Lou Reed passed away today

http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/lou-reed-velvet-underground-leader-and-rock-pioneer-dead-at-71-20131027

Rest In Peace

RIP

 

RIP.....

R.I.P.

Another one of the greats has left us, RIP Lou!

Metalwargod

Daaaaaaaaaamn. R. I. P.

What it's all too much
You turn the TV set on and light a cigarette
Then a public service announcement comes creeping on
You see a lung corroding or a fatal heart attack
Turn to me

Never a fan, but once again I'm reminded of our unstoppable march toward death. Sucks when so many people from our childhood are disappearing. =(

Poor Lou  

I am a fan, listening to a great selection of Lou's music on the radio.

 

RIP

RIP

His lyrics had such a visceral impact. I remember my first listen to Reed was VU's Loaded, and the my hairs stood on end. He had this Hemingway thing about his writing by stating the obvious but refusing to tie it into any obvious analogy. It was sheer, naked observation that had a stark, knowing perversity about it.

Here's my favorite, Turn to Me:

If you gave up major vices
You're between a hard place and a wall
And your car breaks down in traffic on the street
Remember, I'm the one who loves you
You can always give me a call
Turn to me, turn to me, turn to me

If you father is freebasing and your mother turning tricks
That's still no reason that you should have a rip
Remember, I'm the one who loves you
You can always give me a call
Turn to me, turn to me, turn to me

When your teeth are ground down to the bone
And there's nothing between your legs
And some friend died of something that you can't pronounce
Remember, I'm the one who loves you
You can always give me a call
Turn to me, turn to me, turn to me

You can't pay your rent
Your boss is an idiot
Your apartment has no heat
Your wife says: Maybe it's time to have a child
Remember, I'm the one who loves you
You can always give me a call
Turn to me, turn to me, turn to me

What it's all too much
You turn the TV set on and light a cigarette
Then a public service announcement comes creeping on
You see a lung corroding or a fatal heart attack
Turn to me, turn to me, turn to me

Take a walk on the wild side, Lou. RIP

Satellite's gone up to the skies. RIP, Lou.

Hey, no Lulu 2!  

Too soon?

Eyesore wrote:

Hey, no Lulu 2!  

Too soon?

Beat me to it, ya bastid

I am a huge Lou Reed, and if any of you recall I was the only defender of 'Lulu' on this board.

That being said, reading Lou Reed's interviews, he had a dark sense of humor and I am sure he would find Eyesore's comment amusing.

I have been a fan for decades, and still spin him regularly. I considered him a great artist, a poet, an innovator, and IMO the world could use a few more poets like Lou Reed and less politicians.

Fat Freddy wrote:

Eyesore wrote:

Hey, no Lulu 2!  

Too soon?

Beat me to it, ya bastid

 

I do think that Lulu was a brave, glorious failure. It could have been great, but unfortunately it wasn't. Still a great artist who at least left his mark on the world before shuffling of at a very respectable age considering.



Hard to pick a favorite but this is just great!  

Fat Freddy wrote:

Eyesore wrote:

Hey, no Lulu 2!  

Too soon?

Beat me to it, ya bastid

LOL!!!!!!!

Too bad Lou's final album was Lulu........ crappy way to go out!!!!!!!!

As far as Lulu, crappy album but cool that they tried - it just didn't work....

On Friday, my wife asked me if Lou Reed was still alive, after we saw a commercial for a video game that used "Perfect Day." At the time, I of course said yes.

The news bummed me out. I love VU, of course, but Transformer is just one of the great rock n' roll records. One of the best, no question.

And for those saying that it sucks that LuLu was the last thing he did before his death...I'm of the opposite opinion. Regardless of whether you like the record or not, Lou went out on his own terms. He never really catered to or seemed to concerned with what people were going to like.

If he felt like throwing a 10-minute, mostly intrsumental track into the middle of an album, he did it.

Lou was a total nonconformist in an industry that rewards conformity. Gotta love that.

Lulu was a mess, but let's not forget Metal Machine Music. That doesn't even work as background music.

All this to say that Lou embraced that kind of thing with a passion.