In keeping with the last post, the notion of proprietary rights to a particular artists music and pride in either discovering them or sharing their music, my introduction to Lou Reed was via my older brother and I held tight to The Velvet Underground and Lou. The album cover for Take No Prisoners (live album) of a bald man in fishnets, heels and leather jacket made an impression on me in my sexually formative years…sexual identity could be a form of expression! Plus the notion that different things work for different people really freed me to a world of my own. Tough and cool music that was also sensitive because it was revealing a world not dealt with openly publicly. I’ve always identified with the underdog, the misunderstood and the disadvantaged not because I feel that way myself but because those who can’t stick up for themselves need somebody to stick up for them and Lou was the soundtrack. Influences are important not only for artists to help further develop and understand who they are and what they are making but also to share with audiences to give them a context for their work. Lou Reed is one of my influences. He opened a door, lyrically, for the world….you can write about what society views as undesirable, degenerate, ugly, and or disturbing and reveal a world which said society was secretly curious about all along. Those who knew him best have eloquently paid tribute below:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/10/28/patti-smith-lou-reed_n_4171625.html
The tracks I caught at Lincoln Center today:
I’m Waiting for The Man
Warrior King
Venus In Furs
Leave Me Alone
Caroline Says
Heroin
Waves of Fear
I’ll Be Your Mirror
Satellite of Love
White Light/White Heat
Smalltown
I Want to Boogie With You
Candy Says
Street Hassle
Vicious
(Then I had to go back to work but it went on until 4)
Philip Lynch Music 