What makes music important? Is it the number of albums sold? Singles in the Billboard Top 100? These can all be indicators of good music, but when I think of important music I think of art that inspired other people to make art. There is a famous quote that the record I am going to review today only sold 30,000 copies upon its initial release, but every single person who bought this album ran out and started a band. Can these old ghosts still breath life into cynical and disenchanted listeners today? Let’s find out and sample a few songs from “The Velvet Underground and Nico.”
The album kicks off with the lullaby sounding “Sunday Morning.” This sounds a bit like a mix between a Mommas and the Papas song and the vocal style of a Bob Dylan or an early Pink Floyd song. It’s very laid back and uses a selection of bells and fade effects to really give it a sleepy feel that forwards the warm milk lyrics. Do NOT use this song to party. It is what it is, and that’s a great song to listen to on Saturday morning. Oh wait, I mean…
“I’m Waiting for The Man” is a song that’s famous for being about getting drugs from a dealer in the shady part of town, but in sound it almost sounds like it would be at home in some poppy 1950’s album. With a few lyric changes, it wouldn’t surprise anyone to hear this on a Buddy Holly album. The fuzz of the guitar makes it feel a bit like a Dinosaur Jr. tune, but this is pure early-Beatles pop infused with a little bit of a live Doors performance.
Via Pop Matters
The first song on the album to utilize the unique vocal stylings of Nico is “Femme Fatale.” The entire feel of the song makes you feel like you’re in a French coffee shop hearing it. The vocals and electric instruments are all blaring out of the speakers a bit too much, especially the bass, and the back up vocals are really raw and unprofessional sounding, but it all comes together for a strangely appealing experience that sounds foreign in execution but comfortable in design. This is a great song to use to get a test of whether Nico’s vocals are going to be something you gravitate toward.
If you’re here for the psychedelic, you’re going to want to check out “Venus in Furs.” Layered and echoed guitars create a wavey dream-like canvas for this song. The vocals are delivered in a very dry semi-spoken word fashion and the entire song is a lot like “The End” by the Doors. It’s a ton of nonsensical words that sounds really cool together when you’re in the right mind set. *Pinches fingers together near mouth, raising eye brows up and down* Lots of weird stuff lives in the land of this song and it really rewards repeat listening because of its layers of sound. I’m pretty sure a lot of this stuff isn’t created with traditional instruments, so it can be a fun game of “What the hell am I listening to? Is that a bird?”
Via Bettylivin
The trippy sister song to Venus in Furs is the Nico sang song “All Tomorrow’s Parties,” which I personally prefer of the two. It doesn’t seem to work as hard to say “Look how weird I am!’ while still being bonkers and beautiful. Nico has such a unique sound that I think she could read the phone book and I would be like “What is that? Is she placing an Egyptian curse on me?” The momentum of this song is a real steady burn that makes you want to dance around a campfire. A lot of chaos coupled with some percussion that is just relentless without being overpowering. Some top notch balancing goes on in this song that could be a chore to listen to if created by lesser musicians, but the Velvet Underground absolutely kills it on every level here. A must listen. If you don’t like this song, this album probably isn’t going to be for you (as a whole piece anyway.)
Via mxdwn
The most important song off of this album was never released as a single and would never find a home on mainstream radio. “Heroin” is the song that launched a million bands. I suspect there are acts who only exist today because of this recording and they don’t even realize it. When people talk about art rock, this is what they’re talking about. This song is alive and organic, and feels like a stream of consciousness that speeds up and slows down as the singer goes through the thoughts knocking around his head and the substances swimming in his veins. It has been said that this song makes you feel like you are on heroin, from the heartbeat drums to the strung out guitar that twinkles in and out of focus. This song is more of an experience than just a jam you can snap your fingers to. If you like concept songs and coloring outside of the lines, you have to stop what you’re doing and listen to this song immediately.
Those songs are all primers for this album that should give you a feel for whether or not the Velvet Underground, and in some ways Lou Reed, will be right for you. If you like the Doors, The Animals, and other acid trip art rock bands that prefer the wild side of music over more structured fair, you should definitely peruse this golden classic. And eat a banana.
Lost Noises 