Mixtape | Lou Reed Turns 70

Iconic outsider Lou Reed turns 70 years old this March. Notably, through his good and bad creative times, Reed has always seemed to keep Lou Reed in the forefront of what’s important him, and yet still be one of the most important influences on modern popular music.

Like many other young musicians in the late 1950s and early 1960s, his early influences were R & B. But unlike the Beatles or other popular musicans, or the hordes of hippies that later spawned the flower child culture, Reed took a different direction.

In 1964, after some time at Syracuse University, 22-year-old Reed moved to New York City and easily fell into its burgeoning underground music, poetry and art scene. His early success came from his involvement with a group of musicians that would change the landscape of popular music after 1965.

Reed, along with Maureen Tucker, John Cale and Sterling Morrison became the Velvet Underground – a stark contrast to the free love, laissez faire life and lyricism of the West Coast music scene during the mid-60s.

This fledgling band’s performances evolved into multimedia experiences filled with dancers, film montages and performance art, productions curated by popular New York socialite and modern artist Andy Warhol.. These were more often than not “members only” occasions.

Warhol became Reed’s mentor, even though he rejected Warhol’s addition of Nico, a European singer to Velvet Underground. Their debut album, “The Velvet Underground & Nico,” has since become one of the most influential albums of all time.

Reed’s VU lyrics were odes to the harsh realities that New York City streets had to offer. Drug addiction, tough love and poor living conditions all contributed to the sad yet beautiful picture Reed painted.

Reed’s music, with or without VU, influenced the sounds that spawned the East Coast punk scene. Velvet Underground’s signature simple guitar riffs, heavy bass and monotone, trance-inducing drumbeats were key to what later became part of the Punk ’77 sound.

Lou reed live at Amnesty International Concert 1983, with intro by Robert DiNero.

 

Lou Reed has had definite hits and misses throughout his career. His recent collaboration with Metallica is a humorous combo for sure, and if you know anything about Metallica fans, you know they were cringing with despair as much as Reed fans were when the news hit.

I can’t personally give their album “LuLu” the thumbs up, but I will say that it seems natural for Reed to evoke the guttural vocals that run through the album’s title track.

What I can recommend is Reed’s extensive catalog from 1965 until present day for a real overview of this songwriter’s teeth-clenching truths about love, drugs, joy and pain. Even with some ups and downs, he never fails to maintain his identity.

Even though the response to “Lulu” was on the most part negative, it does give us hope, as always, that Reed is looking for creative outlets and experimenting with new avenues. He’s a musical risk taker, which makes me look forward to his next project with happy anticipation.

Click to hear the entire mixtape over at Spotify.

1. Track Listing:  
2. “Wagon Wheel” – Lou Reed
3. “What Goes On” – The Velvet Underground
4. “Sweet Jane” – Lou Reed
5. “Vicious” – Lou Reed
6. “Walk On The Wild Side” – Lou Reed
7. “Dirty Boulevard” – Lou Reed
8. “How Do You Think It Feels” – Lou Reed
9. “The Gun” – Lou Reed
10. “I’m Waiting For The Man” – The Velvet Underground & Nico
11. “Stephanie Says” – The Velvet Underground
12. “Rock And Roll” – The Velvet Underground
13. “Wild Child” – Lou Reed
14. “Hop Frog” – Lou Reed (featuring David Bowie)
15. “White Light/White Heat” – Lou Reed
16. “Foggy Notion” – The Velvet Underground
17. “Venus In Furs” – The Velvet Underground & Nico
18. “Hello It’s Me” – Lou reed & John Cale
19. “Sunday Morning” – The Velvet Underground & Nico
20. “Perfect Day” – Lou Reed

Great spot by BBC featuring Reed's "Perfect Day" with  Lou & friends.

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Twinkle VanWinkle ponders, creates and discovers cool stuff about music, movies, food, fashion and so forth. Her thoughtful writings and interactives give great advice about healthy food, cooking tips, DIY projects, fashion and more. She’ll teach you a thing or two about music as well. Along with producing dynamic entertainment content for LIN Media, she is a mother, musician and social media fanatic.