Marquee Moon

Not bad. Didn't hear a bad tune, but no bangers that I'll be humming this time next week. Oh yeah - and their front man sounds EXACTLY like the lead singer from Violent Femmes. It's crazy.

Thoroughly enjoyed most of this 3.5/5

Surprisingly enjoyable, except for Elevation, whose weird time shifts made me want to puncture my eardrums with an ice pick.

Decent album but not quite my thing. Would listen again but won't seek it out.

Decent.

It was ok!

Some familiar tunes and a good vibe throughout

This was an average to slightly above average album to me. I can hear influences in other artist, but just didn’t grab me. 3/5

Did not open

The album is characterized by the complexity and originality of the guitars of Tom Verlaine and Richard Lloyd, which intertwine creating hypnotic and angular sounds. Verlaine's lyrics are also poetic and evocative, influenced by authors such as Rimbaud or Verlaine, from whom he took his stage name. The album was highly praised by critics and is considered one of the best albums in rock history. However, I am not a big fan of 70s punk music, except for some groups and some more well-known and commercial songs. I found the album interesting, but for my tastes, I wouldn't listen to it again and I wouldn't save it to my playlist.

solid album

Chill album. Get high and enjoy.

Marquee Moon song was catchy. Lots of catchy songs. Jesus the song marquee moon is 10min long

Guitar playing is really great! Mix of surf rock and punk. Not loving the singing but band is tight. Would recommend to someone looking for something a little more innovative/interesting in their chords changes and structure

Etwas psychidelisch. Nicht mein Ding.

Zoals bij elk (art/post)punk album is dit één van dé belangrijkste (art/post)punk platen ooit, dus daar ga ik geen punten meer voor toekennen. Als je kijkt naar de reviews zie je de interessante mannetjes alweer over elkaar heen buitelen om te laten weten hoe geweldig ze dit vinden. Ik hoor op zang een soort Mick Jagger die schijt heeft aan toonhoogtes. Muzikaal gezien is het ook niet allemaal heel spannend, maar wel oké. Ik kan hier geen 4 voor geven. Daar gaat m'n streak.

Great vibes, title track the best. Would throw on again.

Marquee Moon definitely the headliner. Torn curtain was a memorable album closer. Guiding light probably my second fav after title track.

The music was interesting, but the lead singers voice totally threw me off. Not for me.

Makes me want to get back into guitar.

I relistened to this and gave it a higher rating, not sure why I rated it worse before the singing wasn't that bad. 2.88

Marquee Moon isn't at all the type of music I enjoy listening to. That being said, the first half of this album almost made me wanna go vinyl shopping for records from bands like The Clash etc. However once the album is at it's end, I found myself not liking it as much after the first 3-4 songs

Reminds me of a band I listened to in the 80s, Joe King Carasco and the Crowns

1st Lots of early punk rock influences

About the same level as the Boomtown Rats for me, though with more of an attempt to be like The Rolling Stones.

Q’s jam but not my bag. That whining voice would be a good torture technique.

nid schlecht, recht groovy, aber nid heruusragend

Liked it but will not listen to it on repeat - 3.5/5

Not bad but probably won’t ever listen again

so influential. and that one song. not sure it’s something I’d need to come back to.

3.5/5 I was never a big punk fan, and I am by no means an expert, deep or attentive listener, but this was a beautiful and an easy listening. Songs that you can just chill and vibe with. Definitely gave me more appreciation for punk. Not likely something I will come back to often besides maybe a track or two, since still not quite my style.

Marquee Moon is a fine album and nothing else. The songs all sound good enough to be listenable but are not necessarily stuff i really want to go back to. There wasn't all too much that really stood out about this album, neither good nor bad. I think that it's an okay album but it doesn't really go beyond that Best Song: Guiding Light Worst Song: See No Evil

A good but probably forgettable album

Not sure where this lays in a genre. Pretty advanced of r1977 - would not call it Punk, but surprisingly pretty good

Another 70s album. OK, but not as interesting as Bowie or Deep Purple.

Gets better as it goes on. Great guitar sound, I can see how this influenced a lot of music that came after. Singer is annoying to me.

positivt overrasket

nothing really stood out on this one for me

They're ok I guess. The songs kind of just blended together for me. It certainly was rock music. I will say that they do not sound like music that came out in the 70s; would have this pegged as late 80s or early 90s. In that sense, they were ahead of their time. Nothing was particularly bad to me tho. Feeling a light to decent 3/5

I liked this a lot, but the songs were so long that I started fast-forwarding to the next about halfway through.

Pretty good. A lot of Rolling Stones vibe, but still an original sound that I'd call "forward looking" in a lot of ways.

Nope. Just can't get along with those vocals. Bad karaoke.

Not my cup of tee, but it was fine

Not my jam, but fine. Sometimes the lead singer was a little too whiny, but on at least song, they reminded me strongly of The Cars.

Not sure about this. It was quite punky, as you’d expect for the time but it was definitely listenable so low 3*

I don't hate this as much as I remembered, but I'm not a fan the singing. Favorite song: elevation

70er halt, war ok

Ok

Pretty decent

I feel like this is an album that I need to give more listens. I can already feel it growing on me, but it just sounds so similar to other post-punk albums to me that I feel like I'm missing the genius of it. 3 for now, but I hope to listen more and that that changes.

I remember a few years ago I read Julian copes book and this album was one of the ones he cited as a massive influence. I got it at the time but wasn't massively for me.

Wasn't bad. Didn't really grab me though.

It was a nice exception from what I usually listen to. I enjoyed a couple of songs a bit more than the others, so I mustn't be too generous on my first rating.

I don't believe i've ever heard this before, unfortunately it sounds the same is a significant portion of music i've heard my entire life. Where i bet in the context of when it came out it'd have been maybe a bit different?

Nice pop/rock

Again. Decent band

Decent old sound, not too dissimilar to Talking Heads

ok

See No Evil - 3/5 Venus - 2/5 Friction - 3/5 Marquee Moon - 3/5 Elevation - 3/5 Guiding Light - 2/5 Prove It - 2/5 Torn Curtain - 3/5 Overall decent. Wish the songs were shorter, on average.

Not bad, but also not terribly exciting. Sometimes feels like a cross between the early 2000s and the Doors.

got distracted and accidentally took a 100-album-long (i think that's twenty weeks??? that's as many as two tens, and that's terrible) break from listening. no matter, life goes on. this will be the original 1977 release with 8 tracks, rather than the 2003 re-release containing five bonus tracks track 1, See No Evil: has the feel of a roadtrip montage and driving on a rocky dirt road. two people wearing white tank tops staring at a map, one of them turns the map upside down to be rightside up. they bought the wrong flavor of gatorade. typical road trip. 7/10 track 2, Venus: the tone quality on the guitar is a hair too close to what i would call The Beatles' sound for me to be able to enjoy the song, but there's nothing bad about this. 6/10 track 3, Friction: road trip part two! pretend there were thirty full seconds of silence staring at the exterior door of a public restroom at a rest stop, then back in the car and onto the highway. sunglasses firmly on their faces because there isn't a cloud in the sky. they still didn't buy the right flavor of gatorade, but the taste is growing on them. 6.5/10 track 4, Marquee Moon: titular track! it seems this is the 2003 version, with a 10:38 duration rather than 9:58. i can say with certainty that this is a great track to dissociate to, with a constant heartbeat on guitar pulsing for most of the song. solid 6.5/10 SIDE TWO track 5, Elevation: maybe it's just Television's general sound or vibe, but this song sounds kind of same-y, although i could not tell you what it sounds the same as. 6/10 you know, maybe it stems from how music is most commonly listened to these days, where we do not listen to one entire album from front to back in one sitting, and instead listen to several songs from several artists across several releases, albums or singles. perhaps it is this that makes it difficult to not fall into passive listening over active listening for a song. that or maybe the adhd. where were we? oh, yes, track 6, Guiding Light: this is a very "walking home alone after being turned down after asking someone on a date" feeling, carrying a drooping medium-sized bouquet. you kick a puddle under the streetlight. it's not raining tonight, but maybe it did a day or two ago. halfway home you ditch the flowers in a trash bin, and pick your head up. the lamp post in your front yard draws you home. 7/10 track 7, Prove It: we're back on the road trip, babey! the sun is low in the sky, and we're tumbling along this same dusty highway. must be close to our destination now. around sunset we pull into a motel parking lot and check in (they had one room left) and collapse on the singular bed. 7/10 track 8, Tom Curtain: this is "what if you didn't get your emotions out on the walk home from Guiding Light" and now you're at home, alternating between sobbing into a pillow and staring dead-eyed into a mirror while taking glugs from a bottle of alcohol you're definitely not supposed to have. around four minutes in you throw the empty bottle at the wall across from you and just cry yourself to sleep. 7/10 overall: 6.6/10 -> 3/5. i could not tell you what feeling the artists were going for with this album (if you thought i was able to remember a single lyric from any of these songs you're kidding the both of us, reader), but there were distinct feelings happening nonetheless, and art is nothing if not subjective.

Pretty good 70's rock. None of the songs really stuck with me though.

3.3/5 - fine, but most of the tracks pale in comparison to the title tune

Enjoyed the listen, 3/5 for now as I only had time for 1 full time through it.

It's okay. 3/5

Average with some good songs

groovy

This was pretty ok; similar vibes to Darklands but I like it slightly less. Cool band name, cooler album cover. 3/5

it alright

Some good songs but not the best

3/5, nice guitar riffs. Vocals are too punky for me.

I liked this recommendation, better than the last one, music is more on the modern side,

Discordant. Harsh. The kind of music that pretentious nerds think they SHOULD listen to, but nobody actually enjoys. Title track is okay.

fine as background noise

I’m not sad I listened to it but I also don’t feel like I would have missed much if I never listened to the album.

I like this album alot, the titular track is really fun. All of it is easy to listen to and does some unique things but I don't see myself listening to it all that often. It doesn't grab me in a way I want to be grabbed by music so I think I'm rating it in the middle. I like what it's doing but it doesn't stand out too far from everything else.

Some good stuff in there

Elevation!!! Torn curtain! not bad

Liked the old hard rock sound of it

Nothing blew me away, but it was worth a listen.

Good, seems like the strokes were influenced

3.4

nice instrumentals.

Nice easy listen. Style is familiar.

Was ok. Nothing memorable.

Hard to judge this without a time machine. So much that is innovative was perfected by other alt-rock bands that came later. I did not pick up on the punk aspects at all. Good solid songs and arrangements. These guys are inspiration for a lot of bands I loved later.

Title track is awesome. Instruments are nice, I like the lyrics, but the vocals don’t do it for me. First half much better than second half.

Not bad. Similar to Rolling Stones. Early punk sound!

Good, easy to listen to album, but not much in it to make me want to come back to it again. It's interesting to hear how this album would go on to influence other post-punk music.

Ville nok vært 4 forrige uke, men skal være strengere så idk

Some good songs, not a huge fan of the vocals.

Melodic punk. An indierock landmark recording.

some of the guitar is osom, singer is kind of doodoo. the title track is rlly good.

Really good guitar work Some songs super long Elevation had some ear irritating riffs and lead tones with too much high end Venus, Friction, and title track are all amazing

Good listen

Fed, frisk lyd på første halvdel af albummet. Highlightet på albummet er tiltelnummeret. Friktion + Marquee moon + Anden halvdel stagnerer en del og bliver mere kedeligt. Træt af forsangerens stemme da anden halvdel begynder.

W album, just a little outdated for my taste.

I had never heard of Television. Maybe because I shun fancy things like electricity. I did listen to this while I walked through the valley where I harvest my grain, and I realized it was kinda plain. However, I did finish my listen, and you finished thine, so we can party like it’s 1699 (or 1977). Not as good as Amish Paradise. Not as bad as Amish rice. 3.25/5

This one always pops up on those lists of essential Post-punk albums, and I enjoy much of what is on those lists. This album, though, drags a bit. The instrumentation is good, if a bit repetitive, but many of these tracks go on far too long, and Verlaine’s vocals are pretty grating after a while. Stylistically, it’s pretty closely related to the Talking Heads, with one foot in the glam scene and one in late 70s NYC punk, but the pace is much more languid than any of the above. Not bad, just not for me.

Not my type

Good

Very 70s

I enjoyed it.

OK

6/10

Enjoable and original, but falls short of its immense reputation.

Kind of interesting, kind of meh. What did I like about this? Well, the arrangements were always gorgeous and tasteful. The lead guitar had everything I usually look for in lead guitar. It was soulful, a beautiful tone and distinctive, memorable melodies. However, the vocals let this down. I honestly think this band's vocalist just isn't very good. His lyrics are fine- they were weird and a bit obtuse, but I liked that. They were unique. However as a singer, he leaves a lot to be desired. He appears to be going for some cross between punk and so-called "art rock," but retains only the worst parts of these genre's vocal styling. He has the pretentiousness of more "sophisticated" rock styles with none of the usual technical proficiency. The unpolishedness of punk without its raw, real authenticity. To his credit, he sung some songs better than others. I particularly remember him singing the title track well, and also "Elevation," where his delivery on the word "confidential" got me every time. Closing track "Torn Curtain," however, was far and away my favourite. What a beautiful, unique song. I can definitely say I've never heard anything remotely like it, and that's not something you're able to say every day. Favourite song: Torn Curtain

I liked this album. Reminded me of a mix of The Rolling Stones and the Talking Heads.

Liked it OK, didn't love it. It actually made me want to listen to the Cars. The best song is probably the title track, though it's a bit to long. The last track, Torn Curtain went a bit long too. I liked the stripped down production, but the album as a whole didn't do a lot for me.

some cool ideas music wise. nothing special overall though

Album qui frôle le confusionnisme à mon avis

un peu étrange en effet

I was going to give this a neutral 2 but I think I will give it a hopeful 3. As I listened to the album for the first and only time, nothing turned me off, but nothing grabbed my attention, either. Until I got to the song Elevation, which I really liked. And it was the same with all of the songs after that. I haven’t had time to go and re-listen to the album to see if everything before elevation was crap and everything after it was wonderful, or, if my feelings about the album simply had to do with time exposed to the material . That’s where my hopeful three comes in.

Another difficult one to rate. I heard Patti Smith, Blondie, Talking Heads, Violent Femmes .... bands I like were either influenced by, influencers of, or co-inhabitants of the same time and place and this is like a stew of these artists, and yet, I cannot relate. There was some cool stuff going on, though the cymbal sound on that drum set is among the worst ever. But musically, compositionally, there was meat on these songs. I don't love the vocals, so that doesn't help, but as Niko said in a recent review, somehow I don't connect emotionally to this. So, one one level, a 4 for its innovation and creativity, but a 3 for its impact on me. I'm going low on this one, because I'm not intrigued enough to come back. I was not unfamiliar with the band, Marianne had this CD (maybe still does), but this listen gave me a new appreciation. So that's something.

Title track very good, everything else less interesting

Kinda wish the rest of the album was as great as the title track

Pretty decent album, never heard of them before! There were no song that really grabbed me other than perhaps 'Marquee Moon' a bit, but all of them held up well enough! Nothing really bad, so this ends right in the middle for me.

Lots of catchy riffs and tunes so the album never felt boring. I also didn't feel like anything really grabbed me in particular. Cool listen and you can hear that a lot of later bands took influence from this sound.

ok punk rock but nothing special

Lovely little rocker. Very nice guitar and drum work.

Nothing stood out too much but still enjoyed it

I really liked the instrumentation of this whole album. I wish the vocals weren't so whiny/new wave sounding - I probably would have rated it higher if that were the case

Why do they look like just released prisoners of war?

Television has shown up on my Spotify when I let the genres play out after listening to a number of albums off this list. I even added a song to my downloads to play for my beautiful wife, 1880s or So, so I could get her opinion. For me, I kinda dig them and was excited to see them show up. First thing that surprised me was his album was from 1977. I would have never guessed they were from the 70s but here we are. I really enjoyed the 1st half of the album and I just saw on Spotify, their 4 most popular tunes are See No Evil, Venus, Friction and Marquee Moon. Also my favorite songs off this album even though Marquee Moon went on a little too long. I also enjoyed Elevation and Guiding Light. I can see how this guy's voice may wear on people but seem to work this band and their music. I can't say anything blew me away but will say I enjoyed most of this album (as well as some of their other songs) and though they were solid. Not sure I would Television their own place on my Spotify, but I am certainly up for checking out their other albums. They are distinctive enough I'm starting to recognize them when the pop up when the genre starts to play out after albums are over. Anyway, solid for me, just not great. 3.5 but will score 3. 3

3.5 really, few bops but they all sound very similar

It was alright

Good 8 song rip. Title song is the best

For the most part, 70s classic rock seems to fall on either side of two stars (boring, not worth listening to again) or three stars (has some cool ideas, might listen to it again). This one gets to three stars by breaking the conventions of song structure, having cool guitar sounds, and the lead vocalist singing with a lot of conviction. This works as a cooler-than-you alternative to The Talking Heads, or other early new wave stuff.

La guitare et ses jeux sont ce que j’ai préféré

It's an extremely 70's sounding album that manages to catch you off guard. Personally, my favorite track was Elevation.

Another new one for me and the first track did catch my ear getting me interested in what may be there for me on the rest of the album. It definitely fell short for me today, though. Even after a second chance listen (that I didn't think I could convince myself to do after the first), at best, I found it tolerable.

I was excited to listen to this one since it seems all the cool kids are into Television. I did not however particularly enjoy most of it. Guess I'm still not a cool kid.

I can respect this but I don’t like it. Musically talented, intricate and interesting. I just really don’t like his tone. It’s a 4 and a 2 so unfortunately have to go right down the middle.

Solid album. 3.5/5

This was probably really cool when it came out but a lot of the sounds seem dated today. Cover art: 7/10

Been wanting to listen to this album because of all the acclaim it gets. Was going into it thinking I would really love it. And I gotta say I just don’t get the hype. It’s fine, totally inoffensive, but where is the album that is apparently one of the greatest of all time? Maybe its greatness is flying through my untrained ear and out the other. But I just don’t get it. Best: see no evil, marquee moon MMM: ELEVATION DONT GO TO MY HEAD🫢

I might be a basic bitch, but I didn't really love this. It's fine, but on a first listen, not my favorite. I can understand why it is influential for the genre. Best parts of the album for me were the instrumentals, especially in the song Marquee Moon. Favorite song was Torn Curtain.

I’ll admit it wasn’t a super close listen. What I heard was pleasing but I never had a “wait!” moment that drew me in. Reminded me of The Rolling Stones a bit.

p388. 1977. 3.5 stars. Strange but oddly attractive early alt rock effort. Came cold to this and was surprised how good it is. Points deducted for strained vocals and musical wankage - too many tracks >5 mins, and no-one needs a 10 minute+ track.

Based on the first track, I was anticpating yet another uninspiring punk album, but it was better than that. Nothing really grabbed my attention though.

I’ve always found this album interesting. I can tell how it influenced many post-punk bands that came after…

Very catchy so far, loving the bass playing. I don't know, kind of reminds me of a more rocky CCR. Got that southern rock twang, at least to my ears anyway! Maybe even a bit of the Doors. (Crawling King Snake) I'm all over the place today. I think on my first listen through of this record I was rather perturbed that 'Marquee Moon' was nearly 11 minutes long, but it doesn't seem so bad this time. And the main guitar motif is excellent! Yeah, that was fuckin' awesome. The second half dragged a touch, but that was great. 3 / 5 stars.

I dig it.

very hippy-like, it's ok

Yeah expected more from the proto punks but then who am i kidding right?

Good fun.

I've listened to this before, it's alright, good pleasant listen, but somewhat forgettable.

Was alright, nothing too standout

Enjoyed this. Particularly the guitar solos on the track Marquee Moon

The song Marquee Moon is a great jam, I have a great appreciation for this song. Overall a solid album, but didn't do anything special for me. I have a feeling this is an album that was cutting edge at the time, but doesn't seem that special to us nowadays because a lot of artists use Television's style and technique. Just a hunch. Wasn't paying too much attention while listening to this album, could use a re-listen.

Good album, some catchy with alot of musical ability. Be a good album to throw on with the parents. Low likelihood of personal relisten.

This was okay but unremarkable. Sometimes I wonder why certain albums make the cut and not others - and this is one that had me questioning.

All 10 minutes of the song marquee were very enjoyable

Art punk an apt description for this. Doesn't stop/start in bursts of high energy like typical punk. Not my personal taste, but can see how this album was influential.

Rimelig lækkert. Har nogle virkelig fede temaer, hele vejen igennem. Nogle sange forekommer lidt længere end nødvendigt. Forsangeren er formentlig den mindst interessante her. Der er flere guitar-riffs der minder om meget 00'er musik, så de er vel forud for deres tid.

I’ve listened to ‘Marquee Moon’ multiple times now, and it continues to sound like a lot of other guitar rock albums from the era. Perhaps it was startling in 1977, but in 2023 it sounds ubiquitous. It’s not bad, it’s just familiar.

ну чё-то не впечатлило

Interesting

Surprisingly good!

I enjoy the guitar work, though I'm not much into an entire album of Tom Verlaine's vocals. I do see, however, the influence on Jeff Buckley's "My Sweetheart the Drunk," since he produced at least part of that album. I always feel like I should enjoy Television more, but they just haven't caught my ear as a band yet. Maybe it just needs to hit me at the right time.

My impression of Television consists of a reasonable dose of confusion and a smattering of thought. The band clearly has something going for it: By the time track seven started to wind down I realized that the closing song would determine much of my opinion. And that one, like the rest of its siblings, was skillfully executed and an interesting listen. However, the jazziness remains overstated and the boys can't put a crown on anything. That's frustrating, but doesn't cancel out my gratitude for the experience.

Rock que parece pop. Ni fu ni fa.

I was going to call this post-punk, but it came out in 1977 so the "post" part is inaccurate. It's basically the other side of the punk rock coin - they seem to have a lot of common influences, but on one hand you have one- or two-minute songs and "hey ho let's go" and on the other side you have 10.5-minute songs and art school jokes about about falling into the arms of Venus de Milo. I rate this 3.5 stars because the music and vocals didn't have a ton of range and the last part of the album seemed to blur together.

This was OK but I only made it half way through.

I liked a lot of this quite a lot.

Musically interesting and enjoyable but brought down by the vocal caterwalling is the closest I can describe though I guess that was en vogue for post punk groups. Might liaten to the favourite tracks again. Favourite tracks Marquee moon and Friction.

Like #3 Friction, #4 Marquee Moon, & #7 Prove It

Decent

The glittery guitars where pretty. I wish there were some heavier moments to to add some tonal and timbral variety, but far be it for me to dictate to artists how to make their art. The singer's whiny speak-singing was middling at best, normally this kind of vocal affliction would irritate me, but he wasn't too bad. Overall it's good, but lacking that "wow" factor for me. Three shiny, glimmering moons 🌕🌕🌕

7/10

fajnie się słuchało ale nic specjalnie nie zapadło w pamięć

beginning of the punk scene- not really my vibe.

I liked the title track and "Guiding Light" but I'm gonna mess up the curve here, sorry. Really just come's down to Verlaine's voice; I would flat out love to hear these same songs with a different singer. Can't promise I would have a different reaction, but I think the possibility is high. I hear the influence and appreciate the mood, guitars, production, etc. But when it comes to this television all I want to do... is change the channel. (cue cheesy 1990s Siskel and Ebert TV show music annnnd out.)

3.75/5

Rann létt í gegn. Langar að segja meh en samt alveg ágætt.

Pretty good, but for me forgettable

not bad, sounds like talking heads

This... this is different. In a good way. I really like the guitar throughout this album. The vocals are not bad but sound very much of the time. Or actually more like the 80s. I had never heard of Television or even a single song from this album before today. I won't be adding this to my rotation, but I'm happy to have listened.

Never heard of them, Really good. Some of their songs sound like Violent Femmes.

7th November 2022 Listened in the day while working from home. Seb round in the evening, watched luckiest girl in the world. Felt like I had listened to this before, a lighter, jazzier spin on garage rock. 3.5 if I could.

Carino, calmo, simpatico.

Not the biggest fan

Like i expect with any punk album, i didnt like the vocals at all throughout this thing. The production is quite good though, the attitude just drags the music into monotony, but on a more ambitious track like the last one it's less of a problem as there's more of an emphasis on melody. Not bad, but not for me

Music: 4.5 stars. Vocals: 2 stars. Lyrics: ?? Cover art: 1 star Influence: 5 stars Actual personal enjoyment: 2.5 stars Should it be on this list? Probably.

some kind hipster, indie music from the 70s. Sounds a lot like some bands from now but I can't put my finger on who. Anyway, it wasn't too bad.

I had expected very rough punk but was pleasantly surprised. This is, by any reasonable definition, a classic rock record. And look, they’re not virtuosos- Pavarotti and Django Reinhardt don’t have to be looking over their shoulder for Television. But they do get good sound quality, and the album is very well-produced. This is especially clear relative to other proto-punk, which often has a DIY aesthetic (read: shit production). And on songs like “Friction” and “Torn Curtain” they do show a willingness to take one or two steps off the beaten path in their composition. They especially get a lot of mileage out of their two-guitar attack- nearly every song is based around it, and you can really hear that influence (plus the late 70s disco beats the use on e.g. “See No Evil”) in early 2000s indie. There are some flaws. The title track really drags. The singer is not especially good. They’re a little slow-paced overall, lacking some of the manic energy of their 70s punk contemporaries. But overall a fun listen.

Pretty solid. Again, interesting to recognize later artists who may have been influenced by their style. The title track reminds me a Modest Mouse song. That being said, I don't think there's much I'd go back for.

been meaning to listen forever. good stuff

Marquee moon - I think it's trying too hard. Very Lou Reed, but it's not Lou Reed. Low end is often doing the bare minimum imo, although there's some nice bass songs. Strength is the guitars - they do a very good line between satisfying/familiar (in the way blues derived music has to be) and creative/innovative. Goddamn I love guitars. The instrumentals are definitely the best bits to me. But otherwise, I doubt I'll have much reason to come back to this - I could find it better somewhere else

Cool music, but not a fan of the vocals.

quality power ballad guitar stuff here

Title Track was good, and i liked the psychedelic punk feel

I enjoyed my time with this

pegao

una opinion algo distinta de escuchar e interesante de mis musicas normales, tiene un buen potencial

ps ta bueno, me gusta mucho :) las guitarras en este album son una cosa elevation es un temón

not bad

Angular. Great guitar work.

ok. amateur production sound

I am very happy I discovered 'Television' and I can hear their influence on a lot of bands in the past 30+ years. For that and their inventiveness, they deserve 5 stars, however, judging the album 'as-is' my personal rating is 3.

Good tunes. Nothing stands out but listened to the whole album and enjoyed.

You really can tell this band influenced a ton of other great bands. It was definitely cool to hear the original version of Friction. I only knew it from the cover by The Church.

Das liest sich in der Wikipedia immer so vielversprechend, bei diesem Album insbesondere, was die Vorgeschichte und den Entstehungsprozess angeht. Und kommt dann doch nur so mittelmäßig daher. Marquee Moon kannte ich ich schon, der sticht zusammen mit Elevation und Torn Curtain heraus. Deswegen noch gaaanz schlechte drei.

This was really quite good

Some cool guitar and while I wished the vocals were stronger, it definitely grew on me and I think the 2nd half of the album was stronger than the 1st half

It was alright. For a band I didn’t know and had never heard of, they did not disappoint.

Pretty forgettable, not bad just can't see myself wanting to listen again

Very cool, early experimental indie new agey stuff. Marquee Moon is a superb track.

Marquee moon is cool. Would keep listening if it was already playing.

Ágætis plata, tók smá tíma að komast inn í hana.

Good, enjoyed #2 Friction, #3 Marquee Moon, and #8 See No Evil especially. Very modern sounding riffs and catchy melodies.

It was OK, just OK. Bit repetitive, wasn't as good as I expected it to be seeing as it's such an iconic album

Lo volvería a escuchar, tiene muy buen ritmo.

Pop-rock suave y tranquilo. Armonioso. No destaca especialmente.

Television is a new band for me and Marquee Moon was all new music. There were portions of this album that reminded me of the Talking Heads, both in the delivery of the vocals and some of the composition of the music. "Venus", "Friction" and "Marquee Moon" were the tracks that I liked most. Overall, I liked the album. I'd be interested in hearing additional music from the band. I didn't dislike any of the tracks, but on a first listen the album I'm not ready to round up to 4 stars.

Never saw the appeal. It's ok, but not groundbreaking. Perhaps I should have been there!

Pretty good album, I've always had a bit of a problem with the singer's voice, but some solid songs on here.

Very talking headsy

Decent rock album. Felt like this band is pretty much not as known and somewhat underrated. They have a stones/the strokes feel to them. Felt like this album was pretty good given they were doing what a lot of other bands were doing. 6.3/10

pretty good, i hear some of the influences (just not interpol)

The song Marquee Moon is definitely the highlight of the album - that guitar riff is addicting. The rest of the album seems good, but doesn't compare to Marquee Moon.

Not a massive fan of the vocalist. The music was amazing, and a very obvious influence on so many works that came after, but the vocals were almost off-putting

En guise d'introduction, je voulais rappeler à chacun le fait que la plupart des allemands ont une coupe de cheveux consistant en un dégradé latéral accompagné d'un plaquage de cheveux sur le front. Ceci étant dit, je peux maintenant passer à la critique de l'album Marquee Moon. Le chanteur a un problème assez ennuyeux qui est celui de ne pas savoir chanter. Pour remédier à ce problème, j'ai créé une cagnotte dans laquelle vous êtes libres de donner le montant de votre souhait. L'intégralité de la recette servira à financer les cours de l'intéressé. Je vous écrirai le lien du site internet menant à celle-ci dans ma critique du prochain album d'Eric Clapton.

Ce groupe faisant partie de la grande famille des equipements electroniques, dans laquelle on retrouve par exemple Radiohead ou encore le groupe français Téléphone, nous propose un album en demi-teinte. En effet, comme l'a très bien souligné mon camarade d'écoute robturistuperds, le chanteur est en grande difficulté sur toute la durée de l'album. Je vous invite d'ailleurs à le soutenir via la cagnotte ouverte par rob. Cette faiblesse au chant est dommageable, car tout l'attirail electronique était en revanche bien au rendez-vous: les cables RVB étaient parfaitement branchés, le téléviseur correctement connecté à l'alimentation centrale, on pouvait même distinguer un cable HDMI prêt à être utilisé. Un album au gout amer, qui recolte donc la note de 3/5.

funky. 3?

I'm prefacing this by saying that I haven't in the past listened to that much rock music, I have a bit but not as a main genre for me. I thought that this album was kind of boring. The backing tracks got really repetitive, and the vocals didn't really add that much to the music for me. I can absolutely see how this album influenced a lot of other music, and reading the Wikipedia article I could absolutely see the influences on the other artists that were mentioned. However, If I was picking an album to listen to, it would not be this one. My favorite tracks were probably Friction, Prove It, and Torn Curtain.

Pleasent suprise. Woulnt shy away if heard again

It's fine. I struggle to see why it's on a list like this. Dad rock. Best track: Guiding Light

One of those "never popular but launched a million bands" bands. Which is a definite trigger-warning for me (FU Velvet Underground you were the worst). But these guys are definitely better - way better. I hate to break it down to something so base but Tom Verlaine's voice is a real tough thing to get by. It's a shame because the guitar and melodies are so interesting, especially on songs like "Venus" (which Verlaine is playing lead on) - I keep thinking what if Elvis Costello sang for these guys? I realize his voice is a bit polarizing as well but for me that would have been an amazing marriage... Avoiding the vocals for a bit - the music is really cool here - definitely has that dry 70s "post-punk" vibe but I kind of hate that term; there's also quite a bit of interesting progressions within each of these songs; good and creative use of chord voicings and dynamics. After the album is over I'm still humming those guitar arpeggios from "Venus" which is a good thing. Upon replay I find I both like and dislike the album more - the instrumental passages for obvious reasons are really good but... I don't need a perfect tonal vocalist like .... Freddie Mercury? to enjoy a band, but Verlaine's attack-style vocals are grating and detract from each song rather than compliment; comparing to some of his contemporaries like Costello or Tom Petty. They worked better with the songs IMO. 6/10 3 stars. Kind of a waste - really needed a different/better singer.

Pretty cool. Very rolling stonesy.

early days of prog rock? had some interesting moments but felt like it went on a bit

3/5 I didn’t give it a very critical listen but I did enjoy it. Sounds like music that indie rock bands still try to make today. Not a huge fan of the vocalists sound but I’ve heard worse and more grating.

Irgendwie happy peppy, aber such nix besonderes...

This felt...fine? Nothing terrible but also nothing that jumped out.

This sounded like a generic punk album to me from it's era. I enjoyed it, but wouldn't listen again.

Didn't really hold my attention but music wasn't bad

Look: I'm a suck for power pop. I ride hard for Big Star, Matthew Sweet, The Raspberries, Cheap Trick, and yes, especially The Knack. And apparently this is "garage rock" more than "power pop". Or "early alternative" or "post punk". Whatever. It sounds power pop to me. And there are a ton of great songs here. I loved a lot of it. It's just become perhaps the most overrated underrated album of all-time. It definitely deserves a spot on this list for the influence it had on future bands who took their blueprint and did it better.

At it's best, a decent bit of 70s rock. At it's worst, completely forgettable background music. They didn't do themselves any favours by starting with the two most generic tracks on the album. Definitely picks up after the title track but never really amazing.

First few tracks seemed a bit meh. Then 8 and half minutes into the title track I realised that actually something a bit out of the ordinary was going on, and enjoyed the rest of the album from that point. I can believe that in 1977 this was a bit of a game-changer for guitar music.

I enjoyed listening to this, but probably wouldn't come back to it often.

Another one of these middle-of-the-pack rock projects unfortunately. Not that it's bad, just that we've had a handful of albums that, when heard together, are pretty nondistinct. I enjoyed a few tracks on here, it's a decent project. But nothing really jumping out at me. Favorite tracks: Marquee Moon, Venus, Guiding Light. Album art: Low res band photo with what seems like distorted text. Whatever. 3/5

I liked this pretty well, the music moreso than the vocals. To me it seemed to jump pretty well over post-punk and even new wave genre wise, pretty far ahead of its times.

Reminiscent of Eliot Smith, I thought. Not bad.

Not sure...

beetje te hippie

Changed my mind on this a few times as I listened to it but ultimately it was Good

I’ve tried to get into this several times over the years but it just doesn’t do it for me. Pioneering, maybe, but I prefer the stuff it opened the door for.

thought it was gross at the beginning but kinda grew on me. not badddd but would not listen again xxxxxx

Except for the song "Marquee Moon", the whole album looks like any generic post-punk album that was forgotten inside an old box of cassettes in some basement... Reading the Wikipedia article, I got the importance of the album for the movement in that time and the references of New York are nice, but the songs are just normal.

Above average but easily forgotten creative rock-esque vibes. I swear one of the riffs on the eponymous track was inspired by Trout Mask Replica

rustig, leuk voor achtergrond maar zo speciaal vind ik het niet

So the seeds of an alt movement are in there. It almost gives off a proto math rock jazz vibe with a lot of counter melodies in the guitar voices. The vocal texture is okay. It has an early 60s vibe, but maybe a touch more focus. Marquee Moon is a track where it all comes together, the other tracks on the A-side don't feel harmonious(?) like the orchestration isn't paced out.

This band is better for me. I like the song "See no evil".

nothing much to say about it, solid album without any standouts

His voice is the only thing that kept this from being 4 stars. I just couldn’t settle in all the way and enjoy.

not terrible

There's a bit of Stones in this for me. Overall listenable and original.

Ganz okay aber auch nicht wirklich bemerkenswert

Mostly forgettable for me, but not a bad listen

Enjoyed. Stones esque

Some nice stuff in there

Sounds very much Talking Heads inspired. First time I've ever heard this 'classic LP' not an instant winner for me. Might be after a few listens perhaps. Good though.

A great early alternative, guitar-driven album. The back half of the LP does seem to lose steam and resort to repetitive arrangements, but the combined force of the instrumentation and charging title track still make for a decent listen.

As a huge Strokes fan, I knew the comparisons that are often made between them and Television. And to be frank, I see why they are often made, after having listened to Marque Moon. However, I most definitely prefer Julian's voice over Tom's, Albert's riffs over Jimmy's, and This Is It's style over Marquee Moon's. This Is It presents a beautifully bittersweet cohesive concept, consisting of a distorted style and droning guitars that fit incredibly well together, while Marquee Moon sounds decidedly more confusing and uninspired. There is not a single bad track on here, but this widely regarded classic piece of Art-Punk leaves me wishing for way more. 3/5.

I'd heard of this band but never listened to them. Musically, I find them very impressive -- not the power-chord-based, heavily distorted, oft-dissonant (sometimes seemingly for dissonance's sake) punk sound, even though from what I'm reading they were part of the NYC-CBGBs 70s scene. I must confess that even though the lead singer is a bit David Byrne-like (just a hunch: I wouldn't be surprised to learn that a bunch of CBGBs bands had a lot of similarities; not a knock, that stuff just happens via osmosis), and I love David Byrne, I'm not a fan of his vocals. That being said, a lot of the music on this album is very interesting to me. I sometimes want a bit more sustain underneath the songs, but that's a personal taste thing for me (and I don't need it in every song - I'm just hearing a few of the songs as a little "thin," at least to my ear, and that's probably exactly how the band wanted it). The guitar work is fantastic. The whole band plays great - bass & drums are superb. I bet they were a lot of fun to see play at CBGBs. (Side note: it's also fun to say "CBGBs".)

Easy Rock listening, although lacks some standout songs

It was alright actually, better than i expected. Still not vibing with enough of the songs to add them to my library, though. 2.5/3 stars.

It's fine. 'Marquee Moon' is great - not sure the other ones stack up.

70s punk rock from New York. Not quite my tasty, but good, nevertheless!

- jazzy and interesting - fairly generic lyrics - probably ahead of its time and still holds up

Good, not really my thing but a solid album and I can see how people would really enjoy this.

Garage band sound. Didn't like the vocals.

Captivating musically but lyrics felt like an afterthought and ended up forgettable. Wonderful guitar, especially on title track but after 10 minutes it felt pretentious

Great tunes and still sounds fresh

Decent

The rock with weak vocal. The instrumental part is good, but the voice is weird.

Not to bad actually! Bit characterless- something missing.

I really like the first few songs but not so much the last half of the album.

Alright. Entertained me whilst washing up but wouldn't be rushing to listen to again. Kept expecting The Cardigans to start singing Lovefool when Elevation came on

Fine.

Was decent, didn't love all of it but liked enough of it to enjoy it on the whole. Reminded me of the strokes-era alternate/indie rock vibe from bands around at that time. 3*

Pleasant surprise here for me. I really liked the way the songs were crafted, in particular the guitar parts. The downfall was the lead singer: regardless of whether it was a stylistic choice or natural talent level (or both), his voice was distracting.

Aanvaardbaar.

It was interesting. A couple of good tracks but overall not something I'd listen to again unless it was on vinyl. I can imagine this would lend itself.

6/10

Not my thing

Fine album, sort of faded into the back groud. Marquee Moon was a good track, but part of that might just be to me recognizing it

Never listened to Television much prior. Quite Talking Heads-y. Enjoyed 👍

This has been the most frustrating review. Not because of the music, but my tech incompetencies have had me start four solid reviews, but then lose them 😕. So here is my brief fifth effort. Good album! I think better musicianship and writing than a lot of their contemporaries, and I’m wondering why these guys don’t get more respect. There is great guitar work - especially on “Elevation” and “Prove It” and my favorite track was “Friction”. I get the feeling that for part of his life, this album was never that far away from Paul Westerberg’s turntable... 3.5, but I can’t justify a 4.

Good, but again - not for me

Would have given it 3.5, excellent in places, but a bit samey

Great album, some great punchy songs and their influence can be heard today still.

Sticking a 10 minute song in the middle of the album is bold. Alright, nothing super special and a bit grating. 6

Can spot the glimpses of influence they gave others but in the main this album felt like one long track. Not enough variation to keep me interested for sustained periods

Quite surprised, enjoyed that.

This doesn't sound like a 70s album, must have been well ahead of its time when the band were playing CBGBs. Most of it was new to me apart from Marquee Moon, rest were growing on me but not sure I'll be revisiting the album too often.

First Album we've had that I've not aware of at all. Here goes nothing... Initial thoughts were its not awful but not instant either, maybe lacking hooks, singer is strong with a Jaggeresque twang. Things significantly pick up after a couple tracks with Friction which is a proper punk banger. They are little like a grown up Ramones with something more interesting to say. Guitars on this are mostly great although some of the tracks start to get a little prog rock which is upsetting. If you judge this album by today's standards its probably a 3. But in 1977 this would have been mind blowing for people, especially considering the amount of drugs they took back then. I suspect this would have been a massively influential album and inspired a lot of indie rock to come. 3/5 for the album as we find it today (fair bit of filler). But its a high 3 and probably deserves a 4 for influence alone. An Interesting Album and I've already downloaded it as think it will benefit from a few more listens.

"It was a tight tour night, streets so bright. The world was so thin and between my bones and skin." (Venus) Ah, el disco de las canciones adyacentes a otras canciones que sí conozco.

An album of two halves. The first half is like the Clash, but missing whatever it is that makes the Clash so vital. Side 2 is something different. Gentler, more melodic, not trying to have 'attitude' and much, much better. Side 1 = 2/5, Side 2 = 4/5.

6/10. I guess not the most generic rock we've heard, but overall the singing is meh, and the instrumentals are good but not good enough to justify the lengths of the instrumental sections. Elevation's similarity to Californication weirded me out.