You lot are going to hate me for this but: can you explain me the appeal of the Velvet Underground?

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i don't mind droney stuff as long as it's warm. vu have a spikey, slightly luke warm drone feel to me.

― dog latin (dog latin), Friday, 23 July 2004 12:25 (twenty-one years ago)

someday you'll have to burn a copy of that _what goes on_ edit for me.

― Marco Damiani (Marco D.), Friday, 23 July 2004 12:25 (twenty-one years ago)

It's okay not to like them. Now I will read the thread.

― Rockist Scientist, Friday, 23 July 2004 12:25 (twenty-one years ago)

i'm downloading "velvet underground" now though.

― dog latin (dog latin), Friday, 23 July 2004 12:28 (twenty-one years ago)

Enrique - I've always liked 'non' singers, but Dylan turns my stomach. He sounds ill. It's horrible!

― Sick Mouthy (Nick Southall), Friday, 23 July 2004 12:29 (twenty-one years ago)

I've emailed the lippy account, Stevie.

RS also OTM. It *is* OK not to like them. But make sure you don't dislike them for all the wrong reasons.

― Ma$onic Boom (kate), Friday, 23 July 2004 12:30 (twenty-one years ago)

Nick: again, haven't listened to Dylan since college, but feel residual attachment anyway. You're probably right.

― Enrique (Enrique), Friday, 23 July 2004 12:31 (twenty-one years ago)

no he isn't.

― Julio Desouza (jdesouza), Friday, 23 July 2004 12:34 (twenty-one years ago)

I tried to like him when I was 16 because of a GURL, likewise Doors and Led Zep. Wasn't worth it.

― Sick Mouthy (Nick Southall), Friday, 23 July 2004 12:35 (twenty-one years ago)

but you don't like Dylan even when he tries a sweet coutry-ish voice like in _Nashville Skyline_?

― Marco Damiani (Marco D.), Friday, 23 July 2004 12:37 (twenty-one years ago)

I don't know it, so no.

― Sick Mouthy (Nick Southall), Friday, 23 July 2004 12:39 (twenty-one years ago)

I was mainly thinking of the 3rd album.

Listened to "Sunday Morning"; can *sort of* imagine it as a Brill Building choon, but can imagine it as a Beatles or Francoise Hardy track much better, so I dunno. Must re-listen.

Brill Building Pop, fake Motown and Bubblegum all conjure up very diferent musical directions for me (diferent from each other, that is. Tho diferent from VU also.)

Kate, will DL that track.

― Daniel_Rf (Daniel_Rf), Friday, 23 July 2004 12:41 (twenty-one years ago)

(why not real Motown)

― Enrique (Enrique), Friday, 23 July 2004 12:42 (twenty-one years ago)

sunday morning is very different from any of the other tracks i've heard by the VU and it's my fave apart from femme fatale.

― dog latin (dog latin), Friday, 23 July 2004 12:43 (twenty-one years ago)

You'll like the eponymous album, Charlie.

― Sick Mouthy (Nick Southall), Friday, 23 July 2004 12:43 (twenty-one years ago)

I mean, even if the drones and the noise and the early albums turn you off, go and get the third album (conveniently called "The Velvet Underground". A lot of the stuff that people find distracting - the noise, the feedback, the artschool cool - has been stripped down, and it's just the naked lyrics and the heartbreaking melody.

Before Kate said this, I was thinking, "Try The Velvet Underground." Of course, a good portion of the second side could still be a turn-off. (I don't think I would sit through the long "literary" song, the name of which eludes me.)

― Rockist Scientist, Friday, 23 July 2004 12:43 (twenty-one years ago)

the murder mystery, or something like this - if memory serves well. an unfortunate experiment, to be honest.

― Marco Damiani (Marco D.), Friday, 23 July 2004 12:45 (twenty-one years ago)

Murder Mystery. Which I actually heart. But it takes you through to After Hours which is back to the loveliness.

― Ma$onic Boom (kate), Friday, 23 July 2004 12:45 (twenty-one years ago)

the only real good thing about their early 90's reunion was seeing Moe Tucker sing After Hours and I'm Sticking with You.

― Marco Damiani (Marco D.), Friday, 23 July 2004 12:48 (twenty-one years ago)

But... but... she did that solo, as well! In fact, I saw her do one of them... (I'm Sticking With You, if memory serves, curse Orbit and her tequila shots) with Doug Yule in Seattle once!

― Ma$onic Boom (kate), Friday, 23 July 2004 12:49 (twenty-one years ago)

i don't think she ever toured Italy as a solo artist. I went to those VU concerts just to worship my favourite band ever. John Cale had a cool haircut, but Lou Reed was simply horrible. I hate him.

― Marco Damiani (Marco D.), Friday, 23 July 2004 12:54 (twenty-one years ago)

Kate, I just want to say that I was not quoting you because you mentioned me. I totally missed that until now. (I'm just saying this because our paths don't cross much here, so it looked a little suspicious.)

I'm all twisted up into ambivalent knots about the Velvet Underground. I still like a lot of their music (probably at least half of the tracks from their main releases, and some of the recovered stuff as well), but it's pretty far removed from what I normally listen to these days. My appreciation for anything droney started to wither away about ten years or so ago. Also, I don't like most of the bands that claim the Velvet Underground as forebears. I don't think they were really such a good influence. But they still made lots of good music, and they won my affection before I drifted away from their particular aesthetic, so stuck with liking them, even if they don't sit comfortably next to many of my other favorite rock bands (let alone anything else I listen to).

― Rockist Scientist, Friday, 23 July 2004 12:56 (twenty-one years ago)

I don't like solo Lou Reed much at all, either, but that's beside the point I guess.

― Rockist Scientist, Friday, 23 July 2004 12:57 (twenty-one years ago)

John Cale had a cool haircut, but Lou Reed was simply horrible.
It's not really on topic, but the sad thing about Cale is that he looks 40 years older than he did 10 years ago.

Lou Reed is Keith Richards:The Sequel. He's looked curmudgeonly for years and he will undoubtedly outlive us all.

― Barry Bruner (Barry Bruner), Friday, 23 July 2004 12:58 (twenty-one years ago)

Lou Reed is the only member of the Velvet Underground I've never seen live. Oh wait, I've never seen Nico, either. But I saw everyone else. John Cale solo, Sterling Morrison playing guitar for Moe Tucker (I've seen Moe several times, she's ace solo, she's like rock'n'roll grandmom), even Doug Yule solo (introduced himself as "Hi, I'm Doug Yule, the guy that ruined the Velvet Underground") and with Moe.

I don't actually care about Lou Reed solo. According to my ex, he was an arsehole anyway, and actually stole his lunch.

― Ma$onic Boom (kate), Friday, 23 July 2004 12:58 (twenty-one years ago)

er, he looks 40 years older in 2004 than he did in 1994 ...
(xpost)

― Barry Bruner (Barry Bruner), Friday, 23 July 2004 12:59 (twenty-one years ago)

What I dislike about Dylan is his nasty voice and boring music. :o)

I used to say the same thing.

― CeCe Peniston (Anthony Miccio), Friday, 23 July 2004 13:00 (twenty-one years ago)

STOLE his LUNCH? talk about seedy underbellies of america, here...

― peter smith (plsmith), Friday, 23 July 2004 13:03 (twenty-one years ago)

Rockist Scientist, i think to understand what you're saying about VU as not a good influence - and probably you're right. and i don't like all most of that pretentious imagery (Andy Warhol, sunglasses, city cool etc). for me they are simply one of the quintessential rock n roll bands, dangerous and ironic and even a bit sentimental all at the same time.

― Marco Damiani (Marco D.), Friday, 23 July 2004 13:03 (twenty-one years ago)

Lou Reed is evil.

― Marco Damiani (Marco D.), Friday, 23 July 2004 13:04 (twenty-one years ago)

Stole his lunch. Yup. Took the sandwich right out of his hand, and locked himself in the limo with it.

― Ma$onic Boom (kate), Friday, 23 July 2004 13:04 (twenty-one years ago)

Wild wild parties when they start to unwind
A close encounter of the thirdest kind

I'm nonplussed. Is that the right word?

― dleone (dleone), Friday, 23 July 2004 13:07 (twenty-one years ago)

I just wrote something interesting but I lost it because I accidentally messed up the e-mail field, and now I'm not going to repeat it.

― Rockist Scientist, Friday, 23 July 2004 13:11 (twenty-one years ago)

It was the best post I ever made. The lost post.

― Rockist Scientist, Friday, 23 July 2004 13:12 (twenty-one years ago)

Maybe it will turn up on a PC in Malaysia logging my keystrokes.

― Rockist Scientist, Friday, 23 July 2004 13:14 (twenty-one years ago)

I'm kind of on the fence about VU apart from Loaded which is just sensational - the 2CD version is utterly wonderful. I love the Nico stuff off the 1st album, but really most of the rest is tosh - acceptable as some kind of street cartoon, but when people take this stuff seriously some v.bad music has resulted. The second album is horrible, but you know I just don't want to hear noise. Then again, the Quine tapes versions of Sister Ray are streets ahead of the album version. The third album is not as good as people say, although I see why they say what they say.

What Kate says about Lou as popster is bang on the money. After all - he used to write for others and is rooted in late 50's doo-wop etc. It shows.

And yes, the Morrison-Reed guitar interplay is stellar - I like it better when Cale had fecked off with his viola so that you can hear the beauty of it. Yule>>>Cale IMHO.

― Dr.C, Friday, 23 July 2004 13:16 (twenty-one years ago)

Yule>>>Cale IMHO.

Dr C. you're wrongness is astonishing on so many levels... ::gapes:: and all the more irritating cause you agree with me on other things!

― Ma$onic Boom (kate), Friday, 23 July 2004 13:19 (twenty-one years ago)

Why am I *wrong*. It's just my opinion. In mean, I know what I like - and I'm not a noise-freak, so I don't like all the noisy bits.

― Dr .C, Friday, 23 July 2004 13:36 (twenty-one years ago)

My wrongness of punctuation is astonishing on so many levels, too.

― Ma$onic Boom (kate), Friday, 23 July 2004 13:38 (twenty-one years ago)

Yule never wrote/performed "Church of Anthrax," for starters.

― hstencil (hstencil), Friday, 23 July 2004 13:39 (twenty-one years ago)

Plus, well, John was actually HOTTer:

http://img78.photobucket.com/albums/v253/catwank/john.gif

[/typical kate response]

― Ma$onic Boom (kate), Friday, 23 July 2004 13:39 (twenty-one years ago)

Never produced The Modern Lovers either.

― CeCe Peniston (Anthony Miccio), Friday, 23 July 2004 13:40 (twenty-one years ago)

Though I must confess I just assumed that Lou's voice was unusually sweet sometimes before I knew Yule was singing on some tracks on the last two albums.

― CeCe Peniston (Anthony Miccio), Friday, 23 July 2004 13:41 (twenty-one years ago)

Two weeks ago, on my way to work, I saw Lou Reed and Laurie Anderson having breakfast outdoors. Then a day later John Cale walked past me on my way back from lunch. ZOINKS!

― Jay Vee (Manon_70), Friday, 23 July 2004 13:47 (twenty-one years ago)

run into Betsey Johnson to complete the superfecta.

― hstencil (hstencil), Friday, 23 July 2004 13:54 (twenty-one years ago)

Love the third album, which has some of their best songs ("What Goes On," "Beginning to See The Light," "I'm Set Free," "After Hours"). I'd recommend that to anyone as an initial purchase. Regarding the others, I tend to tune Reed out and focus in on Mo Tucker.

― mike a, Friday, 23 July 2004 13:59 (twenty-one years ago)

xpost run into Betsey Johnson to complete the superfecta.

Yes, but my money's on Cale to win.

― Jay Vee (Manon_70), Friday, 23 July 2004 14:02 (twenty-one years ago)

btw, Loaded is a great record. if you like that, then work your way backwards.

― Jay Vee (Manon_70), Friday, 23 July 2004 14:04 (twenty-one years ago)

CDR- 80 min. is imminent!

― Francis Watlington (Francis Watlington), Friday, 23 July 2004 14:24 (twenty-one years ago)

Heroin's great! That was pretty much what got me into them, it was the first song I heard. The drug and the song, obv.

― djdee2005, Friday, 23 July 2004 14:32 (twenty-one years ago)

Skipping 64 messages at this point... Click here if you want to load them all.

Yup.

VU also pushed me away from rockist ideas and into popism, I think having listened to them and then looked into the story of how the records were produced, one can't seriously use the adjective 'manufactured' as a negative. (Personally, Nico made me like Blondie which made like Madonna)

― cardamon, Wednesday, 13 November 2013 03:04 (twelve years ago)

White Light/White Heat sounds great on my car speakers.

― Tip from Tae Kwon Do: (crüt), Wednesday, 13 November 2013 03:14 (twelve years ago)

cardamon socl

― buzza, Wednesday, 13 November 2013 08:04 (twelve years ago)

VU's magic for me lies in the atmosphere their songs evoke: strange times, strange places, strange frames of mind...but always accompanied with very down-to-earth human feeling. It's like you're getting transported somewhere and sinking into your heart at the same time.

There's nothing unusual about the fact that they don't charm everyone, because that "atmosphere" is a fragile, tenuous thing, and depends as much on what the listener brings by way of projection and expectation as on the sound the stylus picks up. That expectation in turn is also shaped by what else you've listened to. When I first heard VU, my diet consisted mostly of hard 70s rock and punk. I had just never heard anything like them before, so the impact was forceful, and those first impressions have a way of lingering.

― never have i been a blue calm sea (collardio gelatinous), Wednesday, 13 November 2013 17:29 (twelve years ago)

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