Re: (TV) coming out of the closet

["Joe Thornton" <joe.thornton@gmx.net>]

Trying to drag this back on topic, though maybe it's a lost cause (which is
not the attitude you'd get from Bono)...

U2 were hugely impressed by Television in the 1970s (as was Bob Geldof). I 
think it's interesting to discern the influences there. The Edge (along with 
other good musicians, especially in Britain) didn't try to ape the
Lloyd/Verlaine sound, while he recognized the value of "slow but subtle" 
guitar-playing. He found an alternative, distinctive path, which suited the 
band well, playing to their strengths -- Bono's vocals, a single but 
powerful guitar, and a consistent sympathetic rhythm section (looking even 
more consistent with every passing year).

Having said that, I have to agree with (probably) most people here that,
with a lot of their music, you can't see the point. But time and time again
they rescue themselves with their energy and staying power, even if they'll
never have the sheer unquantifiable, unpredictable creativity of Television.
I'm not a U2 fan, haven't bought a U2 album for ages (though I'll probably
buy the new one now), but...

On another tangent, with little basis for saying so, I like to discern an
indirect Television influence in the music of David Sylvian and Japan. In
1980 they forged their own distinctive path, discarding guitars almost
completely, as if to say "Television have cornered that sound, though they
showed that great innovation is still possible in rock music." Check out
Japan's "Gentlemen Take Polaroids" and "Tin Drum".

Later, Sylvian started to play guitar a lot more (while Tom Verlaine started
to use keyboards more, well, until the mid-eighties) but in "slow but
subtle" ways. Which leads me to one of my favourite albums -- Sylvian's Dead
Bees On A Cake, which features Bill Frisell among others. 60 of its 70
minutes are a joy. There's even a sample of the Mahavishnu Orchestra there.
Frisell is also on Sylvian's double album Everything & Nothing, which is
also very fine.

Among the limited number of great albums that came from rock musicians
discarding the guitar-based sound I would also count Peter Gabriel's
Passion. (The Allan Schwartzberg interview reminded me of PG.)

--JoeT
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