R.I.P. Lou Reed

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Setherex
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R.I.P. Lou Reed

Post by Setherex »

Thought a topic dedicated to him would do nicely. On a Sunday morning too - how apt.
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JimmyJazz
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Re: R.I.P. Lou Reed

Post by JimmyJazz »

I knew he was very ill, but I recall a few months ago Laurie Anderson saying he recovered. Truly one of the greatest songwriters: a poet, a genius, and a great man. RIP.
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Re: R.I.P. Lou Reed

Post by JimmyJazz »

The coverage of his death so far is pretty pitiful, I must say. On MSN.com, stupid Chris Brown's assault charges get a headline coverage, while this man, who fronted one of the most important bands of all time, his death is relegated to the entertainment section as a mere blurb. Their tiny article says that his song "Walk on the Wild Side" became a rock classic. Cause that's ALL he did (jeez...)
Last edited by JimmyJazz on Sun Oct 27, 2013 7:27 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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PlasticRam
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Re: R.I.P. Lou Reed

Post by PlasticRam »

:(

One of my fav musicians, taking his VU work into account too. RIP.
I feel like that
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Re: R.I.P. Lou Reed

Post by Blanco »

I have no words.
:c
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HRS
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Re: R.I.P. Lou Reed

Post by HRS »

Some friends of mine didn't think it was a sudden death because he was already old, but like JimmyJazz pointed, news I had heard were of recovery. The first song I ever heard him sing, and I believe the majority of people, was Sunday Morning. Glad he picked one of those beautiful dawnings to leave us in flesh. Feeling shattered, in an admirer way -- can't even imagine the pain of the intimates. Also, wondering how Laurie feels. Really enjoyed the man; great solo records, but especially the Velvet ones, perhaps my favorite act of the 60s. His legacy is cemented, his records with the Velvets and solo will live through this, as they do along time. It's a different experience to listen to his voice this afternoon, coming out of the speakers; recording music just develops a very interesting layer when the voice you listen to is no longer around on earth.

Image
Last edited by HRS on Sun Oct 27, 2013 7:17 pm, edited 1 time in total.
o.m.
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Re: R.I.P. Lou Reed

Post by o.m. »

Sad day indeed...May your soul rest in peace...
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Re: R.I.P. Lou Reed

Post by Zorg »

nooooooooooooooooooooooooo!
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Listyguy
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Re: R.I.P. Lou Reed

Post by Listyguy »

Very sad news indeed.
This means that Lou's final living album was "Lulu". :(
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JimmyJazz
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Re: R.I.P. Lou Reed

Post by JimmyJazz »

Now Lou Reed is the headline on MSN... Still took them far too long though!
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Re: R.I.P. Lou Reed

Post by Mattceinicram »

Wow, we lost a legend :| I don't expect a ton of media attention either, he just isn't respected enough outside our music geek circles.
Check out my music review blog! Matt and Music! mattandmusic.blogspot.com
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Re: R.I.P. Lou Reed

Post by jamieW »

I was working on my songs list for 1988 when I heard the bad news. It certainly put a damper on my day. To me, Lou and the Velvet Underground opened the door for the alternative movement, and there wouldn't have been many of my favorite artists (including The Cure) without them. To call Lou a legend would almost be an understatement...
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Re: R.I.P. Lou Reed

Post by Poliuks »

It feels so weird... The single most important musician for me and, propably, many others. Farewell.
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Re: R.I.P. Lou Reed

Post by Honorio »

Sad news. Rest in peace, Lou ...

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Re: R.I.P. Lou Reed

Post by Sweepstakes Ron »

I never listened to his music much, VU or otherwise, and what I did hear didn't interest me much. Still, I respect his important contributions to music. He will be missed.

On the other hand, he and Andy Warhol must be having the greatest reunion of all time!
Splish splash, I was raking in the cash
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HRS
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Re: R.I.P. Lou Reed

Post by HRS »

Image

John Cale reacted on Facebook.

Sweepstakes Ron wrote: On the other hand, he and Andy Warhol must be having the greatest reunion of all time!
Great thought! :mrgreen: And somewhere in the garden Nico is being chased by Jim Morrison all over again. Those two won't ever stop!

Edit: Lou and Nico all over again!
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Re: R.I.P. Lou Reed

Post by Moonbeam »

Satellite's gone up to the sky...
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Re: R.I.P. Lou Reed

Post by Harold »

Well, I guess I know what's going to be dominating my listening for the next few days. Sad, sad news. I knew he'd been ill but thought after the transplant last year he'd be recovering. I had the pleasure of seeing Lou at Lollapalooza several years ago - bought the ticket for that Sunday specifically to see him, in fact. A truly great artist. Sad for Laurie, but also happy that these two geniuses seem to have found the love of their lives in each other and had as many years together as they did.
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Re: R.I.P. Lou Reed

Post by Jirin »

Boo death!

I'm glad I got to see him live before he died.

That just sucks though.
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Rob
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Re: R.I.P. Lou Reed

Post by Rob »

I have been in New York now for three weeks and around the time I arrived I decided to listen to some musicians from the city, with the added requirement that the artist also had to be born in the city (sorry Talking Heads). Almost immediately my attention was drawn to Lou Reed this way, because no other artist seemed so connected with the city as Reed and no other had to say so much about it. The quest to listen to other New York artist was put to a halt because I really became taken by Reed's solo career, which I had ignored up till now, with the exception of his only real mainstream hits (Walk on the Wild Side and Perfect Day, both wonderfull). He is practically the only artist I have listened to in the past weeks (even though I don't have much time for it). He's been on my mind a lot these days and therefore it came as something of a shock that he died, the first time I have expierenced that with a musician. Strange coincedence that it happened right now. If for nothing else, his song Coney Island Baby, my personal favorite of his, will probably be the song that I will remember this ten week stay in New York by. But of course I'll remember him for much more.
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Pierre
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Re: R.I.P. Lou Reed

Post by Pierre »

I'm slightly depressed now over his death, really hard. I already used Sad Song and his other hits elsewhere to pay tribute to him, so here I'll go with this one, the one that nearly started it all according to the legend, and which sounds eerily disturbing today:
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Live in Phoenix
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Re: R.I.P. Lou Reed

Post by Live in Phoenix »

Lou's solo trajectory sort of drove me nuts, but the Velvets' music was of course legendary, to the point that it seemed like every other alternative-type act over the years borrowed their sound. I don't really plan on listening to his 90-minute Metallica album, but it still showed that even around 70, he wasn't going to do things easy and round out his life playing oldies.
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Re: R.I.P. Lou Reed

Post by Bruce »

JimmyJazz wrote: Their tiny article says that his song "Walk on the Wild Side" became a rock classic. Cause that's ALL he did (jeez...)
That IS all he did as far as mainstream America is concerned. The VU are a cult band at best.
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Re: R.I.P. Lou Reed

Post by Harold »

A request: please do not respond to Bruce's comment, at least in this particular thread, which should remain a tribute to a man whose work clearly meant a great deal to, at least, a lot of the people who post here. This thread should remain unsullied by anything else.
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Re: R.I.P. Lou Reed

Post by Kingoftonga »

This sucks. Literally just last week something clicked and I realized how great "Beginning to See the Light" was; I've been listening to it on repeat ever since.

It's worth noting that a lot of my friends are posting memorial songs on Facebook, and I don't think I've seen the same song posted twice. What better proof of an artist's versatility? "Sunday Morning," "Sweet Jane," "Pale Blue Eyes," "After Hours," "Perfect Day," "Satellite of Love," "Street Hassle," "Sad Song," "Rock and Roll"...strangely, no one has posted "Walk on the Wild Side" yet.
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Re: R.I.P. Lou Reed

Post by Bruce »

CNN just ran a very nice 5-7 minute piece about Reed's career.
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Re: R.I.P. Lou Reed

Post by DocBrown »

1973. I'm a freshman in high school, desperate to be cooler than I really am. I'm invited over to a sophomore's house, a really cool guy, friend-of-a-friend, after school. He noodles around a bit on his bass guitar, then pulls out a "rare" album, a strange bubblegum pink mist drifting up from a New York subway entrance. (It's a tribute to how uncool we all were that it was the wrong VU album) By the opening riff of Sweet Jane I had my persona defined, my clique identified, I was a punk kid. To this day, forty years later, I pull on a black tee, skinny jeans and light tinted aviators every single day of my life. Just Sunday Morning, I was telling my son-in-law how far ahead of its time All Tomorrow's Parties was, how Nico's voice was just an instrument in the band, presaging shoegaze, dream pop, trip-hop

And, everyone who ever had a heart
They wouldn't turn around and break it
And anyone who ever played a part
Oh wouldn't turn around and hate it!
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Live in Phoenix
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Re: R.I.P. Lou Reed

Post by Live in Phoenix »

I know that Fox News, which is like the self-appointed Middle America news station, ran at least a long ticker tape on him yesterday, mentioning The Velvet Underground in the same breath as Bob Dylan and the Beatles (“While not as commercially successful as…”) It’s funny, the last time I visited my mother-in-law, my wife had her call up some VU songs from music website, well aware of some of their screechy avant-garde moments, hoping for a train wreck, and the 2 songs that came up were “Sunday Morning” and “Sweet Jane,” so now her mom thinks they’re like this pleasant band to listen to.

By the way, besides the Playstation 4 currently using “Perfect Day” to pump up interest for their system's debut, let’s not forget Lou’s one Top 10 solo album, Sally Can’t Dance (which Allmusic.com called “the worst studio album of Reed’s career” -- just one person’s opinion, yet so appropriate given Lou’s love for polarized reactions).
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Bruce
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Re: R.I.P. Lou Reed

Post by Bruce »

Live in Phoenix wrote: let’s not forget Lou’s one Top 10 solo album, Sally Can’t Dance


Wow, it was only on the chart for 14 weeks. That's the fewest I've ever seen for a top 10 album in that era.
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Re: R.I.P. Lou Reed

Post by Nick »

Live in Phoenix wrote:Sally Can’t Dance (which Allmusic.com called “the worst studio album of Reed’s career” -- just one person’s opinion, yet so appropriate given Lou’s love for polarized reactions).
Clearly they said this before "Lulu" was released...

Still though, rest in peace Lou Reed, you crazy mad genius.
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Re: R.I.P. Lou Reed

Post by Jirin »

When I saw him live was during his Raven tour. So I got to hear:

"Quoth the raven...YOU'RE A BUM!"
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Re: R.I.P. Lou Reed

Post by Stephan »

Every few hours I realize again: "Damn, Lou Reed is dead...". He may have been a bit of a dick (from what I've read) and he hadn't really done anything worthwhile since 1990 2000, but he'll still be missed. The man is a legend already. Gave Transformer, Berlin and White Light/White Heat a spin in the car tonight; fantastic stuff, every time.

Edit: A bit harsh, Ecstasy was alright.
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Re: R.I.P. Lou Reed

Post by Jackson »

Man, I listened to "Perfect Day" right after I found out and it was absolutely devastating. I have to say though, for someone who lived a lifestyle like Reed's it is incredible that he lived to age 71.

For music fans like us, it's probably safe to say Reed is one of the 5-10 most important figures. For big alternative/punk rock fans, he may even be #1 (it's gotta be Reed, Iggy Pop, or David Bowie, right?). Interesting food for thought in the wake of his death.
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Re: R.I.P. Lou Reed

Post by Jirin »

Stephan wrote:Every few hours I realize again: "Damn, Lou Reed is dead...". He may have been a bit of a dick (from what I've read) and he hadn't really done anything worthwhile since 1990 2000, but he'll still be missed. The man is a legend already. Gave Transformer, Berlin and White Light/White Heat a spin in the car tonight; fantastic stuff, every time.

Edit: A bit harsh, Ecstasy was alright.
How many big figures in music aren't a bit of a dick? ;)
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Re: R.I.P. Lou Reed

Post by o.m. »

"It always bothers me to see people writing ‘RIP’ when a person dies. It just feels so insincere and like a cop-out. To me, ‘RIP’ is the microwave dinner of posthumous honours." Quote from the Sha-la-la-la man...
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Re: R.I.P. Lou Reed

Post by HRS »

From Laurie:

To our neighbors:
What a beautiful fall! Everything shimmering and golden and all that incredible soft light. Water surrounding us.
Lou and I have spent a lot of time here in the past few years, and even though we’re city people this is our spiritual home.
Last week I promised Lou to get him out of the hospital and come home to Springs. And we made it!
Lou was a tai chi master and spent his last days here being happy and dazzled by the beauty and power and softness of nature. He died on Sunday morning looking at the trees and doing the famous 21 form of tai chi with just his musician hands moving through the air.
Lou was a prince and a fighter and I know his songs of the pain and beauty in the world will fill many people with the incredible joy he felt for life. Long live the beauty that comes down and through and onto all of us.
— Laurie Anderson
his loving wife and eternal friend
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