Lou Reed Remembered

By Walter Price 

R.I.P. Lewis Allan Reed

(March 2, 1942 – October 27, 2013)

“I always believed that I have something important to say and I said it.” – Lou Reed

When I was in my teen years there was almost nothing more ‘alternative’ that you could do than if you had a copy of Velvet Underground’s The Velvet Underground & Nico (’67) in your vinyl or cassette collection.

From what I remember you didn’t even need to understand what incredible music history was made within the grooves of this masterpiece to be considered a true music aficionado .

Lou Reed as a solo artist as well as Iggy Pop, The Smiths, Sex Pistols, KISS, George Jones, Willie Nelson, Ian McCulloch, Black Sabbath, Skynyrd, REM, The Cult, Public Enemy, The Beastie Boys and The Clash were all equally responsible in forming my musical youth up to who I am today.

One of the funniest things that ever happened to me was one snowy night outside The Bowery Ballroom in NYC I was outside having a smoke in a huddled mass of nicotine degenerates when one of the group turned and walked off down the street. The dude next to me punched me on the shoulder and said “Can you fucking believe that was fucking motherfucking Lou Reed man/!”…I’ll never know if it was or not but damn me for not.

The fact is that Lou Reed touched and influenced thousands. We thought we’d share some of the statements, comments and tributes that have been filled the weboshpere a year ago today….

“No words to express the sadness at the death of Lou Reed. He had been there all of my life. He will always be pressed to my heart. Thank God for those, like Lou, who move within their own laws, otherwise imagine how dull the world would be. I knew the Lou of recent years and he was always full of good heart. His music will outlive time itself… We are all timebound, but today, with the loss of liberating Lou, life is a pigsty.” – Morrissey (True To You)

“The world has lost a fine songwriter and poet…I’ve lost my ‘school-yard buddy” – John Cale (Facebook)

?It is with great sadness that we report the death of Lou Reed who died today aged 71.” (March 2, 1942 – October 27, 2013) – David Bowie (Facebook)

“Lou Reed is the reason i do everything i do” – John Casablancas (Twitter)

“Lou Reed, R.I.P. I did the Jools Holland show with him last year and we yucked it up. I didn’t know he was ill….” – Nile Rodgers (Twitter)

“I love Lou reed so much. Always” – Flea (Twitter)

“R.I.P. LOU REED, rock & roll auteur/provocateur, founder of the Velvet Underground, sonic and conceptual adventurer, world-class misanthrope and notorious ball-buster, died this morning at the age of 71, five months after receiving a liver transplant. Where other late-’60s rock bands swaggered, the Velvet Underground slithered—creatures of the night lurking in dark alleys of Manhattan’s warehouse district. Endorsed by Andy Warhol, the Velvets specialized in eerie, thrash-y songs like “White Light/White Heat,” a sentimental ode to the joys of shooting speed, the band members barely keeping time with one another as they stumbled toward a cacophonous climax that soundsed like a car engine seizing up. In the midst of this artlessly artful noise, chillingly casual, Reed described the amphetamine jolt like a waiter listing today’s specials—introducing an entirely new breed of badass to rock. If the punks joked that everyone who bought a VU album went on to start a band, it’s because the primitive intensity of tracks like this one gave the impression that absolutely anyone could do this—and have a blast while they were at it. After the Velvets broke up in the early ’70s, Reed began a long and wildly varied solo career whose landmarks included the David Bowie-produced Transformer (containing the provocative radio hit “Walk on the Wild Side”), the monumental live opus Rock N’ Roll Animal, the relentlessly unlistenable Metal Machine Music, the verbally pugilistic Take No Prisoners, the muscular The Blue Mask and the sprawling New York, a tribute to his beloved hometown. We leave you with these immortal lines from Lou’s late-period Velvets classic “Rock ’n’ roll”: “Despite all the amputation/You could dance to a rock ‘n’ roll station/And it was all right.” —Bud Scoppa (Facebook)

The music, art and verse worlds will not be the same without you Lou…You will be missed and never forgotten!

**This was first published one year ago today…