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'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)

seriously, just start with squeeze.

http://member.nifty.ne.jp/universal/10squeeze.jpg

― peter smith (plsmith), Friday, 23 July 2004 14:34 (twenty-one years ago)

btw, i really earnestly love that album cover. i dont think ill ever listen to any of it, in an attempt to still feel good about the album cover.

― peter smith (plsmith), Friday, 23 July 2004 14:35 (twenty-one years ago)

Ha ha. When I finally got to hear Squeeze it wasn't as awful as I'd expected it to be. I kind of half-remember one or two songs being almost sort of kind of slightly good.

― dlp9001, Friday, 23 July 2004 14:36 (twenty-one years ago)

anthony you actually have your favorite albums listed in ranked order? and remember the order? man.

― amateur!st (amateurist), Friday, 23 July 2004 14:37 (twenty-one years ago)

What is Squeeze?

― Rockist Scientist, Friday, 23 July 2004 14:38 (twenty-one years ago)

the only record from the doug yule-led, post-lou reed incarnation of the VY, long out of print (except in japan, that magical land where everything is in print).

― amateur!st (amateurist), Friday, 23 July 2004 14:39 (twenty-one years ago)

ahh the ol' velvet yunderground.

― peter smith (plsmith), Friday, 23 July 2004 14:41 (twenty-one years ago)

Re: Squeeze, there's a box set of live post-Lou Velvets that I'm not masochistic enough to buy (though since I haven't heard it I have no idea if it's terrible...common sense says it is but you just never know till you know).

― dlp9001, Friday, 23 July 2004 14:43 (twenty-one years ago)

my understanding from those "in the know" is that it's not TERRIBLE, just very mediocre.

― amateur!st (amateurist), Friday, 23 July 2004 14:44 (twenty-one years ago)

So with all the archival VU material that has been released on CD, there's still a known album that isn't available on CD (outside of Japan)? We have tapes of John Cale fucking off on a roof somewhere, but not this?

x-post: a little like Loaded then?

― Rockist Scientist, Friday, 23 July 2004 14:45 (twenty-one years ago)

yes, it's not fair.

― Marco Damiani (Marco D.), Friday, 23 July 2004 14:50 (twenty-one years ago)

xpost - those archival John Cale-fucking around CDs that Table of the Elements put out are good, dude.

― hstencil (hstencil), Friday, 23 July 2004 14:50 (twenty-one years ago)

I wouldn't be surprised if they are good.

― Rockist Scientist, Friday, 23 July 2004 14:55 (twenty-one years ago)

This thread already exists:

Say something BORING about the Velvet Underground

hahahahahaha (i'm a stinker.)

― scott seward (scott seward), Friday, 23 July 2004 14:55 (twenty-one years ago)

i have a couple of those John Cale cd's. Tony Corrad is on board too. Very good stuff indeed - if you adore the Great Drone in the Sky.

― Marco Damiani (Marco D.), Friday, 23 July 2004 14:56 (twenty-one years ago)

TS the great drone in the sky vs. "spirit in the sky"

― amateur!st (amateurist), Friday, 23 July 2004 14:58 (twenty-one years ago)

that's a kick-ass riff, not a drone.

― hstencil (hstencil), Friday, 23 July 2004 14:58 (twenty-one years ago)

(why not real Motown)

I took "fake Motown" to mean "Motown style songs played in a diferent instrumental setting"...you know, like "The Boy With The Arab Strap". Of course the 60's had their own fake Motown (Jackie Wilson etc.), which complicates matters.

― Daniel_Rf (Daniel_Rf), Friday, 23 July 2004 15:40 (twenty-one years ago)

The thing is, it's all about White Light/White Heat. I don't like Loaded at all ("Who Loves the Sun" and the first 10 seconds of "Sweet Jane" aside), the first album is fine but I've heard it too much, and the third album is gorgeous but not very exciting (though it's still probably in my top 100 albums). But I waited way too long to buy WL/WH because the "noise" songs on the first album were my least favorites, so I figured I wouldn't like them in noise-mode. Um, I was wrong. Nearly every track blows me away, every time. "Sister Ray" is just staggering - I never knew I could be NOT bored by a seventeen-minute song. So yeah, they do deserve their reputation, even if the other albums aren't quite as overwhelming as everyone says.

― J.D. (Justyn Dillingham), Saturday, 24 July 2004 03:13 (twenty-one years ago)

http://www.ergophizmiz.com/whitelightwhiteheat/

― (Jon L), Saturday, 24 July 2004 03:23 (twenty-one years ago)

"It's like this drone gene to appreciate stuff like that, the texture of it all, and either you have it, or you don't. "

OTM.

― latebloomer (latebloomer), Saturday, 24 July 2004 03:31 (twenty-one years ago)

Of my many favorite things about them, one that doesn't get mentioned enough: Mo Tucker! One of my favorite drummers ever. Plus, I think she kind of invented indie-girl singing on "After Hours" and "I'm Sticking With You."

― spittle (spittle), Saturday, 24 July 2004 04:11 (twenty-one years ago)

Mo Tucker gets more than enough attention.

― Rockist Scientist, Saturday, 24 July 2004 12:24 (twenty-one years ago)

Especially for those two songs.

― Rockist Scientist, Saturday, 24 July 2004 12:24 (twenty-one years ago)

I know a lot of people are going to hate me for this.

― Rockist Scientist, Saturday, 24 July 2004 12:28 (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!

Yup, they indeed did that. Good night, that.

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Saturday, 24 July 2004 12:54 (twenty-one years ago)

This thread already exists:
Say something BORING about the Velvet Underground

hahahahahaha (i'm a stinker.)

-- scott seward (skotro...), July 23rd, 2004. (tracklink)

Damn, Scott, you stole my idea!

I just find it all rather unpleasant to listen to. It's badly recorded, the music is dirge-like and one chord, the lyrics are okay but often just devolve into repeating the same thing.

You don't have that gene, doglatin... oh, and you're a cunt for not liking them. ;-)

― Clarke B. (Clarke B.), Sunday, 25 July 2004 15:26 (twenty-one years ago)

The invention of indie-girl singing is one of those little aspects of their sound and their legacy that I choose conveniently to ignore. The third album is pleasant and I love it, but in terms of what it's inspired, shit on it.

― Clarke B. (Clarke B.), Sunday, 25 July 2004 15:30 (twenty-one years ago)

mo turner falls in that category of "every time someone cites her, they must allude to how she is never cited."

― amateur!st (amateurist), Monday, 26 July 2004 00:35 (twenty-one years ago)

tweed and the smell of pipe smoke.

― jack cole (jackcole), Monday, 26 July 2004 00:37 (twenty-one years ago)

does mo turner own Turner Classic Movies? Bravo to her.

― Ian c=====8 (orion), Monday, 26 July 2004 02:15 (twenty-one years ago)

she is also the author of the turner diaries!

― amateur!st (amateurist), Monday, 26 July 2004 02:29 (twenty-one years ago)

People talk about their 'influence' as if it were like inherently bad, but the truth (ok, the truth to me) is that the best part about VU was their BIG IDEAS, and they could have inspired a lot of really wonderful things but people were too hung up on their most boring ideas (ie two chords and hipster posturing) that the legacy was tainted.

To create a listenable mix of R&B, noise, free jazz and POP that exists on the cutting edge is everything I've ever wanted to do as a musician. All of the infamous VU "ripoffs" have been sadly funkless and fearful of innovation

― Sonny A. (Keiko), Monday, 26 July 2004 03:21 (twenty-one years ago)

what scares me most about this thread is that miccio ranked his favorite velvets albums EXACTLY THE SAME WAY THAT I DID!

that throws a MAJOR curve in my "miccio = anti-me" thesis, it does.

― Eisbär (llamasfur), Monday, 26 July 2004 04:12 (twenty-one years ago)

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