Lou Reed’s Pre-Fame Quest to Create a National Dance Craze
Lou Reed and John Cale met while touring a novelty act trying to make a hit on a discount record label. A new compilation highlights Reed’s wild pre-fame journey.
lou reed
The 10 Spookiest Lou Reed Songs
From graphic depictions of violence and death to ominous and grating musical atmospheres, Lou Reed created numerous frightening tunes.
Low Cut Connie Pays Homage to New York and Lou Reed on ‘Art Dealers’
Low Cut Connie’s Art Dealers offers empathetic portraits of people and places that he presumes have been undeservedly ignored or overlooked.
Lou Reed on Illness and Death: Revisiting ‘Magic and Loss’
Lou Reed most dramatically stepped off rock’s beaten path when he recorded an entire record about death by illness, Magic and Loss, 31 years ago.
‘Street Hassle’: The Ethics, Attitude, and Sound of Lou Reed
On Street Hassle, Lou Reed shaped a thrilling poetic narrative focused through the prism of 1970s New York, using three chords, punk energy, street language, and Samurai ethics.
Michael Imperioli’s ‘The Perfume Burned His Eyes’ Could Be Titled In the Thrall
Emmy-winning actor Michael Imperioli’s debut novel, The Perfume Burned His Eyes seems at first a coming-of-age tale, but its tumultuous thralldom is a swift current.
Lou Reed Unplugged: The Velvet Underground Reimagined on ‘Words and Music’
Lou Reed and John Cale hint at the other side of the swinging ’60s with a fascinating collection of mid-’60s demo recordings for the Velvet Underground.
‘The Velvet Underground’ Film and the Exploding Lou Reed Inevitable
Todd Haynes’ audiovisual blast delves into the creative combat that birthed America’s first great avant-garde rock ‘n’ roll band, the Velvet Underground.
‘Velvet Underground’ Soundtrack Could Use More Idiosyncratic Curation
The soundtrack for Todd Haynes’ new documentary on Velvet Underground contains unimpeachable music but fails to offer a cohesive argument about the iconic band.
Top 10 Most Notable Career Suicide Albums
Career suicide albums fall into two camps: those that were released ahead of their time, and those that set new standards in awful. The best thing that could be said about the later category is that these albums are oftentimes just as fascinating as an artist's best work.
Punk Hybrids: Wham! Bam! Glam-Punk!
Glam Punk is "Rock 'n' roll with lipstick on," sneered John Lennon.
The Curmudgeonly King of Noir Chronicled in ‘Notes From the Velvet Underground: The Life of Lou Reed’
Howard Sounes' Notes From the Velvet Underground is a beautifully considered book, with enough detail about the life and career of Lou Reed for the geeks, enough context for the historians, and just enough juicy stuff for everyone else.