Over a week after the actual announcement, catching up on the overflowing reader gunk…only to find that Lou effing Reed is the keynote for the combo music/film chunks of SXSW week. Film’ll be screening Julian Schnabel’s “Lou Reed’s ‘Berlin,’” a doc that follows Reed’s recent re-presentation of the ‘73 album of same name (which we all missed in September when it screened @ TIFF because it’s TIFF, just give up on seeing cool high-profile stuff & suck it up throughout that Finnish claymation shorts marathon, hokay?). & everybody else somewhat related to Music’ll be rumour-mongering about ol’Lou jamming with Octopus Project or encouraging a Sound Team reunion or becoming an honourary member of Spoon.
Still hasn’t sunk in (& it probably won’t until long after, because every time I attend a talk with someone like Costello, Byrne, Townsend or Pop or see a reunion-ish gig like Shonen Knife, Dino Jr, etc. halfway through I shake my head & think this is the absolute apex/singular highlight/yadda yadda etc. music thingie..), but to make things a bit more real, & seizing on any excuse to root through my newly-transported mini library, dusted off the Lester Bangs notes on reviewing & interviewing his favourite anti-hero…& the zings are giving me whiplash.
vs.
Check it (From Bangs’ ‘Untitled Notes on Lou Reed’, 1980): “I’m a realist. That’s why I listen to Lou Reed. And that’s why I idolize him. Because the things he wrote and sang and played in the Velvet Underground were for me part of the beginning of a real revolution in the whole scheme between men and women, men and men, women and women, humans and humans. And I don’t mean clones. I mean a diversity that extends to the stars.”
I even love Bangs’ Reed writing when he zings PR people, scrambling to protect their asses, shielding Reed from snarky music journos, quasi-apologizing for suckering 17 year old Midwestern jocks into buying Metal Machine Music & attempting to maintain some facade of calm (From ‘How to Succeed in Torture Without Really Trying, or Louie Come Home, All Is Forgiven,’ 1976): “When you try to ask people at RCA about MMM, they get uptight. They ask not to be quoted, then they launch a fusillade of styrofoam to the effect that Lou is an artist and an intellectual they respect greatly, thus subclause respecting his right to ‘experiment.’”
Sigh. Doubt I’ll muster up the courage to approach Drella’s chile like this embarrassing blather-fest last year, though…
Check out the fusillade of styrofoam that follows (taints?) this version of Perfect Day (or hit ’skip’ after 3:30…): Mp3 - Lou Reed - Perfect Day (Acoustic Demo & Schmaltzy RCA promo snippet).
Signing off for now, trying to re-adjust to real-world sleep patterns (ha!)…
Peace
meegs
), vids on YouTube, etc., etc.
