R.I.P. Tom Verlaine

brianlux · January 2023

Fellow fans will be as dismayed and saddened as I am about this, no doubt. I just don't know what to say. This has been a brutal year already. The man was not much more than my age. Too damn young.

R.I.P. the amazing Tom Verlaine.

https://www.npr.org/2023/01/28/1152357360/tom-verlaine-guitarist-and-singer-of-influential-rock-band-television-dies-at-73

Image: https://media.npr.org/assets/img/2023/01/28/gettyimages-525797196-9c0c71dadc32ba78dbd1343ae9563dfffad58cc2-s1100-c50.jpg

pjpjpaul · January 2023

R.I.P. Tom

Image: https://us.v-cdn.net/5021252/uploads/editor/no/o8ujsq5ai324.jpg

GlowGirl · January 2023

RIP Tom Verlaine. Television was an amazing band. I never met Tom Verlaine but for several years in the late 1990s/early 2000s I was pretty good friends with Richard Lloyd from Television. We used to hang out quite a bit. I lost touch with him a while ago (but recently found his old landline number when I was cleaning out some stuff). He used to tell me some great stories about Television and the early days of CBGBs. I will be thinking of him today as well.

brianlux · January 2023

GlowGirl said:

RIP Tom Verlaine. Television was an amazing band. I never met Tom Verlaine but for several years in the late 1990s/early 2000s I was pretty good friends with Richard Lloyd from Television. We used to hang out quite a bit. I lost touch with him a while ago (but recently found his old landline number when I was cleaning out some stuff). He used to tell me some great stories about Television and the early days of CBGBs. I will be thinking of him today as well.

How cool that you and Richard Lloyd were friends. I can imagine he had some great stories. He's another one of those amazing musicians who surely paid his dues but was never really paid his due in recognition for his work. The same thing is true of the band Television itself, and Tom Verlaine. I don't mean to sound reprimanding, but I'm a bit perplexed by the lack of response on this forum to Verlaine's passing. He was one of the best of that group of people just following boomer musicians- a small but powerful wave who forged new paths in rock that were fundamental to moving the music forward.

Sadly, I never had the chance to see those guys. I have the album Television, Live at the Old Waldorf- San Francisco, 6/29/78. When that album finally came out in 2003 I thought, Oh my God, I lived just down the road from the city, I've been to the Old Waldorf, I could have gone to this show! Ah well, at least we have the record, and it is phenomenal!

Thanks for sharing your story.

1ThoughtKnown · January 2023

brianlux said:

GlowGirl said:

RIP Tom Verlaine. Television was an amazing band. I never met Tom Verlaine but for several years in the late 1990s/early 2000s I was pretty good friends with Richard Lloyd from Television. We used to hang out quite a bit. I lost touch with him a while ago (but recently found his old landline number when I was cleaning out some stuff). He used to tell me some great stories about Television and the early days of CBGBs. I will be thinking of him today as well.

How cool that you and Richard Lloyd were friends. I can imagine he had some great stories. He's another one of those amazing musicians who surely paid his dues but was never really paid his due in recognition for his work. The same thing is true of the band Television itself, and Tom Verlaine. I don't mean to sound reprimanding, but I'm a bit perplexed by the lack of response on this forum to Verlaine's passing. He was one of the best of that group of people just following boomer musicians- a small but powerful wave who forged new paths in rock that were fundamental to moving the music forward.
Sadly, I never had the chance to see those guys. I have the album Television, Live at the Old Waldorf- San Francisco, 6/29/78. When that album finally came out in 2003 I thought, Oh my God, I lived just down the road from the city, I've been to the Old Waldorf, I could have gone to this show! Ah well, at least we have the record, and it is phenomenal!

Thanks for sharing your story.

I just finished reading the “Please Kill Me” uncensored oral history of punk by Legs McNeil and Gillian McCain. Definitely an eye opening read and Television is included, including quotes from GG’s friend Richard Lloyd. Highly recommended .

I have to admit, Television was not a band that struck a chord with me despite wanting to enjoy them. Having said that, Tom Verlaine and Television made their mark in music history. RIP Mr. Verlaine

“Television was doing pretty good until we went on tour with Peter Gabriel. We would go into record stores and not be able to find our record, which is aggravating to any artist. Then Elektra sent over a bunch of tapes while we were on tour. When we heard the first Cars record we said ‘uh oh. This is like our music only right down commercial alley. This is gonna take our place’. You know, they’re gonna sell a million of these Card records, and they’re gonna tell us we should like them, which is almost what happened. They never told us to be like them - they didn’t give us the chance.

We’d always been quirky. Tom writes lyrics that are triple entendres, and he didn’t have a singers voice. I think if you slit a goat’s throat it would sound like that. Anyway, he would never take singing lessons, so what are you gonna do? It’s not a radio-friendly voice, that’s for sure”
Richard Lloyd in Please Kill Me Chapter 35 - Sonic Reducer pg 372.

CarryTheZero · January 2023

So sad to see this. Just got into Television last year having read about them before. Marquee Moon is amazing. Will definitely dig into his solo stuff. So sad, and not that old. More people should check him and his band. A wonderful musician.

GlowGirl · January 2023

1ThoughtKnown said:

brianlux said:

GlowGirl said:

RIP Tom Verlaine. Television was an amazing band. I never met Tom Verlaine but for several years in the late 1990s/early 2000s I was pretty good friends with Richard Lloyd from Television. We used to hang out quite a bit. I lost touch with him a while ago (but recently found his old landline number when I was cleaning out some stuff). He used to tell me some great stories about Television and the early days of CBGBs. I will be thinking of him today as well.

How cool that you and Richard Lloyd were friends. I can imagine he had some great stories. He's another one of those amazing musicians who surely paid his dues but was never really paid his due in recognition for his work. The same thing is true of the band Television itself, and Tom Verlaine. I don't mean to sound reprimanding, but I'm a bit perplexed by the lack of response on this forum to Verlaine's passing. He was one of the best of that group of people just following boomer musicians- a small but powerful wave who forged new paths in rock that were fundamental to moving the music forward.
Sadly, I never had the chance to see those guys. I have the album Television, Live at the Old Waldorf- San Francisco, 6/29/78. When that album finally came out in 2003 I thought, Oh my God, I lived just down the road from the city, I've been to the Old Waldorf, I could have gone to this show! Ah well, at least we have the record, and it is phenomenal!

Thanks for sharing your story.

I just finished reading the “Please Kill Me” uncensored oral history of punk by Legs McNeil and Gillian McCain. Definitely an eye opening read and Television is included, including quotes from GG’s friend Richard Lloyd. Highly recommended .

I have to admit, Television was not a band that struck a chord with me despite wanting to enjoy them. Having said that, Tom Verlaine and Television made their mark in music history. RIP Mr. Verlaine

“Television was doing pretty good until we went on tour with Peter Gabriel. We would go into record stores and not be able to find our record, which is aggravating to any artist. Then Elektra sent over a bunch of tapes while we were on tour. When we heard the first Cars record we said ‘uh oh. This is like our music only right down commercial alley. This is gonna take our place’. You know, they’re gonna sell a million of these Card records, and they’re gonna tell us we should like them, which is almost what happened. They never told us to be like them - they didn’t give us the chance.
We’d always been quirky. Tom writes lyrics that are triple entendres, and he didn’t have a singers voice. I think if you slit a goat’s throat it would sound like that. Anyway, he would never take singing lessons, so what are you gonna do? It’s not a radio-friendly voice, that’s for sure”
Richard Lloyd in Please Kill Me Chapter 35 - Sonic Reducer pg 372.

Funny you should mention Legs McNeil. The reason I met Richard Lloyd was because I worked as a personal assistant for Legs. He lived in my neighborhood and I was between jobs so he hired me for about a year. I met a lot of cool people through him. Interestingly, Richard Lloyd was not happy about the way he was portrayed in the book and he had a huge falling out with Legs. Not sure where they stand now. Legs did give me a signed copy of his book. It is a great read.

brianlux · January 2023

My wife and I ran into a guy I've known for a couple of years. He was looking rather down and my wife said to him, "You look like you lost your best friend." He said, "Well, I didn't know him, but I feel like I lost a friend- Tom Verlaine." I just nodded and said, "Yeah man, I totally get it". My wife said, "That's how Brian felt when David Crosby died. It felt too close to home."

OK, 2023, that's enough for now, dig?

1ThoughtKnown · January 2023

GlowGirl said:

1ThoughtKnown said:

brianlux said:

GlowGirl said:

RIP Tom Verlaine. Television was an amazing band. I never met Tom Verlaine but for several years in the late 1990s/early 2000s I was pretty good friends with Richard Lloyd from Television. We used to hang out quite a bit. I lost touch with him a while ago (but recently found his old landline number when I was cleaning out some stuff). He used to tell me some great stories about Television and the early days of CBGBs. I will be thinking of him today as well.

How cool that you and Richard Lloyd were friends. I can imagine he had some great stories. He's another one of those amazing musicians who surely paid his dues but was never really paid his due in recognition for his work. The same thing is true of the band Television itself, and Tom Verlaine. I don't mean to sound reprimanding, but I'm a bit perplexed by the lack of response on this forum to Verlaine's passing. He was one of the best of that group of people just following boomer musicians- a small but powerful wave who forged new paths in rock that were fundamental to moving the music forward.
Sadly, I never had the chance to see those guys. I have the album Television, Live at the Old Waldorf- San Francisco, 6/29/78. When that album finally came out in 2003 I thought, Oh my God, I lived just down the road from the city, I've been to the Old Waldorf, I could have gone to this show! Ah well, at least we have the record, and it is phenomenal!

Thanks for sharing your story.

I just finished reading the “Please Kill Me” uncensored oral history of punk by Legs McNeil and Gillian McCain. Definitely an eye opening read and Television is included, including quotes from GG’s friend Richard Lloyd. Highly recommended .

I have to admit, Television was not a band that struck a chord with me despite wanting to enjoy them. Having said that, Tom Verlaine and Television made their mark in music history. RIP Mr. Verlaine

“Television was doing pretty good until we went on tour with Peter Gabriel. We would go into record stores and not be able to find our record, which is aggravating to any artist. Then Elektra sent over a bunch of tapes while we were on tour. When we heard the first Cars record we said ‘uh oh. This is like our music only right down commercial alley. This is gonna take our place’. You know, they’re gonna sell a million of these Card records, and they’re gonna tell us we should like them, which is almost what happened. They never told us to be like them - they didn’t give us the chance.
We’d always been quirky. Tom writes lyrics that are triple entendres, and he didn’t have a singers voice. I think if you slit a goat’s throat it would sound like that. Anyway, he would never take singing lessons, so what are you gonna do? It’s not a radio-friendly voice, that’s for sure”
Richard Lloyd in Please Kill Me Chapter 35 - Sonic Reducer pg 372.

Funny you should mention Legs McNeil. The reason I met Richard Lloyd was because I worked as a personal assistant for Legs. He lived in my neighborhood and I was between jobs so he hired me for about a year. I met a lot of cool people through him. Interestingly, Richard Lloyd was not happy about the way he was portrayed in the book and he had a huge falling out with Legs. Not sure where they stand now. Legs did give me a signed copy of his book. It is a great read.

Awesome. Although I am not sure how Legs could be blamed for portraying anyone in that book. It is all their own quotes, pieced together.

Book is pure genius. But Mr. Lloyd is entitled to his feelings. For what it’s worth, he came off looking better than a lot of people in there lol

GlowGirl · January 2023

1ThoughtKnown said:

GlowGirl said:

1ThoughtKnown said:

brianlux said:

GlowGirl said:

RIP Tom Verlaine. Television was an amazing band. I never met Tom Verlaine but for several years in the late 1990s/early 2000s I was pretty good friends with Richard Lloyd from Television. We used to hang out quite a bit. I lost touch with him a while ago (but recently found his old landline number when I was cleaning out some stuff). He used to tell me some great stories about Television and the early days of CBGBs. I will be thinking of him today as well.

How cool that you and Richard Lloyd were friends. I can imagine he had some great stories. He's another one of those amazing musicians who surely paid his dues but was never really paid his due in recognition for his work. The same thing is true of the band Television itself, and Tom Verlaine. I don't mean to sound reprimanding, but I'm a bit perplexed by the lack of response on this forum to Verlaine's passing. He was one of the best of that group of people just following boomer musicians- a small but powerful wave who forged new paths in rock that were fundamental to moving the music forward.
Sadly, I never had the chance to see those guys. I have the album Television, Live at the Old Waldorf- San Francisco, 6/29/78. When that album finally came out in 2003 I thought, Oh my God, I lived just down the road from the city, I've been to the Old Waldorf, I could have gone to this show! Ah well, at least we have the record, and it is phenomenal!

Thanks for sharing your story.

I just finished reading the “Please Kill Me” uncensored oral history of punk by Legs McNeil and Gillian McCain. Definitely an eye opening read and Television is included, including quotes from GG’s friend Richard Lloyd. Highly recommended .

I have to admit, Television was not a band that struck a chord with me despite wanting to enjoy them. Having said that, Tom Verlaine and Television made their mark in music history. RIP Mr. Verlaine

“Television was doing pretty good until we went on tour with Peter Gabriel. We would go into record stores and not be able to find our record, which is aggravating to any artist. Then Elektra sent over a bunch of tapes while we were on tour. When we heard the first Cars record we said ‘uh oh. This is like our music only right down commercial alley. This is gonna take our place’. You know, they’re gonna sell a million of these Card records, and they’re gonna tell us we should like them, which is almost what happened. They never told us to be like them - they didn’t give us the chance.
We’d always been quirky. Tom writes lyrics that are triple entendres, and he didn’t have a singers voice. I think if you slit a goat’s throat it would sound like that. Anyway, he would never take singing lessons, so what are you gonna do? It’s not a radio-friendly voice, that’s for sure”
Richard Lloyd in Please Kill Me Chapter 35 - Sonic Reducer pg 372.

Funny you should mention Legs McNeil. The reason I met Richard Lloyd was because I worked as a personal assistant for Legs. He lived in my neighborhood and I was between jobs so he hired me for about a year. I met a lot of cool people through him. Interestingly, Richard Lloyd was not happy about the way he was portrayed in the book and he had a huge falling out with Legs. Not sure where they stand now. Legs did give me a signed copy of his book. It is a great read.

Awesome. Although I am not sure how Legs could be blamed for portraying anyone in that book. It is all their own quotes, pieced together.
Book is pure genius. But Mr. Lloyd is entitled to his feelings. For what it’s worth, he came off looking better than a lot of people in there lol

Agreed. I love the book. I think he felt some of his quotes were taken out of context and edited with other people’s quotes to portray a certain viewpoint - similar to how reality show people sometime say their parts are edited in a certain way to make them look like a villain. I agree that Richard was fine in the book. I am not sure what pissed him off about it so much. I don’t know all the real stories so creative editing may have happened here and there.

I am sorry I derailed this thread. We should focus on Tom Verlaine. A lot of members of those seminal NYC 1970s CB’s bands have passed. He was a big part of that scene.

brianlux · January 2023

GlowGirl said:

1ThoughtKnown said:

GlowGirl said:

1ThoughtKnown said:

brianlux said:

GlowGirl said:

RIP Tom Verlaine. Television was an amazing band. I never met Tom Verlaine but for several years in the late 1990s/early 2000s I was pretty good friends with Richard Lloyd from Television. We used to hang out quite a bit. I lost touch with him a while ago (but recently found his old landline number when I was cleaning out some stuff). He used to tell me some great stories about Television and the early days of CBGBs. I will be thinking of him today as well.

How cool that you and Richard Lloyd were friends. I can imagine he had some great stories. He's another one of those amazing musicians who surely paid his dues but was never really paid his due in recognition for his work. The same thing is true of the band Television itself, and Tom Verlaine. I don't mean to sound reprimanding, but I'm a bit perplexed by the lack of response on this forum to Verlaine's passing. He was one of the best of that group of people just following boomer musicians- a small but powerful wave who forged new paths in rock that were fundamental to moving the music forward.
Sadly, I never had the chance to see those guys. I have the album Television, Live at the Old Waldorf- San Francisco, 6/29/78. When that album finally came out in 2003 I thought, Oh my God, I lived just down the road from the city, I've been to the Old Waldorf, I could have gone to this show! Ah well, at least we have the record, and it is phenomenal!

Thanks for sharing your story.

I just finished reading the “Please Kill Me” uncensored oral history of punk by Legs McNeil and Gillian McCain. Definitely an eye opening read and Television is included, including quotes from GG’s friend Richard Lloyd. Highly recommended .

I have to admit, Television was not a band that struck a chord with me despite wanting to enjoy them. Having said that, Tom Verlaine and Television made their mark in music history. RIP Mr. Verlaine

“Television was doing pretty good until we went on tour with Peter Gabriel. We would go into record stores and not be able to find our record, which is aggravating to any artist. Then Elektra sent over a bunch of tapes while we were on tour. When we heard the first Cars record we said ‘uh oh. This is like our music only right down commercial alley. This is gonna take our place’. You know, they’re gonna sell a million of these Card records, and they’re gonna tell us we should like them, which is almost what happened. They never told us to be like them - they didn’t give us the chance.
We’d always been quirky. Tom writes lyrics that are triple entendres, and he didn’t have a singers voice. I think if you slit a goat’s throat it would sound like that. Anyway, he would never take singing lessons, so what are you gonna do? It’s not a radio-friendly voice, that’s for sure”
Richard Lloyd in Please Kill Me Chapter 35 - Sonic Reducer pg 372.

Funny you should mention Legs McNeil. The reason I met Richard Lloyd was because I worked as a personal assistant for Legs. He lived in my neighborhood and I was between jobs so he hired me for about a year. I met a lot of cool people through him. Interestingly, Richard Lloyd was not happy about the way he was portrayed in the book and he had a huge falling out with Legs. Not sure where they stand now. Legs did give me a signed copy of his book. It is a great read.

Awesome. Although I am not sure how Legs could be blamed for portraying anyone in that book. It is all their own quotes, pieced together.
Book is pure genius. But Mr. Lloyd is entitled to his feelings. For what it’s worth, he came off looking better than a lot of people in there lol

Agreed. I love the book. I think he felt some of his quotes were taken out of context and edited with other people’s quotes to portray a certain viewpoint - similar to how reality show people sometime say their parts are edited in a certain way to make them look like a villain. I agree that Richard was fine in the book. I am not sure what pissed him off about it so much. I don’t know all the real stories so creative editing may have happened here and there.

I am sorry I derailed this thread. We should focus on Tom Verlaine. A lot of members of those seminal NYC 1970s CB’s bands have passed. He was a big part of that scene.

Not a problem- at least not for me anyway. It's always cool to see Legs mentioned around here. I love it when in one of the films about the Ramones he bemoaned how browwwwn everything in the 70's had become, lol.

Same for Richard Lloyd who obviously was an integral part of Television. And though some things I've read indicate there was some Friction (oh, I love that song!) between the two of them, the way Tom and Richard interacted musically was pure magic!

1ThoughtKnown · January 2023

GlowGirl said:

1ThoughtKnown said:

GlowGirl said:

1ThoughtKnown said:

brianlux said:

GlowGirl said:

RIP Tom Verlaine. Television was an amazing band. I never met Tom Verlaine but for several years in the late 1990s/early 2000s I was pretty good friends with Richard Lloyd from Television. We used to hang out quite a bit. I lost touch with him a while ago (but recently found his old landline number when I was cleaning out some stuff). He used to tell me some great stories about Television and the early days of CBGBs. I will be thinking of him today as well.

How cool that you and Richard Lloyd were friends. I can imagine he had some great stories. He's another one of those amazing musicians who surely paid his dues but was never really paid his due in recognition for his work. The same thing is true of the band Television itself, and Tom Verlaine. I don't mean to sound reprimanding, but I'm a bit perplexed by the lack of response on this forum to Verlaine's passing. He was one of the best of that group of people just following boomer musicians- a small but powerful wave who forged new paths in rock that were fundamental to moving the music forward.
Sadly, I never had the chance to see those guys. I have the album Television, Live at the Old Waldorf- San Francisco, 6/29/78. When that album finally came out in 2003 I thought, Oh my God, I lived just down the road from the city, I've been to the Old Waldorf, I could have gone to this show! Ah well, at least we have the record, and it is phenomenal!

Thanks for sharing your story.

I just finished reading the “Please Kill Me” uncensored oral history of punk by Legs McNeil and Gillian McCain. Definitely an eye opening read and Television is included, including quotes from GG’s friend Richard Lloyd. Highly recommended .

I have to admit, Television was not a band that struck a chord with me despite wanting to enjoy them. Having said that, Tom Verlaine and Television made their mark in music history. RIP Mr. Verlaine

“Television was doing pretty good until we went on tour with Peter Gabriel. We would go into record stores and not be able to find our record, which is aggravating to any artist. Then Elektra sent over a bunch of tapes while we were on tour. When we heard the first Cars record we said ‘uh oh. This is like our music only right down commercial alley. This is gonna take our place’. You know, they’re gonna sell a million of these Card records, and they’re gonna tell us we should like them, which is almost what happened. They never told us to be like them - they didn’t give us the chance.
We’d always been quirky. Tom writes lyrics that are triple entendres, and he didn’t have a singers voice. I think if you slit a goat’s throat it would sound like that. Anyway, he would never take singing lessons, so what are you gonna do? It’s not a radio-friendly voice, that’s for sure”
Richard Lloyd in Please Kill Me Chapter 35 - Sonic Reducer pg 372.

Funny you should mention Legs McNeil. The reason I met Richard Lloyd was because I worked as a personal assistant for Legs. He lived in my neighborhood and I was between jobs so he hired me for about a year. I met a lot of cool people through him. Interestingly, Richard Lloyd was not happy about the way he was portrayed in the book and he had a huge falling out with Legs. Not sure where they stand now. Legs did give me a signed copy of his book. It is a great read.

Awesome. Although I am not sure how Legs could be blamed for portraying anyone in that book. It is all their own quotes, pieced together.
Book is pure genius. But Mr. Lloyd is entitled to his feelings. For what it’s worth, he came off looking better than a lot of people in there lol

Agreed. I love the book. I think he felt some of his quotes were taken out of context and edited with other people’s quotes to portray a certain viewpoint - similar to how reality show people sometime say their parts are edited in a certain way to make them look like a villain. I agree that Richard was fine in the book. I am not sure what pissed him off about it so much. I don’t know all the real stories so creative editing may have happened here and there.

I am sorry I derailed this thread. We should focus on Tom Verlaine. A lot of members of those seminal NYC 1970s CB’s bands have passed. He was a big part of that scene.

You haven’t derailed anything 🤙. These are the kind of conversations people have when someone passes. It is your legacy and the relationships you cultivated over your (hopefully) long life.

I did find it interesting, and never made the correlation, that they sounded a lot like the Cars and they aren’t my jam either.

Verlaine was a guest musician on Horses and got into a scrap in studio with the only other guest musician on the record, Allen Lanier of Blue Oyster Cult. Can’t get much more punk than that! RIP TV

Loujoe · January 2023

^^Too much cowbell?
Sorry for the loss.

The more I know the more I know I don't know.

brianlux · January 2023

Loujoe said:

^^Too much cowbell?
Sorry for the loss.

The more I know the more I know I don't know.

"Too much cowbell" haha! I laughed because that reminded me of a friend back in the mid to late 80's. Almost anytime we listened to a song that had a cowbell she would call out in her cute voice, "Too much cowbell!" and then we'd laugh and laugh.

I also laughed because I can't imagine billy Ficca using a cowbell!