Re: (TV) City Lights & Tom Verlaine

[SCOTT ALDRICH <scott.aldrich@worldnet.att.net>]

According to Clinton Heylin's book, Television were completely convinced
Talking Heads were ripping them off. This is true in their image and perhaps
in the unadorned twangy Fender guitar sound, but Television always have
seemed to be associated with psychedelic garage music a la the Velvet
Underground, while the Talking Heads were much more interested in bubblegum
pop like 1910 Fruitgum Company and soul music, as well as quirky retro
1950's and 60's kitschy suburban television (as in the medium) culture. In
this sense, they were a quintessential "new wave" band, like the B-52's.
Television to me were always about musicianship and personal expression, a
sort of lower East side urban surrealist poetry meets Nuggets. Their image
had a superficial connection to the New Wave era, at least to me. I always
supposed Verlaine wanting to get rid of Hell had to do with Hell's desire to
be part of the New Wave scene. Didn't Robert Quine say something about Hell
never being sure whether he wanted to be a pop star like Elvis Costello or
sit at home doing nothing (read: be a poet) ?

Scott



> From: Alsnow4750@aol.com
> Reply-To: tv@obbard.com
> Date: Sun, 18 Feb 2001 09:02:53 EST
> To: tv@obbard.com
> Subject: Re: (TV) City Lights & Tom Verlaine
> 
> In a message dated 2/18/01 3:34:45 AM Eastern Standard Time,
> poriver@hotmail.com writes:
> 
> << e, 13 Feb 2001 14:32:21 -0500
>> 
>> Hey, in BOC's defense (not that they'd care), they're a pretty under-rated
>> proto-metal band that rate pretty well with Motorhead or other early metal
>> bands. And just to be perverse, when I first heard Marquee Moon,
>> particularly side two (Elevation, Prove It, et al) I thought there was a
>> kind of BOC feel (like the sinewy guitars of Don't Fear The Reaper) which
>> I'm sure wasn't intentional but they were in the air in that era.  BOC
>> always felt kind of Doors-y to me, and Television definitely had that
>> Elektra Records, "The End" kind of feel. Allen Lanier had also just
>> produced
>> 
> 
> I know from talking to Verlaine back then (and other published reports) that
> he was aware that a lot of stuff was being "taken" from Television stuff back
> then.  Guitar bits being used in BOC, Bryan Ferry Lps, and  Lou Reed who came
> to cbgbs tape recorder in hand!! another funny thing was I was backstage at
> CBGBs at one point (such as it was) and Talking Heads were playing and I was
> talking to Tom and then they played something they called the Talking Heads
> theme!! and it was a total cop of one of television's early songs!!! so yeah
> there  was a big influence...I still have the tape where Verlaine is saying
> that!!
> 
> 
> Jim Laneo
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