FROM THE DJ's STUDIO DESK:
The adage "You don't know what you have until it's gone," may often feel like the most well worn of cliches and homilies, but after this past weekend, that statement became blindingly prevalent.
As I open this new month of Synesthesia, I feel the need to express that I have found myself thinking a hefty amount about the life, legacy, art and artistry of Lou Reed, who passed away on Sunday, October 27, 2013 after having health complications from a liver transplant he received earlier this year. Now for all of the music I have loved and cherished throughout my life, I have to say that in regards to the biography and discography of Lou Reed, I am just not that well versed. Yes, I do have all four classic and essential albums by The Velvet Underground as well as the David Bowie produced "Transformer" (released November 8, 1972 ) in my collection and for some reason, I also have a cassette copy of Reed's relentlessly bleak concept album "Berlin" (released July 1973) yet aside from those titles, I have not even one more album.
And yet, Lou Reed was always a figure in rock and roll and art itself I held in the highest of esteem and beyond that, he was a figure that always seemed to be so...present! His massive influence and his unrepentant artistry felt to be part of the entire pop culture fabric in ways that are simply impossible to fully understand. And of course, it would be extremely hard pressed to think of a figure that was ever even a fraction cooler than him. As of this writing, I am listening to the title track from "Coney Island Baby" (released December 1975) as well as passages from the album "New York" (released January 10, 1989) while I take a few moments to send out some words into the ether, in tribute to this man, while no longer among us in the material world, will forever remain an iconoclast, an artistic GIANT that we were all truly blessed to have walk among us and share his gifts with us for as long as he was able.
For all of the music that I have written about that fills my head with all manners of colors, the music of Lou Reed, no matter the song, the album or era, has always struck me as existing in the starkest, sharpest of black and white, with all of its nuances and shadings. His music always gave me the impression that the images he conjured in my mind appeared as photographs, which seems apt because Reed's music overall was not about flash and flair. Reed's songwriting, musical performances and especially his unmistakable singing voice was that of a figure who was always giving you the straight dope, the word from the streets, the news from the gutters, the darkest corners and always, just always delivered from the soul.
While the songs could often be unpleasant or scary or disturbing or even downright ugly, his artistic voice contained a level of harsh, compelling, raw truth that was profoundly rare in the world of rock and roll artifice. His songs, vignettes and character portraits were poetic as well as functioning as high levels of social/economic/political journalism. He wrote seemingly without judgement and with magnificent compassion for those on the fringes and perhaps that is what made him such a champion to countless listeners. For if you were misunderstood, a misfit, a freak, geek or outcast, one who was downtrodden or discarded and left to survive alone in a cold world, Lou Reed captured that voice and magnificently wrote and sang songs for them, as well as himself. For those of us (like myself) who were quite trepidacious, Reed provided a window into this world where we could safely walk on the wild side.Yet, if you were on the wrong end of his moral barometer, he suffered no fools lightly so beware his pen and guitar for he would slash you to bits as scathing songs like "I Wanna Be Black" from "Street Hassle" (released February 1978) and the poem "The Slide" can powerfully attest.
The seismic musical influence of Lou Reed cannot be overstated. A famous quotation, attributed to a 1982 interview with producer/songwriter/musician Brian Eno, who proclaimed that even though the 1967 debut album from The Velvet Underground sold only 30,000 copies during its first five years, "everyone who bought one of those 30,000 copies started a band." Really try to wrap your heads around that concept, dear readers and listeners, for it is undeniably true that Lou Reed, alongside his compatriots in The Velvet Underground, created a musical palate that prefigured glam rock, punk rock, new wave, the college rock of the 1970's and 1980's as well as the alternative music juggernaut of the 1990's. And it would also not be that much of a stretch to say that even some avenues of hip-hop have much to owe to the streetwise lyricism of Lou Reed. Think about it. Nearly 50 years of popular music that can be traced back to the artistic vision of this particularly idiosyncratic individual. Maybe that is why even though I haven't listened to a large amount of Lou Reed's music, he still feels to be so present, such a crucial element to all that I listen to simply because he truly was, and will always be, that crucial element. As I write and wrap my own head around this aspect of rock and roll's history and Lou Reed's place within that history, I am simply thunderstruck...and I am also saddened that I didn't understand or appreciate this fact much, much sooner. But, it is better that I find out now than never at all.
While in college, I had a floor mate during one year who was a huge Lou Reed fan and possessed a large portion of his catalog. That was the year where I heard more of Lou Reed's music than in any other stage of my life. It was a crash course for certain and as I think back, I now realize that the seeds for any appreciation, fascination and admiration for this man were lovingly planted during that time.
Shortly after college, I worked in a bookstore for several years and during that stage of my life, I happened to purchase a copy of the book Between Thought And Expression: Selected Lyrics Of Lou Reed. I honestly have no idea of what prompted me to make that purchase but I do remember paging through the book over and over growing more entranced by the words on the page. Seeing the lyrics without having the music attached to them allowed me to gather and formulate a new and greater perspective about Lou Reed as an artist and just how incredibly gifted a writer he was. So gifted, and seeing how he placed words together deeply inspired me as I began to tackle my own writing. After hearing the news of his passing, I soon ventured downstairs into my basement to scour my bookshelves for the book, which I found sitting there waiting for me to pick it up again. And again, I am awed by Lou Reed's immense talent while also feeling the massive hole he has left behind and will never be filled in quite the same way ever again.
In a 1987 interview with Rolling Stone magazine, Lou Reed expressed the following concerning his musical legacy:
"All through this, I’ve always thought that if you thought of all of it as a book then you have the Great American Novel, every record as a chapter. They’re all in chronological order. You take the whole thing, stack it and listen to it in order, there’s my Great American Novel.”
Yes and absolutely. And now it is time for me to dive right in.
As I open this new month of Synesthesia, I feel the need to express that I have found myself thinking a hefty amount about the life, legacy, art and artistry of Lou Reed, who passed away on Sunday, October 27, 2013 after having health complications from a liver transplant he received earlier this year. Now for all of the music I have loved and cherished throughout my life, I have to say that in regards to the biography and discography of Lou Reed, I am just not that well versed. Yes, I do have all four classic and essential albums by The Velvet Underground as well as the David Bowie produced "Transformer" (released November 8, 1972 ) in my collection and for some reason, I also have a cassette copy of Reed's relentlessly bleak concept album "Berlin" (released July 1973) yet aside from those titles, I have not even one more album.
And yet, Lou Reed was always a figure in rock and roll and art itself I held in the highest of esteem and beyond that, he was a figure that always seemed to be so...present! His massive influence and his unrepentant artistry felt to be part of the entire pop culture fabric in ways that are simply impossible to fully understand. And of course, it would be extremely hard pressed to think of a figure that was ever even a fraction cooler than him. As of this writing, I am listening to the title track from "Coney Island Baby" (released December 1975) as well as passages from the album "New York" (released January 10, 1989) while I take a few moments to send out some words into the ether, in tribute to this man, while no longer among us in the material world, will forever remain an iconoclast, an artistic GIANT that we were all truly blessed to have walk among us and share his gifts with us for as long as he was able.
While the songs could often be unpleasant or scary or disturbing or even downright ugly, his artistic voice contained a level of harsh, compelling, raw truth that was profoundly rare in the world of rock and roll artifice. His songs, vignettes and character portraits were poetic as well as functioning as high levels of social/economic/political journalism. He wrote seemingly without judgement and with magnificent compassion for those on the fringes and perhaps that is what made him such a champion to countless listeners. For if you were misunderstood, a misfit, a freak, geek or outcast, one who was downtrodden or discarded and left to survive alone in a cold world, Lou Reed captured that voice and magnificently wrote and sang songs for them, as well as himself. For those of us (like myself) who were quite trepidacious, Reed provided a window into this world where we could safely walk on the wild side.Yet, if you were on the wrong end of his moral barometer, he suffered no fools lightly so beware his pen and guitar for he would slash you to bits as scathing songs like "I Wanna Be Black" from "Street Hassle" (released February 1978) and the poem "The Slide" can powerfully attest.
The seismic musical influence of Lou Reed cannot be overstated. A famous quotation, attributed to a 1982 interview with producer/songwriter/musician Brian Eno, who proclaimed that even though the 1967 debut album from The Velvet Underground sold only 30,000 copies during its first five years, "everyone who bought one of those 30,000 copies started a band." Really try to wrap your heads around that concept, dear readers and listeners, for it is undeniably true that Lou Reed, alongside his compatriots in The Velvet Underground, created a musical palate that prefigured glam rock, punk rock, new wave, the college rock of the 1970's and 1980's as well as the alternative music juggernaut of the 1990's. And it would also not be that much of a stretch to say that even some avenues of hip-hop have much to owe to the streetwise lyricism of Lou Reed. Think about it. Nearly 50 years of popular music that can be traced back to the artistic vision of this particularly idiosyncratic individual. Maybe that is why even though I haven't listened to a large amount of Lou Reed's music, he still feels to be so present, such a crucial element to all that I listen to simply because he truly was, and will always be, that crucial element. As I write and wrap my own head around this aspect of rock and roll's history and Lou Reed's place within that history, I am simply thunderstruck...and I am also saddened that I didn't understand or appreciate this fact much, much sooner. But, it is better that I find out now than never at all.
Shortly after college, I worked in a bookstore for several years and during that stage of my life, I happened to purchase a copy of the book Between Thought And Expression: Selected Lyrics Of Lou Reed. I honestly have no idea of what prompted me to make that purchase but I do remember paging through the book over and over growing more entranced by the words on the page. Seeing the lyrics without having the music attached to them allowed me to gather and formulate a new and greater perspective about Lou Reed as an artist and just how incredibly gifted a writer he was. So gifted, and seeing how he placed words together deeply inspired me as I began to tackle my own writing. After hearing the news of his passing, I soon ventured downstairs into my basement to scour my bookshelves for the book, which I found sitting there waiting for me to pick it up again. And again, I am awed by Lou Reed's immense talent while also feeling the massive hole he has left behind and will never be filled in quite the same way ever again.
In a 1987 interview with Rolling Stone magazine, Lou Reed expressed the following concerning his musical legacy:
"All through this, I’ve always thought that if you thought of all of it as a book then you have the Great American Novel, every record as a chapter. They’re all in chronological order. You take the whole thing, stack it and listen to it in order, there’s my Great American Novel.”
Yes and absolutely. And now it is time for me to dive right in.
Rest In Peace, Lou Reed. Rest In Peace.
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