Posted on 07/23/2010 12:44:28 PM PDT by Reaganite Republican
The Velvet Underground was an American rock band formed in New York City, initially active from 1965 to 1973. The best-known members were Lou Reed and John Cale, who both went on to find success as solo artists- the legendary Andy Warhol also manged them for three years. Although never commercially successful, the band is often cited by many critics as one of the most important and influential groups of the 60s- trailblazers well-ahead of their time.
The Velvet Underground first gained a degree of fame and in 1966 Manhattan when they were selected as the house band for Andy Warhol's Factory and other events. The lyrics challenged conventional societal standards of the time, and broke ground for other musicians to do the same. They favored experimentation, and also introduced a nihilistic outlook through some of their music. Their outsider attitude and experimentation has since been cited as pivotal to the rise of punk, new wave, and alternative rock. xxx The 1967 debut album, titled The Velvet Underground & Nico (German singer Nico collaborated with the band) was named the 13th Greatest Album of All Time, and "most prophetic rock album ever made" by Rolling Stone in 2003. xxx It was at band manager Andy Warhol's insistence that Nico sang with the band on three songs of their debut album, recorded primarily in Scepter Studios in New York City during April 1966, and released in March 1967. And the album cover is also famous for its Warhol design: a yellow banana with “Peel slowly and see” printed near a perforated tab. Those who did remove the banana skin found a pink, peeled banana beneath...
[VIDEO at link below]
The live version of Sweet Jane from Lou Reed’s “Rock And Roll Animal” is one of the best things ever recorded.
Certainly has a sweet guitar duo to launch it. However, like everything else, it crashes as soon as Lou opens his mouth.
Who were the guitarists? I forget...
Funny...to read favorables about a progressive NYC pre-punk punk band from a Reaganite! Music is so cool that way.
Listen to the bass player. He holds the entire thing together. Who were the guitarists? I forget...
Not sure. I'll google that one.
Yeah, they usually do...
Hunter and Wagner. Same team who did Alice Cooper’s “Welcome To My Nightmare.”
WAAAAYYY ahead of their time. Even today, there are not many acts with that sound. Hard to believe it was 1967.
They (and Iggy & The Stooges) paved the way for Alternative Rock (Talking Heads) NY punk (Ramones), Glam Rock (NY Dolls), UK Punk (Sex Pistols, The Clash), and eventually California punk (punk’s downfall, IMO).
CBGB was closed by the time I was old enough to go. Bummer.
Thanks for posting.
We are taking a walk on the wild side over here!!!
They were an anti-hippy band.
Comparing "Heroin" - and its underlying message - to all the fruity, let's-all-hold-hands-and-get-high California pop of the time is fascinating.
It's like comparing Camus to Judy Blume.
Here you go:
Rock n Roll Animal is a live album by Lou Reed, released in 1974. In its original form, it features five songs from different periods of his creative career, including several songs by the Velvet Underground. The songs are all re-arranged into a powerful glam rock set. The musicians were Pentti Glan (drums) and Prakash John (bass) of the contemporary Alice Cooper band, Ray Colcord (keyboards), and Dick Wagner and Steve Hunter on guitars. The album was recorded live on December 21, 1973 (1973-12-21), at Howard Stein’s Academy of Music in New York.
In college, we had a Lou Reed poster with the caption: “WANTED. Lou Reed. For turning an entire generation of Americans into faggot junkies.”
Plenty of good stuff here:
http://www.tropicalglen.com/
Reed rocks out, but is a bit one-note overall. John Cale is just simply a genius. An unbelievably enthralling performer, on piano or guitar.
The one time I really loved Lou Reed was when I saw him at a singer/songwriter show at The Bottom Line. I sat in the very first row, and Reed was on the stage with Roseanne Cash, Luka Bloom and David Byrne. They each introduced one of their songs, told how/why they wrote it, and then performed it. The others would join in if they were moved. The last round, each of them had to pick a song by another writer and sing that. Lou was last, and with no introduction he just started singing "Tears of a Clown" a cappella. The crowd sang the chorus and Lou just stopped, said "Thank you all. Goodnight." and that was the end of the show. It was cool.
Posted on Thursday, July 15, 2010 12:27:04 PM by ConservativeStatement
Tuli Kupferberg, a founding member of the New York underground rockers the Fugs, has died at age 86.
Kupferberg died Monday in a Manhattan hospital, according to his friend and bandmate Ed Sanders. He had suffered several strokes in the past year.
Sanders, owner of the Peace Eye Bookstore in New York, joined with beat poet Kupferberg and drummer Ken Weaver to form the group in 1964.
They were among the first underground rock bands and paved the way for groups such as the Mothers of Invention and Velvet Underground. The Fugs were strong supporters of the anti-war and protest movements of the 1960s.
(Excerpt) Read more at cbc.ca ...
thx.
I haven’t heard any of this since I was in college in the 80’s. Where do you get mp3’s of this metrial nowadays? I’m so out of touch with music at the moment. I gotta hear some of this early stuff...
I should know more about these guys. Wonder why I don't...
I got R&R Animal from Itunes for 99 cents
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