Velvet Underground

[RedRosa]

There's a wonderful sequence in Todd Haynes' Velvet Underground documentary in which Jonathan Richman, who serves as the band's Boswell in the film, describes how an audience at the Boston Tea Party, where he saw the group dozens of times, would react to one of their stretched-out songs. The band would roll on and on hypnotically, then jolt to a full stop, and the crowd, stunned into silence, would wait for five seconds before they began to applaud. Richman counts off the seconds on camera.

Something like that happens at the end of the unedited version of this, my favorite live VU track, originally released on the Live 1969 album and later issued in better quality on the Complete Matrix Tapes box. The tune is little more than an incessant riff, two unison rhythm guitars, foggy organ (played by Doug Yule, and not John Cale), and Mo Tucker's straight-up-and-down drumming. I've had the record since 1974, and it still trances me out.

[VirgoGirl]

There's a wonderful sequence in Todd Haynes' Velvet Underground documentary in which Jonathan Richman, who serves as the band's Boswell in the film, describes how an audience at the Boston Tea Party, where he saw the group dozens of times, would react to one of their stretched-out songs. The band would roll on and on hypnotically, then jolt to a full stop, and the crowd, stunned into silence, would wait for five seconds before they began to applaud. Richman counts off the seconds on camera.

Something like that happens at the end of the unedited version of this, my favorite live VU track, originally released on the Live 1969 album and later issued in better quality on the Complete Matrix Tapes box. The tune is little more than an incessant riff, two unison rhythm guitars, foggy organ (played by Doug Yule, and not John Cale), and Mo Tucker's straight-up-and-down drumming. I've had the record since 1974, and it still trances me out.

To tell you the truth, i like this kind of music but i've never actually listened to The Velvet Underground. I'm going to now though It kinda reminds me of The Stones.

[VirgoGirl]

This has inspired me to start a new thread i think you'd like too.

[RedRosa]

“Femme Fatale”

John Cale says: "This and 'I’ll Be Your Mirror' were written for Nico at Andy Warhol’s suggestion when love affairs between Lou, Nico and I were in the air. Lou liked it when Andy gave him some words and said to go away and write a song around them. It could have been about Edie Sedgwick, but it was about all the starlets. There were a lot of screen tests going on at the Factory. The girls were all mad and strung out on drugs; beautiful and wasted. He was making Chelsea Girls when we rehearsed and that was harrowing. You’d see the girls disintegrating and sliding down walls with tears in their eyes. Nobody normal would go near the Factory. It was a protective environment for kooks -- quite dangerous for your sanity. Andy wasn’t like that. He was a professional and a manipulator. He never pressed a button; he didn’t ‘do’ anything. He had his eye on the ball. Anyway, Chelsea Girls informed this song and it reminds me of an interview Andy did for PBS where he was at his most mischievous, and he says, 'Ohhh, I really love New York. I think it should be carpeted.' Lou wanted to keep it pure. He was right. I wanted to push the envelope and fuck the songs up. That’s why we split. He wanted me to be a sideman in my own fucking group."

[RedRosa]

The story of the worst part of my life.