Favorite Velvet Underground Member...
 

random thread. but theyre my favorite band (sometimes, sometimes the fall, sometimes scg, etc..) so whatever. here are my favorite in order.

1. angus maclise-hell forever be the coolest member. one of the most amazingly innovative percussionists of all time. a member of la monte young's theater of eternal music, who's album 'day of niagra' is still the best minimalist drone ive ever heard (it better be, young, maclise, john cale, terry fuckin riley). he there met john cale, who wanted the velvet underground to go in that noisy direction. he then played hand drums and bongos for VU in 65, but quit before thier first paying gig. he claimed they had "sold out". he was a total outsider artist, were talking one of the most uncompromising bands ever, he thought getting paid was a form of "selling out", haha. 'the invasion of the thunderbold pagoda' is the best VU member solo album BY FAR. anyways, hes just a very cool guy, totally mysterious, and totally legendary. oh, and he cointed the term 'blastitude' for those who dont know. Larry Fuzz O'Dolman was inspired by Angus Maclise to create the blastitude site, and walla, the best underground rock/jazz publication in the world.

2. Lou Reed/John Cale-they have to go together for me. they are both equally integral to the group. lou reed was a rock n roll poetic type, and he brought just that; rock and roll guitars and arrangements and poetic lyrics. cale was the classically trained instrumental musician, and he pretty much was the reason that the velvet underground is considered an 'experimental' band. can you imagine 'heroin' without the screeching scum noise viola solo? the velvet underground was lou and john's baby, they were the composers, everyone else kinda followed suit. i know what youre thinking; 's/t' and 'loaded'. i love those records, but i consider them lou's first solo efforts, not velvet underground. oh as for outside the velvets, its hard to say who has had more impact. john cale is vastly superior to lou in the area of producing (patti smith, the stooges, nico, modern lovers). lou has had a better solo career (berlin, transformer, rock n roll animal), but cale has the best solo album out of the two, 'paris 1919'. but lou has the most shocking album possibly ever in 'metal machine music' (there has never been a rock/pop star to make an album remotely as wierd as this, and its probably the most avant record to have ever come out on a major, besides some of coltrane's later stuff)

3. moe tucker-for the shoes she had to fill (maclise) and for how well she fit those shoes. she really is amazinly talented to, her percussion floats all over the first two records, and especially in 'sister ray', you can still hear a rhythm driving the chaos. she also remained cool past the 70s, to which no other members did. she did that paris 1942 thing with alan bishop, and did stuff with jad fair, daniel johnston, and yo la tengo.

4. sterling morrison-hell always be in the shadow of lou and lou's guitar, but he was just as integral.

5. doug yule-rules


i just wanted to talk about the velvets for some reason, proceed.

OK, since yr actually giving Yule some props, what do you think of the album SQUEEZE? I've always liked it. Sure "it's not the Velvet Underground" as we tend to know them. But still. Good album.

i could maybe refer to that album as "good" had yule not chosen to keep the velvet underground moniker. its the most medicore music ive ever heard and a disgrace to the name. thats like thurston, lee, and kim leaving the youth and steve taking it upon himself to get some random people, and maybe a former member, to make a record and call it a sonix youth record. so by default i can never call it a good album.

I'm asking y'alls to ignore the name on the cover, though.

I mean it's the same thing as the "new Misfits." Nobody is going to pretend they're remotely as awesome as the Misfits were with Danzig. But ignore the name, and it's just fine campy horror punk.

If you just know that SQUEEZE is a Doug Yule solo joint, and dont try to compare it to the incredible work that Lou did with VU, then it's pretty good.

A lot of Velvets fans really, really hate Doug Yule. I don't feel that strongly, because he certainly played his part fine on the records he's on. Nonetheless, it's hard not to be annoyed with him for copping Lou's look and image and then thinking he could actually take over the band. Maybe that's more of a legend than reality, but it's a lame legend to get stuck with.

I don't really think Sterling's guitar was overshadowed by Lou's. Certainly his personality was, like everyone's who ever was in the same room with Reed. However, Sterling's guitar is all over the Velvets, and so much what made them a rock 'n roll band (along with Moe's perfect metronomic backbeat of course!) rather than avant-folk pop.

Sterling, just because we share the same birthday and being a tugboat captain is cool as fuck.

john cale. or lou for being able to still hold it together and make good records when cale quit.

i didnt mean overshadowed, wrong word. i meant more like, unfairly over-looked. i have always loved reed's tone though. ive always been a massive lou reed fan, i even like his shittiest albums; like i honest to god enjoy 'rock n roll heart', and even ocasionally will spin something like 'the raven'. so yeah, i like lou reed. and all his asshole-ness and pretentiousness have only made me like him more. why? uncompromising.

Moe Tucker.

^you thieved my response

And by the way... isn't saying Angus Maclise is your fave member of VU kind of like saying Ann DeMarinis is your fave member of Sonic Youth? What's the point?

Then again, when asked about my favorite member of a band I look at it in the context of what that person actually contributed to the group's body of work.

I agree, Green Magnesium. It's all part of the hipper-than-thou virus that goes around a message board; especially if it's a forum for Sonic "kool" Youth, I suppose. Angus MacLise? I mean, sure, you're entitled, but please...that choice is strictly for jokerheads.

It's a heat between Reed and Cale to be sure, although I do love Morrison and Tucker too.
I got to see Sterling play with Maureen a few months before he went. Oh, and I like Nico too.

Despite my collection of Cale solo, and a recent compulsive affinity for some marvelous shows with the phenomenal guitarist Chris Spedding (great when with Cale at least), I'll still have to, in the end, go with Lou.

Cale/ Morrison/ Tucker/ Reed/ Nico

Anybody who says anything other than Reed or Cale is a big fat liar.

They did, after all, recruit members through the NYC subway and else. I truly hate this sort of modern day favouritism applied to them. It's soul-destroying.

Sterling was a bad mother: http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=1sOvWeCEvIY

Fucking Nico!

thats a facile analogy. maclise was genius, and who the fuck is ann demarinis (just kidding, but you get the idea)? but i understand your position. i just like discussing maclise, and he doesnt get a lot of discussion unless talking about the velvets, la monte young, theater of eternal music, or thunderbolt pagoda.

FUCK nico.

dimebag darrell.

r.i.p.

probably john cale for the moustache alone. lou reed did have the attitude and the words but his prickishness has left me in some doubt.

andy warhol

Louie louie

You know, I often hearken back to Songs for 'Drella. And man, the ones Cale provides vocals for are immense. But just listen to Lou's guitar! Listen to the guitar line on "Trouble With Classicists." Listen to the absolute genius of his guitar on "Forever Changed."
Forget the technical players. The only living guitarist that rivals Lou is Neil Young. And Neil has had even fewer solo zeniths on record as of late. True, Neil is the best live, there's not a whole lot of comparison there, but Lou is to be respected for his immeasurably expressive talent.

Nico. I like her voice. And her hair.

I'm going to go out on a limb and agree with Mr 2600. Mr Reed is a very deft player. I've a strong feeling he learnt leads from jazz saxophones, he's never one for a showy solo, but always good at meandering to-and-from. There are technically more gifted soloists, but few better melodically.

martin deagville

Didn't SY play on her solo record when she came out of obscurity.

I don't know, Lou Reed... or John Cale. I just love their records.

I worship at the altar of the Reedmeister, but I can't be doing with Cale no matter how hard I try.

lou

The solo record in question is ''Life in Exile After Abdication'' ans SY play on it. She made more than one.

http://www.phantomlyoracula.com/
angus maclise's wife's blog

John Cale, no question. Then Nico. Then those other guys...... I love VU but they're a band I haven't done a lot of reading about them, but I really enjoyed the John Cale segments in The Rest Is Noise.

My brother went to see Lou Reed play a few years ago and told me he was wearing high top Nike's and leather pants. That douchey image is forever etched in my mind. Plus I detest his solo records. Walk On The Wild Side is one of the most annoying AOR songs in the history of the universe. Same with solo Iggy Pop - the guys in my band were raving about The Idiot or whatever - nope, can't do it.......

John Cale.

I love The idiot, and it was a huge influence on Ian Curtis (he even listened to it just before committing suicide apparently...)

Lou Reed for me

Lou

Really digging Cale lately. Favorites:

Song based albums: Vintage Violence, Fear

Avant Instrumental albums: Church of Anthrax (w/ Terry Riley), New York In The 1960s (w/ Sterling Morrison, Angus Maclise, & Tony Conrad, vinyl box set in wooden box, hell yeah!)

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