In a fascinating, still-ongoing conference on The inkWell, Richie Unterberger talks about the process of researching and writing about the Velvet Underground, for his recently published day by day chronicle of the group. (book excerpts here)
posted by anazgnos on Jun 10, 2009 - 10 comments

I'm not into VU bootlegs really, but apparently this is a big deal. It's the ONLY available live stuff from 1967 and has only become available in literally the last two days. Recorded just after the release of The Velvet Underground And Nico and featuring the debut performance of Sister Ray (19 mins long) and the *previously unheard* song I'm Not A Young Man Any More. That's right, A NEW VELVET UNDERGROUND SONG. And it's fucking good too. This version of Sister Ray absolutely shreds and is what the Velvet Underground are all about.
posted by stinkycheese on Feb 29, 2008 - 61 comments

21 years ago, Andy Warhol died of complications from gallbladder surgery. Lou Reed and John Cale, two founding members of the Velvet Underground -- Warhol's Factory house band -- paid tribute to their mentor on the 1990 album Songs for Drella. Edward Lachman's recording of a 1991 performance is available on YouTube: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 [more inside]
posted by pxe2000 on Feb 23, 2008 - 23 comments

Even if Lou Reed had dropped out of music after the break-up of the Velvet Underground, his name would still be forever etched in the history of rock music. Yet his solo career, filled with eccentric detours and radio-ready rockers in equal measure, remains one of the most fascinating canons in all of rock music. Metal Machine Music, however, is a unique entity in itself, proudly pushing at the very boundaries of what pop music is capable of. Zeitkratzer’s performance not only makes the original album ripe for critical re-evaluation, but it’s a performance that stands on its own ground...

Why Does the Music Have to End?: An Interview with Lou Reed regarding how he came to play Metal Machine Music live in 2002.
posted by y2karl on Nov 17, 2007 - 47 comments

"Window in the Sky" is a YouTube style video synch mash-up done on a professional budget with the magic of copyright clearances. "It's a triumph of postmodern reconstruction" says the Washington Post.
posted by stbalbach on Jan 29, 2007 - 160 comments

What you have purchased for less than the price of a cup of coffee is arguably one of the most important "lost" music recordings out there. Record collector Warren Hill paid 75 cents at a yard sale in Chelsea, New York for an acetate in a plain cardboard sleeve. After some research, Hill's friends confirmed that the acetate disc, recorded by sound engineer Norman Dolph (who also wrote Reunion's "Life Is A Rock But The Radio Rolled Me"), was the third recording ever made by the Velvet Underground and the first album they ever did. A demo rejected by Columbia Records, the acetate is now up for auction on EBay, where the high bid is $124,640.50 and climbing, already breaking records as the most expensive LP ever sold at auction. (Bonus: see a post from a teenage eyewitness to the VU's 1966 session that produced this acetate.)
posted by jonp72 on Dec 5, 2006 - 32 comments

It's official. The raw evil of AOL has joined forces with the unbridled hubris of Web 2.0 and killed Rock and Roll. I blame BoingBoing.
posted by loquacious on Nov 10, 2006 - 48 comments

Lou Reed : Photographer
posted by Lanark on Dec 18, 2005 - 48 comments

The Lou Reed Guitar Archive "Pre-VU, The Velvet Underground, solos and collaborations"
posted by wobh on Jan 3, 2005 - 18 comments

Warholstars is a comprehensive guide to the colorful cast of characters that made up Andy Warhol's constellation and that Lou Reed sang about in Walk on the Wild Side...meet Holly, Candy, Little Joe, Sugar Plum Fairy, Jackie Curtis, and more.
posted by madamjujujive on Aug 29, 2004 - 9 comments

BBC Interview (needs RealPlayer) with Lou Reed.
posted by walrus on Jun 2, 2003 - 0 comments