I heard Transformer sold quite well too...
xpost me and my slow typing...
― Mark G, Tuesday, 14 October 2008 15:34 (fifteen years ago) link
... in the UK it did, don't know how well it sold in the US. Also "Berlin" was in between it and "RnR Animal", and that bombed in the US (but did quite well in the UK)
― Ich Ber ein Binliner (Tom D.), Tuesday, 14 October 2008 15:36 (fifteen years ago) link
NEW YORK???? Oh I hate that record! This one rules, tho. His goofy domestic stuff was cute and Waves of Fear is PERFECT. That shuddering but unresolving guitar/voice figure catches alcoholic wakeups way too well. What I don't get is how Lou doesn't realise he plays guitar better with SOMEONE ELSE. It doesn't make him look bad; it makes him play and sound a million times better.
Legendary Hearts is cute, not all that great. Mostly cos of ABOVE prob.
― Niles Caulder, Tuesday, 14 October 2008 16:34 (fifteen years ago) link
Eh. New Sensations had some of his best guitar playing, and he recorded alone.
LH is cute?!? It's even darker than TBM.
― Alfred, Lord Sotosyn, Tuesday, 14 October 2008 16:36 (fifteen years ago) link
No it's not, it's got Rooftop Garden on it!
― Niles Caulder, Tuesday, 14 October 2008 16:39 (fifteen years ago) link
And I don't recall his guitar. I do recall Quine was on it but got mixed off.
― Niles Caulder, Tuesday, 14 October 2008 16:40 (fifteen years ago) link
Martial Law is, errrrrrrrrr, somewhat less dark than The Gun... for instance
― Ich Ber ein Binliner (Tom D.), Tuesday, 14 October 2008 16:40 (fifteen years ago) link
But then you have the title track, "Betrayed," "Home of the Brave," "Bottoming Out."
Quine wasn't mixed off – he was mixed down. You can plainly hear his kind of solo on "Bottoming Out" and "Make Up."
― Alfred, Lord Sotosyn, Tuesday, 14 October 2008 16:48 (fifteen years ago) link
from "LH":
Romeo, oh RomeoWherefore art thou Romeo?He's in a car or at a barOr churning his blood with an impure drugHe's in the past and seems to be lost forever
Wherefore art thou Romeo?
He's in a car or at a bar
Or churning his blood with an impure drug
He's in the past and seems to be lost forever
― "I'ma lose my religion and go secular on you, boy" (Ioannis), Tuesday, 14 October 2008 17:12 (fifteen years ago) link
yup still pretty much the best album ever
i'll put a hole in your face if you even breathe a wordtell the lady to lie down, i want you to be sure to see this, i wouldnt you miss a SA-cundwatch your wifecarrying a gun, shooting with a gundirty animal
― LilDeejTheTasteGod (surfboard dudes get wiped out, totally), Friday, 18 December 2009 05:34 (fourteen years ago) link
going out on a limb here BUT:
Side A is the best side of any Lou solo album.
― LilDeejTheTasteGod (surfboard dudes get wiped out, totally), Friday, 18 December 2009 05:41 (fourteen years ago) link
love this album.. quine's guitar solo on 'women' givs me chills
― Kate 'Impeach' Bush (Future_Perfect), Friday, 18 December 2009 06:05 (fourteen years ago) link
We could have used some of this enthusiasm for the 80s poll a couple weeks back. It didn't even make the top 100.
― kornrulez6969, Friday, 18 December 2009 06:13 (fourteen years ago) link
the gtr playing is awesome on this album but the songwriting is too earnest/obvious. it's like lou made his big comeback as a musician (yay!) at the same time that he kinda jumped the shark in terms of lyric writing. on the whole I prefer his trashy inconsistent 70s >>>>>> his "mature" work in the 80s and beyond. I mean lyrics like these are sheer genius:
She was the first girl in the neighbourhoodTo wear tied-dyed pants, ah, like she shouldShe was the first girl that I ever seenThat had flowers painted on her jeansShe was the first girl in her neighbourhoodthat got raped on Tompkins Square real goodNow she wears a sword, like NapoleonAnd she kills the boys and acts like a sonSally can't dance no more, Sally can't dance no moreShe can't get herself off the floor, Sally, she can't dance no moreSally became a big model, she moved up to eighties and parkShe had a studio appartment and that's where she used to ballfolk singers, and that's where she used to ball folk singersSally can't dance no more, Sally can't get off of the floor
especially when compared to banality like "I love my motorcycle and my wife" etc etc
― chief rocker frankie crocker (m coleman), Friday, 18 December 2009 10:42 (fourteen years ago) link
Lots of great lyrics on "The Blue Mask", some silly ones too, but it is Lou Reed after all
― Sonny Uplands (Tom D.), Friday, 18 December 2009 10:51 (fourteen years ago) link
New Sensations > The Blue Mask
― Hell is other people. In an ILE film forum. (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Friday, 18 December 2009 12:39 (fourteen years ago) link
m. coleman basically on the money but I'll rep for Legendary Hearts as the last good one, the last hurrah, where the mature motorcycle man songwriting was, um, firing on all cylinders, hadn't yet crystallized into schtick and the Fernando Saunders whale sounds didn't overshadow the guitar playing.
― alter cocker jarvis cocker (James Redd and the Blecchs), Friday, 18 December 2009 15:19 (fourteen years ago) link
never been able to get into this record. imho the best thing about it is the cover
― larry craig memorial gloryhole (Shakey Mo Collier), Friday, 18 December 2009 16:49 (fourteen years ago) link
I just checked, this opinion is still 100% batty
― Herodcare for the Unborn (J0hn D.), Friday, 18 December 2009 16:50 (fourteen years ago) link
Heard it was originally supposed to be called Lou Sensations.
― alter cocker jarvis cocker (James Redd and the Blecchs), Friday, 18 December 2009 16:52 (fourteen years ago) link
(You guys should listen to that NYPL VU interview, btw)
― alter cocker jarvis cocker (James Redd and the Blecchs), Friday, 18 December 2009 16:53 (fourteen years ago) link
I love Lou, I think he's great
― that sex version of "blue thunder." (Mr. Que), Friday, 18 December 2009 16:53 (fourteen years ago) link
Downloading it
― Which one's George Clinton? (Tom D.), Friday, 18 December 2009 16:57 (fourteen years ago) link
revisited this the other day - still lol'ing at Average Guy (my temperature is NINETY-EIGHT point TWO)
― Here is a tasty coconut. Sorry for my earlier harshness. (Shakey Mo Collier), Thursday, 20 May 2010 21:15 (thirteen years ago) link
m coleman is one of my favorite ILM posters -- I look forward to them! -- but he's wrong about Reed's lyrics. "Our House" is a terrific piece of sustained writing, on every level (including musical).
― Filmmaker, Author, Radio Host Stephen Baldwin (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Thursday, 20 May 2010 21:20 (thirteen years ago) link
I'm kinda of two minds about that one - its SO direct and literal, there's something kinda clumsy about it
― Here is a tasty coconut. Sorry for my earlier harshness. (Shakey Mo Collier), Thursday, 20 May 2010 21:22 (thirteen years ago) link
But then the music churns and weaves itself around the verses and Lou's voice. My god, the intro -- how the guitars and bass create a very quiet ruckus, then settle....I can write reams about it.
― Filmmaker, Author, Radio Host Stephen Baldwin (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Thursday, 20 May 2010 21:29 (thirteen years ago) link
I'm going to make one point abundantly clear: I cannot think of any belief system that can support the New Sensations > Blue Mask paradox. I'm just glad he didn't type Mistrial > Blue Mask, as that may have caused disruptions in the fabric of reality.
Wait a minute...
...Ooops.
― ImprovSpirit, Thursday, 20 May 2010 21:40 (thirteen years ago) link
I've listened to NS far more often and enjoy its pop knockoffs (the enjoyment of which taught me that Lou's jokes are more serious than his mature stuff). The production's awful though.
― Filmmaker, Author, Radio Host Stephen Baldwin (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Thursday, 20 May 2010 21:46 (thirteen years ago) link
i've got a Japanese version of NS from a few years ago and it sounds a helluva lot better than the original release. the production still bugs me a little but not nearly as much as it did
― If you can believe your eyes and ears (outdoor_miner), Thursday, 20 May 2010 21:57 (thirteen years ago) link
my favorite thing about average guy, and maybe my favorite single thing Lou did in the 80s, is when, at the point where the singer's supposed to go "hey!" or "yeah!" he yells "average!"
― in which we apologize for sobering up (underrated aerosmith albums I have loved), Thursday, 20 May 2010 22:04 (thirteen years ago) link
what the fuck is this song about? I do not get these lyrics at all, really
The heroine stood up on the deckthe ship was out of controlthe bow was being ripped to shredsmen were fighting down belowThe sea had pummeled the boat for so longthat they knew nothing but fear
And the baby's in his boxhe thinks the door is lockedthe sea is in a statethe baby learns to wait for the heroineOhh, ohh, for the heroinelocked in his defense, he waits for the heroine
The mast is cracking as he waves are slappingsailors roll across the deckand when they thought no one was lookingthey would cut a weaker man's neckWhile the heroine dressed in a virgin white dresstried to steer the mighty shipBut the raging storm wouldn't hear of itthey were in for a long trip
Baby's in the boxhe thinks the door is lockedhe finds it hard to breathedrawing in the seaAnd where's the heroine to fire off the gunto calm the raging seasand let herself be seized, by the -
- Baby in the boxhe thinks the door is lockedthe woman has the keysbut there is no moment she can seizeHere's to the heroinewho transcends all the menWho are locked inside the boxwill the lady let them outOhh, the heroine, ooohh, ooohhh, the heroineStrapped to the mast, the pale ascendant heroinestrapped to the mast, the pale ascendant heroine
― twat dust and ego overload (Shakey Mo Collier), Monday, 20 December 2010 17:08 (thirteen years ago) link
no idea.yo la tengo and will oldham covered "heavenly arms" from this album a couple weeks ago. it wasn't very good, but they get points for trying.
― tylerw, Monday, 20 December 2010 17:09 (thirteen years ago) link
i think this one is overrated, 3-4 really good songs tho
― buzza, Monday, 20 December 2010 17:51 (thirteen years ago) link
i finally found this at my record store yesterday! total classic imo, if only for the quines guitar playing (esp. at the end of Women), waves of fear, and heavenly arms
― pretentious: based on the album 'what happened?' by emeralds (diamonddave85), Monday, 20 December 2010 17:56 (thirteen years ago) link
xxp el perro del mar does a really great cover of heavenly arms
― pretentious: based on the album 'what happened?' by emeralds (diamonddave85), Monday, 20 December 2010 17:57 (thirteen years ago) link
First forty seconds of "My House" = glorious.
― Gus Van Sotosyn (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Monday, 20 December 2010 18:02 (thirteen years ago) link
oooo and the drum fills towards the end of 'my house' !! really fits with quine's offtime-ish riffing and packs a punch
― pretentious: based on the album 'what happened?' by emeralds (diamonddave85), Monday, 20 December 2010 18:12 (thirteen years ago) link
esp. at the end of Womeni might be wrong, but i think this is actually lou on lead.
― tylerw, Monday, 20 December 2010 18:15 (thirteen years ago) link
ahh yeah, youre right. quine in the left channel, lou in the right
― pretentious: based on the album 'what happened?' by emeralds (diamonddave85), Monday, 20 December 2010 18:20 (thirteen years ago) link
yeah, i think the only reason i know that is cuz lou takes the solo on the "night w/ lou reed" video (which is essnetial if you dig this album btw). it is a great solo, though, kinda redeems the song imo.
― tylerw, Monday, 20 December 2010 18:27 (thirteen years ago) link
Thirty years old today!
― Exile in lolville (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Thursday, 23 February 2012 02:14 (twelve years ago) link
I remember where I was that day, I was upstate in a bar
― kornrulez6969, Thursday, 23 February 2012 02:14 (twelve years ago) link
you and your friend got out a ouija board
― Exile in lolville (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Thursday, 23 February 2012 02:16 (twelve years ago) link
I think I was watching the team from the university play football on tv.
― kornrulez6969, Thursday, 23 February 2012 04:45 (twelve years ago) link
im listening to this for the first time. so so good. quine's guitar on "waves of fear" is amazing.
― subaltern 8 (Michael B), Thursday, 31 October 2013 10:36 (ten years ago) link
The "tuning up" intro on "My House" is worth the price of the album.
― the objections to Drake from non-REAL HIPHOP people (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Thursday, 31 October 2013 11:01 (ten years ago) link
I love "Women" and "Gun" and "Underneath the Bottle"
― Iago Galdston, Thursday, 31 October 2013 13:29 (ten years ago) link
a special album for me because it was the first one to be released by Lou Reed after I became a fan. I had gone completely ape, buying or begging anything I could get my hands on for over a year - bootlegs, used anything, some forgotten English magazine that came with a cassette featuring an interview with him (he got mad at the interviewer and told him "I am not here to loon around," which lodged itself in my brain forever). I wasn't 100% sure what to make of it at first but "Waves of Fear" just knocked me over and when I was 15 I got drunk and listened to "My House" and that outro just washed over me and I then had a night-long argument with friends who didn't think "My House" was great.
still the best of the post-70s albums imo.
― combination hair (underrated aerosmith bootlegs I have owned), Thursday, 31 October 2013 13:36 (ten years ago) link
holy shit @ all of this
http://www.hideoutchicago.com/event/633787-robbie-fulks-chicago/
Mondays With RobbieRobbie FulksR.I.P. Lou Reed - Blue Mask LP performed with loud band, featuring Michael Shannon as Lou Reed*Mon, July 21, 2014Doors: 6:00 pm / Show: 7:00 pmThe HideoutChicago, IL$10.00
― sinister porpoise (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Tuesday, 15 July 2014 14:12 (nine years ago) link
The most recently, frequently revived Lou thread, so I'll paste this here, from ilxor tylerw's invaluable tumblr, doomandgloomfromthetomb:
Lou Reed - Tinley Park, Chicago, Illinois, September 12, 1992*
Last week, we heard Lou debut some spoken word renditions of a few Magic & Loss lyrics. Today, we get to hear them in a more traditional setting: you can’t beat two guitars, bass and drums. I’ve picked this particular show not only because it’s a very nice FM broadcast, but also because it features a very unique, very cool, very short-lived band: the awesome Marc Ribot on lead guitar and bassist Greg Cohen, along with drummer Michael Blair.
Ribot and Cohen at this point were probably best known for their work in the John Zorn and Tom Waits universes, and it’s interesting to hear their styles added to Lou’s early 1990s period. Ribot in particular is probably the most distinctive guitarist this side of Quine that Lou has worked with — and he sounds great here, going for broke in a way that Mike Rathke doesn’t. Check out his smoky solo on “Magician” or his driving, his shimmery sound on “Tell It To Your Heart” or his dramatic playing on “Sword of Damocles.” That latter tune is a highlight; towards the end, Lou quotes “Save The Last Dance For Me,” making its connection to Doc Pomus explicit. A really powerful moment!
I like the other Magic & Loss numbers, too — they’re a little more revved up and energetic, for sure. It’s also impressive that Lou tries to perform “Harry’s Circumcision” in front of a somewhat rowdy outdoor audience. He really believed in his new material — in fact, the set is dominated by late-period material, aside from a few obligatory walks on the wild side. Onwards!
Lou Says (1992): You’re confused because you’re thinking about pop music and pop records, or rock ‘n’ roll. Think about Brecht and Weill, “Seven Deadly Sins.” Boy, now I wish I had come up with that one first. If you think of it as Lou Reed music, not pop or rock, those expectations (of what kind of songs belong on a pop record) disappear, because they don’t exist for an artist… All the way back to “Heroin,” the idea was to tell stories from different points of view, with conflicting opinions. Some of it can seem very personal, or at least it comes across that way, because you’re acting. And then you can write something equally personal that’s completely at odds with what the first person said. Any great novel has lots of “personal things” floating through it, whatever the character you’re writing about.*link is at top of tyler's page:https://doomandgloomfromthetomb.tumblr.com/search/Lou%20Reed%20Marc%20Ribot
― dow, Friday, 18 February 2022 00:40 (two years ago) link