TV Guide to 'Marquee Moon'
Wednesday, August 17, 2011
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Cover of "Marquee Moon" by Television (Television/Amazon.com)
The New York City band Television made their debut in 1977 with the album, Marquee Moon. The now-canonical record has been called "one of the all-time classic guitar albums” (Rolling Stone) and “the first punk jam album” (Spin). While punk cohorts like Patti Smith revisit the age through memoir, the writer Bryan Waterman has taken the documentarian’s approach. He recently explored the myth and music of Television - and the New York scene they inhabited - for the 33 1/3 book series. He joins us in studio for a fresh look at a seminal album.
Listeners: What is Marquee Moon's place in rock history? Leave a comment below.
- Television's "Marquee Moon" on Amazon
- Bryan Waterman's "Television: Marquee Moon (33 1/3)" on Amazon
Comments [11]
This album, along with The Clash's London Calling, show the broad range of what Punk could be musically. Some may think Ramones and Sex Pistols, but these albums have depth and appeal that remains 30+ years later.
If you judge an album's seminal nature by the amount of albums it influences, Marquee Moon is at the top of the heap. In the 30-plus years since the album was released it's been a beacon for punk, post-punk, indie-rock, and prog-rock bands. Marquee Moon is a revelation. I play it and XTC's English Settlement in my car all the time. Both are very underrated in the U.S.
Marquee Moon, best bang for your buck on a juke box!!!
Marquee Moon, best bang for your buck on a juke box!!!
I love, love, love Television. I have their albums in every format possible. And they were very original for the 1970s. Only got to see Tom Verlaine as a solo act in the 1980s.
BUT, #4 of all albums? I don't think so. It would be in my Top 50. Somewhere maybe in the 30s.
This record is timeless. Every time I revisit after not having heard it from some time it sounds fresh and new. I also agree with Ben. This record reeks of nyc in the 70's real and imagined.
Marquee Moon is a perfectly transcendental album. It's not punk, it's not program, it just is. The song Marquee Moon has gotten me through so many long overnight drives in the van.
I know Richard Lloyd, and when I told him I was reading Waterman's book, you should've seen the look on his face. Absolute disgust. Hell is all over the book, and not at all on the album. Richard Lloyd however is a major force on this record and only gets a few passing mentions.
it could not be more important...
Perfect soundtrack of a great time to be alive and in NYC.
Saw Tom & Co. at the Bottom Line waaay back when. I'm not sure this was the right venue - CBGB's was that surely. Enjoyed the show, got in our car, and who do we see strolling alongside NYU? Mr. Tom Verlaine himself. We wanted to ask if he wanted a lift, but we knew Tom would just blow us off.
This record changed my life.
I can't believe that back in 1979, WNEW radio would play Elevation, but play it they did. It didn't sound like ANYTHING else you could hear at the time. Haunting, introspective, smart, downtown.
It is so rooted in late 1970s New York City and I still can't stop listening to it.
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