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Velvet Underground news: a special John Cale show, Nico biopic, Andrew Bird+Matt Berninger covered Perfect Day & more

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I’m often reluctant to spend too much time on things past – then, a time marker shows up – The Velvet Underground & Nico turns 50! As so many bands can attest to, its the fulfillment of the ultimate dream to record your first album. We were an unfriendly brand, dabbling in a world of challenging lyrics and weird sonics that didn’t fit into anyone’s playlist at the time. Remaining ferociously true to our viewpoints, Lou and I never doubted for a moment, we could create something to give a voice to things not regularly explored in rock music at the time. That bizarre combination of 4 distinctly disparate musicians and a reluctant beauty queen perfectly summed up what it meant to be The Velvet Underground. – john cale

Classic album The Velvet Underground & Nico turns 50 in 2017 and to celebrate, John Cale will host a 50th Anniversary Celebration on May 26, 2017 at Liverpool, UK’s iconic docklands

. It will be performed on a bespoke stage they’re describing as an “incredible post-industrial façade.” The lineup won’t be announced till closer to the date but a similar concert Cale staged in Paris back in April featured members of The Libertines, Animal Collective and Mark Lanegan. Tickets for the Liverpool show are on presale now and go on sale to the general public on Friday, October 28 at 9 AM BST (that’s 4AM East Coast time). You can check out a few videos from the Paris show below.

In related news, Andrew Bird‘s weekly Facebook Live show “Live From the Great Room” featured The National’s Matt Berninger and they covered Lou Reed‘s solo classic “Perfect Day.” And you may have heard Lou’s “Walk on the Wild Side” used in a commerical for Google’s new Pixel phone. (The song has been used in ads before.) You can watch both of those below.

In more related news, Nico‘s post-VU years are being explored in the upcoming biopic Nico, 1988, which stars Trine Dyrholm as Nico and was directed by Susanna Nicchiarelli.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z5WGSP6n-u8&feature=youtu.be