The Velvet Underground

I'll tell him you said that.

 

Thanks alot, I certainly will!

 

'head held high' ? that would be one of my least favourite VU songs. Still nice, though.

 

I think that song, Set Me Free, totally kicks ass!! Scott Weiland is cool!

 

1. Venus in Furs- It's very trippy music
2. Beginning to see the light
3. Heroin
And the rest follow
Those are my favorite songs. They achieved a sound many bands can not produce.

 

True... very true.

 

So many bands tried to copy them though... I have nothing against bands who were just influenced by them or just have a similar sound by accident, but I can't stand bands like Pavement who thought they understood their sound and did something really fucked up trying to imitate something great.

 

For any of you who have any of The VU's live material, which versions of "Sweet Jane" and "New Age" do you prefer? The live versions or the studio versions? The reason I ask is because the live versions are basically different songs with different lyrics and all.

I prefer the live versions, myself. That could be because I heard the live versions prior to the studio versions, and therefore became *used to* those versions, but I think I just prefer their sound/style. Anyone else?

 

On a similar VU note, I just got John Cale's first solo album, Vintage Violence, today. I haven't had a chance to check it out yet, but I'm sure It'll be good... that is, if it's anything like the great contributions he made to The Velvet Underground.

 

John Cale's solo work is great, but it's quite a bit different from his work with the Velvet Underground. I think most people who have never heard Cale's work, outside of the Velvets, go into his solo material thinking it's going to be really dark and experimental. It isn't.

Most of Cale's solo work is surprisingly accessible and poppy, with some beautiful melodies and hooks, not to mention Cale's often overlooked songwriting. Along with Brian Eno, John Cale made some of the best, most innovative and intelligent pop music of the entire 70's decade.

My two personal favorite Cale albums are Paris 1919 and Fear. They are just magnificent albums which I never seem to get tired of.

 

Well, "surprisingly accessible and poppy" sounds fine with me! I didn't really mean that I hoped his music would be similar to the VU ( although that wouldn't be a bad thing ) but rather that I hoped the quality would be the same. But, alas, it seems you have answered that question for me!

Besides, one would assume that John Cale's solo work would be different from the VU because, well, Lou Reed wrote for the VU, not John Cale. I mean, John Cale did leave the VU because he didn't agree with Reed's ideas for their music, correct? ( I'm probably wrong on that... I lack VU education :& )

 

But I am not speaking in terms of the songwriting, rather the sound of the music itself. And John Cale co-wrote several VU songs, BTW.

The thing is, VU's darkly experimental sound found on the first album - and especially the second album - is attributed mostly to Cale. Cale was the true experimentalist in the band as he studied under avant-garde composer La Monte Young during the mid-60's.

After all, Cale is the one who brought the harsh distortion and white noise to the band, which is a trademark of Velvet Underground's work. Notice that after Cale departed the VU, their sound became much more straight-forward and subdued, as is apparant on the band's third, self-titled album from 1969; and even moreso on the band's 1970 sellout album, Loaded.

 

in my opinion, Cale was the most important member of the group, as far as the music goes. Ive heard various songs of his solo work. i like the track paris 1919 quite a bit. I heard sabotage/live was his "loudest" solo album. i cant seem to find any of it to download really.

 

i was a bit disappointed when i first heard john cale's solo albums. They don't sound like the vu at all... but now i think they're quite good.

 

Yeah, Cale was certainly the key expiramental member. Reed was more on the edge with his lyrics, not as much the music.

I will be getting a John Cale solo album soon... my favorite solo Cale song I know is Paris 1919.

 

Yeah I love that song too! I can't wait till we get the album!

 

Oh, well, I just meant the lyrics were by Reed. I did know that Cale co-wrote a good amount of music for The Velvet Underground. Sorry, I didn't make myself very clear :&. But, yes, I understand what you mean.

Yes, I realized that Cale brought that sound to The VU, especially on songs like "Sister Ray, "European Son," and "Venus In Furs." However, I was stating before that I had hoped that the quality of his music would be the same, not necessarliy the sound or type of music. Basically, I was just saying that I hope I like this music as much as I like his VU work, despite whether or not it sounds similar.

Oh yes, I experienced that for myself. The first time I heard The Velvet Underground and Loaded, I thought to myself "Wow! Too bad Cale wasn't still around when they recorded this!" My favorite songs seem to be the ones that Cale had a severe influence on, so those two albums were a little upsetting (Although I DO enjoy them now.)

 

same here. I miss the experimentation, the darkness and the noise from the debut album and WL/WH on their last two albums. 'The VU' and 'Loaded' sound so poppy (compare 'Lonesome Cowboy Bill' to 'I Heard Her Call My Name' !). But after a while i began to realise that those two albums are great too, but in another way.

 

Exactly! Hehe, although, I DO like "Lonesone Cowboy Bill!" It's a pretty cool song even if it isn't expolsive and experimental. I had looked forward to hearing "The Murder Mystery" on The Velvet Underground because I had heard that it was wild and experimental, but in the end, I wasn't all that impressed. I'm not sure why, but even after repeat listens, I just can't seem to "get into" the song.

Oh, and I listened to some of John Cale's Vintage Violence, and I already like it. It IS really different from the VU, but in a good way.

 

I just don't want this one to die... I like this thread.