TV on the Radio -One of My Faves for 2008

TV on the Radio is one of the most talented bands on the planet. Of course that's just my opinion, but if you spend just ten minutes listening to their new album Dear Science, I'll bet you'll agree with me. This five-member New York band burst on the scene two years ago with Return to Cookie Mountain. With "Dear Science," the band has managed to up the ante with a very unusual-yet-oddly-comforting layered sound that just floats you up into the atmosphere with closed eyes and snapping fingers. The imagery this music brings to the foreground is utterly mind-boggling. On "Halfway Home," musician/director/actor/film animator Tunde Adebimpe croons "Wild spirit winds from out your chest/ Collides with world and wilderness/ It needs a gentle hand to call it home/ Now surfs the sun and scales the moon." Mmm-hmm. You may have heard "Dancing Choose" on indie radio, which blurts out snippets of rap rants, saxophone thumps, synthesized beeps and more. Every time I hear it, I catch another few layers of sound that I hadn't discovered before. "Golden Age" is my favorite song to listen to while watching depressing financial news on CNN with the sound turned off. The compositions live and breathe with you for a long, long time. I'm simply addicted.

"A lot of bands have something to say," said multi-instrumentalist David Sitek. "We have something to ask."

My question for TV on the Radio is: When are you coming to Oregon? Bendites can catch the band in San Francisco at the Warfield on November 9th.