@George Duffy Those guitars (and most/all of what you see in that room) were gifts to Jamel from subs! Big J has lots of loyal, appreciative, and generous fans who wanted to give in return ...
Every time I read this quote by Brian Eno, it's a different number that's mentioned lol. That's not to detract from the quote itself, it's one of the greatest quotes in the history of 20th century music.
Thank Maureen Tucker for that. She was an incredible drummer. If you like her drumming on this, listen to "Ocean". She makes "Heroin" and "Ocean" absolute masterpieces.
I'll never forget the first time I heard this song. It still gives me goosebumps hearing it today. There's so much stigma against drug abuse and drug addicts, and one of the things I love about this song is that while, ultimately, I think it is an anti-heroin song, it doesn't pass any judgment on the user. For those familiar with the effects of it, the song captures the experience and the mindset perfectly, with harrowing detail but not glorifying it at all. It's important to realize that addicts are just people struggling with pain in their life, and viewing the problem with compassion and understanding are crucial for helping them assimilate back into normal life. Lou Reed was a genius and this song is so far ahead of its time. No one else would have dared write something like this in 1966.
It's not an anti-heroin song, but you are right, it doesn't glorify it either. Just a musician trying to convey what it feels like to be addicted to Heroin through his music, and succeeding. The commentary on heroin is internal rather than external.
if i recall, Lou Reed came to hate the song because randomly when he would be at public places, people would walk up to him saying they had done heroin to the song which mortified him. very tragic that a song of the caliber had went over the heads of so many people.
This is the song that blew my mind the most in my whole life. I learned that dissonance and distortion could be beautiful. It still gives me chills 30 years later.
Le son saturé, Lou Reed à voulu nous faire ressentir à sa manière dans la chanson l'effet du rush d'héroïne dans le cerveau 🧠 ou vous avez l'impression d'avoir un nid d'abeille dans la tête sensation qui vous mène à l'extase parfaite👌 de courte durée bien supérieur à l'orgasme sexuel.... Puis tout doucement la morphine prend la suite pendant plusieurs heures..... L'heroine est la pire des drogues car elle vous incite à renouveler l'expérience de plus en plus.... Toujours plus.... 💉💔💀
shit, me too. One of the first bands that showed me discordance can be beautiful. Led me to appreciate bands like Sonic Youth, MBV, and other bands. And somehow they managed to make earworms. Brilliance.
"all the politicians making crazy sounds and everybody putting everyone else down and all the dead bodies piled up in mounds" that lyric is my favorite. Dark song for sure.
The lead singer is Lou Reed. You already reacted to his “Walk on the Wild Side”. More Velvet Underground songs; White Light White Heat, Waiting For the Man, Femme Fatale, and Sister Ray
I remember an old friend of mine telling me how the tempo of the song increasing and decreasing is what it's like to shoot heroin...heart starts jumping with excitement, and then off to the land of nod. Rest in Peace Bob and Mike.
To me this is one of the greatest songs ever written, to have a song in 1967 titled "Heroin" which explicitly states the feelings of using said drug, with no metaphores (Purple Haze, White Rabbit etc) is so ahead of it's time.
Needless to say the radio DJs of that time wouldn't go anywhere near stuff like this which is partly why the Velvets were confined to relative obscurity for quite some time.
@@vitis65 Yeah, that's why it's one of the best ever, it wasn't made to be a hit, it wasn't made to glorify anything, it was made to tell the bitter, ugly, terrifying truth
Written in ‘65.. was supposed to be released in ‘66, but the record label Verve wanted to release Zappa’s debut record first without a competing “freak out” band too.. So it was released more than year later in ‘67..
You're right, it's one of the first songs to explicitly name the drug (unless you count alcohol), however, drug culture itself uses slang and euphemisms, and there's a long history of songs about gettin' high. I kinda like the big band feel of this 1938 recording of "Wacky Dust", Ella Fitzgerald on vocals th-cam.com/video/u6XaCh64v1s/w-d-xo.html
Velvet Underground has soooo many good tunes you'll never hear in the mainstream! Enjoy the journey. I recommend "Rock n' Roll" "Sweet Jane" "Oh! Sweet Nuthin'" "I'm Waiting For The Man" "Here She Comes Now" "Sunday Morning" Enjoy brotha!
I love Nirvana's version of "Here She comes Now" also check out Cheap Trick doing "Waitin for my Man"... Best version by Lou is on "Rock and Roll Animal".
A phenomenal song. One of my favorite things about it is there is no bass guitar in it. I wrote an essay about it a few years back. Here's how I closed the essay out: "I’ve thought a lot about why this song scares me the way it does. Some of it is the music. Cale’s searing, screeching electric viola and the relentless drumming of Tucker grip me and drag me along on a ride I would be terrified to experience for real. But beyond that is Reed’s vocal performance. His voice rises and falls, gets hard and wild and soft and sweet. There’s that moment, lost in the rush he must be experiencing where he’s laughing even as he’s nearing death. In the end, I think it is this raw, naked reveal of despair that terrifies me. Of being that lost and trying to drown the world away, and the unrelenting vulnerability of putting it all on display for the whole world to see and share."
WOW!! I couldn't explain any better. I Hope you got an A because it's a perfect synopsis. People get wierd about this song and it's difficult to explain to them. You did it perfect.
If ever a song fell under the heading of "keeping it real," it's this one. No punches pulled, no sugar coating - more than music, this is art. Props to you, bro, for going off the beaten path and reacting to something like this. As others have mentioned, they've got several other tracks that are, to put it mildly, challenging listens ... but well worth it.
"Heroin" is definitely one of the best songs on The Velvet Underground and Nico. My personal favorite has always been "All Tomorrow's Parties" as it such a girl's anthem; but, "Heroin", along with "Venus in Furs" has a very special place in my ❤ Lou Reed was always in observation mode, no matter the song. He shows no judgment. He is just laying out what happens in the life of a junky getting their fix. It is both beautiful and sad.
So glad to see this band and this song here. The Velvet Underground are such an influential band and can be an acquired taste. Thank you for bringing your usual receptive ears to this one. I admit I did had to chuckle a bit when you said, “I hope it has a happy ending.” Bands I would love to hear...MC5, Iggy Pop/Stooges, The Clash, Sex Pistols, The Ramones, Patti Smith, Television, The Damned, Bauhaus, Joy Division/New Order. The list goes on!!!!!
Psychedelic bands of the Sixties liked to sing about the "joy" and "fun" of recreational drugs. The Velvet Underground pulled away the veneer to reveal the ugly truth. . .
This song is hard for me to listen to bc when it was " popular " I was part of an ad hoc volunteer midnight rescue service in Queens that would be called upon to talk people down from bad trips or prevent them from overdosing . When I hear this song I think of the people we saved and those whom we lost
@@davidward3122 Not to mention that a major part of the British Empire's fortune was made selling Indian opium to Chinese merchants. Chinese opposition to this trafficking led to the Opium Wars of the 19th century, which opened the doors to exploitation of China by the Western powers, including the annexation of Hong Kong. Maybe China is now getting its own back.
Yeah, the first opioid problem in the United States came with the Civil War. Wounded soldiers were given morphine in field hospitals, where the staff didn't yet understand the danger, and came out of the army as addicts. Others who had what we would now call PTSD started taking it to cope--psychological trauma from war wasnt understood back than and would be until studies were done of "shell shock" in WWI 50 years later. The one's who couldn't adjust to normal civilian life ended up in urban skid row districts like the Bowery in NYC
You nailed it, Jamel. I could see how it affected you. This song isn't exactly warning people away from heroine as much as telling you about it by lyrics as well as the feeling set by the frenetic music. Lou Reed doesn't exactly give you the feeling that he is regretting using and that he isn't exactly ready to get off the stuff. You just get what he is getting out of it and maybe a lite bit as to why. And what you said in the end that "everyone has a story, its just our job to listen." Deep, bro. Everyone should practice that. Could be the basis for a song in its own right.
I played "Venus In Furs" visiting some friends. I think it's the track after "Femme Fatale". It freaked them out! 😂😂😂 John Cale's electric violin takes a bit of getting used to! I had to put something else on.
Back when this came out I started a four year date with H. She was not kind but I became more unkind. I left her and all my "friends" and never looked back. That was 46 years ago. I still to this day have that feeling I could let it run with me then I freak just thinking that and run further away. She's no friend!
I never did it because I was sure I would be hooked. Finally at 49 years of age someone talked me into it. Ha! I hated it. Not only that, I had to take his kid to school and him to his job. So dumb, so glad I didn't like it.
The last 10 years of Lou Reed's life was with his wife, the performance artist Laurie Anderson. Some good songs by her are "O, Superman" and "Language is a Virus".
The truth of babes. That child needs to know how well they hear the music!!! Goodness... I just went cold! 🤍☕️... I’ve never played with this substance.... yet.... I understand the formation without/within...deprivation to extreme.... I’m a rapid “ cyclist “ but not with my vehicle 😅. I stay in for those days.
Now I’m curious.... what would that child hear to follow where/there , their way back.... their narrative voices have shifted.... I’m 6 minutes in and my thoughts... I’m giggling.... the way backs... we’re going way out... that’s where the fun is.... playing outside.... cartoon images, white happy singing group.... Music is layered in....
Yeah, Leopold Von Sacher Masoch. The word 'masochism' comes from his name. The word 'sadism' comes from the Marquis de Sade I think. I didn't like the novel at all and maybe that's because I'm not much of a fetishist and definitely not a masochist. Really, I just thought the writing was bad.
Jamel.. I'm glad you made it out of your previous life alive. The one where you were surrounded by drugs and addiction. I can see how much pain it caused you. I just wanted to give you a great big bear hug at the end of this. Thank you for keeping the great music alive, and sharing part of yourself with us random people on the internet.
So emotional that your path finally crossed The Velvet Underground ! For many people, Led Zeppelin is the GOAT rock’n’roll band and at the same time the Velvet beats them bluntly without even trying😉. When it comes to the Velvet Underground, you are not watching and hearing an experience of life, but you are a part of it ..and there’s no happy ending in life. You have entered the dark side of rock music (the Doors are a wonderful group too but don’t go that far) and now you will be able to acknowledge those deeply influential others groups like The Stooges, Can, NEU!, Suicide that follow in their own particular way the inheritance of The Velvet Underground. Enjoy and I’m sure I will enjoy a lot your reactions 😀
It’s the scariest song I’ve ever heard. I heard it for the first time about 15 years ago, and I’m about to turn 30 years old. I didn’t understand it completely back then, and fortunately I still don’t. I never tried heroin, and I think that’s because of this song by Lou reed. It terrified me then, and it terrifies me now.
Apparently, the sound engineer left after about five minutes. He couldn't stand the noise. He just told the band to turn everything off when they were done. Joy Division did a decent cover of Sister Ray.
Even if U or I feel that, you just can't say that shit...maybe he felt it differently.. Point is, never be so sure and cocky. Sounds like fact, period. No...
@@Artby_Katina Because he said it as a pure fact. It's not. That's a thing with "social networks", you can't hear the man/woman. So, i experienced it like i said. Voice and mimic is everything.
This is one of those recordings that literally came out of nowhere with no precedent in previous pop music both lyrically and musically. No euphemisms. No train tracks. Just Heroin. Brutal reality .
Check out the party scene in the movie _Midnight Cowboy_ to see a lot of the crazies and wacko ‘hanger-on-ers’ that used to populate “The Factory” in Andy’s world in the 60’s.
Yes. I don't like that band. It was a whole everything is wonderful on drugs scene. That's fine and all but this band sucks, nothing deep or enduring. Romancing the needle. They thought everything was a masterpiece.
Finally! Velvet Underground! How about "All Tomorrow's Parties"? It was Andy Warnol's favorite Underground song. Keep in mind this album was released about 60 years ago. Lou Reed was a storyteller, and he told the stories that were important to him.
Appreciate that you reviewed something on the fringes like Sweet Lou. One thing to remember is this was a time of exploration and pushing limits. Everything from Hugh Hefner, Liberation and anti-war movements to the Moon Shot and Timothy Leary. We benefit today from many of the discoveries and even the failures of that time. What some mischaracterize as self-absorption truly pushed societal limits and allowed us to learn. Too bad we still don't pay as much attention to it now as we should.
Funny how you mention that Reed sounds a bit like Dylan. Both of them showed that it wasn't necessary to have a "traditional" good voice to sing. Neil Young too
You nailed it JJ..., it’s a beautiful, horrifying cry for help. It’s resignation, giving up, no more fight...., the chaos drowning out the reasons, the thoughts and the realities of the fight. High art imo.
Lou Reed was phenomenal. This and I'm waiting on the man some of the best descriptions of heroin addiction. Living in NY in those days he was a major influence. Luckily I had a happy ending from it all. Most of my friends didn't. Clean for 30 plus years.
Reed was great. Been a fan since 84 but him and Johnny Thunders just perpetuated a fake rock n roll myth which ending up killing an awful lot of people.
I like the name 'Noreen'. I don't think many parents are naming their daughters 'Noreen' these days. Some of the old names should get back in circulation like Helen, Edna, Doris,etc.
i listened to this song for the first time in the 80's when a rolling stone writer said it was the only song to listen to in a car going 100 mph that was clearly not designed to go a 100 mph
Your reaction to this was spot on! The way the music was so amped up, just like the drug takes over a person, and makes him forget his family and friends, but it also lures so many people in, by shutting out all the evil things in this world, and pressures of life. Brutally honest song. Not for the feint of heart. ❤️
Thank you for the beautiful, sincere, concerned reaction! I've been hearing this song since 1968 and wrestle with whether it is more a warning, or romanticizing addiction, or just neutrally presenting a personal portrait. Your message in this reaction takes in all of that and is so caring. ❤
You went from the tame "Pale Blue Eyes" and jumped down the hole to the incredible yet disturbing "Heroin". I know I was one of the ones that requested it. Thank you for your experience.
The Great Kook. Love Lue's interview where he said, "I have never once used drugs." and then less than 24 hours later he was in lockdown rehab. Don't get me wrong, I am a huge Reed fan. I also ravaged my veins and soul on the spike for over 20 years. I broke free and have been clean for going on 15 years now. Every time I listen to the Velvet I get a reminder of why the sweetest things are usually the most deadly.
@@timkelly6985 likewise been clean for 5 years used for 30 still on the methadone not happy about that but it's keeping me 9ff the street and jabbing rigs in my arm
"Waiting For The Man" is more or less a companion piece to this. It gives a musical texture to the song's narrative of a junkie waiting for his connection. Lou uses the same variations in rhythm to illustrate the growing anticipation and anxiety as the guy waits for his man to show up. Another genius song by Lou Reed.
This song was recorded in May of 1966 (!), when popular music meant the Beatles and the Beach Boys. There really wasn't anything like the Velvets before.
@@revci666 Yeah, it is Jim-Jims - anyone in doubt can check it out, as it's reproduced on the inside of the gatefold cover of rock and roll animal. Years ago Lou said in an interview he made the phrase up to sound like a slang term rather than use an actual contemporary slang term, because slang goes out of fashion over time. I don't know if that's true - I mean he'd sometimes lie to journalists just for the entertainment value!
I'm curious of seeing anyone on first hearing this masterpiece. In a way I envy them. And then after they've heard it I pity them for never hearing it for the first time again. Just like me. And then we're brethren.
Funny story - when the electric viola begins going nuts (around 7:40 of this video), the drummer, Maureen Tucker, simply stops playing, because with the equipment they were using to record, she couldn't hear anything other than screeching. She naturally thought that everyone else would stop playing too, but instead they kept going, and that became the master take. Listening back to it now, that's such a perfect moment in a perfect song. This song has been incredibly important to me for almost three decades now (and I know I'm still something of a newbie, compared to so many other fans), but unlike a lot of people, it was something that stopped me ever wanting to take hard drugs, rather than encouraging it. As Lou said, it's not for or against drugs, it's just about it - The Godfather scares some people off from a life of crime, and makes other people think that's a glamourous way of life. Not all art has to be like a lesson at school.
Fewer views. Fewer comments. The Velvets are one of the greatest, most important and influential bands in history. But even after, what, 50 years, they are still too much for most people. Thanks for this. Didn't expect you to review the Velvets.
This song caused my brain to crash and implode when I heard it for the first time when I was 17 in 1978 , now at 60 in 2022 it still scares the ship out of me. A masterpiece. Take a bow Lou take a bow.
Love how this song uses rhythm and tempo and dissonant sounds to take us on the frenetic rush and then the inevitable crash, with the drum pounding out a heartbeat the whole time. It conveys more about the subject matter than the lyrics, to be honest.
Steady diet of razor blades, peanut butter, shirtless dancing and Marshall stacks. It must be the fountain of youth. Somebody should investigate Keith Richards too.
Heroin was a huge epidemic in NY in the 60's & 70's and this song was just describing addicts. No one can recover unless and until they are able to seek it.
"Golden Brown" by the Stranglers is another take on the same subject. Very evocative and moody with a great hook to it. Almost as addictive as heroin...
I get strong emotions just hearing the first few notes. One of the rare piece of art to successfully describe the experience. Maybe the warmth is missing, but just maybe. I like that even though he seems to talk about the fun side of it at times, he always ends with "I guess I just don't know" which puts everything back into perspective.
Hi Jamel. I came across your video whilst doing a bit of a nostalgia trip. Unfortunately I lived this song for about 30 years.Loved it for longer. It still gives me goosebumps and a tingle when I hear it. It's really is a song that can take you back to a time and place. I don't think you have to have been a user to love this song. The genius behind it spread far and wide. Peace Out as they say.
This song gives me goosebumps. It is so dark and deep. I am so glad that you played this and it's connected with you. Now, please do "Rock And Roll" and "Sweet Jane."
Listening to this song and reading the comments of those who are fighting to stay clean and then listening to Jamel brought tears to my eyes. Stay strong friends.
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‘KEEP GREAT MUSIC ALIVE’ Shirts and More, Enter promo code ‘Jamel’ jamel-aka-jamal-youtube-store.myteespring.co
💜 your channel ~ music & your funny videos are awesome 👍
th-cam.com/video/q8G410aI8Pk/w-d-xo.html
Check out "Perfect Day" by Lou Reed, things that beautiful are rarely so heartbreaking.
@@michaeljtalkington7960
OMG!!! 🤣
I'm serious lol here!
I hadn't heard that tune in decades!
@George Duffy
Those guitars (and most/all of what you see in that room) were gifts to Jamel from subs!
Big J has lots of loyal, appreciative, and generous fans who wanted to give in return ...
"The Velvet Underground's first album may have only sold 30,000 copies, but everyone who bought a copy went out and formed a band". Brian Eno. . .
So true
Brian Eno musical genius. Nice
Every time I read this quote by Brian Eno, it's a different number that's mentioned lol. That's not to detract from the quote itself, it's one of the greatest quotes in the history of 20th century music.
the same for the pixies in the late 80s
Kraftwerk as well
whooooa, never expected to see this song here. respect
BUT its great Music and his mission is to: KEEP GREAT MUSIC ALIVE.
🍌
@@weatherman68 Nice one! 👍
Agreed! One of my favorite songs, randomly.
Thank you Jamel - didn’t expect that at all. ! You’re awesome !!
I love how they creatively used the drum - makes me think of a beating heart....
Thank Maureen Tucker for that. She was an incredible drummer. If you like her drumming on this, listen to "Ocean". She makes "Heroin" and "Ocean" absolute masterpieces.
Yeah, the drumming is brilliant.
It emulates the false euphoria one gets when using heroin. The feeling “like Jesus’ son” is an excellent depiction of that initial rush. I've felt it.
yeah the tempo of it slowly building to a rush and then crashing represents the peak and comedown i think. makes the song what it is.
Yes Maureen Tucker was AWESOME! SO CLEVER.
I'll never forget the first time I heard this song. It still gives me goosebumps hearing it today. There's so much stigma against drug abuse and drug addicts, and one of the things I love about this song is that while, ultimately, I think it is an anti-heroin song, it doesn't pass any judgment on the user. For those familiar with the effects of it, the song captures the experience and the mindset perfectly, with harrowing detail but not glorifying it at all. It's important to realize that addicts are just people struggling with pain in their life, and viewing the problem with compassion and understanding are crucial for helping them assimilate back into normal life. Lou Reed was a genius and this song is so far ahead of its time. No one else would have dared write something like this in 1966.
It's not an anti-heroin song, but you are right, it doesn't glorify it either. Just a musician trying to convey what it feels like to be addicted to Heroin through his music, and succeeding. The commentary on heroin is internal rather than external.
if i recall, Lou Reed came to hate the song because randomly when he would be at public places, people would walk up to him saying they had done heroin to the song which mortified him. very tragic that a song of the caliber had went over the heads of so many people.
@@walker1812 That was Lou Reed's forte - don't judge, just describe and let the listener make their own judgment
Except for Jim Morrison, who wrote about murder, sex with his mother and suicide.
This is the song that blew my mind the most in my whole life. I learned that dissonance and distortion could be beautiful. It still gives me chills 30 years later.
Le son saturé, Lou Reed à voulu nous faire ressentir à sa manière dans la chanson l'effet du rush d'héroïne dans le cerveau 🧠 ou vous avez l'impression d'avoir un nid d'abeille dans la tête sensation qui vous mène à l'extase parfaite👌 de courte durée bien supérieur à l'orgasme sexuel.... Puis tout doucement la morphine prend la suite pendant plusieurs heures..... L'heroine est la pire des drogues car elle vous incite à renouveler l'expérience de plus en plus.... Toujours plus.... 💉💔💀
shit, me too. One of the first bands that showed me discordance can be beautiful. Led me to appreciate bands like Sonic Youth, MBV, and other bands. And somehow they managed to make earworms. Brilliance.
"all the politicians making crazy sounds and everybody putting everyone else down and all the dead bodies piled up in mounds" that lyric is my favorite. Dark song for sure.
It sounds like he’s talking about for what’s happening now
In this world in this quote
@@lallen6477 it’s timeless
The lead singer is Lou Reed. You already reacted to his “Walk on the Wild Side”. More Velvet Underground songs; White Light White Heat, Waiting For the Man, Femme Fatale, and Sister Ray
There she goes again is a great one too!
THANK YOU! Its astonishing that some are not aware who VU and Lou Reed are after all this time!! Tsk, tsk.
@@shuax Hell yeah
i love white light white heat
All great great songs
"I hope this has a happy ending." Well, uh, about that....
I heard that and thought the same thing.
I was thinking the same. A Velvet Underground happy ending would be what... the protagonist of the song not overdosing?
👀
Heroin... with a happy ending !??? Hahahaha
Heroin leaves no happy endings
I remember an old friend of mine telling me how the tempo of the song increasing and decreasing is what it's like to shoot heroin...heart starts jumping with excitement, and then off to the land of nod. Rest in Peace Bob and Mike.
This song is so good. He knows the hold it’s got on him. He’s 100% aware. But he can’t do anything about it. Or won’t.
Reminds me of my terms and the chemical of my choice then... Now over 30 years clean..... But appreciate the thoughts / vibe
Teens, not terms......
that hits
Yesss. A ride for sure here. The highs and lows of the song may mimic the drug cycle. I always thought that. Great song.
U would b right it's a rollercoaster ride ,, u cant get off of ,,without help ost my baby sister to that ride ,,damn it
Pink Cloud
To me this is one of the greatest songs ever written, to have a song in 1967 titled "Heroin" which explicitly states the feelings of using said drug, with no metaphores (Purple Haze, White Rabbit etc) is so ahead of it's time.
Needless to say the radio DJs of that time wouldn't go anywhere near stuff like this which is partly why the Velvets were confined to relative obscurity for quite some time.
@@vitis65 Yeah, that's why it's one of the best ever, it wasn't made to be a hit, it wasn't made to glorify anything, it was made to tell the bitter, ugly, terrifying truth
Written in ‘65.. was supposed to be released in ‘66, but the record label Verve wanted to release Zappa’s debut record first without a competing “freak out” band too.. So it was released more than year later in ‘67..
@@rickg8015 The year I was born.
You're right, it's one of the first songs to explicitly name the drug (unless you count alcohol), however, drug culture itself uses slang and euphemisms, and there's a long history of songs about gettin' high. I kinda like the big band feel of this 1938 recording of "Wacky Dust", Ella Fitzgerald on vocals th-cam.com/video/u6XaCh64v1s/w-d-xo.html
Velvet Underground has soooo many good tunes you'll never hear in the mainstream! Enjoy the journey. I recommend "Rock n' Roll" "Sweet Jane" "Oh! Sweet Nuthin'" "I'm Waiting For The Man" "Here She Comes Now" "Sunday Morning"
Enjoy brotha!
Jamel will totally love "Oh, Sweet Nuthin".
It’s endless.
I love Nirvana's version of "Here She comes Now" also check out Cheap Trick doing "Waitin for my Man"... Best version by Lou is on "Rock and Roll Animal".
Sunday morning would be a great follow up to this one.... but all of those are great... after hours is a short fun one too
"Venus In Furs"
We junkies as I was in the 70's this was our anthem
. I stopped heroin, but not the Velvet Underground.
@Terry Eugene I understand your not alone .
You're lucky to be alive.
@@dirkbogarde44 Yes but more as a Viet Nam combat Marine , that a junkie.
Dude sounds like you went thru the two evils of living war and junking out. You could have been a KING after all that. Nothing but respect for you.
Congratulations for quitting 💜
A phenomenal song. One of my favorite things about it is there is no bass guitar in it. I wrote an essay about it a few years back. Here's how I closed the essay out:
"I’ve thought a lot about why this song scares me the way it does. Some of it is the music. Cale’s searing, screeching electric viola and the relentless drumming of Tucker grip me and drag me along on a ride I would be terrified to experience for real. But beyond that is Reed’s vocal performance. His voice rises and falls, gets hard and wild and soft and sweet. There’s that moment, lost in the rush he must be experiencing where he’s laughing even as he’s nearing death. In the end, I think it is this raw, naked reveal of despair that terrifies me. Of being that lost and trying to drown the world away, and the unrelenting vulnerability of putting it all on display for the whole world to see and share."
WOW!! I couldn't explain any better. I Hope you got an A because it's a perfect synopsis. People get wierd about this song and it's difficult to explain to them. You did it perfect.
If ever a song fell under the heading of "keeping it real," it's this one. No punches pulled, no sugar coating - more than music, this is art. Props to you, bro, for going off the beaten path and reacting to something like this. As others have mentioned, they've got several other tracks that are, to put it mildly, challenging listens ... but well worth it.
Satellite of love, favorite Lou Reed song
With David Bowie singing backup vocals!
@@charleshash4919 and on production duties. 72’ was a great year for him!
i’ve played this song on repeat before. i love transformer.
The happy ending is that it wasn’t the death of him.
Pale Blue Eyes -----> Heroin
Well, that escalated quickly.
Perfectly stated!!!
Sister Ray next?
@@vitis65 Yikes. Scary thought.
Yes, it did.
@@vitis65 at least after this song would understand why he would be searching for his main line.
"Heroin" is definitely one of the best songs on The Velvet Underground and Nico. My personal favorite has always been "All Tomorrow's Parties" as it such a girl's anthem; but, "Heroin", along with "Venus in Furs" has a very special place in my ❤ Lou Reed was always in observation mode, no matter the song. He shows no judgment. He is just laying out what happens in the life of a junky getting their fix. It is both beautiful and sad.
heroin never has a happy ending
Unless you’re Nikki Sixx
@@nightshadespectre409 or slash
And OR just made small amounts of these kinds of drugs legal. SMH.
@@ktspirit1 decriminalized.
15 years off a 20 year addiction and I myself am very happy.
Lou Reed lived hard in the New York underground music scene for 40+ years. It is amazing that he lived as long as he did. He inspired so many bands.
So glad to see this band and this song here. The Velvet Underground are such an influential band and can be an acquired taste. Thank you for bringing your usual receptive ears to this one.
I admit I did had to chuckle a bit when you said, “I hope it has a happy ending.”
Bands I would love to hear...MC5, Iggy Pop/Stooges, The Clash, Sex Pistols, The Ramones, Patti Smith, Television, The Damned, Bauhaus, Joy Division/New Order. The list goes on!!!!!
Awesome list of bands right there my friend!
Definitely iggy pop - search and destroy. And MC5. May I also add T Rex - 21st Century Boy, Bang A Gong to your list
All great. It would be so nice as those bands are typically not found much in these reaction videos.
Iggy Pop fucking wails
Lust for Life by Iggy Pop or Down the Street from the Stooges 👍👍
Velvet underground, the William S. Burroughs of Rock n roll.
Raw and uncut
Love the comparison
🖤
"I'm Waiting For The Man" from Velvet Underground would be a good song Jamel if you liked this one. Just guess for whom the singer is waiting for.
Yes! Please!
He's never early, he's always late. The first thing that learn is that you always have to wait...
I was oddly thinking as it played a few weeks ago
Gotta go to 125th St
My favorite song from this band.
Psychedelic bands of the Sixties liked to sing about the "joy" and "fun" of recreational drugs. The Velvet Underground pulled away the veneer to reveal the ugly truth. . .
This was the New York sound. Most of us didn't do that kind of heavy drugs. Psychedelics were light and fun.
You must know what I know.
Another one of that era which comes to mind is the Hoyt Axton song "The Pusher", made famous by Steppenwolf.
@@cazgerald9471 snowblind friend
@@jeffdarden337 true, but there are numerous examples in the 70s.
This song is hard for me to listen to bc when it was " popular " I was part of an ad hoc volunteer midnight rescue service in Queens that would be called upon to talk people down from bad trips or prevent them from overdosing .
When I hear this song I think of the people we saved and those whom we lost
Impressive that you volenteered to do that
Respect to you and your service!
Lou Reed Rock N Roll and Sweet Jane are both worth a listen. They're on the Rock N Roll Animal album(also is Heroin)Thanks for all you do Jamel! ✌🎶
Sweet Jane, with its intro, from the Rock N Roll Animal album is one of the best live RnR tracks recorded, ever. Enough said.
One of the top 5 live albums ever and I don’t remember the other 4.
The version of heroin is a helka lot better on rock and roll animal
Remember, this was WAY BEFORE “Opioid Epidemic “. Heroin, morphine, opioids have been around a VERY long time.
@@davidward3122 Not to mention that a major part of the British Empire's fortune was made selling Indian opium to Chinese merchants. Chinese opposition to this trafficking led to the Opium Wars of the 19th century, which opened the doors to exploitation of China by the Western powers, including the annexation of Hong Kong. Maybe China is now getting its own back.
Yeah, the first opioid problem in the United States came with the Civil War. Wounded soldiers were given morphine in field hospitals, where the staff didn't yet understand the danger, and came out of the army as addicts. Others who had what we would now call PTSD started taking it to cope--psychological trauma from war wasnt understood back than and would be until studies were done of "shell shock" in WWI 50 years later. The one's who couldn't adjust to normal civilian life ended up in urban skid row districts like the Bowery in NYC
You nailed it, Jamel. I could see how it affected you. This song isn't exactly warning people away from heroine as much as telling you about it by lyrics as well as the feeling set by the frenetic music. Lou Reed doesn't exactly give you the feeling that he is regretting using and that he isn't exactly ready to get off the stuff. You just get what he is getting out of it and maybe a lite bit as to why.
And what you said in the end that "everyone has a story, its just our job to listen." Deep, bro. Everyone should practice that. Could be the basis for a song in its own right.
* heroin
Lou Reed's "Perfect Day" is a really good companion to go along with this song
More about a date with his then wife than drugs
@@hectormichelin actually not about a date. Even though the lyrics can be read and heard as that. It’s about drug abuse and addiction
Then listen to "The Kids" off _Berlin_ . Just be sure to hide all sharp implements first.
Would you ever be interested in listening to joy division they are a band you'll probably know love will tear us apart
And New Dawn Fades
My favourite is a means to an end or disorder cuz disorders the fist song I listen to of them
Live on TV versions of Shadowplay and Control as well.
Now that’s a good idea. I’m on board for some Joy Division.👍
@@davidtingley9978 Also Transmission live. Seeing Ian is an important part of the experience.
One of my favorite Velvet Underground songs of all time!!! You should also listen to I’m Waiting For The Man or Venus in Furs
Run, Run Run blows me away every time.
I played "Venus In Furs" visiting some friends. I think it's the track after "Femme Fatale". It freaked them out! 😂😂😂 John Cale's electric violin takes a bit of getting used to! I had to put something else on.
@@MisterMikeTexas Venus in Furs is the most intense song I have ever heard
Back when this came out I started a four year date with H. She was not kind but I became more unkind. I left her and all my "friends" and never looked back. That was 46 years ago. I still to this day have that feeling I could let it run with me then I freak just thinking that and run further away. She's no friend!
I never did it because I was sure I would be hooked. Finally at 49 years of age someone talked me into it. Ha! I hated it. Not only that, I had to take his kid to school and him to his job. So dumb, so glad I didn't like it.
The last 10 years of Lou Reed's life was with his wife, the performance artist Laurie Anderson. Some good songs by her are "O, Superman" and "Language is a Virus".
It's Sharkey's night tonight!
Yeah. Her should watch her performance videos 😍
She's got a beautiful red dress.
It's a sky blue sky.
Yes , please listen to O Superman by Laurie Anderson the single version. I promise you will never have heard a song like it before Jamel.
My five year old just told me to "Stop that racket!" This aint Daniel Tigers Neighborhood...lol.
Smart kid.
Although I believe I have seen Daniel Tigers eyes at half mast a few times....just saying.
The truth of babes. That child needs to know how well they hear the music!!! Goodness... I just went cold! 🤍☕️...
I’ve never played with this substance.... yet.... I understand the formation without/within...deprivation to extreme.... I’m a rapid “ cyclist “ but not with my vehicle 😅. I stay in for those days.
Now I’m curious.... what would that child hear to follow where/there , their way back.... their narrative voices have shifted....
I’m 6 minutes in and my thoughts... I’m giggling.... the way backs... we’re going way out... that’s where the fun is.... playing outside....
cartoon images, white happy singing group....
Music is layered in....
Which makes you officially, "cool"! Congratulations!!
Totally on the Dylan! Suggest Velvet Underground - “Venus in Furs.” Great song inspired by a 19th C French erotic novella of the same name.
Yeah, Leopold Von Sacher Masoch. The word 'masochism' comes from his name. The word 'sadism' comes from the Marquis de Sade I think. I didn't like the novel at all and maybe that's because I'm not much of a fetishist and definitely not a masochist. Really, I just thought the writing was bad.
Yeah! Venus in Furs is the best song on that album
The Psychadelic Furs is also a great band.
I love that song so much!
Actually Austrian novella. De Sade was the 18th century French eroticist; Masoch was the 19th century Austrian one. Good song too, btw
The Velvet Underground. The very first Alt, modern, and punk rock. “I’m waiting for my man” next!
Jamel.. I'm glad you made it out of your previous life alive. The one where you were surrounded by drugs and addiction. I can see how much pain it caused you. I just wanted to give you a great big bear hug at the end of this. Thank you for keeping the great music alive, and sharing part of yourself with us random people on the internet.
Hugs are Free!!
Their song Rock N Roll is one of the best songs ever.
lotta lives saved by ROCK N' ROLL...
Yes
So emotional that your path finally crossed The Velvet Underground ! For many people, Led Zeppelin is the GOAT rock’n’roll band and at the same time the Velvet beats them bluntly without even trying😉. When it comes to the Velvet Underground, you are not watching and hearing an experience of life, but you are a part of it ..and there’s no happy ending in life. You have entered the dark side of rock music (the Doors are a wonderful group too but don’t go that far) and now you will be able to acknowledge those deeply influential others groups like The Stooges, Can, NEU!, Suicide that follow in their own particular way the inheritance of The Velvet Underground. Enjoy and I’m sure I will enjoy a lot your reactions 😀
It’s the scariest song I’ve ever heard. I heard it for the first time about 15 years ago, and I’m about to turn 30 years old. I didn’t understand it completely back then, and fortunately I still don’t. I never tried heroin, and I think that’s because of this song by Lou reed. It terrified me then, and it terrifies me now.
This whole album is great. Found them randomly through Spotify.
I'd like to suggest Jim Carroll's "People Who Died".
Yes, another great street poet. Basketball Diaries is great book to put it all on perspective. Please react to "People Who Died".
They were all my friends...
Omg...YES YES YES
Perfect
"Catholic Boy" is such a great album by Jim Carroll Band.. Another great cut is "City Drops Into the Night"..
Oh... you should also check-out Lou Reed "Dirty Boulevard" from his album New York released in 1989 !
🇮🇪
📣💯
Damn, that’s a hard one
Awesome choice though
Yes...saw Lou on that tour and love that album🇮🇪🇮🇪
@@mikelawson6456 , I did too! One of the best concerts I've ever been to! He did the whole album in order, then played other stuff from his career.
New Sensations
when i was young this song was all it took to scare me away from the white horse.
Did a lot of stuff in my misspent youth. Never did smack, never did needles.
It might be said it had the opposite effect on me
I got real curious at one point and then I watched Trainspotting...
@@crystalwalker3503 Never saw it. Did see a clip of the worst public toilet in Scotland. Aptly titled.
This song and John Lennon’s “Cold Turkey”.
Check out their song "Sister Ray." At least the first 5 minutes.
Apparently, the sound engineer left after about five minutes. He couldn't stand the noise. He just told the band to turn everything off when they were done. Joy Division did a decent cover of Sister Ray.
@@altaclipper
The Joy Division cover is surprisingly funny.
“You should hear our cover of ‘Louie, Louie’.”
Naaw. Got to give it at least 10 minutes =p (I think is is an amazing song!)
Sister Ray was like a failed attempt at jam band music. VU had much better songs than that.
@@elgatofelix8917 Literally the best song of all time
The speeding up and down of the song has to do with how the drug is interacting in his body.
I used for a few years and I can’t recall the speeding up, it didn’t effect me that way.
Exactly! The “crazy” sounding music represents the wrecklessness of addiction.
Even if U or I feel that, you just can't say that shit...maybe he felt it differently.. Point is, never be so sure and cocky. Sounds like fact, period. No...
@@tompanoname3579 And why?
@@Artby_Katina Because he said it as a pure fact. It's not. That's a thing with "social networks", you can't hear the man/woman. So, i experienced it like i said. Voice and mimic is everything.
This is one of those recordings that literally came out of nowhere with no precedent in previous pop music both lyrically and musically. No euphemisms. No train tracks. Just Heroin. Brutal reality .
Artist Andy Warhols house band.
Check out the party scene in the movie _Midnight Cowboy_ to see a lot of the crazies and wacko ‘hanger-on-ers’ that used to populate “The Factory” in Andy’s world in the 60’s.
F*#@ Warhol.
Yes. I don't like that band. It was a whole everything is wonderful on drugs scene. That's fine and all but this band sucks, nothing deep or enduring. Romancing the needle. They thought everything was a masterpiece.
@@nelsonx5326
“Venus In Furs” is a masterpiece. 100%
Love the show "Vinyl", seeing andy as a little minuscule man, yet grand in art.
Finally! Velvet Underground! How about "All Tomorrow's Parties"? It was Andy Warnol's favorite Underground song. Keep in mind this album was released about 60 years ago. Lou Reed was a storyteller, and he told the stories that were important to him.
He was pretty groundbreaking. He was one of the first if not the first to sing about taboo things so openly. Like drugs and sex.
This would be groundbreaking now, much less when it came out in 1966.. . . .
@@mortensen1961 we have less freedom of speech today, than we did back in the 60’s
To say the least. Especially in the '60's.
Appreciate that you reviewed something on the fringes like Sweet Lou. One thing to remember is this was a time of exploration and pushing limits. Everything from Hugh Hefner, Liberation and anti-war movements to the Moon Shot and Timothy Leary. We benefit today from many of the discoveries and even the failures of that time. What some mischaracterize as self-absorption truly pushed societal limits and allowed us to learn. Too bad we still don't pay as much attention to it now as we should.
Funny how you mention that Reed sounds a bit like Dylan. Both of them showed that it wasn't necessary to have a "traditional" good voice to sing. Neil Young too
Clash5j, I agree with you. The people who cover the artists you mentioned actually ruin the songs when they try to sing them 'pretty'.
@@dawnrobbins5877 They usually miss what this sort of singing is about: to make the listener believe the story that's being told.
Good point. Apart from Neil Young, he has an angelic voice, perfectly melodic
True...but Lou took that "talk-singing" style to the bank, more so than Dylan or anyone
I can't listen to Neil Young without my heart breaking
I assume this has been requested but my vote is for "Oh Sweet Nuthin'". Rock on Jamel.
Second that. Guarantee he will love that one.
cause everyday she falls in love, and every night she just falls and when she falls....
@@Grendel53 it's so beautiful. :)
You nailed it JJ..., it’s a beautiful, horrifying cry for help. It’s resignation, giving up, no more fight...., the chaos drowning out the reasons, the thoughts and the realities of the fight. High art imo.
Lou Reed was phenomenal. This and I'm waiting on the man some of the best descriptions of heroin addiction. Living in NY in those days he was a major influence. Luckily I had a happy ending from it all. Most of my friends didn't. Clean for 30 plus years.
Reed was great. Been a fan since 84 but him and Johnny Thunders just perpetuated a fake rock n roll myth which ending up killing an awful lot of people.
I like the name 'Noreen'. I don't think many parents are naming their daughters 'Noreen' these days. Some of the old names should get back in circulation like Helen, Edna, Doris,etc.
i listened to this song for the first time in the 80's when a rolling stone writer said it was the only song to listen to in a car going 100 mph that was clearly not designed to go a 100 mph
Your reaction to this was spot on! The way the music was so amped up, just like the drug takes over a person, and makes him forget his family and friends, but it also lures so many people in, by shutting out all the evil things in this world, and pressures of life. Brutally honest song. Not for the feint of heart. ❤️
Thank you for the beautiful, sincere, concerned reaction! I've been hearing this song since 1968 and wrestle with whether it is more a warning, or romanticizing addiction, or just neutrally presenting a personal portrait. Your message in this reaction takes in all of that and is so caring. ❤
When you first reacted to the tame "Pale Blue Eyes" all I could think was "Oh boy...wait till he gets to some of there other stuff!"
This is such a dirty, noisy, unkempt, hard-rocking piece of outrageous brilliance. I wish I'd been alive to hear it when it was first released.
You went from the tame "Pale Blue Eyes" and jumped down the hole to the incredible yet disturbing "Heroin". I know I was one of the ones that requested it. Thank you for your experience.
The velvet were making 90's alternative rock back in the 60's, it always blows my mind
Great song Lou Reed is criminally underrated.
By who?
Lou is one of those guys where if you say you've listened to him and don't like him I don't believe you listened
The Great Kook. Love Lue's interview where he said, "I have never once used drugs." and then less than 24 hours later he was in lockdown rehab.
Don't get me wrong, I am a huge Reed fan. I also ravaged my veins and soul on the spike for over 20 years.
I broke free and have been clean for going on 15 years now. Every time I listen to the Velvet I get a reminder of why the sweetest things are usually the most deadly.
You're just running with the wrong crowd. :-)
@@timkelly6985 likewise been clean for 5 years used for 30 still on the methadone not happy about that but it's keeping me 9ff the street and jabbing rigs in my arm
"Waiting For The Man" is more or less a companion piece to this. It gives a musical texture to the song's narrative of a junkie waiting for his connection. Lou uses the same variations in rhythm to illustrate the growing anticipation and anxiety as the guy waits for his man to show up.
Another genius song by Lou Reed.
This takes a lot of respect to play this music not every likes the music good for playing this keep on being your own man thanks
This song was recorded in May of 1966 (!), when popular music meant the Beatles and the Beach Boys. There really wasn't anything like the Velvets before.
YES MORE VU
I appreciate your generous spirit and the kindness and respect you show to everyone, Jamel. The world needs more people like you!
Hello all you Jim-Jims in this town
Thing is, the lyric is "all the tensions in this town."
@@1st1anarkissed it is Jim-Jim. It is a slang term, like a shady person.
@@revci666 Yeah, it is Jim-Jims - anyone in doubt can check it out, as it's reproduced on the inside of the gatefold cover of rock and roll animal. Years ago Lou said in an interview he made the phrase up to sound like a slang term rather than use an actual contemporary slang term, because slang goes out of fashion over time. I don't know if that's true - I mean he'd sometimes lie to journalists just for the entertainment value!
Lou Reed became sober and lived to be 74 u beleive. He lived through it and came out the other side. May the gods always bless him
I'm curious of seeing anyone on first hearing this masterpiece.
In a way I envy them.
And then after they've heard it
I pity them
for never hearing it for the first time again.
Just like me.
And then we're brethren.
Funny story - when the electric viola begins going nuts (around 7:40 of this video), the drummer, Maureen Tucker, simply stops playing, because with the equipment they were using to record, she couldn't hear anything other than screeching. She naturally thought that everyone else would stop playing too, but instead they kept going, and that became the master take. Listening back to it now, that's such a perfect moment in a perfect song.
This song has been incredibly important to me for almost three decades now (and I know I'm still something of a newbie, compared to so many other fans), but unlike a lot of people, it was something that stopped me ever wanting to take hard drugs, rather than encouraging it. As Lou said, it's not for or against drugs, it's just about it - The Godfather scares some people off from a life of crime, and makes other people think that's a glamourous way of life. Not all art has to be like a lesson at school.
Oh Sweet Nuthin or Rock And Roll by Velvet Underground needs to be your next one 🙏 👍
Femme Fatale is easily one of, if not their best song
Fewer views. Fewer comments. The Velvets are one of the greatest, most important and influential bands in history. But even after, what, 50 years, they are still too much for most people. Thanks for this. Didn't expect you to review the Velvets.
Now that you’ve done Lou with the Warhol cover, try Patti Smith - Gloria: In Excelsis Deo...with the Mapplethorpe cover.
Velvet Underground & Nico... "I'll Be your Mirror." Felt super connected to this song when I was twenty.
Wish you'd done Rock n Roll Animal version. Hunter and Wagoner were incredible guitarists.
This song caused my brain to crash and implode when I heard it for the first time when I was 17 in 1978 , now at 60 in 2022 it still scares the ship out of me. A masterpiece. Take a bow Lou take a bow.
"Hopefully this has a happy ending" Yeah, about that.....
Love how this song uses rhythm and tempo and dissonant sounds to take us on the frenetic rush and then the inevitable crash, with the drum pounding out a heartbeat the whole time. It conveys more about the subject matter than the lyrics, to be honest.
It's very strange that of this musical clique (David Bowie, Lou Reed, Iggy Pop) that Iggy is the only one left standing.
Glad I saw all three live in concert!
Steady diet of razor blades, peanut butter, shirtless dancing and Marshall stacks. It must be the fountain of youth. Somebody should investigate Keith Richards too.
@@roddycoles3213 I got to see 2 perform and briefly meet the other - I count myself lucky!
Heroin was a huge epidemic in NY in the 60's & 70's and this song was just describing addicts. No one can recover unless and until they are able to seek it.
"Golden Brown" by the Stranglers is another take on the same subject. Very evocative and moody with a great hook to it. Almost as addictive as heroin...
one of the greatest songs ever written. just about perfect. John Cale's viola is a big star here.
Do “Venus in Furs” by the Velvet Underground is worth a listen too
My favorite Velvet Underground song, nothing else like it.
Unique song,and totally fantastic.
The entire album is outstanding,but Venus in Furs takes first place in my humble opinion.
Whole-heartedly seconded!
Much, much wisdom and beauty in your response to and reflections on the song. Thank you, Brother, and much love to you.
I would like to request "Sweet Jane" by Lou Reed on the Rock and Roll Animal album. He was the lead singer for The Velvet Underground. RIP Lou...
I get strong emotions just hearing the first few notes. One of the rare piece of art to successfully describe the experience. Maybe the warmth is missing, but just maybe.
I like that even though he seems to talk about the fun side of it at times, he always ends with "I guess I just don't know" which puts everything back into perspective.
Lou Reed is an amazing song writer. Take A Walk On The Wild Side is probably his best known song. 👍✌️
"Won't you take a walk outside"
Hi Jamel. I came across your video whilst doing a bit of a nostalgia trip. Unfortunately I lived this song for about 30 years.Loved it for longer. It still gives me goosebumps and a tingle when I hear it. It's really is a song that can take you back to a time and place. I don't think you have to have been a user to love this song. The genius behind it spread far and wide. Peace Out as they say.
I think the happy ending is that this song was published in 1967, but the writer/singer continued to live until 2013.
"Hopefully this has a happy ending" AD BREAK.
This song gives me goosebumps. It is so dark and deep. I am so glad that you played this and it's connected with you. Now, please do "Rock And Roll" and "Sweet Jane."
you should react to ill be your mirror - and more bob dylan
Listening to this song and reading the comments of those who are fighting to stay clean and then listening to Jamel brought tears to my eyes. Stay strong friends.
no happy ending
Heroin took my father from me 17 years ago. This song is bitter sweet for me. It was nice seeing you react to it. Thank you.
I’m so glad that addiction didn’t grab you, Jamel!