Most Popular
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Barack Obama and Me
It was the year 2000 and I was a young hungry reporter in Chicago covering a young hungry state legislator
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Mescaline on the Mexican Border
Texas is the only state in the country where peyote is sold legally. Really.
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A Prison Cover-up During Hurricane Rita
For days after the storm, inmates in Beaumont lived without A/C, electricity or hot meals. Press releases kept saying everything inside was fine. Guards and prisoners agree — that was nothing but B.S.
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Little Bitty Burger Barn
"It's okay to be little bitty in the big city" is an apt slogan for this new burger joint, where sliders rule
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Ghost Town CFS: Carriage House Cafe
Step back in time — to a spooky old carriage barn with a monster chicken-fried steak
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Barack Obama and Me (250)
It was the year 2000 and I was a young hungry reporter in Chicago covering a young hungry state legislator
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Save Lobo: A Siberian Husky Mix is Sentenced to Die (28)
Why? Because he's big and intimidating and because one family complained about him over and over again
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A Prison Cover-up During Hurricane Rita (15)
For days after the storm, inmates in Beaumont lived without A/C, electricity or hot meals. Press releases kept saying everything inside was fine. Guards and prisoners agree — that was nothing but B.S.
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Are You Hot Enough for Citizen Lounge? (7)
All This Useless Beauty
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Rotten to the Corps: A Question of Justice at Texas A&M (140)
Thanks to A& M and a district attorney, two cadets escape punishment for beating in a student's face
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Are You Hot Enough for Citizen Lounge?
All This Useless Beauty
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Tired of the Hype, But That's All There Is
Next month, Houston gets to be a cool kid. But only for a week.
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The improbable redemption of Ashlee Simpson
"La La" Love You
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Rap's Rapidly Vanishing Female MC
The Why Chromosome
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A New Official State Song for Texas?
A case for a new — or different, anyway — state song
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Over the Weekend: Fotos, Dogs and Sausage. And Hannah Montana Too.
08:50AM 03/10/08 -
Friday Night: Wilco at Verizon Wireless Theater
05:04PM 03/10/08 -
Spring Training Doesn’t Count, Except for When It Does
04:29PM 03/10/08 -
Sausage Fest: Bangers and Mash at Red Lion Pub
11:40AM 03/08/08
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TV on the Radio
TV on the Radio performs Friday, April 6, at the Meridian, 1503 Chartres, 713-225-1717.
By Michael Roberts
Published: April 5, 2007-
Roman Barrett
Don't change the channel on TV on the Radio.
Subject(s): TV on the Radio
TV on the Radio, fronted by Brooklyn artiste Tunde Adebimpe, is simultaneously progressive and regressive -- a forward-looking throwback that's defined by its ambiguity. Unlike all but a few recent albums, Return to Cookie Mountain, the outfit's latest full-length release, is less a collection of songs than an overweening sonic statement whose whole is infinitely more impressive than its parts. To release such a recording smack dab in the middle of the downloading age takes a great deal of confidence, and TV on the Radio has it in abundance; as evidence, note that guest star David Bowie's vocals on "Province" are thoroughly incorporated in the mix, not placed front and center as a way of boasting that a famous rocker is a fan. Granted, maintaining such an uncompromising stance while recording for a major label like Interscope, which put out Cookie, will be difficult over the long haul. Right now, however, TV on the Radio is tuned to something special. Don't change that channel.
Went to see TVOTR last night at the Meridian. It was a concert I've looked forward to for months - group has been widely hyped as The Next Big Thing. Unfortunately we had to walk out half way through. The band may have actually been good - who knows? -- but was ruined by combination of horrible accoustics and bad mix in which the vocals were unintelligible. There was a constant "wall of sound" which consisted of guitars droning indistinguishable from one another. Maybe a keyboard? Not sure. The only thing that came across somewhat clearly were the drums and bass. I'm pretty sure the two singers were singing harmony, but it was buried in the mix. I double checked: yes, indeed, there was a mixing board. The audience definitely reacted at first to their favorites, but the enthusiasm died down in the middle of the song - it was unrecognizable. Even when the singer talked to the audience, no one knew what he said - maybe "HELLO, HOUSTON!" but maybe not. The Meridian is a converted warehouse where you can hold bar mitzfas or art shows, but definitely not friendly to live music. Looks like the groups bring their own PA systems, because there's nothing set up around stage. Sad.
Comment by craig — April 7, 2007 @ 02:21PM