Introduction:-->Lou Reed and Lost Diamonds




"Sammy was a short order cook...
in a short order black and blue collar town."
~Lou Reed ~


Sometimes rock and roll is not pretty.

Exposing the underbelly of urban streets and the dingy rainbow emotions of the people who live them... never is.

But when expressed and described with brutally honest eyes...a ragged and weary beauty can still fight for its moments.
Lou Reed is a fighter.

Lou Reed gives us a dose of rock and roll reality. Never flashy or dripping with sickly self-importance like a Bono or Mellencamp...Lou Reed walks his own path...at his own pace.

When turning newbies on to the jagged mind of Lou Reed...I like to set the groundwork by recommending a variety of songs.

Here is a list of 12 fantastic Lou Reed songs to seek out and add to your ever-growing musical crayon box.

1) "Xmas In February" ------------------------------ New York (1989)
"Sam was lyin' in the jungle...
agent orange spread against the sky like marmalade.
Hendrix played on some foreign jukebox
they were praying to be saved.
Those gooks were fierce and fearless...
that's the price you pay when you invade."

2) "Animal Language" ---------------------- Sally Can't Dance (1974)
"Miss Riley had a dog...she used to keep it in her back yard.
And when the dog began to bark...all the neighbors began to shout.
Then came a stormy night, Miss Riley let her dog out.
And when the neighbors found him 'round...
They put a gun down his mouth and shot him down.
And he went: oooh wow, bow wow. oooh wow, bow wow."


3) "Vicious" -------------------------------------- Transformer (1972)
"Vicious, you hit me with a flower. You do it every hour.
Oh, baby you're so vicious.
Vicious, you want me to hit you with a stick...
But all I've got is a guitar pick.
Oh baby, you're so vicious."

4) "Romeo Had Juliette" ------------------------- New York (1989)
"Caught between the twisted stars, the plotted lines, the faulty map
that brought Columbus to New York.
Betwixt between the East and West, he calls on her wearing a leather vest
the earth squeals and shudders to a halt.
A diamond crucifix in his ear is used to help ward off the Fear
that he has left his soul in someone's rented car.
Inside his pants he hides a mop to clean the mess that he has dropped
into the life of lithesome Juliette Bell."
5) "Who Am I (Tripitena's Song)" ------------------ The Raven (2003)
"Sometimes I wonder who am I...the world seeming to pass me by.
A younger man now getting old. I have to wonder what the rest of life will hold.
I hold a mirror to my face.
There are some lines that I could trace to memories of loving you...
the passion that breaks reason in two."

6) "No Money Down" ------------------------------ Mistrial (1986)
"I know you're disappointed in the way I handled things.
You're thinking I misread the times and acted cowardly.
And since what I do affects us both...
And you feel that I let you down...
You're paying a price when there is no price to pay.
Lovers trust, No Money Down."

7) "Street Hassle" --------------------------------- Street Hassle (1978)
"Hey, that cunt's not breathing.
I think she had too much of something or other.
Hey, man, you know what I mean.
I don't mean to scare you,
But you're the one who came here...
And you're the one who's gotta take her when you leave."

8) "Satellite Of Love" ------------------------------ Transformer (1972)
"Satellite's gone...up to the skies.
Things like that drive me out of my mind.
I watched it for a little while.
I like to watch things on TV."
Lou Reed & Laurie Anderson

9) "Edgar Allan Poe" ------------------------------- The Raven (2003)
"These are the stories of Edgar Allan Poe...
not exactly the boy next door.
He'll tell you tales of horror...
then he'll play with your mind.
If you haven't heard of him, you must be deaf or blind."

10) "Billy" ------------------------------------------ Sally Can't Dance (1974)
"Billy was a good friend of mine.
We grew up together ever since we were nine.
We went to school, he was my best friend.
And I thought our friendship would never end.
In high school he played football.
And me, I didn't do anything at all.
He made touch-downs, while I played pool...
And no one could figure out which one of us was the fool."

11) "Coney Island Baby" ---------------------------- Coney Island Baby (1975)
"You know, man, when I was a young man in high school...
You believe it or not, that I wanted to play football for the coach.
All those older guys, they said he was mean and cruel...
But you know, I wanted to play football, for the coach."

12) "Busload Of Faith" ------------------------------- New York (1989)
"You can't depend on your family.
You can't depend on your friends.
You can't depend on a beginning.
You can't depend on an end.
You can't depend on intelligence.
Ooohhh, you can't depend on a god.
You can only depend on one thing.
You need a Busload of Faith to get by."

When putting together my all-time dinner guests...for a Steve Allen-like "Meeting Of The Minds" get-together...the black knight...Lou Reed will be at my table...(yes, he can bring his new bride, Laurie.)

Lou Reed at Sessions @ 54 "Dirty Blvd".


Lou Reed. Always the survivor...in spite of and because of...his rebellious nature.

Good stuff!

Casey Chambers
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Comments

ib said…
nice overview, casey. i've added "college crowd" to the sidebar links on SibLINGSHOT. I think you dropped by to comment first time i guested on Art Decade.
Casey said…
ib...that's very nice, thanks!
I'm off to visit your blog and reciprocate!
ib said…
thanks for the link back, casey. Appreciated!
Jim said…
This is one of the bast posts I've read in a long time. Lou Reed is one of those great talents that appears once in a generation. Thanks for this amazingly wonderful post!

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