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Lou Reed

American rock musician (1942–2013)

Lewis Allan Reed (2 March 1942 – 27 October 2013) was an influential American rock singer-songwriter and guitarist. He first came to prominence as the guitarist and principal singer-songwriter of the Velvet Underground (1965–1970).

Lou Reed in 2011

Quotes

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  • LR: "Are you political, Lou? Audience: "Yeah, are you?" LR:"Political about what? You give me an issue, I'll give you a tissue and you can wipe my ass with it."
  • Nothing beats 2 guitars, drum and bass.
  • This is the impossible level, boys. Impossible doesn't mean very difficult, very difficult is winning the Nobel Prize, impossible is eating the sun.
  • He's probably the single most untalented person I've heard in my life. He's a two-bit pretentious academic, and he can't play rock'n'roll, because he's a loser. And that's why he dresses up funny. He's not happy with himself, and I think he's right.
    • On Frank Zappa in Uptight: The Velvet Underground Story (1996) by Victor Bockris and Gerard Malanga
  • Of course. All the best people are.
  • It always bothers me to see people writing 'RIP' when a person dies. It just feels so insincere and like a cop-out. To me, 'RIP' is the microwave dinner of posthumous honors.
    • On death

About Reed

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  • The news I feared the most, pales in comparison to the lump in my throat and the hollow in my stomach. Two kids have a chance meeting and 47 years later we fight and love the same way – losing either one is incomprehensible. No replacement value, no digital or virtual fill . . . broken now, for all time. Unlike so many with similar stories – we have the best of our fury laid out on vinyl, for the world to catch a glimpse. The laughs we shared just a few weeks ago, will forever remind me of all that was good between us. — John Cale about Reed's death [1]

Lyrics

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  • And Romeo had Juliette
    And Juliette had her Romeo
    I'll take Manhattan in a garbage bag
    With Latin written on it that says
    "it's hard to give a shit these days"
    Manhattan's sinking like a rock
    Into the filthy Hudson what a shock
    They wrote a book about it
    They said it was like ancient Rome
  • This room cost 2,000 dollars a month
    You can believe it man it's true
    Somewhere a landlord's laughing till he wets his pants
    No one here dreams of being a doctor or a lawyer or anything
    They dream of dealing on the dirty boulevard
    Give me your hungry, your tired your poor I'll piss on 'em
    That's what the Statue of Bigotry says
    Your poor huddled masses, let's club 'em to death
    And get it over with and just dump 'em on the boulevard
  • You can't depend on a beginning
    You can't depend on an end
    You can't depend on intelligence...
    You can only depend on one thing
    You need a busload of faith to get by...
    You can't depend on any churches
    Unless there's real estate you want to buy
    You can't depend on a lot of things
    You need a busload of faith to get by...
    You can depend on cruelty
    Crudity of thought and sound...
    You need a busload of faith to get by, ha
    • Busload of Faith
  • And I feel just like Jesus' son
    • "Heroin"
  • Life's like a mayonnaise soda
    And life's like space without room
    And life's like bacon and ice cream
    That's what life's like without you
  • Candy says
    I've come to hate my body
    And all that it requires
    In this world
    . . .
    What do you think I'd see
    If I could walk away from me
    • Candy Says
  • I'll be your mirror
    Reflect what you are
    In case you don't know
    • I'll Be Your Mirror
  • When she turned blue, all the angels screamed.
    • " Run Run Run"
  • The Rally Man's patter ran on through the dawn
    Until we said so long to his skull
    Shrill yell.
    • Black Angel's Death Song
  • "Just watch," said Sheila, touching her finger to her head.
    • The Gift (written by Lou Reed, narrated by John Cale)
  • You made me forget myself; I thought I was someone else, someone good.
    • Perfect Day
  • I watched it for a little while, I like to watch things on TV
    • Satellite Of Love
  • An eye for an eye is elemental.
    • I Believe
  • There are problems in these times, but none of them are mine
    I'm beginning to see the light
    • "Beginning to See the Light"
  • First thing you learn
    is that you've
    always got to wait
    • "I'm Waiting for the Man"
  • And Pontiff, pretty Pontiff
    Can anyone shake your hand?
    Or is it just that you like uniforms
    and someone kissing your hand
    • Good Evening Mr. Waldheim
    • Attacking the Pope for receiving ex-Nazi Kurt Waldheim

Sweet Jane

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Sweet Jane (released 1970) is a song written by Lou Reed and performed by the American rock band the Velvet Underground; it appears on their fourth studio album Loaded. In 2004, Rolling Stone ranked it No. 335 on its list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.

Lyrics
  • Some people, they like to go out dancin'
    And other people, they have to work ...
    And there's even some evil mothers
    Who'll tell you everything is just dirt
    You know that women never really faint
    That villains always blink their eyes, ooh
    That children are the only ones who blush
    And that life is just to die
    But anyone who ever had a heart
    They wouldn't turn around and break it
    And anyone who ever played a part
    Oh, they wouldn't turn around and hate it ...
    They say Jane, Sweet Jane, oh woah, Sweet Jane, Sweet Jane
    Heavenly wine and roses seem to whisper to her, hey, when she smiles


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  1. ↑ Penn & Teller's Smoke and Mirrors - The Impossible Level
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