Comments on: Decade :: TV On The Radio, Return to Cookie Mountain (2006)

By: theMike

theMike — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 23:10:47 +0000

like source tags & codes before it, i quickly put this album on before reading your write up.

return to cookie mountain initially repelled me. it came at a time when i was really just getting into music blogs and it was so universally lauded that when i finally got around to listening to some of its tracks, i couldn’t see what all the fuss was over.

luckily, i have good friends who encouraged me to give it another spin and i’m so glad i did. i consider TVOTR to be one of my favorite bands and feel this album deserves a spot among the top albums of the decade.

i’m really enjoying this series and am stoked to see which albums will make the cut as 2009 dwindles away.

By: dirkler

dirkler — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 22:50:48 +0000

@j.crosby Great to hear another opinion (even if you’re not specifically familiar with the record) But you make a great point that there’s probably a reason I only enjoyed the record for a little while…
It had no lasting power.
And I agree that when it comes down to it? It’s the band’s album. It’s their name on the cover, not Dave’s. So if they’re not into the work he’s doing on it (even though he might have made it better…) they still have to be the ones backing it.
Thanks

By: j.crosby

j.crosby — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 22:37:54 +0000

@dirkler, To be completely honest with you, I never gave it any attention, so anything I say isn’t from personal taste. However, I think it’s telling that people talk much about the influence of TVOTR and the Yeah Yeah Yeahs this decade, but the Foals debut was deemed sort of average (critically, I’ve got no dog in that fight). They, I guess (just looked it up), didn’t like the sound he was creating. But maybe that’s also the difference between doing catchy pop tunes that strike once or twice but don’t resonate beyond, versus creating work that people keep going back to. Seems like at least it would’ve been heavier/lower in tone, judging by Sitek’s past work/style. Still, dealing with “ifs” is dicey territory–maybe it would’ve been better (or just different), maybe it would’ve been worse or the same. Who knows? (There’s also a matter of ability on the band’s part, of course.) Ultimately, I suppose, if that’s not the sound the band wants, then it’s the wrong direction for them no matter what it might’ve sounded like under different circumstances.

By: dirkler

dirkler — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 22:04:05 +0000

First I have to say that I love this album as well. And you mention a bit about the production work that has driven or given great beds to the songs.

Not to steer the ship in a different direction…
But what do you make of the Dave Sitek work with Foals? And that relationship?
I enjoyed Antidotes for a while but was curious to hear what it would have sounded like if Dave had completed that project.