are the type of people who go on hiatus and focus on music. They may take time between albums for their other endeavors, but they know when it’s right to come together – especially when the music comes as easily and passionately as it did with case Seeds. The band found themselves collected in David Sitek’s Los Angeles studio last year and recorded a couple of songs – “Mercy” and “Million Miles” and didn’t want to stop.
“Those were just songs that we wrote because we hadn't written songs together in a while,” says Sitek “They came out really fast and inspired us to do it again – and then ‘again’ turned into the record.”
Adebimpe and Sitek live in Los Angeles, Bunton and Malone reside in New York, but make no mistake: TV on the Radio is a quartet. To attempt to parse out exactly what each member does in the group would be to dismantle the fundamental essence of what makes TV on the Radio the monolithic anomaly they have been careful to cultivate and protect for more than a decade. They permeate beyond a wall of sound, and instead create a planetarium of music with every song. They embody many voices. Most of them can play just about anything. And sing too. They are equal partners in the creation of a type of noise that appeared seemingly out of nowhere over 10 years ago.
Throughout the years, TV on the Radio has been consistent in the standard they set for themselves. Earlier records, Desperate Youth, Blood Thirsty Babes and Return To Cookie Mountain stole the hearts of fans and critics alike just the same, winning the Shortlist Music Prize and Spin's Album of the Year respectively. Their breakout release Dear Science was named best album of 2008 by Rolling Stone, The Guardian, Spin Magazine, The New York Times, The Onion AV Club, MTV, even Entertainment Weekly. An embarrassment of riches, really. Their last album, 2011's Nine Types of Light, was deemed "pure heaven" by the cherubs at Rolling Stone, and earned the band a Grammy® nomination. The band has also graced the stages of Saturday Night Live and The Colbert Report.
“The band is it’s own ‘self.’ It has to be that way,” Adebimpe says. “That's been the goal for a long time. Nobody really wants to be the focal point for the band; the band should be the focal point. Not even the band: the music. We can show up and take credit for it, but ultimately it's something that maybe we helped shape and facilitate coming into the world. But that’s all.”
They happily recruit likeminded associates to help prop up this invention of theirs in the studio and on stage. (Kelis, for instance, appears on “Lazzeray”). The band has recorded and performed with other artists who’ve conquered the music world on their own terms just as much as they have. Fellow mavericks like Trent Reznor, Nick Zinner of Yeah Yeah Yeahs fame, Bauhaus singer Peter Murphy, Kazu Makino of Blonde Redhead, Martin Perna of Antibalas, Katrina Ford of Celebration, and David chuffing Bowie have all romped in the sandbox with TV on the Radio.
“If you share a material thing, it dissipates,” Adebimpe says, recalling a fragment of philosophy he once heard, or might be improvising on the spot. “If you share a spiritual thing, it just increases. It becomes more and more and more. I'm already thinking about the next record.”
Seeds is an expression of everything this band has been through in the last three years and more. They’re influential, in their prime, they’re TV on the Radio, and they’ve proven themselves to be one of the most important bands of this generation. It clicks, as it always does, and TV on the Radio is brand new again, again.
“No matter what you go through individually and collectively, when you step away from each other, you're kind of like, "I know that if we get together we can fire this thing," says Adebimpe. “It's definitely in the spirit of the punk rock we all grew up with. If you win, you're still a punk. If you lose, you're still a punk, and honestly, it's not about anybody else.”
http://www.tvontheradio.com/
Killer Crane
TV on the Radio Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
A killer crane
After the rainbow
Across the sky
Her grace is glide
Across the sea
And over time
Her grace she slides
Escapes station
A cold wind blows
The day this stows
Glown heart glownation
Leave it behind
Your restless mind
Your jelousies
But isolation
Demands your patience
To be found together in time just to say
Sunshine I saw you through the hanging vine
A memory of what is mine fading away
But this night heals the ?
And the moonlight steals the sound
I could leave suddenly unafraid
And after all
We're free to fall
Once all the pain goes
And how we stood
And what was good
Could lie us all long
In isolation
A transformation
Blue laughter leaves me
Leaves me blue
And all the ? to see it through
This laugh of love and lie tingle
A killer crane
After the rainbow
May they found together in time to say
Sunshine I saw you through the hanging vine
A memory of what was mine fading away
But this night heals the
And the moonlight steals the sound
I could leave suddenly unafraid
Sunshine come crawling through the hanging vines
A memory of what is mine fading away
In this night heals the
And the moonlight steals the sound
I could leave suddenly unafraid
Sunshine I saw you through the hanging vine
A memory of what is mine fading away
And this night heals the
And the moonlight steals the sound
I could leave suddenly unafraid
The lyrics of TV on the Radio's "Killer Crane" are somewhat enigmatic and difficult to interpret. The song opens with the lines "After the rain / A killer crane / After the rainbow" - this imagery could be interpreted as representing the cyclical nature of life, with the destructive potential of nature being balanced by its beauty. The following lines describe the graceful flight of a bird across the sky and sea, suggesting a sense of freedom and movement. The phrase "across creation / and over time" could be interpreted as suggesting that these themes are universal and timeless, and that the song's themes of transformation and acceptance are not limited to any particular moment or place.
The second verse is somewhat more cryptic. The lines "Leave it behind / your restless mind / your jealousies" suggest a need to let go of negative emotions and thoughts that can hold us back. The phrase "isolation demands your patience" could be seen as a criticism of a society that encourages us to be competitive and self-centered, and that doesn't value feelings of interconnectedness and empathy. However, the final lines of the song are somewhat more hopeful, suggesting that there is a possibility of finding connections with others - "May they found together in time to say / Sunshine I saw you through the hanging vine / A memory of what was mine fading away / And this night heals the / And the moonlight steals the sound / I could leave suddenly unafraid."
Line by Line Meaning
After the rain
The killer crane appears after the rain.
A killer crane
The killer crane is a metaphor for something dangerous and deadly.
After the rainbow
The killer crane is also present after the beauty of a rainbow has faded.
Across the sky
The grace of the killer crane is visible across the vast expanse of the sky.
Her grace is glide
The killer crane moves gracefully and smoothly through the air.
Across the sea
The killer crane's grace and beauty can be seen across any body of water.
Across creation
The killer crane's influence can be felt across all of creation.
And over time
The killer crane has been present and influential for a long time.
Her grace she slides
The killer crane's ability to move smoothly and gracefully is emphasized.
Escapes station
The killer crane is always moving, never stagnant.
A cold wind blows
Something bad or ominous is happening.
The day this stows
A stressful or difficult day has ended.
Glown heart glownation
A happy or positive feeling is now present.
Leave it behind
Let go of any negative thoughts or feelings.
Your restless mind
Stop worrying or obsessing over things.
Your jelousies
Don't let jealousy control your actions or thoughts.
But isolation
Being alone is sometimes necessary to find inner peace.
Demands your patience
Being alone requires patience to find happiness.
To be found together in time just to say
Eventually, two people will come together and share their experiences.
Sunshine I saw you through the hanging vine
The artist is addressing someone they care about and have seen through difficult times.
A memory of what is mine fading away
The artist is reminiscing about something that is no longer present.
But this night heals the ?
The current moment is providing some sort of healing or relief.
And the moonlight steals the sound
The night is quiet and peaceful.
I could leave suddenly unafraid
The artist is no longer afraid of what may happen.
And after all
Despite everything.
We're free to fall
We can make our own choices and take risks.
Once all the pain goes
Once the difficult times are over.
And how we stood
How we handled the difficult times is important.
And what was good
We should focus on the positive things that happened.
Could lie us all long
The positive memories will last a long time.
A transformation
Going through the difficult times can transform us.
Blue laughter leaves me
The artist is feeling a sense of sadness or loss.
Leaves me blue
The sadness is overwhelming.
And all the ? to see it through
The artist needs help or support to get through the difficult times.
This laugh of love and lie tingle
Even though there are negative aspects to love, it is still worth experiencing.
May they found together in time to say
Two people may eventually come together and share their experiences.
Sunshine come crawling through the hanging vines
The singer is asking for someone they care about to come to them.
And this night heals the
The current moment is providing some sort of healing or relief.
And the moonlight steals the sound
The night is quiet and peaceful.
I could leave suddenly unafraid
The artist is no longer afraid of what may happen.
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
Written by: BABATUNDE OMOROGA ADEBIMPE, DAVID ANDREW SITEK, DAVID KYP JOEL MALONE, GERARD ANTHONY SMITH, JALEEL BUNTON
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind