A disbelieving
silence seemed to fall over countless fans, musicians, and loved ones as news of Lou
Reed’s death was shared on October 27th. The iconic musician
reportedly died from liver disease at his home in Southampton, New York.
It isn’t hard to understand
why fans and fellow artists are deeply mourning the loss of Lou Reed, as he was
undoubtedly one of music’s contemporary legends. His work spanned the genres of
rock and roll, experimental art rock, avant-garde, and glam rock, and he is
considered to be instrumental in sparking the entire punk movement.
As writer Andrew O’hehir
explains, “Everything about him was
deceptive and impossible to pin down, including the fact that this central
figure of the 1960s avant-garde and godfather of the punk movement, this force
of disorder, negation and subversion, was in many ways the product of an
earlier era.” Reed influenced countless artists and musical
movements, both as a member of the iconic band The Velvet Underground, and as a
solo artist. His style and attitude continue to inspire innumerable emerging
and established musicians.
One of Reed’s contemporaries, artist Patti Smith said, “Lou was a very special poet
– a New York writer in the way that Walt Whitman was a New York poet…So many of
us have benefited from the work he has done. We all owe him a debt. Most of us
that owe a debt are not very happy to own up to it. Sometimes you like to
imagine that you did everything on your own. But I think with Lou that everyone
will stand in line to say thank you, in their own way,” of the way that he influenced her and other artists over time.
Acclaimed director and writer Mary
Harron says of his death, “I’m devastated. I always
thought he would live forever. Without Lou Reed and the Velvets, would there
have been a CBGB’s, a New York punk, any kind of New York underground rock or
art scene? Maybe but it would have had a completely different DNA…”
During his career, Lou Reed managed to make an incredible
mark on the culture of music like few others have managed to do. His death will
continue to be mourned all around the world.
Image: rollingstone via Instagram
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