A Short Column About Music 11.21.08: Television - Marquee Moon

Posted by Andrew Moll on 11.21.2008

Life in the hive puckered up my night. The kiss of death, the embrace of life. There I stand 'neath the Marquee Moon... just waiting.

I watched a bit of the TRL finale the other night, and I have to say it was much more enjoyable than I thought it would be. It was nice to have a little trip down memory lane for a couple hours there. Lord knows it's been years since I'd heard "Bawitdaba" or "I Want It That Way." I guess this also means that I'll never have to hear most of those songs again, which is a plus. Also, it was amusing to hear them talk about the show being on for ten years, when I seem to remember Carson Daly hosting the show from some small dark room in about 1997, but I'm getting old so it may not be true. So, farewell, TRL. We hardly knew ye.






The greatest punk album of all-time wasn't made by kids in leather jackets or Brits praising anarchy. Nor did it feature two-minute songs showcasing minimal musical ability. Instead, the greatest punk album of all-time might not even really be a "punk" album at all. It's a straight-up guitar record, and a great one at that.



Television - Marquee Moon
Released: February 1977
Tracklisting:
1. See No Evil
2. Venus
3. Friction
4. Marquee Moon
5. Elevation
6. Guiding Light
7. Prove It
8. Torn Curtain


The year was 1973 and in New York City a small club named CBGB's opened in Manhattan. Over the rest of the decade, the club would become known as the haven of the up and coming punk music scene. Bands and artists like Patti Smith, The Ramones, Blondie, Talking Heads, and The Police all played there, giving the club a reputation as the place for a punk band to play. But one band not always mentioned as one that paved the way not only for CBGB's, but the American punk scene in general, is a band that literally helped build the stage that so many notable bands would play on through the years: Television. The band was formed in 1973 by longtime friends Tom Verlaine and Richard Hell, after their earlier band, the Neon Boys, had broken up. With Verlaine and Richard Lloyd on guitar, Hell on bass, and Billy Ficca on drums, the band became a regular at both CBGB's and Max's Kansas City, another club in NYC. But over time, friction began to develop with Hell and the other members, as he became increasingly erratic onstage and did not progress musically as his band mates had. Hell would leave the band in 1975 and go on to front both The Heartbreakers and Richard Hell and the Voidoids, who would release the classic album Blank Generation. That same year Television, with former Blondie bassist Fred Smith now in the band, released the "Little Johnny Jewel" single and it showcased the guitar style of Verlaine and Lloyd that the band would become known for.

The band's style borrowed from the different aspects of 1960s rock music, from the punk influence of the Velvet Underground, to garage rock, to The Grateful Dead and their jazzy guitar stylings. Elektra Records was impressed by what they heard on "Little Johnny Jewel" and signed the band to a deal. Television's debut album would be named Marquee Moon and be released in February 1977. Verlaine and Lloyd take center stage right from the opening notes of "See No Evil." The twin guitar attack showcases their complex interplay, but at no point do the guitars overwhelm the song. Throughout the track, there is a driving energy from the band that keeps everything exciting as the band show a unique attitude and approach. There is no posturing or guitar-noodling going here; rather there are four accomplished musicians unafraid to show what they can do. At the same time, though, Television knew how to write a great rock song, and that's exactly what "See No Evil" is. It almost feels like there's a nervous energy in the song, like the band isn't quite sure what to do with everything they've held inside. But it all comes through in the raucous call-and-response chorus.

Things calm down a bit on "Venus" which is Verlaine's tribute to days gone by and time spent hanging out with old friends, like Richard Hell. Verlaine sings with nostalgia about times when he saw the world differently, a world where New York was the big, crazy place that one had to see to believe. As he sings in the second verse, "Broadway looked so medieval." In the last verse of the song, Verlaine tells a story about him and Hell when they were younger, singing "Then Richie, Richie said: ‘Hey man let's dress up like cops, think of what we could do!'/But something, something said ‘you better not.'" Through all of this we see some of the band's wittiness come through, especially in the chorus. The rest of the band is on backup vocals, asking Verlaine, "Did you feel low?" Verlaine replies, "Not at all." This inspires an incredulous "Huh?!" from the band. But, as Verlaine explains, he "fell right into the arms of Venus de Milo," with the imagery obvious. There is an emotional quality to the song that wasn't always found in punk music. Television's style of songwriting fit this emotion perfectly, as they were able to provide the perfect backdrop to Verlaine's lyrics. Not to mention, there is more great guitar work on this song, as well as great jazz drumming from Ficca.



"Venus"


"Friction" features one of the best opening guitar lines of all-time, leading into a song full of Verlaine's poetic lyrics, with lyrics that may not add to up to much to the listener, but contains numerous couplets that are memorable and genius. Lyrics like, "My eyes are like telescopes/I see it all backwards: but who wants hope?/If I ever catch that ventriloquist/I'll squeeze his head right into my fist" are delivered with such genuine abandon that they immediately become meaningful. Verlaine is also able to slip some tongue-in-cheek innuendo into the song, singing "I start to spin the tale/You complain of my dic…tion." Never let it be said that Television didn't have a sense of humor. It should be noted too that Lloyd is tremendous on this song, with an awesome solo and a riff that sees him traveling down the fret board in a memorable way. All in a all, it's song full of attitude, especially towards the end of the song when Verlaine sings simply "F-R-I-C-T-I-O-N" It's all in the way he spells the word out that makes it one of the coolest moments on the album.

The title track, on the other hand, is not only the best song on the album, but one of the greatest rock songs ever written. It's nearly eleven minutes of musical mastery and features probably the best guitar work ever put to tape. Verlaine and Lloyd's interplay is stunning all through the song. The song's psychedelic-inspired guitar work matches perfectly with Verlaine's elliptical lyrics. Every line in the song is a memorable one, and each couplet stands out as a great lyric. The song is about an evaluation of one's life and where one is looking to go in the years to come. Verlaine sings, "I spoke to a man down at the tracks/I asked him how he don't go mad/He said ‘Look here junior, don't you be so happy/And for Heaven's sake, don't you be so sad.'" One gets the vision of Verlaine walking down a NYC street late at night contemplating his life when you hear the chorus go "Life in the hive puckered up my night/The kiss of death, the embrace of life/There I stand ‘neath the Marquee Moon." You can envision him under a bright New York light, advertising a big show, and Verlaine looking to the "marquee moon" for answers. It's also important that he amends each chorus with an additional line, from "just waiting," to "hesitating", but finally finishing with "I ain't waiting," as if he's found the answer he had been looking for. But the real highlight of the song is the guitar work. Lloyd gets a short solo after the second verse, but it's Verlaine's solo that takes up half of the song that stands out. In fact, if I had to choose the best example of guitar rock ever recorded, I would submit Verlaine's five minute solo in "Marquee Moon." Every time you hear it, it still maintains its impact. The solo starts off quietly, but Verlaine builds and builds and the band follows suit. By the end of the jam you're waiting for it all to break and it finally does. But then the drums start back up, then bass, then the guitars for one last chorus that finishes the song perfectly. If you take nothing else away from this column, just listen to "Marquee Moon." Believe me, you won't be disappointed.



"Marquee Moon"


It's difficult to follow something like that, but Television does a fine job with "Elevation." The lyrics once again look at the subject of one's place in life. There is another blistering guitar solo, and fortunately they don't try to one up "Marquee Moon" in any way, but especially with the solo. At the end, Verlaine impassionedly sings, "Our lips are sealed, our breath is burning/These cold wild seas have left us turning/But I sleep light on these shores tonight/I live light on these shores," before pleading, "Elevation, don't go to my head." It's not a blow away song, but still a worthy effort. The ballad "Guiding Light" is next, and it looks at the same subject as the previous two songs. Lloyd's solo fits the song's emotional state perfectly as the drama builds over the duration of the song. Verlaine finishes the song with "Guiding light, guiding light/Guiding thru these nights" before Lloyd ends the song with more masterful guitar work.

The theme of searching for something is again important to "Prove It" but this time Television takes a more playful approach to it, with the metaphor of a detective attempting to solve a case. The start and stop chorus goes "Prove it…just the facts…confidential." Verlaine does his best at being a 1960s detective with his faux-seriousness. He also lets his emotion show, telling of the "case that I've been working on so long, so long." Verlaine has another jaunty solo in this one before finishing the song on another humorous note, proclaiming "This case is closed." It's a moment that shows the band's wit, which is placed all throughout the album. There's not much funny about the album's closer, however. "Torn Curtain" is an extraordinary song that finishes the album as well as any song has ever finished an album. It opens with a drum fill before the rest of the band comes in and immediately it stands out from the other tracks on the album; it's much more vulnerable, no longer protected by a cool detachment or witty wordplay. In the first verse Verlaine sings, "Torn Curtain reveals another play/Torn Curtain, such an expose/I'm uncertain when beauty meets abuse/Torn Curtain loves all ridicule." Then the chorus hits it's dripping with melodrama, but the good kind. When the other songs don't reach this level of emotion, it helps this song stand out as something different. What's not different however is the guitar work. The solo on this song builds the tension before coming back down to join the dramatic fray. One last chorus proclaims, "Tears, tears, rolling back the years/Years, years, holding back the tears/Tears, tears, rolling back the years/Years, years, the years I've seen before." The solo that continues for the last two minutes of the song is one of the album's great moments as it swirls around while the rest of the band keeps the melody and drama grounded, providing an incredible emotional moment to the song. It's an amazingly cathartic song, one that leaves you breathless as it fades out to end the album.



"Torn Curtain"


There's a reason that Marquee Moon continues to appear on numerous lists of the greatest albums of all-time, and that's because the songs hold up today as well as they ever did. The songs don't belong to a certain period or location like some punk music does. The songs are timeless. You're unlikely to ever hear a better guitar record than this one, as Tom Verlaine and Richard Lloyd's guitar interplay is stunning. They took jazz, punk, garage, and psychedelic influences and made something out of it, something that was unique and epic. Songs like "Venus' and the title track still stand out because of how amazingly they were written and then executed. For perfection in guitar and punk rock, look no further than Marquee Moon.