Sunday 27 October 2013

My Top Ten Lou Reed / Velvet Underground Songs


It's a shame that the first Top Ten I've had time to compose since Sam was born (the last few weeks' were all prepared in advance) is commemorating a death, but I couldn't let Lou Reed pass without a little rushed Top Tenning...


10. Sunday Morning

Bitter irony: Lou died on a Sunday Morning.

9. Beginning Of A Great Adventure

A few weeks ago, I threw this into one of my parenthood Top Tens. I include it again here because:

a) It disproves all those folk who think Lou didn't have a sense of humour.

b) It's ace.

8. Who Loves The Sun

No, there's nothing from Metal Machine Music on this list. I must be a pop kid at heart.

7. Venus In Furs

And yes, if I were a muso, this would be much nearer Number One too.

6. Perfect Day

Hard to hear this without picturing that scene from Trainspotting... or hearing that patchy singalong charity cover from a few years back. Still... perfect.

5. Sweet Jane
I'll tell you something
Jack, he is a banker
And Jane, she is a clerk
Both of them save their monies, ha
And when, when they come home from work
Oh, sittin' down by the fire, oh!
The radio does play
The classical music there, Jim
The march of the wooden soldiers
All you protest kids
You can hear Jack say, get ready, ah...
It's a sex song, obviously.

4. Satellite of Love

Bong bong bong!

3. Oh! Sweet Nuthin'

Loaded is my favourite Velvets album (as you'll probably have guessed from the fact 4 out of the 10 tracks here hail from that LP alone). It's not the cool one that all the critics love, but it's pretty damned near perfect. This track that closes it, brilliantly.

2. Rock & Roll

Our lives were saved by rock 'n' roll...

1. Walk On The Wild Side

I fought this one, I really did. Tried to not go for the obvious choice at #1. Tried to be cool rather than populist. But... fuck it, I don't think Lou did better than this. Few have come close...

Do-dodo dodo do-dodo...



RIP Lou.

Which was your Perfect Day?

6 comments:

  1. Woke up to hear the news, sad day :(

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  2. Though narrated by John Cale, Lou's The Gift always amused me. I was that kind of kid.

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  3. I didn't know he'd died until I checked out your blog. Rock & Roll is my favourite.

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  4. I'd have had Egg Cream in there. Also something from Songs From Drella, probably Growing Up In A Small Town, because I did too. Also Pale Blue Eyes. Oh, and I might have had Oh! Sweet Nuthin' a ltitle higher, if only for its High Fidelity soundtrack association.

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  5. I must be a muso. Anyway, very sad when someone who has added so much to the world dies...but I suspect he made the most of his time

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