Music with Television in the Song Titles

The big change finally arrived. The government had been warning us to prepare for the change. Local newspapers and TV stations ran ads about the inevitability of the change. Still, an estimated three million people in this country were reportedly left without the true great American pastime: television.

On Friday, June 12 every television station in the United States had to cease analog broadcasting. The federal government required all signals to be sent digitally, causing those people without cable, satellite, or a digital converter box to lose all television signals.

Though I might feel differently were I among those three million who lost access to TV, I must admit I would not miss it much. I could use that time to listen to more music and sports broadcasts, as well as reading articles on sites such as Associated Content.

In fact, I just turned the television off to offer some comfort to those who may have lost their TV signal. Your TV may be blank, but you can still find TV in a lot of song titles. The rock band Greenday recorded "I Want to Be on TV" early in their career, and piano wizard Dr. John had an entire album called Television. Tom Verlaine even named his new wave rock band Television, and a popular band today calls itself TV on the Radio.

Here is a list of my ten favorite songs mentioning TV or television in their titles.

10. "I Don't Want to Be on TV" by Airborne Toxic Event: The indie band named after an accident in a futuristic novel took the opposite stand from Greenday. They (A.T.E.) wanted to play guitar rock without being on TV, but I saw them several times on late night talk shows playing songs from their self-titled debut album.

9. "American Television" by Ben Lee: Lee's folk-pop album Ripe seemed a bit happier than its predecessor, but it did contain some true gems. In addition to this pop culture jaunt there's the quietly powerful "Blush" and the clever "What Would Jay-Z Do?"

8. "Television Man" by Talking Heads: This tune joins "And She Was" as the biggest hits from Little Creatures, the last quality album the band ever recorded.

7. "Antichrist Television Blues" by Arcade Fire: Parts of Neon Bible sound like Springsteen, and this track is a good example of that resemblance. The enigmatic lyrics seem to justifiably condemn churchgoers who parade their children for everyone to admire at the altar.

6. "Kicking Television" by Wilco: The title track from the alt-country/indie rock band's middle era has frontman Jeff Tweedy with his tongue in his cheek kicking the television habit, which was probably not the worst habit he needed to kick.

5. "TV Caesar" by Procol Harum: Like much of the prog rock-folk band's material, the lyrics are difficult to decipher. The chorus here is "TV Caesar, Mighty Mouse" and the track seems to fit in well with the rest of Grand Hotel.

4."Words You Can Never Say on Television" by George Carlin: This skit from Class Clown is classic Carlin. There are seven words, some of which have been heard on television in the thirty-five years that have passed since Carlin created his list.

3. "Talkin' Pay TV" by Phil Ochs: This talkin' blues from The Broadsie Tapes is similar to the ones Dylan was doing at the time. The guy who's talkin' the blues is the owner of a movie house, worried about his financial loss resulting from families who stay home to watch TV for free.

2. "Spanish Pipedream (Blow Up Your TV)" by John Prine: This song from Prine's influential self-titled debut has been near the top on at least three of my song lists, and I still listen to it at least once a week almost forty years after its release.

1."Sleeping with the Television On" by Billy Joel: Glass Houses is Joel's most underappreciated album. It is heavier and lacks the true pop hit that his preceding albums contained. This track is the best on the album, and it contains the line that got me through lonely nights as a teenager: "I really wish I was less of a thinking man, and more a fool who's not afraid of rejection."