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/
Staring at the Sun
TV on the Radio Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Hear me hailing from inside and realize
I am the conscience clear
In pain or ecstacy
And we're all weaned my dear
Upon the same fatigue
Oh my own voice
Cannot save me now
Standing in the sea
It's just
One more breath
And then
I'll go down
Your mouth is open wide
The lover is inside
And the tumult's done
Collided with the sign
You're staring at the sun
You're standing in the sea
Your body's over me
Note the trees because the
Dirt is temporary
More to mine than fact, face,
Name, and monetary
Beat the skins and let the
Loose lips kiss you clean
Quietly pour out like light
Like light, like answering (chorus comes over this part) the sun
You're staring at the sun
You're standing in the sea
Your mouth is open wide
You're trying hard to breath
The water's at your neck
There's lightning in your teeth
Your body's over me
Be what you will
And then throw down your life
Oh it's a damned fine game
And we can play all night
You're staring at the sun
You're standing in the sea
Your mouth is open wide
You're trying hard to breath
The water's at your neck
There's lightning in your teeth
Your body's over me
You're staring at the sun
You're standing in the sea
You're staring at the sun
You're standing in the sea
The verse "Cross the street from your storefront cemetery. Hear me hailing from inside and realize I am the conscience clear In pain or ecstasy And we're all weaned my dear Upon the same fatigue" speaks about the vulnerability and human condition that we all share. The lyrics contrast the image of a cemetery with the idea of a conscience that is clear, suggesting that death is inevitable and that we all must come to terms with our mortality. The lines, "In pain or ecstasy And we're all weaned my dear Upon the same fatigue" implies that no matter the joys or the sufferings that we experience in life, we will all be faced with the same exhaustion of life. The chorus "We're staring at the sun Oh my own voice Cannot save me now Standing in the sea It's just One more breath And then I'll go down" suggests that the singer is dealing with a sense of imminent death or danger. They are powerless and have no need for their own voice because it cannot save them from this danger. The sea could represent a place where the singer is drowning or possibly being swept away into an abyss, and the "one more breath" could suggest that they are holding onto life by a thread.
In the second verse "Note the trees because the Dirt is temporary More to mine than fact, face, Name, and monetary beat the skins and let the Loose lips kiss you clean Quietly pour out like light Like light, like answering (chorus comes over this part) the sun" the lyrics evoke the idea of looking beyond surface and material things in order to find deeper meaning. The verse speaks of appreciating the natural world around us and seeking deeper connections with ourselves and others. The line "More to mine than fact, face, Name, and monetary" suggests that everything we see or know is just skimming the surface, highlighting the importance of digging deeper to see the truth of our existence.
Line by Line Meaning
Cross the street from your storefront cemetery.
I am talking to you from across the street of a place where people rest in peace after passing away - a cemetery.
Hear me hailing from inside and realize
Listen to me calling out from within yourself and understand the message I am conveying.
I am the conscience clear
I am a clear and steady voice of reason and morality.
In pain or ecstasy
Whether in suffering or euphoria, I remain steadfast and resolute in my beliefs.
And we're all weaned my dear
We have all been raised and nurtured by similar experiences and conditions, my beloved.
Upon the same fatigue
Our exhaustion and weariness is a common shared experience, that is the result of living in this world.
We're staring at the sun
We are gazing at the bright, hot glow of the sun, which projects warmth and illuminates everything under it.
Oh my own voice
My own words and thoughts.
Cannot save me now
I am beyond the point of rescue, my own words and thoughts cannot protect me.
Standing in the sea
I am in the midst of a vast, expansive body of water.
It's just
Simply.
One more breath
I have just one more breath left.
And then
And soon after that.
I'll go down
I will sink under the water and eventually die there.
Your mouth is open wide
Your mouth is gaping open, shocked or in awe.
The lover is inside
You are deeply in love, and those feelings are internal.
And the tumult's done
The chaos and emotional turbulence that was once present is now over and calmed.
Collided with the sign
It was met with something significant, and made quite an impact.
You're standing in the sea
You are in the middle of the sea.
Your body's over me
Your physical form is above me, potentially indicating your dominance over me.
Note the trees because the
Take note of the trees because the
Dirt is temporary
The soil and earth that surrounds the trees is fleeting and will disappear with time.
More to mine than fact, face,
There is more depth and meaning to explore beyond surface-level information and appearances.
Name, and monetary
Including things like a name or wealth.
Beat the skins and let the
Play the drums and let the
Loose lips kiss you clean
Let loose lips kiss you in a way that refreshes and rejuvenates you.
Quietly pour out like light
Gently and peacefully flow out, similar to how light illuminates a room.
Like light, like answering (chorus comes over this part) the sun
Like light that is responsive and echoes the sun's brightness.
You're trying hard to breathe
You are struggling to catch your breath because of the water you are in.
The water's at your neck
The water has risen to your neck, suffocating you.
There's lightning in your teeth
Electric impulses are running through your teeth, making them appear sharp and powerful.
Be what you will
Be who you want to be and make choices based on what you desire.
And then throw down your life
All is not permanent, so take risks and live without holding back.
Oh it's a damned fine game
It is an incredibly exciting and exhilarating experience.
And we can play all night
We can keep at it and keep playing for hours upon hours.
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Peermusic Publishing
Written by: Babatunde Omoroga Adebimpe, David Andrew Sitek
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@MrBothandNether
Hear me hailing from inside and realize
I am the conscience clear
In pain or ecstasy
And we're all weaned my dear
Upon the same fatigue
We're staring at the sun
Oh my own voice
Cannot save me now
Standing in the sea
It's just
One more breath
And then
I'll go down
Your mouth is open wide
The lover is inside
And the tumult's done
Collided with the sign
You're staring at the sun
You're standing in the sea
Your body's over me
Note the trees because the
Dirt is temporary
More to mine than fact, face,
Name, and monetary
Beat the skins and let the
Loose lips kiss you clean
Quietly pour out like light
Like light, like answering the sun
You're staring at the sun
You're standing in the sea
Your mouth
@dopemoves36
So underrated. If you're still coming back in 2023 like em up.
@adoboFosho
It's Christmas 2023 and I'm here
@Ant57fr
I love the restrained tension in that song, and the fact that it never breaks out and remains unresolved. That's beautiful.
@frathgroop3716
That is PRECISELY how it hit when I was 15 and stuck in a VERY abusive home, surrounded by boys at school who were scared of me but wanted to play with me at the same time. This walking implosion. Constantly cracking, never actually breaking.
@Huskydude1997
Like a lot of us sadly, it portrays that pretty well.
@Huskydude1997
Took me nine years to reply to this and I don't know why.
@Sean-lz1zz
Perfect commentary.
@dipthongthathongthongthong9691
Yes. You initially might want the drop, the crashing drums, the transition to the "next level." It never comes and you come to appreciate that.
@givemepizzaorgivemedeath3983
This song will still sound great in 100 years. So if anyone out there is living in the year 2120, give me a thumb's up.
@hottopicsuckss
thumb's up