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Television

Musical Group
Forfans of new wave/post-punk, guitar obsessives, cbgb-era nyc devotees, and curious indie listeners
9 Reviews 18 Definitions 35 Charts
New Wave Rock Punkrock

The Profile

Television is an American rock band formed in New York City in 1973. Core members include Tom Verlaine (vocals, guitar), Richard Lloyd (guitar), Billy Ficca (drums), and Fred Smith (bass; replacing founder Richard Hell). Central to the CBGB new wave scene, they debuted with Marquee Moon (1977), followed by Adventure (1978), disbanded, then reunited to release the self-titled Television (1992). They are renowned for intricate dual‑guitar interplay and literate, art‑punk songwriting.

Part of the CBGB scene alongside Patti Smith Group, Talking Heads, and the Ramones; first single was “Little Johnny Jewel” (1975). Marquee Moon (1977) is widely cited as a landmark of the American new wave; Adventure (1978) is often praised as an underrated follow-up. Live ferocity documented on The Blow-Up (recordings from 1978). Influenced later acts including Interpol and the Strokes (as noted in reviews).

Reviews hail Marquee Moon as a landmark of American new wave from the CBGB scene, defined by Tom Verlaine and Richard Lloyd’s interlocking guitars. Adventure is praised as an underrated, impeccably played follow-up. Live energy surges through The Blow-Up and concert accounts, including covers like Satisfaction and Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door. Television’s influence on later bands is repeatedly noted.

Notable Quotes

❝ Without any shadow of a doubt, one of the masterpieces of the American new wave and the entire history of rock, certainly to be counted among the most important and influential albums of all time.
❝ Main protagonists alongside the Patti Smith Group, Talking Heads, and the Ramones of the American new wave of the mid-'70s, Television was part of that great New York rock season centered around CBGB’s, which saw an explosion of talent like never seen before.
❝ Built on brazen rhythms, clear melodies, obsessive guitar arpeggios, and subtle vocals, the songs of Marquee Moon possess such uncontrolled charm expressed in this phrase: few resources but many ideas.
❝ Television were the guitars of the new wave, and Patti Smith defined Verlaine’s sound as a SCREAM OF A THOUSAND BIRDS.
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