The Velvet Underground, Nico, and Andy Warhol
Their first album is still remarkable (with the notable exception of ‘European Son’, which I guess must have been pretty radical at the time, but to my ears is just boring) - the crude noisiness and dark subject matter contrasts so well with the prettiness of the melodies. I’ve never had a problem with Nico’s contributions to the album, and in particular, I love ‘Femme Fatale’.
I love ‘Perfect Day’, I think that it is one of the most beautiful pop songs ever written. However, after this atrocity (I’m not going to embed it, so as to not sully this blog with its awfulness), I really don’t feel that Lou Reed has any moral upper hand in declaring who can and cannot use the song. This wasn’t even a promotion for charity or something, it was just a fucking justification for UK television licencing fees. Awful.
