>The author of an upcoming unauthorized biography of Lou Reed, Notes From The Velvet Underground, says that the legendary musician was “a monster” who abused women and casually used racial slurs. According to the Daily Beast, author Howard Sounes interviewed “more than 140 of his school friends, bandmates, girlfriends, and family members” while researching for the book, and came to an ugly conclusion.
>“I loved his music, but you have to go where the story goes,” Sounes explained to The Daily Beast. “The obituaries were a bit too kind, he was really a very unpleasant man. A monster really; I think truly the word monster is applicable.”
>Sounes quotes Reed as having said racists statements about fellow musicians, saying “I don’t like ni**ers like Donna Summer,” and describing Bob Dylan as a “pretentious kike.”
>He goes on to say that it’s “quite clear that he was a misogynist and he did hit women.” His first wife, Bettye Kronstad, reportedly said, “He would, like, pin you up against a wall. Tussle you. Hit you… shake you… And then one time he actually gave me a black eye.”
>call someone a kike one time >hurr they're a fucking monster
Jacob Bennett
I knew he was a monster when he unleashed Lulu on the world
Chase Roberts
Wasn't Lou a Jew anyway?
Colton Thompson
Who cares if someone hits women that's not a reason to hate someone
Levi Morales
>describing Bob Dylan as a “pretentious kike.”
Dylan Reed
The real world doesn't work like Sup Forums m8
Christopher Perez
I'm pretty sure Lou Reed was a jew (Reed) so he's allowed to use it
Dylan Nguyen
It's like if Sup Forums was about music.
Jackson Morgan
he was a shit musician t b h. batted a 200 at best
Luke Phillips
He is
I mean look at that fucking Jewfro
Kayden Ramirez
he is mash potato
Wyatt Watson
>Lou was openly racist >Nico attacked a black woman >Moe Tucker is a Tea Party supporters Were the Velvet Underground secretly an alt-right band?
Josiah Powell
And?
Ethan Wood
he ducc :)
James Davis
>Moe Tucker is a Tea Party supporters woah I didn't know that, kek
Elijah Campbell
No wonder their creations were devoid of anything redeemable
Elijah Martinez
Wew lad
Daniel Carter
And here I thought heroin addicts were all perfect saints who would never treat anyone bad.
Parker Wright
>It's OK for Lou Reed to be a wife beating racist >but not John lennon Nice double standard Scruffydrones
Ethan Gomez
her facebook is pretty scary
Xavier Price
But Lou was doing it sarcastically
Juan Cruz
And their only good albums were produced by a black man
Really makes you think
Carter Powell
simply epic, I really love the edge you present and offer to this thread.
Connor Reyes
Oh did Tom Wilson produce Squeeze?
Jackson King
wtf i hate loo read now
Luke King
It's stupid how people put celebrities on a pedestool and act like they can't ever do anything wrong. If people actually knew some of the horrible things their favorite musicians have done (especially while drunk or on drugs) they would have to burn all their albums because their idols aren't perfect.
Liam Bennett
>pedestool
Kevin Wilson
>"a pretentious kike" wtf wasn't he jewish as well?
Lucas White
I'm pretty sure he must have been taking the piss with that one. I'm sure Lou had enough self-awarenss to know that that could apply to him more than most
Christopher Butler
Lou Reed wasn't a monster, he was just an asshole. Serial killers are monsters, not Lou fucking Reed.
Jonathan Perez
I somehow can't imagine Laurie Anderson marrying someone who is as big of an arsehole as Lou's supposed to have been
Gabriel Williams
Most serial killers are good people who just made a few bad decisions, user.
Jace Anderson
>kek
Ryder Barnes
>Lou was not able to function at that time. He was depressed, anxious, and socially unresponsive. If people came into our home, he hid in his room. He might sit with us, but he looked dead eyed, non-communicative. I remember one evening when all of us were sitting in our den, watching television together. Out of nowhere Lou began laughing maniacally. We all sat frozen in place. My parents did nothing, said nothing, and ignored it as if it was not taking place.
Was he one of us?
Josiah Jenkins
Don't be so hard on serial killer, most of them are nice people who just have a misunderstood hobby.
Asher Murphy
Are they gonna talk about the time he did a gay voice?
Jayden Rodriguez
>"Yeah, when Lou became interested in metal he turned to the only metal band he knew of: Metallica. He was so out of touch that his thoughts were seriously along the lines of "The Black album is pretty great, isn't it?", and not "It's STLL pretty great, isn't it?". I mean, it came out in 1991, y'know? That might as well've been yesterday as far as the old geezer was concerned. We tried to get him into some more recent (i.e. relevant, we'll use the term loosely) metal, but the hardheaded fucker wasn't having any of it. He said Sunn O))) ate dog shit. We played him some black metal and he just sat on his leather sofa and laughed. He kept saying shit like "But (Metallica's) One is so much better that this is." Just stupid shit like that the entire time we were working with him. After a while we were like fine Lou, whatever Go make an album with one of the most irrelevant metal bands in the world, we don't give a fuck anymore. And that's what he did. It didn't have to be that way though, Lou made the choice willingly. We really did try lead him to greener pastures, so I refuse to take any blame for Lulu."
Jackson Williams
"So you guys were vocal about Lou working with Metallica being a creative mistake?" >"We were, yeah. We told him the way their fans had reacted to the changes they made to their music through the 90's. That they had essentially stopped being a metal band, and had moved into hard rock territory. We showed him more modern grindcore, death metal, all sorts of metal music. He was just fixated on Metallica for some reason, and didn't want to hear any of that shit. He'd be looking at pictures of James Hetfield online and saying how "cool he looked" under his breath and stuff. They were old ass pictures too, from like the late eighties. Part of me felt bad for him so I didn't push it too much at the time, y'know? I mean, we were too busy with other stuff at the time to really worry about it. I still remember when we got the news that he was actually recording the album with (Metallica) and I was just like "That fucking asshole. Unbelievable. Well, what's it gonna be called?" And they were like "Lulu" and I just rolled my eyes, man. I knew right then and there what that ancient fossil had gone and done."
Luis Walker
"I take it you're not a big Metallica fan then?" >"It wasn't ever about that. I personally really like Metallica, but they're a totally wrong fit for what Lou does. And I told him as much at the time. He could have exposed some great underground metal band with the celebrity status he holds. I mean, Metallica definitely doesn't need any more exposure, in my opinion. It could've been mutually beneficial, you know? Instead Lou would walk around doing the "Sad But True" riff with his mouth like Beavis and Butthead and we got "I am the table". Man, I remember one day when he tried out a flying V with EMGs (because he read that's what Kirk Hammett used) and he was like "It's too much distortion, man!" and I was like "No shit, that's the whole point!" and he was like "No way, turn it down! Too loud!". I remember thinking "Dude, I'm trying to tell you this is a bad idea." Then he pulled out one of those expensive as fuck Moog guitars and sustained a single chord for like two hours while he twisted the knobs on a delay pedal. Whenever someone would try to say something to him he'd be like "What?!?" really loud like he couldn't hear them. I could hear them from across the studio, so I know he could hear them clearly. That's the kind of asshole he was though. He'd do shit sometimes just to show everyone who was in charge."
Justin Campbell
"Oh, wow (laughs). Was Lou big on power trips?" >"I wouldn't call them power trips per se. It was always more along the lines of pitching a fit and acting like a stupid asshole until everyone started doing what he wanted them to. I remember once our engineer came in really upset about his dog. Earlier that morning the vet told him they might have to put him down, and he came in to work really beside himself. I'll be the first one to tell you his mind was obviously not on recording. Anyway, we went to lunch and he was telling Lou what the vet said, and Lou looked him square in the eye and said "Fuck your dog, you're recording a Lou Reed album." and Mike just went apeshit. Or as apeshit as I've ever seen Mike go anyway. He was pushing Lou and yelling "Fuck you, you motherfucker!" over and over again and he was crying at that point too. You could tell Lou was letting Mike push him around because the whole time he had this half smile on his face. He knew what he was doing. Mike went home and somebody else took over that day. You couldn't really get mad at Lou for stuff like that because that was just the way he was."
Joshua Rodriguez
Sun O))) does actually eat dog shit
We're talking about a dude who was in a rock band that incorporated drone in 1967, he would not have been impressed by some shitty metal ripoff
Isaac Richardson
"Man, that sounds really harsh." >"Yeah, it probably does (laughs). I guess you'd have to know Lou and be there while he's doing something like that to understand. I guarantee if you told that story to his family or anyone who's ever worked with him they'd be like "Yep, that sounds like Lou alright." "Ok, lets shift gears back to Lulu. So Lou never entertained any other metal bands to collaborate with other than Metallica?" >"Not as far as we can tell, no. We did our best though. When we were telling him about Judas Priest and Rob Halford he was like "Gay is so passé, David (Bowie) doesn't even do that anymore." I mean, how do you even respond to something like that? When we played him Russian Circles he kept dismissively asking what tuning they were in. We played Sleep and he started making jokes about how they called themselves "Sleep" because that's what their music makes you want to do. We played him Earth and he said "You really want to know what I think about this?" and literally stuck his ass in the air and farted. So we just gave up and let him fuck himself up."
Cooper Rivera
"Sounds like Lulu was unavoidable in your estimation." >I guess so, yeah (laughs). I can't say why Metallica thought it was a good idea either though. Metallica's been big business since the early 90's. We're talking about the Home Depot or Target of heavy rock/metal. Why in 2009/2010 did they decide to suddenly start going after the hipster demographic, you know(laughs)? It's soooo weird." "I do know Lou pulled every string he could pull to get in on the gig where he initially met Metallica. From what I understand after the gig he rushed to get on the elevator they were in so he could ask them to do a record with him. I think he just kept on calling them until they finally said yes(laughs). I saw Lou do the same thing with the Chinese restaurant down the block. He'd just keep on calling, asking for free food, and telling them he was "Lou Fucking Reed" until one day they actually sent free food! Oh yeah, then he refused to tip the delivery guy, I almost forgot about that(laughs)! He kept on saying "Naa, fuck all that noise Chairman Mao should go get a real job if he wants to get paid" when we were talking about everybody pitching in for the tip. And the poor delivery guy was just standing at the door with these big doe eyes, man! Jesus, I could tell you some really crazy Lou stories, man. Like one time I watched him blow a big ass green snot rocket into a sleeping homeless man's mouth before he went to get on the subway. For no reason either, just because he could."
Joshua Price
It seems like it, but the book could be bullshit.
Carson Robinson
>I still remember when we got the news that he was actually recording the album with (Metallica) and I was just like "That fucking asshole. Unbelievable. Well, what's it gonna be called?" And they were like "Lulu" and I just rolled my eyes, man. I knew right then and there what that ancient fossil had gone and done. Haha, this is hilarious. You gotta some Lou.
Jackson Jones
>and casually used racial slurs
Well yeah; he lived in NYC in the late-60's and 70's, during the crime explosion.
You would have used them too after the third or fourth time you got mugged.
Ryan Edwards
Literally every one of those situations is from the 60's or 70's when Lou was alternating between heroin and amphetamines all day.
I absolutely 100% believe that it's all true but he was a fucking drug addict zonked out of his mind just being a asshole for the sake of getting a reaction. Bowie, the Stones and literally every other rockstar of that era was as bad or worse. Post proof of him doing or saying anything negative to anyone after he got sober in the 80's.
Isaac Thomas
"Ok, that's just disgusting." >"Yeah. No, I know. The homeless guy didn't even wake up either. He just made sort of a snorting sound and swallowed that shit." >"Ok, I don't wan to hear about that anymore. Have you ever spoken to Lou specifically about Lulu?" >"Yeah, once. We were setting up his gear in his practice space and I asked how he thought it turned out. I remember he said Lars was the worst drummer he'd ever been in a room with. Everyone had a good laugh over that. At that point he was pretty sick, man. He seemed sort of amused at the critical reaction it got. The last thing I remember him saying about it was something along the lines of "Who gives a shit? I just got a new liver, it's not like it'll be my last album or anything."
Alexander Fisher
Lulu is literally just Swans-like post-rock with a theatrical/poetic flair, except it came out before the neo-Swans trilogy.
People just don't like it because "hurr Metallica therefore bad". If he had used some unknown backing band people would call it a masterpiece.
Brody Hill
I think the whole "beating women" thing is what qualifies him as a monster, rather than just a racist dirtbag
Cameron Bailey
I really hope twitter doesn't steal this meme
Oliver Cook
I would disagree. When you listen to Lulu, it's apparent that the music was composed primarily by Metallica and not Reed.
Isaac Hughes
>Sup Forums gives Lennon shit for being a wifebeater >doesn't give a rats ass about Reed doing the same shit
Brayden Peterson
reddit will in a while
Hudson Howard
That's at least partially because Lou was openly an arsehole while Lennon thought a lot of himself while he was beating his missus.
Benjamin Robinson
Because John Lennon was a peace-love hippie fuck and Lou Reed was pretty obviously an edgelord
But that's wrong, Lennon is only considered to be some flower-power symbol by the fans that mythologized him after his death. The real Lennon was really just as cynical and edgy and pretentious as Reed but that doesn't fit his image as a Beatle
Owen Morgan
If Lulu is so bad why did David Bowie praise it and say that it'll be acknowledged as a classic in the future just like Berlin?
Asher Bailey
Because it's well documented that Lennon is a wifebeater, the only time I've ever seen it said is with this book, which seems like it could be a hatchet job to earn a quick buck from a dead man.
Combine that with the fact that everyone knows Reed was a prick while Lennon was a beacon of hope.
Kayden Myers
>sleep Does he mean the stoner metal band sleep or a different band called sleep?
Chase Myers
>>sshluup sshluup >>smack smack
Josiah Cook
>Lennon tried to put good into the world >Lou didn't Pretty cut and dry why some deserve respect and others don't
Oliver Young
>If Bowie likes it it must be good Bowie was also a prick.
Ian Morris
>Bowie was also a prick Name me 37 examples
David Perez
He had a fucked up childhood, his parents made him go through electroshock therapy because he was depressed, it fucked him up pretty bad for a while.
Austin Flores
Can you give us 37 examples of Reed being a prick?
Carter Ramirez
yep
Tyler Ward
> “I don’t like ni**ers like Donna Summer,” and describing Bob Dylan as a “pretentious kike.”
fucking kek
Jacob Rogers
Nico I knew about, but I had no idea Reed was so fucking cool
Justin Green
I don't give a rat's ass about either 2bh
Christopher Johnson
wtf I love lou reed now
Hudson Reyes
>thought a lot of himself while he was beating his missus. If these accusations about Reed are true there's another difference between Reed and Lennon:
[spoiler]He's calling being a decent human being a spook[/spoiler]
Jesus christ
Carson Long
I don't see it there.
Try again?
Luke Watson
I don't go to lit, I have no idea what that means
Matthew Campbell
I'd bang his sister
Wyatt Carter
Taken from /lit/ >What is a spook? Ideas/concepts/abstract principles and the like which are separate to ourselves and which we hold above our own interest.
The image he posted is of the philosopher who created the idea of a spook, Max Stirner.
Adrian Edwards
>Who gives a shit? I just got a new liver, it's not like it'll be my last album or anything.
Logan Hill
Sounds like he wasn't a decent human being
David Cox
I second this
Jason Hughes
The Velvet Underground And Nico (1967), 9/10 White Light White Heat (1967), 9/10 Velvet Underground (1969), 6.5/10 Live (1974), 8/10 Loaded (1970), 6/10 Lou Reed (1972), 6/10 Transformer (1972), 6.5/10 Berlin (1973), 7/10 Sally Can't Dance (1974), 5/10 Metal Machine Music (1975), 8/10 Rock And Roll Heart (1976), 4/10 Coney Island Baby (1976), 6/10 Street Hassle (1978), 7/10 Bells (1979), 6.5/10 Growing Up In Public (1980), 6.5/10 Blue Mask (1982), 7/10 Legendary Hearts (1983), 7/10 New Sensations (1984), 6.5/10 Mistrial (1986), 6.5/10 New York (1989), 8/10 Songs For 'Drella (1990), 6.5/10 Magic And Loss (1992), 6.5/10 Set The Twilight Reeling (1996), 6/10 Ecstasy , 7/10 The Raven , 4/10 Animal Serenade (2004), 4/10 Hudson River Wind Meditations (2007), 5/10 Lulu (2011), 5/10
Cooper Fisher
> racist he literally made a song called I wanna be black also Last Great American Whale
Charles Bailey
>The obituaries were a bit too kind HOLY SHIT LOU REED DIED!?
Parker Turner
Lou was a sociopath. This is old news.
Anthony Taylor
>Bob Dylan >pretentious kike Huh? I always thought Lou Reed was literally copying Bob Dylan's vocal style or at least was influenced by him.