Posted on 10/27/2013 12:00:36 PM PDT by Mad Dawgg
Lou Reed, the frontman of the rock band the Velvet Underground, has died at age 71, according to a report from Rolling Stone magazine.
The Velvet Underground became one of the most influential bands in rock music by fusing art and music through its collaboration with Andy Warhol in the 1960s, Reuters reports. The magazine did not say how Reed died and his representatives could not immediately be reached.
(Excerpt) Read more at foxnews.com ...
"And the coloured girls go Doo do doo do doo do do doo."
“White heat” was one of my favorite cuts. Phenomenal guitarists on that album “Rock and Roll Animal.”
“Sweet Jane”
http://www.metrolyrics.com/sweet-jane-lyrics-lou-reed.html
That’s his really great song in my opinion.
Have a few of his albums, Coney Island Baby, he was a real New Yorker I guess, lots of good stuff and Metal Machine Music too.
I remember when he got his liver transplant this year. Still not clear what happened to Lou Reed.
The wikipedia article says he got electro-shock (actually electro-convulsive) therapy as a teenager.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lou_Reed
71 is way, way, too young for anyone. Must have been the unstressed life he lead.
I enjoyed his music. Rest in Peace.
How does a 71 year old guy who was/is a heroin addict - alcoholic get a liver transplant? Here he is dead a few months after getting one, meanwhile I don’t even have to guess some kid has died because they couldn’t get one. Reminds me of when John Phillips of the Mamas and Papas got a liver transplant after being a coke and heroin addict for years, then after he gets the transplant they caught him in a bar “breaking the new liver in” in HIS words! Same with Mickey Mantle, another boozer gets a transplant then dies. WTF?
First album I ever owned was “Rock N Roll Animal”. Still play Intro to Sweet Jane as loud as the stereo will allow.
Also a deeply troubled and often unhappy individual whose personal demons interfered with his art and his life.
He will be missed - he represents the end of an era.
How does a 71 year old guy who was/is a heroin addict - alcoholic get a liver transplant? Here he is dead a few months after getting one, meanwhile I dont even have to guess some kid has died because they couldnt get one. Reminds me of when John Phillips of the Mamas and Papas got a liver transplant after being a coke and heroin addict for years, then after he gets the transplant they caught him in a bar breaking the new liver in in HIS words! Same with Mickey Mantle, another boozer gets a transplant then dies. WTF?
I think he was someone the elites thought was cool. That's pretty much it.
I never "got" Lou Reed. He was in the Andy Warhol "Factory" scene back in the '60's. They were all about burning themselves out on smack and sex and pills. Some died soon, some died later. They all thought they were really cool, and they put on a good show for the media and publishing types who dropped in on them to take in the smell, which they then packaged and sold to the baby boomers after cleaning it up a bit.
Mr. Reed didn't seem to have much to say in recent years.
Married to Laurie Anderson, arguably a more talented musician.
I remember seeing Lou Reed in Detroit in the 70’s so high on reds (Secobarbital or Secanol) that he had to be propped up against a Marshal amplifier while his gay lover told all the women in the crowd that he knew they were jealous of him.
Yikes.
No more Lou for me after that.
Here he is dead a few months after getting one, meanwhile I dont even have to guess some kid has died because they couldnt get one.
Very true, however David Crosby is bucking the odds with his new liver.
Steve Hunter is one of the best.
WANTEDLou Reed
For turning an entire generation of young Americans into faggot junkies.
Metal Machine Music, best I could describe it is white noise, more similar to leaving a fan, air conditioner or the like on at night rather than something like Brian Eno. I wonder if anyone else has here has hear it, it’s unlistenable. They say he did it to honor a contract.
http://www.allmusic.com/album/metal-machine-music-mw0000099717
Yes, Lou was a bit on the wild side, guy seemed to be a real poet so that is how I listened to his music, I’ve listened to the album with Robert Hunter, Rock and Roll Animal a few times this year. But a lot of Reed’s stuff like Berlin is poetry and some of it I thought were just morbid things to tell the truth.
Agreed. BTTT
I really liked his work on the Gorillaz album “Plastic Beach”.. I thought that was really good, and to be honest, I’ve never been a big fan of Lou Reed. The song he “sang” (if you can call it singing), was called “Some kind of Nature”... cool lyric and cool reading of the lyric.
I liked his Berlin album the best. I heard it first when I was in Rota, Spain. The cuts Lady Day, Caroline Says, or The Bed, with that line; “They’re Taking Her Children Away”, and the baby crying in the background. Lush and , indulgent and ponderous, in a good way. Lou seemed tired and burnt out for the last twenty years. Good for him, that he found love and comfort with Laurie Anderson, an extremely bright, creative performer. Age and fashion happen to us all, so most today don’t know about Laurie or Lou except for that one beer drinker’s hit ‘Wild Side’. Satelite of Love is very simple and sweet. Anyone could plink a piano and make that song sound good, the way it’s structured with a soft cascade of refrains.
The Gift
Velvet Underground
Anyway, as I posted here earlier today, I knew Lou Reed wasn't doing well lately but this is a shock. Yet another famous musician is dead, dead, dead. It seems that everytime I turn around, another rock/pop star has died. When will the madness end? If this keeps up, there will soon be no more music being created.
I mean, just consider the staggering death toll among famous musicians we have already seen. Teddy Pendergrass, dead. Gerry Rafferty is also dead and we'll never hear him sing "Baker Street" live again. The one guy who drummed in that famous rock band is also dead. Then we have Ray Manzarek of The Doors - can you imagine? Half The Beatles and half of The BeeGees are now dead. One quarter of McFadden & Whitehead are dead. And the list goes on...
We have Bob Welch ("Ebony Eyes") dead. Donna Summer is dead. Davy Jones of The Monkees, Doug Fiedor of The Knack and Andrew Gold of "Lonely Boy" fame all dead, dead, dead.
You think I'm finished? I'm not even beginning. Two people from the band whose name I can't remember but they were big stars. Then you have the saxophone playing guy from the E Street Band (and the one who played keyboards too). Then you have Bo Diddley, Isaac Hayes, Bruce Hornsby, John Stewart, Laura Branigan and that guy who played guitar for that 1960s band - you know the one.
I could go on and on but you get the picture. Way too many people in the music biz are dying and unless we want the music to stop forever, we've got to do something about it.
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