WESTNILE FUNDRAISER: Tony Conrad, Aki Onda, MV Carbon, Chaw Mank! Nov 20, 2009
Wielding a drone both aggressively confrontational and subtly mesmerizing, he and his collaborators -- including La Monte Young and future Velvet Underground co-founders John Cale and Angus MacLise -- created some of the most revolutionary music of that or any -- decade. Utilizing long durations, precise pitch and blistering volume, Conrad and co. forged a "Dream Music" that articulated the Big Bang of "minimalism."Following the dissolution of the group in 1966, Conrad played a pivotal role... (AbsoluteArts.com)
Joan Baez, Lou Reed serenade revolution hero Havel Nov 15, 2009
Reed, 67, is the former lead singer and songwriter of the Velvet Underground, the rock band whose records, he once told Columbia University, appealed to Havel and other Europeans because of the "anti-authoritarian freedom" conveyed in the songs. Baez, whose music has inspired several anti-war, non-violence and human rights movements, performed at a concert in Czechoslovakia in 1989 attended by Havel, who later credited her with influencing the Velvet Revolution. (Yahoo! Asia News)
MoMA Film: Modern Mondays--December 2009 Nov 13, 2009
For In Conversation: An Evening with John Cale, Cale (Welsh, b. 1942), artist, musician, sonic innovator, and a founding member of the experimental rock band The Velvet Underground, reflects upon the liaison between music and art. The evening includes a discussion of his recent work, Dyddiau Du (Dark Days) (2009), currently on view in the Wales Pavilion at the Venice Biennale. (AbsoluteArts.com)
Frontman Conley reluctantly flies solo Nov 12, 2009
"But a lot of times I wasn't thinking about (influences), and then I listen back and think it sounds like OutKast, or Prince, or Neil Diamond, or Jonathan Richman, or Velvet Underground.". While Conley is concentrating more on solo material these days, he's still working with his other bands. (Athens Banner-Herald)
Times moving fast Nov 11, 2009
Critics were comparing their sound favorably to acts as far-ranging as Weezer and Velvet Underground; Rolling Stone said it sounded like something straight out of late-70s FM radio. And along came The New York Times. (The Palm Beach Post)
A new shade of Cale Nov 1, 2009
THE MYSTERIOUS, melancholic and prolific John Cale is so indelibly connected with New York - he was a member of the Velvet Underground (before Lou Reed sacked him) and a resident of Andy Warhol's factory (before it imploded) - that it is easy to overlook that he is Welsh. Indeed, the 67-year-old musician, composer, singer and artist represented his homeland at this year's Venice Biennale with a film and music installation reflecting on his ambivalently passionate relationship with Wales. (Sydney Morning Herald -- Entertainment)
Essentials: This weekend's live music picks Oct 30, 2009
Tonight @ Bottom of the Hill: Pushing it into the red with tunes like "My Head," the Ohio combo invokes "White Light/White Heat"-era Velvet Underground as well as noise contemporaries. Rust Belt rough edges blunt the well-embedded pleasure of these art-school refugees' bubblegum narcotic, which takes atmospheric new turns with their album "Born Again Revisited." With Axemen, Clipd Beaks and Work. (San Francisco Chronicle)
'Hall' together now Oct 25, 2009
Hard-rockers Metallica picked Ray Davies of the Kinks and Lou Reed, who will play a song by the band he fronted in the late 60s, the Velvet Underground ... Hard-rockers Metallica picked Ray Davies of the Kinks and Lou Reed, who will play a song by the band he fronted in the late 60s, the Velvet Underground. (New York Post -- Entertainment)
Camille Paglia Oct 23, 2009
Whether it was the electrified Bob Dylan (methedrine), early Pink Floyd (LSD), the Velvet Underground and the Rolling Stones' "Exile on Main Street" (heroin), or David Bowie's Ziggy Stardust (cocaine), I seem to love artists in their most altered, hallucinatory states. Yet another chapter for some future manifesto on psychedelic criticism. (Salon)
Playing the White House: music on a higher scale Oct 20, 2009
When the Clinton White House welcomed Czech President Vaclav Havel for a state dinner in 1998, the former playwright made a special request for entertainment by rocker Lou Reed, a founding member of the former rock group Velvet Underground. The group had helped inspire Havel's leadership of the "Velvet Revolution" that brought democracy to the Czech Republic. (San Francisco Chronicle -- Entertainment)
Betsey Johnson receives Medal of Honor Oct 15, 2009
When Johnson began designing for Paraphernalia in the sixties, she was the ultimate downtown "it" girl: Married to John Cale of The Velvet Underground, she ran with the Andy Warhol crowd and used Edie Sedgwick as her model. She was the poster child for her brand as an active participant in the rock and roll party lifestyle that her clothes were synonymous with. (Xinhuanet, China)
China's rockers too pampered for politics Oct 14, 2009
Michael Pettis, finance professor at Peking University and founder of one of Beijing's most influential record labels, Maybe Mars, helped influence a young Shouwang by playing him the 1960s band Velvet Underground. "After I listened to the Velvet Underground I thought I must start a band," Shouwang said outside Yugong Yishan. (Asia Times Online)
One loud, proud Mother Oct 10, 2009
It feels good to get back to it, says the South Carolina native, who moved to Athens in 1996 to attend the University of Georgia and founded Mother Jackson in 2001 with Mikulka (the son of Velvet Underground drummer Moe Tucker) and Wilson. We ve got a bunch of new material that sounds and feels good. (Athens Banner-Herald)
Top 10 September singles Oct 4, 2009
This sounds like someone covering the Velvet Underground as Molly Ringwald chooses Duckie in the greatest John Hughes rewrite ever. But the lyrics may be better suited to a very '80s "Cold Case," with Sharin Foo cooing "Every time you overdose, I rush to intensive care. Another sad-eyed stare before you disappear." They've eased up a bit on the noisier side of the "Jesus and Mary Chain does Phil Spector" equation, but those classic girl-group sensibilities remain. (AZCentral -- Entertainment)
Airplanes, oxygen and the media Sep 26, 2009
Sure, the Velvet Underground did it first, but the JMC did it louder and scarier. (Alas, the group's subsequent efforts were trash. (Salon)
In defence of the superficial Sep 26, 2009
Warhol muse and German singer-songwriter and singer for the Velvet Underground Nico ... This is The Velvet Underground and Nico: A Symphony of Sound - a document of the famous rock band rehearsing at the Factory, designed to be shown during their multimedia live show ... Warhol muse and German singer-songwriter and singer for the Velvet Underground Nico. (Sydney Morning Herald -- Entertainment)
Google BooksWhat's It Got For Teen... Sep 26, 2009
And why did the psychedelic rock band Velvet Underground write a song inspired by the book Venus in Furs (and why were there 4 film adaptations of a book you've never heard of, and why does the narrator in the introduction of this R rated cult classic sound disturbingly like Lemony Snickett. hmmm. (Suite101.com)
Heidi's sex adventures Sep 21, 2009
"Guitar" is a tribute to Garrel's 10-year affair with the German singer Nico, of Velvet Underground fame ... "Guitar" is a tribute to Garrel's 10-year affair with the German singer Nico, of Velvet Underground fame. (New York Post -- Entertainment)
Bauhaus and the Birth of Gothic Roc... Sep 10, 2009
Even in its modern guise as a musical and aesthetic movement rising from the ashes of punk, it had many progenitors The Doors, The Velvet Underground, Alice Cooper and the term gothic was casually applied to some darker-themed post-punk groups in the mid to late 1970s, notably Joy Division and Siouxsie & the Banshees ... Musically, their influences spanned the obvious David Bowie, T. Rex, Iggy Pop, The Velvet Underground, The Sex Pistols to the surprising Krautrock, funk, prog rock, and dub... (Suite101.com)
Why professional teams suffer at length Sep 1, 2009
You know the old line that only a few thousand people bought a Velvet Underground album, but every one of them started a band. So it goes with Bill James. (SportsIllustrated.CNN)
Jalur Gemilang takes centrestage in run up to Merdeka Aug 29, 2009
Party-goers can also celebrate at Zouk Kuala Lumpur tomorrow night in a massive party where four of its sections, Zouk, Barsonic, Phuture and Velvet Underground will feature different DJs and acts in a massive celebration to usher in Merdeka. For more information visit. (The Star Online, Malaysia)
Woodstock, Who Cares? Aug 21, 2009
Most '60s acts with longstanding influence weren t there: The Beatles, The Beach Boys, The Rolling Stones, The Doors, , , The Kinks, , , The Animals, The Velvet Underground, and Pink Floyd. Most people today, even ardent music fans, wouldn t want to sit through the three-day concert. (New York Post -- Entertainment)
Aly Michalka is ready to rock in Bandslam Aug 15, 2009
With a soundtrack track featuring David Bowie, the Velvet Underground, and unsigned indie bands from the edgy Austin music scene, the film and its music are new territory for Michalka, who started playing music and acting in church plays at age five. My three songs I had to rehearse were Amphetamine, Someone to Fall Back On, and I Want You to Want Me, says Michalka, I think people are going to be really surprised. (MSNBC -- Movies)
Out of the chrysalis Aug 14, 2009
Now, I'm more into Lou Reed and the Velvet Underground. . (Sydney Morning Herald -- Entertainment)
As teen musicals go, ‘Bandslam’ rocks Aug 14, 2009
When two of the teenage characters argue whether the Velvet Underground was better before or after Lou Reed kicked John Cale out of the band, you know this movie s doing something right. (Maybe not believably so, but who cares. (Boston Globe)
The kids are all right! And they love the 60s Aug 11, 2009
The Berklee College of Music sophomore says his most memorable musical experience was getting to hear the third Velvet Underground album on vinyl. Geyer is a ripe old 19. (MSNBC -- Music)
Nathan Brown Nobody likes to admit they are getting old, but in football terms anyone over 30 is considered a veteran. Read more Aug 2, 2009
Theme tunes, if the AFL was a musical - RFNews - realfooty. Arguably the best rock and roll band in history, the Rolling Stones are still to get the respect they deserve from some players at the Richmond Football Club. (The Age, Australia)
Weekend Hot Picks In Entertainment Jul 31, 2009
Shot mainly in the Chelsea Hotel ("a teeming hive of junkies, prostitutes and out-sized personalities," says the Anthology), the experimental work features many of Warhol's superstars, including Nico (shown) of the Velvet Underground. At 210 free-form, unscripted minutes, "The Chelsea Girls" isn't an easy sit, but it is worth seeing as a 1960s time capsule. (New York Post -- Entertainment)
Vic Chestnutt and Victoria Williams Jul 9, 2009
"I listened to a lot of music on a Walkman while I was lying there - the Beatles, Elvis Costello, the Specials, the Velvet Underground, Leonard Cohen. That forced stillness and contemplation realigned my intellectual understanding of the structure of music. It was like I'd taken a huge leap forward even though I was in this devastating situation.". Chesnutt, now 46, played shows around Athens from his wheelchair, attracting the attention of R.E.M. frontman Michael Stipe, who not only became a... (Sydney Morning Herald -- Entertainment)
5Top: Albums artists dont want you to hear Jul 6, 2009
Squeeze, The Velvet Underground. Most rock fans know the Velvet Underground started as a trailblazing rock group led by Lou Reed and John Cale. (MSNBC -- News)
Cutting down carbs Jun 18, 2009
Check my review in Good Living You've got to have cojones to play the Velvet Underground on a restaurant sound system and still charge $95 for dinner. Being confident that you're not going to be kicked in the giblets, serving chook as Lou Reed sings about transvestites, helps too, but then Oscillate Wildly is named after an instrumental track by The Smiths. (Sydney Morning Herald -- Entertainment)
Punk pioneers with 'Little Rascals approach' Jun 17, 2009
The original band, made up of Johansen, Sylvain Sylvain, Johnny Thunders, Arthur Kane and Jerry Nolan, were known for ferocious live performances that blended elements of the Rolling Stones, Velvet Underground, glam and girl groups -- down to the occasional wearing of drag. "We came out of the era of stadium rock ... when rock 'n' roll was put together by the industry," Sylvain recalled. (CNN -- Showbiz)
Addicts commit crime to get help Jun 16, 2009
BBC Wales' Week In Week Out programme, presented by the Velvet Underground's John Cale, also shows how children as young as 12 are using heroin ... Cale, originally from Carmarthenshire, was a founder member of the cult band Velvet Underground with Lou Reed and now lives in Los Angeles ... Velvet Underground's John Cale talked to addicts for the programme. (BBC News -- UK)
Newsweek: Sonic Youth embraces the fringe Jun 16, 2009
There's a line about how the Velvet Underground didn't attract many fans early on, but everyone who "got it" started their own band. You could say the same thing about Sonic Youth's catalyzing effect on listeners. (MSNBC -- Music)
Drug Songs in Folk Music Jun 16, 2009
There are many songs about heroin in Rock and Punk--sometimes it seems that every song by the Velvet Underground is about or is inspired by heroin, and the early New York punk scene was awash in heroin. Heroin worked its way into folk music as well, but on a smaller scale. (Suite101.com)
Band bio, playlist Jun 4, 2009
For fans of: Blondie, Siouxsie and the Banshees, the Pretenders, the Velvet Underground. Trivia: "Maps" has been covered by the White Stripes, Arcade Fire and Ted Leo. (AZCentral -- Entertainment)
Still more DVDs you should have seen (but didn't) May 28, 2009
A veteran of the 1968 anti-government street uprisings -- the subject and setting, more or less, of his 2006 masterpiece -- Garrel was also the longtime lover of Velvet Underground singer Nico, who certainly appears to be the subject matter of his 1991 included herein. Like most of Garrel's films, "Guitar" slowly builds a trippy, meditative state out of apparently miscellaneous, formless material. (Salon)
On the Net: Charting online music discovery May 7, 2009
Such was the case in a recent digital meandering that began with the former Velvet Underground frontman and concluded somewhere deep in the world of Afro-pop. Since discussions about music and the Internet often revolve around the business side of things, perhaps not enough has been said about the particular joy and ease of music discovery today. (Yahoo News -- Technology)
iPod Shuffle: Lucy DeVito May 1, 2009
Mostly, though, DeVito says lately she's been listening to oldies like the Supremes and the Velvet Underground. Hipster indeed. (Boston Globe)
Indulge yourself with this weekend's spring events Apr 17, 2009
Nikides was an integral part of NYC's underground scene, playing gigs with former Velvet Underground members John Cale and Nico. He released his atmospheric, transfixing solo CD "Man of Steel" four years ago. (Erie Times-News, PA)
Album: Reckless wonder Apr 17, 2009
They come on like a sloppier Velvet Underground in Sunday Morning mode on the tender folk-rock trash of Starting Over and may have come up with the most infectious psychedelic exploitation soundtrack hit of the post-psychedelic millennium in the harrowing Trapped in a Basement. You'd think five albums in, no longer in their teens, they would have felt the urge to polish the sound a bit. (AZCentral -- Entertainment)
Rock & Roll Hall of Fame Annex NYC Launches a New Exhibition Apr 14, 2009
" - New York Times"New York City is steeped in rock history: the Velvet Underground, CBGB, the birth of hip-hop, Bob Dylan - we could go on. And yet there's no single repository devoted to the history of rock [here. (Yahoo! Wire -- Entertainment News)
Lo-Fi Rock Band, Women Apr 10, 2009
Women's self-titled debut album is receiving critical acclaim for their lo-fi, psychedelic music that sounds similar to 1960s Velvet Underground ... are actually an all-male under-20 rock band who delves into lo-fi, psychedelic rock, reminiscent of 1960s Velvet Underground. (Suite101.com)
Pakistan, not Afghanistan, the central threat Apr 5, 2009
I guess I shouldn t assume all that many people are familiar with the Velvet Underground, but they were a mid-late 60s band. As Brian Eno is said to have opined about them, they never sold many records, but anyone who ever bought a Velvet Underground album went on to form a band. (Atlanta Journal-Constitution -- Opinion)
'Adventureland': Good Together, By Kurt Loder Apr 4, 2009
The music that James and Em and their friends favor comes from a place far beyond the pop charts we hear them enthusing over Big Star, Brian Eno, the Replacements and the Velvet Underground. (Lou Reed's work is wittily referenced throughout the film, and the scene in which we see James sadly knocking back drinks in a bar while the Velvets' "Pale Blue Eyes" plays on the jukebox has the glow of magical recontextualization. (VHI.com -- Music News)
Adventureland Apr 3, 2009
En route, he coaxes a set of uniformly credible performances from his ensemble cast, and makes effective use of a soundtrack that's as eclectic as the characters here the Velvet Underground, there Wang Chung. No, the problem with this movie is not the foundation, which is solidly observed and firmly built. (Globe and Mail -- Entertainment)
Glasvegas delivers an earnest performance Apr 3, 2009
The Jesus and Mary Chain, Phil Spector, the Velvet Underground, and '60s girl groups are the beginning, and often the middle and the end, of Glasvegas's sound. Fuzzy, chiming soundscapes carved into the shape of classic pop was the order of the evening - three chords, colossal beats, and boatloads of reverb. (Boston Globe)
Legacy of 80s music cloven by new film, musical Apr 3, 2009
Mottola recalls discovering the less commercial music of the `80s: "It was only later when I got older and met some cooler kids that they told me, `You know, there is thing called the Velvet Underground. You might want to check it out.'". "Adventureland" is a reminder that `80s culture wasn't just one note. (FOX 11, AZ)
Pop art and pop music converge at RISD show Apr 1, 2009
That track and songs by Jane's Addiction, the Velvet Underground, the Ramones, and many others make up the exhibit's soundtrack. The show features just a mural and two canvases by Ostendarp, mounted alongside several prints and drawings from RISD's collection by artists whose work has influenced his, such as Andy Warhol and Jean Arp. (Boston Globe)
Fire up the night Mar 26, 2009
For Pfunder, who is an indie rocker at heart, the days of singing REM and Velvet Underground numbers at coffee cafes are long gone. Nowadays, he channels the rock energy to make groove-inspired records meant for open fields and small clubs. (The Star Online, Malaysia)
Edmonton's Citadel Theatre Announce... Mar 26, 2009
It runs from November 7 to 29, 2009, and is described by the Citadel s artistic director, Bob Baker, as a drama with amazing music from bands like Pink Floyd and The Velvet Underground. Opening up the New Year is another installment of Dan Needles Wingfield series, entitled Wingfield s Lost and Found (January 9 to 31, 2010. (Suite101.com)
Pixelated pop art Mar 25, 2009
From Andy Warhol's banana on the front of the first Velvet Underground record to the underwater baby pursuing a dollar bill on the cover of Nirvana's Nevermind, these were pictures that teased and intrigued. They offered a tantalising glimpse into worlds that seemed glamorous, exciting and strange. (BBC News -- Entertainment)
Dean and Britta add sonic depth to Warhol screen tests Mar 24, 2009
Some of the subjects were well-known: Lou Reed, sphinxlike in wraparound shades and drinking a Coke; a young and very serious Dennis Hopper; Nico, the dark angel of the Velvet Underground; Edie Sedgwick, Warhol's doomed socialite muse, her afterimage burned on our retinas when the screen goes white at the end of the clip ... The links between their music and these films are many: Both Luna and Wareham's first group, the Boston-based Galaxie 500, worshiped at the strum-and-drone altar of the... (Boston Globe)
Warhol's 15 more minutes Mar 11, 2009
The full-scale re-creation included an enormous main room covered floor to ceiling with tin foil and silver paint, bands performing the music of the Velvet Underground, hipsters of all ages posing for black-and-white screen tests, and silk screeners creating works of pop art on the spot ... " Inside the Factory room, next to Amoeba employees performing as the Velvet Underground, filmmaker Peter Max Lawrence shot screen tests of guests, like the ones Warhol used to make of Lou Reed, Dennis Hopper... (San Francisco Chronicle)
Ben Kweller's country roots are showing Feb 20, 2009
It wasn't until years later that I discovered the Velvet Underground or Hank or Johnny Cash or George Jones. Q. Still, as someone who has been embraced more by the alt-rock community, you must have been a little surprised when they started playing "Fight" on CMT.. (Boston Globe)
Will The Blink-182 Reunion Change The World? Feb 12, 2009
Will The Blink-182 Reunion Change The World. Will The Blink-182 Reunion Change The World. (VHI.com -- Music News)
Pop And Rock Feb 8, 2009
He created more than 50 album covers throughout his prodigious career - from classic '50s jazz albums to symphonies and operas in the earliest days of the long-playing albums, even though the only ones anybody remembers are the Rolling Stones' "Sticky Fingers" with the zipper and the first Velvet Underground album with the banana sticker ... Warhol's most prominent foray into music involved the Velvet Underground, the landmark downtown New York rock band that was a staple at Factory parties and... (San Francisco Chronicle -- Entertainment)
Warhol's greatest album covers Feb 8, 2009
Warhol's iconic images grace no less than 50 album covers, ranging from obscure jazz and spoken-word titles to seminal pop albums by the Velvet Underground, the Rolling Stones, Diana Ross, the Smiths and Aretha Franklin ... "The Velvet Underground (1967) Warhol's biggest artistic statement in the music world echoed the Campbell's soup cans that made him famous. He once again takes an ordinary item from the grocery store and blows it up bigger than life with dramatic results. On first printings,... (San Francisco Chronicle -- Entertainment)
Evocative soundscape revives Warhol's superstars Feb 8, 2009
Shot by Warhol in the 1960s, these silent films were used inhis own multimedia projects, including Andy Warhol Uptight (1966) and Exploding Plastic Inevitable (1967) where they were accompanied by live performances by the Velvet Underground and Nico ... Two icons were given pre-existing accompaniment: Nico, Bob Dylan's I'll Keep it With Mine; and with Lou Reed, coolly swigging from a bottle of Coke, came a suitably cranked-up version of the Velvet Underground's own Not a Young Man Anymore. (Globe and Mail -- Entertainment)
Sasha Frere-Jones: Lissy Trullie’s “Self-Taught Learner.” Feb 8, 2009
Some of the works on show include portraits of rock stars linked to Warhol, like the Velvet Underground and Mick Jagger ... That s where the similarities end, though Trullie doesn t behave like one of Warhol s doomed muses, nor is her music a low-energy descendant of the Velvet Underground. (New Yorker)
