The O-town Scene - Oneonta, NY
Issue link: http://www.epageflip.net/i/25332
Vinyl Vault ‘Marquee Moon,’ Television Feb. 8, 1977 When most people think of the scene surrounding CBGB they immediately think of the Ramones. The more musi- cally savvy will also bring up Patti Smith, Blondie and the Talking Heads. Another band that should be added to that list is Television. Television released its debut album, “Marquee Moon,” in 1977. Popular music was at the bottom of a deep, dark, bedazzled hole that year. The Billboard music charts were populated by the likes of Rod Stewart, ABBA, the Bee Gees and some other groups middle-aged moms probably love. This was also the year that punk bands re- volted against disco. While chorus make it feel like a punk band. But the band sets itself apart from safety-pinned punk bands with unique guitar sounds. Televi- sion’s guitars are hardly distorted and not feeding back. While typical punk bands favored humbucker- equipped Gibson guitars and massive, high- wattage Marshall amps, Television guitarists and song- writers Tom Verlaine and Richard Lloyd preferred the thinner sounding single-coil pickups found in Fender guitars, and smaller Fender amps. Then something else hap- pens, something that doesn’t happen in punk rock _ a guitar solo, a good one. They come across as my favorite solos do, like someone strangling their guitar into submission. other punk bands were spending their time putting safety pins on their jackets and not learning to play their instruments, Television was broadening what a punk band was capable of. The opening track of “Mar- quee Moon,” “See No Evil,” is straight-forward, begin- ning with one guitar banging out a single chord. The band kicks in, another guitar part is layered on, and some gang backup vocals on the Guitarist and occasional bassist Lloyd shows that you can be a punk icon (See also: Richard Hell, the Voidoids, “Blank Generation,” “Love Comes in Spurts”) and an virtuoso. The next track is “Venus.” The arrangement on this song is more complex. A common element through- out Television’s music is the layering of sparse, mini- malist parts into a complex arrangement. Lyrically, however, this song makes me cringe. Each chorus ends with Verlaine crooning that he “fell right into the arms of Venus de Milo.” I would expect this out of a teenager attempting to be clever and poetic, or Jim Morrison. I expect more from someone with the writing talent of Tom Verlaine. The arrangements and playing keep building inter- est through the next track, “Friction,” which includes some jagged, but beautiful guitar work from Verlaine. Last on Side A is the title track, “Marquee Moon.” This song clocks in at over nine minutes, and would have been lon- ger except they had compro- reached the physi- cal limit of what a record could hold without mising sound quality. (To hear the entire end of the song as it was recorded, pick up any CD version of the album.) The layering of guitars and bass and the back-and-forth between the guitars keep the verses interesting, and the chorus has a jerky feeling, making dancing tricky on the first listen. The song goes on so long mostly due to extended solos by Verlaine and Lloyd. “Ex- tended solo” usually conjures a jamband guitarist noodling along aimlessly. But the solos here are original, inspired and well-crafted improvisa- tions _ they come across as my favorite solos do, like someone strangling their guitar into submission. If you don’t own this al- bum, buy it. That’s what I did after listening to a borrowed copy. Keep in mind while you listen through Side B that you’re hearing the songs that put punk music in the history of pop culture, and paved the way for everything to come. The list of music that might never have happened if “Marquee Moon” had not come first is staggering _ everything from “Brat Pack” movie soundtracks to Coldplay owe their sound to Television’s unique vision. _ Ned Brower Feb. 17, 2011 O-Town Scene 15 Featured Artist Dr. Dog Each week, SUNY Oneonta-based NPR affiliate WUOW features a worthy musician in its Friday Night Featured Artist radio program from 8 to 9 p.m. at 104.7 FM in Oneonta and online at wuow. org. 5-SONG TASTE This week’s featured artist is the west Philadelphia- based band Dr. Dog, which was discovered by Jim James, of My Morning Jacket, after he was given a copy of the group’s home recordings. James liked the group so much, he invited the 1960s pop-rock-influ- enced band to tour with My Morning Jacket, and Dr. Dog received waves of positive press. 1. Alaska 2. Worst Trip 3. Stripped Away 4. Jackie Wants a Black Eye 5. Station