Say something BORING about the Velvet Underground

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― fritz, Friday, 18 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

if ILM is Beatles-phobic, is it VU-philic?

my feelings re: VU discussion: "Too much of good thing is killin' me" - Reg presley of the mighty Troggs

― fritz, Friday, 18 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

They're really important.

― charlie va, Friday, 18 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Agree Fritz, ILM is turning VU in the most boring band ever. Indeed, one could make the ultimate ILM snore-thread Taking Sides: Velvet Underground vs. Radiohead vs. Joy Division. Just don't forget to uncheck the e-mail notification. ;)

― Omar, Friday, 18 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Not that many people bought their first record, but everyone who did went off to start a band. That's what they say anyway.

― DeRayMi, Friday, 18 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Oh yeah sorry the boring thing, I forgot. "Junkies say that 'Heroin' really sounds great on smack." Yawn.

― Omar, Friday, 18 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

We can thank them for many of the wonderful genres we enjoy today.

Or not.

― Curt, Friday, 18 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

not trying to be an ungrateful prig nor devalue their contribution just wondering how much is left to be said about their brilliance around here.

no offense to those who've been enjoying the latest VU threads, honestly I haven't paid them much mind so I could be way off in dismissing them out of hand.

― fritz, Friday, 18 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

They were more important than the Beatles you know?

― Ronan, Friday, 18 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Apparently they are the bridge between rock and the NYC '60s avant-garde...

― Andrew L, Friday, 18 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

1. Andy Warhol discovered them.
2. The classic line up was Reed, Morrison, Cale and Tucker.
3. The Strokes sound like them.
4. Some people don't agree with 1-3 above.

― Jeff W, Friday, 18 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

velvet undergr is boring.

god this is a doss job isnt it.

― XStatic Peace, Friday, 18 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

I like 'em. Haven't listened to 'em in a long long while.

― Ned Raggett, Friday, 18 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

They have nice...uh...shoes?

― Lord Custos, Friday, 18 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

I don't think I could name you a Velvet Underground song if you played it for me. Despite all the chatter here, they remain completely off my radar.

― Dan Perry, Friday, 18 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Their music was at odds with the optimistic, "flower power" sound of the time and so no one listened to their dark songs about drugs and Lady Godiva having an operation.

― Graham C, Friday, 18 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Nico had an affair with Jackson Browne! Can you believe that?!?

― Arthur, Friday, 18 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

I got the &Nico album, total yawnfest. what is the fuss?

― jel, Friday, 18 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

"They gave the 60s the kick in the ass they neededzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz..."

― Sean Carruthers, Friday, 18 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Their abysmal record sales belie their tremendous influence on the artists with abysmal record sales of today.

― fritz, Friday, 18 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

They were singing about drugs/gay sex/etc when the Beatles were singing about holding hands!

― nickn, Friday, 18 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Why are they all wearing sunglasses?

― DavidM, Friday, 18 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

John Cale was married to Betsey Johnson! Can you believe that?!?

― Arthur, Friday, 18 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Irrespective of the depths of their unpopularity during their unpopular period their influence can be heard today in every sound reverberation that reaches our ears from the rumble of a garbage truck to a baby's gentle coo.

― fritz, Friday, 18 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

The Velvet Underground never sold many records, but everyone who did buy them became a rock critic.

― Michael Daddino, Friday, 18 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

whip dancing.

― ducklingmonster, Friday, 18 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Caused me to look up "seminal" in a dictionary at a young age.

Shiny, shiny, shiny boots of leather . . .

― felicity, Friday, 18 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Lou Reed is the most luminous and shocking POET of this [long dead days of yore] generation, viz. "Hey hey hey/too busy sucking on my ding dong" and/or "lonesome cowboy Bill/rides the rodeo/you oughta see him go/yo-de-le-dee-oh", plus "it appears to be my fancy/to make it with Frank and Nancy", not to mention "insects are evil thoughts..." and the tricky Shakespearean sonnet couplet of "I'm waiting for my man/Twenty-six dollars in my hand" [If Mike Love was a NYC junkie, he'd have written...well, probably something better.] Such PROFOUND lyricism, borne out of Reed's Syracuse graduate/Delmore Schwartz-mentored INTELLECTUALISM, in conjunction with a hard-hitting SOUL OF A STREET POET faux-sophisticated shuck 'n'jive also happily gave rise to such trans-generational rock & roll classics as "Coney Island Steeplechase" and "Sad Song" (quote: "Fourteen hundred and ninety two/I'm in love with Mary Queen of Scots").

[If Greil fucking Marcus can presume to trace the amphetamine ass-kid caterwauling of a bunch of "dispossessed" English youth circa-1976/77 all the way back to some dubious millenarian movement or other, then I can just as easily (and certainly more JUSTIFIABLY) trace Lou Reed's idiot babble all the way back to a whole slew of village idiots from the medieval era.]

― J Sutcliffe, Saturday, 19 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Post of the year, so far.

― Ned Raggett, Saturday, 19 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

If West coast flower power represented the 60s dream, the Velvet Undergound was its demonic East coast nightmare cousin.

― N., Saturday, 19 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Did they do that song called 'With Whom To Dance'?

― Grace Jarvis, Saturday, 19 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Maybe. They've got a song on Rhino's doo-wop box, that much I know.

― Michael Daddino, Saturday, 19 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Even so-called 'freaks' were shocked and appalled by these mutants in black leather and sunglesses. (Brooding, surly singer Lou Reed always wore a pair...even at night!) Maybe their deceptively abrasive soundscapes and pretty-sounding ballads (which often hid sinister, ambiguous multiple meanings) were too much of a "bad trip"! Pop idol of the era Cher famously said, "It will replace nothing, except maybe the Allman Brothers"

― dave q, Saturday, 19 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

It's quite interesting to hear the tension within the first two records between Cale, the avant-garde Welshman, and Reed, the New York hipster-poet.

― Clarke B., Saturday, 19 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

The book is better.

― helenfordsdale, Saturday, 19 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

theyre boring. probably.

― ambrose, Saturday, 19 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Mo Tucker drummed in a very primitive way. She looked androgynous.

― Sterling Clover, Saturday, 19 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Squeeze, the album after Lou Reed left, is really bad.

― Michael Daddino, Saturday, 19 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

On the first album, you could actually peel the banana.

― nickn, Monday, 21 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

The drumming in Heroin occasionally goes out of time.

― electric sound of jim, Monday, 21 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

they have a female drummer.

― di, Monday, 21 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Doug Yule.

― JM, Tuesday, 22 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

It would have been more radical if you could have eaten the banana.

― DeRayMi, Tuesday, 22 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

- Lou Reed played in a doowop band called "The Shades".
- John Cale played in LaMonte Young's experimental minimal band called "The Dream Syndicate" (nothing to do with the Paisley underground DS).
- They played together in "The Primitives" where Lou Reed wrote the song "The Ostrich" which was supposed to be a new dance.
- The name Velvet Underground comes from a novel (forgotten which one, some horror stuff I guess).
- Andy Warhol discovered and managed them. He added Nico to the line- up against the will of the other members.

― alex in mainhattan, Wednesday, 23 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

not a novel . a how to sm book , like most sm books mostly dull.

― anthony, Wednesday, 23 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Dean Young says something interesting about the Velvet Underground here.

― youn, Thursday, 24 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

I once interrupted a Velvets thread on here to talk about "Penda's Fen".

― Robin Carmody, Thursday, 24 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

two years pass...

Lou Reed hatched a plot to kill the Crown Prince of Saudia Arabia

http://i.a.cnn.net/cnn/2004/WORLD/meast/06/10/libya.saudi/story.gadhafi.jpg

― lawrence kansas (lawrence kansas), Thursday, 10 June 2004 15:28 (twenty-one years ago)

Most of their third album was boring, actually.

― chuck, Thursday, 10 June 2004 15:37 (twenty-one years ago)

They explored the fetid, sordid underbelly of downtown New York.

― shookout (shookout), Thursday, 10 June 2004 15:40 (twenty-one years ago)

John Cale left the band because he wouldn't play nice with Lou Reed.

― Barry Bruner (Barry Bruner), Thursday, 10 June 2004 16:27 (twenty-one years ago)

the line 'sucking on a ding-dong' reveals lou reed's secret HOSTESS cravings rather than any reference to fellatio

― 6335, Thursday, 10 June 2004 16:41 (twenty-one years ago)

"I simply cannot make love to jews anymore."

― sexyDancer, Thursday, 10 June 2004 16:48 (twenty-one years ago)

Moe Tucker (The girl drummer) worked as a computer data entry clerk. And Sterling Morrison (who is dead) was a college professor. Gosh what would that have been like, to have a member of the VU as your teacher!? Weird!!

John Cale is from Wales, and even speaks the ancient language of Walesian.

― dave225 (Dave225), Thursday, 10 June 2004 16:52 (twenty-one years ago)

the line "he aims it at the sailor he shoots him down dead on the floor" reveals Lou Reed's views about the necessity of proper gun control laws in our society, rather than any reference to a drug and sex orgy gone horribly wrong.

― Barry Bruner (Barry Bruner), Thursday, 10 June 2004 16:56 (twenty-one years ago)

I saw Cale at a coffee shop a couple of months ago and said hello like a geeky fan. He was very nice about it.

― shookout (shookout), Thursday, 10 June 2004 20:39 (twenty-one years ago)

everyone who heard VU formed a band. that's pretty boring. and pretty untrue probably too.

― thesplooge (thesplooge), Friday, 11 June 2004 10:57 (twenty-one years ago)

Save Nico, they were pretty fugly. Had some good tunes.

― Sansai, Friday, 11 June 2004 17:27 (twenty-one years ago)

Nico was a model. She fell off a bike. And she had four stomachs.

― dave225 (Dave225), Friday, 11 June 2004 17:31 (twenty-one years ago)

Mo Tucker worked at Wal-Mart.
Bill Graham didn't like the Velvet Underground very much.

― mike a, Friday, 11 June 2004 17:31 (twenty-one years ago)

I've heard that "The Ostrich" was Ian Curtis' favorite Lou Reed song, and Lou Reed was in the Velvet Underground at some point.

― Charlie Rose (Charlie Rose), Friday, 11 June 2004 17:32 (twenty-one years ago)

"Most of their third album was boring, actually. "

HEY, CHUCK RHYMES WITH FUCK. HA HA HA!!!

― Johnny Fever, Monday, 14 June 2004 17:23 (twenty-one years ago)

They're talked about more than they're listened to.

― christoff (christoff), Tuesday, 15 June 2004 14:05 (twenty-one years ago)

Their first album had a banana on the cover.

― latebloomer (latebloomer), Tuesday, 15 June 2004 14:16 (twenty-one years ago)

They sung about dark stuff.

They collaborated with Andy Warhol.

Um...."Heroin".

― latebloomer (latebloomer), Tuesday, 15 June 2004 14:18 (twenty-one years ago)

Long Island-born bass player Doug Yule replaced John Cale in late 1968. He had previously played in the Boston-based Glass Menagerie.

― Dadaismus (Dada), Tuesday, 15 June 2004 14:22 (twenty-one years ago)

every year there is a different critical fave band in indie rock who are basically some funhouse mirror version of the velvets [over accentuating one thing they did]

― mig (mig), Tuesday, 15 June 2004 14:32 (twenty-one years ago)

This seems like a good place to post a link to the awesome Velvet Underground 3D Death Chase!

― Hayden Nicholls (Pop the Weasel), Tuesday, 15 June 2004 14:42 (twenty-one years ago)

WHY DOESN'T THAT USE "RUN RUN RUN"

― I LUV FAETTY (ex machina), Tuesday, 15 June 2004 14:44 (twenty-one years ago)

"Every year there is a different critical fave band in indie rock who are basically some funhouse mirror version of the velvets [over accentuating one thing they did]."

I bristle. Examples?

― Tim Ellison, Tuesday, 15 June 2004 15:49 (twenty-one years ago)

The Streets, Dizzee Rascal, Arthur Russell, The Boredoms, Derek Bailey

― Dadaismus (Dada), Tuesday, 15 June 2004 15:50 (twenty-one years ago)

Dadaimus, I don't follow except for maybe The Streets vocals? (I don't know much about Derek Bailey, but I've been meaning to check him out.)

― I LUV FAETTY (ex machina), Tuesday, 15 June 2004 15:53 (twenty-one years ago)

No, seriously.

― Tim Ellison, Tuesday, 15 June 2004 15:59 (twenty-one years ago)

John Cale played bass, organ, and viola, but not all at once.
Unlike most drummers of the era, Maureen Tucker was a woman.
Sterling Morrison was less famous than both Jim Morrison and Van Morrison.
In high school, Lou Reed dreamed of playing football for the coach.

― Myonga Von Bontee (Myonga Von Bontee), Tuesday, 15 June 2004 16:20 (twenty-one years ago)

Mo Tucker wasn't a flashy drummer, but she provided just what the band needed. Listen to the drumming, it sounds like a heartbeat.

― nickn (nickn), Tuesday, 15 June 2004 18:38 (twenty-one years ago)

femme fatale was supposed to be about edie sedgwick. but everyone always thought it was about nico.

― alex in mainhattan (alex63), Tuesday, 15 June 2004 19:24 (twenty-one years ago)

Most of their third album was boring, actually.

-- chuck (cedd...) (webmail), June 10th, 2004 9:37 AM. (later) (link)

chuck wins! (note thread title)

― amateur!st (amateurist), Wednesday, 16 June 2004 05:51 (twenty-one years ago)

But he's wrong. Loaded is the boring one.

― Ian c=====8 (orion), Wednesday, 16 June 2004 05:58 (twenty-one years ago)

Lou Reed was difficult to work with you know.

― mentalist (mentalist), Wednesday, 16 June 2004 06:05 (twenty-one years ago)

Lou Reed went on to induct Frank Zappa into the Rock 'n Roll Hall of Fame.

― weather1ngda1eson (Brian), Wednesday, 16 June 2004 08:03 (twenty-one years ago)

nico had a realtionship with etc. etc.& etc.

― erik, Wednesday, 16 June 2004 08:59 (twenty-one years ago)

"Lou Reed's chaotic noise opus anticipates much of more adventurous and experimental music of the 80's and 90's"

― GET A LIFE! (ex machina), Wednesday, 23 June 2004 16:18 (twenty-one years ago)

hahahahahahahahah
jon gets the joke

― Barry Bruner (Barry Bruner), Wednesday, 23 June 2004 16:30 (twenty-one years ago)

four years pass...

http://www.richieunterberger.com/vucover.jpg
I think I've openly mocked books of this sort before (the Dylan one seemed like an exercise in stalking), but I saw this in the bookstore today and thought it looked awesome. Anyone read it?

― tylerw, Friday, 19 June 2009 19:56 (sixteen years ago)

also, lol at the cover photo w/ Moe looking like she's nodding off. She was the only NOT on drugs at the time ...

― tylerw, Friday, 19 June 2009 19:57 (sixteen years ago)

Yeah, the Velvets are a band I can still read about, too. We have a book at the library called The Velvet Underground Companion that has a great interview with Moe in it. I love Moe.

― Trip Maker, Friday, 19 June 2009 20:01 (sixteen years ago)

only looked at it and it looks like a goodie- it's on the top of my "music book to buy" list, and there's some awesome pics i've never seen before

― outdoor_miner, Friday, 19 June 2009 20:02 (sixteen years ago)

I love reading about the Velvets' too but I think I've had just about enough of Unterberger and his critical fixations

― Kitchen Paper Towel (Shakey Mo Collier), Friday, 19 June 2009 20:05 (sixteen years ago)

So... millions of bands were started because it looked like these people were having so much fun?

― StanM, Friday, 19 June 2009 20:08 (sixteen years ago)

i don't think i've read anything by Unterberger? what are his critical fixations?
this is interesting, from his website: http://www.richieunterberger.com/vubeg.html the pickwick version of Heroin! it exists! he says he's heard it!

― tylerw, Friday, 19 June 2009 20:10 (sixteen years ago)

I've read his two main books, Unknown Legends and Urban Spacemen & Wayfaring Strangers and while he definitely turned me onto some stuff a lot of the time I just don't agree with how he rates various bands' and their material, and he doesn't really offer much in the way of deep critical analysis. There's a lot of received wisdom about the history of rock in his writing.

― Kitchen Paper Towel (Shakey Mo Collier), Friday, 19 June 2009 20:18 (sixteen years ago)

Gotcha -- the main thing that's appealing to me about this VU book is that he seems to have tracked down some interesting people to talk to about the band who I don't think I've seen quoted all that much before: http://www.richieunterberger.com/vuint.html

― tylerw, Friday, 19 June 2009 20:25 (sixteen years ago)

if anyone can say something boring about VU, I bet its our man Richie

― Kitchen Paper Towel (Shakey Mo Collier), Friday, 19 June 2009 20:36 (sixteen years ago)

golly, i'd rather talk to Chris Darrow about almost anyone 'cept the velvet underground.

― ian, Friday, 19 June 2009 20:41 (sixteen years ago)

Richie not a poptimist so he doesn't get a lot of love on this board, but he does a good job of discussing old bands clearly and concisely and getting people excited about them.

― barney kestrel (James Redd and the Blecchs), Friday, 19 June 2009 20:41 (sixteen years ago)

i can say something boring about beck: he's doing a track by track cover of the banan album!

― Mr. Que, Friday, 19 June 2009 20:42 (sixteen years ago)

god yeah that does sound boring ... how is the song that he's released so far?

― tylerw, Friday, 19 June 2009 20:43 (sixteen years ago)

i don't hate myself enough to make myself listen to it :(

― Mr. Que, Friday, 19 June 2009 20:45 (sixteen years ago)

someone's gotta listen to it ... but it won't be me.

― tylerw, Friday, 19 June 2009 20:46 (sixteen years ago)

i listened to beck's nick drake covers, i've paid my dues here, people

― tylerw, Friday, 19 June 2009 20:47 (sixteen years ago)

Didn't somebody else already do that? Bettie Serveert? Petra Haden? Phish?

― barney kestrel (James Redd and the Blecchs), Friday, 19 June 2009 20:47 (sixteen years ago)

we've all done it

― tylerw, Friday, 19 June 2009 20:47 (sixteen years ago)

no i dunno if anyone's done a track by track cover of that album. phish did loaded. it was a moment i enjoyed phish, matter of fact.

― tylerw, Friday, 19 June 2009 20:48 (sixteen years ago)

The banana on the cover of the debut album is Yellow, while the background is predominantly white.

― Geir Hongro, Friday, 19 June 2009 21:41 (sixteen years ago)

also, little known fact: it was designed by andy warhol

― iatee, Friday, 19 June 2009 21:44 (sixteen years ago)

dude not to spoil it but you should trying peeling off the banana peel, there's a crazy surprise underneath : )

― the relatively famous Cambridge psychologist Sug-Ban Cohen (M@tt He1ges0n), Friday, 19 June 2009 21:45 (sixteen years ago)

a crazy melodic surprise

― Kitchen Paper Towel (Shakey Mo Collier), Friday, 19 June 2009 21:46 (sixteen years ago)

;^D

― tylerw, Friday, 19 June 2009 22:02 (sixteen years ago)

i know i'm gonna get a lot of heat for this, but i personally never felt like they were as good with doug yule as they were when cale was in it.

― the relatively famous Cambridge psychologist Sug-Ban Cohen (M@tt He1ges0n), Friday, 19 June 2009 22:04 (sixteen years ago)

i know i'm gonna get a lot of heat for this, but i personally never felt like they were as good with billy yule as they were when moe was in it.

― tylerw, Friday, 19 June 2009 22:10 (sixteen years ago)

but for realz i love doug yule ... playing along to Live 1969 is how I learned to play bass.

― tylerw, Friday, 19 June 2009 22:14 (sixteen years ago)

believe it or not but their drummer was a woman!

― alex in mainhattan, Friday, 19 June 2009 22:18 (sixteen years ago)

i know i'm gonna get a lot of heat for this, but i personally never felt like they were as good with doug yule as they were when cale was in it.
― the relatively famous Cambridge psychologist Sug-Ban Cohen (M@tt He1ges0n), Friday, June 19, 2009 6:04 PM (7 minutes ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink
i know i'm gonna get a lot of heat for this, but i personally never felt like they were as good with billy yule as they were when moe was in it.
― tylerw, Friday, June 19, 2009 6:10 PM (1 minute ago)

It's like a Russian doll of challops.

― barney kestrel (James Redd and the Blecchs), Friday, 19 June 2009 22:23 (sixteen years ago)

They reformed for a tour once. This was a while after they split up.

― Ismael Klata, Friday, 19 June 2009 22:25 (sixteen years ago)

on their first album they had two singers. none of them could sing.

― alex in mainhattan, Friday, 19 June 2009 22:27 (sixteen years ago)

You guys aren't a patch on the pants of this

― barney kestrel (James Redd and the Blecchs), Friday, 19 June 2009 22:31 (sixteen years ago)

I wonder how Brian Wilson feels about the Kooks?

― Ismael Klata, Friday, 19 June 2009 22:33 (sixteen years ago)

They were better when Angus MacLise was in the line up.

― thirdalternative, Friday, 19 June 2009 22:39 (sixteen years ago)

They wore a lot of black.

― Alex in NYC, Friday, 19 June 2009 22:42 (sixteen years ago)

They were from NYC

― Geir Hongro, Friday, 19 June 2009 22:43 (sixteen years ago)

anywayyyyyy ... THIS LOOKS TRULY BORING
http://img.infibeam.com/img/81cf0997/724/6/9780760336724.jpg
(by Jim Derogatis)

― tylerw, Wednesday, 1 July 2009 22:48 (sixteen years ago)

less boring
http://www.sundazed.com/vuinfo.html

― tylerw, Wednesday, 1 July 2009 22:49 (sixteen years ago)

You may not like the text of the dRo book, but it says that it is illustrated, so presumably there should be some nice poster art and some nice photos to look at.

― Horace Silver Machine (James Redd and the Blecchs), Thursday, 2 July 2009 00:12 (sixteen years ago)

They were influential.

― bamcquern, Thursday, 2 July 2009 02:27 (sixteen years ago)

They suck and are overrated and have maybe five good songs.

― Mr. Snrub, Thursday, 2 July 2009 02:31 (sixteen years ago)

They were intellectuals, kind of.

― Geir Hongro, Thursday, 2 July 2009 07:25 (sixteen years ago)

Into a brownstone, and up three flights of stairs.

― Maltodextrin, Saturday, 4 July 2009 21:00 (sixteen years ago)

I'm totally down with these bitches.

― which was a bit synth-cheese-tastic for my tastes (Bimble), Saturday, 4 July 2009 21:37 (sixteen years ago)

Lou Reed made good fashion choices.

― i yelled "BIG HOOS" but i was yelling at my steen (BIG HOOS aka the steendriver), Saturday, 4 July 2009 21:50 (sixteen years ago)

Lou is allegedly a difficult interview

― outdoor_miner, Saturday, 4 July 2009 21:58 (sixteen years ago)

this is weird! but totally true and boring: i had a dream last night that i was listening to a lou reed interview and he was levelheaded, calm and all that. forgot what he was talking about. i'd like to say the interviewer was terry gross but that would be too perfect, i don't actually remember any questions being asked but it sounded like one of those urbane 60's chats where both participants are smoking, i dunno.

― the same (tremendoid), Saturday, 4 July 2009 22:26 (sixteen years ago)

i have a vu shirt that is too big and makes me feel like an elderly man when i wear it

― winston, Saturday, 4 July 2009 22:40 (sixteen years ago)

Lou Reed and John Cale were once in the same band in the 1960's before both went on to successful solo careers.

― Mike Crandle, Financial Analyst, Bear Stearns, New York, NY 10185 (res), Sunday, 5 July 2009 04:09 (sixteen years ago)

yeah and I want to fuck them both

― which was a bit synth-cheese-tastic for my tastes (Bimble), Sunday, 5 July 2009 04:19 (sixteen years ago)

I once had a girlfriend who thought she was cleverly belittling my love for VU by referring to them as "The Velvet Underwear." I thought that was a pretty boring play on words.

― Jermajesty's Secret Cervix (Pillbox), Sunday, 5 July 2009 04:27 (sixteen years ago)

ummm, when i joined my first high school rock band, none of us could play our instruments very well. but vu songs were easy to play and still sounded good as long as we all changed chords at more or less the same time, so we did like 6 of their songs.

― messiahwannabe, Sunday, 5 July 2009 07:29 (sixteen years ago)

The Banana album is a really good choice to stick on when someone brings black-clad 'alternative' types to the party.

― Soukesian, Sunday, 5 July 2009 09:57 (sixteen years ago)

something BORING about the Velvet Underground

― dan138zig (Durrr Durrr Durrrrrr), Sunday, 5 July 2009 10:00 (sixteen years ago)

Proof that only the coolest people do heroin.

― Adam Bruneau, Sunday, 5 July 2009 15:42 (sixteen years ago)

Their band name starts with a V.

― Geir Hongro, Sunday, 5 July 2009 17:28 (sixteen years ago)

They were the first punk band.

― Adam Bruneau, Sunday, 5 July 2009 18:32 (sixteen years ago)

They were the first 'first punk band'.

― Adam Bruneau, Sunday, 5 July 2009 18:33 (sixteen years ago)

They were the first "punk" band.

― Matt P, Sunday, 5 July 2009 18:35 (sixteen years ago)

They were the "first" punk band.

― Matt P, Sunday, 5 July 2009 18:35 (sixteen years ago)

They were the first punk "band."

― Matt P, Sunday, 5 July 2009 18:35 (sixteen years ago)

They were the first "punk band."

― Matt P, Sunday, 5 July 2009 18:35 (sixteen years ago)

they were the first pseudo-punk band led by a slumming rich kid

― kamerad, Sunday, 5 July 2009 18:36 (sixteen years ago)

JOHN CALE MOLESTS LITTLE BOYS

― Garri$on Kilo (Hurting 2), Sunday, 5 July 2009 18:36 (sixteen years ago)

"I'm waiting for my man" is about buying drugs from your dealer.

xxpost ohh snap!

― Matt P, Sunday, 5 July 2009 18:36 (sixteen years ago)

Doug Yule

― Dr X O'Skeleton, Monday, 6 July 2009 15:44 (sixteen years ago)

They couldn't play their instruments very well! But it didn't matter!

― mike t-diva, Monday, 6 July 2009 15:53 (sixteen years ago)

The Velvet Underground were the first interactive website.

― Freedom, Monday, 6 July 2009 16:00 (sixteen years ago)

The Velvet Underground were the first and last real band to ever exist. They acted the coquette towards modernity without becoming drowned in it, like so many subsequent bands. The Beatles, Dylan etc., on the other hand, were retro in the sense that they never escaped the atmospheric limitations of the monochromatic suggestion. The VU transcended that.

― Freedom, Monday, 6 July 2009 16:04 (sixteen years ago)

sister ray is long

― SUNNY ☺))) (Future_Perfect), Monday, 6 July 2009 16:10 (sixteen years ago)

Maureen Tucker's androgyny has often been commented on, but her importance in fact lies in how she assimilated the proto-Rhea Perlman aesthetic.

― Freedom, Monday, 6 July 2009 16:11 (sixteen years ago)

Nico, while physically beautiful, also represented the end of beauty, in the same way that "All Tomorrow's Parties" represented the end of blues. Bring the two together and what do you get? Blue beauty.

― Freedom, Monday, 6 July 2009 16:16 (sixteen years ago)

They couldn't play their instruments very well! But it didn't matter!

― mike t-diva

beg to differ: they sound like that intentionally. any band that can make their sound that deceptively simple, and can sometimes be out of tune and still sound great are brilliant musicians.

― outdoor_miner, Monday, 6 July 2009 16:39 (sixteen years ago)

nyc, speed, andy warhol, heroin, sellin yr ass to get $ for speed/heroin, yell at people over folk chords, make feedback, repeat.

― jdchurchill, Monday, 6 July 2009 20:05 (sixteen years ago)

I once wrote a blog post arguing that "I'm Waiting for My Man" was actually about Lou waiting for his drycleaner to deliver his clothing.

― steen gonna shine in my BIG HOOS (BIG HOOS aka the steendriver), Monday, 6 July 2009 20:53 (sixteen years ago)

well he feels sick and dirty, i'll give you that

― kamerad, Monday, 6 July 2009 20:57 (sixteen years ago)

although he came from well-to-do parents, they gave him shock treatment cuz they thought he was homosexual, right?
that'll help yr songwriting!

― jdchurchill, Monday, 6 July 2009 21:00 (sixteen years ago)

they were the first pseudo-punk band led by a slumming rich kid

― kamerad, Sunday, July 5, 2009 6:36 PM (Yesterday) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

where would punk be without slumming rich kids?? nowhere!

― bodyguard/publicist Tank (M@tt He1ges0n), Monday, 6 July 2009 21:03 (sixteen years ago)

four months pass...

lou reed kinda comes across in interviews like the most insufferable prick ever. however, he wrote some pretty good songs so i choose to mostly ignore this. mostly.

― messiahwannabe, Friday, 6 November 2009 17:59 (sixteen years ago)

Most of the time, if I like the art, I can forgive or overlook the bad behavior of the artist. In Lou's case I make an exception.

― irmão tuomas (James Redd and the Blecchs), Friday, 6 November 2009 18:01 (sixteen years ago)

give some examples please xp

― Ismael Klata, Friday, 6 November 2009 18:02 (sixteen years ago)

After Lou Reed left the Velvet Underground, he bought a nissan (it's true).

― J4mi3 H4rl3y (Snowballing), Friday, 6 November 2009 18:03 (sixteen years ago)

I read that Lou Reed Invisible Jukebox thing in the Wire this month -- kinda hilarious. He seemed quite taken with "He Loved Him Madly" -- and rightly so!

― tylerw, Friday, 6 November 2009 18:23 (sixteen years ago)

He got that from Bob Quine!

― irmão tuomas (James Redd and the Blecchs), Friday, 6 November 2009 18:27 (sixteen years ago)

http://www.furious.com/perfect/quine.html

― irmão tuomas (James Redd and the Blecchs), Friday, 6 November 2009 18:29 (sixteen years ago)

yeah? he seemed to think he'd never heard it before ... and that his Metal Machine Music trio sounded exactly like it!

― tylerw, Friday, 6 November 2009 18:32 (sixteen years ago)

ismael: i can't pinpoint any particular example off the top of my head, but if you were to google "lou reed interview youtube" or whatever, anything that pops up will probably have you going "oh, i see exactly what he means now"

― messiahwannabe, Friday, 6 November 2009 18:36 (sixteen years ago)

metal machine music is hard to listen to, but it had moments of unique otherwordly beauty and was way ahead of it's time

― messiahwannabe, Friday, 6 November 2009 18:38 (sixteen years ago)

Say something BORING about the Velvet Underground

The third album. (Well, most of it.)

― xhuxk, Friday, 6 November 2009 20:33 (sixteen years ago)

I tried to look for some quotes of Lou being a prick, but all I got was:

"I like to think of us as Clearasil on the face of the nation. Jim Morrison would have said that if he was smart, but he's dead."

― Ismael Klata, Friday, 6 November 2009 21:15 (sixteen years ago)

Those quotes are hiding in plain sight.

― irmão tuomas (James Redd and the Blecchs), Friday, 6 November 2009 23:12 (sixteen years ago)

I read that Lou Reed Invisible Jukebox thing in the Wire this month -- kinda hilarious. He seemed quite taken with "He Loved Him Madly" -- and rightly so!

― tylerw, Friday, November 6, 2009 10:23 AM (5 hours ago)

ysi?

― ♪♫(●̲̲̅̅̅̅=̲̲̅̅̅̅●̲̅̅)♪♫ (Steve Shasta), Friday, 6 November 2009 23:47 (sixteen years ago)

i just read it off of the newsstand. The Wire costs like $11 out here.

― tylerw, Friday, 6 November 2009 23:58 (sixteen years ago)

here's the last third of it:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i3LFIKmBvmw
it's on "Get Up With It" and "Complete Onna Corner Box"

― Fox Force Five Punchline (sexyDancer), Friday, 6 November 2009 23:59 (sixteen years ago)

If VU had toned down the weird and not let that EuroJunkie sing, they could have been as popular as Luna.

― brotherlovesdub, Saturday, 7 November 2009 00:58 (sixteen years ago)

I tried to look for some quotes of Lou being a prick, but all I got was:

you kinda have to see him on screen to get the full effect

― messiahwannabe, Saturday, 7 November 2009 05:46 (sixteen years ago)

four years pass...

Unlike most drummers of the era, Maureen Tucker was a woman.
― Myonga Von Bontee (Myonga Von Bontee), Tuesday, June 15, 2004 12:20 PM

Can't remember if I screwed this up somehow - should've been "unlike most drummers but like most Maureens of the era..." - or just thought it was more boring (and therefore better) the other way.

― Sir Lord Baltimora (Myonga Vön Bontee), Wednesday, 13 November 2013 16:23 (twelve years ago)

anyone mentioned the s word yet? oh, er... seminal

― Dr X O'Skeleton, Wednesday, 13 November 2013 17:55 (twelve years ago)

they are considered to have inspired a look that other bands have imitated

― i wish i had a skateboard i could skate away on (Hurting 2), Wednesday, 13 November 2013 18:12 (twelve years ago)

I checked out Lexington Ave at 125th Street and it doesn't "feel" like you can cop dope there anymore, though I can't be sure about that.

― et tu, crute (rip van wanko), Wednesday, 13 November 2013 18:20 (twelve years ago)

"The Velvet Underground was a dark star in the giddy pop firmament of the 1960s."

- Kurt Loder, from the 80s reissue liner notes.

― Montgomery Burns' Jazz (Tarfumes The Escape Goat), Wednesday, 13 November 2013 18:22 (twelve years ago)

Man a mischievous c&p-er could do a lot with this thread rn

― you can get fuckstab anywhere in london (wins), Wednesday, 13 November 2013 18:24 (twelve years ago)

They were one of the first bands to take on taboo subject matter in their lyrics.

― kornrulez6969, Wednesday, 13 November 2013 19:04 (twelve years ago)

Their record sleeves were square, but the band members weren't.

― never have i been a blue calm sea (collardio gelatinous), Wednesday, 13 November 2013 19:12 (twelve years ago)

There was an Australian band by the same name that had nothing to do with the Reed/Cale axis or knew of its existence. Just came across the same book.

― Stevolende, Wednesday, 13 November 2013 19:21 (twelve years ago)

they were neat!

― the objections to Drake from non-REAL HIPHOP people (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Wednesday, 13 November 2013 19:23 (twelve years ago)

you certainly could not get much on Lex & 125 for $26 these days, cept perhaps a lovely red velvet cake.

― eclectic husbandry (Dr Morbius), Wednesday, 13 November 2013 20:39 (twelve years ago)

see if they were starting out today, they might be called the Red Velvet Cake, and do shows w/ Matt & Kim.

― eclectic husbandry (Dr Morbius), Wednesday, 13 November 2013 20:41 (twelve years ago)

Iirc, BON SCOTT had something to do with the Aussie VU.

― A Made Man In The Mellow Mafia (C. Grisso/McCain), Wednesday, 13 November 2013 20:59 (twelve years ago)

it was Malcolm

Malcolm first played with a Newcastle, New South Wales band called 'The Velvet Underground' (not to be confused with the New York-based Velvet Underground).[2] playing cover versions of T. Rex and The Rolling Stones songs.

― sleeve, Wednesday, 13 November 2013 21:01 (twelve years ago)

xposts: You could get a few Big Macs at the 24Hr McDonalds and still have change for a couple cases of Polish Spring at the Pathmark.

― Jersey Al (Albert R. Broccoli), Wednesday, 13 November 2013 21:03 (twelve years ago)

Post something BORING about the VU:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-wseWpxsYSM

― Jersey Al (Albert R. Broccoli), Wednesday, 13 November 2013 21:04 (twelve years ago)

Spanish: B-
Italian: F

― et tu, crute (rip van wanko), Wednesday, 13 November 2013 21:21 (twelve years ago)

English: Bored, scripted, failed faux-enthusiasm

― Jersey Al (Albert R. Broccoli), Wednesday, 13 November 2013 21:24 (twelve years ago)

The Velvet Underground wrote about realistic things like hard drugs and S&M, unlike other bands of the era.

― Emperor Cos Dashit (Adam Bruneau), Wednesday, 13 November 2013 21:30 (twelve years ago)

They were too cool for school

― paolo, Thursday, 14 November 2013 08:53 (twelve years ago)

I'm waitin' for my Mac
$3.99 in my hand

― i wish i had a skateboard i could skate away on (Hurting 2), Thursday, 14 November 2013 14:47 (twelve years ago)

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