There’s an often-repeated quip about the Velvet Underground: Only about 30,000 people bought the band’s debut album, but they all went out and started a band after hearing it.
“No songwriter to emerge after Bob Dylan so radically expanded the territory of rock lyrics. And no band did more than the Velvet Underground to open rock music to experimental theater, art, literature and film, to William Burroughs and Andy Warhol, Reed’s early patron,” wrote Dave Urbanski for The Blaze. “Indie rock essentially begins in the 1960s with Reed and the Velvets; the punk, New Wave and alternative rock movements of the 1970s, ’80s and ’90s were all indebted to Reed, whose songs were covered by R.E.M., Nirvana, Patti Smith and countless others.”
Reed, who died this weekend at the age of 71 — likely from complications due to a liver transplant he underwent in May — is survived by his legacy of superior songwriting.
“An outlaw in his early years, Reed would eventually perform at the White House, have his writing published in The New Yorker, be featured by PBS in an ‘American Masters’ documentary and win a Grammy in 1999 for Best Long Form Music Video,” Urbanski wrote. “The Velvet Underground was inducted into the Rock and Roll (Hall) of Fame in 1996 and their landmark debut album, ‘The Velvet Underground & Nico,’ was added to the Library of Congress’ registry in 2006.”
The death of older rockers, especially ones as prominent and prolific as Lou Reed, resonates with millennials and Gen Y-ers, who grew up steeped in the music of their aging baby-boomer parents. Our generation has seen a cultural phenomenon unlike generations past: When baby boomers became parents, they eschewed the authoritarian parenting style of their parents and instead opted for a friendlier, more cooperative relationship with their children. Sharing music naturally follows in this new parenting trend.
Given the success of courses at UF such as “History of Rock ‘N’ Roll,” it’s clear young adults have taken an interest in the music of artists and bands who are either long-deceased or long-disbanded.
Lou Reed’s death, then, is a sad moment for all of us who grew up singing along to “Yellow Submarine” as toddlers, spending afternoons driving around listening to Led Zeppelin as teens and eagerly purchasing the reissued editions of classic albums such as “Pet Sounds” and “Highway 61 Revisited.”
In 1996, Reed wrote a guest column for The New Yorker titled “The Aches and Pains of Touring.” He closed the piece — a tour diary, of sorts — describing the mood before a show in Belgium:
“Some group has threatened to kill the Sex Pistols for cancelling a gig — security is high. What a way to go. Shot by a drunken fan mistaking you for Johnny Rotten. I love rock and roll.”
A version of this editorial ran on page 6 on 10/29/2013 under the headline "‘You know it’ll be alright:’ A goodbye to Lou Reed"
