Lou reed whats good the thesis official music video. Notes from the velvet underground, recently published in the u. Oct 01, 2017 my brilliant and troubled friend lou reed. Lou is famous for quoting that i do lou reed better than any one else and that is the problem the one good thing about this book is that it lead me to conclude that there must be a good lou reed biography out there and this is one crossed off of the search list. Lou reed has 36 books on goodreads with 2763 ratings. Lou reed lyrics find all lyrics for songs such as im so free, perfect day, shes my best friend at. Jan 22, 2020 perfect day lou reed capo i intro e am e am verse am d just a perfect day, g c drink sangria in the park, f dm and then later, when it gets dark, e we go home. Notes from the velvet underground, by howard sounes diversion books, 400 pp. After patiently listening to the legendary rock star show off his guitar. The turbulent life of the velvet undergrounds lou reed. The fascinating story behind a catastrophic interview with the legend lou reed. See the album rock n roll animal and his version of lady day. Author of lou reed biography says he was a monster spin. Lou reed turned against everyone who tried to help.
Late in life, reed became enthralled by edgar allan poe, releasing an album called the raven in 2003. Its what his most recent biographer anthony decurtis strives to address in lou reed. Oct 26, 2011 the fascinating story behind a catastrophic interview with the legend lou reed. Lou reed is a suprizingly great guitarist and vocalist, his backup guitarists on this tour really almost create a supergroup. If the goal of a biography is to bring its subject back to life, lou reed, decurtiss sympathetic but never fawning book, succeeds. Little sister by lou reed little sister by nico lonesome cowboy bill.
Lou reed s most popular book is in dreams begin responsibilities and other stories. I was waiting outside the 96th street y in new york city to see lou reed read from his book of lyrics between thought and expression. An intimate portrait of life with lou reed kronstad, bettye on. This album is dedicated to doc and especially to rita. A dream a fool like me a gift a good time was had by all a sheltered life a thousand departed friends a wild being from birth a witness to life. Anthony decurtis does a brilliant job of synthesizing the disparate parts of lou reeds life into an insightful, moving narrative. This comprised an a4sized book called emotions and a smaller one called actions laid into its hard cover. I remember a rumor in either 2003 or 2004 that lou reed was going to move into a.
A life was published by the rolling stone critic anthony decurtis. A hastily assembled life of lou reed fails to get to grips with his explosive. Lou goes to syracuse, falls under the spell of a completely ruined delmore schwartz, writes heroin, gets busted for. May 01, 2018 a new book of lou reed s poetry examines a fascinating period in the late icons life, when he was caught between rock and literature. Many damning anecdotes, she added, seem to come from people reed knew in the hazy.
Only when reed met the avantgarde artist laurie anderson in the early 90s did his life take a turn for the better. Street hassle combines live concert tapes with overdubs and studio recordings. You can take lou reed out of new york, but theres no taking new york out of lou. The life and music of lou reed by jeremy reed 2014. The essential biography of one of musics most influential icons. More tab would have been a benefit, but lou reed remains a poet of our age before and after vu.
Lou reed was a cultural phenomenon, whose charisma inspired revolution in social and political life. How i discovered a dozen new lou reed songs the washington post. A multipleexposure polaroid photograph of lou reed circa 1970 in the rock n rollers heyday. An eloquent account of a harrowing life transformed by love in the end. A life, but for such a pivotal musical career, there shouldnt be a dull moment in the book. A life, and given the cordial relationship between reed and decurtis, its hard not to imagine what reed would have thought of the book. Oct 29, 20 at his most sympathetically mature, the man rides a likably pliable, standardissue 80s guitar riff, and talks that good lou reed shit, but this time, almost shockingly, in the service of. Tellingly, the figure in reed s life to whom decurtis is most openly hostile is rock critic lester bangs, who epitomized the ardent, unruly and sometimes loutish engagement with reed s music and persona a book like lou reed. The term ostrich guitar was coined by the velvet undergrounds lou reed after the prevelvet underground song the ostrich by lou reed and the primitives, on which he first recorded using this tuning, the first known commercial composition to make use of a trivial guitar tuning. Sally cant dance single version walk on the wild side the best of lou reed, 1977 nowhere at all walk on the wild side the best of lou reed, 1977 downtown dirt between thought and expression the lou reed anthology, 1992 leave me alone between thought and expression the lou reed anthology, 1992. In 2003, reed released a book of photographs, emotions in action. This lou reed guy was a louche slut, a junkie creep and a meanspirited, goddamn son of a bitch. Oct 26, 2017 anthony decurtiss lou reed a life, the first significant biography of the rock star, does a remarkably good job of working out where lou reed ends and his creation, lou reed, begins.
Music, 63 minutes and 31 densely cacophonous seconds of guitar feedback. Neither of these books is quite a match for lou, but hopefully the aboves made at least a plausible case for why a biography of lou reed might be difficult to carry out successfully not. Jun 22, 2018 the biography lou actually liked waiting for the man. Lou reed s new york is the most affecting of these, showcasing reed s view of the city from which he siphoned his power. She recently completed a book of her artwork on dead rock stars which. Lou reed at panathinaikos stadium in athens, 1996 reuters the life of lou reed. I knew lou reed from when i worked in a famous guitar store as a teenager. This brings us to the eternal vexation that iswas lou reed. Feb 15, 2018 lou reed anthony decurtis opening line of lou reed s biography, simply titled lou reed. A life, expertly sets the stage for the almost 500 pages to come.
Lou reed at lincoln center a gathering open to the public no speeches. A life confirms just how perverse reed could be, and i am not talking about drug use or sexuality. The official naming citation was published by the minor planet center on june 2, 2015 m. A man of contradictions and extremes, he was fiercely independent yet afraid of being alone, artistically fearless yet deeply paranoid, eager for commercial. Shooting out life affirming riffs amid lyrics that made you want to jump off a bridge. Photo by hulton archivegetty images lou reed turned against everyone who tried to help including david. The record reed made me realize that, for all of my selfstylings as a rebel in love with noise that stripped away the unnecessary, i didnt know the first thing about. The man started off as part of the andy warhol endorsed velvet underground in the late sixties, then moved on to a very diverse solo career including the sublime bowieproduced transformer and less successful albums of guitar larsens. As lead singer and songwriter for the velvet underground and a renowned solo artist.
As addled, selfpromoting, and occasionally tiresome as bangss obsession with reed was, it did. A life is perfect for the velvets fan and the lover of reeds solo work and of course, for the person who appreciates both. The book perfectly connects his life with the type of music he made and why, which. Suzanne vega when most people think of lou reed, they picture the black, rotting heart of rock and roll, full of dissonance, decadence and decay. Oct 26, 2018 biographer sought to write the kind of book lou reed deserved it wasnt like i had to go looking for the drugs and the sex, anthony decurtis, author of lou reed. A life can sometimes give you the feeling that the author cant wait for the absurd to quit courting the vulgar, but decurtis a longtime mvp of the rolling stone writers stable knows he cant completely gloss over the seamy, abrasive, riveting spectacle reed made of himself in those early. The short inscription lou reed wrote in the liner notes to his 1992 album magic and loss is the backdrop to one of the most inspired albums of his career. Oct 12, 2015 news \ author of lou reed biography says he was a monster according to the book, the velvet underground frontman abused women and used racial slurs. Reeds distinctive deadpan voice, poetic lyrics and experimental guitar playing. Anthony decurtiss lou reed a life, the first significant biography of the rock star, does a remarkably good job of working out where lou reed ends and his creation, lou reed, begins. Oct 20, 2017 anthony decurtis discusses his biography of the velvet underground legend with stephen sackur on bbc world news.
Lewis allan reed march 2, 1942 october 27, 20 was an american musician, singer. As reed himself once put it, between thought and expression lies a lifetime. In march 2019, on the occasion of his birthday, the lou reed archive, of some 8000 items, opened to the public at the new york public library of the performing arts with parties, friends, family, fanfare and a drone concert at the largest cathedral in the world. Portrait of american rock and roll musician lou reed on stage with a guitar, 1970s. David bowie gave lou reed a new lease of life when he helped to create the classic transformer album and was repaid with jealousy and loathing, according to howard sounes, author of notes from. And, thankfully, decurtis book dishes plenty of dirt.
Lou reed, mick jagger, lulu and david bowie at a party hosted by bowie at the cafe royal. The velvet undergrounds overall sensibility was markedly different from anything else happening in rock at the time. That lifetime is explored here, and its a masterpiece. When most people think of lou reed, they picture the black. After patiently listening to the legendary rock star show off his guitar collection, gold sadly noted, it was so mindbogglingly uninteresting. An intimate portrait of life with lou reed, but she was one of the first people i managed to get in touch with. In his new biography of lou reed, anthony decurtis doesnt try to dig too deep into the velvet underground frontmans psyche. Biographer sought to write the kind of book lou reed. A life is an absorbing read, full of new insights delivered masterfully by decurtis.
A new book describes his physical and emotional excesses. Mercurial, vicious, brilliant uncovering the real lou reed. My brilliant and troubled friend lou reed music the guardian. Tellingly, the figure in reeds life to whom decurtis is most openly hostile is rock critic lester bangs, who epitomized the ardent, unruly and sometimes loutish engagement with reeds music and persona a book like lou reed. Share lou reed quotations about writing, songs and family.
It is a recurring theme in anthony decurtiss new book, lou reed. The photographs consist mostly of textural landscapesthe new jersey. My brilliant and troubled friend lou reed music the. But as anthony decurtis makes clear in his new book, behind the image and the rumors, lou was one thing. It is the first commercially released pop album to employ binaural recording technology.
A life is teeming with the sordid details of said debaucheries. Here are five things we learned, annotated by the author in a recent interview with pitchfork. Anthony decurtis discusses his biography of the velvet underground legend with stephen sackur on bbc world news. A life by anthony decurtis is published by jonathan murray. One of andersons predominantly musical as opposed to spokenword albums, life on a string was recorded at the lobby studios in new york city under the musical direction of skuli sverrisson, and produced by anderson and hal willner. Lou reed gets the gritty 70sera new york treatment in a life. In january 2006, he released a second book of photographs, lou reed s new york. Asteroid 270553 loureed, discovered by maik meyer at palomar observatory in 2002, was named in his honor. Published in 1994, the first version of this biography by jeremy reed no relation was. Lou reed new that feeling, that life, and he put it into lyrics with poetic brilliance. As the new biography of iconoclastic rocker lou reed 194220. Lou reed by anthony decurtis little, brown and company. Part of the deal of writing the book was to demythify lou.
Notes from the velvet underground by howard sounes 378 pp. Reed had a propensity to switch conceptual gears midproject while. Reed, who died today at 71, made no secret of his disdain for many of the people who wrote about him, but longtime village voice staffer and dean of american rock critics robert christgau is the only one to have his sexual preferences questioned from the stage on one of reeds live albums. Now renowned music writer anthony decurtis shares insights from his new book, lou reed. In turning his attention to amplified acoustic guitar, lou reed has taken one further step in his lifelong quest for the purest yet baddest sound ever heard. This list includes some of his notable live albums too. Anthony decurtis does somewhat better than that with the 500page tome lou reed. In 1977, artist andy warhol, left, speaks with musician lou reed. In july 1975, lou reed released metal machine music, his fifth solo album after leaving the velvet underground, and one of rock historys most drastic acts of commercial suicide. Carefully researched and thoughtfully written, lou reed is the best reed biography to date. But while his iconic status may be fixed, the man himself was anything but. Nov 01, 2019 with lou reeds wavering tenor and jangling guitar ringing in my ears, i stared down at the cassette tape in my hand. The first part of the book is a compilation of interviews with lou reed taken from different sources talking about his career, with some bw photos.
In january 2006, he released a second book of photographs, lou reeds. How i discovered a dozen new lou reed songs stumbling on a cassette tape from 1975 marked the beginning of an archival journey. Lou reed has been blowing traditional guitar styles to bits since his velvet. Street hassle is the eighth solo studio album by american musician lou reed, released in february 1978 by arista records. Eternally restless and endlessly hungry for new experiences, reed reinvented his persona, his sound, even his sexuality time and again. Lou personally chose the songs and their presentation, with just simple chords and lyrics for most, but also guitar tab for others.