Here’s the Spotify link to the playlist. You’re welcome to recreate it on any platform you choose. Just press play and read along, acting like the voice in your head is the DJ. The times listed are that of the song playing, not the full episode length. I play this with a 5-second cross-fade enabled. Have fun!

Intro

FMF#	Track	Artist	Album	Year
1	“Theme From T.V.”	Shadowy Men On A Shadowy Planet	Savvy Show Stoppers	1988

00:10 (music fades low for voice-over)

00:15 Hello and welcome to abp’s TV episode! Today I’m all about that boob tube, the silver screen, the couch potato’s companion, that lovely television set. What once was the focal point of many a living room in the post-War USA, has since become completely remote and mobile with the wave of streaming services and TV apps that exist.

01:10 In the early days of television, families would gather around the living room with their microwaved TV dinners and TV trays and ogle at the screen displaying black and white fuzzy imagery of comedy hours, music specials, straightforward news reporting and sports games.

01:40 After the internet gave cable companies a run for their money, they adapted and put their content online. By the year 2020, people could watch live TV on a cellular phone in the middle of nowhere in HD quality. So in honor of the incredibly popular invention, I’ve got a show stacked with TV songs.

02:10 Kicking things off is one of the most well-known, if not the most well-known punk rock songs about TV. Black Flag was on singer number three by the time Henry Rollins joined the band. Their first vocalist, Keith Morris, sang on the band’s debut EP Nervous Breakdown. Keith quit and went on to form the Circle Jerks with Greg Hetson. Hetson played in Redd Kross, which featured Ron Reyes on drums. Ron sang on Black Flag’s 2nd EP, Jealous Again. After Ron left due to violence at the shows, Dez Cadena would join and tour for the year. After Dez quit, the legendary Henry Rollins joined and recorded their 1981 debut LP Damaged. Here’s their ode to television from that album, “TV Party”.

Set 1: The Silver Screen City

2	“TV Party”	Black Flag	Damaged	1981
3	“TV Love”	Simpletones	Beach Blvd Compilation	1979
4	“TV Set”	The Cramps	Songs The Lord Taught Us	1980
5	“TV Luv Song”	Wavves	Life Sux EP	2013
6	“T.V. California”	Cosmonauts	Cosmonauts	2010

00:10 (music fades low for voice-over)

00:15 Like all of the bands in this first set, Cosmonauts hail from Southern California. The band dubs themselves “drug punk” and splashes in droney, shoegazey guitars on top of their garage sound. Their debut album was first released as a cassette-only Burger Records exclusive, but has since been repressed. From that debut, we heard “T.V. California”.

00:40 Nathan Williams and Wavves were three LPs in before releasing the EP Life Sux. The EP included 6 songs exclusive to the release and the CD version had two bonus tracks, one of which we just listened to. “TV Luv Song” was released as a digital single as well, but was included on that 2013 EP.

01:10 Things got a bit spooky in the middle of the set with The Cramps dropping in. Lux Interior and Poison Ivy Rorschach formed the group in the mid-70s and were apart of the CBGB scene in New York. Their debut record Songs The Lord Taught Us paved the way for an entire subgenre coined by Lux himself, psychobilly. Though, Lux thought The Cramps weren’t psychobilly at all.

01:40 Simpletones never put out a proper album as the original incarnations of the band, but did squeak out a couple of EPs in the late 70s on Posh Boy Records. It’s rather unfortunate, too, becuase they had a great sound. The Vandals would cover “I Have A Date” in the 90s and labels in Germany and Italy have compiled all of their tracks on an import LP with that very same title. We heard “TV Love” from the Beach Blvd compilation.

02:10 2015 curiously spawned a handful of great TV songs. Starting things off for the next set is the Philly, PA group Remember Sports. Bringing a pop-punky vibe mixed with what comes off as a Southern twangy crooner vocal style gives this band a uniquely bright sound. Great harmonies, great tune. Here’s Remember Sports, FKA Sports, with “Reality TV” from All Of Something.

Intermission

7

“T.V. Song”

Blue Man Group

Audio

1999

Set 2: Total Victory

8	“Reality TV”	Remember Sports	All Of Something	2015
9	“TV”	Colleen Green	I Want To Grow Up	2015
10	“T.V. Wedding”	Pill	Pill EP	2015
11	“TV”	Summer Cannibals	Show Us Your Mind	2015
12	“TV”	Negative Scanner	Nose Picker	2018

00:10 (music fades low for voice-over)

00:15 Yesssss, that was so good. 2018 saw the release of Negative Scanner’s sophomore LP Nose Picker and further advancement of their assault on the state of punk rock. Lead singer Rebecca Valeriano-Flores and the band mash together motorik and monotone in a succinct mix of power. The Chicago band released their debut self titled album in 2015 on Trouble In Mind Records.

00:40 I’d like to think that Summer Cannibals’ founder and lead singer Jessica Boudreaux named the band after the 90s Patti Smith song. I mean, it has to be that, right? Regardless, great move. Their 2nd album Show Us Your Mind launched them into national light and scored them a spot at SXSW and CMJ in 2015. “T.V.” closes out that LP and is the only sign of the band letting up after a forceful set of songs.

01:10 Brooklyn band Pill put out there 2015 debut EP on Andrew Savage of Parquet Courts’ Dull Tools label. The EP kicks off with “T.V. Wedding” walking down the aisle into your living room. Pill put out two great LPs and compiled their early recordings on The Dull Tools Tapes, but ultimately disbanded in 2019.

01:40 Colleen Green’s debut release paid homage to the Descendents when she titled it Milo Goes To Compton. She even covered their tune “Good Good Things” on it. Two albums later, we got I Want To Grow Up, possibly another Descendents reference. Colleen also covered blink 182’s Dude Ranch in its entirety in 2019 with just a bass guitar, which was very pleasing to hear. With her single “TV”, Colleen laments about how that silver screen has always been there for her through thick and thin, something I think many people can align with.

02:10 Naked Giants’ debut LP Sluff housed the single “TV”. While the first single off of the album didn’t quite gain traction, their second single “Everybody Thinks They Know (But No One Really Knows)” kicked their popularity up a notch. “TV” may have more depth and make for a more entertaining listen, but “Everybody” definitely has a poppier hook that can reel you in. Here’s that first single, though, “TV”.

Intermission

13

“T.V. Dream”

La Luz

Brainwash – 7″ Single

2013

Set 3: Crummy Commercials

14	“TV”	Naked Giants	Sluff	2018
15	”Television”	IDLES	Joy As An Act Of Resistance	2018
16	”TV Adverts”	The Nerves	TV Adverts – 7″ Single	1978
17	”Television’s Over”	The Adverts	Television’s Over – 7″ Single	1978
18	“Television”	R.M.F.C.	Hive EP	2018

00:10 (music fades low for voice-over)

00:15 R.M.F.C. is the brainchild of Buz Avenue, a young punk-trepeneuer out of Ulladulla, New South Wales, Australia. The project formed into a full band and added members and influence out of Sydney. With “Television”, Buz lives up to his name with a fuzzy scuzzy buzzy tune mixed with driving, tight drums.

00:40 The Adverts are an aptly named band for today’s theme. Adding to the fun, the lead singer’s name is T.V.! Tim (T.V.) Smith formed the band with Gaye Black in 1976 and they put out two LPs and a few EPs before calling it quits at the end of the decade. “Television’s Over” shows up on their 2nd and final LP Cast Of Thousands.

01:10 The Nerves were a three piece formed in Stafford, England in October of 1977. Not to be confused with the other Nerves, the band that wrote “Hanging On The Telephone” which would later be covered by Blondie. These Nerves put out one 7″ in 1978 featuring the song “TV Adverts” and watched it climb up the UK Alternative charts, but that’d be it for them. Great tune, nonetheless, and it fit in well next to The Adverts.

01:40 Now from Stafford over to Bristol. British band IDLES slapped their own style of rock and roll onto the set with some more motorik beats. With 2018’s Joy As An Act Of Resistance, the band channeled a new style of self-reflection, a positive one. It’s all in the album name. Find joy in life, because it seems that negativity at some point took over partnership power, and that’s just not right. “Television” comes from that joyous album.

02:10 Well now that we’ve had a delectable delve into British rock and roll, let’s take a flight back to California. Together Pangea formed in 2009 and reached new heights with the release of their third LP Badillac. The band would then tour opening for The Replacements during their final reunion tour as well as have bassist Tommy Stinson produce their EP The Phage. From 2019’s EP Non Stop Paranoia, here’s “Hi-Fi Television”.

Intermission

19

”TV Troubles”

Boxcutter

The Dissolve

2011

Set 4: Shitcoms

20	”Hi-Fi Television”	Together Pangea	Non Stop Paranoia EP	2019
21	”Television Sets Are Going Cheap”	Alien Nose Job	Suddenly Everything Is Twice As Loud	2020
22	”TV Life”	The Soaks	Loser EP	2016
23	”I Wanna Be On TV”	Fang	Where The Wild Things Are	1984
24	“TV Casualty”	Misfits	Static Age	1978

00:10 (music fades low for voice-over)

00:15 The Misfits suffered one of the rare instances in the music industry that prevents quality material from being released due to record contract issues. Glenn Danzig founded Blank Records to put out the band’s debut single Cough/Cool. In 1977, Mercury Records wanted to use Blank Records for one of their subdivisions and offered to buy it from Glenn, to which he countered with a request for studio time. They recorded 17 songs, but no one wanted to put the record out. They released the songs in various ways throughout the 80s, but Static Age wouldn’t see daylight as a whole until 1997.

00:40 Fang sprouted up in the East Bay area around Oakland, California in 1980 and would go through some lineup shifts before putting out their 1982 debut Landshark. Green Day covered “I Wanna Be On TV” in 1995 when recording Insomniac and put the song on the Japanese version of the release and the “Geek Stink Breath” single.

01:10 The Soaks hail from California as well, albeit a full generation or two after Fang. The San Diego group was one of many bands Jordan Clark would play with. Jordan also played bass in Mrs. Magician, Hot Like (A) Robot, and Tape Deck Mountain. From their 2016 EP Loser, that was “TV Life”.

01:40 Alien Nose Job is the moniker of a self-proclaimed bedroom recorder Jake Robertson from Clunes, Australia. Jake plays in the other bands Ausmuteants and School Damage, but sticks to his abode while recording ANJ. “Television Sets” was the first single released from the 2020 LP Suddenly Everything Is Twice As Loud, which is a perfect album title for a project that seemed to feel a whole lot more punk rock this go around.

02:10 Sticking around down under, Moses Gunn Collective hail from Brisbane. The group put out one fantastic psychedelic rock album in 2015, but only a few years later many of the members formed a new indie dance pop group called Confidence Man. Its amazing how different these two acts sound. Nevertheless, here’s “Colour Television” from the 2015 release Mercy Mountain.

Intermission

25

”Television Fission”

Man Or Astro-Man?

Experiment Zero

1996

Set 5: Technicolorvision

26		”Colour Television”	Moses Gunn Collective	Mercy Mountain	2015
27		“Colour Television”	Eddy Current Suppression Ring	Primary Colours	2008
28		”Colour Television”	Dune Rats	Sexy Beach EP	2011
29		“Colour TV”	Two-Bit Sister	Road Gore: The Band That Drank Too Much	1985
30		“Color TV”	Answering Machine	Color TV EP	2018

00:10 (music fades low for voice-over)

00:15 Answering Machine comes from NYC and happens to share their name with a Replacements song. Perhaps that’s why lead singer Samantha Campanile and guitarist J.D. Fetcho were asked by Two Minutes To Late Night to participate in their bedroom cover of the ‘Mats’ “Kids Don’t Follow”? Perhaps it’s just ’cause they rock? From their 2018 EP Color TV, that was the title track.

00:40 Two-Bit Sister is an unsigned band out of Margate, Kent, England. The band released their debut EP Radiator in 2020 and claims to be Margate’s number one sneez-core rock duo. Bless you. “Colour TV” comes from that debut.

01:10 Dune Rats are another Brisbane group from the Australian garage rock scene. Their debut EP Sexy Beach featured a lo-fi production sound fit for any literal garage. They’d evolve to a more alternative rock sound in later releases, but “Colour Television” remains a garage favorite.

01:40 The set started with Aussie band Moses Gunn Collective and bled into Melbourne act Eddy Current Suppression Ring. Their sophomore 2008 album Primary Colours garnered an A- rating from the legendary rock critic Robert Christgau. They took a hiatus in 2016 but returned with a new LP in 2019. “Colour Television” comes from Primary Colours.

02:10 Big Boys were apart of the early 80s Austin, Texas hardcore punk scene. Along with local legends The Dicks, Big Boys were pioneers in queer punk with both Big Boys’ singer Biscuit Turner and Dicks singer Gary Floyd being among the first openly gay singers, especially in the genre. Turner could often be seen in a pink tutu and cowboy boots when performing. Let’s let Biscuit charge us up with the Big Boys tune “T.V.”.

Intermission

31

”Television in 1.5$ Room Sucks”

Delicate Circumstances

2019

Set 6: Channel Surfin’

32	”T.V.”	Big Boys	Where’s My Towel / Industry Standard		1981
33	”Watching T.V.”	The Beets	Stay Home		2011
34	”Dr. TV”	The Eat	God Punishes The Eat EP		1980
35	”T.V. Blues”	UK Subs	Another Kind Of Blues		1979
36	”Television”	Bad Religion	Stranger Than Fiction		1994

00:10 (music fades low for voice-over)

00:15 Bad Religion bookends the episode with their LA hardcore counterparts Black Flag. The band was seeing a peak in popularity in the mid 90s with the emergence of punk rock in the mainstream. Guitarist and songwriter Brett Gurewitz’s Epitaph Records housed The Offspring and Rancid, two of the biggest punk bands around in 1994. Tim Armstrong from Rancid even stops by to sing a bit on “Television” from 1994’s Stranger Than Fiction.

00:40 UK Subs were one of the first punk bands and formed in 1976 as the UK Subversives. Vocalist Charlie Harper is supposedly the nephew of Cesar Romero, the actor who played the original Joker in the Batman TV series. The Subs’ debut LP 1979 Another Kind Of Blues was both a play on the new sound of punk rock and the drastically different sound of the album when compared with Miles Davis’ Kind Of Blue. “T.V. Blues” comes from that debut.

01:10 The Eat is a band out of Miami, Florida whose 7″ singles and lone LP would haunt punk record collectors for years due to their scarcity and rarity. That’s what happens when great songs get limited to small presses. Luckily Jello Biafra picked up the discography and released it all as a compilation in 2007. From their 1980 sophomore EP, God Punishes The Eat, that was “Dr. TV”

01:40 The Beets were a Queens, New York band in the mid 2010s that put out some great lo-fi garage. Not to be confused with the band from the cartoon Doug, the real Beets put out a few albums including one for Hardly Art in 2011 and one for Captured Tracks that same year. “Watching T.V.” comes from the Captured Tracks one, Stay Home.

02:10 Stay home indeed, folks. That’s where the TV is. Of course, you could go screengaze anywhere else these days, but nothing feels like your own couch. In honor of that rerun machine, that LCD imagesystem, that media mumbler, thank you for stopping by for a celebration of television! I’ll see you next episode, same bat time, same bat channel…

02:15 (music plays and fades out)

Outro

37

”Television Snow”

Johnny Jewel

Windswept

2017

Check out my List for all of the releases featured!