
Lou Reed's New Public Archive - tintinnabula
http://www.rollingstone.com/music/features/david-fricke-and-laurie-anderson-talk-new-lou-reed-archive-w469748
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zipperhead
It's easy to forget that most of the Velvet Underground stuff was done in the
60's. So radically different from what was going on at the time. And so
influential on what came after.

From the article - I'd love to see this stuff:

    
    
      Surprises seem to come out of nowhere. A Sony Walkman lightly coated with rust turns out to be a special
      edition, presented to Reed by the company, with a custom silver case made by Tiffany. A reissue copy of the
      Byrds' 1966 raga-jazz single "Eight Miles High" has a handwritten note inside the picture sleeve: "Thought you
      might enjoy a little more Coltrane." It is signed "Jimmy Page" – an early Reed fan who, as a Yardbird in 1968,
      was covered the Velvets' "I'm Waiting for the Man" on stage.

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jackhack
I've never been able to tolerate Lou Reed's music __; the stuff I 've heard on
the radio (esp "Walk on the Wild Side") strikes me as pretentious and not
especially lyrical nor musical -- but I feel like I must be missing something
as he is continuously heralded as a radical innovator of rock & punk music.

Help me here. What am I missing? What should I listen to in order to get a
good cross-sampling of his work? Are those two tunes just "pop" or not
representative of his work, or something else? I want to give him another
chance, so to speak and I could use the guidance. Is there a particular song
or two that showcases what he's all about?

 __Neil Young is another example. I can 't stand his music, however, I like
Bruce Springsteen and I've heard the same remarks about his work. Go figure.

(edit: lol! I always thought "warewolves of london" was Lou Reed.)

~~~
intopieces
It's a little hard to get a sense for how out-there The Velvet Underground was
now that the kinds of sounds they were making in the late 60s are
'normalized,' so to speak. The best thing I can recommend, if this aspect
interests you, is to listen to the top 10 songs from 1969:

1\. "Sugar, Sugar" by The Archies

2\. "Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In" by The 5th Dimension

3\. "I Can't Get Next to You" by The Temptations

4\. "Honky Tonk Women" by The Rolling Stones

5\. "Everyday People" by Sly & the Family Stone

6\. "Dizzy" by Tommy Roe

7\. "Hot Fun in the Summertime" by Sly & the Family Stone

8\. "I'll Never Fall in Love Again" by Tom Jones

9\. "Build Me Up Buttercup" by The Foundations

10\. "Crimson and Clover" by Tommy James and the Shondells

And then listen to VU's "The Velvet Underground" the same year. It's like they
were living on a different planet.

At the end of this experiment, you might not emerge a Lou Reed fan. But you
will at least be able to appreciate the vision, and to hear the influences VU
had on later artists.

Edit: Reviewing your comment, I'd like to ask you to clarify what you mean by
"pretentious" in reference to Walk on the Wild Side, a song that reference a
transgender actress who exhibits remarkable composure while performing
fellatio? The subject matter of the song -- black women, New York sexual
deviants, hitch-hiking, pimping, being strung out on drugs... it strikes me as
a the precise opposite of pretentious. Capturing a time and place, the sound
and atmosphere, to anyone with an ear.

~~~
dsiegel2275
Well put. As a writer, Reed went into territories that even today would be
considered taboo or at least out of the ordinary.

I heard a quote once that the The Velvet Underground and Nico album only sold
1000 copies when it came out. But every one of those 1000 people went and
started a band.

~~~
mbel
That quote is popularly attributed to Brian Eno.

------
pizza
[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jaAd59PiiQo](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jaAd59PiiQo)

 _early in the morning, I 'm so free_

 _early in the evening, I 'm so free_

I'm of the opinion that a lot of his most famous songs sound better on this
live cd (lo mejor de lou reed) than the studio versions - Estoy Esperando Que
el Hombre, Estoy tan Libre, Vicious, Sweet Jane, Heroina, Rock n roll, etc..

------
Pica_soO
Heroine.. its my wife and its my life.. The song covered it all the sedated
bliss and depleted defeatedness of a addict...

------
mmjaa
Like all rock legends, Lou continues to inspire every single time .. they
don't make 'em like they used to.

EDIT: I mean, who doesn't still use tape, amiright kids?

~~~
quakeguy
Latest Aphex Twin EP (1) was sold on cassettes, so you are not far off :)

(1) [https://warpnet-
media.s3.amazonaws.com/86a1a1adb9a901ee16566...](https://warpnet-
media.s3.amazonaws.com/86a1a1adb9a901ee16566b8129d684ac99cab90b06c424611901ab38_485)

~~~
Neliquat
Still better than when Cheap Trick(?) Had their new album put out on 8-track a
few years back.

~~~
mmjaa
Wake me up when we can print our own tape. Until then, there's not much
difference between an SSD and a tape-roll; bother are not something I can grow
in my kitchen.

