Re: (TV) New Book / Movie? / Television for the masses / Johnny / Johnny Cash / Watching the reruns / Of M*A*S*H

[Rex Broome <rexbroome@gmail.com>]

On 12/7/05, Keith Allison <keith@marquee.demon.co.uk> wrote:

> Agreed.
> I am, in fact, working on a book about this stuff, but the problem is -
> do you write it for the 200 people who care or do you aim it at everyone
> else who doesn't care? If the former, then where's the selling point? If
> the latter, then maybe it ends up as being about "the band who invented
> punk" which, frankly, is not only wrong but a waste of time.



Couple of thoughts.. first, this list is really good reading lately...

I wonder if a possible angle to creating the "accessible" book about
Television might not be "the band who invented punk rock for three minutes
and then got bored and did something else", at least not any more.  Maybe
the trick would be talking to a lot of the many, many better-known musicians
across the years who adore the band and freely cite them as influences (and
might therefore consent to interviews).  Yes, it would be a kind of
starf*cker approach, but at least some such musicians would probably have
some real insightful things to say about the band... I mean, you could go
from Bono and Pete Buck to, I dunno, the guys from Bloc Party or Wilco.  And
go heavy on interviewing the people who wer there at the time, because
that's what the rest of want (and would draw in fans of the other artist of
the scene, 'cuz I know fans of Patti, the Ramones, Talking Heads, Blondie,
and hell, Sonic Youth etc. who only know Television by name).  Just a
thought.

Also, I think that these days "Rock Books" serve a little different function
than they used to, because of the internet.  Anyone really interested in the
minutiae of any given artist can find extensive online resources and
information about them (some artists being better served than others, and
thanks, Keith) or join lists like this.  So there's more of a premium on a
book being a "book" that entertains and enlightens in its own right. I have
some old rock books that I was happy to buy and read at the time, but by
today's standards they'd barely pass muster as a blog (for example, one on
Neil Young where the author confesses to not bothering to listen to Neil's
'80's/Geffen records out of lack of interest-- dude, at least pretend).  So
you really want to produce something that's worth reading on its own merits,
or at least unusual enough to be involving.

Having recently seen "Walk The Line" (and being a huge Cash fan), I can't
help but think along the same lines: if you were to make the Television
*movie* (narrative feature, not documentary), you wouldn't have the same
dramatic/tragic through-line as Cash or Dylan or whomever.  It would almost
inevitably turn into the Richard Hell Story, I fear (cf. Sid & Nancy, the
upcoming Germs feature, etc.)... so what would you do?  And for that matter
who would you cast?

(Nobody will ever make "Marquee Moon: The Motion Picture", but I bet we will
see either a fictionalized Patti Smith or Ramones movie, or a "24 Hour Party
People"-type film about the CBGB scene.  I would bet the latter would barely
focus on Television but would include a scene where, like, David Byrne and
Chris Frantz are trying to convince Debbie Harry to join their band, and in
the background you'd see and hear some new-school post-punk band like, say,
Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, pretending to be Television, just like Yo La Tengo
pretended to be the Velvets in that Doors movie...)

-Rex
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