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Lou Reed



 
 
Lewis Allan "Lou" Reed (born March 2, 1942) is an American rock
Rock music

Rock music is a loosely defined genre of popular music that entered the mainstream in the mid 1950's. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rhythm and blues, country music and other influences....
 musician best known as the guitarist
Guitarist

A guitarist is a musician who plays the guitar. Guitarists may perform solo pieces or play with ensembles and bands of a wide variety of genres....
, vocalist
Singing

Singing is the act of producing musical sounds with the human voice, which is often contrasted with regular speech. A person who sings is called a singer or vocalist....
 and principal songwriter of The Velvet Underground
The Velvet Underground

The Velvet Underground was an American Rock music band first active, in various incarnations, from 1965 to 1973. Their best-known members were Lou Reed and John Cale, who both went on to find success as solo artists....
 as well as a successful solo artist whose career has spanned several decades. The band gained little mainstream attention during their career, but became one of the most influential of their era. As the Velvet Underground's main songwriter, Reed analyzed subjects of personal experience that rarely had been examined so openly in rock and roll, including a variety of sexual topics and drug culture and use.






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Quotations


The next time I listen to an audience member, standing next to a cabinet, for sound advice — I'll tell you.

Spoken to a volunteer acoustician near the stage at during a performance at Crobar (5 April 2005)





Encyclopedia


Lewis Allan "Lou" Reed (born March 2, 1942) is an American rock
Rock music

Rock music is a loosely defined genre of popular music that entered the mainstream in the mid 1950's. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rhythm and blues, country music and other influences....
 musician best known as the guitarist
Guitarist

A guitarist is a musician who plays the guitar. Guitarists may perform solo pieces or play with ensembles and bands of a wide variety of genres....
, vocalist
Singing

Singing is the act of producing musical sounds with the human voice, which is often contrasted with regular speech. A person who sings is called a singer or vocalist....
 and principal songwriter of The Velvet Underground
The Velvet Underground

The Velvet Underground was an American Rock music band first active, in various incarnations, from 1965 to 1973. Their best-known members were Lou Reed and John Cale, who both went on to find success as solo artists....
 as well as a successful solo artist whose career has spanned several decades. The band gained little mainstream attention during their career, but became one of the most influential of their era. As the Velvet Underground's main songwriter, Reed analyzed subjects of personal experience that rarely had been examined so openly in rock and roll, including a variety of sexual topics and drug culture and use. As a guitarist, he was a pioneer of many guitar effects
Guitar effects

Guitar effects are electronic devices that modify the tone, pitch, or sound of an electric guitar, or condition or reroute the signal in some fashion....
 including distortion
Distortion

A distortion is the alteration of the original shape of an object, image, sound, waveform or other form of information or representation. Distortion is usually unwanted....
, high volume feedback
Audio feedback

Audio feedback is a special kind of feedback which occurs when a sound loop exists between an audio input and an audio output . In this example, a signal received by the microphone is Amplifier and passed out of the loudspeaker....
, and nonstandard tunings
Guitar tuning

Guitar tunings are differing pitch arrangements of open strings used for the guitar. Many arrangements are possible, some of the most popular are detailed below....
.

Reed began a long and eclectic solo career in 1971. He had a hit the following year with "Walk on the Wild Side", though for more than a decade he seemed to wilfully evade the mainstream commercial success its chart status offered him. One of rock's most volatile personalities, Reed's work as a solo artist has frustrated critics wishing for a return of The Velvet Underground. The most notable example is 1975's infamous double LP
Gramophone record

A gramophone record is an analog signal sound storage medium consisting of a flat disc with an inscribed modulated spiral groove usually starting near the periphery and ending near the centre of the disc....
 of recorded feedback loops, Metal Machine Music
Metal Machine Music

Metal Machine Music, subtitled *The Amine ? Ring, is an album by Lou Reed. It was originally released as a double album by RCA Records in 1975....
, upon which Reed later commented: "No one is supposed to be able to do a thing like that and survive." By the late 1980s, however, he had garnered recognition as an elder statesman of rock.

Early life

Lou Reed was born into a Jewish family in 1942 at Beth El Hospital in Brooklyn and grew up in Freeport, New York
Freeport, New York

Freeport is a Political subdivisions of New York State#Village in the Town of Hempstead, New York, Nassau County, New York, New York, United States, on the South Shore of Long Island....
. Contrary to some sources, his birth name was Lewis Allan Reed, not Louis Firbanks (that name was a joke started by Lester Bangs
Lester Bangs

Leslie Conway Bangs was an United States music journalism, author and musician. Most famous for his work at Creem and Rolling Stone magazines, Bangs was and still is regarded as an extremely influential voice in rock criticism....
 for Creem
Creem

Creem , "America's Only Rock 'n' Roll Magazine", was a monthly rock 'n' roll publication first published in March 1969 by Barry Kramer and founding editor Tony Reay....
 magazine). He developed an early interest in rock and roll and rhythm and blues
Rhythm and blues

Rhythm and blues is the name given to a wide-ranging genre of popular music first created by African Americans in the late 1940s and early 1950s....
, and during high school played in a number of bands. His first recording was as a member of a doo wop-style group called The Shades.

Reed received electroconvulsive therapy
Electroconvulsive therapy

Electroconvulsive therapy , also known as electroshock, is a well established, albeit controversial psychiatry treatment in which seizures are electrically induced in anesthetized patients for therapeutic effect....
 in his teen years in response to his homosexual behavior; in his dark 1974 song, "Kill Your Sons", he revisited the experience. In an interview, Reed said of the experience:

Reed began attending Syracuse University
Syracuse University

Syracuse University is a private research university located in Syracuse, New York, New York. It was founded as a university in 1870, but its roots can be traced back to a seminary founded by the Methodist Episcopal Church in 1832 which eventually became Genesee College....
, where he hosted a late-night radio program on WAER
WAER

WAER is a radio station in Syracuse, New York. It is located on the campus of Syracuse University, and is an auxiliary service of the school. The station features a jazz music and National Public Radio format, with a news and music staff providing programming around the clock....
 called "Excursions On A Wobbly Rail" (titled after a song by pianist Cecil Taylor
Cecil Taylor

Cecil Percival Taylor is an United States pianist and poet. Classically trained, Taylor is generally acknowledged as one of the inventors of free jazz....
), which typically featured doo wop, rhythm and blues
Rhythm and blues

Rhythm and blues is the name given to a wide-ranging genre of popular music first created by African Americans in the late 1940s and early 1950s....
 and jazz
Jazz

Jazz is a primarily American musical art form which originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States from a confluence of African and European music traditions....
, particularly the free jazz
Free jazz

Free jazz is an approach to jazz music that was first developed in the 1950s and 1960s.Though the music produced by free jazz pioneers varied widely, the common feature was a dissatisfaction with the limitations of bebop, hard bop, and modal jazz, which had developed in the 1940s and '50s....
 developed in the mid-1950s. Many of Reed's innovative guitar techniques were inspired by jazz saxophonists, notably Ornette Coleman
Ornette Coleman

Ornette Coleman is an United States saxophoneist, violinist, trumpeter and composer. He was one of the major innovators of the free jazz movement of the 1950s and 1960s....
. Reed graduated from the Syracuse College of Arts and Sciences with a Bachelors of the Arts degree in June 1964.

Noted poet Delmore Schwartz
Delmore Schwartz

Delmore Schwartz was an American poet and short story writer from Brooklyn....
, then in the last years of his life, taught at Syracuse and befriended Reed, who in 1966 dedicated to Schwartz the song "European Son
European Son

"European Son" is a song written and performed by the American rock and roll band The Velvet Underground. It appears as the final track on their 1967 first album The Velvet Underground and Nico....
", from the Velvet Underground's debut album The Velvet Underground and Nico
The Velvet Underground and Nico

The Velvet Underground & Nico is the debut album by experimental rock band The Velvet Underground and vocal collaborator Nico. It was originally released in March 1967 by Verve Records....
. Later, in 1982, Reed recorded "My House", as a tribute to his late mentor: "My Dedalus
Stephen Dedalus

Stephen Dedalus is James Joyce's literary alter ego, as well as the protagonist and antihero of his first, semi-autobiographical novel of artistic existence A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man and an important character in Joyce's monumental Ulysses ....
 to your Bloom
Leopold Bloom

Leopold Bloom is the fictional protagonist and antihero of James Joyce's novel Ulysses , assuming the role of the 'Odysseus' character. Like the Greek hero in The Odyssey, he is absent at the beginning of the story, and does not feature until episode four of the novel ....
 was such a perfect wit
WIT

WIT is:* The ticker symbol for Wipro Technologies, India.* The timezone Waktu Indonesia Timur, covering Time_in_Indonesia* National Women's Register - A Women's discussion group in Zimbabwe...
." Schwartz's influence on the aspiring writer seems to have been through encouragement, but Reed also credits him for insisting on use of colloquial language in his writing. He said later his goals as a writer were "to bring the sensitivities of the novel
Novel

File:2009 stapelweise Neuerscheinungen im Buchladen.JPGA novel is today a long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern Romance and in the tradition of the novella....
 to rock music" or to write the Great American Novel in a record album.

Career


Staff songwriter at Pickwick Records

In 1963, Reed moved to New York City
New York City

The City of New York is the List of United States cities by population in the United States, while the New York metropolitan area ranks among the List of urban areas by population....
, and began working as an in-house songwriter
Songwriter

File:Beethoven.jpgA songwriter is someone who writes the lyrics, as well the musical composition or melody to songs. One who writes only lyrics is a lyricist, while one who writes only music is a composer....
 for Pickwick Records
Pickwick Records

Pickwick Records was an United States record label and Record distributor known for its releases of sound-alike recordings, bargain bin reissues and repackagings under the brands Design, Bravo , Hurrah, Grand Prix, and children's records on the Cricket and Happy Times labels....
. In 1964, he scored a minor hit with the single "The Ostrich", a parodic
Parody

A parody , in contemporary usage, is a work created to mock, comment on, or poke fun at an original work, its subject, or author, or some other target, by means of humorous, satiric or ironic imitation....
 novelty song
Novelty song

A novelty song is a comical or nonsensical song, performed principally for its Comedy. Humorous songs, or those containing humorous elements, are not necessarily novelty songs....
 of popular "dance songs" such as "The Twist
The Twist (song)

"The Twist" is a twelve bar blues song that gave birth to the Twist dance craze. The song was written and originally released in 1959 by Hank Ballard as a B-side but his version was only a minor 1960 hit, peaking at 28 on the Billboard Hot 100....
" that included lines such as "put your head on the floor and have somebody step on it." His employers had felt the song had hit record
Hit record

A Hit record is a sound recording, usually in the form of a Single or album, that sells a large number of copies or otherwise becomes broadly popular or well-known, through airplay , Nightclub, inclusion in a film or stage play soundtrack, causing it to have "hit" one of the popular chart listings....
 potential, and arranged for a band to be assembled around Reed to promote the recording. The ad hoc group, called The Primitives, included Welsh musician John Cale
John Cale

John Davies Cale , better known as John Cale, is a Welsh people musician, composer, singer-songwriter and record producer who was a founding member of the rock & roll band The Velvet Underground....
, who had recently moved to New York to study music and was playing viola in composer La Monte Young
La Monte Young

La Monte Thornton Young is an United States composer and musician.Young is generally recognized as the first minimalism composer, and one of the four most celebrated leaders of the minimalist school, along with Terry Riley, Steve Reich and Philip Glass, despite having little in common formally with Glass or Reich....
's Theater of Eternal Music along with Tony Conrad
Tony Conrad

Tony Conrad is an American avant-garde video artist, experimental filmmaker, musician/composer, sound artist, teacher and writer. His father was Arthur Conrad, who worked with Everett Warner during World War II in designing dazzle camouflage for the US Navy....
. Cale and Conrad were both surprised to find that for "The Ostrich" Reed tuned each string of his guitar to the same note. This technique created a drone
Drone (music)

In music, a drone is a harmony or monophony effect or accompaniment where a note or chord is continuously sounded throughout much or all of a piece, sustain or repetition , and most often establishing a tonality upon which the rest of the piece is built....
 effect similar to their experimentation in Young's avant garde ensemble. Disappointed with Reed's performance, Cale was nevertheless impressed by Reed's early repertoire (including "Heroin"), and a partnership began to evolve.

The Velvet Underground

Reed and Cale lived together on the Lower East Side, and, adding Reed's college acquaintances guitarist Sterling Morrison
Sterling Morrison

Holmes Sterling Morrison, Jr. was one of the founding members of the rock group The Velvet Underground, usually playing electric guitar, occasionally bass guitar, and singing Backing vocalist....
 and drummer Maureen Tucker
Maureen Tucker

Maureen Ann "Moe" Tucker is a musician best known for having been the drummer for the rock group The Velvet Underground....
 to the group, they formed The Velvet Underground. Though internally unstable (Cale left in 1968; Reed in 1970) and never achieving significant commercial success, the band has a long-standing reputation as one of the most influential underground bands in rock history.

The group caught the attention of notable artist Andy Warhol
Andy Warhol

Andrew Warhola , more commonly known as Andy Warhol, was an United Statesn Painting, Printmaking, and filmmaker who was a leading figure in the Art movement known as pop art....
, who raised their profile immeasurably, if not improving their immediate fortunes. One of Warhol's first contributions to the band's success was securing them a steady spot as the house band at Max's Kansas City
Max's Kansas City

Max's Kansas City was a nightclub and restaurant at 213 Park Avenue South, between 17th and 18th Streets, in New York City that was a gathering spot for musicians, poets, artists and politicians in the 1960s and 1970s....
. Warhol's associates inspired many of Reed's songs as he fell into a thriving, multifaceted artistic scene. Reed rarely gives an interview without paying homage to Warhol as a mentor
Mentor

In Greek mythology, Mentor was the son of Alcumus and, in his old age, a friend of Odysseus. When Odysseus left for the Trojan War he placed Mentor in charge of his son, Telemachus, and of his palace....
 figure. Still, conflict emerged when Warhol had the idea for the group to take on as "chanteuse" the European former model
Model (person)

A model , sometimes called a mannequin, is a person who poses or who is displayed for the purpose of art, fashion, or other product s and advertising....
 Nico
Nico

Christa P?ffgen was a German musician, Model , actress, and Warhol Superstar who is best known by her stage name Nico. She is renowned for both her tenure in The Velvet Underground and for her work as a solo artist....
. Reed and the others registered their objection by titling their debut album The Velvet Underground and Nico
The Velvet Underground and Nico

The Velvet Underground & Nico is the debut album by experimental rock band The Velvet Underground and vocal collaborator Nico. It was originally released in March 1967 by Verve Records....
. Despite his initial resistance, Reed wrote several songs for Nico to sing, and the two were briefly lovers (as were Nico and Cale later). At the time, this album reached #171 on the charts.

Today, however, it is considered one of the most influential rock albums ever produced, influencing glam rock
Glam rock

Glam rock , is a sub-genre of rock music that developed in the UK in the post-hippie early 1970s which was "performed by singers and musicians wearing outrageous clothes, makeup, hairstyles, and platform-soled boots." The flamboyant lyrics, costumes, and visual styles of glam performers were a camp , theatrical blend of nostalgia references t...
, punk
Punk rock

Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed the perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock....
, post punk, gothic rock
Gothic rock

Gothic rock is a musical subgenre of alternative rock that formed during the late 1970s. Gothic rock bands grew from the strong ties they had to the English punk rock and emerging post-punk scenes....
, shoegazing
Shoegazing

Shoegazing is a subgenre of alternative rock that emerged from the United Kingdom in the late 1980s. It lasted until the mid 1990s with a critical zenith reached in 1990 and 1991....
  and more. Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone

Rolling Stone is a United States-based magazine devoted to music, politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J....
 has it listed as the 13th best rock album of all time. Brian Eno
Brian Eno

Brian Peter George St. John le Baptiste de la Salle Eno , commonly known as Brian Eno , is an England musician, composer, record producer, music theory and singer, who, as a solo artist, is best known as the People known as the father or mother of something of ambient music....
 once famously stated that although few people bought the album, most of those who did were inspired to form their own band.

By the time the band recorded White Light/White Heat
White Light/White Heat

White Light/White Heat is the second studio album by the American rock music band The Velvet Underground. The record was the group's last with bassist and founding member John Cale....
, Nico had quit and Warhol was fired, both against the wishes of Cale. Warhol's replacement as manager, Steve Sesnick
Steve Sesnick

Stephen Sesnick took over the music management of The Velvet Underground following the departure of Andy Warhol after the band's The Velvet Underground and Nico....
, convinced Reed to drive Cale out of the band. Morrison and Tucker were discomfited by Reed's tactics but continued with the group. Cale's replacement was Doug Yule
Doug Yule

Douglas Alan Yule is an United States musician and singer, most notable for being a member of The Velvet Underground from 1968 to 1973....
, whom Reed would often facetiously introduce as his younger brother. The group now took on a more pop
Pop music

Pop music is a music genre that features a noticeable rhythmic element, melodies and hook , a mainstream style and a conventional structure.The term "pop music" was first used in 1926 in the sense of "having popular appeal" , but since the 1950s it has been used in the sense of a musical genre, originally characterized as a lighter alternat...
-oriented sound and acted more as a vehicle for Reed to develop his songwriting craft. The group released two more albums with this line up: 1969's The Velvet Underground
The Velvet Underground (album)

The Velvet Underground is the third album by American rock group The Velvet Underground. It was their first record to feature Doug Yule, John Cale's replacement in the band....
 and 1970's Loaded
Loaded (album)

Loaded is the fourth album released by United States rock band The Velvet Underground. The album was released in September, 1970, one month after Lou Reed had left the band, by Atlantic Records' sub-label Cotillion Records....
. The latter included two of the group's most commercially successful songs, "Rock and Roll" and "Sweet Jane". Reed left the Velvet Underground in August 1970; the band disintegrated as core members Sterling Morrison
Sterling Morrison

Holmes Sterling Morrison, Jr. was one of the founding members of the rock group The Velvet Underground, usually playing electric guitar, occasionally bass guitar, and singing Backing vocalist....
 and Maureen Tucker
Maureen Tucker

Maureen Ann "Moe" Tucker is a musician best known for having been the drummer for the rock group The Velvet Underground....
 departed in August 1971 and early 1972, respectively. Doug Yule continued until early 1973 and released one more studio album, Squeeze, under the Velvet Underground name.

After the band's move to Atlantic
Atlantic Records

Atlantic Records is an United States record label best known for its many recordings of rhythm & blues, rock and roll, and jazz. Long one of the most important American independent labels, Atlantic now operates as a wholly owned subsidiary of Warner Music Group, which consolidated Atlantic Records and the Elektra Entertainment Group into one...
's Cotillion
Cotillion Records

Cotillion Records was a subsidiary of Atlantic Records. President of Cotillion Records was Henry E. Allen. It was active from the late 1960s through 1985 in music....
 label, their new manager pushed Reed to change the subject matter of his songs to lighter topics in hopes of resulting in more accessible and mainstream music. The band's album Loaded had taken more time to record than the previous three albums together and was written and produced to be "loaded with hits", but had not broken the band through to a wider audience. Reed briefly retired to his parents' home on Long Island.

Solo career


1970s
After quitting the Velvet Underground in August 1970, Reed took a job at his father's tax accounting firm as a typist, by his own account earning $40 a week. A year later, however, he signed a recording contract with RCA
RCA

RCA Corporation, founded as Radio Corporation of America, was an electronics company in existence from 1919 to 1986. Today, the RCA is owned by the France conglomerate Thomson SA through RCA Trademark Management S.A., a company owned by Thomson....
 and recorded his first solo album in London with top session musicians including Steve Howe
Steve Howe (guitarist)

Stephen James "Steve" Howe is an England guitarist best known for his work with the progressive rock group Yes after replacing Peter Banks in 1970....
 and Rick Wakeman
Rick Wakeman

Richard Christopher Wakeman is an England keyboard player best known as the keyboardist for progressive rock group Yes . Originally a classically trained pianist, he was a pioneer in the use of electronic keyboards and in the use of a rock band in combination with orchestra and choir....
, members of the progressive rock
Progressive rock

Progressive rock is a form of rock music that evolved in the late 1960s and early 1970s as part of a "mostly British attempt to elevate rock music to new levels of artistic credibility." The term "art rock" is often used interchangeably with "progressive rock", but while there are crossovers between the two genres, they are not identical....
 group Yes
Yes (band)

Yes are an England progressive rock band that formed in London in 1968 in music. Their music is marked by sharp dynamic contrasts, extended song lengths, abstract lyrics, and a general showcasing of instrumental prowess....
. The album, simply titled Lou Reed
Lou Reed (album)

Lou Reed is Lou Reed's 1972 debut solo album, released two years after he left The Velvet Underground. The album comprises eight new recordings of then-unreleased Velvet Underground songs, plus two new songs, "Going Down" and "Berlin" ....
, contained smoothly produced, re-recorded versions of unreleased Velvet Underground songs, some of which were originally recorded by the Velvets for Loaded but shelved (see the Peel Slowly and See
Peel Slowly and See

Peel Slowly and See is a five-disc box set of material by The Velvet Underground. It was released in September 1995 by Polydor....
 box set). This first solo album was overlooked by most pop-music critics (although Stephen Holden
Stephen Holden

Stephen Holden is an United States writer, music critic, film critic, and poet.Holden earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in English from Yale University in 1963....
 in Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone

Rolling Stone is a United States-based magazine devoted to music, politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J....
 called it "almost perfect") and it did not sell in significant numbers.

In 1972 Reed released the glam rock
Glam rock

Glam rock , is a sub-genre of rock music that developed in the UK in the post-hippie early 1970s which was "performed by singers and musicians wearing outrageous clothes, makeup, hairstyles, and platform-soled boots." The flamboyant lyrics, costumes, and visual styles of glam performers were a camp , theatrical blend of nostalgia references t...
 record Transformer
Transformer (album)

Transformer is Lou Reed's breakthrough second solo album, released in December 1972. Unlike its predecessor Lou Reed , eight songs of which were leftovers from his The Velvet Underground days, this album contains mainly new material....
. David Bowie
David Bowie

David Bowie is an English musician, actor, record producer and Arrangement. Active in five decades of rock music and frequently reinventing his music and image, Bowie is widely regarded as an innovator, particularly for his work in the 1970s....
 and Mick Ronson
Mick Ronson

Mick Ronson was an England guitarist, composer, multi-instrumentalist, arranger and record producer. He is most well known for his work with David Bowie from 1970 to 1973, Bowie's glam rock period, including being part of The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars band....
 co-produced the album and introduced Reed to a wider popular audience (specifically in the UK). The hit single
Single (music)

In the record industry, a single is a song usually used from a current or upcoming album to promote the album. Singles are distributed through a number of ways; originally, they were packaged as "single" records with one or two other songs and sold before the release of the album....
 "Walk on the Wild Side" was both a salute and swipe at the misfits, hustlers, and transvestites
Transvestism

Transvestism is the practice of cross-dressing, which is wearing the clothing of the opposite sex. Transvestite refers to a person who cross-dresses; however, the word often has additional connotations....
 in Andy Warhol's Factory
The Factory

The Factory was Andy Warhol's original New York City studio from 1962 to 1968, although his later studios were known as The Factory as well. The Factory was located on the fifth floor at 231 47th Street , in Midtown Manhattan....
. The song's cleverly transgressive lyrics evaded radio censorship. Though musically somewhat atypical for Reed, it eventually became his signature song. The song came about as a result of his commission to compose a soundtrack
Soundtrack

The term soundtrack refers to three related concepts: recorded music accompanying and synchronized to the images of a motion picture, television program or video game; a commercially released soundtrack album of music as featured in the soundtrack of a film or TV show; and the physical area of a film that contains the synchronized recorded so...
 to a theatrical adaptation of Nelson Algren
Nelson Algren

Nelson Algren was an United States writer....
's novel of the same name, though the play failed to materialize. Ronson's arrangements brought out new aspects of Reed's songs; "Perfect Day
Perfect Day

"Perfect Day" is a song written by Lou Reed in 1972. Its fame was given a boost in the 1990s when it was featured in the 1996 film Trainspotting , and after its release as a charity single in 1997....
", for example, features delicate strings and soaring dynamics. It was rediscovered in the 1990s and allowed Reed to drop "Walk on the Wild Side" from his concerts.

Though Transformer would prove to be Reed's commercial and critical pinnacle, there was no small amount of resentment in Reed devoted to the shadow the record cast over the rest of his career. A public argument between Bowie and Reed ended their working relationship for several years, though the subject of the argument is not known. The two reconciled some years later, and Reed performed with Bowie at the latter's 50th birthday concert at Madison Square Garden
Madison Square Garden

Madison Square Garden, often abbreviated as MSG and known colloquially as The Garden, has been the name of four arenas in New York City....
 in 1997. The two would not formally collaborate again until 2003's The Raven. Reed followed Transformer with the darker Berlin
Berlin (album)

Berlin is a 1973 album by Lou Reed, his third solo album and the follow-up to Transformer . In 2003, the album was ranked number 344 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time....
, which tells the story of two junkies in love in the city of the same name
Berlin

Berlin is the Capital of Germany city and one of sixteen States of Germany of Germany. With a population of 3.4 million within its city limits, Berlin is the country's largest city....
. The songs variously concern domestic abuse ("Caroline Says I", "Caroline Says II"), drug addiction
Drug addiction

Drug addiction is widely considered a Pathology. The disorder of addiction involves the progression of acute drug use to the development of drug-seeking behavior, the vulnerability to relapse, and the decreased, slowed ability to respond to naturally rewarding stimuli....
 ("How Do You Think It Feels"), adultery
Adultery

Adultery is the voluntary sexual intercourse between a marriage and another person who is not his or her spouse, though in many places it is only considered adultery when a married woman has sexual relations with someone who is not her husband and in others it is only considered adultery when a married woman has sexual relations with someon...
 and prostitution
Prostitution

The word prostitution is used to indicate:1. The exposing or otherwise offering oneself or someone else with the purpose of tempting potential customers to exchange money or goods for the promise of cooperativeness in sexual intercourse from the exposed person;...
 ("The Kids"), and suicide
Suicide

Suicide is the intentional taking of one's own life. Many dictionaries also note the metaphorical sense of "willful destruction of one's self-interest"....
 ("The Bed").

As he had done with Berlin after Transformer, in 1975 Reed responded to his glam rock success with a commercial failure, a double album of electronically generated audio feedback
Audio feedback

Audio feedback is a special kind of feedback which occurs when a sound loop exists between an audio input and an audio output . In this example, a signal received by the microphone is Amplifier and passed out of the loudspeaker....
, Metal Machine Music
Metal Machine Music

Metal Machine Music, subtitled *The Amine ? Ring, is an album by Lou Reed. It was originally released as a double album by RCA Records in 1975....
. Critics interpreted it as a gesture of contempt, an attempt to break his contract with RCA or to alienate his less sophisticated fans. But Reed claimed that the album was a genuine artistic effort, even suggesting that quotations of classical music
Classical music

Classical music is a broad term that usually refers to mainstream music produced in, or rooted in the traditions of Western art history Religious music and secular music, encompassing a broad period from roughly the 9th century to present times....
 could be found buried in the feedback. Bangs declared it "genius", though also as psychologically disturbing. The album was reportedly returned to stores by the thousands after a few weeks. Though later admitting that the liner notes' list of instruments is fictitious and intended as parody
Parody

A parody , in contemporary usage, is a work created to mock, comment on, or poke fun at an original work, its subject, or author, or some other target, by means of humorous, satiric or ironic imitation....
, Reed maintains that MMM was and is a serious album. In the 2000s it was adapted for orchestral performance by the German ensemble Zeitkratzer.

By contrast, 1976's Coney Island Baby
Coney Island Baby

Coney Island Baby is an album by Lou Reed, released in 1976. It is also the title of a song on that album. The name presumably refers to the Excellents' 1962 doo wop song of the same name, and/or a 1924 Les Appleton barbershop music song of the same name ....
 was mainly a warm and mellow album, though for its characters Reed still drew on the underworld of city life. At this time his lover was a transgender
Transgender

Transgender is a general term applied to a variety of individuals, behaviors, and groups involving tendencies that diverge from the normative gender role commonly, but not always, assigned at birth, as well as the role traditionally held by society....
 woman, Rachel, mentioned in the dedication of "Coney Island Baby" and appearing in the photos on the cover of Reed's 1977 "best of" album, Walk on the Wild Side: The Best of Lou Reed
Walk on the Wild Side: The Best of Lou Reed

Walk on the Wild Side: The Best of Lou Reed is the first greatest hits compilation by Lou Reed, formerly of The Velvet Underground. It was issued by RCA records after the termination of Reed's first contract with them ended in 1976....
. While Rock and Roll Heart, his 1976 debut for his new record label Arista
Arista Records

Arista Records is an United States record label. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of Sony Music Entertainment and operates under the RCA Records....
, fell short of expectations, Street Hassle
Street Hassle

Street Hassle is a 1978 album by Lou Reed. The studio tracks were recorded in New York City, while the live recordings were made in Munich, West Germany....
 (1978) was a return to form in the midst of the punk
Punk rock

Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed the perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock....
 scene he had helped to inspire. But ironically Reed was dismissive of punk and ...'disclaimed any identity with punk '"Its... [r]idiculous I'm too literate to be into punk rock...The whole CBGB's, new Max's thing that everyone's into and what's going on in London - you don't seriously think I'm responsible for what's mostly rubbish?The Bells
The Bells (album)

The Bells is the ninth album by Lou Reed released through Arista Records in 1979. It is recorded in binaural recording sound. "City Lights" is a tribute to Charlie Chaplin....
(1979) featured jazz
Jazz

Jazz is a primarily American musical art form which originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States from a confluence of African and European music traditions....
 great Don Cherry
Don Cherry (jazz)

Don Cherry was an innovative African-American jazz trumpeter whose career began with a long association with saxophonist Ornette Coleman, and who would go on to live and work with a wide variety of musicians in many parts of the world....
, and was followed by
Growing Up in Public
Growing Up in Public

Growing Up in Public is the tenth album by rock and roll artist Lou Reed, released in 1980....
with guitarist Chuck Hammer
Chuck Hammer

Chuck Hammer is an American guitarist and Emmy nominated digital film composer, known for seminal guitar/synth with Lou Reed, David Bowie, and Guitarchitecture....
 the following year. Around this period he also appeared as a sleazy record producer
Record producer

In the music industry, a record producer has many roles, among them controlling the recording sessions, coaching and guiding the musicians, organizing and scheduling production budget and resources, and supervising the recording, Audio mixing and audio mastering processes....
 in Paul Simon
Paul Simon

Paul Frederic Simon is an United States singer-songwriter and musician, perhaps best known for his partnership with Art Garfunkel in the duo Simon & Garfunkel....
's film
One Trick Pony. Reed also played several unannounced one-off concerts in tiny downtown Manhattan clubs with the likes of Cale, Patti Smith
Patti Smith

Patricia Lee "Patti" Smith is an United States singer-songwriter, poet and artist who was a highly influential component of the punk rock movement with her 1975 debut album Horses ....
, and David Byrne
David Byrne (musician)

David Byrne is a Scotland-United States musician and artist perhaps best known as a founding member and principal songwriter of the New Wave band Talking Heads, which was active between 1974 and 1991....
 during the period, but full reconciliation between Cale and Reed was implausible. Cale later wrote the song "Woman" about Reed on his album
BlackAcetate
BlackAcetate

blackAcetate is a 2005 album by John Cale, his second album for EMI."Perfect" was released as a single in the UK two weeks after the album, and was subsequently included in The Sunday Times list of the top 20 pop music of the year....
.

1980s
In 1980, Reed married British designer Sylvia Morales. They were divorced more than a decade later. While together, Morales inspired some of Reed's strongest love songs, particularly "Think it Over" from 1980's
Growing Up in Public
Growing Up in Public

Growing Up in Public is the tenth album by rock and roll artist Lou Reed, released in 1980....
and "Women" from 1982's The Blue Mask
The Blue Mask

The Blue Mask is the eleventh studio album by singer-songwriter Lou Reed. It was the first album released after Reed left Arista and returned to RCA....
. After Legendary Hearts
Legendary Hearts

Legendary Hearts is a 1983 album by rock and roll musician Lou Reed. It was dedicated to Reed's wife, Sylvia....
(1983) and New Sensations
New Sensations

New Sensations is a 1984 album by Lou Reed.When this album was released, critics and listeners alike took note of a change in the songs as being more upbeat and fun than much of Reed's prior work....
(1984) fared adequately on the charts, Reed was sufficiently rehabilitated as a public figure to become spokesman for Honda
Honda

is a multinational corporation headquartered in Japan.The company manufactures automobiles, motorcycles, trucks, scooter , robots, jet aircrafts and jet engines, all-terrain vehicle, water craft, electrical generators, marine engines, lawn and garden equipment, and aeronautical and other mobile technologies....
 scooters. In 1986, he joined the Amnesty International
Amnesty International

Amnesty International is an international non-governmental organization which defines its mission as "to conduct research and generate action to prevent and end grave abuses of human rights and to demand justice for those whose rights have been violated." Founded in London, England in 1961, AI draws its attention to human rights abuses and...
 A Conspiracy of Hope Tour
A Conspiracy of Hope Tour

A Conspiracy of Hope was a short tour of six benefit concerts on behalf of Amnesty International that took place in the United States during June 1986....
 and was outspoken about New York's political issues and personalities on the 1989 album
New York
New York (album)

New York is a 1989 album by Lou Reed. It was received very warmly as a return to the style of The Velvet Underground, the group which Reed founded in the 1960s and whose legacy had grown in stature during the 1980s as it was carried on by any number of alternative rock acts....
, commenting on crime
Crime

Societies define Crime as the breach of one or more rules or laws for which some Government or force may ultimately prescribe a punishment.The word crime originates from the Latin crimen , from the Latin root cerno and Greek ????? = "I judge"....
, AIDS
AIDS

Acquired immune deficiency syndrome or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome is a disease of the human immune system caused by the HIV ....
, Jesse Jackson
Jesse Jackson

Jesse Louis Jackson, Sr. is an American civil rights activism and Baptist Minister of religion. He was a candidate for the Democratic Party presidential nomination in 1984 and 1988 and served as "shadow senator" for the District of Columbia from 1991 to 1997....
, Kurt Waldheim
Kurt Waldheim

Kurt Josef Waldheim was an Austrian diplomat and politician. Waldheim was Secretary-General of the United Nations from 1972 to 1981, and President of Austria from 1986 to 1992....
, and Pope John Paul II
Pope John Paul II

Pope John Paul II John Paul II is widely acclaimed as one of the most influential leaders of the twentieth century. He has been Pope_John_Paul_II#Role_in_the_fall_of_Communism in bringing down communism in Eastern Europe, as well as significantly improving the Roman Catholic Church's relations with Judaism, the Eastern Orthodox Church, and A...
.

Reed also took movie roles that echoed aspects of his personality—or at least his reputation. He played "metaphysical folk singer" Auden (a satire
Satire

Satire is often strictly defined as a literary genre; although, in practice, it is also found in the graphic arts and performing arts. In satire, human or individual vices, follies, abuses, or shortcomings are held up to censure by means of ridicule, derision, burlesque, irony, or other methods, ideally with the intent to bring about improv...
 of Bob Dylan) in the 1983 Allan Arkush
Allan Arkush

Allan Arkush is an American cult film and television director and frequent collaborator of Joe Dante.Arkush got his start in the industry working in the trailer department for Roger Corman....
 film
Get Crazy
Get Crazy

Get Crazy is a 1983 in film directed by Allan Arkush and starring Malcolm McDowell, Allen Garfield, Daniel Stern , and Ed Begley, Jr.....
, for which he wrote and performed the song "Little Sister". Reed also provided the singing voice for the character Mok in the 1983 film Rock & Rule
Rock & Rule

Rock & Rule is a 1983 animated film from the Cinema of Canada animation studio Nelvana. It was produced and directed by the company's founders, Michael Hirsh , Patrick Loubert and Clive A....
and wrote the songs "My Name Is Mok" and "Triumph" for the film's soundtrack.

Following Warhol's death after routine surgery
Surgery

Surgery is a medical specialty that uses operative manual and instrumental techniques on a patient to investigate and/or treat a pathological condition such as disease or injury, to help improve bodily function or appearance, or sometimes for some other reason....
 in 1987, Reed again collaborated with John Cale
John Cale

John Davies Cale , better known as John Cale, is a Welsh people musician, composer, singer-songwriter and record producer who was a founding member of the rock & roll band The Velvet Underground....
 on 1990's
Songs for Drella
Songs for Drella

Songs for Drella is a concept album by Lou Reed and John Cale, alumni of The Velvet Underground.On January 9, 1989 Cale and Reed performed a selection of Songs for Drella at The Church of St....
(Drella - Warhol's nickname - is a blend
Blend

In linguistics, a blend is a word formed from parts of two other words. These parts are sometimes, but not always, morphemes.Linguistics...
 of the words "Dracula
Dracula

Dracula is an 1897 in literature novel by Irish people author Bram Stoker, featuring as its primary antagonist the vampire Count Dracula.Dracula has been attributed to many literary genres including vampire literature, horror fiction, the gothic novel and invasion literature....
" and "Cinderella
Cinderella

Cinderella , is a well-known classic folk tale embodying a myth-element of unjust oppression/triumphant reward. Thousands of variants are known throughout the world....
"). The album marked an end to a 22-year estrangement. The album took the shape of a Warhol biography; on the album, Reed sings of his love for his late friend, but also criticizes both the doctors who were unable to save Warhol's life and Warhol's would-be assassin, Valerie Solanas
Valerie Solanas

Valerie Jean Solanas was an United States radical feminist writer, best known for the attempted murder of Andy Warhol in 1968. She wrote the SCUM Manifesto, a popular feminist essay on patriarchy culture advocating male gendercide, the creation of an Separatist feminism, and the New World Order ....
.

1990s
In 1990, following a 20-year hiatus, the Velvet Underground reformed for a Cartier benefit in France
France

France , officially the French Republic , is a country whose Metropolitan France is located in Western Europe and that also comprises various Overseas departments and territories of France....
. Reed released his sixteenth solo record,
Magic and Loss
Magic and Loss

Magic and Loss is a concept album by Lou Reed, released in 1992. It was his sixteenth album. It was informed by the illnesses and deaths of two close friends; songwriter Doc Pomus, who gave Reed his start in the music business, and Rotten Rita....
in 1992, an album about mortality, inspired by the death of two close friends from cancer. In 1993, the Velvet Underground again reunited and toured throughout Europe
Europe

Europe is, conventionally, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally divided from Asia to its east by the water divide of the Ural Mountains, the Ural , the Caspian Sea, and by the Caucasus Mountains to the southeast....
, though plans for a North American tour were cancelled following another falling out between Reed and Cale. In 1994, Reed appeared in
A Celebration: The Music of Pete Townshend and The Who
A Celebration: The Music of Pete Townshend and The Who

A Celebration: The Music of Pete Townshend and The Who, also known as Daltrey Sings Townshend, is a music event and later album documenting a two-night concert at Carnegie Hall in 1994....
, also known as Daltrey Sings Townshend. This was a two-night concert at Carnegie Hall produced by Roger Daltrey
Roger Daltrey

Roger Harry Daltrey Order of the British Empire is an England singer-songwriter and actor, best known as the founder and lead singer of English rock music band The Who....
 of English rock band The Who
The Who

The Who are an England Rock music band formed in 1964. The primary lineup was guitarist Pete Townshend, vocalist Roger Daltrey, bassist John Entwistle and drummer Keith Moon....
 in celebration of his fiftieth birthday. In 1994, a CD and a VHS video were issued, and in 1998 a DVD was released. Reed performed a radically rearranged version of "Now And Then" from
Psychoderelict
Psychoderelict

Psychoderelict is a concept album written, produced and engineered by Pete Townshend. Some characters and issues presented in this work were continued in Townshend's later opus The Boy Who Heard Music, first presented on The Who's album Endless Wire and then adapted as a rock musical....
. In 1996, the Velvet Underground were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum is a museum located on the shores of Lake Erie in downtown Cleveland Cleveland, Ohio, United States, dedicated to recording the history of some of the best-known and most influential artists, producers, and other people who have in some major way influenced the music industry, particularly in the are...
. At the induction ceremony, Reed performed a song entitled "Last Night I Said Goodbye to My Friend" alongside former bandmates John Cale and Maureen Tucker
Maureen Tucker

Maureen Ann "Moe" Tucker is a musician best known for having been the drummer for the rock group The Velvet Underground....
, in dedication to Velvet Underground guitarist Sterling Morrison
Sterling Morrison

Holmes Sterling Morrison, Jr. was one of the founding members of the rock group The Velvet Underground, usually playing electric guitar, occasionally bass guitar, and singing Backing vocalist....
, who had died the previous August. Reed has since been nominated for the Rock Hall as a solo artist twice, in 2000 and 2001, but has not been inducted.

In 1997, over 30 artists covered "Perfect Day" for the BBC's "Children in Need" appeal. 1996's
Set the Twilight Reeling
Set the Twilight Reeling

Set the Twilight Reeling is a 1996 album by rock and roll singer Lou Reed.Cover art from Stefan Sagmeister. The CD case sold with the album was a dark purple/blue hue, making the cover look simply like a dark blue picture of Reed's face; the bright yellow aspect and the "rays" of the cover image were only made apparent when the liner no...
received a lukewarm reception, but 2000's Ecstasy - including several tracks originally written for the "Time Rocker" piece - drew praise from most critics, including Robert Christgau
Robert Christgau

Robert Christgau is an United States essayist, music journalist, and self-declared "Dean of American Rock Critics". In print, he often abbreviates his name as Xgau....
. In 1996, Lou Reed contributed songs and music to
Time Rocker, an avant-garde theatrical interpretation of H.G. Wells's The Time Machine
The Time Machine

The Time Machine is a novella by H. G. Wells, first published in 1895 and later directly adapted into at least two feature films of the same name, as well as two television versions, and a large number of comic book adaptations....
staged by theater director Robert Wilson
Robert Wilson (director)

Robert Wilson is an United States of America avant-garde stage director and playwright who has been called "[America]'s — or even the world's — foremost vanguard 'theater artist'"....
. The piece premiered in the Thalia Theater
Thalia Theater (Hamburg)

The Thalia Theater is one of the three state-owned theatres in Hamburg, Germany. It was founded in 1843 by Charles Maurice Schwartzenberger and named after the muse Thalia....
 in Hamburg, Germany, and was later also shown at The Brooklyn Academy of Music in New York.

Since the late 1990s, Reed has been romantically linked to the musician, multi-media and performance artist Laurie Anderson
Laurie Anderson

Laurie Anderson is an American experimental performance artist and musician who plays violin and keyboards and sings in a variety of experimental music and art rock styles....
, and the two have collaborated on a number of recordings together. Anderson contributed to "Call On Me" from Reed's project
The Raven, to the tracks "Rouge" and "Rock Minuet" from Reed's Ecstasy, and to "Hang On To Your Emotions" from Reed's Set the Twilight Reeling. Reed contributed to "In Our Sleep" from Anderson's Bright Red
Bright Red

Bright Red is the title of performance artist Laurie Anderson's sixth album, released by Warner Bros. in 1994.The album continued the more pop-oriented direction Anderson launched with Strange Angels....
and to "One Beautiful Evening" from Anderson's Life on a String
Life on a String

Life on a String is an album by performance artist Laurie Anderson, released in 2001 on Nonesuch Records.One of Anderson's predominantly musical albums, Life on a String was recorded at the Lobby Studios in New York City, and produced by Anderson and Hal Willner....
. They were married on April 12, 2008.

2000s
In May 2000, Reed performed before Pope John Paul II
Pope John Paul II

Pope John Paul II John Paul II is widely acclaimed as one of the most influential leaders of the twentieth century. He has been Pope_John_Paul_II#Role_in_the_fall_of_Communism in bringing down communism in Eastern Europe, as well as significantly improving the Roman Catholic Church's relations with Judaism, the Eastern Orthodox Church, and A...
 at the Great Jubilee Concert in Rome. In 2000, a new collaboration with Robert Wilson
Robert Wilson (director)

Robert Wilson is an United States of America avant-garde stage director and playwright who has been called "[America]'s — or even the world's — foremost vanguard 'theater artist'"....
 called
Poe-Try was staged at the Thalia Theater
Thalia Theater (Hamburg)

The Thalia Theater is one of the three state-owned theatres in Hamburg, Germany. It was founded in 1843 by Charles Maurice Schwartzenberger and named after the muse Thalia....
 in Germany. As with the previous collaboration
Time Rocker, Poe-Try was also inspired by the works of a 19th century writer: Edgar Allan Poe
Edgar Allan Poe

Edgar Allan Poe was an American poet, Short story writer, Editing and Literary criticism, and is considered part of the American Romanticism. Best known for his tales of Mystery and the macabre, Poe was one of the earliest American practitioners of the short story and is considered the inventor of the Detective fiction genre....
. Lou became obsessed with Poe after producer and long-time friend Hal Willner
Hal Willner

Hal Willner is an United States music producer working in recording, films, TV and live events. He is best known for assembling tribute albums and events featuring a wide variety of artists and musical styles ....
 had suggested him to read some of Poe's text at a Halloween
Halloween

Halloween is a holiday celebrated on October 31. It has roots in the Celtic mythology of Samhain and the Christian holy day of All Saints. It is largely a Secularity celebration, but some Christians and Paganism have expressed strong feelings about its religious overtones....
 benefit he was curating at St. Ann's Episcopal Church in Brooklyn. For this new collaboration with Robert Willson, Lou Reed reworked and even rewrote some of Poe's text as well as included some new songs based on the theme explored in the texts. In 2001, Reed made a cameo appearance in the movie adaptation of
Prozac Nation. On October 6, 2001 the New York Times published a Lou Reed poem called Laurie Sadly Listening in which he reflects upon the events of 9/11.

Incorrect reports
List of premature obituaries

A premature obituary is an obituary published whose subject is not actually deceased. Such situations have various causes, such as hoaxes or mix-ups over names, and usually produce great embarrassment or sometimes more dramatic consequences....
 of Reed's death were broadcast by numerous US radio stations in 2001, caused by a hoax email (purporting to be from Reuters
Reuters

Reuters Group Limited is a United_Kingdom-based, Canadian controlled news agency and former financial market data provider that provides reports from around the world to newspapers and broadcasters....
) which said he had died of an overdose. In 2003, he released a 2-CD
Compact Disc

A Compact Disc is an optical disc used to store Data , originally developed for storing digital audio. The CD, available on the market since October 1982, remains the standard physical medium for sale of commercial Sound recording and reproduction to the present day....
 set,
The Raven, based on "Poe-Try". Besides Lou Reed and his band, the album featured a wide range of actors and musicians including singers David Bowie
David Bowie

David Bowie is an English musician, actor, record producer and Arrangement. Active in five decades of rock music and frequently reinventing his music and image, Bowie is widely regarded as an innovator, particularly for his work in the 1970s....
, Laurie Anderson
Laurie Anderson

Laurie Anderson is an American experimental performance artist and musician who plays violin and keyboards and sings in a variety of experimental music and art rock styles....
, Kate McGarrigle
Kate McGarrigle

Kate McGarrigle, Order of Canada is a Canada folk music singer-songwriter, who writes and performs as a duo with her sister Anna McGarrigle....
 & Anna McGarrigle
Anna McGarrigle

Anna McGarrigle, Order of Canada is a Canada folk music singer/songwriter who writes and performs as a duo with her sister Kate McGarrigle....
, The Blind Boys of Alabama
The Blind Boys of Alabama

The Blind Boys of Alabama are a gospel music group from Alabama that first formed at the Alabama Institute for the Negro Blind in 1939. The three main vocalists of the group and their drummer/percussionist are all blind....
 and Antony Hegarty
Antony Hegarty

Antony Hegarty is an England-Ireland singer-songwriter, best known for being the lead singer of the band Antony and the Johnsons....
, saxophonist and long-time idol Ornette Coleman
Ornette Coleman

Ornette Coleman is an United States saxophoneist, violinist, trumpeter and composer. He was one of the major innovators of the free jazz movement of the 1950s and 1960s....
, and actors Elizabeth Ashley
Elizabeth Ashley

Elizabeth Ashley is an United States actress who first came to prominence in the Broadway theatre play Take Her, She's Mine, which earned her a Tony Award as Best Featured Actress in a Play....
, Steve Buscemi
Steve Buscemi

Steven Vincent "Steve" Buscemi is an United States character actor and film director....
, Willem Dafoe
Willem Dafoe

William J. "Willem" Dafoe is a two-time Academy Award-nominated United States film and theatre actor, and a founding member of the experimental theatre company The Wooster Group....
, Amanda Plummer
Amanda Plummer

Amanda Michael Plummer is an award-winning United States actress....
, Fisher Stevens
Fisher Stevens

Fisher Stevens is an United States actor. He is perhaps best known for his portrayals of Chuck Fishman on Early Edition, Eugene "The Plague" Belford in Hackers , and Ben Jabituya/Jahrvi in Short Circuit and Short Circuit 2....
 and Kate Valk
Kate Valk

Kate Valk is a founding member of The Wooster Group, a collective of artists who make new work for the theater. Under the direction of Elizabeth LeCompte and with its associates and staff, the Group has created nineteen theater pieces, four dances, three radio plays, five video/film works and produced the first eight monologs of Spalding Gra...
. The album consisted of songs written by Reed and spoken word
Spoken word

Spoken word is a form of literature art or artistic performance in which lyrics, poetry, or stories are spoken rather than sung. The category of spoken-word that is often done with a musical background is performance poetry....
 performances of reworked and rewritten texts of Edgar Allan Poe
Edgar Allan Poe

Edgar Allan Poe was an American poet, Short story writer, Editing and Literary criticism, and is considered part of the American Romanticism. Best known for his tales of Mystery and the macabre, Poe was one of the earliest American practitioners of the short story and is considered the inventor of the Detective fiction genre....
 by the actors, set to electronic music composed by Reed. At the same time a 1-CD
Compact Disc

A Compact Disc is an optical disc used to store Data , originally developed for storing digital audio. The CD, available on the market since October 1982, remains the standard physical medium for sale of commercial Sound recording and reproduction to the present day....
 version of the albums, focusing on the music, was also released.

A few months after the release of The Raven
The Raven

"The Raven" is a narrative poetry by the United States writer Edgar Allan Poe, first published in January 1845. It is noted for its musicality, stylized language, and supernatural atmosphere....
, a new 2-CD Best Of-set was released, entitled
NYC Man (The Ultimate Collection 1967-2003)
NYC Man (The Ultimate Collection 1967-2003)

NYC Man is a 2-CD anthology of Lou Reed's work featuring four songs by The Velvet Underground. All songs of this career spanning collection were chosen, sequenced and remastered by Lou Reed himself....
, which featured an unreleased version of the song "Who am I" and a selection of career spanning tracks that had been selected, remastered and sequenced under Lou's own supervision. In April 2003, Lou Reed embarked on a new world tour supporting both new and released material, with a band including celliste Jane Scarpantoni
Jane Scarpantoni

Jane Scarpantoni is a classically trained cello player who has played on a number of alternative rock albums.She was a member of Hoboken, New Jersey's Tiny Lights in the mid-'80s, then went on to play with other musicians especially those associated with the Hoboken underground rock scene of the 1980s and early 1990s, including Bruce Spring...
 and singer Antony Hegarty
Antony Hegarty

Antony Hegarty is an England-Ireland singer-songwriter, best known for being the lead singer of the band Antony and the Johnsons....
. During some of the concerts for this tour, the band was joined by Master Ren Guangyi, Lou's personal Tai Chi
Tai Chi Chuan

Tai chi chuan is an neijia Chinese martial arts often practiced for health reasons. Tai chi is typically practiced for a variety of reasons: its Hard and soft , demonstration competitions, health and longevity....
 instructor, performing Tai Chi movements to the music on stage. This tour was documented in the 2004 double disc live album Animal Serenade
Animal Serenade

Animal Serenade features Lou Reed onstage in Los Angeles at the Wiltern Theatre in 2003 after The Raven . The show features a drummer-less band and Reed delivers dramatic readings of some of his most compelling work....
, recorded live at The Wiltern in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles

Los ?ngeles is the Capital of the Biob?o Province, in the municipality of the same name, in Regions of Chile VIII , in the center-south of Chile....
.

2003 also saw the release of Lou's first book of photographs, called
Emotions in Action. This work actually was made up out of 2 books, a larger A4-paper sized called "Emotions" and a smaller one called "Actions" which was laid into the hard cover of the former. After Hours: a Tribute to the Music of Lou Reed was released by Wampus Multimedia
Wampus Multimedia

Wampus Multimedia is an United States media company founded by artist and producer Mark Doyon. Wampus has released modern rock music and folk music albums internationally from Arms of Kismet, tvfordogs, Cafebar 401, Amateur God, Alice Despard, Casey Abrams, Johnny J....
 in 2003. In 2004, a Groovefinder remix
Remix

A remix is an alternative version of a song, different from the original version. A remixer uses Audio mixing to compose an alternate master recording of a song, adding or subtracting elements, or simply changing the equalization, dynamics, Pitch , tempo, playing time, or almost any other aspect of th...
 of his song, "Satellite of Love
Satellite of Love

"Satellite of Love" is one of Lou Reed's best known songs. It was the second single from his 1972 solo album Transformer . At the time it did not achieve any chart success, though it later became a staple of his concerts and compilation albums....
" (called "Satellite of Love '04") was released. It reached #10 in the UK
United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom , the UK or Britain,is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe....
 singles chart
UK Singles Chart

The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official UK Charts Company on behalf of the British record industry. The chart week runs from Sunday to Saturday, with the chart being printed in Music Week magazine , ChartsPlus , and published online on various sites ....
. Also in 2004, Lou Reed contributed vocals and guitar to the track "Fistful of love" on
I Am a Bird Now
I Am a Bird Now

I Am a Bird Now is the critically-acclaimed second album by New York City band Antony and the Johnsons. It was nominated for the Mercury Music Prize on July 19 2005, and subsequently was announced winner on September 6 2005....
by Antony and the Johnsons
Antony and the Johnsons

Antony and the Johnsons is a Mercury Prize-winning music act from New York City....
. In 2005, Reed did a spoken word text on Danish rock band Kashmir
Kashmir (band)

Kashmir is a Denmark rock band consisting of Kasper Eistrup ; Mads Tunebjerg ; Asger Techau and Henrik Lindstrand ....
's album No Balance Palace
No Balance Palace

No Balance Palace is the fifth album by the Danish band Kashmir . It was released on October 10 2005. The album features David Bowie on "The Cynic" and Lou Reed on "Black Building", and was produced by Tony Visconti....
.

In January 2006, a second book of photographs called "Lou Reed's New York" was released. At the 2006 MTV Video Music Awards
2006 MTV Video Music Awards

The 2006 MTV Video Music Awards aired live on August 31 2006, honoring the best music videos from July 1, 2005 to June 30, 2006. The show was hosted by Jack Black at Radio City Music Hall in New York City....
, Reed performed "White Light/White Heat" with The Raconteurs
The Raconteurs

The Raconteurs , are an American rock band formed in 2005, featuring four members known for other musical projects: Jack White , Brendan Benson , Jack Lawrence , and Patrick Keeler ....
. Later in the night, while co-presenting the award for Best Rock Video with Pink, he exclaimed, apparently unscripted, that "MTV
MTV

MTV is an United States cable television network based in Media of New York City. Launched on August 1, 1981, the original purpose of the channel was to play music videos guided by on-air hosts known as VJ ....
 should be playing more rock n' roll".

In October 2006, Lou Reed appeared at Hal Willner
Hal Willner

Hal Willner is an United States music producer working in recording, films, TV and live events. He is best known for assembling tribute albums and events featuring a wide variety of artists and musical styles ....
's Leonard Cohen
Leonard Cohen

Leonard Norman Cohen, Order of Canada, National Order of Quebec is a Canadian singer, songwriter, musician, poet and novelist. Cohen published his first book of poetry in Montreal in 1956 and his first novel in 1963....
 tribute show "Came So Far For Beauty" in Dublin, beside the cast of Laurie Anderson
Laurie Anderson

Laurie Anderson is an American experimental performance artist and musician who plays violin and keyboards and sings in a variety of experimental music and art rock styles....
, Nick Cave
Nick Cave

Nicholas Edward Cave is an Australian musician, songwriter, author, screenwriter, Painting, and occasional film actor. He is best known for his work in the rock band Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, established in 1984 in music, who have become critically acclaimed for their fascination with American roots music....
, Antony
Antony

Antony is an English language variant of Anthony . It can refer to:People* Mark Antony, Roman politician and general* Antony Hegarty, the singer and frontman of Antony and the Johnsons...
, Jarvis Cocker
Jarvis Cocker

Jarvis Branson Cocker is an England musician, best known for fronting the band Pulp . Through his work with the band, Cocker became one of the key players in the Britpop movement of the mid-1990s....
, Beth Orton
Beth Orton

Elizabeth Caroline Orton, commonly known as Beth Orton, , is a BRIT Awards?winning England singer-songwriter. Known for her "folktronica" sound, which mixes elements of folk music and electronica, she was initially recognised for her collaborations with William Orbit and the Chemical Brothers in the mid 1990s — but these were not...
, and others. According to the reports, he transformed Cohen's "The Stranger Song" into metal rock. He also performed "One Of Us Cannot Be Wrong" and two duets - "Joan of Arc
Joan of Arc (Leonard Cohen song)

"Joan of Arc" is a song by Canadian singer-songwriter Leonard Cohen. It was released as a single in March 1971 from his third album, Songs of Love and Hate....
", Cohen's song about Nico
Nico

Christa P?ffgen was a German musician, Model , actress, and Warhol Superstar who is best known by her stage name Nico. She is renowned for both her tenure in The Velvet Underground and for her work as a solo artist....
 , with Cohen's former back-up singer Julie Christensen, thus re-casting Cohen's duet with her from 1994
Cohen Live
Cohen Live

Cohen Live is a live album by Leonard Cohen released in 1994.The songs were recorded live in 1988 and 1993....
album, and "Memories" - which also refers to Nico - in a duet with Anjani Thomas. The tracks are available on unofficial recordings made by Cohen fans.

In December 2006, much to everyone's surprise, Lou Reed played a first series of show at St. Ann's Warehouse, Brooklyn, New York, based on his now legendary 1973 Berlin
Berlin (album)

Berlin is a 1973 album by Lou Reed, his third solo album and the follow-up to Transformer . In 2003, the album was ranked number 344 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time....
 song cycle. Reed was reunited on stage with guitarist Steve Hunter
Steve Hunter (guitarist)

Steve "The Deacon" Hunter, born 1948 in Decatur, Illinois, is an United States guitarist best known for his collaborations with Lou Reed. He first played with Mitch Ryder's Detroit , beginning a long association with record producer Bob Ezrin....
, who played on the original album as well as on Rock 'n' Roll Animal
Rock 'n' Roll Animal

Rock n Roll Animal is a live album by Lou Reed, released in 1974. In its original form, it features five songs from different periods of his creative career, including several songs by the Velvet Underground....
, as well as joined by singers Antony Hegarty
Antony Hegarty

Antony Hegarty is an England-Ireland singer-songwriter, best known for being the lead singer of the band Antony and the Johnsons....
 and Sharon Jones
Sharon Jones

Sharon Jones is an United States soul/funk singer and lead singer of Sharon Jones and The Dap-Kings, who are widely considered to be at the forefront of a revivalist movement that aims to recapture the feeling of soul and funk music as it was at its height in the late 1960s to mid 1970s....
, pianist Rupert Christie, a horn and string section and the Brooklyn Youth Chorus. The show was being produced by Bob Ezrin
Bob Ezrin

Bob Ezrin is a musician and record producer....
, who also produced the original album, and Hal Willner
Hal Willner

Hal Willner is an United States music producer working in recording, films, TV and live events. He is best known for assembling tribute albums and events featuring a wide variety of artists and musical styles ....
. The stage was designed by painter Julian Schnabel
Julian Schnabel

Julian Schnabel is an United States artist and filmmaker. He has been acclaimed at Cannes and has won a Golden Globe, as well as BAFTA, C?sar Award, Golden Palm and two nominations for the Golden Lion and an Academy Award nomination....
 and a film about protagonist 'Caroline' directed by his daughter, Lola Schnabel, was being projected to the stage. A live recording of these concerts was also published as a film (directed by Julian Schnabel
Julian Schnabel

Julian Schnabel is an United States artist and filmmaker. He has been acclaimed at Cannes and has won a Golden Globe, as well as BAFTA, C?sar Award, Golden Palm and two nominations for the Golden Lion and an Academy Award nomination....
) which was released spring 2008. The show was also played at the Sydney Festival in January 2007 and throughout Europe during June and July 2007. The album of the concert, entitled Berlin: Live At St. Ann's Warehouse
Berlin: Live At St. Ann's Warehouse

Berlin: Live At St. Anns Warehouse is a concert film and live album by Lou Reed released in 2008. The concert film was directed by Julian Schnabel, live at St....
, was released in 2008.

In April 2007, he released 'Hudson River Wind Meditations
Hudson River Wind Meditations

Hudson River Wind Meditations is an album of meditational music by Lou Reed. It is a departure from his regular rock music output. It is named for one of New York City's key features, the Hudson River....
', his first record of ambient
Ambient music

Ambient music is a musical genre that focuses on the timbre characteristics of sounds, particularly organised or performed to evoke an "atmospheric", "visual" or "unobtrusive" quality....
 meditation music. The record was released on the Sounds True record label and contains four tracks that were said to have been composed just for himself as a guidance for Tai Chi
Tai Chi Chuan

Tai chi chuan is an neijia Chinese martial arts often practiced for health reasons. Tai chi is typically practiced for a variety of reasons: its Hard and soft , demonstration competitions, health and longevity....
 exercise and meditation
Meditation

Meditation is a mental discipline by which one attempts to get beyond the reflexive, "thinking" mind into a deeper state of relaxation or awareness....
. In May 2007 Reed performed the narration for a screening of Guy Maddin
Guy Maddin

Guy Maddin is a Canada screenwriter and film director of both film and short films from Winnipeg, Manitoba. His most distinctive quality is his penchant for recreating the look and style of silent film or talkies films which has solidified his popularity and acclaim in alternative film circles....
's silent film
The Brand Upon the Brain
The Brand Upon the Brain

Brand Upon the Brain! is a 2006 in film silent film directed by Guy Maddin and produced by The Film Company. It premiered on September 8, 2006, at the Toronto International Film Festival with live accompaniment of the score by members of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, several foley artists, and a narrator....
. In June 2007, he performed live at the Traffic Festival 2007 in Turin
Turín

Tur?n is a municipality in the Ahuachap?n Department Departments of El Salvador of El Salvador....
, Italy
Italy

Italy , officially the Italian Republic , is a country located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe and on the two largest islands in the Mediterranean Sea, Sicily and Sardinia....
, a five-day free event organized by the town.

In August 2007, Reed went into the studio with The Killers
The Killers (band)

The Killers are an American alternative rock band from Las Vegas, Nevada, formed in 2002. The group consists of Brandon Flowers , Dave Keuning , Mark Stoermer and Ronnie Vannucci Jr....
 in New York City to record 'Tranquilize
Tranquilize

"Tranquilize" is a song by Las Vegas, Nevada-based rock band, The Killers featuring Lou Reed. The song was written by Brandon Flowers and it is featured on the compilation album Sawdust ....
', a duet with Brandon Flowers for The Killers' b-side/rarities album, called Sawdust
Sawdust (album)

Sawdust is a Compilation album of re-recorded A-side and B-side, rarities, covers and remixes by the Las Vegas, Nevada rock band The Killers ....
. During that month, he also recorded guitar for the Lucibel Crater song 'Threadbare Funeral', which appears on their full-length CD The Family Album. In October 2007, Lou Reed gave a special performance in the song 'Passengers'. 'Recitement' is a CD that combines music with spoken word. The album was composed by Stephen Emmer and produced by Tony Visconti
Tony Visconti

Anthony Edward Visconti is an American record producer and sometimes a musician or singer.Since the late 1960s, he has worked with an array of notable performers, including the Moody Blues, as well as T....
. Hollandcentraal was inspired by this piece of music and literature, which spawned a concept for a . On October 1st, 2008, Reed joined Richard Barone
Richard Barone

Richard Barone is a rock musician born in Tampa, Florida, Florida. He also works as a songwriter, arranger, author, director, and producer, and releases albums as a solo artist....
 via projected video on a spoken/sung duet of Reed's "I'll Be Your Mirror," with cellist Jane Scarpantoni
Jane Scarpantoni

Jane Scarpantoni is a classically trained cello player who has played on a number of alternative rock albums.She was a member of Hoboken, New Jersey's Tiny Lights in the mid-'80s, then went on to play with other musicians especially those associated with the Hoboken underground rock scene of the 1980s and early 1990s, including Bruce Spring...
, in Barone's "FRONTMAN: A Musical Reading" at Carnegie Hall
Carnegie Hall

Carnegie Hall is a concert venue in Midtown Manhattan in New York City located at 881 Seventh Avenue , occupying the east stretch of Seventh Avenue between West 56th Street and West 57th Street , two blocks south of Central Park....
.

On April 12, 2008, Lou Reed married longtime companion Laurie Anderson
Laurie Anderson

Laurie Anderson is an American experimental performance artist and musician who plays violin and keyboards and sings in a variety of experimental music and art rock styles....
 in a private ceremony in Boulder, Colorado
Boulder, Colorado

Boulder is a Colorado municipalities#Home_Rule_Municipality that is the county seat and most populous city of Boulder County, Colorado, Colorado, in the United States....
.

Discography


With The Velvet Underground

  • The Velvet Underground and Nico
    The Velvet Underground and Nico

    The Velvet Underground & Nico is the debut album by experimental rock band The Velvet Underground and vocal collaborator Nico. It was originally released in March 1967 by Verve Records....
    (1967) US #171
  • White Light/White Heat
    White Light/White Heat

    White Light/White Heat is the second studio album by the American rock music band The Velvet Underground. The record was the group's last with bassist and founding member John Cale....
    (1968) US #199
  • The Velvet Underground
    The Velvet Underground (album)

    The Velvet Underground is the third album by American rock group The Velvet Underground. It was their first record to feature Doug Yule, John Cale's replacement in the band....
    (1969) US #197 (Charted with 1985 re-issue)
  • Loaded
    Loaded (album)

    Loaded is the fourth album released by United States rock band The Velvet Underground. The album was released in September, 1970, one month after Lou Reed had left the band, by Atlantic Records' sub-label Cotillion Records....
    (1970)
  • 1969: The Velvet Underground Live
    1969: The Velvet Underground Live

    1969: The Velvet Underground Live is a live album by The Velvet Underground. It was originally released as a double album in September 1974 by Mercury Records....
    (1974, recorded 1969)
  • VU
    VU (album)

    VU is an outtakes compilation album by The Velvet Underground. It was released in February 1985 by Verve Records....
    (1985, recorded 1968-1969) US #85, CMJ #10, UK #47
  • Another View
    Another View

    Another View is an outtakes compilation album by The Velvet Underground. It was released in 1986 by Verve Records....
    (1986, recorded 1967-1969)
  • Live MCMXCIII
    Live MCMXCIII

    Live ⅯⅭⅯⅩⅭⅢ is a live album by The Velvet Underground. It was released simultaneously in single and double CD/Compact Cassette formats on October 26 1993 by Sire Records....
    (1993) US #180, UK #70
  • Peel Slowly and See
    Peel Slowly and See

    Peel Slowly and See is a five-disc box set of material by The Velvet Underground. It was released in September 1995 by Polydor....
    (1995 box set, recorded 1965-1970)
  • Fully Loaded (1997, double disc set, recorded 1969-1970, remastered version of album Loaded
    Loaded (album)

    Loaded is the fourth album released by United States rock band The Velvet Underground. The album was released in September, 1970, one month after Lou Reed had left the band, by Atlantic Records' sub-label Cotillion Records....
    released in 1970)
  • Bootleg Series Volume 1: The Quine Tapes
    Bootleg Series Volume 1: The Quine Tapes

    Bootleg Series Volume 1: The Quine Tapes is a triple live album by The Velvet Underground. It was released on October 16, 2001 by Polydor, the record label overseeing The Velvet Underground's Universal Music Group back catalogue....
    (2001, recorded live 1969)


Solo


Studio albums
  • Lou Reed
    Lou Reed (album)

    Lou Reed is Lou Reed's 1972 debut solo album, released two years after he left The Velvet Underground. The album comprises eight new recordings of then-unreleased Velvet Underground songs, plus two new songs, "Going Down" and "Berlin" ....
    (1972) US #189
  • Transformer
    Transformer (album)

    Transformer is Lou Reed's breakthrough second solo album, released in December 1972. Unlike its predecessor Lou Reed , eight songs of which were leftovers from his The Velvet Underground days, this album contains mainly new material....
    (1972) US #29, Gold, UK #13
  • Berlin
    Berlin (album)

    Berlin is a 1973 album by Lou Reed, his third solo album and the follow-up to Transformer . In 2003, the album was ranked number 344 on Rolling Stone magazine's list of The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time....
    (1973) US #98, UK #7
  • Sally Can't Dance
    Sally Can't Dance

    Sally Can't Dance is a Top 40 album by Lou Reed. Released in 1974, it is Reed's highest-charting album. It is also the first solo Lou Reed album not to feature any songs originally recorded by Reed's earlier band, The Velvet Underground, as well as the first of Reed's solo studio albums to be recorded in America ....
    (1974) US #10
  • Metal Machine Music
    Metal Machine Music

    Metal Machine Music, subtitled *The Amine ? Ring, is an album by Lou Reed. It was originally released as a double album by RCA Records in 1975....
    (1975)
  • Coney Island Baby
    Coney Island Baby

    Coney Island Baby is an album by Lou Reed, released in 1976. It is also the title of a song on that album. The name presumably refers to the Excellents' 1962 doo wop song of the same name, and/or a 1924 Les Appleton barbershop music song of the same name ....
    (1976) US #41, UK #52
  • Rock and Roll Heart (1976) US #64
  • Street Hassle
    Street Hassle

    Street Hassle is a 1978 album by Lou Reed. The studio tracks were recorded in New York City, while the live recordings were made in Munich, West Germany....
    (1978) US #89
  • The Bells
    The Bells (album)

    The Bells is the ninth album by Lou Reed released through Arista Records in 1979. It is recorded in binaural recording sound. "City Lights" is a tribute to Charlie Chaplin....
    (1979) US #130
  • Growing Up in Public
    Growing Up in Public

    Growing Up in Public is the tenth album by rock and roll artist Lou Reed, released in 1980....
    (1980) US #158
  • The Blue Mask
    The Blue Mask

    The Blue Mask is the eleventh studio album by singer-songwriter Lou Reed. It was the first album released after Reed left Arista and returned to RCA....
    (1982) US #169
  • Legendary Hearts
    Legendary Hearts

    Legendary Hearts is a 1983 album by rock and roll musician Lou Reed. It was dedicated to Reed's wife, Sylvia....
    (1983) US #159
  • New Sensations
    New Sensations

    New Sensations is a 1984 album by Lou Reed.When this album was released, critics and listeners alike took note of a change in the songs as being more upbeat and fun than much of Reed's prior work....
    (1984) US #56, UK #92
  • Mistrial
    Mistrial (album)

    Mistrial is a 1986 album by rock and roll musician Lou Reed....
    (1986) US #47, UK #69
  • New York
    New York (album)

    New York is a 1989 album by Lou Reed. It was received very warmly as a return to the style of The Velvet Underground, the group which Reed founded in the 1960s and whose legacy had grown in stature during the 1980s as it was carried on by any number of alternative rock acts....
    (1989) US #40, Gold, UK #14
  • Magic and Loss
    Magic and Loss

    Magic and Loss is a concept album by Lou Reed, released in 1992. It was his sixteenth album. It was informed by the illnesses and deaths of two close friends; songwriter Doc Pomus, who gave Reed his start in the music business, and Rotten Rita....
    (1992) US #80, UK #6
  • Set the Twilight Reeling
    Set the Twilight Reeling

    Set the Twilight Reeling is a 1996 album by rock and roll singer Lou Reed.Cover art from Stefan Sagmeister. The CD case sold with the album was a dark purple/blue hue, making the cover look simply like a dark blue picture of Reed's face; the bright yellow aspect and the "rays" of the cover image were only made apparent when the liner no...
    (1996) US #110, UK #26
  • Ecstasy (2000) US #183, UK #54
  • The Raven (2003) UK #22
  • Hudson River Wind Meditations
    Hudson River Wind Meditations

    Hudson River Wind Meditations is an album of meditational music by Lou Reed. It is a departure from his regular rock music output. It is named for one of New York City's key features, the Hudson River....
    (2007)


Live albums
  • Rock n Roll Animal (1974) US #45, Gold, UK #26
  • Lou Reed Live
    Lou Reed Live

    Lou Reed Live is a live album by Lou Reed, released in 1975. It was recorded at the same concert as Rock 'n' Roll Animal ; on December 21, 1973, at Howard Stein's Academy of Music in New York....
    (1975) US #62
  • Live: Take No Prisoners
    Live: Take No Prisoners

    Lou Reed's third live album, this 1978 release was Reed's contribution to the double live album era. It was recorded at the Bottom Line, New York and there is no overdubbing ....
    (1978)
  • Live in Italy
    Live in Italy (Lou Reed album)

    Live In Italy is an album by Lou Reed recorded live in Verona and Rome on September 7 and September 10, 1983 by the Rolling Stones Mobile Studio....
    (1984)
  • Beauty And Rust
    Beauty and Rust

    Beauty and Rust is a live album by Lou Reed released in 1992. It was recorded in Leysin, Switzerland....
    (Live in Leysin) (1992)
  • Live in Concert
    Live in Concert (Lou Reed album)

    This is a re-issue of Lou Reed's Live in Italy album from 1984. A 1996 Camden release, imported for US distribution on June 22 1999....
    (A re-issue of the album Live in Italy ) (1996)
  • Perfect Night: Live in London
    Perfect Night: Live in London

    Perfect Night: Live in London is an intimate live album by Lou Reed recorded during the Meltdown festival. It includes a cover of The Velvet Underground's "I'll Be Your Mirror", originally sung by Nico....
    (1998) UK #102
  • American Poet
    American Poet (album)

    American Poet is an album of an early solo concert by Lou Reed, recorded live at the Hempstead Theatre, New York on Boxing Day - 26 December, 1972 during the Transformer tour....
    (2001)
  • Animal Serenade
    Animal Serenade

    Animal Serenade features Lou Reed onstage in Los Angeles at the Wiltern Theatre in 2003 after The Raven . The show features a drummer-less band and Reed delivers dramatic readings of some of his most compelling work....
    (2004)
  • Berlin: Live At St. Ann's Warehouse
    Berlin: Live At St. Ann's Warehouse

    Berlin: Live At St. Anns Warehouse is a concert film and live album by Lou Reed released in 2008. The concert film was directed by Julian Schnabel, live at St....
    (2008)


Compilations
  • Walk on the Wild Side: The Best of Lou Reed
    Walk on the Wild Side: The Best of Lou Reed

    Walk on the Wild Side: The Best of Lou Reed is the first greatest hits compilation by Lou Reed, formerly of The Velvet Underground. It was issued by RCA records after the termination of Reed's first contract with them ended in 1976....
    (1977) US #156, UK #144 [1996 Re-issue]
  • Rock and Roll Diary: 1967-1980
    Rock and Roll Diary: 1967-1980

    Rock and Roll Diary: 1967-1980 was released by Arista Records in 1980 as a double album split between tracks by The Velvet Underground and tracks by Lou Reed, attempting to demonstrate the arc of his songwriting over the first fifteen years of his career....
    (1980) US #178
  • City Lights
    City Lights (album)

    Track listing#"Coney Island Baby" #"Berlin" #"Satellite Of Love" #"Senselessly Cruel"#"Temporary Thing"#"Gimmie Some Good Times"#"City Lights"...
    (1985)
  • Walk on the Wild Side & Other Hits
    Walk on the Wild Side & Other Hits

    A low budget release centered around the title track, which was a Top Twenty hit for Lou Reed in 1973.Track listing# "Walk On The Wild Side" ...
    (1992)
  • Between Thought and Expression: The Lou Reed Anthology
    Between Thought and Expression: The Lou Reed Anthology

    Between Thought and Expression: The Lou Reed Anthology is Lou Reed's box set. This 1992 release covers the first 20 years of his solo career, including the unreleased "Downtown Dirt," "Nowhere At All" , a 1978 live "Heroin" featuring jazz great Don Cherry , "Little Sister" , and "America ." Though this release takes its title from a "Some...
    [BOX SET] (1992)
  • The Best of Lou Reed & Velvet Underground
    The Best of Lou Reed & Velvet Underground

    The Best of Lou Reed & Velvet Underground is a compilation of some of Lou Reed's and some of The Velvet Underground's songs. It was released in 1995....
    (1995) UK #56
  • Different Times: Lou Reed in the '70s
    Different Times: Lou Reed in the '70s

    A chronological set from Lou Reed's first stint at RCA Records . Another re-packaging of his most famous work....
    (1996)
  • Perfect Day
    Perfect Day (album)

    Perfect Day is a European Lou Reed compilation....
    (1997) UK # - (UK Budget Albums #2)
  • Retro
    Retro (Lou Reed album)

    UK Lou Reed compilation from 1998....
    (1998) UK #29
  • A Retrospective (1998)
  • The Definitive Collection (1999)
  • The Very Best of Lou Reed (2000) UK #94
  • Legendary Lou Reed
    Legendary Lou Reed

    3-CD compilation of Lou Reed's work from his eponymous debut in 1972 to Mistrial in 1986....
    (2002)
  • NYC Man (The Ultimate Collection 1967-2003)
    NYC Man (The Ultimate Collection 1967-2003)

    NYC Man is a 2-CD anthology of Lou Reed's work featuring four songs by The Velvet Underground. All songs of this career spanning collection were chosen, sequenced and remastered by Lou Reed himself....
    (2003) UK #31
  • NYC Man: Greatest Hits
    NYC Man: Greatest Hits

    NYC Man: Greatest Hits is a compilation by Lou Reed. It's a single-disc version of his previous compilation NYC Man: The Ultimate Collection 1967-2003 with two new mixes of Satellite of Love and Walk on the Wild Side....
    (2004) UK #43
  • Control Soundtrack - "What Goes On" by Velvet Underground (2007)


Singles
  • Walk on the Wild Side b/w Perfect Day (1972) US #16, UK #10
  • Satellite of Love
    Satellite of Love

    "Satellite of Love" is one of Lou Reed's best known songs. It was the second single from his 1972 solo album Transformer . At the time it did not achieve any chart success, though it later became a staple of his concerts and compilation albums....
    b/w Vicious (1973)
  • I Love You, Suzanne (1984) US # - (Mainstream Rock Tracks #31)
  • No Money Down (1986) US # - (Mainstream Rock Tracks #19)
  • Dirty Blvd.
    Dirty Blvd.

    "Dirty Blvd." is a Lou Reed song from his 1989 album, New York . The song contrasts the poor and the rich in New York City, and topped the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart for a total of 4 weeks....
    (1989) US # - (Mainstream Rock Tracks #18, Modern Rock Tracks #1)
  • Busload of Faith (1989) US # - (Modern Rock Tracks #11)
  • Nobody But You (1990) US # - (Modern Rock Tracks #13)
  • What's Good (1992) US # - (Modern Rock Tracks #1)
  • Perfect Day
    Perfect Day

    "Perfect Day" is a song written by Lou Reed in 1972. Its fame was given a boost in the 1990s when it was featured in the 1996 film Trainspotting , and after its release as a charity single in 1997....
    (1997) [Children in Need '97
    Children in Need

    File:BBC Children in Need.svgBBC Children in Need is an annual United Kingdom charitable organization appeal organised by the BBC. Since 1980 it has raised over ?500 million....
    ] UK #1
  • Perfect Day
    Perfect Day

    "Perfect Day" is a song written by Lou Reed in 1972. Its fame was given a boost in the 1990s when it was featured in the 1996 film Trainspotting , and after its release as a charity single in 1997....
    (2000) [Various Artists (including Lou Reed)] UK #69
  • Satellite of Love 2004 b/w Satellite of Love (2004) UK #10
  • Tranquilize
    Tranquilize

    "Tranquilize" is a song by Las Vegas, Nevada-based rock band, The Killers featuring Lou Reed. The song was written by Brandon Flowers and it is featured on the compilation album Sawdust ....
    (2007) [The Killers
    The Killers (band)

    The Killers are an American alternative rock band from Las Vegas, Nevada, formed in 2002. The group consists of Brandon Flowers , Dave Keuning , Mark Stoermer and Ronnie Vannucci Jr....
     feat Lou Reed] UK #13


Collaborations

  • Le Bataclan '72
    Le Bataclan '72

    Le Bataclan '72 is a sixteen-track live album by Lou Reed, John Cale and Nico. It was recorded from the soundboard and heavily bootlegged over the years, before it gained an official release in 2004....
    with John Cale
    John Cale

    John Davies Cale , better known as John Cale, is a Welsh people musician, composer, singer-songwriter and record producer who was a founding member of the rock & roll band The Velvet Underground....
     & Nico
    Nico

    Christa P?ffgen was a German musician, Model , actress, and Warhol Superstar who is best known by her stage name Nico. She is renowned for both her tenure in The Velvet Underground and for her work as a solo artist....
     (Recorded 1972, Wide Release 2004)
  • This Is Your Land
    This Is Your Land

    "This Is Your Land" is a song by Scottish people Rock music band Simple Minds from their album Street Fighting Years. The song came #13 on the billboard Hot 100....
    with Simple Minds
    Simple Minds

    Simple Minds are a rock music band from Scotland, who had their greatest worldwide popularity from the mid-1980s to the early 1990s. The band, from the south side of Glasgow, produced a handful of critically acclaimed albums in the early 1980s, and later went on to produce some politically inspired and critically praised work....
     (1989) Single UK #13
  • Songs for Drella
    Songs for Drella

    Songs for Drella is a concept album by Lou Reed and John Cale, alumni of The Velvet Underground.On January 9, 1989 Cale and Reed performed a selection of Songs for Drella at The Church of St....
    with John Cale
    John Cale

    John Davies Cale , better known as John Cale, is a Welsh people musician, composer, singer-songwriter and record producer who was a founding member of the rock & roll band The Velvet Underground....
     (1990) US #103, UK #22
  • Collaboration with Zeitkratzer.
  • "Tranquilize
    Tranquilize

    "Tranquilize" is a song by Las Vegas, Nevada-based rock band, The Killers featuring Lou Reed. The song was written by Brandon Flowers and it is featured on the compilation album Sawdust ....
    " with The Killers
    The Killers (band)

    The Killers are an American alternative rock band from Las Vegas, Nevada, formed in 2002. The group consists of Brandon Flowers , Dave Keuning , Mark Stoermer and Ronnie Vannucci Jr....
     (2007), from the album
    Sawdust
    Sawdust (album)

    Sawdust is a Compilation album of re-recorded A-side and B-side, rarities, covers and remixes by the Las Vegas, Nevada rock band The Killers ....
    .
  • "The Stone: Issue Three
    The Stone: Issue Three

    The Stone: Issue Three is a limited edition live album of improvisation experimental music by John Zorn, Lou Reed and Laurie Anderson recorded at The Stone on January 10, 2008....
    " (by John Zorn
    John Zorn

    John Zorn is an American avant-garde composer, orchestration, record producer, saxophonist and multi-instrumentalist. Zorn's recorded output is prolific with hundreds of album credits as a performer, composer, or producer....
    , Lou Reed
    Lou Reed

    Lewis Allan "Lou" Reed is an American rock music musician best known as the guitarist, Singing and principal songwriter of The Velvet Underground as well as a successful solo artist whose career has spanned several decades....
     & Laurie Anderson , recorded live in 2008)


Appearances

  • One World One Voice (1990)
  • Sweet Relief: A Benefit For Victoria Williams
    Victoria Williams

    Victoria Williams is an United States singer/songwriter and musician, originally from Shreveport, Louisiana, although she has resided in Southern California throughout her musical career....
    (1993)
  • The 30th Anniversary Concert Celebration, Bob Dylan (1993)
  • U2
    U2

    U2 are a rock music band from Dublin, Republic of Ireland. The band consists of Bono , The Edge , Adam Clayton and Larry Mullen, Jr. .The band formed in 1976 when the members were teenagers with limited musical proficiency....
     Zoo TV: Live from Sydney
    Zoo TV: Live From Sydney

    Zoo TV: Live from Sydney is a concert video release by rock band U2 from the "Zoomerang" leg of their Zoo TV Tour. Recorded on Saturday, November 27, 1993 at Sydney Football Stadium on the band's featured stop in Sydney, Australia, it was released in May 1994 on VHS and Laserdisc, and re-released in September 2006 on DVD....
     (1993)
  • Bright Red
    Bright Red

    Bright Red is the title of performance artist Laurie Anderson's sixth album, released by Warner Bros. in 1994.The album continued the more pop-oriented direction Anderson launched with Strange Angels....
    , Laurie Anderson
    Laurie Anderson

    Laurie Anderson is an American experimental performance artist and musician who plays violin and keyboards and sings in a variety of experimental music and art rock styles....
     (1994)
  • Till The Night Is Gone: A Tribute To Doc Pomus
    Doc Pomus

    Doc Pomus was a twentieth century United States blues singer and songwriter. He is best known as the lyricist of many rock and roll hit record....
     (1995)
  • September Songs (The Music Of Kurt Weill
    Kurt Weill

    Kurt Julian Weill , was a Germany, and in his later years American, composer active from the 1920s until his death. He was a leading composer for the theatre....
    )
    (1997)
  • Lost Highway
    Lost Highway

    Lost Highway is a 1997 psychological thriller directed by David Lynch. It is arguably an example of contemporary film noir, but with surrealism imagery and themes....
     Original Soundtrack
    (1997)
  • Closure (Nine Inch Nails
    Nine Inch Nails

    Nine Inch Nails is an American industrial rock music group, founded in 1988 by Trent Reznor in Cleveland, Ohio, Ohio. As its main Producer , singer, songwriter, and instrumentalist, Reznor is the only official member of Nine Inch Nails and remains solely responsible for its direction....
     tour documentary)
    (1997) (Uncredited)
  • Rockin' on Broadway (The Time/Brent/Shad Story) (2000, includes first recordings with The Jades (1958) and solo (1962))
  • "You Can't Relive The Past" (Eric Andersen) (2000)
  • I Am a Bird Now
    I Am a Bird Now

    I Am a Bird Now is the critically-acclaimed second album by New York City band Antony and the Johnsons. It was nominated for the Mercury Music Prize on July 19 2005, and subsequently was announced winner on September 6 2005....
    , Antony and the Johnsons
    Antony and the Johnsons

    Antony and the Johnsons is a Mercury Prize-winning music act from New York City....
     (2005)
  • Black Building, Kashmir
    Kashmir (band)

    Kashmir is a Denmark rock band consisting of Kasper Eistrup ; Mads Tunebjerg ; Asger Techau and Henrik Lindstrand ....
     (2005)
  • 2006 MTV Video Music Awards
    2006 MTV Video Music Awards

    The 2006 MTV Video Music Awards aired live on August 31 2006, honoring the best music videos from July 1, 2005 to June 30, 2006. The show was hosted by Jack Black at Radio City Music Hall in New York City....
     (2006)
  • Rogue's Gallery: Pirate Ballads, Sea Songs, and Chanteys
    Rogue's Gallery: Pirate Ballads, Sea Songs, and Chanteys

    Rogue's Gallery: Pirate Ballads, Sea Songs and Chanteys is a compilation album of sea shanties performed by a wide array of artists, ranging from Sting to Bryan Ferry, representing a variety of genres....
     (2006)
  • Bright Eyes at The Town Hall
    The Town Hall

    The Town Hall is a performance space located at 123 West 43rd Street, between Sixth Avenue and Broadway , in New York City, New York. It seats 1,500 people....
    , NY
    (2007)


Appearances in film

  • One Trick Pony (1980) as Steve Kunelian
  • Get Crazy
    Get Crazy

    Get Crazy is a 1983 in film directed by Allan Arkush and starring Malcolm McDowell, Allen Garfield, Daniel Stern , and Ed Begley, Jr.....
     (1983) as Auden
  • Faraway, So Close!
    Faraway, So Close!

    Faraway, So Close! is a 1993 in film film by German director Wim Wenders. The screenplay is by Wenders, Richard Reitinger and Ulrich Zieger....
     (1993) as himself
  • Blue in the Face
    Blue in the Face

    Blue in the Face is a 1995 in film comedy directed by Wayne Wang and Paul Auster. It stars Harvey Keitel, Madonna , Giancarlo Esposito, Roseanne Barr, Michael J....
     (1995) as "Man with Strange Glasses".
  • Closure (1997) as himself
  • Prozac Nation
    Prozac Nation (film)

    Prozac Nation is the name of an independent film starring Christina Ricci based on an autobiography of the same name by Elizabeth Wurtzel. It is based on a true story that describes Wurtzel's experiences with major depressive disorder....
     (2001) as himself
  • Berlin: Live At St. Ann's Warehouse
    Berlin: Live At St. Ann's Warehouse

    Berlin: Live At St. Anns Warehouse is a concert film and live album by Lou Reed released in 2008. The concert film was directed by Julian Schnabel, live at St....
     (2008)
  • Palermo Shooting
    Palermo Shooting

    File:Festival de Cannes 24 mai 2008.jpgPalermo Shooting is a film written and directed by German director Wim Wenders, and starring Andreas Frege, Dennis Hopper, Giovanna Mezzogiorno, and Lou Reed....
     (2008) as himself


External links