Death Of The Year: Lou Reed

invented post rock and roll

The world mourned Nelson Mandela but the rock and roll world was devastated by the death of Lou Reed and it isn’t hard to tell why: rock and rolls golden age was the 1970s and in the 1970s  Lou Reed defined the sound: flat singing, sparkling melodies, good rhythm section, and any damn subject matter. 

A formula? Sure, a formula followed to this day, it is the sine qua non of rock, it is the post-rock and roll foundation vastly sturdier than psychedelia or any form of prog rock: the Ramones used it, the Sex Pistols, the Clash, Titus Andronicus -worlds, universe of sound got their first lesson in how to do it through the Velvet Underground.

And it is easy, I mean compared to ELP anybody could do it, anybody could write a three chord song, anybody could drone. Anybody could not sing. And everybody did it, some better than us, but it was the floodgates of creativity for so many people.

And that is what Lou Reed did.

And that’s why his death is a devastating hit to the rock community.