R.I.P. Lou Reed

Lou Reed, Velvet Underground Leader and Rock Pioneer, Dead at 71

Lou Reed, a massively influential songwriter and guitarist who helped shape nearly fifty years of rock music, died today.

 

...and on a Sunday morning, no less.

R.I.P., Lou.

 

Reed and Bowie on the Dirty Blvd.

 

Just heard this on news .

Transformer is one of the great rock/pop albums.

R.I.P. Mr Reed.

 

Wow, that's big. I had a feeling he wasn't doing that great after his liver transplant.

Very few people have had as big an influence on rock and roll. What did Brian Eno say? Something like "The Velvet Underground's first record only sold a few thousand copies, but everybody who bought one started a band." That about says it.

Besides the great songwriting and the too-cool-to-give-a-damn monotone vocals, I love listening to him play. As a droning rhythm dynamo, combining rhythm and lead with Mike Rathke or the late great Robert Quine, or breaking out his own energetic, chaotic, idiosyncratic leads, he was an unforgettable guitarist.

You can't go far reading about Lou Reed without getting the feeling that he was a very difficult person to deal with. And he was notoriously reticent to do interviews. But the music will stand.

 

And he said, "Hey babe, take a walk on the wild side."

 

Never realized until a few months ago that there was actually an official video for that song.

 

White Light, White Heat from the Velvets

And here's the Ralph Stanley (?!) remake.

 

In terms of Sci Fi and Fantasy, there's also the fact that Reed was one of the influences on Neil Gaiman's Sandman. This song, in fact, was "playing" in the background of one of the scenes at the serial killers convention.

 

Lou Reed and Metallica at one of the Rock and Roll HoF concerts performing Sweet Jane.

 

I'm a huge fan of Lou Reed. I'm glad I got to see him live before he died (And during his Raven tour, so a fun one). Man, that just sucks that he's gone.

Just for fun, the positions of his albums on my last all time list:
#37 The Velvet Underground & Nico
#38 White Light/White Heat
#180 Transformer
#260 New York
#266 The Velvet Underground
#346 The Blue Mask
#534 Loaded
#554 Berlin
#555 Songs For Drella

I should try to see Bob Dylan again...

 

I don't know if it counts as a concept album. However, as big a fan as I am of his 70s and 60s work, and individual songs from those records, I have to say that probably New York is my favorite Lou Reed album. From the opening riff of Romeo had Juliette to the "hit single" Dirty Blvd all the way to the closing tracks, Strawman and Dime Store Mystery, there wasn't a bad song on that album.

 

Perfect Day great song.

he's flyin' away, from thr Dirty Boulevarde. He'll be much missed.

 

Yep Here's the all star version from the BBC a few years ago.

 

"One chord is fine. Two chords are pushing it. Three chords and you're into jazz."

See ya, Lou. Thanks.

 

Having never been to New York, Lou Reed is what I always imagined as the personification of it. Another icon gone.

 

RIP Lou and thank you oh so very much.

 

Lou Reed, John Cale, and Nico- Le Bataclan '72- "Wild Child"

Interesting, almost Dylanesque, version