Television

man what i wouldn't give for an entire pro-shot video of Television in 1978.

Yeah.

I have a fond memory of seeing the charming indie-pop band Small Factory do a sound check back in 1994 or so, and when the sound guy asked them to play all together they out of nowhere busted out a dead-on cover of iirc "See No Evil."

From the Richard Hell thread, a news update from his official site:

JANUARY 2022: There's now up an astounding video from 1974 of the original Television lineup, playing Tom Verlaine's "Hard on Love" on a tiny stage in a New York club (not CBGB), when Richard was not only in the band, but singing and writing many of the songs and heavily influencing the group's style. This period lasted about six months before Verlaine had fully succeeded in changing the direction of the band, dropping Hell's songs from the setlist, insisting that band members stand still on stage, and reverting to ordinary hipster thrift-shop streetwear, rather than the various stylistic concepts Hell had conceived. No denying that Verlaine is stunning in the clip though. What a band. There's speculation that the gig is from late May at the Cafe Wha? in Greenwich Village. (The band's very first gig was in March.) What we do know is that John Lennon saw it in September because he remarks on it during an interview in Melody Maker as he watches it on local TV that month (Sept. 14 issue). This is also the version of the band that initiated CBGB, thrilled Malcolm McLaren and Patti Smith, and made Robert Quine think that perhaps there was a place for him in rock and roll after all. You can see the clip (and read what Lennon said, in the uploader's intro text) at YouTube. Pair it with the veryearly Ork loft rehearsal tapesand you can see what the excitement was about in 1974, and where punk began...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gLlhYiN4gmU

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kcGEcB5M4es

pretty amazing stuff! "They sound terrible but they’re OK!"

Ironic that Lennon, in his appreciation, was effectively ahead of the game.

He'd had someone make a tape of stuff, the person had put what he'd asked for (old stuff mainly) on one side, and on side 2 had added B52s, Talking Heads, etc - but he'd taken no notice of it. a year or so later he thought about it but had lost the tape so had to ask his fried to make it up again for him..

friend, not fried.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p98PjtSfNWo

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l8j8SECzULw

I was reading that William Orbit interview on the other thread, and he made an obvious but still good observation, that there are entire eras of music and various scenes that were barely even photographed, let alone filmed. Now, of course, everything is photographed and filmed. But when you see stuff like this, or that Eno doc, or things of their ilk, it's almost like seeing the Patterson–Gimlin Bigfoot film.

Have been reminded recently of what a shame it is that Pere Ubu don't appear to have had anything filmed before Birdies in Urgh! A Music War. Just would have been something else if teh art scene in Cleveland included film makers who wanted to document the scene and capture the band when onetime possible Television member peter Laughner was onboard or over the next couple of years.

Yeah - massive shame if no footage survives of singles/modern/dub era ubu

I've seen (and enjoyed) Ubu live - but something about the music of that era makes it seem appropriate that their art is audio-only. Seeing film of them would be like dubbing sound on a silent movie... it was meant to documented exclusively sonically.

We will be touring as a trio this November. Myself on guitar and vocals; David Leonard on bass and vocals and Kevin Tooley on drums and vocals. It will be great fun and I very much looks forward to it, We will again be touring the North East, hoping to get to the west coast later

— Richard Lloyd (@RichardLloyd206) September 7, 2022

I love, love this band to bits. I've never seen them live, one of my biggest regrets.

Seeing bad, bad rumours on the internet right now :(

Yeah. Let's see.

is this a trustworthy news site?

https://snbc13.com/tom-verlaine-marquee-moon-popular-singer-guitarist-has-died-death-obituary/

i don't have fb, but maybe someone with access can confirm rosenbloom's account?

obviously tough news.

https://louderthanwar.com/tom-verlaine-dies-at-73/

Yeah, I know Lee a bit from back in the day. He's definitely one of those "in the know" music types.

I don't know this person but apparently a credible source :(

https://www.instagram.com/p/Cn-Kmjaul80/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=

Fuck

ugh, looking like it's true

Marquee Moon was one of those records I'd read about years before I heard it, one of the rare ones that not only lived up to the hype but exceeded it in ways I couldn't have imagined. Changed so much about how I thought about rock bands and how to construct music.

I don't know what more you could ever hope to achieve using the standard drums/bass/guitar format

Never even considered the possibility of him dying

My intro? The eponymous 1992 album: a minor masterpiece of precision. I heard Verlaine and Lloyd's duels and thought, "Who the hell are these people?" An ideal preparation for Marquee Moon.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VeIoKtnPBiQ

they canceled a tour last year because of "health problems" but I didn't dare think this would happen ...

I’m just playing Venus on repeat now

https://www.theguardian.com/music/2023/jan/02/robert-forster-venus-by-television-is-the-most-perfect-song-of-all-time

marquee moon was one of those instant classics that simply sounded fantastic on first listen (+put a lot of the contemporary stuff i was into at the time in its proper place) and still greets like an old friend when i hear it these days. maybe adventure even more.

I love the Adventure stuff on Live At the Old Waldorf, such a great document of the band live

yes, absolutely

the early demo stuff collected on the Poor Circulation boot CD is incredible as well

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2tMSNmKV1sk

I’m not sure what to look for on FB, but Lee Rosenbloom has an RIP.

First television song I ever heard was that amazing clip of them doing 'Foxhole' on the OGWT, that made me want to buy a guitar like nothing else i'd ever seen. Adventure was always precious to me because of that tune

Jonathan Paley as well, in a Verlaine group on FB

Xp

50 minutes ago. Cites a “close family friend” as source.
(xp)

Man, this sucks. Pretty much everything this guy did after the first Television album was almost an afterthought, certainly overlooked, but what more did he have to prove? It's a blessing and a curse to start your career with an album that helps change the course of music. RIP.

So weird the way you clue into death. I saw someone had put up a "Marquee Moon"-related post on FB. Then a second one, but I still didn't make the connection. Then a Television thread at the top of ILM and it was clear.

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/01/28/arts/music/tom-verlaine-influential-guitarist-and-songwriter-dies-at-73.html

RIP

Love his first solo album. Can you imagine being covered by Bowie? Only a few got that privilege.

RIP ;_;

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PyQBLQgVblY

Went looking for the solo version and had no idea Television had done this back in 1975

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=032bsV9SeWg

saw him at a WMFU record fair once. didn't expect him to be so tall! John Lurie too - like standing next to a skyscraper

xp yeah there are some incredible early versions of that, another one from CBGB '75 as well

always found this one incredibly moving, going to listen to it now:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rhoSxmqO710
Tom Verlaine - Song