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Re: (TV) Intro to TV



OK... my intro to TV:

The summer of 1993 I was working 6 days a week at two different jobs; I had
lots of spending money but no free time. Having listened on and off to various
classic UK punk groups over the previous years (I had really lo-fi tape copies
of the two BURNING AMBITIONS compilations back in high school, and earlier in
1993 a friend had turned me on to NEVERMIND THE BOLLOCKS, causing me to buy a
slew of lo-fi Sex Pistols bootlegs and compilations) I finally decided to learn
more about the period, and started by reading (most of) Jon Savage's "England's
Burning". 

I thought the book was pretty bad, but it had a terrific discography, and after
hearing about bands like the Stooges and the New York Dolls for years from
sources as varied as REM and Steve Jones, I finally decided to start buying
albums NOT simply because I'd already heard them through a friend or on the
radio, but on the recommendations of musicians/songwriters I already liked
(something I continue to do to this day) or on the recommendations of music
buffs with similar tastes. I initially used Savage's discography as a guide,
and for all of the albums I bought that summer (limited only by the spotty
availability, in 1993, of much prime 1970s material on CD) I had a high success
ratio... among some of the bands I really got hooked on were the NY Dolls, the
Stooges, early Talking Heads, the Adverts, Joy Division, early PIL, Elvis' Sun
Sessions (yes, it's in Savage's discography), X-Ray Spex, the Buzzcocks, the
Heartbreakers, early 70s Bowie, etc. Bands I couldn't find in print I filed
away in my head for later, and over successive years I would find the
Undertones, the Saints, NUGGETS, Wire, etc. all as a result of that
discography.

So, anyhow, one night in the summer of 1993 I bought both MARQUEE MOON and
BLANK GENERATION at the Newbury Comics in Harvard Square. Both were bargain bin
CDs. (Maybe the best $16 I ever spent?). Initially, I was MUCH more hooked by
BLANK GENERATION than MM, although it would take me years to really appreciate
stuff like "Liars Beware" and "Walking on the Water" which I initially ignored.
I liked MARQUEE MOON, too - like another list member, I was so used to punk
'vocals' that I didn't mind Verlaine's voice at all - but I definitely wasn't
hooked yet. It would be a few more months, in the Fall of 1993, when I really
got hooked by MARQUEE MOON (initially by "Venus") and bought ADVENTURE at the
local Sam Goody (hey, New Haven's a pretty dire place for record stores - Sam
Goody *was* the hip store...) and *really* got hooked - I must have played
"Glory" for days on end. From there, I posted a Usenet message asking for
reviews on THE BLOW UP before I bought it. I got a response from one Owen
Gwilliam, who also suggested I find their 1992 reunion album, and my fandom was
in full swing.

It was only a few short weeks before I tracked down the DOUBLE EXPOSURE bootleg
and started hunting down Tom Verlaine solo albums...

Of course, my major regret is that I got into Television exactly one year late.
They played in New Haven, not five minutes from where I lived, in the Fall of
1992... ack.

--Philip


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