hot take! The album is perfect. I’ve never thought of it as abrasive at all personally. Never thought of it as challenging. Just truly great songwriting and groundbreaking innovation. I’ve just always thought of it as perfect.
Yeah, same, I've never thought of it as especially difficult. BADS is obviously a bit out there, but by the time you get that far into the album, I feel like they've earned that and it's almost the logical place to go. At the very least it's no Metal Machine Music! 😄
I had this record back in 1967. I consider the Velvet Underground as being the sound of NYC in the 60s. I also consider them as one of the "Big Four". The other 3 are the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, and Bob Dylan. They all had an enormous influence on the bands that followed them. We went to the Electric Circus back in 1968 in the East Village. It was formerly Andy Warhol's Factory.
I remember buying this a few months back and I told the guy selling it that I really liked Sunday Morning (the only song I'd heard from it before). He described that song as "settling you in for the horror to come", so I nervously laughed and listened to it at home. Only the Velvet Underground can start an album with Sunday Morning and end it with the train-crash, glass-breaking, lion-roaring European Son.
Black Angel is such a cool song to me! It conjures up the weird wild images I for some reason find comfort in. In fact the more abrasive songs are what I am most compelled by. As much as waiting for the man and heroin are rightfully praised for their groundbreaking nature especially at that time they are the songs that fall short for me. Point is this is one of the most important albums ever made. As important as anything the Beatles ever made in it's own subversive way!
Absolutely. Completely contrary to Abby's assertion about the strings here being the worst part of (presumably) the worst song, I consider them the best part of the BEST song on VU & N, imho.
maybe I'm a pervert, but for me the abrasiveness of the album wasn't so much a barrier to the songs as it was actually the thing that made them compelling, drawing me in to try and understand. The songs aren't always comfortable, but they also aren't about being comfortable. I like when the performance and production of a song matches it's subject matter, and, whatever else you can say about the velvets, this album definitely succeeds there.
A high school teacher a million years ago (45 actually...) turned me onto Velvet Underground. I knew of Lou Reed, but wasn't old enough to know VU. He also gave me some sage advice that would get him fired and possibly imprisoned today. He told me that the trick to really appreciating such music is to be on the same drugs that the band was using when creating it to get into their head space. After I graduated high school and was 18 years old, I used to go to a local club/concert venue where you needed to be 21 or older to get in. The staff never carded and I saw a good few bands there when I was 18 and 19, Capt. Beefheart among them. In 1979, when I was 19, Lou Reed was booked into that club. I looked up my former teacher in the phone book (remember those, kiddies?) and called him, asking if he'd like to go with me to see Lou Reed. He agreed. I bought two tickets in advance and he met me in front of the club that evening. On that night, the door man was carding EVERYBODY. People who looked to be in their 40s. I guess they were recently caught allowing underaged people in. Before we even got to the door, tickets in hand, I looked at my teacher and said, "I'm sorry. I won't be able to get in. I wouldn't have even tried if I hadn't gotten in so many times before without a snag." He certainly could've gone in but, being a gentleman and a scholar, he didn't leave me hanging. I tried to sell the tickets there. They probably cost $8.00 ech and I would've been happy to get back $5. each. No dice. We got into his Volvo or Renault (I forget, but it was a hip foreign car) and drove to his home, five or seven miles away. After getting on the road, he rolled down his hand-cranked window (remember those, kiddies?) and tossed his ticket out the window, flapping in the air until resting on the asphalt. I felt shitty but, as I said earlier, I wouldn't have tried if I was successful every time before then. We got to his home and he introduced me to his wife. Lovely lady. We all got back in his car and went to a drive-in theater and watched Richard Pryor: Live in Concert.
when i first listened to this album, i was left feeling a bit mortified. i was still new to psych/experimental rock at the time and had no idea what i was in for, as i had not heard anything about how this album would sound. your description of it as "holding up a mirror to humanity" is very accurate, which i think is why i was so shocked by it. but though it was hard to experience at first, i believe there should be more albums like this
I'm sorry you felt like you "had" to listen to this album because you were "supposed" to. I found this album as a young teenager and it opened the floodgates of my mind.
In the UK it was played by John Peel on the BBC when it came out, which gave it some real exposure here, and as Eno says, it was very influential in the UK from the beginning, first with The Soft Machine (who then influenced the sound of Sister Ray) then with Kevin Ayers, Bowie, and then Eno and Roxy Music and everything that followed. It had more of an art school following than in the US, in fact, probably every one of the many art school UK bands was influenced by VU & Nico.
He played the whole first side throughout his final Pirate Show on 14th of August 1967. This album and witnessing the riot celebrated in"For what it's worth' was why he returned to London; and became house DJ for Pink Floyd in Grafton St, etc!
You should cover the album Pink Moon by Nick Drake, also Nice Review! I absolutely love nico! She's gorgeous, and Lou Reed is at it's it peak of creativity in this album, Trippy asf
The VU's box set "Peel Slowly And See" does have the pink banana under the peel. It also has all 4 legitimate albums as well a a CD of early demos and loads of outtakes. Around 10 songs Lou recorded on his own started as VU tracks. I love his music, his sardonic sense of humor, his views on life around him.
I have that box set, it have a long box book with the whole story, lots of unseen before photos, songs credits, and 25 unreleased songs. Unfortunetly the box set misses all songs lyrics and the original albums artwork but it does have the banana sticker.
Music as art: on this album the art is pushed to the front! That is what I love about this album! I believe this is what Lou Reed set out to achieve in his career.
hello Abby! excellent video. one of the albums that without any kind of pretense changed music forever and how the rock format could be rethought both musically and poetically. Velvet's discography is pure inspiration. A separate paragraph for the wonderful Nico, her solo discography is full of gems. great way to start the year with this video! thank you and have a great 2023! PS: i read an Edie Sedgwick biography....RAW
edie had a rough life, i think of her all the time. she would've been so much happier as a flower child in san fransisco, NYC was too rough for her gentle soul
Superb analysis of a great, seminal record, the great-granddaddy of alternative rock. Reed doesn't have a conventionally appealing singing voice, but it's perfect for this album, as is that of the brooding ice goddess Nico. Though not the easiest song on the LP (surely "Sunday Morning" fits that bill), "Heroin" I think is the greatest artistically, a devastating aural evocation of chemical dependency and submission. No doubt the record blew more than a few minds in 1967. I wanted to thank you for introducing me here to the The GTOs and Silver Apples, both unknown quantities to me before today. Also, you rock your retro looks, and your bright disposition is very winning.
When I was growing up on Long Island; my big brother was going to the city to see the Velvet Underground. Lou Reed, and The Doors were his favorite bands. I read a book recently about them. If I had to get rid of; or decided to get rid of all my rock music; Lou Reed, and John Cale would remain. They stand apart from the rest. Lou Reed wrote the best Rock Lyrics. Young rock bands shouldn't try to copy them. Instead they should just listen to them, and enjoy. Learn about the Velvet Underground; realize that they were like no other band at that time. They were the band that best represented New York at that time. To me; They are very much New York history, as us Walt Whitman. I think that Andy Warhol had a fun sence of humor. His ideas are art for every man. That's what made him great in my view. The first album that I listened to on 01/01/ 22, was Songs For Drella. Had to set my parameters for the near future; with that album.
I believe that both VU and Nico, as well as Nico’s “Chelsea Girl” album were in cut-out bins at drug and department stores for YEARS. And in the late 60s, those bins got as low as 3 for a dollar.
This may be a ling one...sorry. I have the Velvets 5 CD boxed set with the original art work replicated: I listened to it somewhat obsessively afterwards. While I liked the following 3 albums, I could not get enough of this one: a true masterpiece and a seismic shift for modern music. I agree that Lou Reed is an acquired taste, however, his observational writing style was so far ahead of its time. No one in 1967 wanted to hear songs with this subject matter. Additionally, the merging of primitive rock and roll with avant-garde Stockhausen-esque classical motifs was beyond radical.This sonic assault perfectly compliments the dark lyrical imagery. If you want a more refined take on one of these songs, seek out Bryan Ferry-s version of All Tomorrow's Parties off his Taxi album from 1993. If I had to pick one song that is my all-time favorite, it would be Venus in Furs: the grating and yet hypnotic viola perfectly compliments the S & M lyrics.
A rite of passage album for a lot of people it was for me as a 17 year old. There's the interesting choice of song content, the different approach musically and then there's the great tunes that show that this band was about more than just playing loud or controversial lyrics they were among the best performers and songwriters of their era.
happy new year Abby! I got into Velvet Underground in art school as well, cause of a film class that showed Andy Warhol’s films of Edie Sedgwick. Learning about her, how she deserved better, and listening to this album when I got home. Favourites are waiting for my man, venus in furs and sunday morning
You could do a whole episode on Tom Wilson. Amazing career, kind of the missing link between V.U, Bob Dylan, the Mothers of Invention, Simon & Garfunkel, Sun Ra, Eric Burdon and the Animals, etc.
Happy New Year, Abigail! I'm with you on this one. I've had this LP for more than forty years but rarely play it. Actually the production is dire. 'Loaded' is far superior.
Great stuff, love love love Vinyl Monday. If it’s a flop on release it usually winds up a classic. I’m currently re indexing all my vinyl moving from A-Z to a series of collections. This record is has a spot reserved on my 20 greatest LP’s shelf. Finally yes ma’am, I’m now going to chase me down some GTO’s platters, thank you
That album should be heard by everyone. It was a masterpiece and changed my life, in many ways. In my book, it was up there with Sgt. Pepper, in relation to influence! Andy Warhol and VU had such big balls to put out that record in 1967. If not only for the subject matter, alone!
I totally see your points and agree with you on most of them. I think that you have to treat the Album almost like two albums. This is where listening to it on cd/mp3 is beneficial. Depending on your mood you can listen to all the cohesive songs. I'm another mood listen to the abstract ones. I bought this album for similar reasons you did. I was home from college in 2006 for winter break. Bought it on sale for $10. One morning I decided to take a walk and put it on with headphones on. We had a freezing rain the night before and Everything was covered in ice. Real winter wonderland. It was the PERFECT moment in my life to hear "Sunday Morning". So this album has a soft spot in my life. Nicos songs are hands down amazing. Love your channel. Please keep doing these. I'm learning so much from you. Love your energy and point of view!
This album is just so 60's and ofc that cover is iconic by Warhol himself🍌 The Velvets in Velvet Underground and Nico & White Light-White Heat channel the darkest parts of Rock:Dr*gs and S*x through the lyrics from Lou Reed with Avant Garde/Classical instrumentation & sounds from John Cale which was brought out by only on VU and Nico by the haunting and monotone voice of Nico herself
I don’t know how I only just came across this channel, but I’m glad that I did. I would love to see a future review of “freak out”, that is one of my favourites.
I’ve always found this album difficult to get into, but totally get why it’s (still) so influential. Wouldn’t mind seeing you tackle Lou Reed’s ‘Berlin’ which is another unsettling listen but strangely addictive. Good to see you back after the Christmas break.
Really? I think all are incredibly accessible except for maybe Venus of Furs and the last track. Heroin probably too...but I really enjoyed it on first listen. Femme Fatale blew my mind.
Yay! Abby is back! LOL. I look forward Vinyl Mondays now. I'm an absolute VU & Lou Reed fanatic. I think it was Sterling Morrison who was into experimenting with dissonance. Sister Ray can be grating on the ears. I think that influenced Lou Reed to make Metal Machine Music years later. I recently took the time to digest Lulu with Lou teaming up with Metallica. People are quick to dis it, but it's super experimental. Lou was all about taking risks & VU & Nico is a showcase for that.
can't believe i missed that in this video, the work on dissonance was just as pioneering as the dark themes and crunchy sound. justice for lulu. i am the table!!!
When I first heard this album, I found it impossible to take seriously. Now after years of getting familiar with its deep eccentricity and understanding its context and influence, I still find it impossible to take seriously.
Not only did it influence bands, but whole genres within the rock canon: Glam, Punk, Navel Gaze, Heavy Metal. It should be emphasized that this the most influential rock ALBUM EVER MADE.
Whenever I hear "Run Run Run" off this album, I hear "Parachute Woman" by the Rolling Stones. Also, the intro to "Heroin" was lifted for "Stray Cat Blues." That's some heavy influence right there.
Happy New Year. Great job as always. Thanks for this episode, I enjoyed it. "The Velvet Underground & Nico" is my favourite album of all time with Bob Dylan's "Highway 61 Revisited" a very close second. Todd Haynes' documentary "The Velvet Underground" which came out in 2021 is worth watching. It's very good until John Cale gets ousted from the band. Unfortunately, it kind of rushes through the Doug Yule years making it a missed opportunity for a perfect Velvets documentary in my opinion. Anyways, best wishes & cheers.
Similar to the way I reacted to another very New York state of mind band (Television’s Marquee Moon) the first time I heard all of VU&N on CD (never owned it on vinyl) I couldn’t understand why it’s considered such a landmark album, for the same reason as Television, which is that having been a twentysomething from 2000-2010, many of the bands that are derivative (The Strokes in regard to both of the other 2 NYC bands) I guess I felt like I wasn’t hearing anything especially fresh and groundbreaking, because I’d already heard all of the imitations. But having watched many Vinyl Mondays now, I have to say this stands out as the most fun & really engaging review so far. It was much fun. I know the chances of you (Abby) seeing this comment are incredibly slim, but in case you do I’d love to know what you think of the Dandy Warhols, since you’ve mentioned their soulmates Brian Jonestown Massacre in a past episode. All I know is I’m thrilled to finally have the rare chance to see The Bravery for what could be the only chance (no official reunion or new album announced) when they take the stage here on May 13th at the Just Like Heaven fest in LA. Just to mention yet another very NYC band. It’ll be my first time seeing MGMT too ❤️
I just started listening to the Velvet Underground about a month ago because of Good Omens and Neil Gaiman of all things lol. I had never really heard voices like Lou Reed's or Nico's before, and the first song I listened to was I'll Be Your Mirror, so my initial reaction was "what the fuck." But I haven't yet found a band I couldn't like if I tried, and eventually they grew on me (Pale Blue Eyes helped a lot) and now I'm obsessed and I can't stop, please send help lol. Anyway I'll definitely be listening to your playlist and checking out more of your videos, I'm trying to get more into classic alternative music after a relatively sheltered childhood music taste and they seem like they'll be a great help. Thanks!
Love the groovy shades Abby. But aside from the “ mundane “ vocals by Nico, this album is legendary in its own way. The main reason it was overlooked early on is because of all the other major releases that came out during that amazing year of ‘67. The competition was obviously enormous. But as we know, this dark, edgy composition would go on to be a major influence for SO MANY other bands and artists, many of which are among my absolute favorites.
yes, the avant-garde approach and steep competition proved to be just too much for VU & nico upon release. the emerson lawsuit didn't help much either, that tangled up the release big time
My friend Tom Kingsley possessed one of those original 30,000 copies and he peeled back the banana skin for my witnessing. It was a transcendent moment. 1969.
Venus in Furs is one of the all time great alt rock tracks…still sounds contemporary…lyrics like these in 1966…wow.All tomorrows parties is epic…apparently Lou played guitar in “Ostrich tuning” as he called it…all strings tuned to a D
Happy New Year Abigail. Welcome Back! I love this album review, such an amazing album, such an influence on every band that ever existed to this day. P.S. Those earrings are amazing.
Thanks for only being gone a week. Haven't listened to banana in a long time, now I gotta go through black angel death song again, was it the chi chi I, and the choose to choose. Lou Reed cracks me up The bumps are good, any further comedic mugging you do is most welcoe
If you're ever in Pittsburgh one day, at the Andy Warhol Museum, there is a section of the permanent expo dedicated to the Velvet Underground ... and a little nod to "Sticky Fingers" as well.
Great video lived up to all expectations the velvet underground are one of my favorite bands ever and Lou Reed is my favorite rock lyrist of all time and Andy warhall is a strange artist but entertaining great video
Hi Abigail, that continious staccato piano riff John Cale plays on Waiting For The Man has become so influential in Rock music: - The Stooges 'I Wanna Be Your Dog' (John Cale himself playing the piano and sleighbells) - Roxy Music 'Do The Strand' and 'Virginia Plain' - David Bowie 'Heroes' - The Fall 'Perfect Life' - Arcade Fire 'Rebellion' - Queens Of The Stone Age 'Go With The Flow' - Brian Jonestown Massacre 'The Serious Matter' The Modern Lovers ' Pablo Picasso' (produced by Cale, and also covered it on his Helen Of Troy lp from 1975) - LCD Soundsystem 'All My Friends' (James Murphy got Cale to do a cover of his song) and plenty olenty more have been inspired by this genius motif. As for the GTO's, Miss Cynderella aka Cynthia Wells had a turbulent marriage with John Cale between 1971 and 1975!
I like how you described the songs as blank slates. I mean part of the appeal of this album is all the potential and experimentation you hear in all of its tracks and the fact that it sounds bad is also very inspiring.. it basically says "yeah I did this and so can you."
Happy new year and welcome back. Important record for me. At high school in the '70s this was like samizdat literature in the Soviet era, passed around and copied rather than bought. You had to know someone with an elder sibling who had a copy (see also The Stooges debut and a few others). That said, you didn't hear it at all on radio or even at the university parties I used to go to which were dominated by exit-level prog or punk/new wave). I didn't get a sit-down listen to this until the early '80s and it was a revelation. Reed's voice was familiar as his solo career was pretty knowable but the songs weren't. By that stage as post punk was getting more psychedelic it was easy to attribute the concrete elements, intentional dissonance and dark lyrics of a lot of the acts of the early '80s to this influence but what I wasn't prepared for was how much melody was in this. All Tomorrow's Parties is my favourite and is almost indestructible (although I've borne witness to earnest attempts), Heroin is devastating and Venus in Furs is scary but the melody that allows for the smoothest cover version is part of the alien beauty of the record. It's an essential component in the variety and innovation of 1967 in rock music and deserves its place. Couldn't agree more on the audio, though: this is one of the worst produced records of its era. While you wouldn't expect George Martin levels you'd want better than this. It comes across as a chain of inexperience rather than anything deliberate and must be lived with rather than admired (compare any other Velvets album). That said, I can almost always put it on and leave it on. As usual, fine insights and a good celebration of a durable influence on anyone who uses rock's possibilities for genuine expression. Many thanks.
Hello Abigail,I have the Lou Reed and the Velvet Underground greatest hits CD. I love Venus...,Pale blue....,and waiting........... Now the rest of the album I've heard and it's brilliant. Wow,what an experience. Heroin reminds me of Some Candy Talkin by the Jesus and Mary Chain,a Scottish band of the 80s. Have you heard it/them. The 12"single has taste of Cindy and Psychcandy in the same style. Thanks Abigail.
I knew BILLY NAME here in POUGHKEEPSIE ( He was Andy's lover & best friend ) He also did the lighting for the Velvet Underground's shows in New York and probably took the photo on the back cover!
Great video, love Lou Reed (except the times that he sucks) Glad to hear you love Loaded. It's fantastic. And Lou's first solo record is looked down on by some Lou Reed fans but it's also great. If you have The Modern Lovers, would love to see your take. It's a record I hadn't discovered until a few years ago but man, what a record.
There she goes again is great. Sunday morning too. I am glad you brought up the Andy Warhol cover situation. Get into BRMC and 4AD and Creation. All inspired by the Velvets.
This was one of those records I heard in college too mostly because my friends were into it too. I didn't care for it much at the time, thought it was overrated, but it definitely has grown on me. I like Loaded much more at first. It's more accessible. Black Angel Death Song was one that just kind of would go by without too much notice when playing the record. Then one time years later it came out of my subconscious. It was stuck in my head and I couldn't recall what the song was exactly, I thought it was Velvet Underground and could hear it in my head so distinctly. Anyways, I did figure it out and it is probably my favorite on the album. I wish it was longer. It has this great hypnotic thing going on. I don't know that is one of my favorite albums but it is very influential and influences me and I do like most all of it now.
Happy new year Abigail. On the song Heroin Maureen the drummer got ticked off and stopped playing for a few seconds. The group got its name from a book by Michael Leigh.
I bought it when I was 15 and it had just come out. I loved every song though I didn't understand all of them. About a year later I was in the lunch room at school and the local underground station was playing over the intercom. Heroin came on and when Cale's viola started shrieking 2/3 of the students walked out in disgust. I thought, "The cool guys stayed."
Iconic LP; as mentioned, The Velvet Underground & Nico launched (at least) a thousand bands over the decades, probably still is... And ditto re: Venus in Furs, it's also an all-time favorite tune of mine. When I was performing a solo show around 20 years ago, I decided to attempt a cover of 'Venus', using the weird alt (out-of) tuning of Lou's guitar, and also using a bunch of pre-recorded audio loops that emulated all the creepy drones and Maureen's dirge-like percussion track; I used an actual Hurdy Gurdy (instrument) to get Cale's screechy viola drones and glissandos. And I gotta say that of the hundred + tunes that I had in my solo show's repertoire, Venus was probably one of the most popular and requested... Surprised the hell outta me, I figured it would be a good second or third encore tune that would clear them out of the venue for sure... ;) I also used to do around a half dozen songs by Nick Drake; have you considered reviewing of any of his material? Do you like him?
The viola is awesome on this album, esp on Venus in Furs. Also: real art IS difficult. Also: surprised she doesn't blast Mo Tucker for playing only one drum per song throughout.
because what mo does works, she just gives so much energy & power to the songs, nothing complex she just beats the hell out of her really simple drum kit and it adds to the songs as a whole
I always picture Crispin Glover doing Andy Warhol from the Doors film. Lol. However, THAT'S where I first heard VU. When I got the movie soundtrack on cassette tape back in '91 and heard "Heroin", I was like "Whoah! Who IS THIS?!" Heroin had me hooked, as it were. Wasn't too hard to get into the VU after that, but that crunchy, underproduced sound was always hard to get used to. I prefer the more polished produced sound.
John Cale also appears on one of my favorite debut albums, Glass Harp 1970. I have a soft spot for the Cleveland Ohio music scene in the 60's and 70's.
Fantastic album 👌 Really dig the love ❤ songs on the album especially like I'll be your mirror 🪞 🎶 and Sunday morning 🌄 🎶 Run Run Run is proper fast, urgent and groovy 😎 All tomorrow's parties is proper gorgeous goth. Waiting for the man is the best urban street song with being toe to toe with Dylan's Subterranean homesick blues 😢 💙 I think Dylan and Reed can sing like angels 😇 with Reed's Satellite of love and Andy's chest. Bob Dylan's I can't leave 💔 😢 her behind 💔 and Dylan's cover of Pretty Saro are both perfect and as close to angelic as a normally rough and rowdy singer gets. Joan Baez's Woodstock Joe Hill is a masterpiece demonstration of singing like an angel 😇. Jim Morrison could write ✍ and sing like an angel 😇 take The Door's Love Street for example. John Head from Shack can sing like an angel 😇 too. Overall one of my favourite albums 👌 Love ❤ Andy Warhol's artistry and vision. Love the quote from Lou Reed about Andy Warhol's producer advice...leave in the swear 🤬 words 👏 Your choice of words sometimes are superb and crack me up. Wonderful presenter and superb fashion style you have Abigail 👌 Like my love of Edie Sedgwick in her prime I feel the same about Nico in her prime😎 Both were babes ❤ and I'd have loved to have had a romantic liason with both but not at the same time lol..I don't think I could have handled both lol.
Happy New Year Abby!!!! Velvet Underground & Nico album is incredible!!! One of the subcultured rock bands ever... I looove Nico a lot, her voice was sooo musculate, low toned & she was sooo beautiful with blond hair & with red (do you know the story about her relationship with Jim Morrison & how she dyed her hair red??)..... My favorites songs are "Heroin", "Venus of Furs (the song is an ode to Marquis de Sade & about a book called "Aphrodite with Furs" of Masoch), all the songs that Nico sings & "Run, Run,Run"... I am waiting for the next Vinyl Monday!!!! Have a nice week Abby......!!!!😃😃
"Venus in Furs" is also my favourite on this album. It brings such a trance like mantra, it has even oriental undertaste, and sounds like a very slow and careful and uncertain steps in darkness. Wasn't it also about Gerty from Joyce's "Ulysses"? I mean that "comes in bells" sounds such ambiguously it might be the case... "Run Run Run" - impassive electric blues-rock I believe was loved by those in UK who knew it. You've read all that memorials of drug-ads, when you were young, and suddenly you find VU told the same in a short song... And "Waiting..." - equally impassive rock-and-roll, could really inspire 70/80s new-wavers and post-punkers. "Death Song" - crazy, and spinning, inspired so many songs I think, it spins in your head even after it ends, like when you sit down from the carousel. And "Sunday Morning"? Nice, really nice. And sad.
The song "Venus in Furs" was inspired by the book of the same name written by Leopold von Sacher-Masoch; the song reflects the dark eroticism of the original story.
hot take! The album is perfect. I’ve never thought of it as abrasive at all personally. Never thought of it as challenging. Just truly great songwriting and groundbreaking innovation. I’ve just always thought of it as perfect.
Yeah, same, I've never thought of it as especially difficult. BADS is obviously a bit out there, but by the time you get that far into the album, I feel like they've earned that and it's almost the logical place to go.
At the very least it's no Metal Machine Music! 😄
Not a hotz take at all. The Velvet Undergound and Nico is a perfect album 100%.
I love Black Angel's Death Song. I used to freak out my coworkers by singing it or trying to
I had this record back in 1967. I consider the Velvet Underground as being the sound of NYC in the 60s. I also consider them as one of the "Big Four". The other 3 are the Beatles, the Rolling Stones, and Bob Dylan. They all had an enormous influence on the bands that followed them. We went to the Electric Circus back in 1968 in the East Village. It was formerly Andy Warhol's Factory.
Hello! Yes! There's hope!
Dangg I can't imagine playing Heroin for the first time.
Those were definitely the four most influential artists of all time! Nobody could ever top them!!
I agree, but i’d stick The Doors in there too.
stick the beach boys in surely
I remember buying this a few months back and I told the guy selling it that I really liked Sunday Morning (the only song I'd heard from it before). He described that song as "settling you in for the horror to come", so I nervously laughed and listened to it at home. Only the Velvet Underground can start an album with Sunday Morning and end it with the train-crash, glass-breaking, lion-roaring European Son.
Black Angel is such a cool song to me! It conjures up the weird wild images I for some reason find comfort in. In fact the more abrasive songs are what I am most compelled by. As much as waiting for the man and heroin are rightfully praised for their groundbreaking nature especially at that time they are the songs that fall short for me. Point is this is one of the most important albums ever made. As important as anything the Beatles ever made in it's own subversive way!
Absolutely. Completely contrary to Abby's assertion about the strings here being the worst part of (presumably) the worst song, I consider them the best part of the BEST song on VU & N, imho.
The entirety of alternative rock is on this record. Dream Pop, Jangle Rock, Noise Rock, etc etc etc.
It definitely set the template for all that followed.
maybe I'm a pervert, but for me the abrasiveness of the album wasn't so much a barrier to the songs as it was actually the thing that made them compelling, drawing me in to try and understand.
The songs aren't always comfortable, but they also aren't about being comfortable. I like when the performance and production of a song matches it's subject matter, and, whatever else you can say about the velvets, this album definitely succeeds there.
A high school teacher a million years ago (45 actually...) turned me onto Velvet Underground. I knew of Lou Reed, but wasn't old enough to know VU.
He also gave me some sage advice that would get him fired and possibly imprisoned today.
He told me that the trick to really appreciating such music is to be on the same drugs that the band was using when creating it to get into their head space.
After I graduated high school and was 18 years old, I used to go to a local club/concert venue where you needed to be 21 or older to get in. The staff never carded and I saw a good few bands there when I was 18 and 19, Capt. Beefheart among them.
In 1979, when I was 19, Lou Reed was booked into that club. I looked up my former teacher in the phone book (remember those, kiddies?) and called him, asking if he'd like to go with me to see Lou Reed. He agreed. I bought two tickets in advance and he met me in front of the club that evening.
On that night, the door man was carding EVERYBODY. People who looked to be in their 40s. I guess they were recently caught allowing underaged people in.
Before we even got to the door, tickets in hand, I looked at my teacher and said, "I'm sorry. I won't be able to get in. I wouldn't have even tried if I hadn't gotten in so many times before without a snag." He certainly could've gone in but, being a gentleman and a scholar, he didn't leave me hanging. I tried to sell the tickets there. They probably cost $8.00 ech and I would've been happy to get back $5. each. No dice.
We got into his Volvo or Renault (I forget, but it was a hip foreign car) and drove to his home, five or seven miles away. After getting on the road, he rolled down his hand-cranked window (remember those, kiddies?) and tossed his ticket out the window, flapping in the air until resting on the asphalt. I felt shitty but, as I said earlier, I wouldn't have tried if I was successful every time before then.
We got to his home and he introduced me to his wife. Lovely lady.
We all got back in his car and went to a drive-in theater and watched Richard Pryor: Live in Concert.
This is my favorite album of all time. It's a real shame it wasn't appreciated in its time. Great review and happy new year!!!
It was definitely appreciated by those who heard it. As Brian Eno said, everyone who heard it formed a band.
@@leamanc it was quite a small minority of people who first heard it.
The Velvets and The Doors are so cool and timeless
Velvet better than Door
The Doors, Velvet Underground and Jefferson Airplane
Come on, are You kidding?
Velvet just had one good album, while The Doors had 7 great albums... don't Say silly things.
when i first listened to this album, i was left feeling a bit mortified. i was still new to psych/experimental rock at the time and had no idea what i was in for, as i had not heard anything about how this album would sound. your description of it as "holding up a mirror to humanity" is very accurate, which i think is why i was so shocked by it. but though it was hard to experience at first, i believe there should be more albums like this
I'm sorry you felt like you "had" to listen to this album because you were "supposed" to. I found this album as a young teenager and it opened the floodgates of my mind.
This is my first viewing of Vinyl Mondays. Love it. You’re great.
I peeled the banana off-I thought my older brother was going to kill me.
In the UK it was played by John Peel on the BBC when it came out, which gave it some real exposure here, and as Eno says, it was very influential in the UK from the beginning, first with The Soft Machine (who then influenced the sound of Sister Ray) then with Kevin Ayers, Bowie, and then Eno and Roxy Music and everything that followed. It had more of an art school following than in the US, in fact, probably every one of the many art school UK bands was influenced by VU & Nico.
He played the whole first side throughout his final Pirate Show on 14th of August 1967. This album and witnessing the riot celebrated in"For what it's worth' was why he returned to London; and became house DJ for Pink Floyd in Grafton St, etc!
You should cover the album Pink Moon by Nick Drake, also Nice Review! I absolutely love nico! She's gorgeous, and Lou Reed is at it's it peak of creativity in this album, Trippy asf
The VU's box set "Peel Slowly And See" does have the pink banana under the peel. It also has all 4 legitimate albums as well a a CD of early demos and loads of outtakes. Around 10 songs Lou recorded on his own started as VU tracks. I love his music, his sardonic sense of humor, his views on life around him.
I have that box set, it have a long box book with the whole story, lots of unseen before photos, songs credits, and 25 unreleased songs. Unfortunetly the box set misses all songs lyrics and the original albums artwork but it does have the banana sticker.
This is the album you play when you need to experience a melancholy tantrum. Don't break stuff.
lmao. Best comment I've ever seen on youtube. Low bar I know, but I legit mean it as a compliment.
@@MrMegaHarpman - thank you. Low bar? Really? YOU TUBE? Say it ain't so!
Music as art: on this album the art is pushed to the front! That is what I love about this album! I believe this is what Lou Reed set out to achieve in his career.
Sterling Morrison was an underrated guitar player RIP
He was the ultimate example of a true 60s guitarist!
hello Abby! excellent video. one of the albums that without any kind of pretense changed music forever and how the rock format could be rethought both musically and poetically. Velvet's discography is pure inspiration. A separate paragraph for the wonderful Nico, her solo discography is full of gems. great way to start the year with this video! thank you and have a great 2023!
PS: i read an Edie Sedgwick biography....RAW
edie had a rough life, i think of her all the time. she would've been so much happier as a flower child in san fransisco, NYC was too rough for her gentle soul
Love it. One of the most influential albums of all time from one of the most influential bands. Every track is unique and beautiful.
One of my personal favorite albums of all time
Mine too
Superb analysis of a great, seminal record, the great-granddaddy of alternative rock. Reed doesn't have a conventionally appealing singing voice, but it's perfect for this album, as is that of the brooding ice goddess Nico. Though not the easiest song on the LP (surely "Sunday Morning" fits that bill), "Heroin" I think is the greatest artistically, a devastating aural evocation of chemical dependency and submission. No doubt the record blew more than a few minds in 1967.
I wanted to thank you for introducing me here to the The GTOs and Silver Apples, both unknown quantities to me before today. Also, you rock your retro looks, and your bright disposition is very winning.
thank you so much, very glad i could introduce you to some of the strangest acts the 60s had to offer
Very Happy to see you talking about my Favorite Band of all time!
When I was growing up on Long Island; my big brother was going to the city to see the Velvet Underground. Lou Reed, and The Doors were his favorite bands. I read a book recently about them. If I had to get rid of; or decided to get rid of all my rock music; Lou Reed, and John Cale would remain. They stand apart from the rest. Lou Reed wrote the best Rock Lyrics. Young rock bands shouldn't try to copy them. Instead they should just listen to them, and enjoy. Learn about the Velvet Underground; realize that they were like no other band at that time. They were the band that best represented New York at that time. To me; They are very much New York history, as us Walt Whitman. I think that Andy Warhol had a fun sence of humor. His ideas are art for every man. That's what made him great in my view. The first album that I listened to on 01/01/ 22, was Songs For Drella. Had to set my parameters for the near future; with that album.
I believe that both VU and Nico, as well as Nico’s “Chelsea Girl” album were in cut-out bins at drug and department stores for YEARS. And in the late 60s, those bins got as low as 3 for a dollar.
This may be a ling one...sorry.
I have the Velvets 5 CD boxed set with the original art work replicated: I listened to it somewhat obsessively afterwards. While I liked the following 3 albums, I could not get enough of this one: a true masterpiece and a seismic shift for modern music. I agree that Lou Reed is an acquired taste, however, his observational writing style was so far ahead of its time. No one in 1967 wanted to hear songs with this subject matter. Additionally, the merging of primitive rock and roll with avant-garde Stockhausen-esque classical motifs was beyond radical.This sonic assault perfectly compliments the dark lyrical imagery.
If you want a more refined take on one of these songs, seek out Bryan Ferry-s version of All Tomorrow's Parties off his Taxi album from 1993.
If I had to pick one song that is my all-time favorite, it would be Venus in Furs: the grating and yet hypnotic viola perfectly compliments the S & M lyrics.
Another great review! Thank you for turning us on to other albums we might not have heard!
A rite of passage album for a lot of people it was for me as a 17 year old. There's the interesting choice of song content, the different approach musically and then there's the great tunes that show that this band was about more than just playing loud or controversial lyrics they were among the best performers and songwriters of their era.
happy new year Abby! I got into Velvet Underground in art school as well, cause of a film class that showed Andy Warhol’s films of Edie Sedgwick. Learning about her, how she deserved better, and listening to this album when I got home.
Favourites are waiting for my man, venus in furs and sunday morning
Great album, it changed the way I hear music.
You could do a whole episode on Tom Wilson. Amazing career, kind of the missing link between V.U, Bob Dylan, the Mothers of Invention, Simon & Garfunkel, Sun Ra, Eric Burdon and the Animals, etc.
you say sun ra, i'm interested!
Happy New Year, Abigail! I'm with you on this one. I've had this LP for more than forty years but rarely play it. Actually the production is dire. 'Loaded' is far superior.
happy new year to you too! i listen to loaded more than this one, it's a shame it's so hard to find in the wild
@@abigaildevoe The original UK (plum/red) labels of 'Loaded' are silly prices now.
Perfect way to start this 2023! Happy New Year, Abby.
thank you! happy new year to you too
Great stuff, love love love Vinyl Monday. If it’s a flop on release it usually winds up a classic. I’m currently re indexing all my vinyl moving from A-Z to a series of collections. This record is has a spot reserved on my 20 greatest LP’s shelf. Finally yes ma’am, I’m now going to chase me down some GTO’s platters, thank you
I love thos album so much and I love the chaotic viola. Did you ever hear Beck cover the whole album?
Love your content! You should do White Light White Heat someday!
Great entry, Abigail. 100 years from now this album will be studied as much as Sargent Peppers. Great music isn't always necessarily pleasant.
That album should be heard by everyone. It was a masterpiece and changed my life, in many ways. In my book, it was up there with Sgt. Pepper, in relation to influence! Andy Warhol and VU had such big balls to put out that record in 1967. If not only for the subject matter, alone!
i love you for this. great start
Love the vid!! And I’m actually home to watch it as soon as it comes out now!
From Velvet Underground..to velvet album cover..Odessa..Bee Gees,can't wait !
I totally see your points and agree with you on most of them. I think that you have to treat the Album almost like two albums. This is where listening to it on cd/mp3 is beneficial. Depending on your mood you can listen to all the cohesive songs. I'm another mood listen to the abstract ones.
I bought this album for similar reasons you did. I was home from college in 2006 for winter break. Bought it on sale for $10. One morning I decided to take a walk and put it on with headphones on. We had a freezing rain the night before and Everything was covered in ice. Real winter wonderland. It was the PERFECT moment in my life to hear "Sunday Morning". So this album has a soft spot in my life. Nicos songs are hands down amazing.
Love your channel. Please keep doing these. I'm learning so much from you. Love your energy and point of view!
This album is just so 60's and ofc that cover is iconic by Warhol himself🍌
The Velvets in Velvet Underground and Nico & White Light-White Heat channel the darkest parts of Rock:Dr*gs and S*x through the lyrics from Lou Reed with Avant Garde/Classical instrumentation & sounds from John Cale which was brought out by only on VU and Nico by the haunting and monotone voice of Nico herself
I don’t know how I only just came across this channel, but I’m glad that I did. I would love to see a future review of “freak out”, that is one of my favourites.
Almost a year later - IT HAPPENED
I’ve always found this album difficult to get into, but totally get why it’s (still) so influential. Wouldn’t mind seeing you tackle Lou Reed’s ‘Berlin’ which is another unsettling listen but strangely addictive. Good to see you back after the Christmas break.
Really? I think all are incredibly accessible except for maybe Venus of Furs and the last track. Heroin probably too...but I really enjoyed it on first listen. Femme Fatale blew my mind.
@@Frichilsasta08 Yes, really. As I’m sure you’re aware musical tastes will always be subjective.
Yay! Abby is back! LOL. I look forward Vinyl Mondays now. I'm an absolute VU & Lou Reed fanatic. I think it was Sterling Morrison who was into experimenting with dissonance. Sister Ray can be grating on the ears. I think that influenced Lou Reed to make Metal Machine Music years later. I recently took the time to digest Lulu with Lou teaming up with Metallica. People are quick to dis it, but it's super experimental. Lou was all about taking risks & VU & Nico is a showcase for that.
can't believe i missed that in this video, the work on dissonance was just as pioneering as the dark themes and crunchy sound.
justice for lulu. i am the table!!!
My bad. I said Sterling Morrison. It was John Cale who was fascinated with a droning sound.
Saw them in 1968. One of my favorite bands of the time.
When I first heard this album, I found it impossible to take seriously. Now after years of getting familiar with its deep eccentricity and understanding its context and influence, I still find it impossible to take seriously.
Not only did it influence bands, but whole genres within the rock canon: Glam, Punk, Navel Gaze, Heavy Metal. It should be emphasized that this the most influential rock ALBUM EVER MADE.
Whenever I hear "Run Run Run" off this album, I hear "Parachute Woman" by the Rolling Stones. Also, the intro to "Heroin" was lifted for "Stray Cat Blues." That's some heavy influence right there.
And "Shattered" sounds like inspired by some songs from "White Light / White Heat", don't it?
I thought the two-chord intro to "You Can't Always Get What You Want" was an homage to "Heroin".
Happy New Year. Great job as always. Thanks for this episode, I enjoyed it. "The Velvet Underground & Nico" is my favourite album of all time with Bob Dylan's "Highway 61 Revisited" a very close second. Todd Haynes' documentary "The Velvet Underground" which came out in 2021 is worth watching. It's very good until John Cale gets ousted from the band. Unfortunately, it kind of rushes through the Doug Yule years making it a missed opportunity for a perfect Velvets documentary in my opinion. Anyways, best wishes & cheers.
Since you asked, this album was what got me into loving texture in music.
Similar to the way I reacted to another very New York state of mind band (Television’s Marquee Moon) the first time I heard all of VU&N on CD (never owned it on vinyl) I couldn’t understand why it’s considered such a landmark album, for the same reason as Television, which is that having been a twentysomething from 2000-2010, many of the bands that are derivative (The Strokes in regard to both of the other 2 NYC bands) I guess I felt like I wasn’t hearing anything especially fresh and groundbreaking, because I’d already heard all of the imitations. But having watched many Vinyl Mondays now, I have to say this stands out as the most fun & really engaging review so far. It was much fun. I know the chances of you (Abby) seeing this comment are incredibly slim, but in case you do I’d love to know what you think of the Dandy Warhols, since you’ve mentioned their soulmates Brian Jonestown Massacre in a past episode. All I know is I’m thrilled to finally have the rare chance to see The Bravery for what could be the only chance (no official reunion or new album announced) when they take the stage here on May 13th at the Just Like Heaven fest in LA. Just to mention yet another very NYC band. It’ll be my first time seeing MGMT too ❤️
I just started listening to the Velvet Underground about a month ago because of Good Omens and Neil Gaiman of all things lol. I had never really heard voices like Lou Reed's or Nico's before, and the first song I listened to was I'll Be Your Mirror, so my initial reaction was "what the fuck." But I haven't yet found a band I couldn't like if I tried, and eventually they grew on me (Pale Blue Eyes helped a lot) and now I'm obsessed and I can't stop, please send help lol. Anyway I'll definitely be listening to your playlist and checking out more of your videos, I'm trying to get more into classic alternative music after a relatively sheltered childhood music taste and they seem like they'll be a great help. Thanks!
Love the groovy shades Abby. But aside from the “ mundane “ vocals by Nico, this album is legendary in its own way. The main reason it was overlooked early on is because of all the other major releases that came out during that amazing year of ‘67. The competition was obviously enormous. But as we know, this dark, edgy composition would go on to be a major influence for SO MANY other bands and artists, many of which are among my absolute favorites.
yes, the avant-garde approach and steep competition proved to be just too much for VU & nico upon release. the emerson lawsuit didn't help much either, that tangled up the release big time
Patti Smith's Horses and VU and Nico are pure art. Brilliant!
Smith very much followed in the tradition of the Velvet Underground.
@@barrymoore4470 Horses, VU & Nico, and Marquee Moon are my all time 3 favorite albums.
Horses was produced by VU's musical genius John Cale
happy new year Abby and the best for 2023!!! yeaaah such a huge album that is !!! fantastic-a masterpiece !!!!!
Great review! Humorous, informative, and entertaining! Two thumbs up 👍👍!
This is my 2nd review of you and I forgot how good you are. Thank you for this and looking forward to more.
Lou Reed's "Coney Island Baby" LP is a great chaser to this LP......
noted, thanks!
That Smashing Pumpkins cover of Venus In Furs is what got me into TVU (they also got me into The Cure as well -- thanks Billy)
i'm binging your monday videos... they are such a treat
I can honestly say I’ve never listened to this album🤷🏻♂️🤦♂️😉! Those earrings 🙃! Glad to have you back🤪!
Omg! This is now my favorite thing on RUclips
My friend Tom Kingsley possessed one of those original 30,000 copies and he peeled back the banana skin for my witnessing. It was a transcendent moment. 1969.
Venus in Furs is one of the all time great alt rock tracks…still sounds contemporary…lyrics like these in 1966…wow.All tomorrows parties is epic…apparently Lou played guitar in “Ostrich tuning” as he called it…all strings tuned to a D
Happy New Year Abigail. Welcome Back! I love this album review, such an amazing album, such an influence on every band that ever existed to this day. P.S. Those earrings are amazing.
thank you! they're reproductions of earrings edie sedgwick wore. figured they'd fit the subject matter this week
Thanks for only being gone a week. Haven't listened to banana in a long time, now I gotta go through black angel death song again, was it the chi chi I, and the choose to choose. Lou Reed cracks me up
The bumps are good, any further comedic mugging you do is most welcoe
good to know! the transitions will stay
If you're ever in Pittsburgh one day, at the Andy Warhol Museum, there is a section of the permanent expo dedicated to the Velvet Underground ... and a little nod to "Sticky Fingers" as well.
Great video lived up to all expectations the velvet underground are one of my favorite bands ever and Lou Reed is my favorite rock lyrist of all time and Andy warhall is a strange artist but entertaining great video
I like your shirt.....optical illusion....."Shiny Shiny...Boots of Leather.....droning yang yang yang yang yang 😵💫
Believe or not, crateraider as I am. Never! have i seen the vinyl in any form or situation only cd's.. This is big!! 🎂
Hi Abigail, that continious staccato piano riff John Cale plays on Waiting For The Man has become so influential in Rock music:
- The Stooges 'I Wanna Be Your Dog' (John Cale himself playing the piano and sleighbells)
- Roxy Music 'Do The Strand' and 'Virginia Plain'
- David Bowie 'Heroes'
- The Fall 'Perfect Life'
- Arcade Fire 'Rebellion'
- Queens Of The Stone Age 'Go With The Flow'
- Brian Jonestown Massacre 'The Serious Matter'
The Modern Lovers ' Pablo Picasso' (produced by Cale, and also covered it on his Helen Of Troy lp from 1975)
- LCD Soundsystem 'All My Friends' (James Murphy got Cale to do a cover of his song)
and plenty olenty more have been inspired by this genius motif.
As for the GTO's, Miss Cynderella aka Cynthia Wells had a turbulent marriage with John Cale between 1971 and 1975!
I like how you described the songs as blank slates. I mean part of the appeal of this album is all the potential and experimentation you hear in all of its tracks and the fact that it sounds bad is also very inspiring.. it basically says "yeah I did this and so can you."
Happy New Year Abby! Great video of an amazing album!
thanks, happy new year to you too!
There's an interesting book about Edie Sedgewick. After she passed away, she was buried at a beautiful cemetery north of Santa Barbara, California.
I suppose her corpse appreciated that beauty.
Never heard the full album, but I took a history of rock and roll class in college and Heroin was one of the songs we looked at during the Psych era.
The whole LP is great
Happy new year and welcome back. Important record for me. At high school in the '70s this was like samizdat literature in the Soviet era, passed around and copied rather than bought. You had to know someone with an elder sibling who had a copy (see also The Stooges debut and a few others). That said, you didn't hear it at all on radio or even at the university parties I used to go to which were dominated by exit-level prog or punk/new wave). I didn't get a sit-down listen to this until the early '80s and it was a revelation. Reed's voice was familiar as his solo career was pretty knowable but the songs weren't. By that stage as post punk was getting more psychedelic it was easy to attribute the concrete elements, intentional dissonance and dark lyrics of a lot of the acts of the early '80s to this influence but what I wasn't prepared for was how much melody was in this. All Tomorrow's Parties is my favourite and is almost indestructible (although I've borne witness to earnest attempts), Heroin is devastating and Venus in Furs is scary but the melody that allows for the smoothest cover version is part of the alien beauty of the record. It's an essential component in the variety and innovation of 1967 in rock music and deserves its place. Couldn't agree more on the audio, though: this is one of the worst produced records of its era. While you wouldn't expect George Martin levels you'd want better than this. It comes across as a chain of inexperience rather than anything deliberate and must be lived with rather than admired (compare any other Velvets album). That said, I can almost always put it on and leave it on. As usual, fine insights and a good celebration of a durable influence on anyone who uses rock's possibilities for genuine expression. Many thanks.
My favourite album of all times...!! Definitely IT IS!!!🍌🍌🍌
Hello Abigail,I have the Lou Reed and the Velvet Underground greatest hits CD. I love Venus...,Pale blue....,and waiting........... Now the rest of the album I've heard and it's brilliant. Wow,what an experience. Heroin reminds me of Some Candy Talkin by the Jesus and Mary Chain,a Scottish band of the 80s. Have you heard it/them. The 12"single has taste of Cindy and Psychcandy in the same style. Thanks Abigail.
If it wasn't for that band; we wouldn't had all the great stuff from John Cale. He was originally here in the US as a chello player; I think.
I knew BILLY NAME here in POUGHKEEPSIE ( He was Andy's lover & best friend ) He also did the lighting for the Velvet Underground's shows in New York and probably took the photo on the back cover!
Great video, love Lou Reed (except the times that he sucks) Glad to hear you love Loaded. It's fantastic. And Lou's first solo record is looked down on by some Lou Reed fans but it's also great. If you have The Modern Lovers, would love to see your take. It's a record I hadn't discovered until a few years ago but man, what a record.
There she goes again is great. Sunday morning too.
I am glad you brought up the Andy Warhol cover situation.
Get into BRMC and 4AD and Creation. All inspired by the Velvets.
This was one of those records I heard in college too mostly because my friends were into it too. I didn't care for it much at the time, thought it was overrated, but it definitely has grown on me. I like Loaded much more at first. It's more accessible. Black Angel Death Song was one that just kind of would go by without too much notice when playing the record. Then one time years later it came out of my subconscious. It was stuck in my head and I couldn't recall what the song was exactly, I thought it was Velvet Underground and could hear it in my head so distinctly. Anyways, I did figure it out and it is probably my favorite on the album. I wish it was longer. It has this great hypnotic thing going on.
I don't know that is one of my favorite albums but it is very influential and influences me and I do like most all of it now.
Happy new year Abigail. On the song Heroin Maureen the drummer got ticked off and stopped playing for a few seconds. The group got its name from a book by Michael Leigh.
Squeeze got their name from the V U album. Apparently John Cale's own suggestion (as producer) of "Five Gay Guys" was rejected - I can't think why 🤔
Great job Abby, as usual. I don't get why Mo's drums were so often buried in the mix either...
Anyway great l.p., and (of course!) great look.
I bought it when I was 15 and it had just come out. I loved every song though I didn't understand all of them. About a year later I was in the lunch room at school and the local underground station was playing over the intercom. Heroin came on and when Cale's viola started shrieking 2/3 of the students walked out in disgust. I thought, "The cool guys stayed."
Iconic LP; as mentioned, The Velvet Underground & Nico launched (at least) a thousand bands over the decades, probably still is... And ditto re: Venus in Furs, it's also an all-time favorite tune of mine. When I was performing a solo show around 20 years ago, I decided to attempt a cover of 'Venus', using the weird alt (out-of) tuning of Lou's guitar, and also using a bunch of pre-recorded audio loops that emulated all the creepy drones and Maureen's dirge-like percussion track; I used an actual Hurdy Gurdy (instrument) to get Cale's screechy viola drones and glissandos. And I gotta say that of the hundred + tunes that I had in my solo show's repertoire, Venus was probably one of the most popular and requested... Surprised the hell outta me, I figured it would be a good second or third encore tune that would clear them out of the venue for sure... ;)
I also used to do around a half dozen songs by Nick Drake; have you considered reviewing of any of his material? Do you like him?
Welcome back! 😊
The viola is awesome on this album, esp on Venus in Furs.
Also: real art IS difficult.
Also: surprised she doesn't blast Mo Tucker for playing only one drum per song throughout.
because what mo does works, she just gives so much energy & power to the songs, nothing complex she just beats the hell out of her really simple drum kit and it adds to the songs as a whole
Mo is an incredible drummer
The BANANA ALBUM! I am overwhelmed and transported to 1969, what a rush.
The record most played by me.
My grandchildgirl have played Cavetowns "'Lemon boy" 91 times!
Greetings from Sweden....
I always picture Crispin Glover doing Andy Warhol from the Doors film. Lol. However, THAT'S where I first heard VU. When I got the movie soundtrack on cassette tape back in '91 and heard "Heroin", I was like "Whoah! Who IS THIS?!" Heroin had me hooked, as it were. Wasn't too hard to get into the VU after that, but that crunchy, underproduced sound was always hard to get used to. I prefer the more polished produced sound.
The debut has some definite highlights but I'm more about the self titled third.
John Cale also appears on one of my favorite debut albums, Glass Harp 1970. I have a soft spot for the Cleveland Ohio music scene in the 60's and 70's.
Fantastic album 👌 Really dig the love ❤ songs on the album especially like I'll be your mirror 🪞 🎶 and Sunday morning 🌄 🎶 Run Run Run is proper fast, urgent and groovy 😎 All tomorrow's parties is proper gorgeous goth. Waiting for the man is the best urban street song with being toe to toe with Dylan's Subterranean homesick blues 😢 💙 I think Dylan and Reed can sing like angels 😇 with Reed's Satellite of love and Andy's chest. Bob Dylan's I can't leave 💔 😢 her behind 💔 and Dylan's cover of Pretty Saro are both perfect and as close to angelic as a normally rough and rowdy singer gets. Joan Baez's Woodstock Joe Hill is a masterpiece demonstration of singing like an angel 😇. Jim Morrison could write ✍ and sing like an angel 😇 take The Door's Love Street for example. John Head from Shack can sing like an angel 😇 too. Overall one of my favourite albums 👌 Love ❤ Andy Warhol's artistry and vision. Love the quote from Lou Reed about Andy Warhol's producer advice...leave in the swear 🤬 words 👏 Your choice of words sometimes are superb and crack me up. Wonderful presenter and superb fashion style you have Abigail 👌 Like my love of Edie Sedgwick in her prime I feel the same about Nico in her prime😎 Both were babes ❤ and I'd have loved to have had a romantic liason with both but not at the same time lol..I don't think I could have handled both lol.
Happy New Year Abby!!!! Velvet Underground & Nico album is incredible!!! One of the subcultured rock bands ever... I looove Nico a lot, her voice was sooo musculate, low toned & she was sooo beautiful with blond hair & with red (do you know the story about her relationship with Jim Morrison & how she dyed her hair red??)..... My favorites songs are "Heroin", "Venus of Furs (the song is an ode to Marquis de Sade & about a book called "Aphrodite with Furs" of Masoch), all the songs that Nico sings & "Run, Run,Run"... I am waiting for the next Vinyl Monday!!!! Have a nice week Abby......!!!!😃😃
"Venus in Furs" is also my favourite on this album. It brings such a trance like mantra, it has even oriental undertaste, and sounds like a very slow and careful and uncertain steps in darkness. Wasn't it also about Gerty from Joyce's "Ulysses"? I mean that "comes in bells" sounds such ambiguously it might be the case... "Run Run Run" - impassive electric blues-rock I believe was loved by those in UK who knew it. You've read all that memorials of drug-ads, when you were young, and suddenly you find VU told the same in a short song... And "Waiting..." - equally impassive rock-and-roll, could really inspire 70/80s new-wavers and post-punkers. "Death Song" - crazy, and spinning, inspired so many songs I think, it spins in your head even after it ends, like when you sit down from the carousel. And "Sunday Morning"? Nice, really nice. And sad.
The song "Venus in Furs" was inspired by the book of the same name written by Leopold von Sacher-Masoch; the song reflects the dark eroticism of the original story.
That's right!!!! Totally the song reflectsthese feelings.....I love the lyrics & the melody....@@nadapuesnada7716
awesome channel these videos kinda give washing detergent ad energy but not in a bad way!
this comment straight-up bamboozled me and i LOVE it lmao, thank you!