Lou Reed (March 2, 1942 – October 27, 2013)
Lou Reed a man you pioneered the counter counter culture died from liver disease after his liver transplant operation. Lou Reed formed The Velvet Underground which became the blue print of every shoe gazing guitar band for the last 40 years. The Velvet Underground were said to have influenced everyone from David Bowie to Sex Pistols and Arctic Monkeys.
While bands that copied the Velvet Underground, they tended to follow the stylistic way of posing and being disagreeable without the wit and clever use of cynicism to get across a message about the dark side of human nature. The Velvet Underground came at a time when everyone seemed to be in love and hippiedom was the way to go. With Lou Reed and The Velvet Underground there was no pretending to be a peace loving beatnik, they wanted to be almost like vampires ready to suck the life out of drugs, sexual deviance and popular modern art.
His linking up with Andy Warhol may not have made The Velvet Underground money which was the point, but as a partnership they provided the template for the notion of cultural revolutionaries.
The Velvet Underground as managed by Andy Warhol allowed Lou Reed to fully explore his sexuality which his parents tried to electrify it out of him. With his nature satisfied he went on to create some of the most interesting and culturally dangerous songs pop music ever had. Songs like ‘Walk On The Wild Side’ made cross dressing seem cool. The song ‘Perfect Day’ made heroin injecting highly desirable. As such he was clearly more than any ordinary song writer. Like Shakespeare he could make complex ideas accessible which is a major skill.
In the end he rebelled against the rebellion which looked to change the World by subtly attacking the notion that being nice could make society better. His philosophy was almost one of personal libertarian and being a rebel for the sake of rebellion. The nihilistic nature of his art was not everyone’s cup of tea at the time but as things move on it is now clear that his art was more than representing the era.
Lou Reed- Walk on the Wild Side
Lou Reed – Perfect Day
