Alt/Punk |
TV On The Radio
March 30, 2011
On 2008's Dear Science, TV on the Radio predicted a "Golden Age comin' round." The follow-up is even more optimistic. One word keeps biting at singer Tunde Adebimpe's tongue: love. He questions, battles and ultimately embraces that four-letter word here, from "Second Song" to "You" to "Will Do." But this wouldn't be TVOTR without some apocalyptic musings; the avant-garde Brooklynites even invent a doom-laden dance craze, the "No Future Shock." Still, love conquers all. "If the world all falls apart/ How am I going to keep your heart?" Adebimpe wonders; by song's end, he's certain he will.
Inspired by the sample collages of Public Enemy, The Beastie Boys and The Dust Brothers made an exhilarating hour of crazy sounds, B-boy raps and bizarre stories like "Egg Man." The Beasties still have a bit of frat-boy thug left over from 1986's Licensed to Ill -- check "3 Minute Rule" and its boasts of taking ecstasy and smoking dust. But they've mostly outgrown that for an expansive vision of hip-hop psychedelia. Highlights include "Shadrach" and Ad-Rock's galvanizing "A Year and a Day," wherein he rhymes about "turning my dreams into reality" over The Isley Brothers' "That Lady."
On The Record: Tunde Adebimpe of TVOTR talks The Beastie Boys
On the Record is a video series where rock stars gush about their favorite records -- in exactly 45 seconds. Click above to watch Tunde Adebimpe of TV On The Radio talk about his favorite album. And, starting April 5, head to Rhapsody to hear the band's new album, Nine Types of Light, one week early!
