RIP Lou Reed

Terribly sad news today that legendary singer with the Velvet Underground Lou Reed has passed away at the age of 71. Love the Velvet Underground. Their eponymous album is a big favourite of mine and a huge influence on countless bands since. Was never a huge fan of his solo stuff outside of Transformer which is also a classic but a great songwriter and artist who will be sadly missed.

The 'Banana' album was a big cult favourite of mine and my mates back in the early 80s. New York was a great album as well.

In all fairness he shouldn't really have made 71. Walk on the wild side was a big song for around my 6th form days.

 

Thanks for all the songs and memories sir!!!

RIP

Oh, sweet nuthin'...

Superb artist...........Who was never afraid to experiment with his sound...........Coney island baby a superb slow burner album to the WTf Metal machine music.........

Certainly Lou seemed to be a ride to his fans who never knew what to expect.........

A guy that did his own thing and a guy who produced great music and deserves his place with the great writers of his time.........

Dylan, Lennon etc...........

Goodbye Lou...........Not a perfect day !!

I had 'Satellite of Love' in my head this morning. Beautiful.

The 60s. Many pretender decades have pushed past since, put all fail to match the revolution of sounds, images and iconic cultural figures it unearthed or breathe new life into.

From country to swing to folk to rock to pop, every category possessed perfection at one level and giant iconic figures of their craft, from Elvis to Janis Joplin, from Dylan to the Doors, from the Beatles to Johnny Cash, from Sinatra to the Beach Boys.

Not all of it was everyone's favourite flavour - then or even now, as new generations assess it. I have my own personal soundtrack of the decade (as we all do) and it's thankfully pretty eclectic. But for my particularly rock soundtrack, Velvet Underground's dark, metalic-tasting groove is certainly in primary position... head and shoulders above most except perhaps The Doors - they share a space.
Last of the decade's coolest dudes, it really hit me more than I expected when I heard he had gone. So long to the Man.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AwzaifhSw2c

Secret, you're normally full of it. But I agree 100% with your comments. Top point, well made.

Normally full of it?!  Ah, those are just times you don't agree with me, Glorious. We all think the other guy is a nincompoop when we don't agree with him.  

Funny that though, as I'm sure I have vague memories of standing by you on certain issues as the 'British army' often camped on your doorstep.

But there you go...at least far from the maddening crowd of rugby, and through music, we can agree.

Very sad news.

Did anyone see the Daily Mail's article noting his death? It talks almost exclusively about his drug use, only mentioning his music to offer some moralistic condemnation of its references to sex and drugs. Even by the standards of the Daily Mail, it was disgraceful.

They mentioned the Mail article on Jermey Vine's Radio 2 show yesterday. Surely when it comes to artists, it's the art that matters above all else? Dickens was an anti-Semite, but that doesn't mean we should dismiss his work.

jbeadlesbigrighthand wrote:Very sad news.

Did anyone see the Daily Mail's article noting his death? It talks almost exclusively about his drug use, only mentioning his music to offer some moralistic condemnation of its references to sex and drugs. Even by the standards of the Daily Mail, it was disgraceful.

I never get that.  For some reason, Lou Reed is some kind of deviant that was somehow badder than bad as regards the drugs he put into his system over the years and, of course, in that he openly talked about drug use in his songs.

Lou Reed, a rock and roll sex and drugs fiend?  

How very quaint to think so, given the amount of blatant pornographic, violence and drug taking allusions and images that exist in most modern popular music.

Lou Reed was a song writer...he fused direct allusions to all kinds of activities and then joined them in metaphors and allegory.  That's what good songwriters do.  They use allusions to push forward throughts and ideas about the culture we live in.  
How many know that Leonard Cohen's Hallelujah references erectile dysfunction... that it's about a jaded man who can't 'get it up' no more?  Cohen smothers it in creative prose and young women then sing it as though it was a spiritual teen-angst love song.  That's the beauty of double and treble meanings running through one song.

That's the point. It doesn't matter that 'Perfect Day' is a song about (or to) heroin. It doesn't make it any less great a song.

Lou Reed took loads of drugs and produced Perfect Day and Waiting for My Man. Cliff Richard took sod all and produced Wired for Sound. Almost makes an argument for legalisation.

Why anyone should expect any better from the Mail is beyond me. Surely they cannot have run out of dead world war two heroes to demonise so quickly.

Cliff Richard didn't produce anything.............Just a tosspot that was given songs to sing like an x factor wannabe..

Let's leave poor Cliff out of it He didn't write the article. Comparing Cliff and Reed is like comparing a poodle to a Rothweiler.... it just doesn't work.

SecretFly wrote:  Comparing Cliff and Reed is like comparing a poodle to a Rothweiler.... it just doesn't work.

But at the best in show at the average dog show such a scenario could well come to pass. As such do think we have to be prepared.

I never heard of Lou Reed till he died, I knew he saang on that Perfect day one but never heard of him till now. Was he good?

Went to watch Arctic Monkeys last night in Liverpool and they done a cover of Walk on the wild side as a tribute. Class

SecretFly wrote:

jbeadlesbigrighthand wrote:Very sad news.

Did anyone see the Daily Mail's article noting his death? It talks almost exclusively about his drug use, only mentioning his music to offer some moralistic condemnation of its references to sex and drugs. Even by the standards of the Daily Mail, it was disgraceful.

I never get that.  For some reason, Lou Reed is some kind of deviant that was somehow badder than bad as regards the drugs he put into his system over the years and, of course, in that he openly talked about drug use in his songs.

Lou Reed, a rock and roll sex and drugs fiend?  

How very quaint to think so, given the amount of blatant pornographic, violence and drug taking allusions and images that exist in most modern popular music.

Lou Reed was a song writer...he fused direct allusions to all kinds of activities and then joined them in metaphors and allegory.  That's what good songwriters do.  They use allusions to push forward throughts and ideas about the culture we live in.  
How many know that Leonard Cohen's Hallelujah references erectile dysfunction... that it's about a jaded man who can't 'get it up' no more? Cohen smothers it in creative prose and young women then sing it as though it was a spiritual teen-angst love song. That's the beauty of double and treble meanings running through one song.

Ah, so that'll be why it was used for the sex scene in Watchmen. Very ironic.