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/
Tonight
TV on the Radio Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Clustered in frozen portraits
Blossoms that bloom so fine, just to drop from the vine
I've seen them all tonight
Who'd keep a silent orchard
I'll shove it all to the floor boards
Her rusty heart starts to whine, in its tell tale time so
Life is a measly portion
A light on good friends and fortune
It strips you away inside, drawn all your blinds
Conceal it all from sight
You took that final courter
Shot the boy, no quarter
We'll skip to the final line of some suicide note well publicized
Or give it up tonight
Carry with bursting order
To the options you've laid before you
The needle, the dirty spoon, the flames and the fumes
Just throw them out tonight
The time that you've been afforded
May go unsolved, unrewarded
Some nameless you cannot know, may be coming to show you
Unbridled love and light
Should you grow an orchard?
Covered in dusty portraits
Blossoms that bloom so fine, just to drop from the vine
I'll listen up tonight
Don't keep it silent orchard
Shove it all to the floorboards
Your rusty heart will be fine, in its tell tale time
So give it up tonight
The lyrics of TV on the Radio's "Tonight" portray a narrative of inner turmoil and uncertainty, oscillating between a reflection on the fleeting nature of life and the struggle to overcome personal struggles. The first verse uses the metaphor of an orchard as a representation of the mind, with blooms that "bloom so fine, just to drop from the vine." The imagery here suggests the fragile nature of the mind and the fleetingness of thoughts, memories, and emotions. The second verse uses the same orchard metaphor, but this time as a call to action, with the singer urging to "shove it all to the floorboards" instead of keeping a "silent orchard."
The chorus further reinforces the theme of uncertainty, with the singer questioning whether to give up or carry on, ending with the lyrics "Or give it up tonight" as a resolution to the conflict. The third verse uses vivid language to describe the various ways in which people cope with inner turmoil, including drug use and self-harm, urging the singer to "throw them out tonight." The verse ends with a hopeful message, suggesting that even if life feels "unsolved, unrewarded," there might still be "unbridled love and light" to be found.
Overall, "Tonight" is a complex and introspective song that explores themes of mortality, inner turmoil, and the search for meaning. Through its use of vivid metaphors and evocative language, the song paints a poignant picture of the human condition.
Line by Line Meaning
My mind is like an orchard
My thoughts are like a vast and complex orchard
Clustered in frozen portraits
Overwhelming and stuck in time
Blossoms that bloom so fine, just to drop from the vine
Beautiful and fleeting moments of happiness
I've seen them all tonight
I've experienced all of these moments in one night
Who'd keep a silent orchard
Why would anyone keep their thoughts to themselves?
I'll shove it all to the floor boards
I will let it all out and express myself
Her rusty heart starts to whine, in its tell tale time so
Her broken heart is crying out for freedom
For freedom tonight
To break free from heartache and pain tonight
Life is a measly portion
Life is short and insignificant
A light on good friends and fortune
The joys of life are found in friendship and luck
It strips you away inside, drawn all your blinds
It can leave you feeling empty and wanting to hide away
Conceal it all from sight
Hide your pain and struggles from others
You took that final courter
You took a chance and risked everything
Shot the boy, no quarter
You made a decision and left no room for negotiation
We'll skip to the final line of some suicide note well publicized
We'll see the end of someone's tragic story that has been widely shared
Or give it up tonight
Or let go of your fears and doubts tonight
Carry with bursting order
Carry on with a sense of purpose and urgency
To the options you've laid before you
To the choices you've presented yourself with
The needle, the dirty spoon, the flames and the fumes
The dangerous and destructive options available
Just throw them out tonight
Choose to reject these options and seek a better path
The time that you've been afforded
The time that you have been given to live your life
May go unsolved, unrewarded
It's possible that you'll never find all the answers or receive any rewards
Some nameless you cannot know, may be coming to show you
Someone unknown to you may surprise you with love and kindness
Unbridled love and light
Pure and unconditional love and happiness
Should you grow an orchard?
Should you nurture your thoughts and ideas?
Covered in dusty portraits
Containing memories and experiences of the past
I'll listen up tonight
I'll pay attention to my thoughts and memories tonight
Don't keep it silent orchard
Don't keep your thoughts and feelings to yourself
Shove it all to the floorboards
Express yourself and let it all out
Your rusty heart will be fine, in its tell tale time
Your heart will eventually heal and the pain will become a story to tell
So give it up tonight
So let go of your fears and doubts tonight
Lyrics © ESSENTIAL MUSIC PUBLISHING, Songtrust Ave, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Written by: JONATHAN LINDLEY SMITH, JORDAN FELIZ
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Cactus Hands
i was listening to this song while staring at a really pretty picture of some trees with the sun shining through them and had this overwhelming feeling of total euphoria. It was really amazing.
MarcSylex
great musical layers and a lyrical meaning with harmony.
Tyler Campbell
this is definitely one of my favourite bands
xHetKutx
Amazing song, as expected from TV on the radio.
Kenny Taylor
There is a specific "woot" that is harmonized, breaking me down to my most vaunerable state because I'm finally reminded that there is still beauty in this world.
The Matt Hatter
I love to just read Tunde's beautiful poetry, probably the best lyrics in my opinion.
roby99
too bad he doesn’t write his stuff, sorry
Nicholas Thomas
it would be awesome to see this song used in a promo for a show
c0linh20house2
this is what music should sound like today.
Josh Brandsema
Read the lyrics. Masters of analogy, these guys. Masters.