The Best Lou Reed Song Ever

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I was downloading some Lou Reed songs and I came across this one. It has to be the best song in his Solo Career.

Download it and see for yourself
http://s47.yousendit.com/d.aspx?id=007J45GCJ0MA2WW2SOL63VV73

― Michael Costello (MichaelCostello1), Friday, 3 June 2005 22:45 (twenty years ago)

Nah, son.

― Rickey Wright (Rrrickey), Friday, 3 June 2005 22:49 (twenty years ago)

Throw rocks if you will, but the best solo song of his is probably something off Transformer, "Perfect Day" or more likely "Satellite of Love."

― k/l (Ken L), Friday, 3 June 2005 23:06 (twenty years ago)

No it's not

(P.S. The topic was sort of Sarcasmic. I just found this "Egg Cream" song and thought it was funny, yet good. Don't take it too seriously)

(P.S.S. His best solo song is "The Blue Mask" in my opinion anyway)

― Michael Costello (MichaelCostello1), Friday, 3 June 2005 23:08 (twenty years ago)

I was just informed (by my brother) that Sarcasmic isn't a real word, and that Sarcastic is the proper word to use in that sentance.

Sorry.

― Michael Costello (MichaelCostello1), Friday, 3 June 2005 23:13 (twenty years ago)

Michael, I always thought "My Friend George" was pretty funny. It's a lot more than that, but it makes me laugh.

― Rickey Wright (Rrrickey), Friday, 3 June 2005 23:25 (twenty years ago)

Actually, "sarcasmic" isn't a bad new word.

― Rickey Wright (Rrrickey), Friday, 3 June 2005 23:25 (twenty years ago)

Sarcasmic is a fine word. And Lou's best song is Waves Of Fear.

― kornrulez6969 (TCBeing), Friday, 3 June 2005 23:39 (twenty years ago)

Eh, close but no cigar. Correct answer: I Wanna Boogie with You

― Heidy- Ho, Saturday, 4 June 2005 00:03 (twenty years ago)

Or maybe it is in fact "Coney Island Baby."

― k/l (Ken L), Saturday, 4 June 2005 00:09 (twenty years ago)

Google it, look it up in an almanac, ask your mother, ask a magic eight ball: All signs point to I Wanna Boogie with You.

― Heidy- Ho, Saturday, 4 June 2005 00:16 (twenty years ago)

His best solo songs are almost all throwaways, with "I Love YOu, Suzanne" reigning supreme. But "Waves of Fear," "Betrayed, "Bottoming Out," "Tell It To Your Heart," "Big Sky" bring up the rear.

― Alfred Soto (Alfred Soto), Saturday, 4 June 2005 00:38 (twenty years ago)

disco mystic?

― tylerw, Saturday, 4 June 2005 00:46 (twenty years ago)

The Bells is the best. jerks.

― Mervin Heinz, Saturday, 4 June 2005 00:49 (twenty years ago)

I'm liking the Blue Mask/New Sensations love. I'd pick something from those.

― Patrick South (Patrick South), Saturday, 4 June 2005 02:57 (twenty years ago)

Hot Hips!!!!

― Sterling Clover (s_clover), Saturday, 4 June 2005 03:06 (twenty years ago)

Well, I don't know what the best one is, but it definitely isn't "Last Great American Whale".

― John Justen (johnjusten), Saturday, 4 June 2005 03:11 (twenty years ago)

aw, c'mon - it's gotta be "the kids" from berlin.

― phil turnbull (philT), Saturday, 4 June 2005 03:12 (twenty years ago)

right now, i love "leave me alone" off street hassle the best. and i think there's truth to the idea that his throwaways (and the throwaways of a lot of capital-s Songwriter types) are the most enjoyable.

― Fritz Wollner (Fritz), Saturday, 4 June 2005 03:13 (twenty years ago)

"I Wish I Was Black." Or "Metal Machine Music Pt. 2"

― The Brainwasher (Twilight), Saturday, 4 June 2005 03:51 (twenty years ago)

"satellite of love" seconded

― -rainbow bum- (-rainbow bum-), Saturday, 4 June 2005 04:48 (twenty years ago)

Another vote for "The Blue Mask". I have a snippet of an interview where he is talking about his inspiration for that song, it's really interesting. I should dig it out and transcribe what he says.

Sarcasmic is indeed a damn good new word.

― The Silent Disco of Glastonbury (Bimble...), Saturday, 4 June 2005 05:09 (twenty years ago)

It's official. I'm going to Copyright "Sarcasmic"

So now when someone says it on here, they have to pay me $50,000.

NO Paypal

― Michael Costello (MichaelCostello1), Saturday, 4 June 2005 05:12 (twenty years ago)

walk on the wild side is his best song.

coney island baby is second, for me.

― rockaction (rockaction), Saturday, 4 June 2005 06:24 (twenty years ago)

"disco mystic" seconded

― snowballing (snowballing), Saturday, 4 June 2005 08:23 (twenty years ago)

caroline says

― mullygrubbr (bulbs), Saturday, 4 June 2005 08:24 (twenty years ago)

"Satellite... uhooooooooh!"

― Deluxe (Damian), Saturday, 4 June 2005 09:56 (twenty years ago)

"His best solo songs are almost all throwaways."

Agreed. I'll take his "This Magic Moment" cover...

― Dr. Gene Scott (shinybeast), Saturday, 4 June 2005 11:31 (twenty years ago)

Where is deh Sweet Jane love

― On the bass, 57 7th, he wrote this (calstars), Saturday, 4 June 2005 11:37 (twenty years ago)

for some reason i thought we were talking post velvets.

still..sweet jane...no.

what did he write at the brill building btw?

― mullygrubbr (bulbs), Saturday, 4 June 2005 12:14 (twenty years ago)

Everyone knows that the greatest thing LR has ever done was his cover of "Soul Man."

― Austin Still (Austin, Still), Saturday, 4 June 2005 12:16 (twenty years ago)

I like "Ladies Pay", "Your Wear It So Well", "Rock and Roll Heart", "The Bells", "Stupid Man" and "Street Hassle" all probably equally.

I like the one you posted though... Good stuff considering the 1996 date.

― KeefW (kmw), Saturday, 4 June 2005 12:34 (twenty years ago)

xpost

HAHAHA done w/Sam Moore for the egregious movie of the same name IIRC. Makes "I Wanna Be Black" sound like "People Get Ready."

― m coleman (lovebug starski), Saturday, 4 June 2005 12:36 (twenty years ago)

"Turn To Me," "What Becomes A Legend Most," "Endlessly Jealous," "Families."

― Alfred Soto (Alfred Soto), Saturday, 4 June 2005 12:48 (twenty years ago)

Street Hassle
This is a good pick, but I almost think of it as a record rather than a song. I mean, could you imagine somebody covering it? Maybe you could. No doubt somebody already did.

― k/l (Ken L), Saturday, 4 June 2005 14:29 (twenty years ago)

Spacemen 3s "ode to street hassle" is practically a cover version ...

― zappi (joni), Saturday, 4 June 2005 14:33 (twenty years ago)

Simple Minds cover it on Sparkle in the Rain and barely make a dent, though of course somebody here will disagree.

― m coleman (lovebug starski), Saturday, 4 June 2005 14:55 (twenty years ago)

Yes, I agree, the Simple Minds cover didn't work very well despite the fact that a) I love the rest of that album and b) it was even the first version of the song I heard.

Pulled out my interview snippet of Lou regarding his song "The Blue Mask". I couldn't tell you where or when this interview occured I just heard it played on a Lou Reed/VU show of a college radio station circa '86. Here's what he says:

"The Blue Mask lyrically, is really, I think the best thing I've ever done. It's about perversion. Very obviously about perversion, there's no missing it, not from the word go. It's a very intense song. It can be very, very unpleasant, that song, to listen to. *I* can't listen to it sometimes, because it's uh...the lead character on that one, the way he's going at it...and he's touching all the bases, and this guy's no idiot, he's very smart. He's got a lot of words going for him, a lot of ideas, he's read a lot, you can tell, he's you know, up to here with Freud and Jung, he's familiar with most of your contemporary things, and he DOES NOT CARE. And he goes right past that, right from the top and he says 'there's no oedipus today'. It's too late for all that. It's too late for that kind of explanation. 'no Freud will work HERE'. We're past there. WAY past there. He's talking about VERY heavy perversion, you know, EXTREME kinds of masochism. And then a lot worse than that mixed in with a you know, reciprocal sadism that is DEMENTED in its fury...and beyond redemption. Ever. And he knows it. And he's right. And he's SPITTING it. SPITTING it. He SAYS he's spitting it 'spit upon your face today, there's not oedipus today' something like that. Initially I had that as the first cut on the album. Cause I loved it so much, and I wanted to really take your head off. You know..BAM! and then you go into the prettiness and this. But what happened was I found myself unable to listen to side one at all unless I skipped the Blue Mask! [laughs] Because it was ruining all the other tracks for me. So then I resequenced it again and I made it the last cut on side one. And things were MUCH better that way."

― The Silent Disco of Glastonbury (Bimble...), Sunday, 5 June 2005 01:03 (twenty years ago)

It's really nice to be able to share that here after all these years. I've listened to it many times because it comes right after the song on my tape. I don't know what it is about it exactly, or even what it is he's trying to get at with that song, all I know is...this is why I love Lou. And it's hard to get across just how enthused his tone of voice is as he's saying all this. He's obviously very happy with it (though not in an egotistical sort of way) and creatively inspired by it, even to the point that he thinks of it as something completely outside himself, now.

― The Silent Disco of Glastonbury (Bimble...), Sunday, 5 June 2005 01:18 (twenty years ago)

well so assuming we're talking non-velvets, and exempting the obvious transformer choices, i vote 'romeo had juliette.' take manhattan in a garbage bag with latin written on it that says it's hard to give a shit these days...

― swvl (vozick), Sunday, 5 June 2005 03:30 (twenty years ago)

Lou's tortured description of "The Blue Mask" is way less fun than listening to it.

― Alfred Soto (Alfred Soto), Sunday, 5 June 2005 04:05 (twenty years ago)

Baton Rouge from Ecstasy is pretty great and the best divorce song shy of Idiot Wind.

― shookout (shookout), Sunday, 5 June 2005 04:28 (twenty years ago)

i want to start a thread in which we collaboratively write a lou reed song. but not tonight, because it's saturday and everyone is out getting teh indiesex.

― to let - flats (Jody Beth Rosen), Sunday, 5 June 2005 04:36 (twenty years ago)

We COULD write one of his latter day songs about being an old and boring family man. Well, I could.

― k/l (Ken L), Sunday, 5 June 2005 04:48 (twenty years ago)

those songs are the best!

― to let - flats (Jody Beth Rosen), Sunday, 5 June 2005 04:52 (twenty years ago)

I like "Big Sun" off Ecstasy. Not his Best Ever, but it rollicks, which most of the rest of that album doesn't.

― gypsy mothra (gypsy mothra), Sunday, 5 June 2005 05:13 (twenty years ago)

OH! EM! Fucking God! I just listened to Blue Mask for the first time. Utter utter Emmitt the fuckin' Otter Shit. Oh Jesus Christ. I'm done lurking on this hunk of shit board, Jesus-fucking-Christ-what-utter-shit. Who was it that said Blue Mask? I mean, fuck man! It's so -- I mean, honestly! You are a subhuman.

― Heidy- Ho, Sunday, 5 June 2005 10:12 (twenty years ago)

OK, I sobered up a bit. I accept your humanity. Boy I have a headache.

― Heidy- Ho, Sunday, 5 June 2005 10:31 (twenty years ago)

Heidy-Ho = various bits of 'Take No Prisoners' and 'The Bells.'

― Rickey Wright (Rrrickey), Sunday, 5 June 2005 11:36 (twenty years ago)

Without the poetry.

― Rickey Wright (Rrrickey), Sunday, 5 June 2005 11:43 (twenty years ago)

"Charley's Girl," people

― Banana Nutrament (ghostface), Sunday, 5 June 2005 12:55 (twenty years ago)

Wow, I think Sterling may be OTM. I have that 12" around somewhere. I should get those Quine-Maher albums eventually but I don't listen to the tracks on his box set from them that much.

― miccio (miccio), Sunday, 5 June 2005 13:34 (twenty years ago)

Those are the best tracks on the box set!

― Alfred Soto (Alfred Soto), Sunday, 5 June 2005 13:45 (twenty years ago)

Haha I don't listen to the rest much either. I also got "Women" off of VH1 Classic. I still want those albums as I enjoyed what I heard, but there's a real kind of split here: Best Lou Reed Song Ever and Best Lou Reed Song That Doesn't Demand You Take It As A Lou Reed song. And for that I may well go with "Hot Hips" or maybe "What's Good" or "Walk On The Wildside."

― miccio (miccio), Sunday, 5 June 2005 13:54 (twenty years ago)

Yeah. It's good to have the good "Transformer" and "Berlin" tracks and "Coney Island Baby" on one disc. But in general the box set is quite bad: poorly sequenced, bad track selection (too much emphasis on Lou The Poet, not enough on Lou The Comedian, e.g. "I Wanna Be Black"); the second disc, "Street Hassle" and "Leave Me Alone" notwithstanding, is awful.

― Alfred Soto (Alfred Soto), Sunday, 5 June 2005 13:57 (twenty years ago)

I'd be quite happy if Lou's solo career was reduced to "New Sensations" and everything else was melted down.

― Alfred Soto (Alfred Soto), Sunday, 5 June 2005 13:59 (twenty years ago)

Ecstacy. Especially the live version on last year's "Animal Serenade".

― D.G. Jones (D.G. Jones), Monday, 6 June 2005 16:06 (twenty years ago)

I'm sure someone will say this is his worst song, and while I don't think it's the best thing he ever did, I love New York City Man. Still, I'm thinking around The Kids or Coney Island Baby...

― geyser muffler and a quarter (Dave225), Monday, 6 June 2005 16:37 (twenty years ago)

"New York City Man" is great! I'm a big fan of "Set The Twilight Reeling" – much better than the serious, dull "Magic & Loss."

― Alfred Soto (Alfred Soto), Monday, 6 June 2005 16:39 (twenty years ago)

Trying to figure out which of these latter day Lou Reed records is the good one is like playing Three Card Monte- I always seem to pick the wrong one.

― k/l (Ken L), Monday, 6 June 2005 16:42 (twenty years ago)

eleven years pass...

Don't Talk to Me About Work

― Οὖτις, Monday, 3 October 2016 19:42 (nine years ago)

Yes

― chr1sb3singer, Monday, 3 October 2016 19:47 (nine years ago)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UL_0CTpEh00
i really like the bass/drums on this one. really sounds like moe tucker actually.

― tylerw, Monday, 3 October 2016 19:50 (nine years ago)

it's a decent song

― niels, Monday, 3 October 2016 19:51 (nine years ago)

"The Gun", folks, ffs.

― (SNIFFING AND INDISTINCT SOBBING) (Tom D.), Monday, 3 October 2016 20:18 (nine years ago)

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