Category: Lou Reed

Book (P)reviews, Lou Reed, Village Voice, YouTubes, Zappa

A Consumer Guide to the Plastic People of the Universe

In A Consumer Guide to the Plastic People of the Universe (2021), Joe Yanosik reviews and grades every known PPU record on the planet (including side projects and mutations, not to mention books and DVDs), all the while — through a series of “historical interludes” — telling the band’s remarkable story, from their post-Beatles/Velvets-obsessed roots in Prague to their critical (if somewhat unwitting) role in bringing down a repressive Soviet-backed regime. I mean, the MC5 were cool and all, but… Continue reading “A Consumer Guide to the Plastic People of the Universe”

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Critical Collage, Lester, Lou Reed

Critical Collage: Metal Machine Music

“This record is not for parties/dancing/background romance. This is what I ment by ‘real’ rock, about ‘real’ things. No one I know has listened to it all the way through including myself. It is not meant to be. Start any place you like. Symmetry, mathematical precision, obsessive and detailed accuracy and the vast advantage one has over ‘modern electronic composers.’ They, with neither sense of … Continue reading Critical Collage: Metal Machine Music

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Lou Reed, Zappa

Zappa (16): Frank, Lou, Celine, and Carl

“But here at home, the fans of both artists [Lou Reed and Frank Zappa] continue to bicker. Only a few years ago, the Canadian music critic, Carl Wilson, wrote me to say kind words about my book on Randy Newman. I wrote back to thank him and asked him if he read Dangerous Kitchen. ‘I don’t read books about Frank Zappa,’ was his quick reply. … Continue reading Zappa (16): Frank, Lou, Celine, and Carl

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Lou Reed, Podcast

RC Podcast #2: The Streets You Crossed

The second RC Podcast, a tribute to Lou Reed (though with more music not by Lou than by Lou) could charitably be called some kind of technical disaster (second half, especially), but you can’t say it’s an unambitious technical disaster (and some of it came out pretty good, anyway). Apologies to Lillian Roxon for drowning her words. LISTEN ARTISTS/CRITICS: Lou Reed/Velvet Underground, Four Seasons, Shangri-Las, … Continue reading RC Podcast #2: The Streets You Crossed

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