by bill@thephilter.com | Oct 24, 2023 | VU
This blog’s been going for a little over a year and a half now and after 48 posts, we have finally arrived at the advent of the Velvet Underground. That moves us into a new phase and there will be a bit of a hiatus while I do some research. Recently I walked into... by bill@thephilter.com | Sep 30, 2023 | Pre-VU
It was quite jarring to first hear “Wrap Your Troubles in Dreams.” Cale takes over on vocals for this one and provides the percussive tapping while Reed plays acoustic guitar. After hearing the preceding folk and blues-styled performances, suddenly it doesn’t sound... by bill@thephilter.com | Sep 4, 2023 | Pre-VU
The lyrics for this are nowhere to be found online, and some are incomprehensible, but here’s my best guess: They went and took my Uncle JoeWe ain’t see (?) no moreThe man said everything is fineDon’t you worry bout the old coal mineGuess it looks like I’m gonna have... by bill@thephilter.com | Aug 6, 2023 | Pre-VU
I debated whether to write about this here, as I am planning to deal with the other future Velvet Underground songs on Lou Reed: Words & Music, May 1965 (“I’m Waiting for the Man” and “Heroin”) in the context of the first VU album. But “Pale Blue Eyes” is an... by bill@thephilter.com | Jul 4, 2023 | Pre-VU
It’s hard to believe that this goofy slice of The Blooz was written by the same guy, and at around the same time, as “Heroin,” “Waiting for the Man,” and “Venus in Furs.” I mean, what would Lester Bangs have said? Lester, for those unfamiliar, was a rock ctitic who...