One can say without a trace of hyperbole that Lou Reed is one of the reasons pop music is taken seriously. He shaped an aesthetic and a notion of “what pop music is” that had an immediate and massive impact on music in the 1960s and 1970s, and which continues to be relevant today. His lifestyle became as iconic as his music, and he cemented the notion that pop music belongs with the arts. What is all the more impressive is that Lou achieved this with often very simple music. Sweet Jane, Walk on the Wild Side, and Satellite of Love use chord sequences so common as to be almost cliches. And for me this is what makes Lou Reed a genius.... His music had no unnecessary ornamentation, and this lack of distraction allowed him the space to explore a complex world that was simultaneously dirty and beautiful without overloading the listener.... Lou Reed’s world was inventive yet realistic, colourful yet stark, beautiful yet frightening, complex yet simple. His legacy is quite simply the rule book of what makes pop great art. R.I.P
Posted on: Mon, 28 Oct 2013 20:11:12 +0000
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