Band Face Off - Round 15

[face of glass]

Originally Posted by face of glass

...there are a lot of people who don't know Reed outside of "Walk On The Wild Side" or "Perfect Day", and most of them couldn't probably recognize an Iggy song either.

Originally Posted by Jyqm

Actually, I think there have been a lot of posts that offer some interesting compare-and-contrast comments and that demonstrate plenty of knowledge about each man's catalogue.

According to my counts eight posters out of 41 voters have gone into detail about Lou and Iggy. However, if the other 33 voters come out and have their say I will admit that I made a false judgement.

Of course, nobody's as well-versed as you, right?

Piero Scaruffi is more. So is nearly every other rock critic on the planet. I don't think I ever want to go to that level though, I'm already too much of a soulless encyclopaedist.

[Mari]

Originally Posted by face of glass

According to my counts eight posters out of 41 voters have gone into detail about Lou and Iggy. However, if the other 33 voters come out and have their say I will admit that I made a false judgement.

Piero Scaruffi is more. So is nearly every other rock critic on the planet. I don't think I ever want to go to that level though, I'm already too much of a soulless encyclopaedist.

Tell me, how many Lou Reed albums do you own AND actually know well beyond listening a few times? Same for the other artists in this poll.
And isn't the real reason you voted for him, the JDNO connection, dear?

Come on, admit it. You are a musical snob! * You've a lot of knowledge, facts, names, etcetera.. but what do you actually like! Tell me about that one song that touched you, or that captivates you so much that you've listened to it a zillion times and now you can sing it while sleeping.

And no, other ledgies do not need to come out and tell you they do know Lou Reed/Iggy Pop because you in your snobbery assume that they don't. Heck, even if they don't, if they really like Bowie, that doesn't mean their taste is sub par in any way. It's personal taste.

So what's your favorite Lou Reed album and song?


* makes you a blueprint-blackledgie though

[face of glass]

Originally Posted by Mari

Tell me, how many Lou Reed albums do you own AND actually know well beyond listening a few times? Same for the other artists in this poll.

All The Velvet Underground albums (I bought the Peel Slowly And See box set when I was 16, BEFORE I had developed any interest in Joy Division or New Order) and eight of Lou's solo albums on CD/LP (the debut, Transformer, Berlin, Coney Island Baby, Street Hassle, The Blue Mask, Magic And Loss and Ecstasy). Plus I have more as mp3s. From Iggy I have all the Stooges material and The Idiot, Lust For Life and New Values. Nothing after that, but I never made a case of being a big Iggy fan in this poll (even though I love what I've heard).
From Bowie I have TMWSTW, Hunky Dory, Ziggy, Station To Station, Low, Heroes, Scary Monsters, Let's Dance and Heathen as official releases, the rest I've heard through mp3s. And NO, I don't listen to these albums ALL the time for hidden clues and to find the meaning of life, there's some I haven't listened to in a long time for sure. But I gave them all a fair chance and a good amount of listens when I first acquired them. And hell, for me a few listens is usually enough to make up my mind on an album. One should NEVER struggle to like an album or listen to it two dozen times or more in order to learn to like it. If it's that inaccessible, it isn't worthy of my time. It IS different when you try a genre you've never listened to before, but hell, this is rock and roll and I think all people on this board have a substantial background in rock listening.

And isn't the real reason you voted for him, the JDNO connection, dear?

Lou Reed doesn't need any such connections in order to be appreciated by me, he stands on his own merits.
Of course I've always liked it when I hear Barney paying tribute to "I Wanna Be Black" in the early versions of "Age Of Consent" (by singing "I wish I was black and had a six-foot long d*ck"), or when they covered something as obscure from Lou's catalogue as "Do The Ostrich" or when they stretched out "Sister Ray" to awesome lengths as their encores (even though it's only similar to the original in style, the riffs the Order played there were different and Barney always improvised his own often-smutty lyrics on top). Of course they were influenced by Lou, just as much as they were influenced by Iggy (you hear them playing snippets of "TV Eye" and "The Passenger" in some gigs when the sequencers failed to load in time); Street Hassle was one of the albums Barney listened to a lot when they were trying to find a new direction after Joy Division. And hell, listening to the horrifying sounds of "Mass Production" on The Idiot, it is no wonder that Ian opted for the noose immediately after having listened to the album. But still, can you honestly name the Division/Order that betray a noticeable Lou or Iggy influence? Apart from the obvious tribute to "Walk On The Wild Side" in "Every Little Counts", there is nothing, IMO. Nothing that's obvious. Small parts of Unknown Pleasures sound like some of the parts on The Idiot, but I reckon that is more due to Hannett's production than whatever the band is playing.

And no, other ledgies do not need to come out and tell you they do know Lou Reed/Iggy Pop because you in your snobbery assume that they don't.

I'm wondering whether it's snobbery or realism, really. You do know that Bowie is and has always been far more popular in the States and Lou or Iggy, and that the latter two are only known there for a few songs while Bowie's material is far more recognizable. So what makes you think that all the Ledgies who voted here would be any different in this regard from most people in the United States?

Heck, even if they don't, if they really like Bowie, that doesn't mean their taste is sub par in any way. It's personal taste.

And I NEVER said that anyone here has a sub-par taste to anyone else. I don't give a damn about whatever criteria people here use in their voting, if someone bases this on how beautiful all these people look I have nothing against that. Or if someone's heard just a few hit songs by the artists, it doesn't matter. It's their variouis criterias that are to be no less respected than the criteria of someone who's been a fan of a particular artist for years.

I have been severely moved by lots of Lou songs over the years. If you think that I just write so much about music because I want to boost my ego or something, you're wrong. I AM very moved by all kinds of music, if I wasn't I wouldn't even bother to write about it.

The first Velvet Underground album is a favourite of mine, as it is that for many. Opening it with "Sunday Morning" is just fabulous, as it's this naive, innocent song that precedes most of the darker stuff on the album. When I listen to "Heroin'" I am struck by the utter power of the VU's combo playing as it charges forward like an addictive rush. Or hell, who can be indifferent towards the fragility of "Femme Fatale" or the intentionally cold Germanisms of "All Tomorrow's Parties"?

From White Light/White Heat I have always enjoyed listening to the chaotic monster of a jam that is "Sister Ray", and also the title track plus "I Heard Her Call My Name" are so powerfully driven that I get a desire to plunge into some manic behaviour during them.

My absolute favourite of Lou's work is VU's third album though, songs like "Candy Says" and "Pale Blue Eyes" go even further than "Femme Fatale" in their explorations of vulnerability, and the religious trilogy of "Jesus", "Beginning To See The Light" and "I'm Set Free" is one of the best three-track segues that any band has ever done. Not to mention "The Murder Mystery" which is a brilliant mess of odd beauty and experiments.
And of course I love Loaded too, with its two classics and other great moments in songwriting such as "New Age" and "Oh! Sweet Nuthin'". Not on par with the third album, but anyway.

Lou's debut album may suffer a tad from being backed by Steve Howe and Rick Wakeman (both of whom I love, but boys, you sound more appropriate on Yes albums anyway). I've always loved the Velvets-like rave-up of "I Can't Stand It", or the other Velvets left-overs "Lisa Says", "Ride Into The Sun" and "The Ocean". And even though I like "Berlin" better on the album of the same name, it is a highlight on here too.

Transformer is his most well-known album, I guess, but it doesn't matter to this musical snob for the tunes there are pretty classic, from the funny lyrics of "Vicious" to glam-isms of "Andy's Chest", from the uplift of "Satellite Of Love" to the humorous horn arrangements of "Make Up" or "Goodnight Ladies". And I need not mention the two 'hits', they get me every time no matter how much I've heard them.

Hell, Berlin. What can be said about that one? Extremely hard-hitting all the way through, Bob Ezrin certainly did a good job producing it sonically. Both takes on "Caroline Says" are moving, especially the latter, it just hits this special nerve in me. And the string of three ballads it ends with, pretty haunting stuff. Well, it isn't my favourite Lou album though, I know it is that for many though.

Uh, I guess I'm going to do some skipping now, it is late and I am tired after all. Coney Island Baby contains probably my favourite Lou solo song in the title track, when it rises to that climax: "glory of love" it's just simply amazing and spine-tingling. That's how much he can do with his limited voice, really.

The Blue Mask is probably my favourite Lou solo album, things like the title track and "Waves Of Fear" are simply riveting. Always loved the closer on it as well, "Heavenly Arms". And "The Gun" of course, similar to Dire Straits' "Six Blade Knife" in its minimalistic effect.

And of course there's Ecstasy, the ultimate proof that Lou can kick as much ass as any old fart out there. The title track was an absolute highlight in Lou's concert that I attended this year, a very intimate moment, but hell, there's others on the album too. I'm not much of a lyrical person but "Turning Time Around" gets me in that regard too:

She says, what do you call love
well I call it Harry
Oh, please I'm being serious
what do you call love

Well I don't call it family and I don't call it lust
and as we all know marriage isn't a must
And I suppose in the end, it's a matter of trust
if I had to, I'd call love time

And the rockers on that album are pretty powerful too, "Paranoia In The Key Of E", "Big Sky" and even "Like A Possum" come to mind immediately.

Come on, admit it. You are a musical snob!

Yep. And it's a tag I will always wear proudly, even when I find myself in the old people's home still cursing about too many people not being ready to understand the simple truth that music is the answer to everything in life.