Lou Reed, Doug Yule & Mo spoke to David Fricke @ the NYPL (many people got in, many were turned away at the door)

Fricke went to my college. he's a tool. never met him but his writing sucks. motherf-cker's living in the past.

Fuck Smarttix

Note to all blog writers: do not compare Deerhunter or their assorted incarnations to the Velvet Underground. You embarrass yourself and lack of depth or history in your record collections. In ten years, you will wince at that line . . .

Agreed. Putting Bradford Cox projects on the same level as VU is just dumb and an embarrassment.

Note to all know-it-alls, the anonymous person who left the above review actually makes a valid point about Bradford Cox being an example of a talented new artist - something grouchy old Lou Reed apparently was trying to say doesn't exist. Stop blindly worshipping the rock gods.

the review actually doesn't compare Bradford Cox to Velvet Underground at all. It says that Bradford might not agree with what Lou said.

VU Coachella 2010.
Im sure the offer is out to them.

Can't be VU without Morrison...

reed and cale couldn't stand each other the 2nd go round. what makes you think it would be any different this time?

Fuck Smart Tix and the fire marshals! Bought three tickets this was announced and could not even get in. GREAT ORGANIZATION!

Fricke was insufferable, obsequious, and seemed to play this bizarre game of one-upmanship with audience-provided questions, and even once with Lou. In short, a total asshole. He is the walking embodiment of why music critics ruin music.

I'd take Fricke any time over the morons who suggest Deerhunter should be mentioned in the same sentence with the Velvet Underground. This isn't worshipping rock gods, just having a clue as to music that came out before, say, 2004

"I'd take Fricke any time over the morons who suggest Deerhunter should be mentioned in the same sentence with the Velvet Underground."

You're comparing Fricke to an anonymous commenter.

Shalom!

>>You're comparing Fricke to an anonymous commenter.

Yes. In the blogosphere's demolishing of music criticism, we need to push back against the anonymous commentator, especially when BV gives them such prime real estate.

Fricke champions a ton of new music, super-obscuro noise stuff even. He's OK by me.

I've loved the VU for thirty years, but dig this: Lou Reed should spend less time deifying that band and more time making new music. It's pathetic, really. And somewhat hypocritical.

people actually paid money for this event?

^^ leave Lou Reed alone, the man wrote 'I'll be Your Mirror' 43 years ago, does he need to do anything else in 2010??

i snuck in. surprisingly easy.

It's true: Net 2.0 and the "blogosphere" destroyed rock criticism, which is now just a mix of shallow hipster posturing and thinly veiled PR. Old schooler Fricke does offer some good choices in his Rolling Stone column at times. He's not Lester Bangs, but then, who is? The only critic worth reading these days is Julian Cope, who doesn't even do it full-time, but who uses Bangs as inspiration at his Head Heritage site.

"people actually paid money for this event?"

Yes, and I would do so again in a heartbeat. Lou Reed is a jackass, but an entertaining one, and anyway, he's earned it.

The real star of the evening was Moe. So gracious, pleasant, and with a lot of interesting things to say.

I'm not sure why Doug Yule was there. I think he talked for a total of 3 minutes.

Fricke should use his r’n’r "gravitas" constructively to arrange a Velvets Stooges tour.

Otherwise he'll be usurped by Knopper.

Fricke has good taste. sorry bloggers, get a job

Fricke may have good taste, but he has a bad hairpiece.

people who had physical tickets were not allowed in?

What the f*ck? What time did this happen?

David Fricke's absolutely reverent of The Velvets and most great bands, even those who aren't so cool to like right now (ie R.E.M.). Definitely my favorite modern music critic. He was put into an exceedingly awkward situation that he was probably nervous about (expressed as much to me when I approached him at the Big Star Show) and did a great job. He flat out loves music, and expresses it passionately. That's enough for me.

How many people with tickets were turned away?

53 people.

Lou Reed is nothing more then an old codger.
Sure he made good songs 40 years ago, but so did hermins hermits.
Please leave New York lou and move to Connecticut where you belong.

anon 1:42am has no right existing on earth. please stop.

and please don't mention this brad cocks or deerhunter (clever - another band name with an animal in it. hip trend!) in the same universe as lou reed or the velvet underground. it's a crime against humanity. and an indication of just how stupid 99% of homo sapiens are.

die hipsters die!

Meanwhile, BV just keeps looking for any content available---Wikipedia, Anonymous bloggers, hearsay---to fill content for this photo/announcement list. We need good writers to pick up where Fricke and others have left off.

Yes, Bangs was a great polemicist, but I don't know if he was a great critic.

While I don't know if I'd throw Deerhunter into the list as a peer of the Velvet Underground, I do imagine that if a different band were mentioned instead, the identical people would throw their hands up in outrage. Just because your ironic tweed jacket is 40 years old doesn't mean that all culture stopped being relevant then.

The headline and quote at the top of this post makes it seem that this was chaos at the door and people were shut out with tickets. However, there are no posts in this comment section to support this. Any BV readers have personal experiences with being shut out at the door?

To be clear - Lou did not mention any new bands coming out of brooklyn (would have been nice if he laid out a few that he liked). It felt like it was the only contradictory point brought up btwn the band the entire evening. While I'm sure Fricke didn't intend to ruffle any feathers it would have been nice to hear him shake it up a bit. Questions like why wasn't cale there, why didn't lou attend sterling's memorial, why lou wished doug was dead - would have made it more interesting. Instead it seemed as though fricke was prodding them for insight as to their grand plan as a band or sound when it seemed clear after the first 20 minutes that their wasn't one. All and all it was a cool event if only because of the stories the two (i exclude doug cause his interjections seemed forced and he looked generally uninterested) of them told. I'd go again in a heartbeat, but would hope that the moderator would force the issue a bit - even if it got them bitch-slapped by Mr. Reed.

I'll help to clear this up a little bit. I showed up to the library a half hour before the interview was supposed to begin (with my print-out ticket, apparently the event was sold out in 3 minutes yet I got my ticket the day after the sale began, go figue) and their was already a fairly long line made up of both ticket holders and will-call. All very orderly from what I could tell. By the time they began to let people in the library the line had grown even longer behind me to the point where most passer-by's were intrigued and asking us what the big to do was.

Once I entered the library they had separated the line into ticket holders and will call. It looked as if they were kind of rushing to get everyone in and seated because I handed the lady at the door my ticket and she didn't even look at it. I could have just handed her a blank piece of paper and got into the event without hassle. This is why I suspect some ticket holders may have been turned away. However, there was no commotion or pissed off people that I could tell but I was not waiting outside to see so I can't be sure.

I enjoyed the interview but I thought Fricke could have done a better job and asked more insightful questions. Lou just didn't seem that engaged and there was more than one awkward pause between the four. I think it would have made more sense if he had concentrated on the ladder years of VY (self-titled & loaded) instead of mostly about the early Warhol years because Cale was not there, Doug Yule was and disappointingly was mostly left out of the conversation. I do respect Fricke and what he's all about and am very appreciative for conducting this though A knowledgeable VU fan would not have learned much of anything new.

I love VU too, but it took time for them to gain the cultural and historical significance that they have today. Only time can tell.

While comparing Bradford (whom I also like) to VU now might be premature, it's also unfair to write every talented musician after VU off, simply because they've not had the same amount of time to age and also for the world to grow with them. By hating on these growing artists, you're acting like the critics who were against VU when they came out.

Also, I think it's cool that BV uses the reports of commenters and bloggers even when anonymous because 1) it's indicative of the times, and 2) it give an intimate voice to the common, average music fan. Yes, there are lots of obnoxious comments on BV, but sometimes, there's reason in the madness.

I'm really sad I missed out on this event. I recently got the book and yes, it is indeed "awesome".

so people without tickets got in and people with tickets didn't?

Way to go organizers.....

Why wasn't Billy Yule there?

I saw Fricke at a Vibrators show at CBGB a few years back. I thought it was neat.

i saw fricke use a vibrator on himself a couple years ago.

Lots of people got turned away from what I heard. It was due to security strictly enforcing the building's fire code. They wouldn't even let Lou Reed's daughter in initially, but eventually relented.

I'm fairly certain Lou doesn't have any children. Get a life.

wrong. Lou Reed's my dad.

yes, people were turned away. I was waiting for standby tickets so I saw the whole thing unfold. It was already announced that it was oversold, but there was a standby list just in case. However, around 6:30 pm the ticketholders rushed the doors and came into the library and refused to go back out. Security ineffectually just let it happen. This screwed up the whole line system. Way to go ticket holders. The line of ticket holders blocked the will call tables and just cause all kinds of general chaos. The library had no idea how to handle it. Once they let people in, they refused what looked like about 15 people. After having the guy that runs smart tickets talk to the group, one guy got pissed that security let 10 more people in off the guest list (was a shitty mover considering they cited fire code as the reason to refuse ticketholders). This guy yelled about it and the security guard said something to the effect of "this is lou reed's guest list, if you have a problem take it up with him" angry man yells "I will! Bring him out here! Bring him out here! I'll tell him what i think!" or something to that effect. Several ticketholders went outside to make phone calls and about 10 of them sweet talked the head security guy into violating firecode. He let them in then went on about how he was going to lose his job for that and left. The people who went outside came back in and were refused again because head security guy left.

lesson One: Never have a rock n roll event at the library.

lesson number two: Never have Smarttix handle the ticketing

Lesson number three Arrive early :

Lesson number four: the world is a homo.

To anon 2:07-

I guess you're right. Someone who was struggling to gain entry told me that when they got inside, but maybe it was just some sort of ruse the person was using to get into the show. Funny, since Lou was bitching about all the inaccuracies about him in the book they were promoting.

And wow, you're a really fucking rude person. It's amazing how nasty people can be when they're given total anonymity.

I'm confused.....They let people in from the standby line and then refused entry to ticketholders?

Anon 9:00 PM:

way to make absolutely no sense at all. seriously, what are you talking about?

Was responding to Anon 2:07, who responded to my post about Lou Reed's daughter not getting in at first. Lou Reed doesn't have a daughter. He was right. I think the person I talked to meant Mo Tucker's daughter. You'd need to read my comment at 1:41 for it to make sense. I was just trying to illustrate how insane it was that all these people who were supposed to be there (bought tickets, were on press and guest lists) couldn't get in. Really poorly planned.

I have met Lou Reed, and Bradford Cox is no Lou Reed.

I have also met Lou Reed and I am not him.

And I'll go ahead and say yes this is really me and not someone joking around. The Velvet Underground had a huge affect on me growing up, as they did on tons of queer (and straight) outsider kids all over the world. I read this article because I was planning on flying up to New York and see this event. Reading about the Chaos with tickets I'm glad I decided to stay home and spend time with my family. I am honored that the anonymous reporter mentioned me. I would disagree totally with Lou Reed's comments. There are many bands with the talent and raw energy to create works just as valid in these times. Having read Bockris' Uptight as well as every other book published on the Velvet Underground, Mr. Reed was not exactly born on the wrong side of the tracks. He attended Syracuse University and was an in house novelty songwriter at Pickwick (anyone here ever "do the ostrich?") He was not Rimbaud. Who he is ,howver, is someone who has written music that truly speaks to outsiders and degenerates. Lester Bangs wrote about "Metal Machine Music" being extremely soothing to teenage boys who had received electroshock treatments in mental institutions. According to many interviews with him, he seems to regard the album as a tossed-off "fuck you." I'm not trying to kill my idols here but I make music because I sincerely care about it. What anonymous commenters make of it doesn't matter to me. What Lou and YOU and ME and everyone else who listens HARD to music searching for something is after is youth energy and white noise. and danger. Patti Smith with a switchblade. William Burroughs' black noise that could destroy a city. Just because they call it indie rock now doesn't mean it has less of a chance to spawn fury and excitement in the heart of loners (not the "hipsters" you seem to always want to call out in these comments) hidden in all cities of all countries.

Burroughs: Like infrasound, the sound below the level of hearing. Below 16 MHz. Turned up full blast it can knock down walls for 30 miles. You can walk into the French patent office and buy the patent for 40p. The machine itself can be made very cheaply from things you could find in a junk yard.

Bowie: Like black noise. I wonder if there is a sound that can put things back together? There was a band experimenting with stuff like that; they reckon they could make a whole audience shake.

Burroughs: They have riot-control noise based on these soundwaves now. But you could have music with infrasound, you wouldn't necessarily have to kill the audience.

Bowie: Just maim them.

"According to many interviews with him, he seems to regard the album as a tossed-off "fuck you." I'm not trying to kill my idols here but I make music because I sincerely care about it."

By this brilliant piece of backwards logic, your work is more valid than Lou Reed's work because you "sincerely care" about it. You confuse intent with artistic quality - that's why your work will remain irrelevant, sentimental twaddle on par with the drive to manufacture a trophy for 32nd place.

Crosseyed SMEHper

You don't understand what I was trying to say. I'll go back to striving for sentimental mediocrity.

I do understand what you were trying to say. I also don't class your work as mediocre - simply irrelevant. You're like a DVD extra in the cinema of life.

Take a look at what German avant-classical group Zeitkratzer has done with "Metal Machine Music" and how enthused and involved Reed himself has become with the execution of their multi-instrumental take on that "tossed-off" work. Just because you don't find meaning in "Metal Machine Music" doesn't mean that it in fact is meaningless.

No. You quite obviously DO NOT understand anything I have said. I love and am very influenced by Metal Machine Music. I am done with this conversation. Enjoy jerking off into your cumrag security blanket of obscure musical knowledge.

Doug Yule was the true talent behind the Velvet Underground. You know it!

fuck the haters. love you, Bradford. put the comments back up on your blog!

Bradford is the cumrag guy. I knew it!

(P.S. I like microcastle)

I think its great that Bradford comes on here and shares his thoughts. It takes away that invisible barrier that exists between artists and their fans/haters. I wish more musicians had the balls to say what they mean and had the historical knowledge/taste that Bradford possesses. Not trying to suck the guys dick but he really is a diamond in the rough.

lou reed is brilliant. i'm not even fifteen and not listening to top 40 crap or hiphop or whatever people try to pass off as 'music' these days. i'm a VU kid. i wish i could have been there; living in manitoba has its consequences.
their self-titled album is my favourite =)

vu forever. lou reed is one brilliant dinosaur. (i mean that in a good way yenno)

if there were more fifteen year old like you this would be a lot cooler country, perhaps more drug addicted and trans-sexual, but definitely cooler.

"fuck the haters. love you, Bradford. put the comments back up on your blog!"

+1

yeah i agree. some would say the fact that a musician is so open with his thoughts takes away the "mystique" of their work. I totally disagree. When I understand an artists feelings and influences it enhances the listening experience for me.

I think Bradford is so immensely talented and has still to tap into his full potential, Lou is way off the mark saying that their aren't any bands in the "same universe" as VU.

I truly believe that Bradford has it in him to write a song as beautiful as Lennon's "Julia"

"He attended Syracuse University and was an in house novelty songwriter at Pickwick (anyone here ever "do the ostrich?")"

"Enjoy jerking off into your cumrag security blanket of obscure musical knowledge."

"According to many interviews with him, he seems to regard the album as a tossed-off "fuck you." I'm not trying to kill my idols here but I make music because I sincerely care about it."

"I love and am very influenced by Metal Machine Music."

You want it both ways and then act indignant when you're called on your dithering. Make up your mind, snuggles! You got spanked - get over it.

Spanked by a truly formidable detractor. Someone who has clearly contributed so much to the cultural landscape of comments sections on blogs. What was I thinking to challenge you? You clearly know where I'm coming from. I don't want "it" both ways. I live it. You comment on it. The context I was writing from was that I appreciate and have learned from and am indebted tremendously to the Velvet Underground. Your point is that I am "an extra in the DVD of life." I enjoy engaging with people like you because it makes me want to work harder to prove you wrong. To clarify what I was saying about Metal Machine Music, I have always enjoyed the idea that he created something that had a profound therapeutic effect on people in pain. Whether its created with that in purpose in mind or to piss of RCA it still had that effect, and that is what I find interesting. I am more interested in the audience for that album than it's creator.

How old are you by the way? You seem like you know everything. At what age can I expect to become so cynical?

And to wrap this up, check this out:

that's a photo of my and my aunt joyce and cousin kelly. Kelly had that tattered poster of Lou Reed on his wall since the early 80's. I grew up staring at that poster, intrigued. Kelly turned me onto punk rock because that poster terrified me as a child. Years later (on my 25th birthday) they dug it out of the attic and gave it to me. It's now hanging over me as I type this. I am not sure what my point is, except for that Lou Reed and the VU are probably the single biggest influence on me to begin with.

Bradford, pee on me! (I mean this in a good way)

Fricke was way too-heavy on the Warhol questions, when in reality he was only there for 1 album, and 1.5 years out of the Velvet's 5 year existence. A very big blip on their radar, but Doug Yule didn't join the band until 68', and it was lame of Fricke to be harping on Warhol so much. White Light, the 3rd Lp, and Loaded? Warhol had nothing to do with any of them, and it's a shame Fricke didn't ask some meaningful questions - what was "The Murder Mystery" about on the 3rd LP? Lou, why did you let Doug sing some of the better songs (in my opinion) on Loaded? He also could have gotten a straight answer as to who-wrote-what songs on the 3rd album and Loaded, cause to me, those albums are both top-shelf and deserve equal analysis as much as the first two.

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