Tag Archive: lou reed


LOU’S GONE

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October 27, 2013
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LOU REED (1942 – 2013)

Lou Reed has gone but is guaranteed as a rock and roll immortal – play all the sad songs you know.

A lot of words will be written in the next few days and weeks. All will confirm that he was one of the towering figures of rock.

For his work with The Velvet Underground alone, he deserves a place in every hall of fame. They are still a band who sound ahead of their time.

His solo work was more uneven but always real.

He had no time for bullshit or the pretentious glam that saps the creative force of lesser mortals.

Berlin and New York are my own favorites but you can find something worthy in everything he did. Continue reading →

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LOU REED’S SAD SONGS

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May 20, 2013

LOU REED’S BERLIN directed by Julian Schnabel (USA, 2008)

What’s the saddest record you own?

Some contenders from my collection would be Leonard Cohen’s Songs From A Room, Neil Young’s Tonight’s The Night, Richard Buckner’s Devotion And Doubt, Joy Division’s Closer, Bonnie ‘Prince’ Billy’s I See A Darkness and Gorecki’s Symphony No 3.

Top of the list, though, would have to be Lou Reed’s Berlin.

I bought this on vinyl when I was 17, and to this day there’s not an album that can touch it for unremitting bleakness.

The songs are fearlessly uncompromising, covering topics like domestic violence, suicide, drug abuse and distraught kids in broken homes.

Reed writes of personal grief without filter and drags you into a world of pain with no attempt to make this suffering seem glamorous or cool. Continue reading →

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TALENTED NOBODIES

Filed under: Music, Television — Leave a comment
October 11, 2012

Just heard someone on the radio talking about talent shows and the speaker explained the drawback of these competitions in a nutshell.

He said that the problem is that the winners tend to be those who are the best singers whereas the most interesting artists are those who have something to say.

This is a good, concise distinction.

If, for example,  Bob Dylan. David Bowie or Lou Reed had appeared on one of these shows, the chances are they wouldn’t have gotten past the first round!

Ergo….  talent shows are a waste of time!

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DAVID BOWIE AND THE 1970s

Filed under: Books, Music — 1 Comment
May 25, 2012

THE MAN WHO SOLD THE WORLD  by Peter Doggett (The Bodley Head, 2011)

One of the greatest books on contemporary rock is Revolution In The Head by Ian MacDonald. Subtitled The Beatles’ Records And The Sixties, this illuminating song by song guide to everything the Fab Four recorded is worth buying for the introductory essay alone – ‘Fabled Foursome, Disappearing Decade’. In the space of just 34 pages, MacDonald puts the monumental achievements and legacy of The Beatles into lucid perspective and recognises that we will never see their like again. The way music is made, promoted and consumed has changed beyond all recognition since the heady days of the 60s so the cultural impact the four young men from Liverpool had is unrepeatable.

MacDonald was commissioned to write a similar book on David Bowie but sadly the project floundered n 2003, when he killed himself after a long period of clinical depression. The mantle has passed to Peter Doggett who has himself written a critically praised book on the Beatles, You Never Give Me You Money, which focused on the band’s break up and immediate aftermath.

In his introduction, Doggett admits that Revolution In The Head was the model for his book although the format is not entirely the same and it has to be said that it’s nowhere near as good.

Continue reading →
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2011 IN REVIEW : MUSIC

Filed under: Music — 1 Comment
December 27, 2011

Cover images of my top 15 favourite albums of 2011.

2011 was without a doubt P.J.Harvey‘s year. Let England Shake was the best album  by a mile and her interviews and concerts confirmed her as an artist at the top of her game.

Otherwise, this was a year for renewing old acquaintances rather than making fresh discoveries.

The welcome return of Gillian Welch (and Dave Rawlings) was an event and the album proved well worth the eight year wait.

It was also a nice surprise  that Charalambides released another Kranky studio work, a belated follow-up to 2007’s Likeness and as consistently excellent as ever. Continue reading →

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