Songwriting and Production
IN a minute they will dazzle. Any second they could blow your mind. The wealth of archival photography and footage of news and cultural events that shaped the era is extraordinary. Haynes’ use not just of clips from the work of Warhol, Mekas and Smith, but also Stan Brakhage, Kenneth Anger, Maya Deren, Marie Menken,…
Read More “‘The Velvet Underground’: Film Review | Cannes 2021 – The Hollywood Reporter” »
One of my all time favourite albums and certainly favourite songwriters. Having split the Velvet Underground, John Cale might easily have packed up his viola and avant garde bona fides and disappeared forever into the obscure realm of experimental music. Instead he’s had it both ways, interspersing LPs like 1997’s Eat/Kiss: Music for the Films…
Read More “Graded on a Curve: John Cale, Vintage Violence – The Vinyl District” »
“It may have taken years to gain traction, but nothing would ever be the same after White Light/White Heat – not least the Velvets, following Cale’s enforced departure in autumn 1968. It’s one of a precious handful of albums that helped rock music turn a significant corner… before dragging it down an alley and beating…
Read More “White Light/White Heat: How The Velvet Underground Foretold The Future” »
It is not wholly beyond the realms of possibility that you could have become a critic yourself. Could you live with such a horrifying prospect? No. It’s interesting. I was learning the triangular paragraph, and that was it for me. You’re not supposed to have an opinion of the triangular paragraph. So I moved from…
Read More “Interview: Lou Reed on the Velvets, Bowie… and his love of heavy metal | Louder” »
“We Never Die.” No “legendary” rock band of the 1960s has proven more legendary than the Velvet Underground. The name alone (before it was abbreviated by fans into “the Velvets”) carried a special resonance, evoking Genet decadence, whip-and-leather s&m, Warhol chic, and European ennui. And even though other urban bands (the Lovin’ Spoonful, the Rascals)…