Lou Reed smacks my brain, again.

I'm eating some dry cheerios , & reading sports stories when  Lou's  Video Violence comes from my stereo. Here's part of a stanza that grabbed me.

Down at a bar some woman is topless She's acned and scarred, her hair is a mess While he shoves $5 down her exotic panties The video jukebox is playing Madonna

Sometimes, LR is morose and  you want to eject the record cuz there's only so much psychoanalysis you want to hear in one sitting , and other times he's side splitting. I tip my morning ice tea to Lou's lyrics from his late 1980's albums.

Video Violence

12/3/12

 The New Sensations album in the early 80's surprised me the most. and it was probably his closest approach to the center line . he was definitely goofing with the fun tune: I Love you, Suzanne.

6/2/13

 Lou is recovering from a liver transplant. Maybe he's feeling the magic  this magic moment

8/20/13

 Bigtoke got me thinking of Lou Reed and "girl" songs.  You better watch out for Charley's girl

9/13/13

Since this blog entry gets the most hits, here's one of my faves from Lou: Families

10/09/13

This is my Lou Reed, who may not endorse my choice,  song  response to more Govt. via Obamacare  Leave me alone

10/26/13

"The world has lost a fine songwriter and poet. I've lost my 'school-yard buddy,' " Cale wrote on Twitter.

RIP Lou,: and I won't be   standing on ceremony

10/30/13

I listened to Ceremony, Think it over, Growing up in Public yesterday. Leave me Alone from an earlier album is next on the Reed memory trail.

11/22/13

Lou left us a few weeks ago, but  he recorded this around 1980. The day JFK died

12/20/13

line from Dirty Boulevard:

The traffic's backed up to 39th street the TV whores are calling the cops out for a suck

12/23/13

Consternation about visiting the  family: Listen to 9/13/13 link

2/13/14

" a son who was cursed by a harridan mother and a weak simpering father , at best" A line from How do you speak to the prettiest girl  that still reverberates

3/26/14

great line from the song growing up in public:

they edify your integrity so they can play on your fears

4/20/14

replay the 9/13/13/ link - it's Easter

10/2/14

replay the  10/9/13 link as Hong Kong's reply to China. Since the Brits handed it over in 1997, it's a steady deterioration of freedom

11/22/14

replay the link from last year.

5/4/15

from Lou's new sensations tune:

It's easy enough to tell what is wrong but that's not what I want to hear all night long Some people are like human tuinals

6/13/15

Long before Rachel Doldezal  claimed to be black  Lou Reed  penned the biting I WANNA BE BLACK "i wanna be black- don't wanna be a fucked up middle class college student anymore"

7/16/16

I suspect Lou was jabbing at the notion that it's cooler or nobler to be black or anything else than white. Basically deal with who you are.If we're going to be equal or equivalent, there's no room for the less than or greater than symbols.

12/26/16

After Obama's latest smack of Israel, would replacing Jesse(Jackson) with  Barack(Obama)  work in this line from Reed's Good Evening Mr #Waldheim. "Jesse you say Common Ground-does that include the PLO?"

3/6/17

#Dolzeal has taken the "I wanna be black" theme to an absurd level by changing her name to the west African Nkechi Amare Diallo.

5/13/17

Saturday morning ritual, no TV , just my wmp player. Hung upon Lou's tune "who am i" THIS MORNING. I 'm not feeling as morose as the tune,  but  Lou's lyrics are ricocheting around my cranium. live version who am I

"Sometimes I wonder who am I
The world seeming to pass me by"

5/20/17

If you want to know how clueless some of today's college kids are check this out. A student association at #ontariouniversity apologized  for having #loureed 's walk on the wild side on a playlist because it was transphobic and said the creator of the playlist didn't understand the lyrics. It doesn't get much lamer than snowflakes combining stupidity with arrogance.

9/2/17

The dim bulbs  enforcing current FBook and Google  broad #Orwellian policies on alleged  hate and bullying would have a field day with these #LouReed late70s  lyrics from "Charley's Girl" about a drug bust.

They wanted to bust the whole band I said if I ever see sharon again I'm gonna punch her face in

11/20/17

Reviewing the lyrics to Reed's "the day JFK died,  Man, did Americans have high expectations for #JFK.

 I dreamed I replaced ignorance, stupidity and hate

1/27/18

keep thinking of  lines from #loureed 's song Smiles : "  stylish smiles of buffoonery, chicanery and larceny abound"
3/3/18 : It would have been #loureed s 76th birthday yesterday. this line from Reed's "wild child" popped into my cranium a few times : "He thought it was funny that I had no money to spend on him"

3/5/18: re-spinning  Lou's "Leave me alone" and cranking it high at the #oscars. You lecture me on guns while being surrounded by private armies., and you shout #metoo while giving #Kobe , an award. 

July 22, 2020

I was a bit surprised to hear a track yesterday of Bob Seger covering Lou Reed's tune, "Busload of Faith". Maybe a more surprising cover than Duran, Duran  version of Lou's "Perfect Day"?

SEPT 5, 2020

re-spinning "I wanna be black" FOR  #jessicakrug , GW professor

June 26, 2021

While reading  some Damon Runyon short stories, I started to ponder who he influenced with his nicknames about urban characters on the streets and in entertainment clubs. The nickname Spanish Johnny obviously triggered Springsteen song characters. Also I thought of Kerouac, Jim Carroll, and Lou Reed, who named a character Sugar Plum Fairy in the tune Walk on the Wild Side.

Perhaps Carroll is saying from his grave : Buster , you must be eatin reds to mention me in the same sentence with Springsteen.

july 17, 2021

Runyon reported on Al Capone’s trial, enthusiastically recorded the gangster’s tailoring bills from Marshall Field’s, and the shopping he did for his home. 

I guess that didn't bother Al.

aug 24, 2021

Capone’s granddaughters are selling a trove of keepsakes  which includes his“favorite” gun (a Colt .45 pistol starting at $50,000), a Patek Philippe pocket watch monogrammed with 90 diamonds, and personal letters.

Lou Reed and Runyon would have a field day with this comment from an article on the auction: "ethicists debate the value of objects of historical significance but moral murkiness"

sept 4, 2021

 Some notes from reading book reviews of ‘You Are Beautiful and You Are Alone’, a bio on Nico. I concur that  #Nico helped VU on these tunes,  “All Tomorrow’s Parties” and “I’ll Be Your Mirror” ,and didn't know Warhol’s bugged Reed to give Nico some vocals Also, I was unaware  that Jim Morrison  encouraged her to write her own tunes.

oct 3, 2021

Another Runyon short story had me searching for the meaning of duckets. Basically it's hustling for funds.

Nov 22, 2022

Listening to Reed's "the day JFK died" at the blog and pondering a comment I heard on CSpan Sunday about Damon Runyon criticizing Alf Landon, a fellow native of Kansas, during Alf's1936 presidential run against FDR.