TV on the Radio

Combining electronica, indie-rock, soul and funk, the group's newest record topped many critics' best-of lists for 2008. On Dear Science, the band's characteristically dark lyrics are balanced by some of the most accessible song structures of TV on the Radio's career.

The band's music is generally classified as indie-rock, but its songs incorporate old and new elements of punk, hip-hop, techno and pop. The recent The Return to Cookie Mountain stands as one of 2006's most enthusiastically reviewed albums.

All Songs Considered's list of the 50 most important recordings of the decade continues, from Britney Spears to Amy Winehouse.

Kyp Malone is best known as the guitarist and singer for TV On The Radio. But this fall, he released his debut solo album under the name Rain Machine. Rain Machine's eponymous record sounds an awful lot like the work of TV On The Radio, but the songs are a lot quieter and relatively spare. On this edition of All Songs Considered Malone sits in as guest DJ to talk about his Rain Machine project, and to share some of his favorite music by other artists.

When the votes started pouring in from NPR listeners for the year's best albums, two things became clear immediately: It was going to be tight, and many of the top spots would go to new, smaller bands and their debut albums. Bigger, more established acts (Coldplay, My Morning Jacket) were well represented, but listeners seemed more inspired by the year's quieter, more intimate albums.

It's been a great year for the quiet and the subtle: The harmonies of Fleet Foxes, the fiery gentleness of Bon Iver and the African kora of Toumani Diabate were all calming company. We all need and want different things from music at different times, and gentility won out this year.

On this edition of All Songs Considered, host Bob Boilen talks with Carrie Brownstein (Monitor Mix blogger), Stephen Thompson (editor for Song of the Day), and Robin Hilton (All Songs producer and host of Second Stage) about the year in music. What were the biggest surprises of 2008? What were the best new bands, or the best songs? Listen and let us know what you think by joining the NPR online community.

It wasn't the best year for music, but 2008 sure churned out a lot of it: In a marketplace flooded with more music than ever, there's rarely been less of a consensus. Your neighbor's iPod was most likely playing a different tune than yours was. Still, David Dye was able to pinpoint the 10 albums that best kept him interested through multiple listens.

All Songs Considered host Bob Boilen looks at some of the most anticipated CDs due out this fall, with reviewers Tom Moon, Will Hermes, and Meredith Ochs. Hear a sneak preview of TV On the Radio's spectacular new album, Dear Science, plus the latest and reportedly final album from The Streets, a sultry new CD from Lucinda Williams, more bootleg recordings from Bob Dylan, the comically cool Eagles of Death Metal, Blitzen Trapper, Jolie Holland, and more.

Find out the number one album of the year as selected by NPR listeners. Count down the top ten CDs with All Songs Considered host Bob Boilen as he chats with reviewers Robert Christgau, Will Hermes, Meredith Ochs and John Richards.

Writer and reviewer Will Hermes shares his favorite albums of the past year. Hermes is a frequent contributor to NPR's All Things Considered and writes for Spin Magazine, The New York Times and Entertainment Weekly. He's also the co-editor of Spin: 20 Years of Alternative Music.

The band's music can get trampled when expected to compete with the chaotic conditions of the outside world. Amidst the speed and ferocity of Tunde Adebimpe's vocals — which recall the bite of early Arthur Lee — lies a dense thicket of sound that's still thrown off balance by the world beyond the earbuds.

When the votes started pouring in from NPR listeners for the year's best albums, two things became clear immediately: It was going to be tight, and many of the top spots would go to new, smaller bands and their debut albums. Bigger, more established acts (Coldplay, My Morning Jacket) were well represented, but listeners seemed more inspired by the year's quieter, more intimate albums.

On this edition of All Songs Considered, host Bob Boilen talks with Carrie Brownstein (Monitor Mix blogger), Stephen Thompson (editor for Song of the Day), and Robin Hilton (All Songs producer and host of Second Stage) about the year in music. What were the biggest surprises of 2008? What were the best new bands, or the best songs? Listen and let us know what you think by joining the NPR online community.

Brooklyn's TV on the Radio has always been a forward-thinking rock band. Its new album, Dear Science, is its funkiest, but in a typically complicated way. Sick of living with pessimism, the band has brightened its tunes and beats.

All Songs Considered host Bob Boilen looks at some of the most anticipated CDs due out this fall, with reviewers Tom Moon, Will Hermes, and Meredith Ochs. Hear a sneak preview of TV On the Radio's spectacular new album, Dear Science, plus the latest and reportedly final album from The Streets, a sultry new CD from Lucinda Williams, more bootleg recordings from Bob Dylan, the comically cool Eagles of Death Metal, Blitzen Trapper, Jolie Holland, and more.

The band's music can get trampled when expected to compete with the chaotic conditions of the outside world. Amidst the speed and ferocity of Tunde Adebimpe's vocals — which recall the bite of early Arthur Lee — lies a dense thicket of sound that's still thrown off balance by the world beyond the earbuds.

John Richards, morning DJ for NPR station KEXP in Seattle, shares his picks for the year's best albums. Richards recently appeared as a guest on NPR's live online, call-in edition of All Songs Considered to help count down listener picks for the top ten CDs of 2006.