A couple of days ago I would have abstained, and it still is really close. The Fall are insanely prolific and even though not all their albums are good, the ones that are good are fantastic. That being said, I would trade most of The Fall's discography for Marquee Moon, and I also quite like Adventure and their self-titled, so I'll vote Television.
Marquee Moon is magnificent, but I have voted for The Fall. That career record is simply wondrous. From what I know, Television have one masterpiece, one very good album, and one slightly above average (but with 'Days' in it). The Fall have one masterpiece (albeit not quite as perfect as Marquee Moon maybe), 3 excellent albums, and at least 6 other very good ones. The Fall then.
Marquee Moon has been one of my favourite albums since I first heard it, and on my chart since day one. That said, I'd take The Fall any day. Live at the Witch Trials, This Nation's Saving Grace, Bend Sinister, Hex Enduction Hour, Perverted By Language, Dragnet, Slates, Country on the Click are all fantastic albums, each one better than most bands manage in a career, not to mention all the essential Peel Sessions. John Peel famously said about The Fall that they're, "always different, always the same", and I think that's true. Mixing the snarl of garage rock and punk with the more out-there musical stylings of Can and Captain Beefheart (particularly Mark E. Smith's obsession with having a deliberately disciplined off-kilter rhythm section), they were/are just awesome. Over the years the lineup has changed time and time again, but Smith is still there, conducting his group and spraying his bizarre mix of stream-of-consciousness surrealism and Northern English sensibilities and satirical platitudes about everyday life. Their music is often dark and brooding, but more often really fucking fun. They're just one of the greatest bands ever, and the fact they've managed to make great music for 35 years now is just incredible, although even their biggest supporters would have a hard time calling them consistent. However, they're certainly consistently interesting, and at their best rival any other band on the planet. It should be no surprise to anybody that Pavement essentially stole their sound (honestly, 1992 Pavement = 1985 The Fall), whilst they were also a huge influence on Sonic Youth, among many, many others. Here's a bunch of reasons why you should vote for The Fall:
What a great matchup! Well, I guess I'll just stick my wimpy little promotion in here
MrFrogger wrote:
Television is an American band, formed in New York City in 1973. Although they recorded in a raw manner similar to their contemporaries, minimalizing the use of studio techniques, sound effects and atypical instruments, Television's music was unique and technically proficient, defined by guitarists Tom Verlaine and Richard Lloyd.
They are best known for their album Marquee Moon, released in 1977. It has been cited as important to the development of post-punk in the late 1970s and 1980s
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