I'm seriously bummed. Lou will live on through his music & influence. First time I saw him was a poetry reading in Central Park. I got to meet him later & he was very nice to me. 1 really cool show I saw with him was at Bumbershoot in Seattle. Big stadium during festival. About when "Raven" was out. He did some of that & then whipped out the "Berlin" material. The uninitiated were leaving in droves. Lou & band were spot on & it was a great performance. RIP.

not sure if you need to be a member to hear this but here is a link to a site associated with wolfgangs vault that i use a lot.
They have put this up tonight as a tribute[www.concertvault.com]

once again R I P LOU REED

Sad News. Listening to Sweet Jane right now.

RIP.

In December 1986 I was working at a publishing company in New York and one day one of the girls who worked there came over to my desk and said "Lou Reed is sitting in our lobby." I peeked around the corner and sure enough, Lou Reed was sitting in our lobby. He was by himself, looking exactly the way you would expect Lou Reed to look, right down to the black leather jacket. I had already been a huge fan of his for about five years at that point, beginning in 1981 when I was still in school, but this was the first time I'd ever seen him in person, and it was on my turf!

Turns out Lou had an appointment to see the managing editor and the owner of the company. He was visiting different publishers, shopping around a manuscript for a book that was going to be called "Lou Reed's New York." It was going to be a book of short stories, "little vignettes" is how he described it, about life in the big city, because, after all, who would know more about that than Lou Reed, the ultimate New Yorker?

When the managing editor asked to see some samples of these "little vignettes," Lou informed him that he did not have anything to show him. What's more, Lou said, he had absolutely no intention of "auditioning" for us. Basically, he wanted us to buy the book sight unseen!

Needless to say, things didn't really work out. But everyone agreed that Lou was a very nice man. He even brought with him that day a box of free records for everyone who worked in the office to take home and enjoy. There were several copies of three of his most recent studio albums, The Blue Mask, New Sensations, and Mistrial. All on horribly warped vinyl.

At one point during his visit, my friend came back over to my desk and said "If you want to talk to Lou, he just went into the men's room." I replied that I wasn't about to follow anyone into a freakin' men's room no matter how much I admired their music. It took about 30 seconds for me to drop my cool New York attitude and decide that I suddenly had to go and wash my hands. "Are we gonna do a book for you?" I asked Lou as he was finishing his "business." "I don't know. Maybe." he said, with a wan smile, as he headed out the door (without washing his hands).

That's my Lou Reed story.



Edited 5 time(s). Last edit at 2013-10-28 15:56 by tatters.

Quote
crholmstrom
I'm seriously bummed. Lou will live on through his music & influence. First time I saw him was a poetry reading in Central Park. I got to meet him later & he was very nice to me. 1 really cool show I saw with him was at Bumbershoot in Seattle. Big stadium during festival. About when "Raven" was out. He did some of that & then whipped out the "Berlin" material. The uninitiated were leaving in droves. Lou & band were spot on & it was a great performance. RIP.

I was at that Bumbershoot show!! I was able to move up to a nice spot near the stage after the droves cleared out.Great show. RIP Lou Reed.

a quintessential New Yorker. A tremendous loss.

One of my greatest disappointments as a rock music fan was the unraveling of the 1993 Velvet Underground reunion tour before they got to play any shows in the United States. I actually remember Lou being interviewed on the radio in New York in 1991 by Dave Herman (yes, that Dave Herman) and I called in to suggest Carnegie Hall as a suitable New York venue for a Velvet Underground reunion concert. Lou just laughed and said there were no plans for any such reunion, when in fact, there obviously were plans. Oh, well. At least I got to see Songs For Drella. Twice.






Edited 4 time(s). Last edit at 2013-10-28 15:52 by tatters.

Always dug Lou reed-- so sad to hear he has passed. Velvet Underground, Transformer, New York, and more...... what a leagey
Lost my wonderful brother a year ago to liver disease-- my heart and prayers go out to Lou's family....................

I didn't get to see the VU until about 1972, right after Lou left. (And it's a testament to what a great band they were that they were still damn good! But I was always sorry not to have seen Lou with them.)

tracklist:
1) Paranoia Key Of E
2) Turn To Me
3) Modern Dance
4) Ecstasy
5) Small Town
6) Future Farmers Of America
7) Turning Time Around
8) Romeo Had Juliette
9) Riptide
10) Rock Minuet
11) Mystic Child
12) Mad
13) The Last Shot
14) Tatters
15) Set The Twilight Reeling
16) Dime Store Mystery
17) The Blue Mask
18) Egg Cream
19) Who Am I
20) Sweet Jane
21) Vicious

Band:
Lou Reed, vocals, guitar
Michael Rathke, guitar
Fernando Saunders, bass
Tony "Thunder" Smith, drums

Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2013-10-28 02:48 by BroomWagon.

Its finally sinking in. You have to admit: it pretty amazing he died on a Sunday Morning in New York. I mean, its just such a weird bookend. The first thing most of us ever heard him on, the first song on his first musical record. A song he didn't even really LIKE yet its how you can sum up this day.

I still don't believe this has happened. I know he wasn't murdered by someone but I feel like he was.

Quote
tatters
In December 1986 I was working at a publishing company in New York and one day one of the girls who worked there came over to my desk and said "Lou Reed is sitting in our lobby." I peeked around the corner and sure enough, Lou Reed was sitting in our lobby. He was by himself, looking exactly the way you would expect Lou Reed to look, right down to the black leather jacket. I had already been a huge fan of his for about five years at that point, beginning in 1981 when I was still in school, but this was the first time I'd ever seen him in person, and it was on my turf!

Turns out Lou had an appointment to see the managing editor and the owner of the company. He was visiting different publishers, shopping around a manuscript for a book that was going to be called "Lou Reed's New York." It was going to be a book of short stories, "little vignettes" is how he described it, about life in the big city, because, after all, who would know more about that than Lou Reed, the ultimate New Yorker.

When the managing editor asked to see some samples of these "little vignettes," Lou informed him that he did not have anything to show him. What's more, Lou said, he had absolutely no intention of "auditioning" for us. Basically, he wanted us to buy the book sight unseen!

Needless to say, things didn't really work out. But everyone agreed that Lou was a very nice man. He even brought with him that day a box of free records for everyone who worked in the office to take home and enjoy. There were several copies of each of his three most recent studio albums, The Blue Mask, New Sensations, and Mistrial. All on horribly warped vinyl.

At one point during his visit, my friend came back over to my desk and said "If you want to talk to Lou, he just went into the men's room." I replied that I wasn't about to follow anyone into a freakin' men's room no matter how much I admired their music. It took about 30 seconds for me to drop my cool New York attitude and decide that I suddenly had to go and wash my hands. "Are we gonna do a book for you?" I asked Lou as he was finishing his "business." "I don't know. Maybe." he said, with a wan smile, as he headed for the door.

That's my Lou Reed story.

Thank you for sharing your Lou Reed story. Very well told and kind of heartwarming on this sad day.

BBC often invites people to tell them their stories regarding a current news story (flood, whatever), you can read it here:

[www.bbc.co.uk]

Quote

What are your memories of Lou Reed? Did you ever meet or work with him? Send us your thoughts and pictures?

I didn't even know he was ill, so a bit of a shock, I saw him in the Hammersmith Odeon in 1992 doing the Magic and Loss album. I was under going treatment for cancer myself at the time and didn't know if I was going to die or not, so that album really resonated....
Weirdly, I just got a 1974 proshot DVD and I was singing Sunday Morning to myself last night.................(the first Lou/VU song I ever heard........hmmmm, strange sensation.........

Transformer book release party at Varvatos NYC Bowery store10/4/2013

[www.youtube.com]

Last thing I listened to before bed last night was a Lou show from Paris '73. Very fitting.

Quote
Koen

God I love him. I will never say RIP. He right, he deserves more respect than that.

oh @#$%&

Sad News, hard to believe
RIP Lou

Hear him and Sterling locking in as we speak....

I think he was interviewed in Amsterdam at a art exhibit and mentioned his health. 71 years, way too early.

Was listening to Halloween Parade after the news yesterday. I started sobbing. I can't believe he's gone.

JumpingKentFlash

I photographed Lou just last year - just adored him - RIP





Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 2013-10-28 06:55 by hbwriter.

Quote
hbwriter
I photographed Lou just last year - just adored him - RIP

Great photograph. Do you have some memories about this photo session that you think it would be worth to share?

Tragic Loss - RIP Lou. You will always be a part of my life.Thanks for the music.

well, he was cranky as ever this day - never an easy guy to talk to as i learned once or twice- that said, if you didn't force anything or even try too much- lou would, on his own time and inclinations, offer stuff. this day, i remember as he looked at a transformer cover he said, "why did i let them make me look that way? that's not me. that wasn't me. that was their idea of me." who, lou? "you know. record people. david. whoever was around"

i meet and interview/photo lots of musicians - no other presence like this guy - minimalist - but that was him - the real deal - i've seen true fans gush to his face- he might just stare at them- silent- forever- the people would wait wait - then just sort of wander away. then other times, if the mood struck him - he might offer "you know andy never did want us to do that record" or something - some bit of detail to the delight of a fan.