The Velvet Underground & Nico
★★★☆☆
Preface
Too avant-garde for me, has its moments but I enjoyed something like 10 minutes of it. Not really my thing, both thematically(prostitutes, sexual masochism, and heroine) or musically(long and drone-y). It was like an audible Jackson Pollock for me(yes, and not an audible Warhol).
I acknowledge the role it historically played with Warhol and his “factory” but as music, I don’t think I’d listen to it much in the future, except the few long-time favorites: Venus in Furs and Waiting For The Man.
It is certainly new for me(and was at its time) but merely “new” isn’t enough. They say “disobey” and “destroy the traditions”, but that makes sense only when one creates better traditions. Destroy, yes, but only so you can build better on top of the ashes; and not for the sake of destruction itself.
Review
Nico sings a lot like Lou Reed, “atonal whining”. 11 songs, 49 minutes, decent standard length.
The first track has sweet melodies with the celesta intro, and a weird reverb all of a sudden in the second verse. I had heard I’m waiting for the man before, very noisy and drone-y. reminds me of his ostrich guitar. loud, compared to the next track that’s very smooth. the lyrics are however in contrast, amplifying the idea of Femme Fatale.
Venus In Furs has always been a favorite of mine. sounds like no other band, with catchy repetitive sections, and Reed’s singing is also iconic and unmistakable. continues with the idea of sexual masochism. feels a bit eastern in the middle. minimal and solid Run Run Run sounds heavier than others, more raw singing. weird solo with the same repeating rhythms as previous tracks.
Generally, I’m not very fond of the themes: sex, drugs, and sadomasochism but I’m trying to follow along. It’s not even symbolic or anything, straight-up heroine and overdoes and whipping.
All Tomorrow’s Parties has the same structure: minimal tribal percussions, repeating rhythms, tambourine, lazy guitar like it’s the first take and diatonic singing. Her singing also feels very German and folk-like, I’m starting to feel a bit bored by the end, 6 minutes is almost a lot. I kinda like the guitars! It sounds sloppy but it works here.
Heroin is so catchy, same pattern but the tempo changes are amazing. sometimes sloppy and not synchronized. for me, the climax is when he says “heroin be the death of me”. The distorted violins and at the end, the calmness fade out. the album could end here as far as I’m concerned. very wordy, which addresses Reed’s writing spirit.
so far, it’s been trying to depict its time, geography, and theme: little expressions, names, prices, and places, every detail builds a bridge for me to what they lived.
There She Goes Again is more hearable, nice lyrics and more diverse rhythmic patterns.
There she goes again
She’s knocked out on her feet again
She’s down on her knees, my friend
But you know she’ll never ask you please again
To me The Black Angels’ Death Song sounds very, Scottish(?) for some reason. European Son is also way too avant-garde for my ears, cool bassline though. After a few minutes, I thought to myself “Yeah I don’t have to listen to this”, but realized it was only the middle of the song. it’s like several deaf people playing for themselves.
I could sum up the album along these lines:
I che che, che che I, Che che che, ka tah koh
Choose to choose, Choose to choose, choose to go