Lou Reed was typically thought-about a little bit of a hot-headed, cantankerous contrarian, and there was little he loved greater than lambasting his extremely revered friends. He was recognized for being troublesome to work with occasionally on account of his headstrong and unwavering opinions and dry sense of humour.
Within the early Nineteen Seventies, {a magazine} collated a few of Reed’s ideas on up to date artists and countercultural figures. The article has lately resurfaced on social media, and upon studying it, it’s fascinating to see which means Emperor Reed turned his thumb.
The Velvet Underground frontman reveals the total potential of his impudence, claiming that “[Bob] Dylan will get on [his] nerves,” and The Who’s Pete Townshend is “talentless” and “boring”. Different artists that come below fireplace embody Frank Zappa, Roxy Music, Alice Cooper and just about each band from California; such is the rivalry between the East and West coasts of the States.
In stark distinction to Reed’s scathing critiques are some scattered awards of deep respect. He reveals “intrigue” for The Rolling Stones and discusses his pal and collaborator David Bowie. “I really like the man,” Reed stated. “He’s obtained every little thing. The child’s obtained every little thing… every little thing.”
The article additionally experiences Reed’s ideas on a few of his former Velvet Underground bandmates and collaborators. When The Velvets began off in New York Metropolis within the mid-Nineteen Sixties, they got a leg-up from the well-known pop artist Andy Warhol. He took them below his wing as a part of his bohemian artwork troupe referred to as The Manufacturing facility and introduced in Nico to collaborate on their now-iconic debut album in 1967.
Of his mentor, Warhol, Reed stated: “I actually love him.” In the meantime, he stated of Nico: “She’s the form of particular person that you just meet, and also you’re not fairly the identical afterwards. She has an incredible thoughts, and The Marble Index is simply one of many milestone albums.”
Elsewhere within the article, Reed stated, “I solely hope that in the future John [Cale] can be recognised as… the Beethoven or one thing of his day. He continued, “He is aware of a lot about music, he’s such a fantastic musician. He’s fully mad – however that’s as a result of he’s Welsh.”
Commenting on Maureen (Moe) Tucker, The Velvet Underground’s drummer and central hub, Reed had nothing however nice issues to say. “She’s so lovely,” he stated. “She needs to be one of the unbelievable individuals I’ve ever met in my life. She’s so impossibly nice, however I can by no means consider it, you recognize, after we’re strolling around the studio, and I run into Moe, I simply can’t consider it.”
In 1968, after John Cale left The Velvet Underground on the request of artistic companion and rival Reed, they introduced within the multi-instrumentalist Doug Yuletide. As an alternative of piling reward on his immensely proficient bandmate, Reed picked up on the musician’s innocence. “I used to be engaged on Doug’s innocence… I’m certain he by no means understood a phrase of what he was singing. He doesn’t know what it’s about. I imply, I believed it was so cute… I am keen on people who find themselves like that, they’re so cute y’know.”
Reed candidly displayed how he can simply as simply complement an expensive pal as scathe his rivals. It’s troublesome to inform how critical Reed’s feedback on his rivals have been. There might have been a contact of humour or jealousy in among the extra outlandish critiques, however what’s strikingly apparent is that he had buckets of respect for his fellow Velvets.
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