I was a product of Andy Warhol's Factory. All I did was sit there and observe these incredibly talented and creative people who were continually making art, and it was impossible not to be affected by that.
Lou ReedRead
I've always believed that there's an amazing number of things you can do through a rock'n'roll song and that you can do serious writing in a rock song if you can somehow do it without losing the beat.
Interpretation
Rock music can serve as a powerful medium for impactful writing.
Lou Reed emphasizes the artistic potential of rock music, suggesting that it can convey serious themes and messages while still maintaining its rhythmic essence. This highlights the idea that music, particularly rock'n'roll, is not just entertainment but a legitimate form of art that can address profound subjects.
In practice
During a music seminar to inspire young songwriters.
I was a product of Andy Warhol's Factory. All I did was sit there and observe these incredibly talented and creative people who were continually making art, and it was impossible not to be affected by that.
When I record an album I'm trying to get as close as possible to that perfect moment.
That's why I survived because I still believe I've got something to say.
I take drugs just because in the 20th century in a technological age living in the city there are certain drugs you have to take just to keep yourself normal like a caveman. Just to bring yourself up or down, but to attain equilibrium you need to take certain drugs. They don't getcha high even, they just getcha normal.
They put the thing down your throat so you don't swallow your tongue, and they put electrodes on your head. That's what was recommended in Rockland State Hospital to discourage homosexual feelings. The effect is that you lose your memory and become a vegetable. You can't read a book because you get to page 17 and have to go right back to page one again.
For a while, I felt a little self-impelled to write Lou Reed Kind of songs. I should have understood that a Lou Reed song was anything I wanted to write about.
My only job is to write in such a way that the reader gets a new handle on humanity.
Grace can never properly be said to exist without beauty; for it is only in the elegant proportions of beautiful forms that can be found that harmonious variety of line and motion which is the essence and charm of grace.
The key to the mystery of a great artist is that for reasons unknown, he will give away his energies and his life just to make sure that one note follows another... and leaves us with the feeling that something is right in the world.
Without passion, all the skill in the world won't lift you above craft. Without skill, all the passion in the world will leave you eager but floundering. Combining the two is the essence of the creative life.
Writing poetry is what I am. I wouldn’t know what else to be.
I sing, and the musicians kind of fit things around me.
Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.