DOWNLOAD: Lou Reed - Perfect Day (Carillon April 30th, 2009) (MP3)

Lou Reed & his Metal Machine (more by Lori Baily)

"Lou Reed's (b. 1942) music written for the Velvet Underground propelled him to rock stardom. His Metal Machine Music, a distorted sound wall of guitar feedback, has been called the precursor to punk. Critical rejection at its first release in 1975 led to a cult-like interest. Ulrich Krieger has accomplished a feat once deemed impossible by transcribing and arranging Metal Machine Music for classical instruments"...

Mark your calendar because that program, "Fireworks Ensemble playing Metal Machine Music", is coming to Columbia's Miller Theatre on Friday, February 5, 2010. Tickets are on sale now.

Ulrich Krieger was 1/3 of the Metal Machine Trio that played the Gramercy Theatre in April. (The others on stage were Sarth Calhoun, Reed himself and special guest John Zorn.) That trio has dates later this year in Europe, which are posted below.

This weekend, Reed is at Lollapalooza in Chicago, where he'll play a "songs" set (if you recall, the Metal Machine shows advertised themselves as "No Songs No Vocals" to curb any suspicion about the program).

Reed recently collaborated with Barenaked Ladies instrumentalist Kevin Hearn on a "song about overfishing the oceans stands out like a sore sea-hugger."

Kevin Hearn and Thin Buckle's Havana Winter, released on [July 28th] from Hearn's indie label Celery Music, is nakedly invested in...natural subjects. "Coma," which features Reed on backing vocals and guitar, was inspired by Charles Clover's The End of the Line, an alarming documentary about fishing, technology and extinction. Reed and Hearn use that as a point of departure to also criticize urban sprawl.

Reed plays screeching guitar on three [of the record's] tunes ("Coma," "In The Shade," "H.I.T.S."), while his wife, performance artist Laurie Anderson adds electric violin on "Reeling."

Listen to "Coma" at Wired.

Another track, posted above, is a version of Reed's "Perfect Day," originally released on 1972's Transformer, being played on the Riverside Church carillon (a huge mass of bells and the largest of its kind in the world) last April. Why you ask? Here's the description of the event...

Continue reading "Lou Reed - Metal Machine Music & ensemble show in NYC (tix), Lollapalooza (this weekend), Barenaked Ladies & more"

We have formed a recording unit Called BEST SEAT IN THE HOUSE. We intend to put out different types of my music - from industrial to meditative to songs and all subway stops in between. Our first release is a live recording of 2 great nights live at the REDCAT in L.A. THE CREATION OF THE UNIVERSE. You can download it at various qualities as per your download taste. We include some pics by me. We will be putting it out as A2X CD soon - CREATE!
--Lou Reed

These two special live concert recordings of non-vocal music featuring Lou on guitar and electronics, Ulrich Krieger on tenor sax and live-electronics, and Sarth Calhoun on live processing and Fingerboard Continuum are available EXCLUSIVELY from THIS website. You can purchase both concerts in a variety of digital and physical formats, including a limited edition Deluxe Package featuring photography by Lou Reed.

Metal Machine Trio (Lou, Ulrich and Sarth) are going to play "A Night Of Deep Noise" at the Blender Theater at Gramercy - actually two nights of deep noise. The April 23rd and 24th shows may be the last ones inside the venue while it still has "Blender" in the name (which I realize is semi-useless information). $50 and $65 tickets go on sale via LiveNation.com on March 14th at 10AM.

You can stream some Metal Machine Trio, below...

Continue reading "Lou Reed is making noise with METAL MACHINE TRIO - playing 2 nights @ Gramercy and/or Blender"