Nine Types of Light

Nine Types of Light
Studio album by TV on the Radio
Released	April 11, 2011
Genre	Art rock, indie rock, funk
Length	43:40
Label	Interscope
TV on the Radio chronology
Dear Science (2008) Nine Types of Light (2011) Seeds (2014)

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	82/100[1]
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	[2]
The A.V. Club	A[3]
Chicago Tribune	[4]
Robert Christgau	A−[5]
The Guardian	[6]
The Independent	[7]
Los Angeles Times	[8]
NME	8/10[9]
Pitchfork Media	7.7/10[10]
Rolling Stone	[11]

Nine Types of Light is the fourth studio album by American art rock band TV on the Radio, released on April 11, 2011 through Interscope Records.

The album's lead single "Will Do" was released on February 23, 2011.^[12] Its closing track, "Caffeinated Consciousness", was made available on the band's website as a free download on March 10, 2011.^[13]

Nine Types of Light was very well received by critics and has a "Universal Acclaim" rating of 82 at review aggregating website Metacritic.^[1]

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.

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.^[14] 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

1. "Second Song" – 4:22
2. "Keep Your Heart" – 5:43
3. "You" – 4:05
4. "No Future Shock" – 4:03
5. "Killer Crane" – 6:15
6. "Will Do" – 3:46
7. "New Cannonball Blues" – 4:34
8. "Repetition" – 3:46
9. "Forgotten" – 3:40
10. "Caffeinated Consciousness" – 3:21

Deluxe version

11. "All Falls Down" – 4:55
12. "Will Do" (Switch Remix) – 5:20
13. "Will Do" (XXXChange Dancehall Mix) – 3:45

iTunes version

14. "Troubles" (bonus track) – 3:04

Film^[15][16]

1. "Caffeinated Consciousness" – dir. Tim Nackashi – 02:27
2. "Second Song" – dir. Michael Please – 05:46
3. "New Cannonball Blues" – dir. Maya Erdelyi – 11:05
4. "No Future Shock" – dir. Jon Moritsugu & Amy Davis – 15:11
5. "Repetition" – dir. Johnerick Lawson – 19:38
6. "Will Do" – dir. Dugan O'Neal – 24:48
7. "Keep Your Heart" – dir. Petro Papahadjopoulos – 28:29
8. "Forgotten" – dir. Tunde Adebimpe – 34:09
9. "Killer Crane" – dir. TV on the Radio & Dano Cerny – 39:26
10. "You" – dir. Barney Clay – 49:17
11. "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

References

1. "Reviews for Nine Types of Light by TV on the Radio". Retrieved 6 August 2014.
2. Phares, Heather (2011-04-12). "Nine Types of Light – TV on the Radio". AllMusic. Retrieved 2011-06-10.
3. O'Neal, Sean (2011-04-12). "TV On The Radio: Nine Types Of Light". The A.V. Club. Retrieved 2011-06-10.
4. "Turn It Up: Album review: TV on the Radio, 'Nine Types of Light'". Leisureblogs.chicagotribune.com. 2011-04-08. Retrieved 2011-06-10.
5. "Paul Simon/TV on the Radio – msn". Social.entertainment.msn.com. Retrieved 2011-06-10.
6. Tim Jonze (2011-04-07). "TV on the Radio: Nine Types of Light – review – The". London: Guardian. Retrieved 2011-06-10.
7. "Album: TV on the Radio, Nine Types Of Light (Fiction)". London: Independent.co.uk. 2011-04-08. Retrieved 2011-06-10.
8. Album review: TV on the Radio's 'Nine Types of Light' – Los Angeles Times
9. "TV On The Radio – Nine Types Of Light (Interscope)". Nme.com. 2011-04-06. Retrieved 2011-06-10.
10. "Album Reviews: TV on the Radio: Nine Types of Light". Pitchfork. 2011-04-12. Retrieved 2011-06-10.
11. Jon Dolan (2011-04-12). "Nine Types of Light by TV On The Radio | Rolling Stone Music | Music Reviews". Rollingstone.com. Retrieved 2011-06-10.
12. Gaston, Peter (February 23, 2011). "Listen: New TV on the Radio Song!". Spin. Spin Media. Archived from the original on March 3, 2011. Retrieved March 3, 2011.
13. Breihan, Tom (March 11, 2011). "New TV on the Radio: "Caffeinated Consciousness"". Pitchfork Media. Retrieved March 3, 2011.
14. "TV On The Radio - Nine Types of Light". YouTube. 2011-04-08. Retrieved 2013-06-24.
15. "WATCH IT: TV On The Radio "Nine Types Of Light" (various dir.)". VideoStatic. 2011-04-13. Retrieved 2013-06-24.
16. "TV On The Radio: Nine Types of Light | My Site". Directorsnotes.com. Retrieved 2013-06-24.