"It was 1965. They decided to follow Guy Maupassant's dictim to "Do something beautiful in the form that suits you best according to your own temperament."
I am re-reading "Up-tight" a great book about The Velvet Underground. Excellent summer reading. The origin story of the Velvets. A story of the 60's and one of the great seminal r&r bands. Folks all dressed in black (except Nico), with dark shades, and a commitment to exploring the stark realities of existence all presented in a wild multi-media extravaganza: Andy Warhol's "Exploding Plastic Inevitable."
I love Andy Warhol's mantra: "Do the work."
I love stories about artistic folks finding each other. I love stories of unique souls getting in a room together and creating something new. The original lineup of the Velvets only lasted for one record, Nico left after the first one, John Cale left after the second one. Seems Lou Reed was difficult sort; brilliant, driven, uncompromising. Reed saw himself as some kind of R&R Raymond Chandler, chronicling the underbelly life in the big city.
So many great characters turn up in this saga: Reed, Cale, Nico, Sterling Morrison, Mo Tucker, Warhol, Allen Ginsberg, Betsy Johnson, Edie Sedgwick, Gerard Malanga, Warhol's galaxy of Superstars.
I find it all inspiring. Creative, impossible characters always onto the next thing. While I'm reading the book I've been close listening to all the records. The Velvets recorded some of the finest, most uncompromising, original, edgy r&r ever committed to vinyl. They didn't sell a lot of records at the time, but how many bands did they inspire over the succeeding years? Too many to count.
