RIP: Lou Reed (1942-2013)

Brian in Mesa

Advocatus Diaboli
Super Moderator
Moderator
Supporting Member
Joined
May 13, 2002
Posts
72,086
Reaction score
23,019
Location
Killjoy Central
RIP: Lou Reed (1942-2013)

Lou Reed, Velvet Underground Leader and Rock Pioneer, Dead at 71

http://www.rollingstone.com/music/n...ock-pioneer-dead-at-71-20131027#ixzz2iwh0jmYb

Lou Reed, a massively influential songwriter and guitarist who helped shape nearly fifty years of rock music, died today. The cause of his death has not yet been released, but Reed underwent a liver transplant in May.

With the Velvet Underground in the late Sixties, Reed fused street-level urgency with elements of European avant-garde music, marrying beauty and noise, while bringing a whole new lyrical honesty to rock & roll poetry. As a restlessly inventive solo artist, from the Seventies into the 2010s, he was chameleonic, thorny and unpredictable, challenging his fans at every turn. Glam, punk and alternative rock are all unthinkable without his revelatory example. "One chord is fine," he once said, alluding to his bare-bones guitar style. "Two chords are pushing it. Three chords and you're into jazz."
 
Last edited:

AzStevenCal

ASFN IDOL
Supporting Member
Joined
Apr 2, 2004
Posts
36,584
Reaction score
16,162
RIP. I know a lot of people in my age group that weren't fond of Velvet Underground but I really don't know anyone that wasn't fond of Walk on the Wild Side.

Steve
 

AZZenny

Registered User
Joined
Feb 18, 2003
Posts
9,235
Reaction score
2
Location
Cave Creek
Lou Reed is one of the few people where I always thought, "Man, when he dies, I'm going to feel OLD." I loved Velvet Underground (saw them play live at a very bizarre private party when I was 17 -- although I was too stoned to remember much). Lou Reed was the real bad boy of my generation. Raise Hell, Lou!
 

Neo

Red Tape Sorter
Joined
Aug 7, 2005
Posts
517
Reaction score
0
Location
Deep in Enemy Territory
Lou Reed is largely responisble for my love of music. As a young teenager I was about to give up on the musical world because I was so sick of the synthesiser heavy, formulaic crap that I heard on the radio everyday. Then I discovered the Velvet Underground and Lou Reed and learned that not all music has to sound the same and people could write lyrics that are about something other than having a girlfriend, but are poetic and edgy at the same time. Lou Reed opened my eyes to lots of new (to me) music.

Today I have been listening to his album Magic and Loss. In my opinion it has to be one of the most underrated albums of all time. It is probably the most timeless thing that he did as a solo artist. I don't think there is another musician out there who could put together Rock and Roll album about losing friends to cancer and pull it off. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6jTkTukfjZM

RIP Lou
 

Staff online

Forum statistics

Threads
549,006
Posts
5,363,614
Members
6,306
Latest member
SportsBetJake
Top