Cramming for a Concert (I've returned to posting)

Kyp Malone

I've returned to writing here which is something I've been meaning to do for a while. I should write with more consistency here now that I have a motivation: I'm doing it for a grade. This may sound a little depressing but it's actually kind of cool, but I don't think it will in any way ruin the fun of writing about music, if anything it makes me feel like I'm actually being productive while maintaining this blog.

But on to the music:

This Friday I will finally see TV on the Radio, one of my favorite bands of all time. A band that has been my favorite at different points in time. However I haven't listened to them since April. I was in Detroit on April 20, incredibly excited to see the show. When I arrived at the venue with my now fiancee, we paid for parking and walked up to the door (where there was strangely no line). A sign very directly stated that the show had been canceled. I rang the doorbell, and a man came to the door and told me that the band arrived in Detroit but they had to cancel the show for personal reasons. I found out later that night that the band's bassist, Gerald Smith had died of cancer, he had not been touring with the group, and his friends canceled a handful of tour dates so that they could mourn their former band-mate.

I don't know why I stopped listening to the band after that. I listened to a lot of hip-hop over the summer and TV on the Radio didn't seem to mesh with that particular musical mood. My iTunes also emptied itself of music this summer and I was too busy to reorganize it for a while. I also think that I was so looking forward to seeing TV on the Radio, that hearing their music in any context other than a live show might seem like a letdown to some extent.

However, now that I am listening to their discography to prepare myself for their concert, it's hard to believe that I didn't listen to their amazing music for four months.

Quick thoughts as I return to each of their albums:

Dear Science, -- I've listened to this record so many times that I doesn't really blow my mind anymore. But it does feel like having a great conversation with a good friend who you haven't seen in months. It feels so natural and you missed sharing time with them. This was the first TVotR record I ever heard.

Nine Types of Light -- Their latest record which I need to listen to far more. Because this album was released on April 11 I have listened to it the fewest times. I feel like there is a lot more for me to discover about these tracks.

Return to Cookie Mountain -- This is a complexly layered record and I wondered if it would take me a while to get used to it again. It took many listens before I was able to appreciate the beauty of songs like Playhouses, Let The Devil In, and Wash The Day. However I was able to jump right back into the albums complexities with a virtually non-existent re-learning curve.

Desperate Youth, Bloodthirsty Babes -- From the crazed brass insanity of Wrong Way to the sexy drawn out conclusion that is Wear You Out, this album is emotional and beautiful and dark.

Young Liars -- It still amazes me that this was the first thing created by this group (at the time just three of the current members made up the band). It's so carefully constructed while at the same time being incredibly raw. An almost Impossible balance that only great bands can pull off.