Tynan's Anger

SONGS OF THE DECADE #53

[For more info, read the Ground Rules of The Song of The Decade List]

TV On The Radio - Golden Age (2008)



Hope springs eternal in TV On the Radio's breakthrough song of the Obama year, and while I have my beefs with the band's veiled cynicism, it's nowhere to be found on this era-defining track. After the band buried the world in an unremittingly bleak sonic vision in Return to Cookie Mountain, they were smart enough to bring their audience back with the right song with the right attitude at the right time. Realizing the need for eclecticism. This self-awareness is key: it's how TV On The Radio brought hip-hop and R & B to their ingrained alternative slant while ignoring the "bipster" controversy. The Obama sympathy vote may have caused Dear Science to get a bit more hype than it deserved, but "Golden Age" is a touchstone song for a generation that overcame the Bush years (both the politician and the band).

Labels: 2000s, golden age, lists, pop music, songs of the decade, tv on the radio