TV On The Radio
(Above) Not Gerard Smith.
So I was extremely saddened a few weeks ago when first Gerard Smith, bassist for TV on the Radio, passed away from lung cancer at the age of 36. This of course understandably lead to the cancelation of the two shows they were set to play and of which my Saturday had been planned around for months. A double whammy of sorts. Obviously more some for Smith’s family and friends.
My intention that week was to write about my favorite TVotR songs, but I just kind of dropped it in disappointed. So here are a few of the choices I was planning on writing about.
Desperate Youth, Blood Thirsty Babies
Despite the violent lyrics and imagery, the song is beautiful in its melodic simplicity. It speaks to the hopeless romantic in me, not so much acknowledging the trials and struggles of love, but wantonly wallowing in it. “I will be your crutch and cast if you will be my sketch and crash,” never fails to lift my mood.
Dear Science
This eerie track is just a slow, methodical build. By the song’s pinnacle, the lyrics are being nearly being shouted at you, before letting off, almost like the calm after an atomic bomb. The twisting and turning lyrics could be about failed relationships or the consequences of technological advances over shooting their creators intensions. The simple fact that the song could enlist thoughts that broadly different, warrants another listen if you ask me.
Nine Types of Light
This one is a little fresher, but in the few weeks of listening to the album, this song and Repetition are the early standouts. My amateur opinion of the songs significance is about the growth of the band, as musicians and people, possibly beyond what they would have ever expected. All set to the image of the Crane soaring, through tough times and good. The song seems to have even more significance since the passing of Smith. “I can leave suddenly, unafraid” are poignantly the last words spoken in the song. Maybe the most beautiful song they have made.