Lou Reed on Guns & Ammo | Blank on Blank

"I write a song called 'Heroin', you would have thought that I murdered the Pope or something"
- Lou Reed on March 20, 1987, as told to Joe Smith

Lou Reed. Lou Reed. Here we bring you a rarely heard interview Lou recored in 1987. It's vintage Lou. Salty and sweet. Earnest and cocky. Grouchy and kind of endearing. Reed (and his legendary band The Velvet Underground) were those musicians who never got the extensive accolades or awards--nor the riches many of their contemporaries found. Yet he never seemed to waver in his search for the perfect sound and his quest "to elevate the rock and roll song and take it where it hadn't been taken before." Here we present some interview outtakes that give a taste for this iconic American musician. Lou Reed died of liver disease on October 27, 2013. He was 71.

In this animated film Lou Reed talks about chasing off nosy college kids on his porch with his shotgun, how he dreamed about writing the great American novel while at Syracuse University, "how savage the reaction against" the Velvet Underground was, the intention of taking books and putting them into songs, writing rock and roll you could grow old with, not thinking The Doors or the Beatles were up to the level of his band, and how he hoped to elevate the rock and roll song to where it hadn't been before.

RIP, Lou.

LOU REED QUOTES

"What we had was ambition and a goal ... to elevate the rock and roll song and take it where it hadn't been taken before."
"I have faith in my own vision, and didn't want them to tamper with it."
"Don't thin my voice out and make it like that high shit. This is the way I sound."
" I've gone out with my shotgun. This is hunting country out there. You better run."
"I wanted to write the great American novel but I also loved rock and roll."
"I got a little puzzled at how savage the reaction against us was."

Hear the full, unedited interview, learn more about Lou Reed including a pic of his college band, and see some sweet Lou Reed GIFs @ http://blankonblank.org/interviews/lou-reed-guns-ammo-the-velvet-underground/

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Executive Producer: David Gerlach
Animator: Patrick Smith
Audio Producer: Amy Drozdowska

Watch our previous episodes:

BB King on The Blues
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Bette Davis on The Sexes
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David Bowie on Stardust
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John Lennon on Love
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Kurt Cobain on Identity
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Janis Joplin on Rejection
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Barry White on Making Love
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Maurice Sendak on Being a Kid
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Carol Burnett on Finding Home
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Grace Kelly on JFK
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Farrah Fawcett on Stiletto Power
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Beastie Boys on Being Stupid
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David Foster Wallace on Ambition
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Wilt Chamberlain on Tall Tales
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Larry King on Getting Seduced
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Jim Morrison on Why Fat is Beautiful
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Music
THE VELVET UNDERGROUND
"Venus in Furs"
"Heroin"
"Rock and Roll"
LOU REED
"Perfect Day"

Photos
P. TUFTS
PHIL KING
via FLICKR

Видео Lou Reed on Guns & Ammo | Blank on Blank канала Blank on Blank