- AKA
- The Man, V
R.I.P. Lou Reed
- Thread starter Ⓐaron
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- AKA
- The Man, V
Honestly with all the amphetamines he did in the '70s it's kind of miraculous he lived this long. I read a comment speculating that he may have had hepatitis C as well, which is certainly a danger when one uses injected drugs. It wasn't really well known at the time so it's quite possible he may have gotten it.
I'm still processing this news. It's surreal to go back to The Velvet Underground and Nico and think that three-fifths of the people that performed on it are dead now. I guess I kind of always subconsciously thought that Lou Reed was too cool to die. He's one of those people I never wanted to read an obituary for (Keith Richards, Bob Dylan, David Bowie, and Neil Young are in the same category).
It's probably impossible to overstate how influential Reed's music was. The Velvet Underground are almost certainly the most influential American rock band of the last 50 years; Brian Eno's famous quip that only 30,000 people initially bought their first LP, but every one of them formed a band seems pretty close to the truth. One of the thing that still staggers today when listening to their music, beyond how modern it still sounds, is how diverse the band's range was. They were just as fine doing country-rock as avant-garde freakouts, just as accomplished at ballads as they were at noisy jams.
A strong case could be made that the first two albums were just as shaped by Cale as they were by Reed (and it's not worth dismissing Nico's musical ability, either; her solo LPs, particularly after she got full creative control over her music, demonstrated that she had just as keen a musical mind as Reed and Cale), but the band bounced back wonderfully after Cale's departure with two additional fantastic completed LPs and a wealth of excellent material that didn't get released until long after the band's demise. The box set Peel Slowly and See is really essential listening for anyone even remotely interested in the history of rock music, even with the first disc being taken up largely by multiple takes of acoustic demos of six of the band's songs. The band's live material is also well worth an investigation; 1969 Live is deservingly regarded as a classic, and the bootleg box set Caught Between the Twisted Stars is well worth tracking down as well.
Reed's solo career is quite a bit patchier than the Velvet Underground's, who didn't make a bad recording while he was in the band, but there are some definite high points that demand investigation. Transformer, with his biggest hit "Walk on the Wild Side", is definitely worth a listen, but better still are Berlin, a conceptual rock opera encompassing drug addiction, domestic violence, prostitution, suicide, and other issues, and New York, a late '80s rant about the dismal state of America during the age of Reagan, are both essential listening. Also essential are Reed's recordings with his late guitarist Robert Quine (who committed suicide after his wife's death), including The Blue Mask and Live in Italy.
I think we're long past the point where a rock band can change the shape of the industry as thoroughly as the Velvet Underground transformed it. The music business is too fractured and there is no way for a single artist to influence such a wide strata of artists. R.E.M., U2, Roxy Music, Brian Eno, the Stooges, the Sex Pistols, the New York Dolls, Nirvana, Galaxie 500, Pere Ubu, the Pretenders, the Verve, Television, Sonic Youth, Kraftwerk, David Bowie, Can, Joy Division, Hüsker Dü, Jane's Addiction, Big Star, Pussy Galore, Silver Apples, Slowdive, My Bloody Valentine, Pixies, Suicide, the Cure, the Fall, Simple Minds, and Godspeed You! Black Emperor are just a handful of the artists that were influenced by the Velvet Underground.
A lot of people at this forum have probably never heard Reed's music, or at least not more than "Walk on the Wild Side" and maybe "Perfect Day". If you're one of them and are even remotely interested in rock music, you owe it yourself to change that.
A nice career overview in photos: Lou Reed's Life in Photos Pictures - Rock & Roll Icon | Rolling Stone
I'm still processing this news. It's surreal to go back to The Velvet Underground and Nico and think that three-fifths of the people that performed on it are dead now. I guess I kind of always subconsciously thought that Lou Reed was too cool to die. He's one of those people I never wanted to read an obituary for (Keith Richards, Bob Dylan, David Bowie, and Neil Young are in the same category).
It's probably impossible to overstate how influential Reed's music was. The Velvet Underground are almost certainly the most influential American rock band of the last 50 years; Brian Eno's famous quip that only 30,000 people initially bought their first LP, but every one of them formed a band seems pretty close to the truth. One of the thing that still staggers today when listening to their music, beyond how modern it still sounds, is how diverse the band's range was. They were just as fine doing country-rock as avant-garde freakouts, just as accomplished at ballads as they were at noisy jams.
A strong case could be made that the first two albums were just as shaped by Cale as they were by Reed (and it's not worth dismissing Nico's musical ability, either; her solo LPs, particularly after she got full creative control over her music, demonstrated that she had just as keen a musical mind as Reed and Cale), but the band bounced back wonderfully after Cale's departure with two additional fantastic completed LPs and a wealth of excellent material that didn't get released until long after the band's demise. The box set Peel Slowly and See is really essential listening for anyone even remotely interested in the history of rock music, even with the first disc being taken up largely by multiple takes of acoustic demos of six of the band's songs. The band's live material is also well worth an investigation; 1969 Live is deservingly regarded as a classic, and the bootleg box set Caught Between the Twisted Stars is well worth tracking down as well.
Reed's solo career is quite a bit patchier than the Velvet Underground's, who didn't make a bad recording while he was in the band, but there are some definite high points that demand investigation. Transformer, with his biggest hit "Walk on the Wild Side", is definitely worth a listen, but better still are Berlin, a conceptual rock opera encompassing drug addiction, domestic violence, prostitution, suicide, and other issues, and New York, a late '80s rant about the dismal state of America during the age of Reagan, are both essential listening. Also essential are Reed's recordings with his late guitarist Robert Quine (who committed suicide after his wife's death), including The Blue Mask and Live in Italy.
I think we're long past the point where a rock band can change the shape of the industry as thoroughly as the Velvet Underground transformed it. The music business is too fractured and there is no way for a single artist to influence such a wide strata of artists. R.E.M., U2, Roxy Music, Brian Eno, the Stooges, the Sex Pistols, the New York Dolls, Nirvana, Galaxie 500, Pere Ubu, the Pretenders, the Verve, Television, Sonic Youth, Kraftwerk, David Bowie, Can, Joy Division, Hüsker Dü, Jane's Addiction, Big Star, Pussy Galore, Silver Apples, Slowdive, My Bloody Valentine, Pixies, Suicide, the Cure, the Fall, Simple Minds, and Godspeed You! Black Emperor are just a handful of the artists that were influenced by the Velvet Underground.
A lot of people at this forum have probably never heard Reed's music, or at least not more than "Walk on the Wild Side" and maybe "Perfect Day". If you're one of them and are even remotely interested in rock music, you owe it yourself to change that.
A nice career overview in photos: Lou Reed's Life in Photos Pictures - Rock & Roll Icon | Rolling Stone
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- AKA
- The Man, V
Neil Gaiman interviewed Reed before he was particularly famous. Here is the interview.
This obituary by Sasha Frere-Jones is one of the better ones I've read today.
ETA: In Memory of Lou Reed, Watch His Short Film 'Red Shirley' | Filmmakers, Film Industry, Film Festivals, Awards & Movie Reviews | Indiewire
This obituary by Sasha Frere-Jones is one of the better ones I've read today.
ETA: In Memory of Lou Reed, Watch His Short Film 'Red Shirley' | Filmmakers, Film Industry, Film Festivals, Awards & Movie Reviews | Indiewire
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SoulReaper
Titties 'n' Beer
- AKA
- Lord_Graf
Hated most of what I've heard from his works as solo artist but R.I.P. anyways. 71 years is actually quite old for that guy really.
- AKA
- TresDias
I meant to mention this the other day, but my wife and I watched "Adventureland" Sunday night after hearing the news. Only about a million references to Reed and the Velvet Underground in that.
She's more of a music person and I'm more of a movie buff. This was our acknowledgement.
She's more of a music person and I'm more of a movie buff. This was our acknowledgement.
SoulReaper
Titties 'n' Beer
- AKA
- Lord_Graf
There was supposed to be a documentary about Lemmy the other night. then Lou Reed died, and they decided to air a documentary on him instead. I remember hearing Lemmy making a comment on Reed, saying something along the lines of that he should burn in hell for bringing people to heroin haha. I'm not a supporter of speed and coke either, but Lemmy > this stupid fuck anyways. Funnily enough his last testament to music was the abomination collab with Metallica.
SoulReaper
Titties 'n' Beer
- AKA
- Lord_Graf
I remember mr Reed calling Frank Zappa a talentless hack because The Velvet Underground got scoffed at for 1 second on the We're Only In it For The Money album lol.
- AKA
- Mage
It was phenomenally terrible/pretentious/cobblers. Did not realise that was the last thing Lou Reed worked on though.
My colleague was chuckling the other day about a collaboration with Dave Stewart of the Eurythmics on Later with Jools Holland. I never saw it but he told me it was frankly cringeworthy and the mark of someone who ought to probably step down and rest on their laurels.
Worst bit of it all so far has got to be the embarrassing 'tributes' from other musicians. Seriously, referencing 'Walk on the Wild Side' and 'Perfect Day' is facepalm-worthy.
My colleague was chuckling the other day about a collaboration with Dave Stewart of the Eurythmics on Later with Jools Holland. I never saw it but he told me it was frankly cringeworthy and the mark of someone who ought to probably step down and rest on their laurels.
Worst bit of it all so far has got to be the embarrassing 'tributes' from other musicians. Seriously, referencing 'Walk on the Wild Side' and 'Perfect Day' is facepalm-worthy.