''Return to Cookie Mountain'' is the second studio album by American
rock band
TV on the Radio
TV on the Radio (TVOTR) is an American rock band from Brooklyn, New York, formed in 2001. The band consists of Tunde Adebimpe (vocals, loops), David Andrew Sitek (guitars, keyboards, loops), Kyp Malone (vocals, guitars, bass, loops), and ...
. It was released July 6, 2006, worldwide by
4AD
4AD is a British record label owned by Beggars Group. It was founded in London under the name "Axis" (after the Hendrix album) by Ivo Watts-Russell and Peter Kent in 1980 as an imprint of Beggars Banquet Records. The name was changed to 4AD af ...
, and issued in the
U.S. and
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tota ...
on September 12, 2006, by
Interscope Records
Interscope Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group through its Interscope Geffen A&M imprint. Founded in late 1990 by Jimmy Iovine and Ted Field as a $20 million joint venture with Atlantic Records of Warner Mu ...
and
Touch and Go Recordings. The North American release features three bonus tracks, two of which are
B-sides
The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph records and cassettes; these terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or record company ...
from the single "
Wolf Like Me"; the other is a remix of "Hours" by
El-P
Jaime Meline (born March 2, 1975), better known by the stage name El-P (shortened from his previous stage name El Producto), is an American rapper, songwriter, and record producer. Starting his career as a member of Company Flow, he has been a ...
.
Videos
Video is an electronic medium for the recording, copying, playback, broadcasting, and display of moving visual media. Video was first developed for mechanical television systems, which were quickly replaced by cathode-ray tube (CRT) sy ...
were made for the singles "Wolf Like Me" and "Province".
The album featured several notable guest vocalists: "Province" features backing vocals from
David Bowie
David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known professionally as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer-songwriter and actor. A leading figure in the music industry, he is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the ...
, who championed the band's full-length debut, ''
Desperate Youth, Blood Thirsty Babes''; Katrina Ford of the band
Celebration
Celebration or Celebrations may refer to:
Film, television and theatre
* ''Celebration'' (musical), by Harvey Schmidt and Tom Jones, 1969
* ''Celebration'' (play), by Harold Pinter, 2000
* ''Celebration'' (TV series), a Canadian music TV serie ...
guests on "Wolf Like Me", "Let the Devil In" and "Blues from Down Here"; Kazu Makino of
Blonde Redhead
Blonde Redhead is an American alternative rock band composed of Kazu Makino (vocals, keys/rhythm guitar) and twin brothers Simone and Amedeo Pace (drums/keys and lead guitar/bass/keys/vocals, respectively) that formed in New York City in 1993 ...
sings on "Hours". This is their first album to feature the keyboardist
Gerard Smith.
Reception
''Return to Cookie Mountain'' earned overwhelmingly positive reviews from critics, and was named the album of the year by ''
Spin'' for 2006, leading to the band's appearance on the magazine's cover. The album was ranked second on
Pitchfork Media
''Pitchfork'' (formerly ''Pitchfork Media'') is an American online music publication (currently owned by Condé Nast) that was launched in 1995 by writer Ryan Schreiber as an independent music blog.
Schreiber started Pitchfork while working ...
's list of ''Top 50 Albums of 2006''.
''
Rolling Stone
''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its co ...
'',
Slant Magazine
''Slant Magazine'' is an American online publication that features reviews of movies, music, TV, DVDs, theater, and video games, as well as interviews with actors, directors, and musicians. The site covers various film festivals like the New Yo ...
, and
Stylus Magazine
''Stylus Magazine'' was an American online music and film magazine, launched in 2002 and co-founded by Todd L. Burns. It featured long-form music journalism, four daily music reviews, movie reviews, podcasts, an MP3 blog, and a text blog.
Addi ...
each named the album as the fourth best of 2006, and the album is ranked fifth on
Metacritic
Metacritic is a website that aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created by Jason Dietz, Marc ...
's year-end list. In 2009,
Rhapsody ranked the album at eighth on its "100 Best Albums of the Decade" list.
In December 2007 the album was ranked number 96 in ''
Blender (magazine)'s 100 Greatest Indie-Rock Albums Ever''.
As of 2014, sales in the United States have exceeded 242,000 copies, according to
Nielsen SoundScan
Luminate (formerly Nielsen SoundScan, Nielsen Music Products, and MRC Data) is a provider of music sales data. Established by Mike Fine and Mike Shalett in 1991, data is collected weekly and made available every Sunday (for albums sales) and eve ...
.
Track listing
# "I Was a Lover" (Kyp Malone, David Andrew Sitek) – 4:21
# "Hours" (Tunde Adebimpe) – 3:55
# "
Province
A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman ''provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions outsi ...
" (Malone, Sitek) – 4:37
# "Playhouses" (Malone) – 5:11
# "
Wolf Like Me" (Adebimpe) – 4:39
# "A Method" (Adebimpe) – 4:25
# "Let the Devil In" (Malone) – 4:27
# "Dirtywhirl" (Adebimpe) – 4:15
# "Blues from Down Here" (Malone) – 5:17
# "Tonight" (Adebimpe) – 6:53
# "Wash the Day" (Malone, Sitek, Adebimpe) – 8:08
Sample credits
* "Let the Devil In" includes extended samples from
Lou Reed
Lewis Allan Reed (March 2, 1942October 27, 2013) was an American musician, songwriter, and poet. He was the guitarist, singer, and principal songwriter for the rock band the Velvet Underground and had a solo career that spanned five decades. ...
's 1975 noise album ''
Metal Machine Music
''Metal Machine Music'' (subtitled ''*The Amine β Ring'') is the fifth studio album by American rock musician Lou Reed. It was recorded on a three-speed Uher machine and was mastered/engineered by Bob Ludwig. It was released as a double album ...
'' during the verses.
US bonus tracks
ilence:…
#
"Untitled" – 1:44
# "Snakes and Martyrs" (Malone) – 4:07
# "Hours (El-P remix
A remix (or reorchestration) is a piece of media which has been altered or contorted from its original state by adding, removing, or changing pieces of the item. A song, piece of artwork, book, video, poem, or photograph can all be remixes. The o ...
)" (Adebimpe) – 4:26
# "Things You Can Do" (Adebimpe, Sitek) – 5:26
Personnel
TV on the Radio
TV on the Radio (TVOTR) is an American rock band from Brooklyn, New York, formed in 2001. The band consists of Tunde Adebimpe (vocals, loops), David Andrew Sitek (guitars, keyboards, loops), Kyp Malone (vocals, guitars, bass, loops), and ...
* Tunde Adebimpe – vocals , percussion , choir
* Jaleel Bunton – drums , piano , guitar , percussion , choir , Rhodes
Rhodes (; el, Ρόδος , translit=Ródos ) is the largest and the historical capital of the Dodecanese islands of Greece. Administratively, the island forms a separate municipality within the Rhodes regional unit, which is part of the S ...
* Kyp Malone
David Kyp Joel Malone (born February 27, 1973) is an American multi-instrumentalist and member of the bands TV on the Radio, Iran, Rain Machine, and Ice Balloons.
Biography
Malone grew up in Moon Township, Pennsylvania and moved to New Jersey for ...
– vocals , bass , guitar
* Dave Sitek
David Andrew Sitek (born September 6, 1972) is an American musician and record producer, known for his work with his band TV on the Radio. He has also worked with bands such as Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Liars, Foals, Celebration, Little Dragon, Bead ...
– guitars , bass , samples , flute , sampler , keys , synth , magic
* Gerard Smith – piano , organ , bass , choir , guitar , electric sitar
An electric sitar is a type of electric guitar designed to mimic the sound of the sitar, a traditional musical instrument of India. Depending on the manufacturer and model, these instruments bear varying degrees of resemblance to the traditional ...
Additional personnel
* Kazu Makino – vocals
* Jeremy Wilms – cello
* David Bowie
David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known professionally as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer-songwriter and actor. A leading figure in the music industry, he is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the ...
– vocals
* Omega "C Taylor" Moon – vocals
* Katrina Ford – vocals
* Martin Perna – baritone saxophone , horns
* Aaron Aites – choir
* Dragons of Zynth: Akwetey & Aku Orraca-Tetteh, Devang Arvind Shah – choir, percussion
* Shanina Robinson – vocals
* Stuart D. Bogie – bass harmonica
The harmonica, also known as a French harp or mouth organ, is a free reed wind instrument used worldwide in many musical genres, notably in blues, American folk music, classical music, jazz, country, and rock. The many types of harmonica inc ...
, bass clarinet
The bass clarinet is a musical instrument of the clarinet family. Like the more common soprano B clarinet, it is usually pitched in B (meaning it is a transposing instrument on which a written C sounds as B), but it plays notes an octave ...
* Chris Taylor – horns , clarinet , horn arrangement
Charts
References
{{Authority control
2006 albums
TV on the Radio albums
Interscope Records albums
4AD albums
Albums produced by Dave Sitek
Electronic rock albums by American artists
Post-punk revival albums
Experimental rock albums by American artists
Psychedelic music albums by American artists
Shoegazing albums by American artists
Space rock albums
Post-punk albums by American artists