Tune du Jour: “Marquee Moon” – Television
THE CLASH of Cover Tunes: Army of Halfwits vs. Nutley Brass
Peruse, Comment and Vote (I Beseech, Implore and Urge Thee, respectively)
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“Free markets will not prevail without unfettered competition among cover songs.” – Milton Friedbyrd
Marquee Moon appeared on Television‘s first album, which coincidentally enough was also named Marquee Moon. Television was one of the earliest contributors to the new wave genre of the early to mid-70s. They were the first great band to emerge from New York’s infamous venue, CBGB. In fact, according to Mark Deming of AllMusic, they literally built the stage at CBGB. Released in 1977, Marquee Moon had been a staple of the band’s early live shows, becoming more complex and challenging over time. Richard Hell supposedly left the band because the song eventually became too difficult for him to play. Again quoting Mark Deming: “The original studio version is one of the great guitar moments in rock history (Verlaine’s final solo is nothing short of sublime), and Television’s live renditions of the tune (preserved today on a handful of bootlegs and the semi-authorized live document The Blow Up) are, if anything, even more impressive.”
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The Original
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Television:
THE CLASH of Cover Tunes
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Army of Halfwits vs. Nutley Brass
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Army of Halfwits:
(Points scored right off the bat for the band’s name.)
Nutley Brass:
Who doesn’t love a brass band?
Nutley Brass is a recipient of CMI’s universally coveted title of Uni Victor Melodious Maximus in Adversarial Replication. Among the title’s myriad of rewards and benefits, perhaps most desirous is that it bestows upon the recipient the eminently yearned for privilege of having one’s name appear in print media in bold yellow!
Nutley Brass’ triumph in CMI’s THE CLASH of Cover Tunes competition is detailed below:
1/19/2014 – “Rock ‘n’ Roll High School” (Ramones) – Nutley Brass (100%) annihilates Boris the Sprinkler (0%)
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Oh the disharmony! Much like Harlan County there are no neutrals here. Only one cover tune will live to play another day and it is your solemn responsibility to decide which one prevails. So tell me … Which Side Are You On?!!?
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Votes can be cast up to three months from the day and time of the original post.
Disclaimer: Votes cast from Florida may or may not be counted.
cover me impressed 
Marquee Moon is one of my favorite albums ever. It’s truly brilliant and deserves all of the accolades it has gotten. The song Marquee Moon isn’t necessarily my favorite on the album, although that changes every time I listen to the album (which is pretty frequently). I don’t like the vocals on the Army of Halfwits version, but I give them credit for even tackling this song, which can’t be very easy to cover. The Nutley Brass do a decent job, but this is really a guitar song, and brass alone doesn’t cut it.
Bummer. The Army of Halfwits video is “not available” for me. Must be an ISIS plot. The Nutley Brass version is fun for about 60 seconds and then gets gradually more annoying as it continues. I do love the original song and album. I think it’s held up very well over time.
At first I considered The Nutley Brass an interesting novelty. However, at this point in the proceedings,…um…ah…not so much.
I’m going Nutley Brass. They crack me up…and not much does anymore.