'Marquee Moon' LP is overrated

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What a dumb choice for an album to attempt to dismiss. It's not like many people have even heard it. The fucking thing never sold more than like 100,000 copies.

"Marquee Moon" too long? That's impossible. On The Blow-Up, even though the sound sucks, it's 14:45 and too short. On Live At The Old Waldorf, it sounds amazing, and at 15:45, I'm still wanting more. There's a live disc in Tom Verlaine's A Miller's Tale compilation that has incredible sound, with a 13:58 version. It's not nearly long enough. The song has reached over 17 minutes, but I don't know of any recordings of it. Plenty of rockers have been inspired by John Coltrane, from The Byrds to John McLaughlin & Carlos Santana's Love, Devotion, Surrender (1972), and nothing beats "Marquee Moon." The very first chords hit that rare sweet spot that never fail to send chills up the spine. It's eerie, a little melancholy, electrifying.

Television has inspired plenty of obsessive acolytes, including The Feelies, Felt, and more recently, Sonic Youth (hear "Rain On Tin"). Yet nothing quite matches Marquee Moon's peculiar dry guitar sound and telepathic, serpentine interplay. Overrated? Fucking hogwash. Just try to find an album that surpasses what Marquee Moon accomplished.

― Fastnbulbous (Fastnbulbous), Thursday, 12 October 2006 15:46 (nineteen years ago)

fastnbulbous otm - this album owns all

― j blount (papa la bas), Thursday, 12 October 2006 15:53 (nineteen years ago)

Marquee Moon is the ultimate expression of what two guitars can really do together. The meshing, the intertwining - guitar parts alternately careening, sometimes colliding, and sometimes nuzzling together like sated lovers.
Very few bands have come close to capturing this sort of synergistic brilliance. Early Treepeople, perhaps. Hot Snakes? It's a fine art, and Lloyd and Verlaine were the absolute masters of this art.

-- Brooker Buckingham (brooker...), October 12th, 2006. (Brooker B)

OH YEAH ASSHOLE, YOUVE HEARD A TON OF MUSIC

― Maf54 (plsmith), Thursday, 12 October 2006 16:00 (nineteen years ago)

I saw the Feelies, OK, Glenn Mercer, Dave Weckerman, Brenda Sauter, Vinny Dinunzio and a guitarist who wasn't Bill Million capably standing in playing at Maxwells a few weeks ago, Glenn as a solo artist performs w/ Dave and Vinny and Brenda's band was opening, anyway, they covered See No Evil and goddamn did they look like they were having fun.

― Dan Selzer (Dan Selzer), Thursday, 12 October 2006 16:15 (nineteen years ago)

http://musicangle.com/upload_images/PhotoGallery/The%20Allman.jpg

― Maf54 (plsmith), Thursday, 12 October 2006 16:17 (nineteen years ago)

Hey the Hot Snakes have some pretty awesome dueling guitar riffs! Don't fuck with that.

― Zwan (miccio), Thursday, 12 October 2006 16:22 (nineteen years ago)

i mean i like both bands ok

― Maf54 (plsmith), Thursday, 12 October 2006 16:25 (nineteen years ago)

Never understood the 'genius' of Marquee Moon, massively overrated.

― zeus (zeus), Thursday, 12 October 2006 16:27 (nineteen years ago)

I gotta admit, its musically questionable connections with "punk" made it one of the slower-burners of my canon-grabs back in high school.

― Zwan (miccio), Thursday, 12 October 2006 16:33 (nineteen years ago)

I forget if it was Bangs or Meltzer (or Meltzer quoting Bangs or vica versa) who had the thing about seeing a bunch of people applaud Television as they reached the end of its scale run on "MM" like it was the goddamn Grateful Dead.

― Zwan (miccio), Thursday, 12 October 2006 16:37 (nineteen years ago)

zwan get the blow up - fuxxor owns all

― j blount (papa la bas), Thursday, 12 October 2006 16:37 (nineteen years ago)

Hey, I only got Adventure (GREAT hangover music) a year ago because of said slow burn. I'll definitely grab BU if I see it cheap some day.

― Zwan (miccio), Thursday, 12 October 2006 16:39 (nineteen years ago)

If Marquee Moon is overrated than Adventure is seriously underrated. Mostly because it followed the greatest guitar album ever ; )

― cosmo vitelli (cosmo vitelli), Thursday, 12 October 2006 16:47 (nineteen years ago)

And guitars are pretty phallic.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=WInKHEhRrvM

― mcd (mcd), Thursday, 12 October 2006 16:54 (nineteen years ago)

Um, yeah, The Allman Brothers. Good example, but different. A looser mesh. I'd say Quicksilver Messenger Service and Grateful Dead, both of whom were influences on Verlaine, are better examples from that era.

Don't forget the Hampton Grease Band and the Beefheart with the Magic Band.

― Brooker Buckingham (Brooker B), Thursday, 12 October 2006 17:24 (nineteen years ago)

Dan OTM regarding The Feelies.

Luna had some incredible dual guitar moments, but obv. derivative of VU, Television, Feelies.

― Brooker Buckingham (Brooker B), Thursday, 12 October 2006 17:25 (nineteen years ago)

i have to admit i was pretty disappointed in this when i first bought it as a teenager, after reading about it in a million places. the mix wasn't bassy enough and i thought verlaine sounded like gordon gano!

i came around, tho. totally love it. "friction" is an amazing song, all the individual pieces are great and they fit together so well, but there's still all this space between them. i hardly think of Tv even having "riffs."

― geoff (gcannon), Thursday, 12 October 2006 17:29 (nineteen years ago)

The guitars are surely intertwining like copulating eels.

― Jim DeRogatis (jaymc), Thursday, 12 October 2006 17:35 (nineteen years ago)

The guitar solo on the title track is possibly my favorite guitar solo EVAH. Pure sex, I say. Pure sex.

Same here, alongside the kinky, kind of freaky solo in "Baby's On Fire" and a Dead cover of "Good Lovin'" from a show in 1970. Long, raw, bestial pleasure, that one.

― cosmo vitelli (cosmo vitelli), Thursday, 12 October 2006 17:56 (nineteen years ago)

Maf54:
Have you heard Something Vicious For Tomorrow/Time Whore? There is some serious dual guitar playing on that record. And don't knock Hot Snakes or Drive Like Jehu for that matter. Froberg and Reis were a formidable team.
Um, yeah, The Allman Brothers. Good example, but different. A looser mesh. I'd say Quicksilver Messenger Service and Grateful Dead, both of whom were influences on Verlaine, are better examples from that era.
Don't forget the Hampton Grease Band and the Beefheart with the Magic Band.

-- Brooker Buckingham (brooker...), October 12th, 2006. (Brooker B)

havent heard much early TP - im sure theyre good, i was just fucking around cause yr only examples of synergistic brilliance seem randomish

thin lizzy is another good example of sweet twin lead action

― Maf54 (plsmith), Thursday, 12 October 2006 17:56 (nineteen years ago)

re: whether lloyd was a hustler in the 1970s…

don't have a Please Kill Me handy, but I can relate an anecdote I heard from an extremely reliable source…the following may not be true, but the source, who was around NYC in the early mid 70s and knew everybody in the CB's/Max diaspora, swears it is…

A very young Lloyd approaches one James Marshall Hendrix on the street one day. Says Young Lloyd "man Hendrix, you're fucking great. You're the best guitarist who ever lived! You're my idol! Can…can…can I suck your cock??"

Hendrix's response was to knock Lloyd out with one punch to the kisser.

Not trying to spread rumors or nothin'…just sharin' a funnee…

― veronica moser (veronica moser), Thursday, 12 October 2006 18:50 (nineteen years ago)

according to 125 + people on my favorite rym user list, Marquee Moon is currently the 10th top ranked album of alltime

http://rateyourmusic.com/friendchart/user_is_djmartian

― DJ Martian (djmartian), Thursday, 12 October 2006 20:02 (nineteen years ago)

"thin lizzy is another good example of sweet twin lead action"

Funnily enough, I blind tested live a Lizzy track for two metal-intolerant friends and they confidently identified it as Television.

But, yeah, Marquee Moon? It's no 'live and dangerous'.

― Soukesian (Soukesian), Thursday, 12 October 2006 20:04 (nineteen years ago)

Fastnbulbous OTM.

― These Robust Cookies (Robust Cookies), Thursday, 12 October 2006 20:17 (nineteen years ago)

I just wanna say that "The Grip of Love," the first track on the first Verlaine solo lp has been kicking my ass all week. Pure dynamite.

― Orgy of Pragmatism (Charles McCain), Thursday, 12 October 2006 21:30 (nineteen years ago)

Kronos Quartet "Marquee Moon" C/D?

personally i think they do it too fast.

― jed_ (jed), Friday, 13 October 2006 00:41 (nineteen years ago)

Very few bands have come close to capturing this sort of synergistic brilliance. Early Treepeople, perhaps. Hot Snakes? It's a fine art, and Lloyd and Verlaine were the absolute masters of this art.

Leatherface in their prime could do it

― kingfish prætor (kingfish 2.0), Friday, 13 October 2006 02:16 (nineteen years ago)

what's the sound quality of the blow-up like? have heard it's pretty rough - still worth the $?

― H2-H4 (H2-H4), Friday, 13 October 2006 03:26 (nineteen years ago)

marquee moon is one of my favourite records of its time. admittedly, it's difficult and i listen to adventure more often, but marquee moon is excellent in my books. but, given its fanatical acclaim, i don't see how it could not be overrated, much in the same way that great records like bitch's brew, velvet underground & nico, daydream nation, and everything the beatles ever did are all overrated.

this is probably just me, but the only canonical album i can think of that isn't overrated, even though it would almost have to be given the effusive praise, is pet sounds.

― Godfrzej Ljang (godfrzej), Friday, 13 October 2006 03:41 (nineteen years ago)

I think it flags after 'Guiding Light', but hell, surely it's the best first side of an album ever. I think in terms of combining raw rock & roll adrenaline &, for want of a better word, art (or maybe artiness) only Roxy Music come near.

I have to say I grew up with this on vinyl & I prefer the fade-out version of MM to the longer one.

― bham (bham), Friday, 13 October 2006 08:15 (nineteen years ago)

The Blow-Up's worth remortaging your house to get.

It has to be admitted that "Torn Curtain" does sound a little bit like the Boomtown Rats.

― Marcello Carlin (nostudium), Friday, 13 October 2006 08:16 (nineteen years ago)

.. and is about 5 mins too long!

― mark grout (mark grout), Friday, 13 October 2006 08:23 (nineteen years ago)

torn curtain is one of my favorites on the album which is firmly placed in my top ten (for this month, at least)

― t0dd swiss (immobilisme), Friday, 13 October 2006 09:30 (nineteen years ago)

Everyone I've ever played it to has loved it, but never got through "TC" with an "oh shuttup!"..

apart from one who lasted as far as "What I want..." the cloth-ear.

― mark grout (mark grout), Friday, 13 October 2006 09:40 (nineteen years ago)

I have to say I grew up with this on vinyl & I prefer the fade-out version of MM to the longer one

Doesn't everyone?

― Dadaismus (Dada), Friday, 13 October 2006 09:42 (nineteen years ago)

update: massive database update on rateyourmusic today

according to 125 + people on my favorite rym user list, Marquee Moon is currently the 3rd top ranked album of alltime
http://rateyourmusic.com/friendchart/user_is_djmartian

― DJ Martian (djmartian), Friday, 13 October 2006 10:28 (nineteen years ago)

Since when did Amon Tobin's Permutation become Marquee Moon?

― Marcello Carlin (nostudium), Friday, 13 October 2006 10:31 (nineteen years ago)

LOL @ Mike Oldfield albums!

― Dadaismus (Dada), Friday, 13 October 2006 10:31 (nineteen years ago)

POINT OF ORDER: #20 IS NOT AN ALBUM

― Marcello Carlin (nostudium), Friday, 13 October 2006 10:33 (nineteen years ago)

Lots of EPs and Aphex SINGLES actually.

― Marcello Carlin (nostudium), Friday, 13 October 2006 10:34 (nineteen years ago)

LOL @ Amon Tobin

― jed_ (jed), Friday, 13 October 2006 10:38 (nineteen years ago)

testing, strange when i am logged in there is a different chart.

I reckon that is has something to do with private [favourites] and public [friends] settings

most are set to private [favourites]

― DJ Martian (djmartian), Friday, 13 October 2006 10:50 (nineteen years ago)

if your remotely interested this is the correct current 200 list:

200 rym list

― DJ Martian (djmartian), Friday, 13 October 2006 10:58 (nineteen years ago)

LOL @ Godspeed You Black Emperor!

― Dadaismus (Dada), Friday, 13 October 2006 10:59 (nineteen years ago)

if people rate amon tobin so highly in public, what are they hiding?

― jed_ (jed), Friday, 13 October 2006 11:00 (nineteen years ago)

Dadaismus r u drinking tizer today?

― DJ Martian (djmartian), Friday, 13 October 2006 11:01 (nineteen years ago)

Straight no chaser

― Dadaismus (Dada), Friday, 13 October 2006 11:01 (nineteen years ago)

jed you don't understand how the system works. Let me explain on rym you can add people as either friends [public] or favorites [private]

for the 200 list, obviously when i'm logged in I can see the combined ratings of friends and favorites.

― DJ Martian (djmartian), Friday, 13 October 2006 11:04 (nineteen years ago)

Love Will Tear Us Apart [7"] Joy Division is NOT AN ALBUM

― Marcello Carlin (nostudium), Friday, 13 October 2006 11:08 (nineteen years ago)

i know !

as rym chief, sharifi notes: in changes/ updates
http://tinyurl.com/y62t9h

2) Any type of release (EP, single, etc) can be bold (recommended) now.

so that probably goes for the top 200 list

notice it is titled:
Your Contacts: Top 200

most are albums though

― DJ Martian (djmartian), Friday, 13 October 2006 11:13 (nineteen years ago)

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