Album anniversaries - November 2024: TV On The Radio, MF DOOM, Nirvana

Every month of 2024, Euronews Culture takes a trip down memory lane and handpicks a trio of albums celebrating a major milestone.   

These are the three records you should choose to (re)discover as they respectively turn 10, 20, and 30 this November.   

Turning 10 in 2024: TV On The Radio – Seeds

(Release date: 18 November 2014) 

It’s been ten years since their last album, and the waiting game is starting to drag on... Still, TV On The Radio’s last LP to date turns 10 this month, and now’s as good a time as any to revisit it.

The art-rock experimentalists hail from Brooklyn, and have released five LPs since forming in 2001. ‘Seeds’ is the last we’ve heard from them and it represented a shift for the band, which coincided with the death of long-time band member, bassist and keyboard player Gerard Smith. The album deals with loss and grief by channeling these powerful emotions into lively pop energy.

While it’s not ranked as high as 'Return to Cookie Mountain' (the 2006, David Bowie-featuring album - which is probably their best) or 'Dear Science' (2008), or even their debut 'Desperate Youth, Bloodthirsty Babes' (2004), 'Seeds' is an undervalued entry in their discography. It maintains the band’s unique ability to create a surreal tunes with a lingering sense of dread. Granted, their experimental tendancies were pushed to the side on this one, in order to deliver a more polished-sounding and sunnier record – maybe as a way of counterbalancing a great loss.

The lead single, ‘Happy Idiot’, featuring the late Paul Reubens and Karen Gillian in the video, is a good example of this. Merging rock, funk and electro, the track seems to be about finding solace in ignorance – the less you know, the happier you’ll be – and balances a sense of anxiety with urgency which can be felt throughout the album. Lead singer Tunde Adebimpe’s soulful voice is once again a standout, and clashes somehow with some of the dancier grooves.

It’s all a shrewd balancing act: the melodies throughout 'Seeds' are catchy, but there’s always an undercurrent of dread that lingers.

Other favourites include 'Test Pilot' and the titular track, which continue this sense of euphoria masking an air of tense melancholia. The highlight has to be the penultimate track 'Trouble', a glitchy ballad which illustrates the exhilaration / anxiety dichotomy: “Put your helmet on, we'll be headed for a fall / Yeah, the whole thing's gonna blow / And the devil's got my number / It's long overdue, he'll come looking soon.” These ominous lines are followed by the repeated “Oh, I keep telling myself / ‘Don't worry, be happy’" before the explosion of strings and vocal harmonies kick in, leading the listener to embrace the big and bold emotions, as opposed to cynically dismissing them. However, unlike the late era Coldplay school of syrupy “let’s heal the world with hugs” guff, there’s something more genuine and heartfelt at work here.

While maybe not as immediately intense as their previous albums, 'Seeds' is about getting over the rough parts and embracing a sense of Romance with a capital ‘R’.

While dancing. With a few tears in your eyes.

Turning 20 in 2024: MF DOOM – Mm..Food

(Release date: 16 November 2004)

This year has seen two of the much-missed Daniel Dumile aka: MF DOOM’s albums turn 20 - ‘Madvillain’ last March and this month, 'Mm..Food'.

Both are odes to creativity that have aged like fine wine, proving that MF DOOM was not only one of the greatest rappers around, but also one unafraid of combining his unique sense of humour with an unparalleled lyrical mastery.

'Mm..Food' – a cheeky anagram of MF DOOM - is a loopy concept album, with each track centered around... you guessed it... food.

It may seem gimmicky at first, but it works wonders – especially when DOOM uses his unifying theme of culinary pleasures to fully embrace double entendres, puns and abstract metaphors. To what end, you ask? Well, to unleash perfectly crafted bars about food. Duh.

The sheer number of foodie references is impressive. Just check out the opening number ‘Beef Rapp’: "Here you will find food for your body / As well as comfort for your troubled mind (...) Beef rap, could lead to getting teeth capped / Or even a wreath for ma dukes on some grief crap / I suggest you change your diet / It can lead to high blood pressure if you fry it / Or even a stroke, heart attack, heart disease / It ain't no starting back once arteries start to squeeze / Take the easy way out phony, until then / They know they wouldn't be talking that baloney in the bullpen...” 

It begs the question: Why isn’t more hip-hop food-based?

There’s no denying that as a listening experience, 'Mm..Food' can get patience-testing when it comes to the skits, whose playful sampling connects the songs but disrupt the overall flow. That said, when you have classic tracks like the aforementioned ‘Beef Rap’ or ‘Rapp Snitch Knishes’, ‘One Beer’ and ‘Deep Fried Frenz’, who's anyone to complain?  

Rare are concept albums this fun, and through this madcap smorgasbord where foodstuffs and cartoon superhero samples sizzle together in hip-hop harmony, you can bet you’ll be hungry for more after your first listen.

Turning 30 in 2024: Nirvana – MTV Unplugged in New York

(Release date: 1 November 1994) 

When 'MTV Unplugged in New York' was recorded on 18 November 1993, Nirvana were the biggest band in the world. They had gained international recognition and legions of fans following their landmark album 'Nevermind', and had just released the uncompromising 'In Utero', their third – and final – studio album.

Kurt Cobain, Krist Novoselic, Dave Grohl, and touring guitarist Pat Smear agreed to perform an hour-long set at New York’s Sony Music Studios, and the results were unexpected.

Instead of playing the hits, they delivered a 14-song setlist which showed their versatility. This was never about capturing the energy of a Nirvana gig; this was a quieter, more introspective moment, a sort of direct antidote to the abrasive 'In Utero'. It showed a vulnerability that few had seen or heard live, as if Cobain was showing that he understood his pain, yet still sought connection through this intimate set.

It features some deep cuts, stripped down versions, and a series of cover songs from the likes of Lead Belly (‘Where Did You Sleep Last Night’), the Vaselines (‘Jesus Doesn’t Want Me For A Sunbeam’), and of course, David Bowie (‘The Man Who Sold The World’).

Five months after the recording, Cobain was found dead from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound. This meant that when the album was released in November 1994, it was elevated to a sort of requiem, a poignant testimony to a talent gone too soon.

30 years after its release, it stands alongside Duke Ellington’s ‘Ellington at Newport’, Aretha Franklin’s ‘Aretha Live at Fillmore West’, Bill Withers’ ‘Live at Carnegie Hall’, Keith Jarrett’s ‘The Köln Concert’ and Talking Heads’ ‘Stop Making Sense’ as one of the greatest live albums ever recorded.

See you next month for our Best Of 2024 series - which will include the Best Albums of the Year.