TV Girl

TV Girl was formed in San Diego in 2010, by friends Trung Ngo and Brad Petering as a leisure activity with no particular ambition beyond experimenting and hanging out. The name of the band is taken from a song by Beat Happening. That same year, the band released their self-titled debut EP, which attracted attention when they sampled Todd Rundgren's 1973 solo version of "Hello It's Me" on their song "If You Want It" from the EP, leading to a takedown notice on the band, issued by Rhino Entertainment, who owns full rights to the Rundgren song. In 2011, the band released their second EP, Benny and the Jetts, along with a music video for "Baby You Were There". At the time of release, Joel Williams had also joined the band. which would be part of their first mixtape The Wild, The Innocent, The TV Shuffle, released a month later. The mixtape was given away for free with an accompanying downloadable coloring book. The release would have constituted their debut album, but according to Petering and Ngo the work was more appropriately defined as a mixtape. That same year, TV Girl underwent a significant change when Ngo and Williams left the band, leaving Petering as its sole founding member. Petering, formerly focused on beats, became the primary vocalist following Ngo's departure, recruiting Jason Wyman and Wyatt Harmon soon thereafter. The album consists of twelve songs exploring themes of loss, lust, love, and relationships. One of the most popular songs from the album is "Lovers Rock," which gained significant attention on the music distribution platform Bandcamp. Additional tracks were recorded for the album but were not included; some of these outtakes were later released on their 2020 EP The Night in Question: French Exit Outtakes. TV Girl's second studio album, Who Really Cares, was released on February 26, 2016. The title of the album is derived from the second track, "Song About Me". One of the most popular songs from the album is "Not Allowed", which contains samples from the Yeastie Girlz. In 2018, TV Girl released their third studio album, Death of a Party Girl, which continued their use of sampling and lo-fi production styles. This was followed by 2023's Grapes Upon the Vine, an album influenced by gospel and soul music, with lyrical themes related to mortality, religion, and consequences. In addition to their studio albums, the band has released several collaborative projects, including ''Maddie Acid's Purple Hearts Club Band, which contains samples from 1980s and 1990s hip-hop, Summer's Over with singer Jordana, and Fauxllenium'', a collaboration with George Clanton. ==Artistry==

Influences TV Girl frequently samples 1950s and 1960s songs and media in their music. An example of this is seen in the song "Lovers Rock", where the backing track is created from a looped sample of the intro to the Shirelles' 1960 single "The Dance Is Over". In a post on Reddit, Petering wrote that he "never gets tired of seeking out old and obscure music. I listen to lots of music and I find my loops and sounds that way." Musical style and songwriting The band employs a genre not easily defined, with major inspiration from sampledelia, indie pop, lo-fi and electronic music found in most of their works (apparent in albums French Exit, Who Really Cares, Death of a Party Girl and ''Summer's Over), while taking on more trip-hop-like elements in other works (found especially within Who Really Cares and Maddie Acid's Purple Hearts Club Band), and in some cases, more mainstream characteristics related to gospel, garage house, funk and even jazz (specific to Grapes Upon the Vine''). Altogether, the band proclaims themself as a "hypnotic pop" group, due to their use of sampling, keyboards, and reverb effects. The band was upset when their music was labeled "sun-drenched California pop", pointing out that there are no lyrical allusions in their music that warrant the title. Lyrically, a majority of TV Girl's discography revolves around love and relationships. One example of this tendency is the song "Lovers Rock", a love ballad named after the reggae sub-genre of lovers' rock. The subject matter of TV Girl's songs is generally melancholic and sad, but simultaneously sarcastic and humorous. Some motifs in the band's lyrics include heartbreak, cynicism, memories, cigarettes, hair, sex, women's first names, suicide, and loneliness. Branding TV Girl's album art incorporates color-blocking of images from the 1960s and 70s (such as "The Classic Nude" by George Hester for Who Really Cares). The use of vibrant coloring has become a key part of TV Girl's identity. == Members ==

Current members • Brad Petering – lead vocals, samples, production, occasional guitar (2010–present), bass (2010–2014) • Wyatt Harmon – keyboards (2013–present) • Jason Wyman – drums (2013–present) Former members • Trung Ngo – vocals, keyboards, guitar (2010–2013) • Joel Williams – vocals (2010–2013) • Dan Komin – bass, guitars (2013–2014) Touring members • Jordana Nye – bass, backing vocals (2021–present) • Zoe Zeeman – bass (2022–present) ==Discography==

Studio albums Mixtapes Collaborative albums Demo albums Extended plays Singles Other charted and certified songs Produced albums • Posthumous Release (2013) (by Coma Cinema) • Ace of Tre (2023) (by Varial Heel) ==Notes==