Nine Types of Light
Nine Types of Light is the fourth studio album by American rock band TV on the Radio, released on April 11, 2011, through Interscope Records. It is the final TV on the Radio album to feature bassist Gerard Smith, who died of lung cancer nine days after it was released. The album's lead single "Will Do" was released on February 23, 2011.[13] Its closing track, "Caffeinated Consciousness", was made available on the band's website as a free download on March 10, 2011.[14] Nine Types of Light was very well received by critics and has a "Universal Acclaim" rating of 82 at review aggregating website Metacritic.[4]
Nine Types of Light | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | April 11, 2011 | |||
Recorded | 2010 | |||
Studio |
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Genre | ||||
Length | 43:40 | |||
Label | Interscope | |||
Producer | David Andrew Sitek | |||
TV on the Radio chronology | ||||
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Aggregate scores | |
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Source | Rating |
AnyDecentMusic? | 7.8/10[3] |
Metacritic | 82/100[4] |
Review scores | |
Source | Rating |
AllMusic | [2] |
The A.V. Club | A[5] |
Entertainment Weekly | B+[6] |
The Guardian | [7] |
Los Angeles Times | [8] |
MSN Music (Expert Witness) | A−[1] |
NME | 8/10[9] |
Pitchfork | 7.7/10[10] |
Rolling Stone | [11] |
Spin | 8/10[12] |
Film
The band created an accompanying film to go with the album, an hourlong visual companion that offers music videos for all of Nine Types of Light's tracks. Packaged with a deluxe version of the CD, the film also exists on YouTube in its entirety.[15] Characterized by eclectic visual style and thematic content as well as TV on the Radio's diverse, unique sound, the film allows for a different interpretation and method of experiencing the album. Directed by singer Tunde Adebimpe (with different directors helming the individual clips, see below for list), the film also features interviews with a variety of New Yorkers discussing topics including dreams, love, fame, and the future. A humorous epilogue, set to the song "You" and featuring the band members meeting for lunch ten years after a fictional breakup, concludes the film. Overall, the work can be seen as Afrofuturistic, particularly the video for "Will Do," which incorporates virtual-reality technology to tell a unique love story starring Adebimpe and Joy Bryant.
Track listing
- "Second Song" – 4:22
- "Keep Your Heart" – 5:43
- "You" – 4:05
- "No Future Shock" – 4:03
- "Killer Crane" – 6:15
- "Will Do" – 3:46
- "New Cannonball Blues" – 4:34
- "Repetition" – 3:46
- "Forgotten" – 3:40
- "Caffeinated Consciousness" – 3:21
- Deluxe version
- "All Falls Down" – 4:55
- "Will Do" (Switch Remix) – 5:20
- "Will Do" (XXXChange Dancehall Mix) – 3:45
- iTunes version
- "Troubles" (bonus track) – 3:04
- "Caffeinated Consciousness" – dir. Tim Nackashi – 02:27
- "Second Song" – dir. Michael Please – 05:46
- "New Cannonball Blues" – dir. Maya Erdelyi – 11:05
- "No Future Shock" – dir. Jon Moritsugu & Amy Davis – 15:11
- "Repetition" – dir. Johnerick Lawson – 19:38
- "Will Do" – dir. Dugan O'Neal – 24:48
- "Keep Your Heart" – dir. Petro Papahadjopoulos – 28:29
- "Forgotten" – dir. Tunde Adebimpe – 34:09
- "Killer Crane" – dir. TV on the Radio & Dano Cerny – 39:26
- "You" – dir. Barney Clay – 49:17
- "Dragon Backwards" – dir. Tim Nackashi, Tunde Adebimpe & Jaleel Bunton – 59:09
Personnel
TV on the Radio
- Tunde Adebimpe – vocals, loops, keyboards
- Jaleel Bunton – drums, bass guitar, guitar, programming, organ, synthesizer, vocals
- Kyp Malone – vocals, guitar, bass guitar, synthesizer, clarinet, flute, viola
- David Andrew Sitek – programming, synthesizer, guitar, bass guitar, samples, vocals
- Gerard A. Smith – bass guitar, organ, samples, synthesizer, vocals
Additional musicians
- Priscilla Ahn – background vocals
- Stuart Bogie – horn
- Peter Hess – horn
- Dan Huron – percussion
- Michael Irwin – horn
- Kevin Moehringer – horn
- Gillian Rivers – strings
- Todd Simon – horn
- Kenny Wang – strings (viola)
- Lauren Weaver – strings
Production
- Jaleel Bunton – programming
- Rich Costey – mixing
- Steve Fallone – mastering
- David Andrew Sitek – producer, programming
- Zeph Sowers – engineer
Design
- Tunde Adebimpe – art direction, designer
- David Andrew Sitek – art direction, designer, photographer
- Nick Walker – assistant photographer
Charts
Chart (2011) | Peak position |
---|---|
Australian Albums (ARIA)[18] | 25 |
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[19] | 51 |
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[20] | 68 |
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[21] | 82 |
French Albums (SNEP)[22] | 76 |
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[23] | 68 |
Irish Albums (IRMA)[24] | 33 |
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[25] | 39 |
Spanish Albums (PROMUSICAE)[26] | 46 |
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[27] | 65 |
UK Albums (OCC)[28] | 33 |
US Billboard 200[29] | 12 |
References
- Christgau, Robert (April 12, 2011). "Paul Simon/TV on the Radio". MSN Music. Retrieved May 29, 2016.
- Phares, Heather. "Nine Types of Light – TV on the Radio". AllMusic. Retrieved June 10, 2011.
- "Nine Types Of Light by TV on the Radio reviews". AnyDecentMusic?. Retrieved December 28, 2019.
- "Reviews for Nine Types of Light by TV on the Radio". Metacritic. Retrieved August 6, 2014.
- O'Neal, Sean (April 12, 2011). "TV On The Radio: Nine Types Of Light". The A.V. Club. Retrieved May 29, 2016.
- Greenwald, Andy (April 13, 2011). "Nine Types of Light". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved May 29, 2016.
- Jonze, Tim (April 7, 2011). "TV on the Radio: Nine Types of Light – review". The Guardian. London. Retrieved June 10, 2011.
- Barton, Chris (April 11, 2011). "Album review: TV on the Radio's 'Nine Types of Light'". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved June 10, 2011.
- Crossan, Jamie (April 6, 2011). "Album Review: TV On The Radio – Nine Types Of Light (Interscope)". NME. Archived from the original on March 22, 2013. Retrieved June 10, 2011.
- Berman, Stuart (April 12, 2011). "TV on the Radio: Nine Types of Light". Pitchfork. Retrieved June 10, 2011.
- Dolan, Jon (April 12, 2011). "Nine Types of Light". Rolling Stone. Retrieved June 10, 2011.
- Fennessey, Sean (April 12, 2011). "TV on the Radio, 'Nine Types of Light' (Interscope)". Spin. Retrieved May 29, 2016.
- Gaston, Peter (February 23, 2011). "Listen: New TV on the Radio Song!". Spin. Spin Media. Archived from the original on February 27, 2011. Retrieved March 3, 2011.
- Breihan, Tom (March 11, 2011). "New TV on the Radio: "Caffeinated Consciousness"". Pitchfork Media. Retrieved March 3, 2011.
- "TV On The Radio – Nine Types of Light". YouTube. April 8, 2011. Retrieved June 24, 2013.
- "WATCH IT: TV On The Radio "Nine Types Of Light" (various dir.)". VideoStatic. April 13, 2011. Retrieved June 24, 2013.
- "TV On The Radio: Nine Types of Light | My Site". Directorsnotes.com. April 14, 2011. Retrieved June 24, 2013.
- "Australiancharts.com – TV on the Radio – Nine Types of Light". Hung Medien. Retrieved August 24, 2022.
- "Ultratop.be – TV on the Radio – Nine Types of Light" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved August 24, 2022.
- "Ultratop.be – TV on the Radio – Nine Types of Light" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved August 24, 2022.
- "Dutchcharts.nl – TV on the Radio – Nine Types of Light" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved August 24, 2022.
- "Lescharts.com – TV on the Radio – Nine Types of Light". Hung Medien. Retrieved August 24, 2022.
- "Offiziellecharts.de – TV on the Radio – Nine Types of Light" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved August 24, 2022.
- "Irish-charts.com – Discography TV on the Radio". Hung Medien. Retrieved August 24, 2022.
- "Charts.nz – TV on the Radio – Nine Types of Light". Hung Medien. Retrieved August 24, 2022.
- "Spanishcharts.com – TV on the Radio – Nine Types of Light". Hung Medien. Retrieved August 24, 2022.
- "Swisscharts.com – TV on the Radio – Nine Types of Light". Hung Medien. Retrieved August 24, 2022.
- "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved August 24, 2022.
- "TV on the Radio Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved August 24, 2022.