Also, while I’m at it, care to define “relevant” in this context? Would it still be relevant music if it did nothing except make you want to shake your ass?
I say yes, since the desire to move to music is timeless and constant.
Some theorists have even postulated that it don’t mean a thing if it ain’t got that swing.
Well, I was going to listen to it, but now…
I think of Television as if the Talking Heads played proggier-style songs. pulykamell, as always, nice breakdown of what you are hearing in their music. **BigShooter **- everything you say makes sense from a technical standpoint.
I think they are excellent and love Marquee Moon - entirely worth the investment of time, IMHO. But, per BigShooter, they are certainly influenced by the guitar playing and music styles before them…even if the OP doesn’t want to deal with that…
Hell, it’s incredibly obvious by his choice of gear and musical phrasing that Tom Verlaine was heavily, heavily influenced by the surf rock guitarists.
Of course it’s relevant! The very fact that every musician is influenced by what came before them MAKES classic rock relevant. About the only way you can objectively say that music is “better” today than 40 years ago is in regards to the sound quality - and even that may be arguable.
Saying that all good music begins with Television, or in 1979, or whatever, and anything before that is crap is just retarded.
Well yeah, but I meant Classic Ozzie. 
(I’m not sure if it’s because he’s solo though, or because he’s doddering and old ).
I’ve made the point repeatedly that I’m not trying to indict a whole period of time, and that I’m also aware that the music I’m railing against DOES have its own merits that I don’t identify with. It’s the false romance that surrounds “classic rock” that pisses me off. I know that no one style or period of music is inherently better than any other, whether I think it sucks or that it’s genius - that’s the point. For a group so apt to complain about strawmen, I sure see a lot of folks wearing overalls around here. Or perhaps brainlessness. I hate to repeat myself, but if anybody were actually paying attention to my comments, in the OP or otherwise, they would know that most of their attacks are groundless. All this stuff about how I think “my music” is better than anyone’s, or that I don’t appreciate/respect/understand talent or influence, or that I don’t accept the fact that stuff I like might be influenced by stuff I don’t like, is based on selective reading and misinterpretation. At any rate, you’re all just repeating yourselves at this point, and I also. I’m content to let this thread die.
Case in point: I say the Clash sucked. You may be saying something different. Two different opinions, and neither one is in any danger from the other. Neither one is meant to be interpreted factually, because to make such a statement and expect it to be accepted as such is ridiculous. We all know this. You’re all perfectly welcome to like the music I think is shitty with no complaints from me, and I clearly like a lot of stuff that you may think is garbage. I see no problem with this, so give up trying to tell me that I do. Of course, at least half of you are going to look right past this post and continue to flood the thread with your masturbatory righteous indignation, probably in the form of a restatement of the assertions I’ve just refuted. So I ask again: let it die. If you wanna talk Television, go over to my Punk thread in Cafe Society where some idiot is trying to say that the term “punk” only applies to bands from the UK.
Get over yourself. This thread no longer has anything to do with you, and you don’t own it. We’ll talk about Television here if we want.
Yeah, a lot to misinterpret there in your OP.:dubious:
The Crickets (minus Buddy Holly): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nxmlcTVFvic&feature=related
Great post. Made me put on my Marquee Moon cd after reading it
Personally, I’m listening to a lot of Sleeper Agent lately, and I think Classic Rock will never die.
Another great Television song: Friction.
I had never heard anything by Television prior to seeing this thread and listening to Marquee Moon (which I liked - though it took several listens to grow on me.) Then later I was driving and listening to the local college station, and heard Friction. I thought: “This must be Televlsion. It has the same sound as Marquee Moon.” I looked it up, and sure enough, it was. Good song.
There’s no doubt taste is generational-driven. I’m an older guy and can remember as a young kid when Acker Bilk had a number one hit with ‘Stranger On The Shore’. The airwaves were full of crappy schmaltz - uninteresting godawful shit without any kind of spark - jeez - ‘How Much Is That Doggie In The Window’ got number one andplayed a jillion times on radio when I was six or seven (vomit vomit).
Radio stations shoved this crapola and similar drivel down the airwaves. The nascent rock’n’roll guys like Little Richard and Chuck Berry were played but seemed to be anomalies - black guys whose stuff was novelties - they didn’t get much airplay in my neck of the woods. The only exception seemed to be Elvis – but he turned out to be a moron who sold out to drivel movies as soon as he got popular. Aagh! Music was fucked.
Then - thank all gods and little fishes - we got the Beatles/Animals/Rolling Stones/Who/Kinks etc etc in the space of a year or so and the music went on and on getting better - by the week it seemed - more great bands - what a revelation - music with attitude - with heart- with writing that wasn’t sugar-coated - at 11 years old in 1964 this was shit fucking hot.
By 1967 - less than four years after the Beatles first pathetic #1 “Love Me Do” the number one hit in my country was ‘White Room’ - a piece of brilliant writing, singing and musicianship for its time with A FUCKING GREAT LEAD SOLO that got played on radio - vale Cream… What ground breakers. Eric broke them up before they got stale…
I remember walking out of a Led Zep concert in late '68 with my feet not touching the ground - I’d been to Valhalla in my then-stoned 18 year old mind… I wouldn’t go to see Led Zep now if you paid me - it’s all in the timing - the zeitgeist…
I defy any modern band to have the same effect - but it’s not possible - today’s audience didn’t have to grow up on Acker fucking Bilk…
In comparison - the once-great stuff that punch-line is so vehemently against in the context of his musical experience is not in the same ball-park by comparison of what was before. Sure - lots of it is dead and bland today - almost all of it has been flogged beyond death on radio - raped effectively - but- that’s not where the best of it started.
I get the derision - I even get the attitude - but if you want to knock stuff - you better know the context if you want any respect.
I know you are, but what am I?
By the way, you just raised a three year old zombie thread.
Is there more classic rock now than there was three years ago? Just wondering…
Summary of OP: “Blah blah blah, other people like things I don’t like”
Yeah, so what.
Yeah, but an interesting one. I found myself agreeing with the OP a lot more than I thought I would. I’m with him all the way as far as long, wanking guitar solos…and he’s right on the money about Tom Verlaine and Television being in a very different realm.
And it seems to me that those who raised their voices against him were hyperventilating a lot more than he was at any time.
I don’t think it’s wrong to be passionate about music and to express that passion, even when it ruffles the feathers of those who hold different opinions. If you think he was too rough on a few precious classic rock icons, then you’ve obviously never read any Lester Bangs!
Too many people seem to think “I don’t like certain artists that everyone likes” = “I don’t like anything.” That’s nonsense. The OP was clear that there are other forms of music and other artists he likes a great deal. I probably wouldn’t agree with all of his choices, but I think there would be some common ground between us.