[14][15][16] Although they recorded in a stripped-down, guitar-based manner similar to their punk contemporaries, Television's music was by comparison clean, improvisational, and technically proficient, drawing influence from jazz and 1960s rock.

[23] Their manager, Terry Ork, persuaded CBGB owner Hilly Kristal to give the band a regular gig at his club,[24] where they reportedly constructed their first stage.

[26] However, friction began to develop as Verlaine, Lloyd, and Ficca became increasingly confident and adept with both instruments and composition, while Hell remained defiantly untrained in his approach.

[27] He co-founded the Heartbreakers in 1975 with former New York Dolls Johnny Thunders and Jerry Nolan, later forming Richard Hell and the Voidoids.

Lloyd apparently disagreed with the selection of this song, preferring "O Mi Amore" for their debut, to the extent that he seriously considered leaving the band.

"[32] Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic writes that the album was "revolutionary" and composed "entirely of tense garage rockers that spiral into heady intellectual territory, which is achieved through the group's long, interweaving instrumental sections.

The members' independent and strongly held artistic visions, along with Lloyd's drug abuse and lack of commercial success,[36] led to the band's break-up in July 1978.

[38] After being wooed back on stage together for the 2001 All Tomorrow's Parties festival at Camber Sands, England, they played a number of dates around the world on an irregular basis.

[42] In New York in October 2015, the band performed a four-song show that lasted an hour: Village Voice reviewed it saying the highlight of the set was a new number "Persia", dubbing it "a pulsing, rhythmic exploration lasting close to 20 minutes, to which each member of the band contributed in equal strength".

Television's ties to punk were underscored by their late '60s garage rock leanings; the band often covered the Count Five's "Psychotic Reaction" and the 13th Floor Elevators' "Fire Engine" in concert.

[49] Lester Bangs heard in Television's music the influence of Quicksilver Messenger Service, noting a similarity between Verlaine's guitar playing and John Cipollina's.