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It's a little hard to get a sense for how out-there The Velvet Underground was now that the kinds of sounds they were making in the late 60s are 'normalized,' s
by intopieces 10y ago
It's a little hard to get a sense for how out-there The Velvet Underground was now that the kinds of sounds they were making in the late 60s are 'normalized,' so to speak. The best thing I can recommend, if this aspect interests you, is to listen to the top 10 songs from 1969:
1. "Sugar, Sugar" by The Archies
2. "Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In" by The 5th Dimension
3. "I Can't Get Next to You" by The Temptations
4. "Honky Tonk Women" by The Rolling Stones
5. "Everyday People" by Sly & the Family Stone
6. "Dizzy" by Tommy Roe
7. "Hot Fun in the Summertime" by Sly & the Family Stone
8. "I'll Never Fall in Love Again" by Tom Jones
9. "Build Me Up Buttercup" by The Foundations
10. "Crimson and Clover" by Tommy James and the Shondells
And then listen to VU's "The Velvet Underground" the same year. It's like they were living on a different planet.
At the end of this experiment, you might not emerge a Lou Reed fan. But you will at least be able to appreciate the vision, and to hear the influences VU had on later artists.
Edit: Reviewing your comment, I'd like to ask you to clarify what you mean by "pretentious" in reference to Walk on the Wild Side, a song that reference a transgender actress who exhibits remarkable composure while performing fellatio? The subject matter of the song -- black women, New York sexual deviants, hitch-hiking, pimping, being strung out on drugs... it strikes me as a the precise opposite of pretentious. Capturing a time and place, the sound and atmosphere, to anyone with an ear.
- jackhack 10y ago>clarify what you mean by "pretentious" It just strikes me as so preposterous that I assumed that surely it must be a put on; like he chose the most outrageous thing to write about and slapped together a sing-songy, corny tune that isn't particularly well sung (he's quite a bit off pitch). Maybe that's not the case, and apologies to anybody who really digs the music, but it strikes me that way. You asked a really good question, and that's the honest answer. BTW. I Greatly appreciate your response about the time/place/culture in which his music was written. I'm going back to listen again with fresh ears and an open mind.
- otras 10y agoI definitely understand how it seems outrageous. One thing that helped give me perspective was to learn more about the inspiration for the characters and the band's relationship with Andy Warhol. [0] The characters in the song were based on Warhol "superstars", and Warhol even briefly managed the VU. I think outrageous is a fitting word for Warhol and that scene, especially when contrasted with the Top Ten from 1969. [0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walk_on_the_Wild_Side_(Lou_Reed_song)#Inspiration https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walk_on_the_Wild_Side_(Lou_Ree...
- dsiegel2275 10y agoWell put. As a writer, Reed went into territories that even today would be considered taboo or at least out of the ordinary. I heard a quote once that the The Velvet Underground and Nico album only sold 1000 copies when it came out. But every one of those 1000 people went and started a band.
- mbel 10y agoThat quote is popularly attributed to Brian Eno.