New Music Friday - TV on the Radio

Everything old is new again.

Years ago, when I was in a band, my Dad gave me some unusually great advice. He suggested that I search through all of his vinyl music for a sound that I liked, but had never heard before. He reasoned that if I hadn't heard it, most other people my age would also be unfamiliar with it. His theory was, since that sound had been popular before, there was no reason it couldn't be popular again. And this way, people would might think I was some sort of talented musician who had created this new sound.

When I sat down to write about TV On the Radio, I thought of this. They join a growing list of current music that has strong roots in the sounds of the 1970's. Have you heard Wolfmother? They are pretty much a Big Dumb Rawk band, straight from 1975.. Do you like 70's era Southern Rock? Then you might want to check out Kings of Leon or The Eagles of Death Metal. My current favorite band, The Fratellis, follow a path that was first laid down for them by David Bowie and T Rex. And it is certainly not a stretch to compare the tight vocal harmonies of Fleet Foxes to CSNY.

TV On the Radio

So where does TV On the Radio fit in? I have included some of their new songs in the box above, including the one they played on the David Letterman show. While they may not exactly “sound like” Genesis, that is all I can think of when I listen to them. The good Genesis, with Peter Gabriel, before someone made the dreadful mistake of turning on Phil Collins' microphone. So either you have heard early period Genesis and will have an opinion on this, or you have never heard it before, so this will sound terribly innovative.

And so we are back where we started.