My daughter and I listened to some Lou Reed - the punk poet - tonight.  Unbelievable that his parents forced him to endure electroshock therapy to cure his bisexuality.  Interesting quote of his "My God is rock 'n roll.  It's an obscure power that can change your life.  The most important part of my religion is to play guitar"   Loved his music - its a sad day...

I watched a local weekend newscast. The weekend anchors look like recent college grads. She announced Lou's death, she mentioned his time with The Velvet Underground and they showed a clip. When they panned back to her she had this look of " who was he?" I felt old... but I felt wise and blessed too.

I was too young to be around for the Velvet Underground period. I remember Lou Reed more from the eighties when he had already become an influence and mentor to younger generations. Remember hearing Walk on the Wild Side (thanks for posting it, Alex) on rock radio a lot in those days.

I didn't listen to it, but Arcade Fire broadcast a live launch concert for their new album last night (it repeats on CBC 2 at 6pm today) and apparently they covered two Reed tunes in the set as a tribute to him. So his influence has made it down to at least the current generation of musicians, even if the "kids" don't necessarily know him from Adam.

Mendalla

I got into the Velvet Underground when I was 16, my boyfriend liked them, and I had heard of them before as being an influence to bands I liked. My boyfriend brought over a dub of the Banana album... eek, still don't know the name... and we played I'm Waitin for My Man, and Heroine, and knew how very baaaad we were being. It even scared me. Heroine is just so realistic and frightening. I worried what I was getting into. And I liked the way-past-suffering sound of Nico singing I Will Be Your Mirror, like a black widow spider, motherly yet so dangerous, like she'd coax me in, in all innocence, and lead me astray, and one day my own voice would croak out from behind a thick wall of smoke just like her. 

Then I bought the Loaded album on tape, cause I wanted to hear the original of Sweet Jane, and hear more of what they'd done, and was surprised how different that album is. This was after I broke up with my boyfriend. Maybe I wanted him to think I was cool still. Anyway, after the initial shock, that album grew on me and I grew on it. I liked Head Held High and Cool It Down and Aw Sweet Nothin'.

So I bought another Velvet Underground tape, the 1969 eponymous one. Again surprised by how gentle it was, unthreatening. ANd I liked that one best of all. With the girl vocal at the end that could be me, and Candy Says, and Beginning to See the Light, and all those wonderful songs. I still play it occasionally. Boyfriend be damned. It was my music now, and I was healing.

So yeah, I may be young, but Lou Reed had an impact on me, which continues. 

Giving this thread a belated bump. Kevin Hearn of Barenaked Ladies worked for, and befriended, Lou Reed in his last years. Given this, Hearn organized a Canadian tribute to Reed featuring an eclectic group of Canadian artists from Hearn's BNL bandmate Ed Robertson to rapper Buck 65 (aka Rich Terfry of CBC Radio 2 Drive) to Gord Downie of the Tragically Hip to singing astronaut Chris Hadfield. Even veteran (as in, he's been around almost as long as Reed was) singer-songwriter Andy Kim (aka Baron Longfellow) showed up to sing "Sweet Jane". And CBC, being the wonderful folks they are, recorded it and put the highlights on a playlist on their Youtube channel. Enjoy.

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLxuaaONzLc3ejrQw_IyZzzrxW-Lz2IAkQ

Mendalla

never got into lou myself, but i am totally into his wife

(she gives a good show, each being different from the rest)

Here's a farewell letter of hers

"To our neighbors:What a beautiful fall!
Everything shimmering and golden and all that incredible soft light.Water surrounding us.

Lou and I have spent a lot of time here in the past few years, and even though we're city people this is our spiritual home.
Last week I promised Lou to get him out of the hospital and come home to Springs.And we made it!

Lou was a tai chi master and spent his last days here being happy and dazzled by the beauty and power and softness of nature.
He died on Sunday morning looking at the trees and doing the famous 21 form of tai chi with just his musician hands moving through the air.

Lou was a prince and a fighter and I know his songs of the pain and beauty in the world will fill many people with the incredible joy he felt for life.Long live the beauty that comes down and through and onto all of us. — Laurie Anderson his loving wife and eternal friend"

I remember her early stuff from the eighties and never got into her. Need to give her another listen and, I suppose, this is a good start.

Mendalla "who didn't know she married Lou Reed until the announcement of his death"