Lou Reed RIP

Being a permalink to the spot on that thread where tylerw linked to an incredible 1979 radio broadcast from WPIX-FM in NYC in which Lou was guest DJ and John Cale came by to visit.

Yeah, that's the way I continue to remember him, often ornery or grouchy, but more often a pussycat who cared.. It was always surprising that he did things like that radio show but his enthusiasm for rock&roll was something he protected, and kept all his life.

Also seek out his guest spot on Elvis Costello's tv show.

(xp) Yeah, good work James Redd and tylerw and all the other Lounuts on here, love you guys. Yesterday afternoon I saw Joe Boyd talking about how peoples' lives had been changed by Elvis... by Dylan... even by Syd Barrett! But I've never believed any of that romantic hyperbole... then I went to meet some old skool ILXors for some FAPing and that's when I heard Lou Reed was dead. I still don't believe Joe Boyd but Lou definitely had the greatest effect of any singer/songwriter/whatever on me, didn't change my life but changed something. Anyway, I was going to lapse into some maudlin reminsicing about my sister bringing home the 1st Velvets LP when I was, what, 13 or 14 and me sneaking it out in my schoolbag one morning to play in the school common room (I played "Heroin" of course!"), but I won't, even tho I just have. RIP Lou.

(Is it weird to wish I could read what Bimble would have to say about Lou right now? Probably)

that christgau piece is excellent

Alfred's piece might be better

(def ends better imo)

I was intrigued to learn in the Metro this morning that Lou had collaborated with Lulu (they've corrected it on the online version)

Yeah, Alfred's is the keeper of all the pieces I've seen so far.

gee, I guess I need to listen to Ecstasy at some point

Alfred's piece is excellent!

I've come out of my closet, out in the streets, and am wearing my Sally Can't Dance t-shirt in work today

After Sid Vicious of the Sex Pistols died of a heroin overdose, bandmate Johnny Rotten observed: ‘I blame it on too many Lou Reed albums.’

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-2478118/Paul-Dacre-enjoyed-VERY-debauched-walk-wild-excess-caught-him.html#ixzz2j1FsI4PY
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Would have posted his final "door" pic, but Facebook has it on secured, and the only not-sec one was a DM pic, so..

Thanks, stevie and everyone!

So the DM chose to venerate Cory Montieth because of his many accomplishments, yet attempts to tarnish Lou Reed's legacy. Lou must be laughing from beyond.

Also, my conclusion: Lou Reed glamorised drugs because he lived to the age of 71.

Spin piece is surprisingly comprehensible for someone yclept Christgau.

Door pic?

http://i.imgur.com/lwCOlRq.jpg

Was that photo posted on Twitter before he died? Was it intended as some kind of final image?

Saw it on Facebook.

Alfred and John Doran's pieces are the two best I've seen thus far.

poll

I just don't think about music that deeply, and have to date ignored all the solo stuff until The Blue Mask. Sorta similar to my interest in Neil Young's career.

(obv I've heard some of the '72-81 stuff, but never sought it; maybe I own Berlin, don't remember)

the blue mask is so great.

mm, except I have literally ignored the entirety of Neil Young's career.

(except two things, a "Decade" CD I got from Fopp for £5, never played, and the "My My/Hey Hey" single what I have.)

last album i bought was new york. i didn't care for it at the time. haven't listened since. saw him on that tour and he made you sit through the entire new york album before he played other stuff. which was kind of a bummer at the time. the feelies opened up though and that made up for a lot. the new york tour show was kinda like chamber rock. so refined. like, this is "serious" rock.

https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/810311-velvet-underground-horrifies-psychiatrists-1966.html

"a short-lived torture of cacophony ... a combination of rock 'n' roll and Egyptian belly-dance music ... it seemed like a whole prison ward had escaped."

ha I remember when during an interview with Nick Cave, Jim DeRo went off unprompted about Lou Reed live shows being like "chamber rock" and I thought Cave was going to kill him. "He's a genius! Who are you to question him?"

what is he trying to do with that "faulty map that brought Columbus to New York" line anyway? parody historical ignorance?

After hearing "Walk on the Wild Side" I think my second exposure to him was his really good villainous performance in the Paul Simon movie.

mine second was 'the doors' movie

i mean "my"

maybe he was talking about Columbus Circle

are people serious about the blue mask? i mean... "i love women! they are great! so soft, so nice! the world would be terrible without women! ps no homo" and singing maybe every ninth note in tune, if we're being charitable. i dunno. i always read such great things about this record and it just sounds dreadful to me.

new york was the first lou reed record i ever knowingly heard, and i only got it because there was a video for dirty boulevard on MTV. i loved the hell out of that record. i listened to it a LOT. i had no idea who the velvet underground even were. i probably wouldn't have liked them very much.

Alfred and Doran's are both great, Christgau's is terrible. As an ilxor said on twitter, paraphrasing here, it was nice of Christgau to spend a few pages of his autobiography mentioning Lour Reed.

Tracer: concentrate on Quine's work.

i love the blue mask. its magic and has magical healing properties.

i mean you could call the blue mask chamber rock too but the tone is soooooooo perfect and i don't think he ever got such a perfect sound again. or i missed it if he did.

currently enjoying the lengthy sister rays on the quine tapes

last album i bought was new york. i didn't care for it at the time. haven't listened since. saw him on that tour and he made you sit through the entire new york album before he played other stuff. which was kind of a bummer at the time. the feelies opened up though and that made up for a lot. the new york tour show was kinda like chamber rock. so refined. like, this is "serious" rock.

― scott seward, Monday, October 28, 2013 10:32 AM (22 minutes ago) Bookmark Flag Post Permalink

New York was also my last contemporary Lou purchase, but I dug it at the time; the sound mostly, as he'd finally gotten away from his failed attempts at drummachinery. But I haven't listened to it since 1989, and I don't see myself revisiting it.

Also saw him on that tour, but I was into the record, so I didn't mind that he played the whole thing. The drummer was fucking fantastic; I still remember him lurching into "Romeo Had Juliet" like it was yesterday. Can't remember his name, though (different drummer than on the record). I don't remember Lou taking many, or any, solos, and his lame guitarist lamed up the joint by playing the "Walk On The Wild Side" saxophone solo note-for-note on guitar.

All I remember about the Feelies' set was the sound was muddy.

full disclosure: I haven't listened to The Blue Mask in at least 20 years, so ymmv. (and the only lyrics i recall well are "The Day John Kennedy Died," wtf with that one)

Just listened to it this morning for the first time in (counts on fingers, counts again to make sure, fuck, that's a long time) 23 years. It more than holds up, but yeah, the Kennedy song is kind of goofy.

Goofy Lou is almost my favourite Lou

Yessssss

btw, brilliant piece, Alfred.

Aw guys

Yeah, 2nded, 3rded, 4thed -- terrific piece. I think you're right on about what made him great and what didn't. (Also right on that I gave Berlin the dutiful couple of listens when I dutifully bought it years ago, and have rarely returned to it.)

Coley

mine second was 'the doors' movie

ha. me too. first was REM covering "Pale Blue Eyes" on Dead Letter Office although I guess I had probably heard Walk on the Wild Side by that point too.

so funny talking to christgau last week at harvard about byron. they have never met in person. i don't know why i thought that was strange. always feel like everyone must know each other. but byron always proud of his lone wolf status. xgau still kinda peeved about byron and the sonic youth song-title thing. which i admit i kinda thought was funny. that he was still a little mad. in my old age i get along really well with byron AND the dean.