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Lou Reed: An Appreciation
Oct. 28th, 2013 05:45 pmA friend texted me that Lou Reed had passed away yesterday. I was a bit afraid it would go unnoticed, but looking today, it didn't.
I can explain a lot of my life by telling my Lou Reed stories and probably already have.
It begins in the years 1988 and 1989 when Rolling Stone was still relevant (at least relevant to me) and something called the College Rock chart. I had learned in my single-digit years that some of the best music was at the lower positions of the Top 40, and I next learned from friends that some of the best music didn't make the Top 40 at all.
I was devouring everything that was headed my way, but wasn't ready to stop there, so supplementing the stuff I began to know (REM, Elvis Costello, PiL, etc), I would look at the "College Rock" chart in Rolling Stone each month and began to buy what was #1.
Lou Reed's New York was one of those albums that I bought just based on that suggestion. It blew me away. I knew Springsteen of course, and had grown up on Billy Joel. Still, nothing quite prepared me for this- loud, profane, and intelligent. Covering subjects that couldn't be further away (physically and emotionally), but connecting to my core. I would never be the same again.
Discovering Reed inevitably led to the Velvet Underground, who were finally getting the respect they deserved. (Lest you forget, the VU continued after Reed, touring Europe and continuing with Doug Yule to record Squeeze. The point being no one particularly noticed Reed was gone). I would inevitably got to the Velvets, as everyone I loved were covering them and singing their praises.
Of course, that music profoundly moved me and I had to get all the VU stuff (for some reason, I never picked up loaded until much, much later, which I probably should have done sooner).
I played the compilation Best of continuously, and picked up a weird little tribute album at a college record store by a bunch of bands I never heard of (Chapterhouse, Buffalo Tom, Nirvana, James, the Screaming Trees, the Wedding present) and one I had (Ride).
I bought one of my first CDs- a used copy of Rock N Roll Animal, which I didn't like as well as the studio stuff, but was always intrigued that it featured a band that went on to work with Alice Cooper. Like most people looking for a starting point, I moved onto Reed through compilation albums- and there were three that i picked up that did a fair job of filling me in - compilations from his days on RCA and Arista.
Like any artist whose career lasts that long, Reed had ups and downs and it's easy to mention the downs- but it's hard to name too many artists who kept hitting highs again and again- "Street Hassle" Berlin, "Coney Island Baby", Transformer, and of course, New York.
Reed post-New York saw his fame rise, and shared stages with Springsteen and Jackson Browne, Bono, and Elvis Costello. His albums geared more towards what he wanted to accomplish, and not aimed for charts or fans. So while I didn't get too excited about subsequent albums, and basically ignored his "Raven" project, his Metallica collaboration, and his meditation music, there was always plenty to discover in Reed.
With all the tributes, there's probably nothing left to stay, but felt like sharing. There's going to be a lot of references to Eno's famous comment "The first Velvet Underground record sold 30,000 copies in the first five years. I think everyone who bought one of those 30,000 copies started a band!” Truly, Reed's influence on me was so profound that I wanted to go back and seek out what influenced him (Warhol, Delmore Schwartz, Algren, John Cage, Ornette Coleman) and even still am interested in bands like The Crystal Stilts and Foxygen that take him to the next generation.
Indeed, it's hard to say the Velvet's influence is bigger than the Beatles and Stones, but it is hard to say it isn't. From the noise and feedback of Sonic Youth and Jesus & Mary Chain, the beautiful dream pop of Mazzy Star, to the not quite radio-friendly "hits" of REM and Dream Syndicate. There's no punk. No Stooges. No U2. No New Wave. No art rock. No Suicide. No Chrome. No Joy Division. No Bauhaus. No Patti Smith. No Talking Heads. None of the great New Zealand sound. None of the great American bands like The Feelies and Galaxie 500. No Krautrock. No Siouxsie, no Strokes, and no Arcade Fire.
hard to say where to start with Reed and plenty will be posted today, so I am going with one of the many, many covers. The Cowboy Junkies' version is "based on the slower early version included in 1969: The Velvet Underground Live. Lou Reed himself described it as "the best and most authentic version I have ever heard"".
I can explain a lot of my life by telling my Lou Reed stories and probably already have.
It begins in the years 1988 and 1989 when Rolling Stone was still relevant (at least relevant to me) and something called the College Rock chart. I had learned in my single-digit years that some of the best music was at the lower positions of the Top 40, and I next learned from friends that some of the best music didn't make the Top 40 at all.
I was devouring everything that was headed my way, but wasn't ready to stop there, so supplementing the stuff I began to know (REM, Elvis Costello, PiL, etc), I would look at the "College Rock" chart in Rolling Stone each month and began to buy what was #1.
Lou Reed's New York was one of those albums that I bought just based on that suggestion. It blew me away. I knew Springsteen of course, and had grown up on Billy Joel. Still, nothing quite prepared me for this- loud, profane, and intelligent. Covering subjects that couldn't be further away (physically and emotionally), but connecting to my core. I would never be the same again.
Discovering Reed inevitably led to the Velvet Underground, who were finally getting the respect they deserved. (Lest you forget, the VU continued after Reed, touring Europe and continuing with Doug Yule to record Squeeze. The point being no one particularly noticed Reed was gone). I would inevitably got to the Velvets, as everyone I loved were covering them and singing their praises.
Of course, that music profoundly moved me and I had to get all the VU stuff (for some reason, I never picked up loaded until much, much later, which I probably should have done sooner).
I played the compilation Best of continuously, and picked up a weird little tribute album at a college record store by a bunch of bands I never heard of (Chapterhouse, Buffalo Tom, Nirvana, James, the Screaming Trees, the Wedding present) and one I had (Ride).
I bought one of my first CDs- a used copy of Rock N Roll Animal, which I didn't like as well as the studio stuff, but was always intrigued that it featured a band that went on to work with Alice Cooper. Like most people looking for a starting point, I moved onto Reed through compilation albums- and there were three that i picked up that did a fair job of filling me in - compilations from his days on RCA and Arista.
Like any artist whose career lasts that long, Reed had ups and downs and it's easy to mention the downs- but it's hard to name too many artists who kept hitting highs again and again- "Street Hassle" Berlin, "Coney Island Baby", Transformer, and of course, New York.
Reed post-New York saw his fame rise, and shared stages with Springsteen and Jackson Browne, Bono, and Elvis Costello. His albums geared more towards what he wanted to accomplish, and not aimed for charts or fans. So while I didn't get too excited about subsequent albums, and basically ignored his "Raven" project, his Metallica collaboration, and his meditation music, there was always plenty to discover in Reed.
With all the tributes, there's probably nothing left to stay, but felt like sharing. There's going to be a lot of references to Eno's famous comment "The first Velvet Underground record sold 30,000 copies in the first five years. I think everyone who bought one of those 30,000 copies started a band!” Truly, Reed's influence on me was so profound that I wanted to go back and seek out what influenced him (Warhol, Delmore Schwartz, Algren, John Cage, Ornette Coleman) and even still am interested in bands like The Crystal Stilts and Foxygen that take him to the next generation.
Indeed, it's hard to say the Velvet's influence is bigger than the Beatles and Stones, but it is hard to say it isn't. From the noise and feedback of Sonic Youth and Jesus & Mary Chain, the beautiful dream pop of Mazzy Star, to the not quite radio-friendly "hits" of REM and Dream Syndicate. There's no punk. No Stooges. No U2. No New Wave. No art rock. No Suicide. No Chrome. No Joy Division. No Bauhaus. No Patti Smith. No Talking Heads. None of the great New Zealand sound. None of the great American bands like The Feelies and Galaxie 500. No Krautrock. No Siouxsie, no Strokes, and no Arcade Fire.
hard to say where to start with Reed and plenty will be posted today, so I am going with one of the many, many covers. The Cowboy Junkies' version is "based on the slower early version included in 1969: The Velvet Underground Live. Lou Reed himself described it as "the best and most authentic version I have ever heard"".
