I see light on these shores tonight
One of the absolute greats has fallen into the arms of Venus De Milo:
Tom Verlaine, whose band Television was one of the most influential to emerge from the New York punk rock scene centered on the nightclub CBGB — but whose exploratory guitar improvisations and poetic songwriting were never easily categorizable as punk, or for that matter any other genre — died on Saturday in Manhattan. He was 73.
His death was announced by Jesse Paris Smith, the daughter of Mr. Verlaine’s fellow musician Patti Smith. She did not specify a cause, saying that he died “after a brief illness.”
Although Television achieved only minor commercial success and broke up after recording two albums, Mr. Verlaine — who went on to record several solo albums and reunited with the band periodically — had a lasting influence, especially on his fellow guitarists.
“Tom Verlaine is the guitarist to mention these days if you’re a young rocker with some pretense to intelligence and originality,” Robert Palmer of The New York Times wrote in 1987.
Marquee Moon is one of the greatest records in the history of American rock n roll; Adventure and Television are eternally in its shadow but are very good records approached on their own terms.
I was lucky enough to see Television when Verlaine and Lloyd were still willing to work together several times, the first time at a tiny club in Montreal after their last album came out. Not the same as seeing them in their Village heyday, but pretty goddamned great. R.I.P.
….I shoulda shared this in the OP. One of my favorite instrumental cameos ever: