I read somewhere that one of the falling-outs Lou Reed and John Cale had over the course of their lives―and there were a number―was caused by Cale doing the theme music for I Shot Andy Warhol. Which I guess had to do with the whole idea of a film about Valerie Solanas. Does it glorify her? I don't think Cale was out of line, though. If her life could serve as a cautionary tale for someone, I think that's worthwhile.
Have to give Reed the last word, though, just because I love the song he wrote for Warhol after the shooting.
Have to give Reed the last word, though, just because I love the song he wrote for Warhol after the shooting.
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If I could be any one of the things in this world that bite
Instead of an ocelot on a leash, I’d rather be a kite
And be tied to the end of your string
And flying in the air, babe, at night
Whether he actually had talent as a singer is beside the point when you note
that Lou Reed's lyrics can be removed from the music and read as pure poetry. After all, Dylan couldn't sing either and look what happened to him.
It's pretty cool that Reed and Cale, once they had Andy Warhol's support as manager, pretty much invented alternate rock. Thanks to them we got Bowie and we always have to be grateful for that - as did Bowie himself.
Considering the crowd that formed around Warhol it's no surprise there were some tragedies. Edie Sedgwick was the best known but Valerie Solanas, a very strange and troubled character, was probably mad long before she got to NY.
(My favorite song on that album was 'Walk on The Wild Side' - or maybe 'Perfect Day' Come to think of it 'Satellite of Love' was pretty good too.)
The comparison with Bob Dylan is pretty apt. Aside from the borderline singing voices, both were middle class Jewish kids who had a lot of curiosity and hunger about the world. And of course they turned out to be two of the most influential songwriters of their generation.
It's been fun discovering (with a little help) the Velvet Underground. They just seemed to come out of nowhere, doing things musically and lyrically that no one else had gone near. Plus they had an inspired novice drummer in Moe Tucker. Bowie seems to have been an early fan, talking them up when few had heard of them (and even fewer had heard of him.)
It may have been inevitable that there would be some tragedies in a group like the factory. The sad thing is that incidents like those convince influential people that they have to keep more distance between themselves and their public. John Lennon is another example, of course.
Those were great songs. I do remember loving "Satellite of Love." Obviously it made an impression on the guys at MST3K too.
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