Tom Verlaine: 1949 - 2023

Tom Verlaine is easily the leftist's favourite guitarist. His fractious guitar works quite evidently paved way for the radical dissonance we hear in Dinosaur Jr, Sonic Youth & My Bloody Valentine, among others. He was ahead of the anti-guitar faction while still preserving massive guitar presence in his music. Of course, being off tangent means treading the path of semi-obscurity; not many of us have heard of the name Tom Verlaine & his Television outfit but things remain critical on this musical platform. More importantly, Verlaine introduced us to a world of non-compliance while inviting indulgence at the same time. Not an easy feat but it carved a niche. Guitardom will miss Tom Verlaine's altruistic contributions & sonic provocations for sure.

Television was previously mentioned here: CLICK

Pic: BBC News

MOMM (28)

Had been catching up with my past. Really.

Television: Marquee Moon

Richard Lloyd & Tom Verlaine are the unsung heroes of the proto-indie / eccentric guitar playing. I heard Richard Lloyd in action in Mathew Sweet's Altered Beasts & got hooked. Lloyd & Verlaine don't give a rat's ass about chords & the proper approach to music. They remain true to their artistic selves, create some of the best melodies & guitar inter-play & triggered a unique approach to guitar-centered music without which, Sonic Youth & Dinosaur Junior, among others, won't happen. Marquee Moon is a tricky release, it was out of print (CD) a long time ago. They only re-issued the vinyl version & back then, there's no You Tube to offer you consolation. I did make an enquiry about the CD version early this year but none was available. Saw this just a few days ago & it's a must-have.

Slayer: Reign in Blood

This is my favourite Slayer album. No compromise from start to end. The distortion here is perhaps the band's best manifestation with reference to the genre of music they embrace. I also feel this is the best Slayer album cover to date, very appealing without straying into B-grade art. Why get this now? I used to have this on cassette tape & it expired along the way. You know, the edges of the tape itself got crinkled due to over-play.

Matthew Sweet: Altered Beast

Yes, I'm still digging into my forgotten CD collection, sealed & put away in the abyss of my store room but I'm enjoying every moment re-discovering some of the ones I bought during the grunge-infested 1990s. One of the most enjoyable, guitar-laden album is the above Matthew Sweet release, Altered Beast.

Matthew Sweet is one of the best vocalist in my books; someone who doesn't try too hard to impress & working within his own vocal range. I first saw a music video of a song (can't remember which one) from Altered Beast during a late night MTV show & got hooked. The melody is simple yet unforgettable; this is definitely the trait of a good song & Matthew Sweet can definitely write good songs, he's not a one-hit wonder.

However, what impressed me the most were the guitar works of Mr. Sweet's recording guitar player, Richard Lloyd (the other recording guitarist in Altered Beast was Robert Quine) who was from the seminal 70s band Television (the other guitar lad in Television is Tom Verlaine). Lloyd isn't a shredder by any means but his solos contain enough impact for guitar dweebs to sit up & listen. If you are a fan of Dinosaur Jr's J. Mascis, you'd enjoy what Richard Lloyd dished out during his Television days.