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
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.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote addresses the brutal methods used to suppress homosexual feelings and the devastating impact those methods have on mental health.
Lou Reed's quote reflects on the inhumane treatments that were historically used in psychiatric hospitals to 'correct' homosexuality. These extreme measures not only attempted to erase individual identities but also caused severe psychological damage, leaving individuals in a state of mental decline where basic cognitive functions were lost. Reed's words serve as a powerful commentary on the dark history of mental health treatment and societal attitudes toward sexual orientation.
Themes
HomosexualityMental HealthTreatmentIdentityAbuse
In practice
Example use cases
In a speech advocating for LGBTQ+ rights, one might say, 'We must remember the brutal past when people like Lou Reed endured inhumane treatments just for being themselves.'
More from Lou Reed
All quotes →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.
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When I record an album I'm trying to get as close as possible to that perfect moment.
Lou ReedRead
That's why I survived because I still believe I've got something to say.
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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.
Lou ReedRead
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.
Lou ReedRead
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