On Lou Reed, From a Non-Fan

"My God is rock’n’roll. It’s an obscure power that can change your life.”--Lou Reed, March 02,1942 – October 27, 2013

It’s an interesting challenge, writing about someone for whom so much has been said and written about over the past couple of days. Suddenly, it seems, everyone is talking about Lou Reed…even people you’d never imagine knew anything about his material. (Hollywood being what it sometimes is, I suspect many of them actually don’t.)

Here’s something you won’t likely read or hear among the accolades today: I wasn’t a fan.

It’s true...Despite his legendary status (and our shared last name), I just couldn’t get into his music, no matter how hard I tried…

…And tried I did, because almost every artist or songwriter I’ve ever liked, respected, or worked with is a huge fan of Lou Reed’s music. (The famous Brian Eno quote that the Velvet Underground's debut album only sold 30,000 copies but "everyone who bought one of those 30,000 copies started a band” is infinitely accurate.) I’m a believer in listening to your influences’ influences, because listening to the music that inspired your favorite artists brings new understanding and dimension to the music you already love. It can also open new doors to your own creativity by making you see things in a different way.

In the case of Lou Reed’s music, his music just wasn’t my thing. His vocal style put me to sleep, and I habitually switched stations whenever the intro to “Walk on the Wild Side” began playing on the radio.

I even—and this is truly a sin—turned down free tickets to a Lou Reed show my former boss produced at an intimate venue. (I know, I know…)

I do get it, though. Lou Reed’s vocal style and subdued delivery truly did fit his lyrics perfectly. He was a brilliant storyteller and lyricist who respected the power of the perfect word. Reading Lou Reed’s lyrics on paper, I always find something—a storyline twist, a turn of phrase, a lyrical smirk—that makes me think, “God, what an incredible writer.”

I just couldn’t stand to listen to the guy!

But I deeply respected him. And the honesty in his lyrics. And the fearlessness he often seemed to have in his interviews, when he chose to give them. (His reluctance to give interviews? I respected that, too.)

Most of all, I respected Lou Reed’s ability to be himself in a business that sometimes tries desperately to have you be anything but. From being an integral part of Andy Warhol’s Factory, to a heroin user who wrote about life in the Bowery, to a sober and devoted practitioner of T'ai Chi, Lou Reed led many lives--yet he seemed to inhabit each of their accompanying skins equally true to himself.

And he was damn cool.

Hey, maybe I’m a Lou Reed fan after all.   



 © 2013 Randi Reed and MusicBizAdvice.com. All rights reserved.



  

A vocal so good it needs its own t-shirt!

Overheard in MusicBizAdvice.com Editor in Chief's office while listening to tracks from various bands: "That vocal's so good it should have its own T-shirt!"

The band in question was Stars Go Dim, the track in question was "Crazy", and the person who said it was me.

Check it out here.

And they're touring their butts off. I love that!

Disclosure per FTC Blogger Disclosure Regulations in effect December 1, 2009: I have no connection to the band or their project, aside from MusicBizAdvice.com's status as an Amazon Associates music seller. I just liked that particular vocal & wanted to share it with our readers.

Motley Crue's Nikki Sixx Hates the Internet: My Response

Update 7/20/2009 2:06PM: A link to Nikki Sixx's response to the Wall Street Journal article appears at the end of this blog post.

Gotta love Nikki Sixx...The man knows exactly what to say to get attention!

Wall Street Journal Interview & Commentary: Mötley Crüe’s Nikki Sixx Hates the Internet

( http://blogs.wsj.com/speakeasy/2009/07/19/motley-crues-nikki-sixx-hates-the-internet/ )

My response, from the Comments section after the Wall Street Journal article (in blue italics here, so I don't have to rewrite it):

"MusicBizAdviceEditor wrote:
Joe in Poughkeepsie or Sue in Roanoke has always "decided when something is a great show".It’s called Word of Mouth. The only difference is that now, instead of sitting around in their living rooms or hanging at a diner out with friends, Joe and Sue are talking to millions of people at once. You just have to keep what you can under wraps, then let Joe & Sue do your marketing for you once the cat’s out of the bag. As for Twitter, it’s long past the "eating a ham sandwich" stage and has morphed into a viable medium for quickly sharing & finding information…as well as an instant focus group."

I do, however, understand Nikki's feelings about trying to maintain the mystique. For good or bad, when fans find out "too much" about their favorite artist, it alters whatever image they've created in their own minds about that person (kind of like meeting an Internet email pal, or--if you go farther back--kind of like meeting a pen pal).

Based on their feeling about what they find, you stand a 50/50 chance of being rejected by them.

But, it can also work in your favor. There's a certain celebrity, who shall remain nameless, that I wasn't a fan of at all (to put it mildly) until I happened upon them on Twitter. This celebrity's tweets---this celeb writes their own-- have continually shown this person to be a fun, cool person with interesting things to say away from the business, who not only cares about their family, friends and fans, but about the planet as a whole. Had I not seen their tweets on Twitter, I probably would have continued to have a negative image of this person.

So tread lightly, yes, but don't reject the idea out of hand completely...

Especially if you're blessed to be as entertaining as Nikki Sixx, whose old posts from the early infancy of AOL are still legendary!

For those who don't find Twitter "ridiculous" (just kidding, Nikki), or who do but want to give it a second chance, follow me at http://twitter.com/MusicBizAdvice . I'm not as entertaining as Nikki Sixx, but I have a lot of fun talking with our readers and try to give interesting info.

Randi Reed
Founder / Editor in Chief, MusicBizAdvice.com

Update 7/20/2009: You can read Nikki's response to the Wall Street Journal article & comments here.


Disclosure of Endorsements/Recommendations/Financial Compensation or Business Relationships per FTC Blog Disclosure Regulations in effect December 1, 2009: In the early 90's I worked for the talent agency that booked Motley Crue, and before that I worked for a concert promotion company that presented many Motley Crue shows. Since that time I've received no financial compensation or free product in direct connection with the band or its individual members. The MusicBizAdvice.com website, and by extension, this blog, sells Amazon products, including music, as an Amazon Associate.