Venus

Here's another gem from Television's first album. It's shorter and more concise than their masterpiece, "Marquee Moon", which we enjoyed in the previous chapter. (And we did enjoy it, did we not? We were supposed to enjoy it, dammit!)

Sorry. Tom Verlaine gets me going sometimes. And he does the same to everybody else, which is a shame because Television could have had a long and glorious career if not for "band dynamics". Not an unusual story by any means. But where were we?

Oh, right! Flanking Verlaine we have Richard Lloyd, an extremely accomplished guitarist, and Fred Smith, who plays as solid a bass as you can find anywhere. That leaves Billy Ficca free to get a bit unhinged at times on the drums, which is fine with Billy. At least that's how it feels when you listen to him play.

Richard thinks the same only more so. As he said in a fascinating interview,

The way I see Billy is: He's been playing a drum solo since 1973, occasionally interrupted by songs.

Double blessing there: it's been a good solo and it's been interrupted by some very beautiful songs.

Here's another one of those beautiful songs. It features mysterious poetry and tortured lead vocals from Tom, gorgeous guitar work from Richard, rock-solid bass from Fred, and adventurous drumming from Billy. Everything that was wonderful about Television in less than 4 minutes. Enjoy this.

I said, "Enjoy it!!"

I mean, if you can. And I do hope you can.

I have no trouble enjoying it. And I hope you'll enjoy it with me.

(Left to right: Fred, Tom, Richard, Billy)

It was a tight toy night / Streets so bright
The world was so thin between my bones and skin
There stood another person who was a little surprised
To be face to face with a world so alive
How I fell. [Did you feel low?]
Nah. [Huh?]
I fell right into the arms of Venus de Milo

You know it's all like some new kind of drug
My senses are sharp and my hands are like gloves
Broadway looked so medieval / It seemed to flap like little pages
I fell sideways laughing with a friend from many stages
How we fell [Did you feel low?]
Not at all! [Huh?]
I fell right into the arms of Venus de Milo

Suddenly my eyes went so soft and shaky
I knew there was pain but pain is not aching
Then Richie, Richie said:
"Hey man, let's dress up like cops; think of what we could do!"
Something, something, it said "You'd better not."
And I fell [Did you feel low?]
Nah! [Huh?]
I stood up, walked out of the arms of Venus de Milo

And, of course,

Sorry, Tom. What arms?

It's OK. I knew Tom was joking.