Post-Millennial Classic: “Province,” the TV on the Radio Gem that Featured a Rock Legend

TV on the Radio rose from a loose collective of like-minded musicians to a world-beating band in the span of just a few years in the mid-aughts. On “Province,” a gorgeous, slow-building track on their 2006 album Return to Cookie Mountain, they received a major stamp of approval from David Bowie, who joins in on vocals.

What is the song about? How did TV on the Radio form and rise so fast? And how did they attract the attention of Bowie? Here is the story of “Province,” a fantastic collaboration between alternative music legends of different generations.

The Meteoric Rise

In the beginning, TV on the Radio was simply a duo: Singer Tunde Adebimpe and instrumentalist/producer Dave Sitek. The pair from Brooklyn, New York, made an independent album they released on their own and started to garner some early buzz. New band members soon joined—Kyp Malone, Jaleel Bunton, and Gerard Smith—and the lineup started to solidify, even though Adebimpe and Sitek initially viewed TV on the Radio as more of a project than a band.

Their 2004 record Desperate Youth, Blood Thirsty Babes made them darlings of the independent scene. The music they played wasn’t easy to categorize, as soulful vocals would often be juxtaposed with cacophonous rock instrumentation. That ambition and ingenuity is exactly what earned the band so many fans who were looking for something different.

The groundswell of support for the album meant this homemade project soon became a hot commodity, as TV on the Radio drew the attention of Interscope Records, which signed them. Their music also impressed David Bowie, who heard in the band some of the forward-thinking, genre-defying tendencies which he had always exercised in his own music.

Bowie contacted Sitek through a mutual acquaintance to tell him how much he loved what TV on the Radio was doing. The two men became friends, and Bowie told them that he’d love to collaborate. That opportunity arose in 2006 when the band was making their debut Interscope album, Return to Cookie Mountain.

Sitek handed over demos of songs intended for the album to Bowie, and Bowie gravitated to the musically brooding, but lyrically hopeful “Province.” TV on the Radio was blown away by the way Bowie did his part in the studio effortlessly and without any ego. His vocals intertwine seamlessly with those of Adebimpe and Malone’s, creating a wail that’s somehow unified and anguished all at once.

What is the Meaning of “Province”?

“Province” is credited to all five members of the band, and, as is the case with many of their songs, the lyrics flow with the type of inventive wordplay and clever connections that Bowie himself often managed in his solo work. The song sets us down in a world on fire: Suddenly, all your history’s ablaze / Try to breathe, as the world disintegrates.

The narrator suggests mankind’s greed is partially at fault for the frantic state of the world: And all the honey and the fire which you’ve stole / Have you running through all your red-cheeked days. But there’s also an intimation that the situation is somewhat beyond our control, as we’re Pushed under this expanse of bursting stars.

But we do have a remedy: In this hollow that lovers’ voices occupy / Let it follow that we let it free, let it fly. What are they setting free? Human emotion and connection, as is detailed in the stirring chorus: Hold these hearts courageously as we talk into this dark place / Stand steadfast beside me and see / That love is the province of the brave.

The appearance by Bowie only ratcheted up the excitement for the Return to Cookie Mountain album. TV on the Radio didn’t disappoint, as that album and its follow-up Dear Science are generally regarded as two of the finest of that decade. “Province” proved a catalyst for the band, as well as a reminder that David Bowie’s taste in music was as great as his ability to write and perform it.

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