Lou Reed

Blutt Singer-Songwriter Symposium, Kelly Writers House, February 2, 2012

• on Delmore Schwartz (8:34): MP3
• his early interest in rock and roll and songwriting (5:27): MP3
• the formation of The Velvet Underground, Andy Warhol and the Factory, The Velvet Underground & Nico, and Pickwick Records (9:29): MP3
• writing rock lyrics about drug culture and the ignored netherworld (2:38): MP3
• on Bob Dylan (1:10): MP3
• on Leonard Cohen (0:51): MP3
• on "Doin' The Things We Want To" (1:26): MP3
• Lulu and collaborating with Metallica (3:46): MP3
• his constantly shifting artistic focuses (1:10): MP3
• his formal education (0:55): MP3
• improvising songs (1:16): MP3
• on "Street Hassle" (2:07): MP3
• not re-writing songs (0:21): MP3
• improvisation in relation to his concept albums (2:22): MP3
• the process of putting literary texts to music and working with Edgar Allan Poe's writing (2:56): MP3
• on Laurie Anderson (1:09): MP3
• responding to the description of his writing as "raw," and his interest in conflict and balance (2:05): MP3
• his attitude through the 70s and reaction to the music that came after The Velvet Underground (1:31): MP3
• being unaware of his influence (1:36): MP3

• complete recording (1:01:24): MP3

Wearing a hoodie and jeans and occasionally sipping from a bottle of water, rockstar, songwriter and photographer, Lou Reed, sat comfortably in front of an intimate group of fans in the KWH Arts Cafe -- an audience that included friends who had traveled from Washington D.C, Nebraska, and even London. In a candid conversation with music critic, Anthony DeCurtis, Reed reminisced about playing in bars since he was fourteen and smiled through recollections of poet Delmar Schwartz inspiring him to write music and artist Andy Warhol pushing him to work harder. Excited by the language in Schwartz's short story, "In Dreams Begin Responsibilities," Reed said, "It killed me that it was such simple language. That kind of language, that kind of story, you could put it to rock." With an English degree and passion for rock, the music that "hit" him and never let him go, Reed combined his talents to create music. "The people in my songs are not wise," he said, "They're like in the middle of a battle. I always thought things were better when they're in the middle of a conflict." Although Reed had found peace in his career, life and music, he was still in the middle of things. "I'm working on a book of a collection of photos," he revealed, "but I'm also writing a book about tai chi," he said, casually, as if a book about tai chi was as common as an autobiography.

These sound recordings are being made available for noncommercial and educational use only. © 2020 the estate of Lou Reed. Used with permission of the author. Distributed by PennSound.