http://www.rollingstone.com/music/ne...at-71-20131027

I'll always remember what a revelation The Velvet Underground was when I was in 10th grade and sitting in my bedroom all day one Christmas morning when I was 16 listening to the box set in its entirety.

great man! RIP.

Not going to pretend that his music ever appealed to me, but I can concede that he owns a spot pretty high up the hierarchy of rock and roll history.

The Beatles are my favorite band of all time. I would put every Velvet Underground album (except for the one w/out him) right up there very close to the best the Beatles did. Stunning discography.

RIP Lou.

Enjoy your walk on the wild side.....RIP

Never got too into Velvet Underground, but liked his solo stuff. I was just listening to Perfect Day yesterday, what a great song. RIP.

Lulu aside, he put out some great music over several decades.

i am not sure why this bothers me as much as it does. i don't consider myself a loud reed fan, have one Velvet Underground album, and am passably interested in that "dirty boulevard" song.

maybe it is the mortality of 70's era artists becoming more prevalent, his relatively young age, or just feeling my own eventual demise. i honestly felt like crying as i read the thread title.

i hope that wherever he is, his burden is lighter.

RIP to one of the all time greats.

Same here. The one VU album I really like is the first one, with Nico. White Light/White Heat is unlistenable, except for the title song.

I guess he just heard Lulu for the first time.

Never could get into his stuff. I like the live "Rock 'N Roll Animal" and own it, however I read that fans don't like it because it's to commercial.

Wow. I VERY influential artist in the world of music. A funny and intelligent writer of many great songs.

I saw him several times in concerts during the 70s and 80s.

(Berlin is one of his best albums, yet it was panned by and later embraced by the critics.)

(His Metal Machine Music was the rocker's ultimate joke.)

For me the second greatest lyricist of all time behind Bob Dylan. RIP you cranky old man who gave us so much great music.

+1.....(at least yet)

My first exposure to Lou/VU was the rarities/leftovers album VU. I loved it (and still do) and got a live recording they did which was wild. Not a huge fan of everything he did, but like others said, we lost a huge influence in music.

Shed a Light on Love was one of my all-time favorite songs.

Lou

Same here. Not a fan but clearly made an impact in the genre.

RIP

I have argued for years and will continue to argue that The Velvet Underground were the most important American rock and roll band of all time. The innovations Lou Reed made over four albums (and John Cale over two) are astonishing. And Lou's restless, wandering solo career just proved how much of a true artist he always was.

I saw him live in 2003 at the Wiltern. I was just browsing a copy of the LA Times that someone left on the table next to me where I was having lunch and saw a listing for the show. I immediately secured two tickets and called a friend to get him to come. He played for three hours and got into a fight with someone in the front rows. It was pure rock and roll. I feel very lucky to have seen him even once. It was a privilege.

And, by the way, White Light/White Heat is my favorite VU record. Absolutely blistering.

The Velvet Underground were probably the second most important band as far as influence goes behind Black Sabbath.

Lewis Allan "Lou" Reed

While I wasn't much of a fan outside of the standard stuff (ie. Perfect Day, Walk on the Wild Side, etc), I can't deny his influence on music.

Bad day for music between Lou Reed dying and John McVie announcing his cancer.

If you're interested in checking out some of Lou Reed's music, here are some particularly accessible albums that might make for a good introduction:

The Velvet Underground (self-titled third album, not the same as The Velvet Underground and Nico)
The Velvet Underground: Loaded
Transformer (has "Perfect Day" and "Walk On The Wild Side")
Coney Island Baby
The Blue Mask
New York

I'm speechless. This sucks.

And a few favorite tracks, just because:

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