From
Smokingsection
It took us a while, but we just realized why the Jonas Brothers exist!
Why? So they could be torn to pieces by Matt and Trey from South Park!
In last night’s episode, the debut of season thirteen, Kenny was stoked that he was dating a fifth grade whore, eager to get his first BJ. But when the girl met the Jonas Brothers, they coerced her into wearing a promise ring, and made her vow to abstain from sex. So Kenny never got his BJ.
The episode also tore the Disney franchise to shreds. Mickey Mouse (AKA Mr. Mouse) appeared as a sex-crazed Svengali and backhanded promoter of purity rings.
It was genius!
Check out the clip above or click
here to watch the full episode.
March 20, 2009
Posted by stupidand |
Jonas Brothers, South Park, Television, _COMEDY |
Leave a Comment
Johnny’s descent from one time bastion of punk anarchy into sad comic irony continues!
There is no bottom to this barrel!
//
One-time punk pin-up and sometime anarchist John Lydon has mellowed further into middle age by starring in a £5m TV campaign for Country Life butter.
The campaign, available to watch exclusively at MediaGuardian.co.uk, marks the first time the 52-year-old has appeared in a TV commercial.
“People know I only do things that I want to or that I believe in and I have to do it my way,” said Lydon on deciding to appear in the TV ad.
“I’ve never done anything like this before and never thought I would, but this Country Life ad was made for me and I couldn’t resist the opportunity.”
It seems a far cry from 1977, when the punk movement was riding a crest of popularity and Lydon and the Sex Pistols caused outrage by releasing God Save the Queen during the week of the Queen’s silver jubilee.
The anti-royal song was a hit but outraged traditionalists, so much so that Lydon was reportedly attacked in the street.
The Country Life advert cashes in on Lydon’s standing as a British icon, albeit of the nihilistic variety.
He is seen wearing a tweed suit and gallivanting around the countryside, suggesting reasons why he might prefer Country Life, before settling on the fact that the Dairy Crest-owned brand simply tastes better.
“It’s not about Great Britain, it’s about Great Butter,” runs the slogan.
The ad, created by WPP agency Grey London, appears on TV for the first time tonight on ITV during the Pride of Britain Awards.
In recent years Lydon has led a quiet life, gaining attention in 2006 by competing in I’m a Celebrity, Get Me Out of Here!, in which he was pecked by a group of ostriches before remaining true to his anarchist roots by walking out before the final.
By appearing in the advert Lydon might be courting a new controversy. Dairy Crest has just announced that it is seeking job cuts and could close its Nottingham dairy.
“Can’t we all just get the f**k along ?!”
February 5, 2009
Posted by stupidand |
Johnny Rotten, Television, _MUSIC |
Leave a Comment
No, of course we don’t have a clue what the shows
The Hills and
The City are, let alone who the fuck Olivia Palermo and Whitney Port are!
Seem like Paris Hilton bimbo wannabees! Talentless, dumb and famous just for being famous.
Regardless of those facts, those awful MTV Executives having these young ladies stage a catfight for ratings is wrong!
Yap, totally wrong!
Well, unless of course the catfight involved full nudity, a few gallons of baby oil and MMA no holds barred (and no holes barred!) rules!
We’d definitely watch these bimbos then!
Executives at MTV have denied reports they encouraged the stars of new show The City to engage in a physical fight to boost ratings.
The show, which is a New York spin-off of Los Angeles-based The Hills, stars Olivia Palermo and Whitney Port, who both work in public relations for the Diane von Furstenberg fashion house.
But the pair was recently said to be unhappy with producers’ alleged demands for them to stage a “catfight” in the middle of the office for entertainment purposes, as part of the series which mingles reality with fiction.
A source tells New York Post gossip column PageSix, “MTV wanted the girls to get into a physical fight at the DVF office. The girls were both really uncomfortable. Even though people think their jobs at DVF aren’t real, both girls are really excited to be working in the fashion world, and wouldn’t want to be seen getting into a fight in a professional setting.”
But MTV executives have refuted the claims – insisting they would never make such a request of their stars.
A statement from the broadcast giant reads, “On Friday we shot with Whitney and Olivia at DVF, during which time no physical altercation took place. We would never encourage our talent to engage in that type of negative behaviour.”
While a representative for Palermo adds, “Of course the show is edited to heighten the entertainment value.”
“Can’t we all just get the f**k along ?!”
February 4, 2009
Posted by stupidand |
Olivia Palermo, Television, Whitney Port, _BABE |
Leave a Comment
var gaJsHost = ((“https:” == document.location.protocol) ? “https://ssl.” : “http://www.”);
document.write(unescape(“%3Cscript src=’” + gaJsHost + “google-analytics.com/ga.js’ type=’text/javascript’%3E%3C/script%3E”));
It’s a cold night
Under the street light
There’s a man who’s pants are too tight.
Oh no, his pants are too tight!
……
You don’t have to be a prostitute
no no no no no You can say no to being a man ho,
a male gigolo
try {
var pageTracker = _gat._getTracker(“UA-6440792-2″);
pageTracker._trackPageview();
} catch(err) {}
New great Conchords Series! New great Episode. New great Bob Marley meets The Police’s ‘Roxanne’ type jam.
Yap, it’s ‘You Don’t Have To Be a Prostitute’ – based on “Out In The Streets” by The Shangri-La’s, apparently!!
From the second episode of the second season.
Check your resume
You must have some other skills?
Do you have any other skills?
… like tpying?
“Out In The Streets” by The Shangri-La’s
“You Don’t Have To Be a Prostitute”
NOTE:
We do not host any files here. If this post contains a link to content hosted elsewhere, this is content found by a simple search on the worldwide freedom web. However, if for some valid reason, you object to a said content, or any content here, please let us know and we will remove the content in question.
Any content linked to here is only meant as a taster for the original work itself and is posted on the strict understanding that anyone who downloads the taster, deletes said content within 24 hours. We would assume that these fans will then buy the original work and we greatly encourage them to do so.
“Can’t we all just get the f**k along ?!”
January 28, 2009
Posted by stupidand |
Flight of the Conchords, Television, The Shangri-La's, _COMEDY, _MUSIC, _VIDEO |
Leave a Comment
One of the greatest groups of all! No question!
The great Tom Verlaine and the great Television.
Heroes of Post Punk. Heroes of modern music!
We fucking love em!
Any “greatest albums” list that doesn’t have the sublime Marquee Moon in the top ten, ain’t worth shit!
We posted loads more Television before. Here are some new nice RS links!
Television, formed in New York City in 1973, and although Television never achieved much more than a cult audience in their American homeland, they achieved significant commercial success in
Europe and today are widely regarded as one of the key bands in the punk and post-punk movements.
They were a part of the early New York punk rock scene, contemporary with bands like the Patti Smith Group and the Ramones.
However, in contrast to the Ramones’ focus on minimalist amateurism, Television’s music was much more technically proficient, defined by the duelling guitars of Tom Verlaine and Richard Lloyd.
As with many emerging punk bands, the influence of
The Velvet Underground was pervasive.
Television also drew inspiration from minimalist composers such as Steve Reich. Tom Verlaine has often cited the influence of The Rolling Stones’ “19th Nervous Breakdown” on Television’s approach to the guitar, and he has also expressed a fondness for Arthur Lee’s Love and the Buffalo Springfield, two groups noted for their dual-guitar interplay.
Television’s ties to punk were underscored by their late 60s garage-rock leanings, as the band often covered The Count Five’s “Psychotic Reaction” and the 13th Floor Elevators’ “Fire Engine” in concert.
In actual fact, Television were key pioneers in pointing beyond punk rock to New Wave and Post Punk.
Television’s first album Marquee Moon was received positively by music critics and audiences, despite failing to make the Billboard Top 200 – though it sold well in Europe and reached the Top 30 in many countries there.
Upon its initial release in 1977, Roy Trakin wrote in the SoHo Weekly, “forget everything you’ve heard about Television, forget punk, forget New York, forget CBGB’s … hell, forget rock and roll—this is the real item.”
Recently, critics ranked it number 83 on cable music channel VH1’s 2000 list of the 100 Greatest Albums of Rock and Roll, number 128 on Rolling Stone’s 2003 list of the 500 greatest albums of all time.
It was ranked number two on Uncut magazine’s 100 Greatest Debut Records, and number 3 on Pitchfork’s list of the best albums of the 1970′s.
Stephen Thomas Erlewine writes that the album was “revolutionary” and “comprised entirely of tense garage rockers that spiral into heady intellectual territory, which is achieved through the group’s long, interweaving instrumental sections.”
Television’s second album, Adventure, was issued in 1978 to less fanfare. The distinctive dual guitars of Lloyd and Verlaine are still evident on Adventure, notably on the tracks “Glory,” “Days,” and “Foxhole.”
The band members’ very independent and strongly held artistic visions, along with Richard Lloyd’s alleged drug abuse, led to the band’s break-up in 1978. Both Lloyd and Verlaine later pursued solo careers.
Television reformed in 1992, recording an eponymous third album, and have performed live sporadically thereafter.
Since being wooed back on stage together for the 2001 All Tomorrow’s Parties at Camber Sands, England, they have played a number of dates around the world, and continue to perform occasionally in New York while touring on an irregular basis.
In 2007, Richard Lloyd announced he would be amicably leaving the band after a midsummer show in New York City’s Central Park. Unfortunately, owing to an extended stay in hospital recovering from pneumonia, he was unable to take his place with the band for this concert. His place that day was taken by Jimmy Rip.
Rip has since been asked to stay on as a band member replacing Lloyd, and, as of December 2007, the group has been busy recording a new record!
We can’t wait!
Members
Tom Verlaine – lead vocals, guitar, keyboards
Richard Lloyd – guitar, vocals (left in 2007)
Richard Hell – bass, lead vocals (left in 1975)
Fred Smith – bass, vocals (joined in 1975)
Billy Ficca – drums
Jimmy Rip- guitar (joined in 2007)
1977 – Marquee Moon
The album is one of the most acclaimed rock records of all time. Certainly one of my favourite albums of all time.
Reviews
- Rolling Stone (10/16/03, p.90) – 5 stars out of 5 – “One of the all-time classic guitar albums….MOON still shimmers with urban grime and psychedelic imagination.”
- Spin (12/03, p.125) – “It’s the first punk jam album and a thing of swooning, brawny loveliness.”
- Entertainment Weekly (9/26/03, pp.94-5) – “One of the era’s masterworks, a multilayered thrill ride of interlocking stun-gun guitars and leader Tom Verlaine’s nervous vocals.” – Rating: A
- Q (5/02 SE, p.143) – 5 stars out of 5 – Included in Q’s “100 Best Punk Albums” – Q (1/03, p.132) – “A brutally stark, yet intricate weave of guitars and affectingly passionate vocals.”
- Uncut (11/01, p.134) – “Television may have vowed to ‘pull down the future’, but no one knew they’d reinvent it. Proof that lightning can, indeed, strike itself.”- Ranked #2 in Uncut’s list of the ‘Greatest Debuts’ (Lost to Velvet Underground & Nico)
- Mojo (3/03, p.76) – Ranked #32 in Mojo’s “Top 50 Punk Albums” – “A graceful new wave bite that betrayed delicate hints of neo-psychedelic sophistication.”
- NME (9/18/93, p.19) – Ranked #10 among The Greatest Albums Of The ’70s – NME (2003) – Ranked #4 in NME’s list of the ‘Greatest Albums Of All Time’
Tracklisting
Side one
1. “See No Evil” – 3:53
2. “Venus” – 3:51
3. “Friction” – 4:44
4. “Marquee Moon” – 10:40
Side two
5. “Elevation” – 5:07
6. “Guiding Light” – 5:35 (Lloyd, Verlaine)
7. “Prove It” – 5:02
8. “Torn Curtain” – 6:56
All songs written by Tom Verlaine unless otherwise indicated.
1978 – AdventureAnother magnificent work!
Upon its release, the album fared worse than its predecessor in the United States but entered the charts at #7 in the Britain.
A noticeable difference between Adventure and Marquee Moon is in the
production. Where Marquee Moon is a raw and straightforward album, Adventure has softer and more layered sound with added nuances, such as keyboard textures and back-up vocals.
Two of the songs, “Foxhole” and “Careful” were older songs from the band’s live set, however, several songs have a reputation as being “filler.”
The complex guitar work of Tom Verlaine and Richard Lloyd that gave Marquee Moon its appeal is present on Adventure too.
Reviews:
Tracklisting
Side one
- “Glory” – 3:11
- “Days” (Richard Lloyd/Verlaine) – 3:14
- “Foxhole” – 4:48
- “Careful” – 3:18
- “Carried Away” – 5:14
Side two
- “The Fire” – 5:56
- “Ain’t That Nothin’” – 4:52
- “The Dream’s Dream” – 6:44
All songs written by Tom Verlaine unless otherwise indicated.
1982 – The Blow-Up [Recorded live 1978]
This is a great two-CD collector’s edition, over 85 minutes long,
digitally re-mastered and re-edited.
All material on this recording was selected by Tom Verlaine from live tapes (circa 1978).
It had been originally released as a Roir double length cassette-only issue in 1982.
It includes extended versions of Little Johnny Jewel and Marquee Moon … over 14 minutes each!!
Liner notes were provided by Robert Christgau & John Piccarrella.
The guitar-led, thin-sounding rock of NYC’s seminal art-punk band Television had many acolytes – from the lovelorn poetry of Australia’s Go-Betweens to the more commercial sound of New Wave poppers the Knack.
This live double CD, originally released on cassette in 1982, showcases the band at their most experimental and wired.
Obvious standouts include the intricate, almost Coltrane-esque guitar duel between bandleaders Tom Verlaine and Richard Lloyd on an incredible 15-minute version of “Little Johnny Jewel,” plus an equally lengthy and tormented reading of “Marquee Moon.”
Sound quality is extremely variable, but the spirit of the originators of the New York punk loft scene shines through, even on a relatively ordinary rendition of the Rolling Stones’ “Satisfaction.” Raw, dreamy, and ripe for rediscovery.
-Everett True
Here she be:
1982 – The Blow-Up (Live) 1 / 2
or
1992 – Television
Television was the group’s eponymous third official album, released in 1992, a full fourteen years after the band’s second studio album and subsequent break up in 1978.
Television, July 28, 2007
By 1992 the legendary status of Television, the seminal band that was culturally, if not musically, linked to New York’s C.B.G.B.’s, had surely grown, yet artistic influence be damned, a reunited Television still couldn’t crack the Billboard Top 200 with their first album in 14 years. “Television”, the group’s third studio album, barely announced itself with abstract cover art and eponymous title, nor does the music jump out and take over your head and body the way “Marquee Moon” (1977) does.
And, compared to their underrated second album, “Adventure” (1978), this is a more fleet and concise work, eschewing the langourous pace and watery keyboard/guitar textures. But unlike more successful peers such as Ramones, or Blondie, Tom Verlaine, Richard Lloyd, Fred Smith, and Billy Ficca successfully made a Television record for the 1990s that honors, and adds to, their legacy.
At first “Television” feels rather dry, and passes by pleasently enough; yet with familiarity it eventually reveals itself to be both timeless and unassuming, understated and sometimes gorgeous. More than a decade after its release I’m still hearing some new musical detail or emotional nuance whenever I play it.
With the band members in their forties, “Television” shows the New York quartet’s ‘maturity’ which is not a back-handed compliment, for the musical intelligence, clarity of purpose, and self-awareness is evident throughout its ten tracks. Sometimes they seem to be evolving material out of loose jams (“Rhyme”), but the overall impression is of an organic and rigorous musical conception.
And the songs, all of them memorable, give us Tom Verlaine in varied narrative personae, frequently exploring eroticism in a witty, appealing manner. The music is mostly made by guitars, bass, and drums (keyboards are less evident than on the Elektra albums), both stark and lush. Tom Verlaine’s songs, in which darkness, compassion, and playfulness all co-exist in a world that seems hermetic at first, but prove to be Verlaine at his more accessable and communicative.
The album certainly carries considerable emotional weight, yet many of the lyrics refer to literary and pop culture images from Verlaine’s youth (“Mars”, “The Rocket”, “Rhyme”). As stripped down as Nirvana’s contemporary “Nevermind” or “In Utero”, the sound is typically dryer, less crunchy and inviting, but like Lloyd’s superb solo debut “Alchemy” or Verlaine’s classic “Dreamtime” the record deserves close attentionj. In my case I decided it was a good, slightly disappointing, record after three or four plays, and left it alone for nearly a decade.
When I came back, after digging into Rhino’s expanded editions of the two Elektra albums and the wonderful, incendiery “At The Old Waldorf” live album, I was amazed to find just how fresh the production was, and how many melodies and riffs had stuck in my brain without my even knowing it. There was a rush of pleasure, hearing this rich, nuanced album that sounds better than ever, and deserves the status of a minor classic.
The riffs and melody lines are quintessential, if restrained, but do not feel sketchy or underdeveloped; the interlocking friction and lyricism of the guitars, and those exquisite solos – Lloyd’s almost mathematical yet stunning and physical in their impact, Verlaine’s more improvised yet heady, angular – and interplay are like stars piercing through a clear night – they shimmer and glow.
Verlaine and Lloyd, despite their publicized differences, are an amazing team, virtually telepathic, as inventive as ever yet more playful and allusive. They bring out the best in each other, and I only wish they made more records together. Fred Smith’s bass is as always supple and, on “Rhyme”, entrancing. And Billy Ficca is a master percussionist, adding something fresh to every track.
Unless you like “Marquee Moon” but have been put off by the rest of the band’s (or Verlaine’s) work, this recording is highly recommended. Too bad it, too, hasn’t been expanded – with three tracks issued on a French ep in ’92, or live material from the hard to find “Live At The Academy” set sold at gigs.
Reviews:
Tracklisting
- “1880 Or So” – 3:41
- “Shane, She Wrote This” – 4:21
- “In World” – 4:12
- “Call Mr. Lee” – 4:16
- “Rhyme” – 4:47
- “No Glamour for Willi” – 5:00
- “Beauty Trip” – 4:22
- “The Rocket” – 3:23
- “This Tune” – 3:42
- “Mars” – 4:56
All lyrics by Tom Verlaine; music composed by Television
Live at the Old Waldorf [Recorded live 1978]
Live at the Old Waldorf is a live album by Television that was recorded in 1978 on their last American tour date until their 1992 reunion.
Reviews
Tracklisting
- “The Dream’s Dream”
- “Venus”
- “Foxhole”
- “Careful”
- “Aint that Nothin’”
- “Little Johnny Jewel”
- “Friction”
- “Marquee Moon”
- “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction”
Here she be:
Big thanks to Bunalti
We do not host any files here. If this post contains a link to content hosted elsewhere, this is content found by a simple search on the worldwide freedom web. However, if for some valid reason, you object to a said content, or any content here, please let us know and we will remove the content in question.
Any content linked to here is only meant as a taster for the original work itself and is posted on the strict understanding that anyone who downloads the taster, deletes said content within 24 hours. We would assume that these fans will then buy the original work and we greatly encourage them to do so.
“Can’t we all just get the f**k along ?!”
October 20, 2008
Posted by stupidand |
Music_Alternative, Music_PostRock, Television, _MUSIC |
1 Comment
Richard Lloyd – Alchemy (1979)Mp3 @ 320 kbps This is the excellent first solo album from Television stalwart Richard Lloyd, recorded soon after that band’s demise.
Television were for sure one of the most seminal bands of post-punk and made some classic timeless albums, including the magnificent “Marquee Moon” – definitely in my top ten albums of all time!
Lloyd has released five solo albums. “Alchemy” in 1979, Field of Fire in 1986 (re-released in 2007 with an additional disc of music), the live LP Real Time in 1987 (recorded at CBGB’s) and The Cover Doesn’t Matter in 2001. His most recent album The Radiant Monkey was released on Parasol Records in late 2007.
Plans are in the works for his most ambitious album yet: a tribute to his hero Jimi Hendrix, due in 2008.
In addition to a more recent solo career, as a guitarist and session musician he has since worked with various luminaries in the music industry, including Matthew Sweet, John Doe (of the band X), and Stephan Eicher. He is also known to teach other aspiring guitarists in his studio in New York. He recently finished up producing the album “Let it Die” from HTR, or Holy Trinity River, a Brooklyn southern-rock influenced band who is on the rise.
Alchemy was the debut solo album by Lloyd, released in 1979, one year after the break up of Television and the release of their second album, Adventure.
Trouser Press called it “a gem of a solo album.” Its title track was a minor New York FM radio hit.
Alchemy features Lloyd on lead guitar, harmonica, piano and vocals, Matthew Mackenzie on guitar, piano and background vocals, James Mastro (later of the Bongos) on guitar, Fred Smith (of Television) on bass, “Heineken bass” and background vocals, and Vinny DeNunzio (formerly of the Feelies) on drums and background vocals.
Producer Michael Young later added guitar and synthesizer overdubs to some tracks, which Lloyd has stated that he strenuously opposed.
Richard writes about this great album below:
“When Television first disbanded in 1978, I had already written a number of songs which became the basis of Alchemy. I had wanted to do a record of a different tambre than the two Television records, more Pop, sentimental and personal. Television was under contract to Elektra records both individually and as a group, so when the band broke up both Tom and I went on to make solo records.
Alchemy was recorded at Bearsville studios in Woodstock NY. This was the studio owned by Bob Dylan’s manager Albert Grossman. My A&R person wanted me to record in the country to keep me away from certain temptations existing in the city. So I took the temptations with me. The A&R person also suggested the producer. The most interesting story about the record is that one day Fred Smith woke me up telling me that the producer had locked himself in the studio and was putting keyboard sounds on the record. We had had a discussion about this and I was very against keyboards being on the record. Nonetheless, when I went down and knocked on the studio he wouldn’t let me in, and I could hear the cheesy sounds of his crappy synthesizer through the door.
I immediately called the record company and tried to fire him, but when they called him he told them that he was saving my record from me, and that I was a mess. The truth be known, I was half a mess. So production stopped for six weeks while we tried to sort it out. The record company informed me that my A&R person had arranged for him to be paid in full, and if I wanted a new producer I could pay for it myself. End result: keyboards on the record. With all of the travails around the recording, it still manages to have some lovely moments on it. Unfortunately, it is currently out of print. There is an e-mail campaign under foot to get Elektra to rerelease it.
I would love to get my hands on the master tapes and remix it and remaster it, but Elektra hasn’t budged yet. If you’d like to join the campaign, you can go to any of the Television sites and they will direct you.”
Tracklisting
Side one
1. “Misty Eyes” – 3:51
2. “In the Night” – 3:43
3. “Alchemy” – 3:50
4. “Woman’s Ways” – 3:14
5. “Number Nine” – 2:51
Side two
1. “Should Have Known Better” (Vinny DeNunzio, Lloyd) – 2:52
2. “Blue and Grey” – 3:35
3. “Summer Rain” – 3:17
4. “Pretend” (DeNunzio, Lloyd, James Mastro, Fred Smith – 4:11
5. “Dying Words” – 4:20
All songs written by Richard Lloyd except where noted
Personnel
* Richard Lloyd – guitar, vocals, piano, harmonica
* Michael Young – guitar, synthesizer* Jim Mastro – guitar
* Matthew McKenzie – guitar, backing vocals, piano
* Fred Smith – bass, backing vocals
* Vinny De Nunzio – drums, backing vocals
Here she be:
Big thanks to RosemaryLane and digivinyltal.blogspot
August 15, 2008
Posted by stupidand |
Music_PostPunk, Richard Lloyd, Television, _MUSIC |
Leave a Comment
Without doubt one of the greatest groups of all time!
The great Tom Verlaine and the great Television.
Any “greatest albums” list that doesn’t have the sublime Marquee Moon in the top ten, ain’t worth shit!
Television, formed in New York City in 1973, and although Television never achieved musch more than a cult audience in their American homeland, they achieved significant commercial success in
Europe and today are widely regarded as one of the key bands in the punk and post-punk movements.
They were a part of the early New York punk rock scene, contemporary with bands like the Patti Smith Group and the Ramones.
However, in contrast to the Ramones’ focus on minimalist amateurism, Television’s music was much more technically proficient, defined by the duelling guitars of Tom Verlaine and Richard Lloyd.
As with many emerging punk bands, the influence of
The Velvet Underground was pervasive.
Television also drew inspiration from minimalist composers such as Steve Reich. Tom Verlaine has often cited the influence of The Rolling Stones’ “19th Nervous Breakdown” on Television’s approach to the guitar, and he has also expressed a fondness for Arthur Lee’s Love and the Buffalo Springfield, two groups noted for their dual-guitar interplay.
Television’s ties to punk were underscored by their late 60s garage-rock leanings, as the band often covered The Count Five’s “Psychotic Reaction” and the 13th Floor Elevators’ “Fire Engine” in concert.
In actual fact, Television were key pioneers in pointing beyond punk rock to New Wave and Post Punk.
Television’s first album Marquee Moon was received positively by music critics and audiences, despite failing to make the Billboard Top 200 – though it sold well in Europe and reached the Top 30 in many countries there.
Upon its initial release in 1977, Roy Trakin wrote in the SoHo Weekly, “forget everything you’ve heard about Television, forget punk, forget New York, forget CBGB’s … hell, forget rock and roll—this is the real item.”
Recently, critics ranked it number 83 on cable music channel VH1’s 2000 list of the 100 Greatest Albums of Rock and Roll, number 128 on Rolling Stone’s 2003 list of the 500 greatest albums of all time.
It was ranked number two on Uncut magazine’s 100 Greatest Debut Records, and number 3 on Pitchfork’s list of the best albums of the 1970′s.
Stephen Thomas Erlewine writes that the album was “revolutionary” and “comprised entirely of tense garage rockers that spiral into heady intellectual territory, which is achieved through the group’s long, interweaving instrumental sections.”
Television’s second album, Adventure, was issued in 1978 to less fanfare. The distinctive dual guitars of Lloyd and Verlaine are still evident on Adventure, notably on the tracks “Glory,” “Days,” and “Foxhole.”
The band members’ very independent and strongly held artistic visions, along with Richard Lloyd’s alleged drug abuse, led to the band’s break-up in 1978. Both Lloyd and Verlaine later pursued solo careers.
Television reformed in 1992, recording an eponymous third album, and have performed live sporadically thereafter.
Since being wooed back on stage together for the 2001 All Tomorrow’s Parties at Camber Sands, England, they have played a number of dates around the world, and continue to perform occasionally in New York while touring on an irregular basis.
In 2007, Richard Lloyd announced he would be amicably leaving the band after a midsummer show in New York City’s Central Park. Unfortunately, owing to an extended stay in hospital recovering from pneumonia, he was unable to take his place with the band for this concert. His place that day was taken by Jimmy Rip.
Rip has since been asked to stay on as a band member replacing Lloyd, and, as of December 2007, the group has been busy recording a new record!
We can’t wait!
Members
Tom Verlaine – lead vocals, guitar, keyboards
Richard Lloyd – guitar, vocals (left in 2007)
Richard Hell – bass, lead vocals (left in 1975)
Fred Smith – bass, vocals (joined in 1975)
Billy Ficca – drums
Jimmy Rip- guitar (joined in 2007)
1977 – Marquee Moon
The album is one of the most acclaimed rock records of all time. Certainly one of my favourite albums of all time.
Reviews
- Rolling Stone (10/16/03, p.90) – 5 stars out of 5 – “One of the all-time classic guitar albums….MOON still shimmers with urban grime and psychedelic imagination.”
- Spin (12/03, p.125) – “It’s the first punk jam album and a thing of swooning, brawny loveliness.”
- Entertainment Weekly (9/26/03, pp.94-5) – “One of the era’s masterworks, a multilayered thrill ride of interlocking stun-gun guitars and leader Tom Verlaine’s nervous vocals.” – Rating: A
- Q (5/02 SE, p.143) – 5 stars out of 5 – Included in Q’s “100 Best Punk Albums” – Q (1/03, p.132) – “A brutally stark, yet intricate weave of guitars and affectingly passionate vocals.”
- Uncut (11/01, p.134) – “Television may have vowed to ‘pull down the future’, but no one knew they’d reinvent it. Proof that lightning can, indeed, strike itself.”- Ranked #2 in Uncut’s list of the ‘Greatest Debuts’ (Lost to Velvet Underground & Nico)
- Mojo (3/03, p.76) – Ranked #32 in Mojo’s “Top 50 Punk Albums” – “A graceful new wave bite that betrayed delicate hints of neo-psychedelic sophistication.”
- NME (9/18/93, p.19) – Ranked #10 among The Greatest Albums Of The ’70s – NME (2003) – Ranked #4 in NME’s list of the ‘Greatest Albums Of All Time’
Tracklisting
Side one
1. “See No Evil” – 3:53
2. “Venus” – 3:51
3. “Friction” – 4:44
4. “Marquee Moon” – 10:40
Side two
5. “Elevation” – 5:07
6. “Guiding Light” – 5:35 (Lloyd, Verlaine)
7. “Prove It” – 5:02
8. “Torn Curtain” – 6:56
All songs written by Tom Verlaine unless otherwise indicated.
Here she be:
1978 – AdventureAnother magnificent work!
Upon its release, the album fared worse than its predecessor in the United States but entered the charts at #7 in the Britain.
A noticeable difference between Adventure and Marquee Moon is in the
production. Where Marquee Moon is a raw and straightforward album, Adventure has softer and more layered sound with added nuances, such as keyboard textures and back-up vocals.
Two of the songs, “Foxhole” and “Careful” were older songs from the band’s live set, however, several songs have a reputation as being “filler.”
The complex guitar work of Tom Verlaine and Richard Lloyd that gave Marquee Moon its appeal is present on Adventure too.
Reviews:
Tracklisting
Side one
- “Glory” – 3:11
- “Days” (Richard Lloyd/Verlaine) – 3:14
- “Foxhole” – 4:48
- “Careful” – 3:18
- “Carried Away” – 5:14
Side two
- “The Fire” – 5:56
- “Ain’t That Nothin’” – 4:52
- “The Dream’s Dream” – 6:44
All songs written by Tom Verlaine unless otherwise indicated.
Here she be:
1982 – The Blow-Up [Recorded live 1978]
This is a great two-CD collector’s edition, over 85 minutes long,
digitally re-mastered and re-edited.
All material on this recording was selected by Tom Verlaine from live tapes (circa 1978).
It had been originally released as a Roir double length cassette-only issue in 1982.
It includes extended versions of Little Johnny Jewel and Marquee Moon … over 14 minutes each!!
Liner notes were provided by Robert Christgau & John Piccarrella.
The guitar-led, thin-sounding rock of NYC’s seminal art-punk band Television had many acolytes – from the lovelorn poetry of Australia’s Go-Betweens to the more commercial sound of New Wave poppers the Knack.
This live double CD, originally released on cassette in 1982, showcases the band at their most experimental and wired.
Obvious standouts include the intricate, almost Coltrane-esque guitar duel between bandleaders Tom Verlaine and Richard Lloyd on an incredible 15-minute version of “Little Johnny Jewel,” plus an equally lengthy and tormented reading of “Marquee Moon.”
Sound quality is extremely variable, but the spirit of the originators of the New York punk loft scene shines through, even on a relatively ordinary rendition of the Rolling Stones’ “Satisfaction.” Raw, dreamy, and ripe for rediscovery.
-Everett True
Here she be:
1992 – Television
Television was the group’s eponymous third official album, released in 1992, a full fourteen years after the band’s second studio album and subsequent break up in 1978.
Television, July 28, 2007
By 1992 the legendary status of Television, the seminal band that was culturally, if not musically, linked to New York’s C.B.G.B.’s, had surely grown, yet artistic influence be damned, a reunited Television still couldn’t crack the Billboard Top 200 with their first album in 14 years. “Television”, the group’s third studio album, barely announced itself with abstract cover art and eponymous title, nor does the music jump out and take over your head and body the way “Marquee Moon” (1977) does.
And, compared to their underrated second album, “Adventure” (1978), this is a more fleet and concise work, eschewing the langourous pace and watery keyboard/guitar textures. But unlike more successful peers such as Ramones, or Blondie, Tom Verlaine, Richard Lloyd, Fred Smith, and Billy Ficca successfully made a Television record for the 1990s that honors, and adds to, their legacy.
At first “Television” feels rather dry, and passes by pleasently enough; yet with familiarity it eventually reveals itself to be both timeless and unassuming, understated and sometimes gorgeous. More than a decade after its release I’m still hearing some new musical detail or emotional nuance whenever I play it.
With the band members in their forties, “Television” shows the New York quartet’s ‘maturity’ which is not a back-handed compliment, for the musical intelligence, clarity of purpose, and self-awareness is evident throughout its ten tracks. Sometimes they seem to be evolving material out of loose jams (“Rhyme”), but the overall impression is of an organic and rigorous musical conception.
And the songs, all of them memorable, give us Tom Verlaine in varied narrative personae, frequently exploring eroticism in a witty, appealing manner. The music is mostly made by guitars, bass, and drums (keyboards are less evident than on the Elektra albums), both stark and lush. Tom Verlaine’s songs, in which darkness, compassion, and playfulness all co-exist in a world that seems hermetic at first, but prove to be Verlaine at his more accessable and communicative.
The album certainly carries considerable emotional weight, yet many of the lyrics refer to literary and pop culture images from Verlaine’s youth (“Mars”, “The Rocket”, “Rhyme”). As stripped down as Nirvana’s contemporary “Nevermind” or “In Utero”, the sound is typically dryer, less crunchy and inviting, but like Lloyd’s superb solo debut “Alchemy” or Verlaine’s classic “Dreamtime” the record deserves close attentionj. In my case I decided it was a good, slightly disappointing, record after three or four plays, and left it alone for nearly a decade.
When I came back, after digging into Rhino’s expanded editions of the two Elektra albums and the wonderful, incendiery “At The Old Waldorf” live album, I was amazed to find just how fresh the production was, and how many melodies and riffs had stuck in my brain without my even knowing it. There was a rush of pleasure, hearing this rich, nuanced album that sounds better than ever, and deserves the status of a minor classic.
The riffs and melody lines are quintessential, if restrained, but do not feel sketchy or underdeveloped; the interlocking friction and lyricism of the guitars, and those exquisite solos – Lloyd’s almost mathematical yet stunning and physical in their impact, Verlaine’s more improvised yet heady, angular – and interplay are like stars piercing through a clear night – they shimmer and glow.
Verlaine and Lloyd, despite their publicized differences, are an amazing team, virtually telepathic, as inventive as ever yet more playful and allusive. They bring out the best in each other, and I only wish they made more records together. Fred Smith’s bass is as always supple and, on “Rhyme”, entrancing. And Billy Ficca is a master percussionist, adding something fresh to every track.
Unless you like “Marquee Moon” but have been put off by the rest of the band’s (or Verlaine’s) work, this recording is highly recommended. Too bad it, too, hasn’t been expanded – with three tracks issued on a French ep in ’92, or live material from the hard to find “Live At The Academy” set sold at gigs.
Reviews:
Tracklisting
- “1880 Or So” – 3:41
- “Shane, She Wrote This” – 4:21
- “In World” – 4:12
- “Call Mr. Lee” – 4:16
- “Rhyme” – 4:47
- “No Glamour for Willi” – 5:00
- “Beauty Trip” – 4:22
- “The Rocket” – 3:23
- “This Tune” – 3:42
- “Mars” – 4:56
All lyrics by Tom Verlaine; music composed by Television
Here she be:
Live at the Old Waldorf [Recorded live 1978]
Live at the Old Waldorf is a live album by Television that was recorded in 1978 on their last American tour date until their 1992 reunion.
Reviews
Tracklisting
- “The Dream’s Dream”
- “Venus”
- “Foxhole”
- “Careful”
- “Aint that Nothin’”
- “Little Johnny Jewel”
- “Friction”
- “Marquee Moon”
- “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction”
Here she be:
May 27, 2008
Posted by stupidand |
Music_Alternative, Music_DISCOGRAPHY, Music_PostPunk, Television, _MUSIC |
Leave a Comment
![[House_MD___Family_Guy_by_Jukkart.png]](http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_bjVjNlkwtQQ/SccPAfWZ8iI/AAAAAAAAIAI/D848DmWq5Wk/s1600-h/House_MD___Family_Guy_by_Jukkart.png)
