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Lou Reed, Velvet Underground Leader and Rock Pioneer, Dead at 71

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Re: Lou Reed, Velvet Underground Leader and Rock Pioneer, Dead at 71

#91

Post by acjohnson55 »

javajosh wrote: post #71
bbx wrote: post #16

The Velvet Underground's career can be summed up as: "Commercially unsuccessful, but enormously influential". On a side note, if you have a few minutes to spare, read Lou Reed's review of Kanye's Yeezus : http://thetalkhouse.com/reviews/view/lou-reed It's interesting to read a legend's opinion on a modern pop-star.

> ... read Lou Reed's review of Kanye's Yeezus: http://thetalkhouse.com/reviews/view/lou-reed Reading that is like watching Lou Reed mentally wrestle himself to the ground. He really doesn't like the record, but keeps rationalizing: the annoying synth sound as a "challenge"; the abrupt changes are challenging and keeping us "off balance. But soon after undermines his own rationalizations to note (correctly, in my vie…

I really don't get what you're trying to say here. Lou Reed more than most in pop music would understand that likability is not the highest aspiration of a musician. In fact, I think he would really disagree with your idea of the purpose of music. He made a lot of music that people still struggle to comprehend.

Where you think he's trying to rationalize feeling positive about the album, I think he's simply saying that there were some aspects of the album he didn't completely connect with, while other aspects absolutely floored him. On the whole, I'd say that's still a pretty stunning endorsement.

Re: Lou Reed, Velvet Underground Leader and Rock Pioneer, Dead at 71

#92

Post by twerquie »

selmnoo wrote: post #77
ssharp wrote: post #74

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm not sure what fallacies my post was riddled with. Yes, some of it was opinion. And I never said Kanye West couldn't produce well. I'm not really sure what you're trying to say with the Rick Rubin comment either. Do you have a high opinion of Rick Rubin? I'm pretty sure Rick Rubin has a high opinion of Kanye. I make music as a hobby, am fairly decent at it (IMHO, anyway) and listen to a lot of music. Kanye puts to…

I think part of the reason a lot of people don't take Kanye seriously as an artist is that he behaves like a petulant twit. In this day and age of pop musicians being embroiled in controversy after controversy, Kanye gives them all a run for their money. From interrupting someone who was getting an award and voicing his thoughts on who he thinks should have won, to having no sense of reservation and calling himself t…

That's all just myth-building, and he's done a brilliant job of it. Take this very message thread for instance, on a technology forum thread about Lou Reed of all things, the conversation is dominated by Kanye West.

Re: Lou Reed, Velvet Underground Leader and Rock Pioneer, Dead at 71

#93

Post by twerquie »

cup wrote: post #90
waterlesscloud wrote: post #80

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is as complete a misreading of Reed's review as I can imagine.

Sometimes I wonder if people have a preconceived bias against hip hop / rap music which tarnishes their ability to think critically on the matter.

Yes.

People's relationship with music is an odd one - what you listen to you is meant to say something about who you are. You can't listen to classical because then you're an elitist snob. You can't like Justin Bieber because then you're a teenage girl. You can't like Kanye West because then you're an egomaniacal asshole. You can't like rap music in general because then you condone drugs, sex, objectification of women, electronic music and (gasp!) street slang. It's such a weird phenomenon, and it doesn't happen nearly to the same degree in other mediums. I can watch a horror movie without people thinking I'm a serial killer. I can watch a comedy without worrying that people will think I'm an idiot. I can read basically any novel on any subject without changing people's opinion of me, beyond "oh, he reads". But music is different. When I was in high school you could clearly identify social groups by what music they listened to, which also matched their fashion, and I think the majority of people don't move beyond that headspace ever.

Re: Lou Reed, Velvet Underground Leader and Rock Pioneer, Dead at 71

#95

Post by acjohnson55 »

vezzy-fnord wrote: post #4
cprncus wrote: post #2

I don't see how general celebrity deaths are hacker news. I would like to read about tech and computer news and ideas; if I wanted this, I would read general news sites.

I'd say Lou Reed is a hacker. A hacker of music. His Metal Machine Music was one of the first and perhaps most famous examples of noise music (after Merzbow) which completely challenged all conventions of what music truly is. There were plenty of others before him, but he had his place, as well. Even though his later years were not up to par.

There was a long tradition of noise and electronic music before Metal Machine Music going back to the turn of the 20th century, with figures like Luigi Russolo, Igor Stravinsky, Arnold Schoenberg, Iannis Xenakis, Jean-Claude Risset, Max Matthews, Morton Subotnick, and many others. Not much of it was made by famous pop musicians (as opposed to people thought of more so as composers), so Reed definitely deserves credit for introducing a lot of people to sounds and styles they'd never heard before, and perhaps paving the way for groups like Sonic Youth.

Re: Lou Reed, Velvet Underground Leader and Rock Pioneer, Dead at 71

#96

Post by dhughes »

That's sad he wasn't really all that old, 71 is like the new 61. He had a great adventurous life more than most people but still way too young.

Love your liver!

I'm not sure what Lou's situation was but this is a good time to stress your liver is important and a lot of people abuse it. You don't have to drink alcohol to have liver problems I'd say there is a huge stigma whenever people hear about people having liver problems.

I suddenly developed fatty liver, I'm a non-drinker, no drugs and slim, it was either my diet or the heartburn drug (the only drug) I am taking. Right now my right side and back ache constantly it's not fun.

Re: Lou Reed, Velvet Underground Leader and Rock Pioneer, Dead at 71

#97

Post by j2d3 »

Permit wrote: post #65
auxbuss wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This isn't a celebrity death. It's Lou Reed. Music Hacker.

This is absolutely ridiculous. It doesn't take much effort to make anyone sound like a hacker. Eg. Paris Hilton is a "Media Hacker" because she's managed to create a successful brand for herself despite not having traits commonly seen in successful celebrities (a talent in acting or a talent in music). This might be an accurate description, but I don't want to see Paris Hilton news on Hacker News.

I dunno, Paris h. as media hacker could actually be an interesting discussion.

Re: Lou Reed, Velvet Underground Leader and Rock Pioneer, Dead at 71

#98

Post by jmadsen »

bjourne wrote: post #78

Should be OT for HN. Thanks for the downvotes guys. Fine if you loved Lou Reed, but how would you feel if Hacker News featured every famous person death you didn't care about? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deaths_in_2013 Would you still visit the site?

Damn! Vinko Coce died.

Never would have known if I didn't read HN

Re: Lou Reed, Velvet Underground Leader and Rock Pioneer, Dead at 71

#99

Post by ledge »

Nav_Panel wrote: post #38
mcphilip wrote: post #6

RIP Lou Reed, one of my favorite musicians. The song Heroin has so much dissonance and noise throughout that it's almost revolting to listen to. Over time it grew into one of my favorite songs in that I learned to find beauty in the clash of consonance and dissonance. At the risk of hyperbole, that mindset of finding something new from the conflict of opposing forces is something that now applies in far more areas of…

I'm interested that "Heroin" was the song that made you feel like that. I've always felt that "European Son" (YT: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=igWyYA_r06Y ) was the most experimental and noisy song on the album, and I always experience a real visceral thrill when listening to it (especially that part with the roar-ish thing and then the glass shattering). The guitar parts are absurd, the band sometimes plays straig…

As someone who is a music fanatic, but had never heard Velvet Underground until right now, I find "European Son" quite interesting, but "Heroin" didn't do anything for me.

I'll check out more VU, any suggestions for songs/albums in a similar vein (experimental, noisy, good guitar/bass interplay, heavily instrumental)?

Re: Lou Reed, Velvet Underground Leader and Rock Pioneer, Dead at 71

#100

Post by Daishiman »

javajosh wrote: post #71
bbx wrote: post #16

The Velvet Underground's career can be summed up as: "Commercially unsuccessful, but enormously influential". On a side note, if you have a few minutes to spare, read Lou Reed's review of Kanye's Yeezus : http://thetalkhouse.com/reviews/view/lou-reed It's interesting to read a legend's opinion on a modern pop-star.

> ... read Lou Reed's review of Kanye's Yeezus: http://thetalkhouse.com/reviews/view/lou-reed Reading that is like watching Lou Reed mentally wrestle himself to the ground. He really doesn't like the record, but keeps rationalizing: the annoying synth sound as a "challenge"; the abrupt changes are challenging and keeping us "off balance. But soon after undermines his own rationalizations to note (correctly, in my vie…

> But soon after undermines his own rationalizations to note (correctly, in my view) that the real reason to make music is to make something beautiful, and hope that other people agree with you.

You should take a class or two on aesthetics. Beauty is, at most, a secondary goal in a multitude of art forms.

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