With "Desperate Youth, Bloodthirsty Babes", NYC gospel/ groove/ no wave NYC collective TV ON THE RADIO made an album that's the very embodiment of hip, challenging avant-funk. Its' tunes weren't always its' primary concern, but it was and remains fascinating stuff and sets a precedent the band themselves will struggle to emulate in the future.
"Staring At The Sun" was/ is one of the Mothership's highlights, though it's hardly what you'd call a regular single. Proffering incredible falsetto gospel interjections from Tunde Adebimpe and Kyp Malone, it rumbles in on a massive, subterranean buzz of bass, further beguiles with some fractiously skinny guitar from guest Nick Zinner and opens with the lyric: "Cross the street from your storefront cemetary", which is surely one of the most unlikely lines to launch what could feasibly be a weird hit single. It's curious, blanched, politico-funk with a hefty dose of NY noise touching it up.
Compared to the two B-sides, it might as well be Bananarama, though. Both these tracks are sourced from the band's semi-legendary, self-released "OK Calculator." It's so legendary, this writer hadn't even heard of it before.
After hearing these, he's not sure he wants to hear the rest, however, as both of these severely try the patience. "Freeway" is a bizarre, wholly acapella workout, which - like "Ambulance" for the LP - requires patience, and doesn't really get through, despite some cool lines like: "Freeway of love in a jet black hearse." Barbershop afro-funk primal screaming anyone? No, thought not.
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Nonetheless, it's preferable to the wibbling minmalism of the (gah!) 15-minute "On A Train". It's built on a gossamer-lite marimba groove a la Peter Gabriel or State River Widening and could be interesting in an abstract way over three minutes, but at five times the length sounds like ameboid, stoned waffling in excelsis. Like Mark E.Smith would no doubt say, it's a curse-ah.
TV On The Radio, then, are undoubtedly an amazing band, but on this occasion abuse our B-side tolerance. "Staring At The Sun" is surely ultra-hep prime time viewing, but its' two counterparts could easily be sacrificed - possibly even for the German porn channels.
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