At 6:30PM, BBC Radio 6 Music broke the sad news that Lou Reed died today. When I heard this, I was shocked that one of the most super-talented and seminal musicians in rock'n'roll had just left the building. To think that this man had influenced my record collection, from the Stonesy garage of I'm Just Waiting For The Man, the icily exotic Venus in Furs to the frat rock of White Light White Heat and the stripped down and optimistic R&B of There She Goes, Reed ran the gammut that appears in my record collection from countless other bands. Without Venus in Furs, there would be no gothic rock or heavy metal. Without the mix of Chuck Berry riffs and feedback, there would be no Sex Pistols. Without the dreamy Kinks meets Beach Boys pop of Sunday Morning, there would be no Cocteau Twins or Mazzy Star. Whether we were play music or just listen to it, we owe this man everything.
Thanks Lou.
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Chris Henniker, Freelance writer at your service. Just send me a private message and we'll work on something.
Listening to the Velvet Underground & Nico for the first time was a life changing experience for me. It changed how I viewed music. God knows what I'd be listening today if I didn't come across that album...
I was shocked too at this very sad news! He (and his Velvet Underground) was truly probably THE most important musician for my generation. Or at least to me.. One of the very first LPs i bought o my own as a kid about 12, was "Rock´n´Roll Animal". That album that day changed my life.