The onetime R.E.M. frontman was a highlight, with his delicate “Ashes To Ashes” performance. More »
This summer’s roster of shows at Central Park SummerStage has been announced, and in addition to an impressive roster of benefits–TV On The Radio/Dirty Projectors, Explosions In The Sky/Constantines, Indigo Girls–there’s going to be a free show with Chrisette Michele (pictured) and Jazmine Sullivan. Should we have a meetup? (Alternately, we could always get together at the Ginuwine show…) [SummerStage] More »
TV On The Radio‘s unfortunate appearance on Saturday Night Live seems like it was forever ago in blog years, but it hasn’t even been two weeks yet! Anyway, singer/guitarist Kyp Malone talked to the Canadian Press about what exactly went down in studio 8H on that fateful night, and why he was really happy that his people had booked TVOTR a Colbert Report appearance a few days later.
The verdict is out: TV On The Radio sucked on Saturday Night Live. The acclaimed critics’ darlings, the band whose last Brooklyn show caused The New York Times to boast it was “complete ownership of its sound,” the band fresh off a 28-date tour, the band whose sound design is so pristine that it made even Scarlett Johansson wanted to cuddle up with a buncha Billyburg beardos. Yeah, they sucked. Just like Ashlee Simpson, and Kanye, and Fleet Foxes, and Taylor Swift. And, I’m no R. Buckminster Fuller but, is there a pattern here? Maybe since the pattern is “music bloggers passionately taking about how they never miss an episode of Saturday Night Live,” and NBC would have to be pretty short-sighted to actually do anything about the musical performances’ lousy sound quality instead of just basking in the free publicity. Thanks for taking the bait, suckers! Here’s a video of Andy Samberg on a boat!
TV on the Radio were the musical guests on Saturday Night Live this weekend. They’re a seasoned band whose live show tends to get rapturous reviews, and they were slated to play songs from the album that got the top spot in the most recent edition of the Village Voice Pazz & Jop critics’ poll. You would think, then, that the performance would be a triumph—but instead, it was a trainwreck. The dude with the beard (note: I am not a big TVOTR fan) had his vocals reduced to a thin chirp, the bass lacked any bottom end, the handclaps were seen but not heard… and then the horns came in.
Well, sort of: The tween heartthrobs are, as… More »
What were the 80 most important musical recordings, artists, trends, events, and performances of 2008? What were the eight things this year that broke our hearts—or, at least, our ears? We’re happy to announce 80 ’08 (and Heartbreak), Idolator’s year-end overview. The list is below the jump.
As you may have gathered, I’m raring to close the book on 2008, but I’d be remiss if I didn’t run down some of the site’s highlights during what was a pretty dreary year overall. After the jump, behold a pretty subjective top 12 of the year (thanks to our technological limbo I can’t run any sort of numbers, but I think this list accurately captures the best moments we’ve had during a long slog of a year). And of course I’d be remiss if I didn’t thank all of you for coming back, reading, commenting, and pointing out when I get shit wrong (which is too often). If you think I got this list wrong, feel free to abuse me with compliments in the comments section!
Rolling Stone‘s year-end lists went online today, and its album rundown is topped by a relatively new band! The No. 1 record of the year in the boomer bible’s estimation is TV On The Radio’s Dear Science—although order is restored at No. 2, which is given over to the latest edition of Bob Dylan’s Bootleg Series collection. (Whew!) The full 50 after the jump, but first, a few thoughts.
THE GOOD: Santogold at No. 6; Ne-Yo at No. 33; The Academy Is… at No. 46. There are other surprisingly in-touch-with-the-times inclusions, but those three pleased me the most on first read.
THE BAD: Carp about the list’s high quotient of people flying the Real Rock Flag as much as you want; the real tragedy here is that a list announcing the biggest music magazine’s favorite records of the year is nestled inside an issue that has on its cover an actor who has yet to release a vanity-project album. As if we needed more evidence that music doesn’t really sell, well, much of anything these days.
THE WHAAAA? You guys, no one is believing the “Chinese Democracy (No. 12) is actually good” storyline. I understand this went to press way before the album’s anemic first-week sales—and the even grimmer second-week numbers—but really, putting it on any 2008 list that doesn’t have a caveat for “albums that actually exist out of time, but at least gave our reporters lots of news fodder leading up to its release” is sort of a cheat.
Return to Cookie Mountain, the TV on the Radio album released before this year’s Dear Science, had jams of such epic proportions that most of the newer tracks didn’t really have a fighting chance. However, the standout “Golden Age” (Of Montreal mixed into George Michael with a sprig of Prince—am I wrong?) most accurately distills what’s enjoyable about TVOTR, with dance party-ready beats and lyrics that read as smart as they sound. In their by-now familiar fashion, TV on the Radio take new-yet-familiar sounds, smack them upside the face, then invite a couple beats over. Complete awesomeness ensues. The video is after the jump.
