Search And Destroy: Lou Reed

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Another thread we used to get great play from on a.m.a. was "Search And Destroy". The idea being that you would take a band or artist of some general repute, and suggest the one record (or track or whatever) that interested parties should SEARCH for, and the one that you would like to see DESTROYed. Geddit? Anyway, Uncle Lou, over to you.

― Tom, Thursday, 1 February 2001 01:00 (12 years ago) Permalink

I'll have to cheat on the search part: search for the first two Velvets albums (yeah I know obvious). Destroy: all his solo albums. All of them, master? All of them...no mercy!

― Omar, Thursday, 1 February 2001 01:00 (12 years ago) Permalink

Search: Live in Italy Destroy: "Hot Hips"

― Sterling Clover, Thursday, 1 February 2001 01:00 (12 years ago) Permalink

Search: The one where he tried to reconcile heavy metal and polymer chemistry (and, accordingly, shut his damn mouth and let technology do all the work)...Micro Machine Molybdenum (A Tribute to David Bowie's Asshole!), I think it was called...

Destroy: "His next one" has generally proven to be the correct answer.

― Kris P., Thursday, 1 February 2001 01:00 (12 years ago) Permalink

Oh come on, there were a couple of good songs on "Ecstasy". But in your heart, you know it's just... shite. I'd be curious to know what you all think of Metal Machine Music. I haven't heard it, but the other pure noise stuff I've heard (Merzbow, Borbetomagus etc.) can be surprisingly interesting.

Search: White Light, White Heat(!) Destroy: New York. Eeesh.

― Dave M., Thursday, 1 February 2001 01:00 (12 years ago) Permalink

Search: The transcriptions of Lester Bangs' conversations with Reed in his essay collection. That's the funniest Lou has ever been, if they're accurate.

Bonus Search: I'm always on the lookout for a vinyl copy of Metal Machine Music, naturally.

Destroy: The live album _Take No Prisoners_ is also very funny, but only the first time through. After that's it's extremely annoying.

― Mark Richardson, Thursday, 1 February 2001 01:00 (12 years ago) Permalink

I just need to drive in how very very bad "Hot Hips" is. Created for the soundtrack of the 1985 film, "Perfect" (featuring Jamie Lee Curtis and John Travolta) right in the middle of Lou's hideous Mistrial period (that being the album I would destroy) it features a terrible guitar riff looping while Lou intones "hey hey, hit hit, baby don't you ever stop with those hot hips" over and over and... ick. I have this as a 12" single. "Disco Mystic" at least has a nice guitar workout beneath the dreck.

As for "Live in Italy" this is simply Lou's best live album, featuring the classic Quine/Saunders/Maher lineup.

― Sterling Clover, Thursday, 1 February 2001 01:00 (12 years ago) Permalink

Destroy: Judging by his performance last May at the Albert Hall, any tickets for upcoming performances. I was young (well, 17), impressionable, thought that maybe he might still be some good. how sadly wrong I was. 2 and a half hours of extreme boredom as lou plays, without saying a word, accompanied by a hideously wanky (is that actually a word?) session band thing. and the audience: Oh! Middle aged, office workers...when they clapped a 10 MINUTE GUITAR SOLO I almost had a heart attack. Then, they stood up and clapped along during the encore. However, it must be said that the version of Sweet Jane he played was passable.

Never trust anyone who might be definable as a 'hero'...

Bill

― Bill, Thursday, 1 February 2001 01:00 (12 years ago) Permalink

Search: Live at Alice Tully Hall (bootleg)

Destroy: My Love is Chemical (not as bad as hot hips, but it was already taken)

― JM, Friday, 2 February 2001 01:00 (12 years ago) Permalink

Word Bill! I had exactly the same experience with Lou live some years ago. Somebody gave me a free ticket, so hey let's check out the old Rawk Legend who used to be somebody play in a respectable theater for Real Art...did the motherfucker almost bore me to death with his muso- band and his shite "the first half we're going to play the whole 'Magic & Loss album live". Oohh the wretched sight of middle aged arseholes going mental when he finally played "Sweet Jane".

― Omar, Friday, 2 February 2001 01:00 (12 years ago) Permalink

SEARCH: Someone once taped me Lou's "I'm-quitting-smack-no-really-I- mean-it-this-time" opus, 'Legendary Hearts', and it's really pretty good. DESTROY: Everything from the mullet years?

― stevie troussé, Friday, 2 February 2001 01:00 (12 years ago) Permalink

First, "My Love is Chemical" is, I think, on the whole, decent. Lou of course delivers nothing but the vocals, but at least the funk is approaching real, which is more than most of Lou's wannabe funk stuff. Almost has that "Nowhere at all" feel to it. Also may I take this occasion to note that "Growing Up in Public" is Lou's most underrated album, featuring orchestration to rival "Berlin" and featuring classic smart/dumb reed humor.

― Sterling Clover, Friday, 2 February 2001 01:00 (12 years ago) Permalink

_metal machine music_ is average feedback drone, maybe a 6 out of 10. not nearly as bad as its detractors claim (it does have some nice textures and the locked groove at the end is cool) but too long and too shrill with no major sonic revelations and no attention seemingly paid to large-scale structure. still, i thought it, or at least side c, was pretty impressive when i was 18 and i'd probably still take it over what i've heard of the rest of lou reed's solo work.

― sundar subramanian, Monday, 5 February 2001 01:00 (12 years ago) Permalink

3 weeks pass...

Stevie, you silly thing. 'The Mullet Years' include NEW YORK!!! You'd better not destroy that!

― the pinefox, Wednesday, 28 February 2001 01:00 (12 years ago) Permalink

3 weeks pass...

Listen up pOnks. The majority of Reeds solo output is fantastic. The First album, Berlin, Blue Mask, The Bells, New Sensations.

Metal Machine Music was a total Fuck you to the record company, critics and consumers. Rock N Roll suicide. He believed his best work (Berlin) was overlooked while his worst was popular. So to get revenge he decided to make an album truly bad. The concept, cover and joke deserve a 10 out of 10. "My week beats your year." - classic.

Even at his worst (Mistrial), he had a great video of a robot tearing off the latex "flesh" from its face. Magic and Loss can strain one patience but there are truly beautiful moments on that album. Also not a big fan of Growing up in Public, Legendary Hearts, Rock N Roll Heart.

Disco Mystic off of the Bells is great. you can laugh and get down at the same time.

― Cash Lone, Sunday, 25 March 2001 01:00 (12 years ago) Permalink

2 months pass...

Search: Take No Prisoners, by far the greatest live album of all time by any artist. It has it all, comedy, drama, farce, brilliant musicianship (see the intro to "I wanna Be Black" Destroy: My head says destroy nothing... but my heart says destroy "Magic and Loss", the most self-indulgent of Reed's works, IMHO. Of course, it was a great way to kill the commercial success he enjoyed following "New York"

BTW, Ecstacy is BRILLIANT... cover to cover... It should be the Number One record of the decade.

― Brian Shields, Sunday, 24 June 2001 00:00 (11 years ago) Permalink

Since I'm about to pass out (sleep dep. not drink/drugs, thank you) I'll keep it short and sweet :

'Berlin'

Oh, almost fell asleep with just that :

'Berlin'

Anyways...'Berlin' is (in my humble opinion) easily one of Lou's greatest achievements. Side two (in particular) is truly near flawless. And that in and of itself deserves attention from any serious rock/pop music listeners ears.

― michael g. breece, Sunday, 1 July 2001 00:00 (11 years ago) Permalink

"truly near flawless": what mean? (what's a FLAW to you?) .
"that in and of itself deserves attention": why? What if we like flawed things? What if rock is ABOUT flaws?
PS I like Berlin too. But I want to know your REAL reasons, not your ad copy reasons...

― mark s, Sunday, 1 July 2001 00:00 (11 years ago) Permalink

"Ad copy"? "What mean?"

Those ARE my "true" reasons. As I stated, I was beyond tired and kept it short and sweet (as opposed to my near rants in previous posts). Anyways, "near flawless" is to mean whatever it means to each and every individual, obviously. What is a "flaw" to me may not be to you (and vice versa), of course.

Anyways, in this particular case (Lou Reed 'Berlin'): "near flawless" would mean (to me, of course) the fact that Lou was able to put on wax (record) the entire second side (other than the final track) in a near (seeing as everything has flaws, regardless of ones individual definition, nothing is perfect - doesn't exist, not in my mind anyways) flawless manner. The expressions sought (or seemingly sought - since you're clearly one for games of silly semantics) after on side two are expressed as well as I (the listener) could have hoped for them to be expressed. Which I (personally, of course) can not say the same for side one (which is riddled with flaws, in my opinion).

Hope that helps. If not, don't expect another reprise.

Now, it's only fair that YOU (sir) further elaborate on your VERY scantily written response to the original question: Search and Destroy-Lou Reed (of course, I chose to focus my response on 'Berlin'...you don't have to, though - in case you were not aware of this).

*By the way, rock (along with anything/everything else in life) isn't MEANT to be "flawed" nor "flawless". It is whatever the individual views it to be (reality is...that there isn't a concrete reality - dig?).

*Also, a part of Lou's appeal IS that he and his music, etc, are "flawed" (opinion depending of course, Mr. Semantic...or...is that Mr. Grainofsalt).

― michael g. breece, Wednesday, 4 July 2001 00:00 (11 years ago) Permalink

"Hope this helps" - it doesn't help me. Not that it has to, but anyway. The "expressions sought after" - yes but what are they? Or what do you think they are? I mean if there's one rocker who's probably made it very clear what 'expressions' they've been after on any given record it's probably Lou Reed, but I've not read any of what LR has to say so maybe you can elucidate.

I don't get much out of "Berlin" - it's got my favourite LR song on though ("Sad Song") which seems to crystallise the exhaustion and frustration of the rest of the record nicely, and move beyond the squalid specifics of the rest of the album (which are OK in a short- story way but don't move me) to something more universal. But I'm a sucker for the universal.

― Tom, Wednesday, 4 July 2001 00:00 (11 years ago) Permalink

First off, I should (here it is) give a semi-apology to Mark for that somewhat "bitchy" response I just gave. It's just I tend to have a bit of a "thing" for when folks focus on semantics, is all. So, that response probably came off a bit more rough than maybe it should have. Just one of those personal "things" (for me - we all have some of those personal "things/issues/whatever" lurking about, you know that seem irrational to those who don't have the same "thing" lurking, etc).

Anyways.

― michael g. breece, Wednesday, 4 July 2001 00:00 (11 years ago) Permalink

I'm not one to worry about/read what the artists themselves have to say about their own work (just one of those things that I, personally, don't believe in - having art dictated to me, even by the artists themselves). So, I certainly can't touch upon what Lou might have wished expressed via 'Berlin'.

However, from what I gather and/or feel: Side two (again, I'll just stick with the half that I, personally, prefer) is just complete and utter despair and helplessness (which you've, I'm sure, already figured out). From the fact that violence can no longer control the situation nor can drugs on "Caroline Says II" to having kids being taken away to his loss of control of his gal in "The Kids" to the suicide in "The Bed" to the final cut "Sad Song" ending (appropriately, though this is my least favorite of the second side, it's still a fine track) with the male lead of the album dealing with his over-all "railroading" (or his dealing with the truth of his gal not measuring up to his wants/needs/wishes/whatever) - which probably means that he, himself, is simply not facing the facts about himself (Lou?).

Just a life (lives, actually) completely and utterly spun (not spinning, but already spun) out of any semblance of control. Which some of us (unfortunately) can relate to, on some level, such depths of darkness or human suffering. Which is what I meant by "near flawless expression". To/for me, side two just hits the deepest-darkness moments in life right on the head (bullseye) - as far as the expression or feeling. Albeit ULTRA dark moments (which, luckily, most of us have to take in a more abstract sense in order to relate to).

But, yea...see I'm just the opposite of you - I very much prefer the short story details (whether in song or literature, etc). Regardless of how downright unbearable they may be (such is the case on side two, in particular).

Well, I know that my galfriend can't freakin stand the album. She just couldn't take the amount of hatred and misery she felt from it. Which I find somewhat liberating in some odd (maybe even perverse) way.

― michael g. breece, Wednesday, 4 July 2001 00:00 (11 years ago) Permalink

Er, semantics wd seem to be yr bag/ projection/obsession, MGB: I just wanted some specifics. Like a specific reason you like it which might (eg) risk causing someone else to hate it: "flawless" is "ad copy" cuz everyone can get with it. Everything's "flawless" if you just define flawless to mean what this or that given individual considers flawless: which wd mean every record that ANYONE considers flawless (acc.their def.) "deserves attention from any serious rock/pop music listener's ears". Why so evasive/defensive?

I tht I did Reed already: can't find it here, musta been on another thread.
SO: metal machine music = ok by me; the rest = ok by me, but I wouldn't agitate to impede their destruction by Xtian fundie vinyl- pyre.

Don't stop digging through these ancient threads!! Don't even slow down!! I wuv to see what piffle I wuz dropping back in the day (= May).

― mark s, Wednesday, 4 July 2001 00:00 (11 years ago) Permalink

You're right - hence the apology, Mark. After re-reading what I had sent in response, I saw that I was being more defensive than I should've been. As I stated previously, I've have some "issues" with the matter of semantics - so, that is why I perceived your original response, to be a matter semantics. Whereas now, I can see your point-of-view more clearly (in that you were just wanting further elaboration). See, that is the funny thing about "issues"...they get in the way of seeing something as clearly as one should. Which is why they are referred to as "issues". Needless to say, I'm not much on socializing (have the proverbial "chip on the old shoulder" more than I should). But, I'm trying. Thanks, though, for pointing that out.

― michael g. breece, Wednesday, 4 July 2001 00:00 (11 years ago) Permalink

1 year passes...

Live - Take No Prisoners. The funniest and liveliest live album I know, someone said it before.

Studio - Magic & Loss. Lou doesn't lose his humour on this one. Very, very touching lyrics. For the subject adequate minimal low-key instrumentation.

N.B. I guess this was the first S&D. Rather short I think. Btw I just found out (but you probably all know) that "Search & Destroy" was a song on "Raw Power" by The Stooges.

― alex in mainhattan (alex63), Tuesday, 19 November 2002 14:10 (10 years ago) Permalink

also totally excellent film starring griffin dunne

― mark s (mark s), Tuesday, 19 November 2002 14:14 (10 years ago) Permalink

Search: Coney Island Baby, Berlin
Destroy: except for a few lifted tracks (like "Dirt" from Street Hassle, "Viscious Circle" from Rock and Roll Heart, "Nobody But You" from Songs for Drella, etc.), just about everything else.

― christoff (christoff), Tuesday, 19 November 2002 15:17 (10 years ago) Permalink

I won't touch most of the stuff already mentioned (I dig parts of Magic And Loss and Songs For Drella, Hot Hips, little else) but I got a give shout out to this one.

Destroy: The Bells. Not only is his voice incredibly wavery and flatulent on this one. I dare anyone to truly "get down" to "Disco Mystic". Unless they meant suffer immediate depression.

Oh, and if you really wanna Search, just get the box set. A listenable survey of a chap I'm too young and too unworshipping of NYC to appreciate beyond those sweet, sweet Velvets.

― Anthony Miccio (Anthony Miccio), Tuesday, 19 November 2002 16:42 (10 years ago) Permalink

Search: Transformer, and actually a lot of his stuff is pretty good...

Tripple destroy: Metal Machine Music.

― David Allen, Tuesday, 19 November 2002 22:58 (10 years ago) Permalink

C'mon, search: Street Hassle (one of the best songs ever!)
also search: Songs for Drella, Transformer, Some of those other 70s ones.

― A Nairn (moretap), Tuesday, 19 November 2002 23:18 (10 years ago) Permalink

MMM is a lot better than I gave it credit for on Feb 4, 2001.

― sundar subramanian (sundar), Monday, 25 November 2002 22:21 (10 years ago) Permalink

me need this on vinyl.

― Julio Desouza (jdesouza), Monday, 25 November 2002 22:26 (10 years ago) Permalink

me need this on vinyl.

$25 at the Django's in Portland, Oregon a few weeks ago.

― hstencil, Monday, 25 November 2002 22:27 (10 years ago) Permalink

You need Berlin, Blue Mask, Magic and Loss and MMM. But then, I like the horribly sad, tragicicicic Lou Reed. You may prefer his more glammy/hard rockin' type stuff.

You, of course, need the 4 VU studio albums and Live: 1969.

All of his live albums that I've heard are pretty desolate.

― Ian Johnson (orion), Tuesday, 26 November 2002 04:21 (10 years ago) Permalink

3 months pass...

haha, was this thread the genesis of "search and destroy" on ilm?

― Jody Beth Rosen (Jody Beth Rosen), Friday, 21 March 2003 22:11 (10 years ago) Permalink

1 month passes...

Is modern-day Lou any good live? He's gonna be in Phoenix next month and I was wondering if it's worth making a two hour drive to see him.

― Justyn Dillingham (Justyn Dillingham), Friday, 9 May 2003 05:44 (10 years ago) Permalink

Search: Lou Reed, Blue Mask, Live In Italy, Berlin, New York
Destroy: The Bells, Rock & Roll Heart
Good, but overrated: Transformer, Rock & Roll animal
Good, and underrated: Growing Up In Public, Legendary Hearts

― John Bullabaugh (John Bullabaugh), Friday, 9 May 2003 12:53 (10 years ago) Permalink

4 weeks pass...

His new Best Of has "I Wanna Be Black" on it! Classic!

― Sterling Clover (s_clover), Friday, 6 June 2003 16:43 (9 years ago) Permalink

11 months pass...

I heard a chunk of New York a couple days a go in a cab. What crap. Oh, he's a poet. Alright.

― Rockist Scientist, Saturday, 5 June 2004 15:56 (8 years ago) Permalink

4 months pass...

was really diggin lou's acoustic guitar parts on Berlin yesterday afternoon. the lyrics are so dismal, i didnt pay much attention to them (even though yeah-im a sucka for the short story details)

horrible album art i'm afraid

― kephm (kephm), Monday, 11 October 2004 13:53 (8 years ago) Permalink

1 month passes...

Search: Blue Mask, Legendary Hearts, New Sensations, Live in Paris

Basically any albums with fretless bassist Fernando Saunders are great. His '80s and '90s work is overlooked.

― Patrick South (Patrick South), Tuesday, 23 November 2004 15:27 (8 years ago) Permalink

A few people mentioned the live album Take No Prisoners. I find it's not so well known, but fans should check it out. It has some totally transcendant moments: the looong ending to Coney Island Baby; the guitar break in Satellite of Love; the killer bass riffing in Street Hassle.

― todd (todd), Wednesday, 24 November 2004 00:33 (8 years ago) Permalink

Take No Prisoners is excellent, especially when he completely loses his shit during "Walk on the Wild Side."

I discovered Lou through "New York," so that will probably always be my favorite solo album. After that, probably Berlin, Transformer, and this "Master Class" bootleg (with Little Jimmy Scott) that I really need to Torrent one of these days.

― subgenius (subgenius), Wednesday, 24 November 2004 06:39 (8 years ago) Permalink

1 year passes...

Search: any Lou album containing the word "alright"
Destroy: yourself with scotch, cynicism, meth & tai chi.

― Delmore Schwartz, Wednesday, 24 May 2006 01:17 (7 years ago) Permalink

2 years pass...

http://nymag.com/daily/entertainment/2008/06/lou_reed_talks_his_new_radio_s.html

what a dumbass

― Catsupppppppppppppp dude 茄蕃, Tuesday, 10 June 2008 20:14 (4 years ago) Permalink

dude are you nuts, "What are you, a fucking asshole?" is one of the all-time great interview answers

― J0hn D., Tuesday, 10 June 2008 20:32 (4 years ago) Permalink

classic

― Shakey Mo Collier, Tuesday, 10 June 2008 23:40 (4 years ago) Permalink

classic asshole

― deeznuts, Wednesday, 11 June 2008 00:08 (4 years ago) Permalink

lou reed, a real classhole

― tylerw, Wednesday, 11 June 2008 00:43 (4 years ago) Permalink

but seriously, J0hn D, you should def. try to work "What are you, a fucking asshole?" into any future interviews you do.

― tylerw, Wednesday, 11 June 2008 00:47 (4 years ago) Permalink

Skipping 49 messages at this point... Click here if you want to load them all.

true, tho i hold out hope that lou will write a memoir. it would be hilariously un-revealing, i'm sure.
the biographer guy was Timothy Greenfield-Sanders, who did the documentary a few years ago, Lou Reed: Rock and Roll Heart. so i assume he's not writing a book.

― tylerw, Monday, 9 July 2012 15:46 (10 months ago) Permalink

lol would totally read self-serving, bitchy Lou autobio

― the alternate vision continues his vision quest! (Shakey Mo Collier), Monday, 9 July 2012 15:48 (10 months ago) Permalink

totally, though i kind of imagine if he did it, it'd just be the same ol stories he's trotted out for decades now.
maybe this exists, but i haven't seen it -- is there like a "Lou Reed Reader" out there, collecting the best interviews/articles about Lou over the past five decades? Some of his best work.

― tylerw, Monday, 9 July 2012 15:52 (10 months ago) Permalink

from a fairly recent interview, man is this the ever-lovin truth:

It seems this country, in particular, is geared to turning people into nostalgia acts. Everything moves really quickly here. It’s really based around 14-year-olds, and that’s kind of that. People get older and they stop buying records, really. And it’s like a vicious circle. They stop making records because there’s nothing there for them. So they don’t buy any records. And it’s not on radio, so they can’t hear it. So it becomes this insulated little thing, out of an endless series of things aimed at 14-year-olds. I don’t have anything against 14-year-old people. I was 14. And I think that’s great. It’s just that music is so wonderful, it’s kind of extraordinary to gear it only to children.

― the alternate vision continues his vision quest! (Shakey Mo Collier), Monday, 9 July 2012 23:09 (10 months ago) Permalink

I was 14 when I bought my first copy of The VU & Nico.

― Don't Feel Like Santana, But Oye Como Va To Them (C. Grisso/McCain), Monday, 9 July 2012 23:17 (10 months ago) Permalink

the Bockris book is so terrible. Shit smells better. If you enjoy the quotes in isolation (the Quine stuff, for example; the stuff with Lou's late seventies drummer) it's tolerable. He even takes Lou at face value re the bomb that was Berlin ("My heart died" -- no heart to die).

― a regina spektor is haunting europe (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Monday, 9 July 2012 23:20 (10 months ago) Permalink

dubious assertions abound, no doubt about that. but Lou Reed bios are slim pickings.

― the alternate vision continues his vision quest! (Shakey Mo Collier), Monday, 9 July 2012 23:24 (10 months ago) Permalink

oh that's why I read it cover to cover in the mid nineties

― a regina spektor is haunting europe (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Monday, 9 July 2012 23:29 (10 months ago) Permalink

for years it was in the remaindered books section of every B&N in the country.

― a regina spektor is haunting europe (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Monday, 9 July 2012 23:30 (10 months ago) Permalink

Bockris' shameless self-promotion doesn't really help things (for ex. including a photo of the cover of his book about the Velvet Underground, captioned as "the book that rekindled interest in VU in the 80s" uh yeah right bro)

― the alternate vision continues his vision quest! (Shakey Mo Collier), Monday, 9 July 2012 23:35 (10 months ago) Permalink

Well, fair's fair, it did that for me, if you're meaning "Uptight"...

― Mark G, Monday, 9 July 2012 23:42 (10 months ago) Permalink

I gave away my copy of Uptight by accident eight years ago which still bugs me

― ratso piazzolla (James Redd and the Blecchs), Tuesday, 10 July 2012 03:00 (10 months ago) Permalink

trying to figure out what era Lou this is

nice shoes.

― tylerw, Wednesday, 11 July 2012 21:07 (10 months ago) Permalink

also, the "is that lou in drag/is that lou" myth is addressed in the transformer classic album doc. not lou. also, lou claims a banana was stuffed in the guy's pants.

― tylerw, Wednesday, 11 July 2012 21:08 (10 months ago) Permalink

^^^important info, i know.

― tylerw, Wednesday, 11 July 2012 21:08 (10 months ago) Permalink

xxp Early 70's, the photo is by Mick Rock, IIRC it was taken in a London hotel.

― second dullest ILXor since 1929 (snoball), Wednesday, 11 July 2012 21:15 (10 months ago) Permalink

yeah, the black fingernail polish suggests sometime around transformer. feel like i haven't actually seen that many color photos of lou from that period, looks kinda weird.

― tylerw, Wednesday, 11 July 2012 21:15 (10 months ago) Permalink

another photo from the same shoot...

― second dullest ILXor since 1929 (snoball), Wednesday, 11 July 2012 21:17 (10 months ago) Permalink

1972.
Also lol at Lou's Marlboro habit - that's probably two days supply there.

― second dullest ILXor since 1929 (snoball), Wednesday, 11 July 2012 21:17 (10 months ago) Permalink

Possibly the shoot was for Rolling Stone magazine, because again IIRC it was from the period just before Rock stopped interviewing people and decided to concentrate on taking pictures. A choice Lou quote from the article was something like (from memory so it's probably not entirely right) "I'm so boring really. I never write about myself. I'm not interested in my problems or attitudes, 'cause other people's are so much funnier. I need New York City to feed off of. I'll go out and do things and build up new characters to write about."

― second dullest ILXor since 1929 (snoball), Wednesday, 11 July 2012 21:29 (10 months ago) Permalink

oh lou, if we've learned anything over the years, you're never boring.

― tylerw, Wednesday, 11 July 2012 21:30 (10 months ago) Permalink

It's a real Warhol thing to say.

― second dullest ILXor since 1929 (snoball), Wednesday, 11 July 2012 21:32 (10 months ago) Permalink

is there like a "Lou Reed Reader" out there

Not exhaustive, and only covers the three mid 70's interviews (as well as a whole load of other non-Lou stuff that nevertheless is still well worth read), but the Lester Bangs compilation book 'Psychotic Reactions & Carburettor Dung' is worth a read. I really got a sense of what LR was like, especially from the 'fight' interview. Whereas the Bockris bio is boring, just a bunch of disconnected names and dates plus some not-very-dirty dirt that pretty much could have been about any slightly sleazy 70's rock star.

― second dullest ILXor since 1929 (snoball), Wednesday, 11 July 2012 21:38 (10 months ago) Permalink

And Bockris himself reminds me of the boring teacher from Ferris Bueller's Day Off.
His Warhol bio is almost as bad - the only thing that saves it from being a total zzz-fest is the sheer larger-than-life craziness of Warhol's entourage and followers.

― second dullest ILXor since 1929 (snoball), Wednesday, 11 July 2012 21:42 (10 months ago) Permalink

wow great photo find there tyler

― the alternate vision continues his vision quest! (Shakey Mo Collier), Wednesday, 11 July 2012 21:50 (10 months ago) Permalink

the Bockris book is poorly assembled but I wouldn't call it boring. it's been very informative on a number of points, at least for me

― the alternate vision continues his vision quest! (Shakey Mo Collier), Wednesday, 11 July 2012 21:51 (10 months ago) Permalink

yeah i've read the bangs anthologies, very fun reed-ing. just thought there could be a more expanded book of interviews -- LOU SPEAKS or something.

― tylerw, Wednesday, 11 July 2012 22:24 (10 months ago) Permalink

There's the Velvet Underground Reader, but the big interviews in it are w/ Moe & Sterling.

― Don't Feel Like Santana, But Oye Como Va To Them (C. Grisso/McCain), Wednesday, 11 July 2012 22:34 (10 months ago) Permalink

yeah i just want all lou! should i be pitching this to a publisher? it'd sell dozens!

― tylerw, Wednesday, 11 July 2012 22:38 (10 months ago) Permalink

you guys have all seen this, right?

his assholishness is pretty forgiveable in situations like this (similar to Dylan) where it's just abundantly clear that he's dealing with morons who are baiting him/don't get what he's doing/don't take music seriously

― the alternate vision continues his vision quest! (Shakey Mo Collier), Wednesday, 11 July 2012 22:40 (10 months ago) Permalink

it's so weird that he didn't play guitar for so much of the 70s and tried to do some kind of awkward "singer" thing instead. he's so awkward and semi-incompetent as a frontman.

― the alternate vision continues his vision quest! (Shakey Mo Collier), Wednesday, 11 July 2012 22:41 (10 months ago) Permalink

(speaking of live performances there fwiw)

― the alternate vision continues his vision quest! (Shakey Mo Collier), Wednesday, 11 July 2012 22:41 (10 months ago) Permalink

Sterling Morrison said he'd started doing that towards the end of the Velvets, indulging in lame Jaggerisms - under pressure from Steve Sesnick, according to Sterl

would love it if someone else tackled the life of lou

The Peter Doggett biography of Lou Reed has good things in it, tho he is kind of a boring writer and I vehemently disagree with some of his opinions (e.g. that "Loaded" is some sort of throwaway Ruben + the Jets tongue-in-cheek thing)

― SomeTwat from Tring (Tom D.), Thursday, 12 July 2012 10:11 (10 months ago) Permalink

indulging in lame Jaggerisms - under pressure from Steve Sesnick, according to Sterl

I believe it, but than I'm inclined to believe anything bad I hear about that guy.

― My Elusive Memes (James Redd and the Blecchs), Thursday, 12 July 2012 11:08 (10 months ago) Permalink

viktor bockris is a hack but here's john cale in 1996:

Victor Bockris' biography of Reed, "Transformer", says that his parents tried to "cure" him of some of his personality traits by having him undergo electroshock therapy. Do you think that's true?

I know it's true. Some of that book, I don't know how he got it. No one in the band participated-- that was one of the terms of going out on tour. I think Lou has a certain problem with the truth. 90% of that book is true.

if lou shot up half the amount of speed that bockris attributes to him during 1974-75 it's a miracle he's still alive

― (REAL NAME) (m coleman), Thursday, 12 July 2012 15:54 (10 months ago) Permalink

3 months pass...

you can listen to some episodes of lou's radio show w/ hal wilner on the bbc - http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01ngqgq
kind of fun.

― tylerw, Tuesday, 23 October 2012 14:41 (7 months ago) Permalink

3 months pass...

http://doomandgloomfromthetomb.tumblr.com

This looks interesting, Lou DJ's on WPIX in 1979, with guest John Cale (who performs in studio, I think?)

― Iago Galdston, Saturday, 16 February 2013 13:42 (3 months ago) Permalink

I heard that when it was first broadcast. I believe I was about 14 at the time. Somebody on an another thread was complaining that there was some malware called "WPIX" and I was wondering how it ever got that name.

― Stranded In the Jungle Groove (James Redd and the Blecchs), Saturday, 16 February 2013 13:58 (3 months ago) Permalink

"Quentin Crisp, Naked Public Servant" ... unless Lou's right and that's what it was called in the US

― Le petit chat est mort (Tom D.), Saturday, 16 February 2013 14:42 (3 months ago) Permalink

that sendspace link insatalled something called 'easylifeapp' on my pc which i still haven't manged to remove, even after running malwarebytes.

― glumdalclitch, Saturday, 16 February 2013 15:01 (3 months ago) Permalink

Guess the right link is the one that says "Click here to start download from sendspace." Mouseover and you will see WPIX.zip. Don't click on the eight other things that say "Download."

― Stranded In the Jungle Groove (James Redd and the Blecchs), Saturday, 16 February 2013 15:03 (3 months ago) Permalink

i see.

― glumdalclitch, Saturday, 16 February 2013 15:19 (3 months ago) Permalink

I also clicked on another one first. It waited a few seconds and then said "Your download is ready. Please click to get it" at which point I backtracked and looked a little harder for the right link.

― Stranded In the Jungle Groove (James Redd and the Blecchs), Saturday, 16 February 2013 15:23 (3 months ago) Permalink

"I want to talk to that fucking Reed man why did his download fuck up my computer"

― Le petit chat est mort (Tom D.), Saturday, 16 February 2013 15:25 (3 months ago) Permalink

Ha, I actually discussed that on a fourth thread: PIX! PIX! PIX! PIX!! PIX!!!!!

― Stranded In the Jungle Groove (James Redd and the Blecchs), Saturday, 16 February 2013 15:27 (3 months ago) Permalink

sorry about the malware dudes. i normally don't use sendspace but mediafire wasn't allowing this one.

― tylerw, Saturday, 16 February 2013 16:13 (3 months ago) Permalink

1 month passes...

hmm

hope he's okay

― four Marxes plus four Obamas plus four Bin Ladens (Shakey Mo Collier), Wednesday, 27 March 2013 23:02 (1 month ago) Permalink

yeahhh, saw that. wondering if he just got bumped in favor of daft punk or something.

― tylerw, Thursday, 28 March 2013 01:40 (1 month ago) Permalink

1 month passes...

― Bees Against Racism (Tom D.), Monday, 20 May 2013 10:13 (6 days ago) Permalink

i'll forgive anything of a man who co-wrote Drella. can't believe there's still no DVD of the live film.

― piscesx, Monday, 20 May 2013 11:25 (6 days ago) Permalink

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