I was Listening to the Rain, I was Hearing Something Else

 Marquee Moon by Bryan Waterman

Television by Roberta Bayley. Distributed by Elektra Records., Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Tom Verlaine in concert by Masao Nakagami, CC BY-SA 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons

So glad that Bryan Waterman's excellent study of Television's classic album Marquee Moon was available to read! I read this while waiting to fly home from a Disney vacation with my family. While my kids were playing in a pool, I was transported to mid 70s downtown NYC, with Tom Miller and Richard Meyer, eventually transforming to Verlaine and Hell. Waterman’s research and analysis of the album contextualizes this album as an inflection point for art and punk in the 1970s. When I first heard this album, I didn’t know what to think. Marquee Moon is like 8 minutes long with long guitar solos. It seems like the opposite of the Ramones, Dead Boys, and other bands that came out of the CBGBs downtown scene. However, Waterman helps explore the influence of Patti Smith and how Television and Patti Smith challenged notions of punk and art in the downtown scene. Waterman’s analysis of the songs, lyrics, and musicianship also contributes to further understanding the significance and lasting impact of this album. This is the kind of 33 1/3 book that I love reading, where the author is able to transport readers to the scene of creation and somewhat recreate the world and contexts where this album was formed.