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John Gargo 
Forum Senior Member
Joined: January 26 2005
Location: United States
Status: Offline
Points: 450
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 Topic: The Velvet Underground
Posted: February 23 2005 at 08:46 |
An interesting band that I think many people on this site might appreciate... they were pretty innovating for their time, and did a lot of things that were pretty unconventional. Asthetically, they're pretty much the antithesis of a band like Pink Floyd, and yet they share the same affinity for experimentation. Whereas traditional progressive rock was akin to a Salvador Dali painting, these guys took the Andy Warhol (and yes, I'm aware of his association with the band) approach.
The first album, THE VELVET UNDERGROUND AND NICO is their most famous, and most mainstream rock critics often cite their hit "Heroin" as a classic track, but the last track, "European Sun" is really the highlight here... An extended composition that is one of the "noisiest" tracks I've ever heard... Quite brilliant.
WHITE LIGHT/WHITE HEAT pushed the band into more bizarre territory. "The Gift" is a strikingly original track, where the left mix is dominated by a jam session and the right mix is a short story being read outloud by one of the members of the band... by tweaking the balance, you could decide whether to listen to one, the other, or both at the same time. "Lady Godiva's Operation" simply defies explanation, and "Sister Ray" pushes on something like 20 minutes...
THE VELVET UNDERGROUND is a much more laid back and soft approach, but the bands progressive tendencies shine in what is perhaps their boldest experiment... "Murder Mystery." The music is eerie and abrasive, and there are two people talking at the same time during the verses. At first, the effect is quite disorienting and chaotic, but once again there is a way to "solve" this. Listen to the left and you hear one part of the "mystery" and listen to the right and you hear another part. Interesting song...
Anyone else a fan of this band?
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goose
Forum Senior Member
Joined: June 20 2004
Location: United Kingdom
Status: Offline
Points: 4097
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Posted: February 23 2005 at 14:08 |
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Heroin totally bored me (the song, obviously). I think it's mainly because so many third rate bands have ripped off their style I can't appreciate it in its own context.
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Bryan
Special Collaborator
Honorary Collaborator
Joined: April 01 2004
Status: Offline
Points: 3013
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Posted: February 23 2005 at 20:48 |
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Great band, White Light/White Heat is my personal favorite of their albums.
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threefates
Forum Senior Member
Joined: June 30 2004
Location: United States
Status: Offline
Points: 4215
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Posted: February 23 2005 at 21:32 |
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Actually I saw them quite a lot in the 70s.. I was a Maxs Kansas City regular.. and a regular at the Factory.. actually I lived with an Andy Warhol actor for awhile.. who had his own band. Those were interesting days... and the Velvet Underground always sort of bored me to tears. They reminded me of that beatnik enviroment and I guess by 74, my idea of experimentation expected a little more musically going on. It was also hard to appreciate the VC because Lou Reed was such an arcehole... I did however, appreciate John Cale and saw him perform last year. He's looking pretty good for his age.
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THIS IS ELP 
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Rob The Good
Forum Senior Member
Joined: December 17 2004
Location: New Zealand
Status: Offline
Points: 476
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Posted: February 23 2005 at 23:42 |
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You were a regular at the Factory? That's cool!!
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And Jesus said unto John, "come forth and receive eternal life..."
Unfortunately, John came fifth and was stuck with a toaster.
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Matt0001
Forum Groupie
Joined: December 27 2004
Location: United States
Status: Offline
Points: 72
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Posted: February 24 2005 at 01:53 |
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The Velvet Underground are my favorite band. They are not prog, but
they are the best and most influential rock band not called The
Beatles. Unlike in prog, the band did not concern themselves with
complex compositions and virtuosity, but they did expand rock in terms
in texture and "vibe." They are uniquely American and uniquely New York
(despite the fact that John Cale is from Wales). Their sound
couldn't have come from anywhere else. They are also overwhelmingly
"cool" and this can turn some people off. I'm interested to see what
other prog fans' opinions are of them.
Edited by Matt0001
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Sean Trane
Special Collaborator
Prog Folk
Joined: April 29 2004
Location: Heart of Europe
Status: Offline
Points: 19626
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Posted: February 24 2005 at 03:46 |
I have very mixed feelings about V U because they represent something I don't really agree with in life (hard drug abuse - Nico and Reed ) and I don't appreciate the crowd associated to them but they had good moments . My fave track is The Gift .
John Cale is really the reason why I ever got interseted in them. He was the only real musician in the band. I love his early career until 75 then he slowly fades..... I hear his last albums could please progheads, but I have yet to investigate. His best album is his collaboration with Terry Riley , THE CHURCH OF ANTHRAX.
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Captain Fudge
Forum Senior Member
Joined: December 21 2004
Location: Romania
Status: Offline
Points: 238
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Posted: February 24 2005 at 08:34 |
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 Teenage sucks hard -- Emo sucks even harder Epic. Simply epic.
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Jaap
Forum Newbie
Joined: February 09 2005
Location: Netherlands
Status: Offline
Points: 16
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Posted: February 24 2005 at 17:56 |
Good band and very creative. I can't listen it for hours, but their minimalism inspired me a lot. I totally share the opinion that they're the antithesis of Pink Floyd and yet share the same affinity of experimentation.
Musicly their first album is the best, but Whitelight/Whiteheat is their bravest album.
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Captain Fudge
Forum Senior Member
Joined: December 21 2004
Location: Romania
Status: Offline
Points: 238
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Posted: February 25 2005 at 11:14 |
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Teenage sucks hard -- Emo sucks even harder Epic. Simply epic.
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Captain Fudge
Forum Senior Member
Joined: December 21 2004
Location: Romania
Status: Offline
Points: 238
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Posted: February 25 2005 at 11:15 |
Her body, I mean  
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Teenage sucks hard -- Emo sucks even harder Epic. Simply epic.
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Dick Heath
Special Collaborator
Jazz-Rock Specialist
Joined: April 19 2004
Location: England
Status: Offline
Points: 12799
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Posted: February 25 2005 at 12:48 |
 Matt0001 wrote:
(despite the fact that John Cale is from Wales).
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Near Ammanford to be precise - a quiet Welsh town at the west end of the Heads of the Valleys, once upon a time dominated by coal mining and agriculture, and the point going west where real Welsh Wales comes alive (i.e. a few miles north of where the M4 motorway stops) - and approx. 20 miles north of Dylan Thomas's coastal home at Laugharne. Having in-laws living in Ammanford, I am well aware it always rains there and might help explain why he left. Little known fact: it si reported Soft Machine's Karl Jenkins was in the Wales' National Youth Orchestra at the same time as Cale.
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illustrated
Forum Senior Member
Joined: August 19 2004
Status: Offline
Points: 352
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Posted: February 26 2005 at 00:55 |
Just like sister ray said
I’m searching for my mainline
I couldn’t hit it sideways
I couldn’t hit it sideways
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James Lee
Special Collaborator
Honorary Collaborator
Joined: June 05 2004
Status: Offline
Points: 3525
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Posted: February 26 2005 at 20:00 |
There was a 90s musical revolution, and the Velvet Underground was responsible? LMAO
I know what you're saying but the revolution was underground, and a decade earlier. What you saw in the 90s was the mainstream exploiting a movement that was already pretty much over, and making it more digestible for MTV teens and trendy adults. Nirvana is much more overrated than "Heroin" could ever be. 
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The Velvet Underground
Like them or hate them, they were innovative, and nothing like their contemporary hippies (or goody-goody-two-shoes like The Beach Boys
.