Tom Verlaine has died

[daemon]

Saw Tom open for The Church in 1988 and am embarrassed to say I didn't know who he was. It wasn't until around 1994 or so I discovered Television and was blown away. Marquee Moon is almost like an album that exists outside of time, a weird artifact that was its own genre practically, much like the Velvets. Truly one of a kind.

[dc]

saw Luna twice last week, and they blistered through Marquee Moon both nights. i was reflecting today on the timing of it all, how last week the experience of hearing that song played live was so joyous and frankly thrilling, just a week later would be all that yet layered with another meaning entirely.

RIP TV.

[daemon]

saw Luna twice last week, and they blistered through Marquee Moon both nights. i was reflecting today on the timing of it all, how last week the experience of hearing that song played live was so joyous and frankly thrilling, just a week later would be all that yet layered with another meaning entirely.

RIP TV.

You know, until this moment I never realized that Tom Verlaine and Television shared the same abbreviation.

[UlricvonCatalyst]

I was a big fan of Television and I'm sorry to hear this news.

[Pacafeliz]

shit

I am currently reading Patti Smith's book Just Kids, amazing and highly recommendable btw, and have just gotten to the part where she meets Tom and TV.

[michel v]

Shit, first Wilko Johnson, and now this.

Marquee Moon came out just a little too early for me, and I only discovered it a few years after.
I remember whole afternoons spent lifting the needle on the record player and dropping it back at the start of the section I was trying to learn. I am astonished that that record is still in fairly good condition today.

As far as guitar albums go, it's probably my favourite.

[antisymmetric]

It’s hard to know what to say. He would have to be my biggest musical influence ever, from Television right through.Incalculable hours spent listening to and being inspired by what he’s done. Music For Experimental Film seems to be the the thing for this evening.

[carausius]

Sad news RIP Tom Verlaine.

[46346]

It's kind of a weird one but listening to Marquee Moon was the last time I felt like a kid again. I'm Gen X, got into punk and adjacent music in the late 80s, had Marquee Moon on tape but never really connected with it. Flash forward many years, I'm newly married at the onset of middle age, already got one kid, a couple more will follow in the years to come. We go to visit my wife's family and we're just hanging out in her childhood bedroom. She's got a record player and Marquee Moon on vinyl and puts it one. We sit there on the floor listening to it, like teenagers. That was a long time ago at this point, never recaptured that feeling and kind doubt I will again, too many miles on this particular odometer. Godspeed Tom Verlaine, I suspect a lot folks on this particular board would not be doing what we are doing now if not for you and the boys in Television.

this is so weird and cool, i had a similar experience. it's crazy how this particular album was released from the future, and now the past...

[46346]

my Television/Tom Verlaine story is not especially impressive, though it is of course meaningful to me: i was horribly late to the 'TV' revelation, but it was indeed timely to my guitar development. to think that i was living not far from CBGB, but too intimidated (and legally too young), to venture in to witness such things for a few years... i finally got a copy of Marquee Moon in the early aughts, and it slowly worked its charms. it was so dense with intricate dueling guitars, that it really took its time with me. around that time, my band Yoko Eno played our first ever show, at Spaceland, here in L.A. though we didn't have professional aspirations in that setting, Michael Hamilton and i had taken time to work out our guitar parts so that they were complementary in the least, and we always had fun and felt creative. after our set, the DJ - Sea Level Todd, put on something familiar - which began with some hypnotic guitar interplay that had me mesmerized as i was trying to pack up... It was Marquee Moon!! i heard all seven minutes of it like never before, and it all somehow made wonderful crisp and warm sense. i was blown away by the idea that he might have been inspired to play it after hearing our set. who knows, maybe he was planning on it even before hearing us, but just being *that* connected to Television in a legendary club setting was super inspiring.

[BoringPostcards]

I first discovered Television and Tom Verlaine when Lee Ranaldo mentioned them during a discussion about CBGBs. I was born in 81 and spent my youth on an island in the middle of nowhere (where I live again after many years away), so I had limited access to music outside of my parent’s record collection and MuchMusic (Canadian MTV).
Radio got me into Nirvana, Nirvana got me into Sonic Youth, and then Sonic Youth got me into Television.
All three bands got me into Jazzmasters/Jaguars, and owning those guitars led me to this website.
Like many others mentioned, Marquee Moon was the starting point. Such a great debut album. The guitar interplay continues to inspire me all these years later.

I haven’t been upset by a celebrity death in a long time. This one stings.

[marqueemoon]

saw Luna twice last week, and they blistered through Marquee Moon both nights. i was reflecting today on the timing of it all, how last week the experience of hearing that song played live was so joyous and frankly thrilling, just a week later would be all that yet layered with another meaning entirely.

RIP TV.

I think Tom’s solos on Moon Palace and 23 Minutes In Brussels were my first time hearing his playing.

His influence on Luna and particularly Sean’s playing is pretty obvious. As rock guitar players go Sean seems to give very few fucks about making “mistakes”. He’d rather go out on a limb and make a little flub here and there than do the safe thing.

I got to see Luna recently too, and got to talk to Sean for a minute after and told him he has been very influential for me. I wish I could have said the same to Tom.

[Paco]

The magician is gone.

I am pretty confident that we're all here because of Tom, in one way or another. After all, he was the original Jazzmaster. It's been a couple of days and I'm still in shock.

Dean Wareham just wrote a wonderful piece on Verlaine, he even goes into detail on his involvement in Luna's Penthouse. I found this portrait of an older Tom to be just wonderful. He was magic.

https://www.counterpunch.org/2023/01/31 ... ybopuoyTu0

Thanks for everything Tom. I'll be playing 'Spiritual' in an endless loop.

[Dok]

Dean Wareham just wrote a wonderful piece on Verlaine, he even goes into detail on his involvement in Luna's Penthouse. I found this portrait of an older Tom to be just wonderful. He was magic.

https://www.counterpunch.org/2023/01/31 ... ybopuoyTu0

I really dug that piece, thank you for sharing it here.

[marqueemoon]

Here’s a 2006 interview where he talks about Warm and Cool.