PopTodd Posted January 25, 2008 Share Posted January 25, 2008 Is there a better guitar song in the history of rock? I can't think of one. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Littlebear Posted January 25, 2008 Share Posted January 25, 2008 Is there a better guitar song in the history of rock? I can't think of one. Either me! It also applies to the whole album. Now that was a real innovative band. You count them on both hands fingers at best. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
jff Posted January 25, 2008 Share Posted January 25, 2008 Despite listening to Marquee Moon probably 1,000 times over the last 10 years, I've only recently discovered how minimalistic many of the rhythm guitar parts are. I wish more bands would learn how powerful and full you can sound as a band when some of the band is playing very little. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Sir Stewart Posted January 25, 2008 Share Posted January 25, 2008 I should really own this album. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
bjorn_skurj Posted January 25, 2008 Share Posted January 25, 2008 It's a good one. I lost my copy of it some time ago. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
PopTodd Posted January 25, 2008 Author Share Posted January 25, 2008 Oh, and speaking of amazing guitar players from New York City:http://youtube.com/watch?v=MquZLRdhRUE Quote Link to post Share on other sites
stooka Posted January 25, 2008 Share Posted January 25, 2008 Marquee Moon was among the heavyweight releases that erupted in 1977! I surpised to find out Mapplethorpe shot the cover - it bein' color and all. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Sweet Papa Crimbo Posted January 25, 2008 Share Posted January 25, 2008 Oh, and speaking of amazing guitar players from New York City:http://youtube.com/watch?v=MquZLRdhRUE Robert Quine...werd Quote Link to post Share on other sites
yermom Posted January 25, 2008 Share Posted January 25, 2008 Definitely a fantastic song. One of those that grabs you from the get go and holds on...then when it ends, you play it again. Timeless awesomeness. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
trevor Posted January 25, 2008 Share Posted January 25, 2008 great album. probably one of the greatest title tracks ever, too. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
BigWheeledWagon Posted January 26, 2008 Share Posted January 26, 2008 An amazing song. The interplay between Tom Verlaine and Richard Lloyd is unreal. They really subvert the whole rhythm/lead guitarist dynamic, and it's incredible how their guitar parts weave in and out of each other, creating intriguing nuances and subtle harmonies. On every song on that album it seems that the sum of the parts is greater than the whole. Not that each isn't an amazing guitar player in his own right -- I certainly can't imagine Matthew Sweet's "Girlfriend" album without Lloyd's guitar. His distinct sound made that album. Speaking of this dynamic, I recall Jeff saying during the run-up to "A Ghost is Born" that he'd been listening to al ot of Television and thought the album would sound like it. Of course, the influence really becomes much more apparent on the newest album -- especially "Impossible Germany." I also recall that in the Greg Kott book, Jay Bennett provided a story about "Marquee Moon" triggering a panic attack for Jeff and Jay having to guide him through it. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Littlebear Posted January 26, 2008 Share Posted January 26, 2008 An amazing song. The interplay between Tom Verlaine and Richard Lloyd is unreal. They really subvert the whole rhythm/lead guitarist dynamic, and it's incredible how their guitar parts weave in and out of each other, creating intriguing nuances and subtle harmonies. On every song on that album it seems that the sum of the parts is greater than the whole. Not that each isn't an amazing guitar player in his own right -- I certainly can't imagine Matthew Sweet's "Girlfriend" album without Lloyd's guitar. His distinct sound made that album. Speaking of this dynamic, I recall Jeff saying during the run-up to "A Ghost is Born" that he'd been listening to al ot of Television and thought the album would sound like it. Of course, the influence really becomes much more apparent on the newest album -- especially "Impossible Germany." I also recall that in the Greg Kott book, Jay Bennett provided a story about "Marquee Moon" triggering a panic attack for Jeff and Jay having to guide him through it. Thanks for the story about Jeff and Marquee Moon, I didn't know that, and yes, the influence is obvious in the last two studio albums. now I have some difficulties to understand this sentence: "On every song on that album it seems that the sum of the parts is greater than the whole." ??? What does that mean? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Oil Can Boyd Posted January 26, 2008 Share Posted January 26, 2008 Is there a better guitar song in the history of rock? I can't think of one.It's also pretty good with just strings. Have you ever heard the Kronos Quartet cover? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
nosmokeinthelungs Posted January 26, 2008 Share Posted January 26, 2008 Anybody else catch the Television and Apples in Stereo Summerstage show in Central Park last summer? It was killer, even though it rained a bit. Supposedly it was a farewell performance for Television as a collective. When they hit the first few chords of this riff, it shook the whole east side of the Park. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
markosis Posted January 26, 2008 Share Posted January 26, 2008 I wish more bands would learn how powerful and full you can sound as a band when some of the band is playing very little. As I am listening to CAN's Future Days at this very moment, I have to say I fully agree. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
BigWheeledWagon Posted January 27, 2008 Share Posted January 27, 2008 Thanks for the story about Jeff and Marquee Moon, I didn't know that, and yes, the influence is obvious in the last two studio albums. now I have some difficulties to understand this sentence: "On every song on that album it seems that the sum of the parts is greater than the whole." ??? What does that mean? Sorry. I typed that in backward -- the expression is that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. It means that there is something intangible about the combination that makes it better than just the individual contributions. Let's say that you were to rate the performance of each guitarist, and you gave them each a 7 out of 10. So, you would think that the combination of these performances would be a 14 out of 20; however, due to the way these parts integrate and compliment each other, you would rate the overall combination as a 19 out of 20. In other words, as great as the individual performances are, they are better when combined. As far as the story from "Learning How to Die," I believe Kott attributed it to Jay Bennett, so as much as I appreciate Jay's contributions to the band, you have to take the story with a grain of salt. Kott interviewed him after his departure from Wilco, and he clearly still had some issues about it at the time, and many of his stories seemed to be focused on establishing his importance in the evolution of Wilco. I think he said that Jeff had ingested a bunch of pot brownies on a van ride down to New Orleans and started freaking out while listening to "Marquee Moon." He then talked about how he guided Jeff through this panic attack and how this formed a special bond between the two that established his role as Jeff's writing partner and spiritual brother-in-arms. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Szabo Posted January 27, 2008 Share Posted January 27, 2008 One of my favorite songs of all time. I've always thought "Kicking Television" was an ode to Television, however I've never read that in an interview or anything, just my own thoughts. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
sandanista! Posted January 27, 2008 Share Posted January 27, 2008 ha love the song, right there with you but what is that video? lol. Also now that you mention it, the influence on sky blue sky is impossible not to see...now its really bothering me that one of my all time favorite albums (marquee moon) is responsible for the stuff about sky blue sky i don't like Quote Link to post Share on other sites
LouieB Posted January 27, 2008 Share Posted January 27, 2008 As far as the story from "Learning How to Die," I believe Kott attributed it to Jay Bennett, I guess I have a good reason to never getting around to reading this......yikes.... LouieB Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Guest Golyadkin Posted January 27, 2008 Share Posted January 27, 2008 Great album... Great song Quote Link to post Share on other sites
PopTodd Posted January 28, 2008 Author Share Posted January 28, 2008 It's also pretty good with just strings. Have you ever heard the Kronos Quartet cover? Yes. That is one of the main reasons I picked up that (sadly, middling) Rub Quote Link to post Share on other sites
bigideas Posted February 8, 2008 Share Posted February 8, 2008 i've read and evern seen this album in stores over the years and finally listened to the clips on Amazon - it sounded great! next time i see it, i'll pick it up. i wonder if early Talking Heads was an influence on them? also, i don't know if it's mentioned in reviews for Franz Ferdinand albums, but Television seems to have a huge influence on them. how are the rest of the Television albums?all i ever hear about is Marquee Moon. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
PopTodd Posted February 8, 2008 Author Share Posted February 8, 2008 i've read and evern seen this album in stores over the years and finally listened to the clips on Amazon - it sounded great! next time i see it, i'll pick it up. i wonder if early Talking Heads was an influence on them? also, i don't know if it's mentioned in reviews for Franz Ferdinand albums, but Television seems to have a huge influence on them. how are the rest of the Television albums?all i ever hear about is Marquee Moon. A: They were contemporaries of Talking Heads, so I imagine the influence was probably mutual.B: The other (2) Television albums are good, but not as good as MM. Still, if you like the first, they are difinately worth checking out. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
jff Posted February 8, 2008 Share Posted February 8, 2008 i've read and evern seen this album in stores over the years and finally listened to the clips on Amazon - it sounded great! next time i see it, i'll pick it up. i wonder if early Talking Heads was an influence on them? also, i don't know if it's mentioned in reviews for Franz Ferdinand albums, but Television seems to have a huge influence on them. how are the rest of the Television albums?all i ever hear about is Marquee Moon. The other Television albums are "Adventure" from 1978 and their self-titled reunion album from the early '90s. Both are good records, but are not as good as Marquee Moon. EVERYONE seems to agree on that. They also have a live double album called "Blow Up". I haven't heard it, other than one or two tunes, but it's supposed to be good. I don't detect any obvious influence from Talking Heads, but I'm sure they influenced each other in some way since they were part of the same supposedly tight-knit scene. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
PopTodd Posted February 8, 2008 Author Share Posted February 8, 2008 The other Television albums are "Adventure" from 1978 and their self-titled reunion album from the early '90s. Both are good records, but are not as good as Marquee Moon. EVERYONE seems to agree on that. They also have a live double album called "Blow Up". I haven't heard it, other than one or two tunes, but it's supposed to be good. I don't detect any obvious influence from Talking Heads, but I'm sure they influenced each other in some way since they were part of the same supposedly tight-knit scene. Oh yeah, THE BLOW UP!!!That is a phenominal record, that would be at least as good as Marquee Moon, if not for the disgraceful, bootleg sound quality. I mean, it's listenable, but just barely.The version of "Little Johnny Jewel" that's on there is totally explosive.I just have my old cassette (or, rather, had it... I lost it), so I need to pick up the CD reissue, which only came out a couple of years ago. But I think that's even out of print already. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.