So Blue

. “So Blue,” the B-side of “Leave Her for Me,” was written by Lou Reed and Jades lead singer Phil Harris. It’s another classic teenage romance number, this time working the heartbreak side of the street. The lyrics are simple, almost monosyllabic, and so wholesome...

Leave Her for Me

(Note: I encourage you to listen to the following playlist while reading, by way of marinating in the music that inspired Lou Reed’s first attempts at songwriting. You may have to read slowly, or make yourself a cup of tea, or do the Wordle, if you want the timing to...

Let Us Now Kiss the Culprit

Lewis Allen Reed was born at Beth El Hospital in Brooklyn, New York on March 2, 1942. (The very same day, as fate would have it, as my beloved mother. Hi Mom!) His father, Sidney, was an accountant and his mother, Toby, a homemaker (in the parlance of their times). He...