Marquee Moon became an album I retreat into when I'm going through a tough time, and I've been hammering it hard this winter. For this to happen now, while the songs are so present in my life, feels particularly destabilizing.
I also wonder if I ever saw him at the Strand and just didn't realize. I worked right by Union Square for a long time. The stories of him being so kind to all the employees there are really moving to me. It looks like he was a genuinely good person who treated people well.
Maybe this one got linked already? The whole thread is worth a read:
Tom Verlaine was always nice to me when I was working at @strandbookstore tending the dollar carts. He came around a lot. Tall dude. He must have lived somewhere close by in the Village. pic.twitter.com/JTsXUtRGRO— Liam O’Brien (@LiamIsTalking) January 28, 2023
― Position Position, Wednesday, 1 February 2023 16:00 (one year ago) link
that’s a lovely thread
― werewolves of laudanum (VegemiteGrrl), Wednesday, 1 February 2023 16:17 (one year ago) link
Yes. I didn't quite understand this bit though.
Dodging rain and under strict directions to NOT box up any damp books, we started pulling armfuls of red and white hardcovers off the carts, stripping their dust jackets and stuffing them into trash bags.
― And Your Borad Can Zing (James Redd and the Blecchs), Wednesday, 1 February 2023 16:36 (one year ago) link
Oh I guess the books themselves were red and white but not the dustjackets.
I can feel my brane started to plant a false memory of a Strand sighting.
― And Your Borad Can Zing (James Redd and the Blecchs), Wednesday, 1 February 2023 16:37 (one year ago) link
I mean there were probably plenty of guys I saw who looked vaguely like him, why didn't I put two and two together?
― And Your Borad Can Zing (James Redd and the Blecchs), Wednesday, 1 February 2023 16:38 (one year ago) link
didn't verlaine work at strand himself in his early nyc days?
― Thus Sang Freud, Wednesday, 1 February 2023 16:49 (one year ago) link
i kind of envision that scene as a hardcore book person's challenge to pick out the wheat from what the booksellers themselves think is chaff.
― Thus Sang Freud, Wednesday, 1 February 2023 16:51 (one year ago) link
Used to see TV around London Terrace when i worked in that hood in the mid-late 90s. Debbie Harry lived / lives there as well and we both used the same video store. One time I was renting "Pixote" and she asked me "Whatcha got there?". I showed her the title and she cringed "Oh no! Too violent for me!" (my heart was a - flutter, I tell ya )
― SQUIRREL MEAT!! (Capitaine Jay Vee), Wednesday, 1 February 2023 16:54 (one year ago) link
I can imagine
― And Your Borad Can Zing (James Redd and the Blecchs), Wednesday, 1 February 2023 17:08 (one year ago) link
The only time I saw Debbie Harry in the flesh (pun intended!) that wasn't at a show of hers (or otherwise, she was at a Yeah Yeah Yeahs show at the Cooler, Bjork too, at the very beginning of their hype), was at the chelsea flea market walking the stalls with Chris. Was very excited.
― dan selzer, Wednesday, 1 February 2023 18:43 (one year ago) link
haven't seen harry around, but i've seen clem burke around the east village way more than you might expect
― sault bae (voodoo chili), Wednesday, 1 February 2023 18:50 (one year ago) link
was at the ivan julian benefit at city winery and she sat herself down at an empty chair at our table and we were, like, homina homina homina.
― Thus Sang Freud, Wednesday, 1 February 2023 19:06 (one year ago) link
NPR has a segment on Tom this evening
― realistic pillow (Jon not Jon), Thursday, 2 February 2023 00:03 (one year ago) link
^^^ really short, like two minutes
― realistic pillow (Jon not Jon), Thursday, 2 February 2023 01:45 (one year ago) link
So 1/8 the duration of a Richard Lloyd string tuning session.
― And Your Borad Can Zing (James Redd and the Blecchs), Thursday, 2 February 2023 02:01 (one year ago) link
https://t.co/hY36qjHULhIn late 1975, two Trouser Press writers brought Tom Verlaine of the then-unsigned Television to their apartment for an interview. This conversation has never previously been published. With an introductory essay and audio clips from the conversation.— trouserpress (@trouserpress) February 1, 2023
― city worker, Thursday, 2 February 2023 03:20 (one year ago) link
Ok wow I better find a comfy chair for this one
― realistic pillow (Jon not Jon), Thursday, 2 February 2023 04:16 (one year ago) link
Wow
― And Your Borad Can Zing (James Redd and the Blecchs), Thursday, 2 February 2023 06:48 (one year ago) link
he worked at the Strand! <3
― werewolves of laudanum (VegemiteGrrl), Thursday, 2 February 2023 07:03 (one year ago) link
Well look at that
Original Robert Mapplethorpe photo used for the cover of Marquee Moon. pic.twitter.com/Xf94fBDz1J— Tyler Wilcox (@tywilc) February 1, 2023
― Alba, Thursday, 2 February 2023 10:54 (one year ago) link
omg so good. it was mapplethorpe. huh.
― normal AI yankovic (Hunt3r), Thursday, 2 February 2023 11:36 (one year ago) link
Pretty blurry!
― Alba, Thursday, 2 February 2023 11:48 (one year ago) link
what a different vibe, feel like the dark, kinda gothic look of the cover sets a specific mood
― corrs unplugged, Thursday, 2 February 2023 11:59 (one year ago) link
That walking lobotomy, Lou Reed
― And Your Borad Can Zing (James Redd and the Blecchs), Thursday, 2 February 2023 12:06 (one year ago) link
That was one of the interviewers I think, there are two interviewers, they formatted the article really weird
Really an amazing read
― Blues Guitar Solo Heatmap (Free Download) (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Thursday, 2 February 2023 13:19 (one year ago) link
i don't know why that photo is so remarkable to me. the way the lighting was edited in the final version -and i realized immediately on seeing the og how stupid this thought was- i always assumed it was an oil on canvas portrait of the band. i mean the way it ended up, lloyd looks like a friggin undead on the cover.
very cool.
― "i'm grateful." (Austin), Thursday, 2 February 2023 13:29 (one year ago) link
the story i heard is tom verlaine took the mapplethorpe print and ran it through a xerox machine for a few iterations.
― Thus Sang Freud, Thursday, 2 February 2023 13:31 (one year ago) link
The formatting was totally weird. Italics for one of the interviewers but the other interviewer’s comments were intermingled with Tom’s, it seemed.Did you read the thing about The Ramones on your favorite substack TSF?
― And Your Borad Can Zing (James Redd and the Blecchs), Thursday, 2 February 2023 13:38 (one year ago) link
yup i saw that. i was a newsday reader back in 1975 and i suspect some of those articles played a part in my decision to to to a nyc scool for undergraduate.
― Thus Sang Freud, Thursday, 2 February 2023 13:41 (one year ago) link
to *go* to. it's too too too to put a finger on.
― Thus Sang Freud, Thursday, 2 February 2023 13:42 (one year ago) link
i'd also picked up punk magazine #1 because lou's cartoon face was calling out to me from the racks in the penn station magazine shop. and i was a creem subscriber. and a friend who was a year older had already seen tv. and i had the patti smith album. i was primed.
― Thus Sang Freud, Thursday, 2 February 2023 13:46 (one year ago) link
Goodness me, "Breakin' in My Heart" is such a good performance.
― Malevolent Arugula (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Thursday, 2 February 2023 13:57 (one year ago) link
i've been listening nonstop to a comp someone posted a link to uptread with 9 early tv songs that never made their way onto a record. it conculdes with tv doing 'breakin in my heart.'
― Thus Sang Freud, Thursday, 2 February 2023 14:02 (one year ago) link
so the actual lyrics to "Fire Engine" are "Let me take you to DMT space"? haha
― brownie, Thursday, 2 February 2023 14:06 (one year ago) link
Have heard that before.
― And Your Borad Can Zing (James Redd and the Blecchs), Thursday, 2 February 2023 14:15 (one year ago) link
Richard Lloyd, apparently:
Richard Lloyd: pic.twitter.com/bMHLIWuGmd— Tyler Wilcox (@tywilc) February 1, 2023
― Alba, Thursday, 2 February 2023 14:29 (one year ago) link
Do we know that is a reliable source?
― And Your Borad Can Zing (James Redd and the Blecchs), Thursday, 2 February 2023 14:31 (one year ago) link
j/k!
from the racks in the penn station magazine shopHa! Did you also visit the arcade and play Asteroids or whatever?
― And Your Borad Can Zing (James Redd and the Blecchs), Thursday, 2 February 2023 14:32 (one year ago) link
if there was an arcade in penn station i don't remember it. if they were fifty cents i might have blocked them from my memory. i was a "three balls for a quater" man.
― Thus Sang Freud, Thursday, 2 February 2023 14:42 (one year ago) link
richard hell says it's too soon to write about him.https://www.richardhell.com/
― Thus Sang Freud, Thursday, 2 February 2023 15:50 (one year ago) link
that's cool he called out a relative deep cut — I love "Scientist Writes A Letter" too.
― tylerw, Thursday, 2 February 2023 15:58 (one year ago) link
I'm okay with Richard saying that. He's usually pretty thoughtful about these things. I always compare how he talked about Robert Quine with whatever non-statement we got from Lou.
― And Your Borad Can Zing (James Redd and the Blecchs), Thursday, 2 February 2023 16:01 (one year ago) link
Possibly my favorite from his solo albums, and it's essentially my favorite supergroup of all-time - too bad it's the only track all four ever recorded together!
― birdistheword, Thursday, 2 February 2023 16:08 (one year ago) link
Because it has...Ricky WIlson?
― And Your Borad Can Zing (James Redd and the Blecchs), Thursday, 2 February 2023 16:11 (one year ago) link
Does anyone know if the "tell a vision" pun in "Little Johnny Jewel" predates the band name?
― Chris L, Thursday, 2 February 2023 16:14 (one year ago) link
xp
Tom Verlaine (Television)Fred Smith (Blondie then Television)Jay Dee Daugherty (Patti Smith Group)Ricky Wilson (The B-52's)
― birdistheword, Thursday, 2 February 2023 16:14 (one year ago) link
Which is a good reason of course. Anyway, listening now, sounds good.
― And Your Borad Can Zing (James Redd and the Blecchs), Thursday, 2 February 2023 16:16 (one year ago) link
finally got a copy of that rhino/RTI pressing from over a decade ago in the mail today, this just blows away the CD/streaming version
obv Verlaine and Lloyd are amazing, but Fred Smith's bass playing on this record is just perfect, as big an influence to me as the guitars
― Blues Guitar Solo Heatmap (Free Download) (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Thursday, 2 February 2023 16:21 (one year ago) link