Best Member Of The Velvet Underground

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i voted for cale because i prefer the music on the first two albums and for whatever reasons I think he's responsible for it.. the 3rd album is great, but Loaded kind of sucks except for "I Found a Reason" and "Who Loves the Sun"........and "New Age," I guess.

poortheatre, Thursday, 31 May 2007 02:03 (5 years ago) Permalink

Oh, and Nico doesn't really belong up there.

Fuck you, yes she does. Like it or not, she was in the damn band, people.

Bimble, Thursday, 31 May 2007 02:12 (5 years ago) Permalink

i voted for doug yule. why? partly because, as essential as lou's contribution was to the velvets, the demos on the box set give a disturbingly revealing picture of what a truly lou-dominated/lou-led velvets woulda sounded like. ira robbins called it "the wrong kind of revelatory," and lou is still deeply bitter and comically defensive about it 10 years later (see last year's mojo interview).

so why doug yule then? honestly, i'm not really sure. maybe just because when the yule-led lou-less velvets played nyc, bowie approached yule after a show and spoke at length to him, thinking he was talking to lou reed. either yule was charismatic enough in performance to fool bowie, or reed is so devoid of charisma as to be utterly nondescript as a performer. both are probably true.

Lawrence the Looter, Thursday, 31 May 2007 02:40 (5 years ago) Permalink

how long before someone does a Best Memeber of Wham poll?

bobby bedelia, Thursday, 31 May 2007 03:22 (5 years ago) Permalink

lol @ "memeber"

bobby bedelia, Thursday, 31 May 2007 04:43 (5 years ago) Permalink

Lou, of course

Tom D., Thursday, 31 May 2007 08:54 (5 years ago) Permalink

Cale all the way

Davey D, Thursday, 31 May 2007 09:36 (5 years ago) Permalink

I thought this thread was about who was the best member of the Velvet Underground, not about what they did after the Velvet Underground?

Tom D., Thursday, 31 May 2007 09:39 (5 years ago) Permalink

No, that's the poll. The thread can be whatever.

Mark G, Thursday, 31 May 2007 09:45 (5 years ago) Permalink

Hmmmm, bit daft if because Lou made "The Raven" or had a mullet or played a funny looking guitar, people won't vote for him!

Tom D., Thursday, 31 May 2007 09:49 (5 years ago) Permalink

Lou Reed wrote "Sunday Morning", "Candy Says" and "Perfect Day". That alone makes him the one here.

Geir Hongro, Thursday, 31 May 2007 12:19 (5 years ago) Permalink

Lou Reed co-wrote "Sunday Morning" with John Cale, to be precise

Tom D., Thursday, 31 May 2007 12:20 (5 years ago) Permalink

Hey Mr. Hongro! are you a fan of such melodic works by John cale like Paris 1919, A Child's Christmas in Wales and Andalucia?

Veronica Moser, Thursday, 31 May 2007 12:31 (5 years ago) Permalink

yeah Geir given the distinctive melodies that populate Vintage Violence and Paris 1919 I'd say the "Sunday Morning" melody has Cale's thumbprints all over it - it would not surprise me to learn that Lou wrote the words and Cale set it to melody 'cause that's how it sounds, right down to the "watch out"s

J0hn D., Thursday, 31 May 2007 12:31 (5 years ago) Permalink

Altho it does have the (pretty much) the same chord structure as "Femme Fatale"

Tom D., Thursday, 31 May 2007 12:33 (5 years ago) Permalink

So it was Lou after all!

(Except that 70% of ILXers don't think so)

Groke, Saturday, 2 June 2007 07:13 (5 years ago) Permalink

Bimble, Saturday, 2 June 2007 07:23 (5 years ago) Permalink

Those results do make a lot of sense, though. But then, I never cared that much for Nico myself.

JN$OT, Saturday, 2 June 2007 07:29 (5 years ago) Permalink

hahaha, for all the brave talk about sterling and moe & all the shit-talking about lou and john guess who are nos. 1 & 2 when it came time to actually VOTE?!?

;-)

Eisbaer, Saturday, 2 June 2007 08:45 (5 years ago) Permalink

yeah Geir given the distinctive melodies that populate Vintage Violence and Paris 1919 I'd say the "Sunday Morning" melody has Cale's thumbprints all over it - it would not surprise me to learn that Lou wrote the words and Cale set it to melody 'cause that's how it sounds, right down to the "watch out"s

-- J0hn D., Thursday, 31 May 2007 12:31 (Yesterday) Link

yeah it's so empathetic (melody-wise) that i've always heard someone else in there besides reed. i have no idea who else was involed though, in all honesty.

i voted cale only because i can't imagining living a life without those solo albums -- paris 1919, vintage violence, fear especially. that doesn't really address the question of the thread tho, which implicitly specifies the band and the years etc. all i know is that 'guess i'm falling in love (live)" from peel slowly and see is my favorite vu song of all-time, and i suspect reed wrote it.

strgn, Saturday, 2 June 2007 09:08 (5 years ago) Permalink

oops, should have been i instead of b

strgn, Saturday, 2 June 2007 09:09 (5 years ago) Permalink

see also:

cale pwning reed on 'temptation inside of your heart'
the violin on 'hey mister rain v. 1'!

strgn, Saturday, 2 June 2007 11:31 (5 years ago) Permalink

How does "cale pwn reed on 'temptation inside of your heart'"? He doesn't seem to be saying too much on it

Tom D., Saturday, 2 June 2007 11:36 (5 years ago) Permalink

Sterl's on there too remember

Tom D., Saturday, 2 June 2007 11:36 (5 years ago) Permalink

r: somebody shut the door, heh

c: you can talk during this

r: well get outta here

c: wrong wrong wrong wrong

r: oh shut the door

c: *slap* ahhh!

r: it's only port or nutin i dn

c: b-b-b-b-b-b-b

r: (but she dint pay dollar a night (???))

c: woot-hoot-hooo!

r: ooooo motown, wooo!

c: it's not even five feet

r: you gonna look like marvin and (????)

r: oww we just gonna start it all over again someone get her outta here

r: electricity comes from other planets

c: ooooooo

c: it's not that bad a solo

c: four times, it's pretty together

r: you can't say that

c: yes i can

c: i can talk to myself this way

r: lock the door this time

strgn, Saturday, 2 June 2007 11:51 (5 years ago) Permalink

Is all of that actually Cale tho?

Tom D., Saturday, 2 June 2007 11:53 (5 years ago) Permalink

Not that it matters that much...

Tom D., Saturday, 2 June 2007 11:54 (5 years ago) Permalink

r: you gonna look like marvin and (????)

i always thought this was "you don't look like martha and the vandellas"
the only bit that sounds like cale is the bit right at the end

"the pope in a silver castle"!!!

zappi, Saturday, 2 June 2007 12:02 (5 years ago) Permalink

^ not cale but favourite bit

zappi, Saturday, 2 June 2007 12:03 (5 years ago) Permalink

yeah i love that line, how did i miss that!

maybe it's actually r. pwning c.

strgn, Saturday, 2 June 2007 12:07 (5 years ago) Permalink

yeah, "martha and the vandellas'

James Redd and the Blecchs, Saturday, 2 June 2007 17:33 (5 years ago) Permalink

I thought most of it was sterling!

Mark G, Monday, 4 June 2007 07:42 (5 years ago) Permalink

isn't it mostly lou talking to his own back-up track?

ghost rider, Monday, 4 June 2007 14:39 (5 years ago) Permalink

also moe was robbed ;_;

ghost rider, Monday, 4 June 2007 14:39 (5 years ago) Permalink

Oh, and Nico doesn't really belong up there.

Fuck you, yes she does. Like it or not, she was in the damn band, people.

-- Bimble,

And fuck you right back! cuz she wasn't. Not a question of "liking it" or not - just semantics. She performed with them and collaborated with them but never actually joined 'em.

Myonga Vön Bontee, Monday, 4 June 2007 15:51 (5 years ago) Permalink

MVB OTM, but I liked having her and Yule in the poll so they could be pwned.

Rock Hardy, Monday, 4 June 2007 16:25 (5 years ago) Permalink


She taught me about wine, real wine

James Redd and the Blecchs, Monday, 4 June 2007 17:14 (5 years ago) Permalink

Nico : VU :: Steve Martin : SNL

poortheatre, Monday, 4 June 2007 19:51 (5 years ago) Permalink

3 years pass...

Yeh, John Cale OBE!

Mark G, Tuesday, 15 June 2010 09:41 (2 years ago) Permalink

1 year passes...

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