Desperate Youth, Blood Thirsty Babes

It's never a good sign when the book is mentioned in the top paragraph of the Wikipedia.

When a band is primarily categorized as art rock, caution is always advised. TV on the Radio is no exception, and their album *Desperate Youth, Blood Thirsty Babes* is truly exhausting to listen to. This is due not only to the vocals - which I find rather unpleasant - but also to the overall repetitive arrangements and the very monotonous mood of the songs. Sure, in art rock, this is typically tied to the lyrics in some way, but in this case, the lyrics just aren’t good enough.
Not trash, but overall on the annoying side - that earns it two stars.

solid 4. this was a discovery for me. certainly lands in the intent of this collection. i may not return to it often, but i have a new appreciation for it

Original but unconvincing except maybe for Don’t Love You and another track.

Pitchfork probably drools over this. Its got some noticable Post rock elements to it and pushes the boundaries of what boring Indie rockers are allowed to sound like. I also really don't like this slop. I find it boring and unsatisfying and it seems way too far up it's own ass. Nothing of this album is gonna be remembered by me except the goofy vocals and the few incredibly awkward and unpleasant song parts.

I'm aware of this artist, but I'm not sure if I've ever heard anything by them, and this is definitely the first time I'm listening to this album.

I don't hate this, but I don't feel compelled to listen to it again.

This is really matching our 'indie sleaze' Music League week quite nicely. It's also funny because in 2005 I saw TV on the Radio open for Franz Ferdinand and I had never heard of them and obviously they would have been playing this album. I'm curious to figure out when this became considered to be "one of the greats". Definitely a save for me.

Es ist atmosphärisch stark, voller rauer Elektronik und melancholischer Spannung. Einige Songs zünden sofort, andere verlieren sich im Nebel. Intensiv, aber nicht durchgehend packend.

There’s some interesting stuff going on in some of these tracks but overall I still really don’t feel these guys.

This album is unique. Groove beats that just kind of flow together. I wouldn't say it's good nor would I say it's bad. It just kind of exists in my opinion. I wouldn't go out of my way to listen to it again but I wouldn't turn it off either.

Was interesting

Really liked the drone and loop aspects of this

The Good: There are Babes included in this album!
The Bad: Uncertain what the desperate youth has to do with this album, or why the babes have to blood thirsty…
The Ugly: The fact that we are duped in believing that we can see Tv on the Radio…

Maybe, just maybe, if they would not have placed a focus on desperation on the thirst for blood, we would have had something more enjoyable to listen to.

Not that his album is bad… it’s just that the second half of the album is too long… makes me a desperate old-fart, who becomes blood thirsty enough to wanna kill something.
It’s a shame, because it could have been something excellent if it were more cohesive, less going on a rant, and most songs cut down to about half the length.

Should this album be on the list? Yes, because I am glad to listened to it.. more than anything because for once there is an album recorded in the new millenium that I kinda like…

But not certain if I can give this 4*…

Sonido interesante y terribles vocales, pero no es algo que me haya volado la cabeza. Escuchable y disfrutable, pero no algo que volvería a escuchar. Me gustaron algunos tracks, aunque no los guardaría.

sounds like 2004

Not a bad album, but there were plenty of times I wasn’t sure what I was listening to. Better than expected. 3/5

I'm not really sure I understand what's happening on this album, which is why I'm surprised to say I think I kind of like it. I think?

Yes. I like it. I'll come back to this, for sure

⭐⭐⭐.5

This might be the nostalgia talking, but I love this album and every song on it. I heard "Staring at the Sun" late at night on MTV2 when I was 16 and I was so excited to hear something that didn't sound like the terrible mainstream rock music of the time or the bland, generic indie rock of the time. I went out and bought the CD as soon as I could and fell in love with it. I didn't know anyone else at the time who like this band and they felt like a hidden gem. Little music at that time was this weird, funky, and thoughtful. I couldn't imagine how this band wrote these songs and put them together. I expected my interest in this music to wane over time (as I've heard TVOTR placed in a zillion movies and TV shows since then) but it still has the same effect on me.

Better than Coldplay

It's alright.