Talk:Lou Reed

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According to User:Jimbo, the subject of this article, Lou Reed, has edited the article - correcting his birth name only to have his correction reverted[1] [[::User:{{{1}}}|{{{1}}}]] ([[::User talk:{{{1}}}|talk]] · [[::Special:Contributions/{{{1}}}|contribs]]).

Contents 1 The Ostrich 2 Shock therapy 3 Lost Highway 4 Faraway, So Close 5 Birthplace 6 Needs image 7 PFFFFFFT 8 birthplace, shock treatment 9 Congratulations and thanks... 10 Velvet Underground 11 Nico 12 Busking? 13 Updating this article 14 Laurie Anderson 14.1 MTV says "married" 15 Recent Photo 16 The Shades? 17 Propositioning John Cale for sex??? 18 Junkie 19 Ambiguity regarding Reed/Cale/Nico relationships line 20 Unsourced Bowie comments 21 Category: Gay

[edit] The Ostrich

I think describing this as a "hit" is overstating things. It didn't chart. Pickwick liked it, it got a very small amount of airplay and a band was formed to perform it at low key events but that's about it. Tigerman 2005 15 Oct 06

[edit] Shock therapy

Wasn't Lou Reed, as a teenager, submitted to electroconvulsive therapy by his parents, who feared he was homosexual? David.Monniaux 11:56, 29 Nov 2004 (UTC)

Yes, i read this in a few music magazines (rather from the "Rolling Stone" shelf) that this is true.--M. Alexander 15:44, 31 May 2005 (UTC)

Doesn't he sing about it in "Kill Your Sons" as well? Also, he is mentioned in the list of famous people who have undergone ECT. I have not enough information besides this to add it, so I'll leave it to some one else, though.

Absolutely he did. The top paragraph has it right. I have a Lou Reed bio which has the details so if I find it I will edit. Technically it was for "anti-social behaviour/characteristics" which was code for his parents fearing he might be gay and other rebellious things like joining a rock band.

    Poor dude!Be as gay as you want to,Lou!

What people forget is that Lou was a Warholian and Warhol encouraged everyone to make up stories and the more outrageous the better. so while he may very well have had ECT, take everything he said in the early days with a grain of salt. And the writer who wrote about it in detail is Victor Bockris who's written an incredibly biased and questionable biography filled with errors.Sukie310 (talk) 23:11, 8 December 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Lost Highway

Lou Reed has a song on the Lost Highway soundtrack (1997) ("The Magic Moment") Sajt 00:52, 11 Jan 2005 (UTC)

If you've seen the movie "Prozac Nation" (Which, in fact, has Lou Reed in it). You'll notice the main character writing a paper on Lou Reed, in which she states that the song "White Light/White Heat" was loosely based on his shock therapy treatment. Whenever he had to endure the therapy, he would see a white light.

[edit] Faraway, So Close

Some mention should probably be made of his appearance in Wim Wenders's Faraway, So Close!--Squiddhartha 22:20, 10 Mar 2005 (UTC)

[edit] Birthplace

According to Victor Bockris' "Transformer", Reed was born in Brooklyn, and his family moved from Brooklyn to Freeport in 1955.

-Can i ask was Lou Reed from an upper middle class background, because ive read that his dad was an accountant and his mom was a former beauty queen and that they lived in a pretty upper middle class neighbourhood. Its just out of curiosity that ive always wondered this.

What difference does is it supposed to make? Do his songs suggest otherwise? Ccoll 13:27, 24 May 2007 (UTC)

-Its interesing to note, because my friend and i were discussing this that people always get slack in the UK specifically for their background and roots if its anything middle class, and me and him were talking about artists who prove this theory completely wrong, So me and him mentioned people such as Miles Davis and Lou Reed as musically venturing into new alleys and being very innovative. Its not out of criticism of Lou Reed, its out of admiration i asked.

anything written by Victor Bockris should never be used as a source. They hated each other and his books are full of discussion, that he was never in the rooms of to hear, that he prints as gospel. Very biased, (Although Lou was born in Brooklyn and raised in LI. ) This source is also incredibly full of errors: . ^ Lou Reed - Walk on the Wild Side: The Stories Behind the Songs, Chris Roberts & Lou Reed, 2004, Hal Leonard, ISBN 0634080326 First of all Lou was not a cowriter and that is how you have it listed. It says that Lou has a sister Elizabeth and a younger brother. He does have a sister but her name is not Elizabeth and out of privacy will I will not print it. He does not have a brother. The name Elizabeth is from one of Lou's songs mentioning a sister named Elizabeth, but it is not about his life. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Sukie310 (talk • contribs) 22:52, 8 December 2007 (UTC)

In the shock therapy quote, he says it was used to discourage homosexuality in Rockland County. Was he living in Rockland County at the time, because Rockland County isn't on Long Island? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 98.221.133.96 (talk) 00:08, 28 May 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Needs image

I didn't know much about Reed (embarassed myself the other day about his race), so it would help me, at the least. An album crop might do, or a free publicity still. -- nae'blis _(talk) 17:19, 26 December 2005 (UTC)

Here are some pictures of him already existing, the cover of Street Hassle might be a fair choice.

Added a small one from one of the fan sites linked from his official site so that it shouldn't be a problem. Could certainly find him looking more outrageous, but that should probably be placed in context within the article. --Ccoll 08:52, 9 January 2006 (UTC)

[edit] PFFFFFFT

When did lou reed sing punk or anything resembling punk?! This article is severely WRONG in many things. First: The Godfather of Punk is Iggy Pop's NICKNAME.

Well, he is on the cover of Punk #1. That said, I would rather the article focus on what Lou Reed himself did, rather than immediately jumping to what he influenced. And it should be obvious that a nickname is hardly formal. It could be said rightly or wrongly about anyone. So I don't mind losing it from the article, but not because Iggy or someone else "is" the Godfather. Ccoll 01:29, 16 January 2006 (UTC)

[edit] birthplace, shock treatment

Wasn't Lou born some where out on the island (long island)? I thought not in brooklyn but somewhere in long island, and yes, according to a concert brochure at wolf trap where I saw Lou perform, he was subjected to schock treatment as a kid for suspected homosexuality.

Born in Brooklyn, however his family moved to Freeport, Long Island when he was 12.

[edit] Congratulations and thanks...

...to everyone who contributed on what seems (to this non-expert) to be one of the better articles we have. --bodnotbod 21:16, 5 February 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Velvet Underground

The Velvet Underground "gained relatively little notice during its life" ?? I thought it gained plenty of notice -- just didn't sell many albums.

relatively. Joeyramoney 20:50, 25 April 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Nico

Someone recently edited the text about Nico to point out that he and Reed were "gay lovers" rather than "lovers" as it said before. Anyone else think this is just gratuitous and should be removed? Aguerriero (talk) 13:19, 25 May 2006 (UTC)

It's a true fact. Frankly I think that without the mention the text is misleading to those who don't know who Nico is. --Sindri 14:03, 25 May 2006 (UTC)

I know it's a fact; it just seemed like someone was going in there and saying, "They were not standard lovers, you see. They were gay lovers." as if it's something different. It is already mentioned earlier in that paragraph that Nico was a male model. No biggie, it just struck me as borderline "commentary" rather than just stating the fact. Aguerriero (talk) 14:13, 25 May 2006 (UTC)

Nico was a woman. I've never seen anything to suggest she was ever anything other than female - she had a son with Alain Delon. --ajn (talk) 14:28, 25 May 2006 (UTC)

My bad, I assumed it was true sinche someone posted a complaint about mentioning gayness instead of just removing vandalism. --Sindri 14:31, 25 May 2006 (UTC)

Heh, sorry about that misunderstanding. I am a member of the Counter-Vandalism Unit and not all that familiar with Lou Reed. I had actually just looked up Nico and was coming back here to fix the vandalism. Aguerriero (talk) 14:58, 25 May 2006 (UTC)

Well, with Reed's bisexuality and his circle of cross-dressers and transsexuals it's never easy to tell (Lester Bangs writes about meeting Reed's "girlfriend" Rachel, and noticing a five-o-clock shadow). Nico had a fairly deep voice, but I think that was due to cigarettes rather than male hormones. My recollection is that Reed doesn't believe in bisexuality - he thinks you're either gay or straight, and that he was gay for several years in the seventies and is straight now. I can't remember if I own Victor Bockris's biography of Reed, or if it's discussed in VB's biography of Warhol. --ajn (talk) 15:09, 25 May 2006 (UTC)

Yes, Nico was undisputibly a woman. Wwwhhh 08:30, 27 July 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Busking?

The latest edit mentions Lou Reed having been a busker during "his formative years." Is there any source for this? And as the article is written currently, I think we need a more specific date; I'm not sure the point fits where it was placed. Ccoll 18:53, 2 June 2006 (UTC)

Reed and Cale did busk during the early days of their friendship but it isn't overly relevant IMHO. Tigerman 2005 15 Oct 06

[edit] Updating this article

This article could use a good and a clean re-editing and some proof reading. It would be great if this article could further expand on the time from 1990 or 1991 for when Lou Reed got around to writing Magic and Loss concerning Doc Pomus. It would be great if it could all lead up to The Raven for 2003. Lou Reed has seemed to have a tremendous and a focused spike of new inspiration and talent during all of this time.
www.geocities.com/berniethomas68 14:17, 4 August 2006 (UTC)

[edit] Laurie Anderson

Someone added an unsourced statement to the Laurie Anderson article that she and Lou are now married. I cannot find any source to verify this so I removed it from that article. I assume if Reed and Anderson had married there would be some press coverage of this fact. If anyone can offer a reputable source confirming this, however, please feel free to add it to Laurie's article. (PS. an IP is showing up in my signature as I got logged off; this message was left by User:23skidoo.) 23skidoo 15:07, 29 September 2006 (UTC)

Agree with removal - I looked around and could'nt find anything either. Though he was married previously, the claim is probably false - Coil00 12:24, 15 October 2006 (UTC)

[edit] MTV says "married"

On the other hand, no less a source than MTV (via MTV News) considers them to be married:

In addition to working with star actors, Reed recruited a roster of gifted musicians including David Bowie, folk duo Kate and Anna McGarrigle, his wife Laurie Anderson and gospel pop group Five Blind Boys of Alabama. --http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1459300/20021226/reed_lou.jhtml

Doesn't make enough difference to me to bother to change the article, though...and of course it would be better to get something like a NY Times clipping about the deed... --starfarmer (talk) 07:16, 13 December 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Recent Photo

Is there not a more recent and a permissible photograph of Lou Reed from 2006 to use rather for than what was 32 years ago at the top of the article to use ? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Berniethomas68 19:19, 8 December 2006 (UTC)

I agree, and have written at least one note about it in the edit summaries. I had an 80s head shot, much more representative of what the man has actually looked like for most of his career, at the top of the page for some time, until it was replaced by the "animal" look, which is appealing but not really as informative.Ccoll 05:33, 9 December 2006 (UTC)

We really need a good free photo of him. The present one is in breach of fair use and will have to come down. --Guinnog 04:54, 4 January 2007 (UTC)

Someone has been working on this article over time and it seems to be quite cleaned up, congratulations go out to those who worked on it.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Berniethomas68 19:17, 5 January 2007 (UTC)

[edit] The Shades?

I believe the Doo-whop group that Lou Reed belonged to was called "The Jades" - there's a single with two songs: "Leave Her for Me" backed by "So Blue" that are attributed to him. -- John 18:40, 9 January 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Propositioning John Cale for sex???

Found in one of the paragraphs:

"....according to Cale's memoirs, Reed demonstrated little interest in Cale's musical pedigree and continually propositioned him for sex, which Cale grudgingly accepted."

This doesn't sit well with me. Cale, according to all sources I've checked, was unambiguously heterosexual. Furthermore I've been unable to find any online reference to subtsantiate the above claim. Accordingly I will be removing it, as it is, in my eye, little more than codswallop and puerile vandalism of the first order. TydeNet 05:32, 6 November 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Junkie

Lou Reed was a junkie and he made it fashionable to wear black ALL THE TIME. Maybe if it was not for Lou Reed we would not be so hot in the summer and Axl Rose would not be so much of a social phenomenon Michaeldrayson 17:23, 6 November 2007 (UTC)

lou reed was not a junkie (altho' no doubt he may have indulged), if anything he was a speed freak. Just because he wrote about Heroin, doesn't mean anything. He is a writer and a poet and as such he is a commentator on what he sees around him. Little slices of life. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Sukie310 (talk • contribs) 23:05, 8 December 2007 (UTC)

Well he's included here: http://www.thatspoppycock.com/library/list_of_opiate_addicts.htm And I doubt writing several songs about heroine use "doesn't mean a thing". Those weren't comments on what he saw around him but what he saw happening to himself.

I think the article should have a section about his addiction history and more personal detail. Where did he live when, how did he get by. --88.64.190.185 (talk) 16:17, 23 January 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Ambiguity regarding Reed/Cale/Nico relationships line

"Despite his initial resistance, Reed wrote several songs for Nico to sing, and the two were briefly lovers (a distinction later shared with Nico by Cale)." What does this mean? That Cale and Nico were lovers or that Cale and Reed were lovers? The syntax is impenetrable. 206.218.218.57 21:01, 9 November 2007 (UTC)

That's what happens with edits like the parenthetical phrase which was added to the sentence I wrote. It only confuses the reader, especially since this is the Lou Reed article, not the Nico or Cale articles. This article has taken a turn toward too much Velvet Underground info at the beginning and too much trivia at the end.Ccoll 05:05, 12 November 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Unsourced Bowie comments

"It is the general consensus that the punch Reed threw was over Bowie's attempt to produce his next album, but it is not unikely that Bowie made him a more licentious offer. The two would not formally collaborate again until 2003's The Raven" Not only was the first sentence NPOV and unsourced ("licentious," indeed), but the sentence mistakely leaves the impression that the two didn't reconcile until "The Raven." Though they may not have officially written or recorded anything together before then, they have performed together and reconciled sometime befotre the Raven. (At the very least, Reed had performed with Bowie at the latter's 50th Birthday concet in 1997.) 206.218.218.57 21:05, 9 November 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Category: Gay

Can someone clarify for me why the Lou Reed page does not have attached to it "Category:Gay musicians"? He is known to have a number of men as lovers, transsexual or not, and just because he apparently views homosexuality as an on/off condition doesn't remove the fact that he has a history as a gay person. To leave him out of the list seems pandering. I was going to simply add the category, but figured I'd save myself the fight by hashing it out here first. --starfarmer (talk) 04:24, 13 December 2007 (UTC)