Let's talk about Lou Reed
He remains such an enigma to me. Was he truly gay? Why did he marry three women? The first marriage in the late 1960s I can understand; but he was with women from the 1980s until his death, and by this point he had already been with a tranny (Rachel), so it seems far past the point he needed a beard.
Did he ever truly get sober? He presented himself that way in the 80s and 90s, but upon his death it was revealed he still had a serious drinking problem.
Was he really the asshole people claim? Why did Laurie Anderson, who seemed rather independent and feminist, put up with him for so many years?
Details, bitches!
| by Anonymous | reply 7 | May 26, 2019 2:26 AM
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This picture is rather endearing
| by Anonymous | reply 1 | May 25, 2019 11:46 AM
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I was obsessed with the Velvet Underground in high school and really came to appreciate him as a musician, though I've heard alternating accounts of him being nice as well as a raging asshole in real life. I've always thought he was bisexual, probably more on the gay side of the spectrum though if we're talking the Kinsey scale. I don't doubt that the shock therapy he had to "cure him" of his "inclinations" as a teenager likely did physical/psychological damage. There were accounts of him getting blowjobs from Billy Name (I think?) in Warhol's factory back in the '60s.
| by Anonymous | reply 2 | May 25, 2019 11:48 AM
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Oops, r3. It showed up in the post preview ...
| by Anonymous | reply 4 | May 25, 2019 12:10 PM
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We’ve discussed him here before, including some first hand accounts of encounters with him. He was an asshole, at least later in life. A small, bitter man. That does not diminish his gargantuan contribution to music. The Velvet Underground still sounds fresh the way The Beatles do.
Rumor has it that he got ECT as a teenager to “cure” his homosexuality. His sister disputes it, interestingly, by saying that their parents weren’t homophobic and would not seek treatment for it. In any event, he had psych issues early on. The Velvets’ first public appearance was playing for a group of psychiatrists at a convention, and he used it to torture them as payback for what he perceived as mistreatment.
| by Anonymous | reply 7 | May 26, 2019 2:26 AM
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