I’ve just seen the news about Lou Reed and the first words that went careening through my brain was a loud despairing "No!". Lou Reed and the Velvet Underground records was like a hand coming out of the darkness and making me feel more easier about certain facets of myself in many many ways, realising that certain elements of my internal make-up was neither strange or wrong, that there were others who had come before me. During an era of pop records and bubblegum Stock, Aitken and Waterman type crap (which was like cold vomit coming from stereos everywhere) I found Lou and the Velvets, songs that of their very essence I could grab onto and whisper to myself "they know, they understand", speaking of another world entirely which I had guessed at but now knew for certain existed. At a time of pure unadulterated inanity (the eighties were a period of utter mediocrity as far the majority of music was concerned, which meant anything in the top 20) but here in the songs of Lou and the Velvets I discovered glorious mirrors of what lay within myself. I still get a fiendish delight with "Sister Ray", smack-addicted transvestites having an orgy with sailors which ends in a police raid, and "Venus in Furs", Lou's retelling of Severin giving himself up to the decadent dominant pleasures of his cruel and wanton mistress, hearing all this was like manna from heaven, the songs themselves a communiqué from a strange dark god who was singing to me hymns from the front lines of my own soul. How could a fledgling young one like myself who had started to recognise that there was no place for me in the polite social roles that others indulged in, here, here was MY world, and Lou had grabbed my hand and pulled me into whispering "Don't be afraid, let me walk you through the corridors of your own soul".....
It was from Lou speaking of his influences I came across William Burroughs, Hubert Selby Jnr., Delmore Schwartz and a plethora of other literary greats whom I would probably have never thought of reading if he hadn't spoken of what had influenced him. And what had influenced him I then went onto seek out, "Forever Changed" to quote a line from the "Songs For Drella" album. It was Lou who said that rock and roll could deal with adult, literary subjects, and he alongside others like Dylan were the first rock poets, its not up for discussion as far as I'm concerned. Simple as that.
Now I (and probably a few others as well) will never get the chance to hug Lou Reed and say "Thanks for all the times you saved my life" because that’s exactly what his music was to some of us. Hearing of the death of Lou is like hearing the passing of one's mentor, and for a brief second when I heard of it I felt as though a huge part of my adolescence had died. But it hasn't, because the "essence" of what Lou and his music did is still alive, still kicking.......in me and many others, Lou still lives. Thank you Lou!
P.s. "Berlin" to me is the mans finest hour, an hour of pure
rock-solid brutal listening detailing the breakdown of a relationship
between two very interesting characters (I am convinced the female
protagonist is based partially (only partially though might add) off of Nico, how could it not be with the immortal
line of "But she's still a German queen"). But there is so much of Lou's work I could post below, hence one from his solo work and the influential "Velvet Underground and Nico" plus documentary.
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