3 Iconic Tracks to Celebrate Richard Lloyd, the Blazing Guitarist of Television

Richard Lloyd, the blazing guitarist of Television, died on Saturday at age 75. Lloyd made up one half of Television’s twin-guitar attack, alongside Tom Verlaine. A crucial part of New York’s pioneering punk scene in the late 1970s, Lloyd and Verlaine infused their art rock with angular melodies, spiky rhythms, and a jazz sensibility.

To celebrate Lloyd’s unique alchemy, I’ve highlighted three tracks that feature his iconic playing. We’ll begin with Television’s influential 1977 debut, Marquee Moon. An album that shaped the likes of Sonic Youth, R.E.M., and Wilco.

“Marquee Moon” by Television

Not all punk rock is created equal. Television stood apart from fellow CBGB bands by trading power chords for the long jams of the Grateful Dead and The Doors. Lloyd and Television leader Tom Verlaine played intricate guitar parts that more closely echoed the jazz inflections of The Allman Brothers Band rather than the three-chord punk common in the Bowery scene. “Marquee Moon” is their masterpiece, with Lloyd’s searching leads perfectly complementing Verlaine’s ambitious songwriting.

“Venus” by Television

The Rolling Stones long ago perfected the art of two interweaving guitars. For many, the interplay between Keith Richards and Ronnie Wood remains the holy grail of the twin-guitar-led rock band. On this track from Television’s debut, Lloyd and Verlaine create dueling textures, with Lloyd’s Strat panned right and Verlaine’s Jazzmaster, left—a blueprint for Albert Hammond Jr. and Nick Valensi, who helped lead a garage-rock revival in the early 2000s with The Strokes.

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.

“Evangeline” by Matthew Sweet

When Matthew Sweet dropped his 1991 LP Girlfriend, alternative rock was in the midst of a cultural coup. But Sweet, who emerged from Athens, played a rootsy iteration of alternative, supported by the blistering lead guitars of Lloyd and Robert Quine. And here, Lloyd kindles Sweet’s power pop with a noisy hook that’s both controlled and on the verge of recklessness. Punk and shred guitar may have seemed like an odd couple. But Lloyd’s gymnastic style bridges the gap with overflowing virtuosity.

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