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[Announced
I've got a secret, presented by Winston.
4
00:01:40,475 --> 00:01:43,437
America is best-selling,
best-tasting filtered cigarette.
5
00:01:44,146 --> 00:01:46,773
Winston tastes good
irke a cigarette should
6
00:01:46,857 --> 00:01:48,317
J“ Winston tastes good j“
7
00:01:48,400 --> 00:01:50,240
j“ hire a... cigarette should j“
8
00:01:50,319 --> 00:01:51,671
[Announced
yes, Winston filtered orgarettes
9
00:01:51,695 --> 00:01:55,782
bring you america is number one
panel show, I've got a secret.
10
00:01:55,866 --> 00:01:57,451
Good evening.
11
00:01:58,994 --> 00:02:02,080
Now, panel, for reasons
which will become obvious,
12
00:02:02,164 --> 00:02:05,042
this gentleman on my left
will be known as Mr. X.
13
00:02:05,125 --> 00:02:08,337
I will tell you this, however,
that he is from wales.
14
00:02:08,420 --> 00:02:11,965
He is a welshman,
and, also, he is a musician.
15
00:02:15,260 --> 00:02:17,346
We'll be back in just 20 seconds.
16
00:02:18,013 --> 00:02:20,807
How much, uh, heroin
do you buy then each day?
17
00:02:21,975 --> 00:02:23,735
Twenty dollars a day.
Four or five dollars...
18
00:02:28,357 --> 00:02:31,234
Levittown, usa.
The carefully planned commu...
19
00:02:36,948 --> 00:02:41,370
From Dallas, Texas, the flash
apparently official, president Kennedy...
20
00:02:56,927 --> 00:02:58,845
One, two, three.
21
00:03:43,807 --> 00:03:46,226
This is John Cale,
a composer-musician
22
00:03:46,309 --> 00:03:48,979
who last week performed in a concert
to end all concerts.
23
00:03:49,062 --> 00:03:51,898
What was really unusual
about this particular concert?
24
00:03:51,982 --> 00:03:54,263
Well, the performance took 18 hours.
25
00:03:55,110 --> 00:03:57,738
Can any of you guess
what Mr. Schenzer's secret then is?
26
00:03:58,697 --> 00:04:02,492
He was the only one who lasted
in the audience for the full 18 hours.
27
00:04:02,576 --> 00:04:04,429
Why is he doing this?
28
00:04:06,246 --> 00:04:09,207
How come it took
18 hours and 40 minutes to play this?
29
00:04:10,000 --> 00:04:12,627
Well, there's an instruction
by the composer Erik satie here,
30
00:04:12,711 --> 00:04:16,214
which says that,
um, this piece of music here
31
00:04:16,298 --> 00:04:19,134
must be pl — repeated 840 times.
32
00:04:19,760 --> 00:04:23,180
What would move a man
to say you must play it 840 times to...
33
00:04:23,263 --> 00:04:25,474
- For it to be complete?
- I have no idea.
34
00:05:01,051 --> 00:05:06,139
J“ wind wind blow j“
35
00:05:06,223 --> 00:05:11,061
j“ wind wind blow j“
36
00:05:11,144 --> 00:05:15,148
j“ wind wind blow j“
37
00:05:15,232 --> 00:05:17,567
j“ wind wind blow j“
38
00:05:17,651 --> 00:05:20,779
"I feel as if I were
in a motion picture theater.
39
00:05:21,947 --> 00:05:26,451
The long arm of light
crossing the darkness and spinning.
40
00:05:26,535 --> 00:05:28,662
My eyes fixed on the screen.
41
00:05:29,913 --> 00:05:33,041
The shots themselves
are full of dots and rays.
42
00:05:34,042 --> 00:05:37,212
I am anonymous and have forgotten myself.
43
00:05:38,922 --> 00:05:41,967
It is always so
when one goes to the movies.
44
00:05:43,260 --> 00:05:46,805
It is, as they say, a drug."
45
00:05:48,139 --> 00:05:53,562
J“ in a dream that the wind brings to me j“
46
00:05:55,230 --> 00:05:57,166
We moved out
to long island when I was four.
47
00:05:57,190 --> 00:05:58,650
Lou would've been nine.
48
00:05:59,901 --> 00:06:02,487
We lived in a suburb, freeport.
49
00:06:02,571 --> 00:06:06,992
Coming from Brooklyn
to this isolated suburban community,
50
00:06:07,075 --> 00:06:09,244
that was a hard, hard transition for him.
51
00:06:09,327 --> 00:06:11,162
J“ in myarms j“
52
00:06:11,246 --> 00:06:13,790
j“ wind, wind j“
53
00:06:13,874 --> 00:06:15,166
my mom was a homemaker.
54
00:06:15,250 --> 00:06:18,420
My father wanted to be a novelist,
an author.
55
00:06:19,087 --> 00:06:21,715
My grandmother said,
"no, you're gonna be an accountant."
56
00:06:22,757 --> 00:06:24,259
So he became an accountant.
57
00:06:26,595 --> 00:06:29,306
If you were looking
for central casting
58
00:06:29,389 --> 00:06:33,268
to cast a 1950s family
where father knows best...
59
00:06:33,351 --> 00:06:36,730
I don't think he had much to do
with his father. His father worked.
60
00:06:36,813 --> 00:06:39,900
He was not the kind of guy
that you'd go out and toss a ball with.
61
00:06:41,067 --> 00:06:43,713
I don't know
what my father's aspirations for Lou were.
62
00:06:43,737 --> 00:06:46,072
Maybe he thought
he would take over the business.
63
00:06:46,156 --> 00:06:48,617
My father's aspirations for me
were no doubt
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00:06:48,700 --> 00:06:50,660
that I should make very good chicken soup.
65
00:06:50,744 --> 00:06:53,180
There wasn't a lot of, you know, "let's go
to the circus. Let's go to the muse —"
66
00:06:53,204 --> 00:06:54,456
there was none of that.
67
00:06:54,539 --> 00:06:57,876
J“ lknow she is gone
butmy/ove... j“
68
00:06:57,959 --> 00:07:00,378
Early music training was classical piano.
69
00:07:01,254 --> 00:07:06,593
I first picked up a guitar probably
10 or 11, and I took one lesson.
70
00:07:06,676 --> 00:07:09,095
I think I had brought in
"blue suede shoes"
71
00:07:09,179 --> 00:07:11,097
and said, "teach me how to play this."
72
00:07:11,181 --> 00:07:13,475
That's not really, I think,
what they were there for.
73
00:07:14,851 --> 00:07:16,895
So that was the end of my music lesson,
74
00:07:18,146 --> 00:07:20,941
so I learned guitar from the —
Playing along with records.
75
00:07:25,362 --> 00:07:30,158
Doo-wop. The paragons, the jesters,
the diablos.
76
00:07:30,241 --> 00:07:32,160
And, um, rockabilly.
77
00:07:34,329 --> 00:07:35,956
And Lou always said to me
78
00:07:36,039 --> 00:07:40,210
that he wanted to ultimately
become a rock star very early on.
79
00:07:40,293 --> 00:07:41,544
This was in high school.
80
00:07:52,055 --> 00:07:56,267
When I was 14, I made
my first record, "leave her for me."
81
00:07:56,351 --> 00:07:58,603
The final disappointment for me
82
00:07:58,687 --> 00:08:01,398
was the night Murray the k
was supposed to play it on the radio,
83
00:08:01,481 --> 00:08:03,108
and he was sick.
84
00:08:03,191 --> 00:08:06,861
Paul sherman played it instead,
and I was absolutely devastated.
85
00:08:06,945 --> 00:08:09,197
We were all sitting by the radio.
86
00:08:09,280 --> 00:08:12,325
And, uh, we got a royalty check for $2.79,
87
00:08:12,409 --> 00:08:15,745
which in fact turned out to be a lot more
than I made with the velvet underground.
88
00:08:17,789 --> 00:08:19,582
J“ take all the blossoms... j“
89
00:08:19,666 --> 00:08:21,394
There was a place called the hayloft,
90
00:08:21,418 --> 00:08:23,420
and he used to go there alone to play.
91
00:08:24,379 --> 00:08:26,464
J“ leave me mybaby j“
92
00:08:26,548 --> 00:08:29,092
it was known to be a gay nightclub.
93
00:08:29,175 --> 00:08:33,263
I once asked him why he wanted
to play in gay nightclubs.
94
00:08:33,346 --> 00:08:35,390
And he said
it's just a cool group of people.
95
00:08:35,473 --> 00:08:39,185
J“ please Lea ve her for me
leave mybaby j“
96
00:08:39,269 --> 00:08:41,229
The band booked gigs in the city.
97
00:08:41,312 --> 00:08:43,440
He was still in high school.
98
00:08:43,523 --> 00:08:47,527
And I think that certainly that set
the ground for difficulties in my home.
99
00:09:07,380 --> 00:09:09,758
We were living in my grandmother's house.
100
00:09:09,841 --> 00:09:13,428
And my grandmother
was very thoroughly nationalistic.
101
00:09:13,511 --> 00:09:17,015
One thing she didn't like was that
my mother had married an englishman
102
00:09:17,098 --> 00:09:19,517
and didn't speak Welsh.
103
00:09:19,601 --> 00:09:22,312
Not only did she marry an englishman,
she married a coal miner,
104
00:09:22,395 --> 00:09:25,690
which she spent years
pushing all the other kids out of.
105
00:09:25,774 --> 00:09:30,445
She made sure that all her boys
and my mother all went into education.
106
00:09:32,489 --> 00:09:35,033
When they got married and my father
moved into the house,
107
00:09:35,116 --> 00:09:37,452
my grandmother banned the use
of English in the house.
108
00:09:37,535 --> 00:09:39,913
Until I learned English in school
atseven,
109
00:09:39,996 --> 00:09:41,831
I couldn't communicate with my father.
110
00:09:43,792 --> 00:09:46,711
The antipathy that I —
That I got from my grandmother
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00:09:46,795 --> 00:09:48,797
was really some form of hatred.
112
00:09:49,964 --> 00:09:51,132
A little bit grim.
113
00:09:52,592 --> 00:09:55,220
My mother taught me piano
for a little while
114
00:09:55,303 --> 00:09:57,222
until I — I got to a certain point,
115
00:09:57,305 --> 00:09:59,557
and then she turned me over
to somebody else.
116
00:09:59,641 --> 00:10:01,392
Yeah, she held it together for me.
117
00:10:01,476 --> 00:10:04,646
I mean, I'm talking about, like,
maybe at six or seven years of age.
118
00:10:07,941 --> 00:10:10,360
The life of the imagination
was the life of the radio.
119
00:10:11,152 --> 00:10:14,906
And by that time, I'd figured out the way
that I really could use the radio
120
00:10:14,989 --> 00:10:18,701
was to tune into
all the foreign broadcasts.
121
00:10:18,785 --> 00:10:21,830
Get suisse romande and radio Moscow.
122
00:10:23,706 --> 00:10:28,336
When I got to grammar school, they had
an orchestra, and I wanted to play.
123
00:10:28,419 --> 00:10:31,840
So I went looking for a violin,
and they didn't have any violins.
124
00:10:31,923 --> 00:10:34,134
But they had a viola, so I got the viola.
125
00:10:34,926 --> 00:10:38,972
They had bach pieces,
cello pieces for viola.
126
00:10:39,055 --> 00:10:41,891
Which was really good.
You got — got all your chops going.
127
00:10:41,975 --> 00:10:45,687
But then there was
the paganini caprices...
128
00:10:45,770 --> 00:10:48,314
That I — I sort of stunned my teacher
129
00:10:48,398 --> 00:10:51,025
saying that I was gonna learn
the paganini caprices.
130
00:10:55,029 --> 00:10:57,699
My mother, she had an operation
on her breasts.
131
00:10:57,782 --> 00:11:01,870
She disappears and goes to
this isolation hospital
132
00:11:01,953 --> 00:11:05,123
which had 25-foot walls outside.
133
00:11:05,206 --> 00:11:08,293
And my father would take me up
and hold me up.
134
00:11:10,336 --> 00:11:11,504
She vanished.
135
00:11:12,422 --> 00:11:14,757
Things started going off the rails.
136
00:11:14,841 --> 00:11:16,509
I was on my own.
137
00:11:16,593 --> 00:11:20,263
My father kept going to work.
I mean, I — I just felt very isolated.
138
00:11:22,056 --> 00:11:24,618
I couldn't talk to my father about
any of the things that were going on.
139
00:11:24,642 --> 00:11:27,395
I couldn't talk to my mother
about what was going on.
140
00:11:27,478 --> 00:11:32,358
So I got taken advantage of, and, uh,
I didn't know what to do about it.
141
00:11:35,236 --> 00:11:37,697
I had this piece that I remembered
the opening of the piece,
142
00:11:37,780 --> 00:11:39,657
but I didn't remember the ending of it.
143
00:11:39,741 --> 00:11:41,844
So I had to improvise my way
through the ending of it.
144
00:11:41,868 --> 00:11:44,412
I mean, I did a pretty good job
of ending the piece.
145
00:11:44,495 --> 00:11:48,499
I mean, of really carving an arc for it,
and I got out of it.
146
00:11:49,083 --> 00:11:52,587
When I came out of that room,
at first I was really scared.
147
00:11:53,171 --> 00:11:56,299
And I didn't know what the hell was
gonna happen, but then it happened.
148
00:11:56,382 --> 00:11:58,134
That moment of it happening,
149
00:11:58,218 --> 00:12:01,095
that was what made a difference
really early on
150
00:12:01,179 --> 00:12:04,224
about how to work your way
out of a problem.
151
00:12:04,307 --> 00:12:09,145
Being afraid of what's about to happen
is — is not a problem.
152
00:12:09,229 --> 00:12:11,105
It was the birth of improvisation.
153
00:12:17,654 --> 00:12:21,157
Slowly, things started focusing on
what I was planning on doing.
154
00:12:21,908 --> 00:12:24,410
And I think I'd — I'd really made
a-a practical decision.
155
00:12:24,494 --> 00:12:26,746
I thought, "I want to be a conductor."
156
00:12:28,831 --> 00:12:32,001
In addition, it was really clear
that I had to get out of the valleys.
157
00:12:32,085 --> 00:12:33,711
You know, there's nothing here.
158
00:12:33,795 --> 00:12:36,130
I was desperate to get out
of that place.
159
00:12:36,214 --> 00:12:39,968
But if it wasn't for that one time
when I got scared out of my wits
160
00:12:40,051 --> 00:12:43,972
and had to perform and finish
something off elegantly...
161
00:12:44,722 --> 00:12:48,559
Um... that really stood me in good stead.
162
00:13:10,832 --> 00:13:12,917
J“ you k/I/ed your European son j“
163
00:13:13,960 --> 00:13:16,254
j“ you spit on those under27 j“
164
00:13:16,879 --> 00:13:18,715
j“ but now your blue cars are gone j“
165
00:13:18,798 --> 00:13:22,010
j“ you better say so long
hey, hey, hey, bye, bye, bye j“
166
00:13:22,093 --> 00:13:24,262
New York, during the wartime,
167
00:13:24,345 --> 00:13:30,184
became a place where artists escaped.
168
00:13:30,268 --> 00:13:32,979
So it was a meeting of New York
169
00:13:33,062 --> 00:13:38,026
and the best artists' minds
from Paris and from Berlin.
170
00:13:38,109 --> 00:13:41,070
J“ you better say so long
your clowns bid you goodbye j“
171
00:13:42,822 --> 00:13:47,493
New York at the end of the '50s.
And now we are going to the '60s.
172
00:13:52,707 --> 00:13:57,545
While French nouve/le I/ague
had, uh, cinematheque francaise,
173
00:13:58,379 --> 00:14:00,882
we had our 42nd street.
174
00:14:01,841 --> 00:14:04,635
Every night we went to 42nd street,
175
00:14:04,719 --> 00:14:09,223
where there were, like, 15 —
I don't know, maybe 20 movie houses.
176
00:14:11,267 --> 00:14:14,771
And that was the period
when all of the arts
177
00:14:14,854 --> 00:14:18,816
and also styles of life began changing.
178
00:14:19,442 --> 00:14:22,195
They climaxed into the '60s.
179
00:14:27,867 --> 00:14:33,790
We are not part, really, of subculture or,
uh, counterculture. We are the culture!
180
00:14:40,129 --> 00:14:43,091
Painters, musicians, filmmakers.
181
00:14:43,174 --> 00:14:48,137
They were not so much interested
in telling narrative stories.
182
00:14:49,389 --> 00:14:55,603
The poetic aspect of cinema brought cinema
to the level of the other arts.
183
00:15:04,862 --> 00:15:07,532
Beginning, uh, January '62,
184
00:15:07,615 --> 00:15:11,160
my studio, the film-makers' cooperative,
185
00:15:11,244 --> 00:15:14,539
became a meeting ground
of all the filmmakers.
186
00:15:15,123 --> 00:15:17,417
Every evening there were screenings.
187
00:15:17,500 --> 00:15:20,795
And that's where Andy used to hang around.
188
00:15:20,878 --> 00:15:23,339
But I did not know that he was Andy.
189
00:15:23,423 --> 00:15:26,259
He was just sitting on the floor
with all the others.
190
00:15:27,301 --> 00:15:30,304
And that's where he met
his early superstars
191
00:15:30,388 --> 00:15:34,892
like, uh, Mario montez
and Jack Smith and Gerard malanga.
192
00:15:35,893 --> 00:15:37,812
That was Andy's film school.
193
00:15:48,906 --> 00:15:51,325
When I got to — to goldsmiths,
194
00:15:51,409 --> 00:15:56,456
it was really a free-flowing
educational institution.
195
00:15:56,539 --> 00:16:01,294
They gave me viola lessons and
composition classes with Humphrey searle.
196
00:16:01,377 --> 00:16:05,673
He understood cage and all those
people that I was delving into.
197
00:16:05,756 --> 00:16:09,302
John cage and "water walk."
198
00:16:13,514 --> 00:16:16,559
John cage was the, uh,
leading avant-garde figure
199
00:16:16,642 --> 00:16:20,062
in — in music
in — in New York and in america.
200
00:16:20,146 --> 00:16:23,816
But I think la monte
was getting ready to take over.
201
00:16:28,362 --> 00:16:32,909
I got this Bernstein fellowship.
They paid for my travel and whatever.
202
00:16:33,493 --> 00:16:37,705
You're in that background of — with —
Mrs. Koussevitzky is still alive.
203
00:16:38,289 --> 00:16:42,126
She has afternoon soirees
for the students.
204
00:16:42,960 --> 00:16:45,671
Well, they wouldn't let me perform
because they were too violent.
205
00:16:45,755 --> 00:16:49,675
I asked Harry kraut, who ran the program —
He asked if these pieces are violent.
206
00:16:50,635 --> 00:16:53,638
Most of the piece was really
being inside the piano
207
00:16:53,721 --> 00:16:56,224
and hitting the inside
of the piano or whatever.
208
00:16:56,307 --> 00:16:57,767
Then I got an ax.
209
00:17:03,189 --> 00:17:06,984
I remember that one of the people
in the front row got up and — and ran out.
210
00:17:07,068 --> 00:17:09,946
And that was Mrs. Koussevitzky.
She was — she was in tears.
211
00:17:10,029 --> 00:17:13,824
And I — I said,
"wow, I'm really sorry that, uh..."
212
00:17:13,908 --> 00:17:16,244
Yeah, she was upset for a little,
but don't worry.
213
00:17:16,327 --> 00:17:19,705
We took her out for cocktails aftennards.
She was fine.
214
00:17:21,874 --> 00:17:25,002
By that time I had met Cornelius cardew,
and we were hanging out.
215
00:17:25,628 --> 00:17:29,090
You know, you — you had somebody who
understood what you were talking about.
216
00:17:29,173 --> 00:17:31,801
And Cornelius had met la monte.
217
00:17:37,181 --> 00:17:40,768
La monte young was next in line
to take over from — from John cage.
218
00:17:42,186 --> 00:17:44,855
Getting to tanglewood
was my way to get to la monte.
219
00:17:47,525 --> 00:17:49,026
There has been a — a breakdown
220
00:17:49,110 --> 00:17:52,488
to the point to where, you know,
it's not music anymore.
221
00:17:52,572 --> 00:17:54,172
We'll see you next week. Take care, now.
222
00:17:55,032 --> 00:17:58,452
After one had met la monte,
that was over.
223
00:17:58,536 --> 00:18:02,039
You know, everybody wants to do
something razzmatazz, and look at me.
224
00:18:02,999 --> 00:18:05,001
I was doing something that was intended
225
00:18:05,084 --> 00:18:07,545
to take you into a very high
spiritual state.
226
00:18:13,593 --> 00:18:17,054
Nobody had ever written a piece before me
227
00:18:17,138 --> 00:18:19,599
that consisted
of all long, sustained tones.
228
00:18:21,392 --> 00:18:24,186
Well, John was... Welsh.
229
00:18:24,270 --> 00:18:26,689
He wrote us a —
He wrote us a letter from...
230
00:18:26,772 --> 00:18:30,151
- From wales. Or— or from London maybe.
- Or wales or the UK some place.
231
00:18:30,234 --> 00:18:32,194
- —Hmm?
- Some place in the UK,
232
00:18:32,278 --> 00:18:33,880
and he said he wanted
to come over and study and...
233
00:18:33,904 --> 00:18:34,905
Yeah.
234
00:18:35,823 --> 00:18:38,576
- We — I guess we said he could.
- Sure.
235
00:18:39,744 --> 00:18:42,788
I didn't get to New York until 1963.
236
00:18:42,872 --> 00:18:47,585
And, um, it was my first time in New York,
and I was appalled. It was, like...
237
00:18:47,668 --> 00:18:49,795
You know, the steam
coming up from the sidewalks.
238
00:18:56,135 --> 00:19:00,097
So really la monte's drones
and all of that was reassuring.
239
00:19:00,181 --> 00:19:02,642
Here we were back in music,
240
00:19:02,725 --> 00:19:05,811
focusing on what — what are we gonna hear.
241
00:19:05,895 --> 00:19:11,776
We're hearing drone, but really,
we were studying natural harmonics.
242
00:19:16,530 --> 00:19:21,577
I got a call from Lou, and he said
to me that he was very depressed.
243
00:19:21,661 --> 00:19:23,788
He said he was taking some treatments.
244
00:19:24,330 --> 00:19:29,877
He thought that his parents were trying
to shock the gayness out of him.
245
00:19:31,462 --> 00:19:34,256
I didn't believe a word of it,
knowing his parents.
246
00:19:36,092 --> 00:19:38,469
Whether or not you want to say,
247
00:19:38,552 --> 00:19:44,100
"well, was he was clinically depressed?
Was he using an enormous amount of drugs?"
248
00:19:45,351 --> 00:19:49,438
I think the tenor of the times
was not helpful.
249
00:19:49,522 --> 00:19:53,359
And the available help at the time
was dismal.
250
00:19:53,442 --> 00:19:55,945
So when you ask about Lou
in that time, I get upset.
251
00:19:56,028 --> 00:19:59,532
And I get upset because
of the misconceptions that take place.
252
00:19:59,615 --> 00:20:03,828
And because it doesn't do him service
and it doesn't do my parents service.
253
00:20:03,911 --> 00:20:09,625
And it is simplistic and cartoonish
to think that there's an easy explanation.
254
00:20:15,089 --> 00:20:16,632
He was gonna go to nyu.
255
00:20:17,800 --> 00:20:20,219
He made it through a semester and a half,
as I recall.
256
00:20:22,638 --> 00:20:27,184
He called me, and he said
that he was going to transfer to Syracuse.
257
00:20:39,196 --> 00:20:43,325
And when he got up to Syracuse,
he was a different person.
258
00:20:43,409 --> 00:20:45,745
Sullen, antagonistic.
259
00:20:45,828 --> 00:20:49,290
He was very rebellious
about practically everything.
260
00:20:52,126 --> 00:20:54,795
I had a hard time relating to him.
261
00:20:58,966 --> 00:21:00,968
We would get stoned, and we'd jam.
262
00:21:01,051 --> 00:21:05,848
We played ray Charles, Frankie lymon
once in a while. We played...
263
00:21:05,931 --> 00:21:09,727
We played fraternities
and sororities and bars.
264
00:21:09,810 --> 00:21:13,981
We were very bad, um,
so we had to change our name a lot.
265
00:21:14,064 --> 00:21:15,691
'Cause no one would hire us twice.
266
00:21:17,943 --> 00:21:21,864
There were times
when I would miss a cue or I would be off.
267
00:21:22,448 --> 00:21:24,909
And he would go crazy.
268
00:21:24,992 --> 00:21:28,204
He would — he would turn around
and smash the cymbal.
269
00:21:28,287 --> 00:21:30,164
He had no Patience whatsoever.
270
00:21:30,247 --> 00:21:34,668
Any — anybody that wasn't absolutely
perfect and right on.
271
00:21:37,004 --> 00:21:39,381
We had a gig
at St. Lawrence university
272
00:21:39,465 --> 00:21:42,384
on this boat on the Saint Lawrence river.
273
00:21:42,468 --> 00:21:44,136
Lou said, "I'm not playing on the boat."
274
00:21:44,220 --> 00:21:46,722
And I said,
"Lou, we have to play on the boat. Just"...
275
00:21:46,806 --> 00:21:49,099
He said, "I'm not." Boom!
276
00:21:49,183 --> 00:21:54,522
And he puts his hand through a glass pane
in a door and rips his hand up.
277
00:21:54,605 --> 00:21:57,733
So we had to take him to the hospital.
He gets stitches.
278
00:21:57,817 --> 00:22:01,070
And, if I remember, it was his right hand.
279
00:22:01,153 --> 00:22:03,447
So he said,
"well, fuck you, I can't play."
280
00:22:03,531 --> 00:22:07,159
I said, "you can sing,
and you're a shitty guitar player anyway,
281
00:22:07,243 --> 00:22:08,994
so you'll be covered."
282
00:22:09,078 --> 00:22:11,455
And we did.
283
00:22:11,539 --> 00:22:13,624
He was like a three-year-old in many ways.
284
00:22:14,875 --> 00:22:16,710
J“ whoa, hey, merry-go-round j“
285
00:22:16,794 --> 00:22:20,005
We made a demo record
called "your love."
286
00:22:20,089 --> 00:22:22,132
J“ your little love j“
287
00:22:22,216 --> 00:22:25,010
j“ your love, your little love j“
288
00:22:25,761 --> 00:22:29,807
j“ lne ver thought / was a real whole man
fill your lo ve j“
289
00:22:29,890 --> 00:22:33,769
we went to a meeting in the city
290
00:22:33,853 --> 00:22:37,815
with a guy who liked
some of Lou's demo tapes.
291
00:22:38,482 --> 00:22:40,651
And he turned to Lou, and he said to him,
292
00:22:40,734 --> 00:22:44,196
"so, what is it that you wanna do?
What do you want to accomplish?"
293
00:22:44,280 --> 00:22:48,367
He said, "I wanna be rich,
and I wanna be a rock star.
294
00:22:48,450 --> 00:22:52,121
And I'm going to be rich,
and I'm going to be a rock star
295
00:22:52,204 --> 00:22:54,039
whether you handle my music or not."
296
00:22:54,123 --> 00:22:58,627
He was not comfortable in most places.
297
00:22:58,711 --> 00:23:00,546
And if he wasn't comfortable
to begin with,
298
00:23:00,629 --> 00:23:04,884
he really took advantage of it and
made everybody else uncomfortable.
299
00:23:04,967 --> 00:23:06,510
So that that was his comfort.
300
00:23:06,594 --> 00:23:10,639
I don't know why he was so insecure,
but I think he was terribly insecure.
301
00:23:10,723 --> 00:23:13,893
And I think he was insecure all his life.
302
00:23:14,643 --> 00:23:18,022
He was always very angry at people
for rejecting him,
303
00:23:19,106 --> 00:23:21,817
and so he was gonna
cut that friendship off first.
304
00:23:27,656 --> 00:23:33,537
In the dark church of music
which never is of land or sea alone
305
00:23:33,621 --> 00:23:37,249
but blooms within the air inside the mind
306
00:23:37,333 --> 00:23:43,047
patterns in motion and action
successions of processionals
307
00:23:43,130 --> 00:23:46,258
moving with majesty of certainty
308
00:23:46,342 --> 00:23:48,677
to part the unparted curtains...
309
00:23:48,761 --> 00:23:51,055
And he's hanging out
with delmore by then.
310
00:23:53,557 --> 00:23:56,393
The person I looked up to
the most was delmore Schwartz.
311
00:23:56,477 --> 00:24:01,023
I studied poetry with him,
but there were other things.
312
00:24:01,106 --> 00:24:03,984
These astonishing little essays
and short stories.
313
00:24:05,152 --> 00:24:11,992
I was amazed that someone could do that
with such simple, everyday language.
314
00:24:12,660 --> 00:24:15,704
Delmore Schwartz thought Lou had
a tremendous amount of talent
315
00:24:15,788 --> 00:24:18,540
and, as a matter of fact,
got a number of his poems published
316
00:24:18,624 --> 00:24:20,042
in the evergreen review
317
00:24:20,626 --> 00:24:25,631
and his poetry was very heavy
on gay themes.
318
00:24:25,714 --> 00:24:27,424
Very dark gay themes.
319
00:24:27,508 --> 00:24:33,430
The idea of meeting men
in public bathrooms,
320
00:24:33,514 --> 00:24:39,561
having sex with a man near a urinal
and — and folding that into a poem.
321
00:24:39,645 --> 00:24:42,189
And when I — when I read the —
One of these poems,
322
00:24:42,272 --> 00:24:45,275
and I said to him —
I said, "Lou, what the fuck?
323
00:24:46,151 --> 00:24:51,532
Where does all of this
degrading idea of sex come from?"
324
00:24:52,241 --> 00:24:56,453
He said, "if it's not dark and if it's not
degrading, it's not hot. It's not sex."
325
00:24:56,996 --> 00:24:59,081
Hesam,
"you couldn't possibly understand it.
326
00:24:59,164 --> 00:25:01,041
You're becoming a republican."
327
00:25:04,670 --> 00:25:07,965
Must've been Thanksgiving
or Christmas when I went to the hayloft.
328
00:25:08,924 --> 00:25:11,760
I don't remember much about it,
other than it was a gay bar.
329
00:25:13,721 --> 00:25:18,475
There was a girl there named action.
He tried to set me up with this girl.
330
00:25:19,184 --> 00:25:21,687
And I said, "yeah, I'm not gay.
I don't wanna be gay.
331
00:25:21,770 --> 00:25:24,356
I don't wanna experiment.
I'm not interested."
332
00:25:24,440 --> 00:25:27,651
And he said, "go dance with her." So,
"oh, okay, I'll dance with her," you know.
333
00:25:29,153 --> 00:25:32,156
I think he took me there just to show me
where he was and what he did.
334
00:25:33,365 --> 00:25:35,301
And people said,
"well, why didn't you care about that?
335
00:25:35,325 --> 00:25:38,203
How could you, you know,
be with him if he's with a guy?"
336
00:25:38,287 --> 00:25:40,414
And I said,
"that has nothing to do with me."
337
00:25:40,497 --> 00:25:43,625
And I'm notjealous.
It just didn't bother me.
338
00:25:46,045 --> 00:25:50,132
Much more horrifying was driving
into Manhattan, to Harlem,
339
00:25:50,215 --> 00:25:51,925
to pick up some — I think it was heroin.
340
00:25:52,009 --> 00:25:54,887
And we'd go to literally
125th and Saint Nicholas.
341
00:25:54,970 --> 00:25:56,930
Go up into this apartment house.
342
00:25:57,014 --> 00:26:01,310
He liked very much taking me
to a place that was not safe.
343
00:26:02,686 --> 00:26:04,563
And he was just setting up a scenario
344
00:26:04,646 --> 00:26:07,274
that then he would have material
to write about.
345
00:26:09,651 --> 00:26:11,028
He was always writing.
346
00:26:11,111 --> 00:26:15,574
He was always writing either a story
or, um, lyrics or a song.
347
00:26:15,657 --> 00:26:18,911
But he always was very clear
that there's no difference
348
00:26:18,994 --> 00:26:24,458
between being a writer of a book
and a writer of lyrics.
349
00:26:26,960 --> 00:26:33,050
Seventeen voznesenskys
are groaning yet voiceless.
350
00:26:33,842 --> 00:26:37,554
My cries have been torn
351
00:26:37,638 --> 00:26:43,393
onto miles of magnetic tape
and endless red tongue.
352
00:26:43,477 --> 00:26:49,316
When I was in college,
I was very influenced by Ginsberg.
353
00:26:49,399 --> 00:26:52,111
"Howl," "kaddish."
354
00:26:52,194 --> 00:26:54,029
Burroughs' naked lunch.
355
00:26:54,113 --> 00:26:57,699
Hubert Selby Jr., last exit to Brooklyn.
356
00:26:57,783 --> 00:27:01,912
I thought, "that's what I wanna do,
except with a drum and guitar."
357
00:27:01,995 --> 00:27:03,997
So, "I don't know just where I'm going
358
00:27:05,165 --> 00:27:07,584
I'm gonna try for the kingdom if I can
359
00:27:08,293 --> 00:27:10,337
because it makes me feel like I'm a man
360
00:27:11,505 --> 00:27:13,549
when I put a spike into my vein
361
00:27:13,632 --> 00:27:16,635
all, you know, things
aren't quite the same
362
00:27:16,718 --> 00:27:20,347
when I'm rushing on my run
and I feel like Jesus' son
363
00:27:20,430 --> 00:27:23,642
and I guess I just don't know
I guess I just don't know."
364
00:27:29,773 --> 00:27:31,775
[Hosfl
probably there's never been a problem
365
00:27:31,859 --> 00:27:36,029
in human behavior or misbehavior
that's been with us quite so long
366
00:27:36,113 --> 00:27:39,158
or has been so little understood
as homosexuality.
367
00:27:44,997 --> 00:27:47,749
In your estimation,
what's the most serious sex crime?
368
00:27:48,959 --> 00:27:50,544
The crime against nature.
369
00:27:53,797 --> 00:27:56,383
What are the penalties
for a crime against nature?
370
00:27:56,466 --> 00:27:59,346
The maximum sentence
is 20 years in the state penitentiary.
371
00:28:01,847 --> 00:28:05,100
C'mon, we got arrested
for being in bars.
372
00:28:05,184 --> 00:28:07,019
But so what? It was part of it.
373
00:28:10,856 --> 00:28:12,733
There was a bar called the San remo
374
00:28:12,816 --> 00:28:17,029
that everyone seemed sort of gay,
375
00:28:17,112 --> 00:28:20,741
extremely smart and/or creative.
376
00:28:20,824 --> 00:28:25,871
And they turned out to be Edward albee
and Andy warhol and Jasper Johns
377
00:28:25,954 --> 00:28:30,667
and at the center of it
is the exploding art world.
378
00:28:31,668 --> 00:28:35,631
Money, um, parties, power.
379
00:28:36,423 --> 00:28:38,050
Cinema is exploding.
380
00:28:38,133 --> 00:28:40,719
The New York film festival,
Lincoln center,
381
00:28:40,802 --> 00:28:43,555
all that is happening in the mid—'60s.
382
00:28:43,639 --> 00:28:49,686
And it was an outrageous, um... over-camp.
383
00:28:50,437 --> 00:28:55,692
I mean, camp was something
that you really played with
384
00:28:55,776 --> 00:28:57,361
like Jack Smith did.
385
00:29:10,832 --> 00:29:14,836
Lo, it was a super —
A super overstimulated night
386
00:29:14,920 --> 00:29:18,590
on the Eve of the world's destruction.
387
00:29:18,674 --> 00:29:21,969
And at 56 ludlow street,
388
00:29:22,052 --> 00:29:28,684
I, Jack Smith, met Angus and Tony.
389
00:29:28,767 --> 00:29:31,228
Tony Conrad, he took the apartment
390
00:29:31,311 --> 00:29:35,399
at 56 ludlow street
which became so important.
391
00:29:35,482 --> 00:29:38,443
I didn't want to be a part
of the economy,
392
00:29:38,527 --> 00:29:44,283
so I lived in an apartment
that cost, uh, $25.44 a month.
393
00:29:44,366 --> 00:29:48,620
When you crossed over,
it created a very strange change
394
00:29:48,704 --> 00:29:52,958
between lower east side documentary,
avant-garde lifestyle
395
00:29:53,041 --> 00:29:57,879
and then the, uh, the formal art scene
of the — what became soho.
396
00:29:59,339 --> 00:30:01,216
Jack, I guess, moved in with him.
397
00:30:01,300 --> 00:30:05,095
The neighbors next door
were piero heliczer and his wife Kate.
398
00:30:05,178 --> 00:30:08,140
Then Angus maclise
came back to New York,
399
00:30:08,223 --> 00:30:11,935
and he ended up in a third apartment
on the same floor at 56 ludlow.
400
00:30:12,019 --> 00:30:16,315
And then also Mario montez
lived in the building. John...
401
00:30:16,398 --> 00:30:18,525
John Cale moved in with Tony.
402
00:30:22,529 --> 00:30:25,907
But that ludlow street core
403
00:30:25,991 --> 00:30:31,496
became the dream syndicate
with la monte young.
404
00:30:31,580 --> 00:30:33,874
La monte, Marian
and — and Tony and I,
405
00:30:33,957 --> 00:30:37,377
for a year and a half, we did this
for an hour and a half every day.
406
00:30:38,045 --> 00:30:42,174
I've held a drone.
And it was a discipline,
407
00:30:42,257 --> 00:30:45,010
and it opened your eyes
to a lot of possibilities.
408
00:30:46,762 --> 00:30:50,432
Each frequency is perceived
409
00:30:50,515 --> 00:30:53,310
at a different point
on the cerebral cortex.
410
00:30:53,393 --> 00:30:58,940
So when you set up a group of frequencies
that are repeated over and over,
411
00:30:59,024 --> 00:31:04,988
it establishes a psychological state
that can be very strong and profound.
412
00:31:06,031 --> 00:31:09,576
You can hear details
in the harmonic series
413
00:31:10,577 --> 00:31:15,332
that are extraordinarily beautiful
and unusual.
414
00:31:16,750 --> 00:31:18,877
And you begin to realize
415
00:31:18,960 --> 00:31:24,424
that there are new places in sound
that you could find a home.
416
00:31:29,096 --> 00:31:32,516
We never had to worry about,
"give me an a. Let's" — No.
417
00:31:32,599 --> 00:31:38,855
We found the — the — that the most
stable thing that we could tune to
418
00:31:38,939 --> 00:31:42,859
was the 60-cycle hum
of the — of the refrigerator.
419
00:31:43,860 --> 00:31:49,199
Because 60-cycle hum was to us
the drone of western civilization.
420
00:31:53,328 --> 00:31:56,540
So the fundamental, that is,
the key that we're in,
421
00:31:56,623 --> 00:32:00,877
if we're using the third harmonic
as 60 cycles, is ten cycles.
422
00:32:00,961 --> 00:32:02,879
And, lo and behold, ten cycles is the...
423
00:32:02,963 --> 00:32:05,799
Is the Alpha rhythm of the brain
when you're asleep.
424
00:32:08,385 --> 00:32:11,054
All of a sudden,
"hey, uh, there's a story here."
425
00:32:13,890 --> 00:32:16,768
The interesting thing about
the dream syndicate
426
00:32:16,852 --> 00:32:18,937
was, of course, it was minimalist music.
427
00:32:20,147 --> 00:32:23,275
Full scale, hold one note,
428
00:32:23,358 --> 00:32:26,236
and listen to all the intonations in it.
429
00:32:27,612 --> 00:32:32,367
La monte young would
stretch one note into four hours.
430
00:32:32,451 --> 00:32:35,245
I went with Andy
to one of his performances.
431
00:32:52,804 --> 00:32:57,017
Before I had gone to the factory,
I had seen warhol's kiss.
432
00:32:59,811 --> 00:33:01,855
There were no titles.
433
00:33:01,938 --> 00:33:04,649
I had no idea who had made it.
434
00:33:04,733 --> 00:33:08,695
And it was a weekly serial,
so that every week,
435
00:33:08,778 --> 00:33:11,907
a two-and-three-quarter-minute roll
436
00:33:11,990 --> 00:33:15,869
shown at proper speed,
which was 16 frames a second.
437
00:33:19,873 --> 00:33:23,627
The thing that's always interesting
about the warhol silents
438
00:33:23,710 --> 00:33:26,713
is the reason they're unreal
439
00:33:26,796 --> 00:33:31,510
is they're supposed to be shown
at 16 frames a second,
440
00:33:31,593 --> 00:33:36,640
which means that the people
in those images are breathing
441
00:33:36,723 --> 00:33:41,019
and their hearts are beating
in a different time frame
442
00:33:41,102 --> 00:33:43,605
than yours is while you watch it.
443
00:33:43,688 --> 00:33:48,652
And that creates an incredible sense
of aesthetic distance.
444
00:33:56,993 --> 00:34:00,080
There is a post office
in the empire state building.
445
00:34:01,831 --> 00:34:07,420
And we were walking with bags of
film culture magazine to the post office,
446
00:34:07,504 --> 00:34:11,550
and we suddenly stopped
and looked at the building.
447
00:34:13,802 --> 00:34:19,057
I think I said, "this is a perfect iconic
image for Andy warhol."
448
00:34:21,810 --> 00:34:23,520
And that's how it happened.
449
00:34:36,074 --> 00:34:41,454
Warhol, avant—garde film
and avant-garde music,
450
00:34:41,538 --> 00:34:44,583
it was all about extended time.
451
00:35:08,523 --> 00:35:11,192
La monte's idea of — of what music was
452
00:35:11,276 --> 00:35:13,737
was really —
He said it was a Chinese idea.
453
00:35:13,820 --> 00:35:16,156
He says it's the Chinese idea of time.
454
00:35:16,865 --> 00:35:20,160
And really, you know,
music lasts for centuries.
455
00:35:21,703 --> 00:35:27,667
This was an improvisational experience
and it's kind of a religious atmosphere.
456
00:35:27,751 --> 00:35:29,586
And also very mysterious.
457
00:35:31,796 --> 00:35:38,428
And then Tony, one day, walked in
with a pickup, and that was it.
458
00:35:39,721 --> 00:35:42,932
We had the power with amplification.
459
00:35:48,229 --> 00:35:50,482
There are all sorts of things happening,
you know?
460
00:35:51,107 --> 00:35:54,277
Difference tones and all that
that shake the building.
461
00:35:58,865 --> 00:36:01,242
I mean, it's really powerful.
462
00:36:01,326 --> 00:36:03,203
I mean, when we played, you know,
463
00:36:03,286 --> 00:36:05,664
it sounded like a b-52
was in your living room.
464
00:36:16,132 --> 00:36:18,051
J“ I'm a road runner, baby j“
465
00:36:18,134 --> 00:36:20,136
j“ and you can't keep up with me j“
466
00:36:22,764 --> 00:36:25,058
j“ I'm a road runner, baby j“
467
00:36:25,642 --> 00:36:27,644
j“ and you can't keep up with me j“
468
00:36:30,105 --> 00:36:32,524
j“ well, come on, baby, lets race j“
469
00:36:33,024 --> 00:36:34,901
j“ baby, baby, wrl/ you j“
470
00:36:34,984 --> 00:36:37,904
I had been collecting,
uh, rock and roll records
471
00:36:37,987 --> 00:36:39,406
as a kind of fetish.
472
00:36:40,907 --> 00:36:45,078
John was surprised to find this happening,
you know, when he moved in with me.
473
00:36:52,293 --> 00:36:54,671
We were listening to stuff
that was really...
474
00:36:54,754 --> 00:36:56,482
Had more to do with what
we were doing with la monte
475
00:36:56,506 --> 00:36:58,258
because of the harmonies
that were going on.
476
00:36:58,341 --> 00:37:00,051
The pure harmonies and all that.
477
00:37:01,094 --> 00:37:03,722
Hank Williams and the everly brothers.
478
00:37:06,015 --> 00:37:08,143
J“ dream j“
479
00:37:08,226 --> 00:37:10,311
"dream." j“ dream j“
480
00:37:10,395 --> 00:37:11,980
the way that song starts
481
00:37:12,063 --> 00:37:15,483
and you could hear
all the difference tones, I go, "whoa."
482
00:37:15,567 --> 00:37:18,194
I was dazzled by rock and roll
by that point.
483
00:37:18,278 --> 00:37:20,321
I was dazzled by what the Beatles
were doing, and...
484
00:37:20,405 --> 00:37:22,091
And the lyrics that the Beatles
were singing.
485
00:37:22,115 --> 00:37:23,408
This was not childish stuff.
486
00:37:23,491 --> 00:37:24,951
"I know what it's like to be dead,
487
00:37:25,034 --> 00:37:26,971
and you're making me feel
like I've never been born."
488
00:37:26,995 --> 00:37:29,539
Wait a minute. That's something
that Lou would write.
489
00:37:29,622 --> 00:37:33,460
And out of that became
that first crazy band,
490
00:37:33,543 --> 00:37:36,546
which was called something
like the primitives.
491
00:37:36,629 --> 00:37:42,844
And that was, um, John and Walter de Maria
492
00:37:42,927 --> 00:37:46,514
and, um, Tony and Lou.
493
00:37:47,182 --> 00:37:48,743
Okay,
I want everybody to settle down now.
494
00:37:48,767 --> 00:37:50,286
We got something new
we're gonna show you now.
495
00:37:50,310 --> 00:37:52,496
It's gonna knock you dead
when we come upside your head.
496
00:37:52,520 --> 00:37:55,648
You get ready. Said here we go.
Yeah. All right.
497
00:37:55,732 --> 00:37:59,110
As a staff songwriter
on a budget label in long island city,
498
00:37:59,778 --> 00:38:01,112
I moved to New York.
499
00:38:02,489 --> 00:38:04,741
J“ hey, put your hands up j“
500
00:38:04,824 --> 00:38:08,870
Pickwick was a very successful
budget record company.
501
00:38:08,953 --> 00:38:11,122
Ninety-nine cent records.
502
00:38:11,206 --> 00:38:16,002
Twelve surfing songs or twelve
"we're breaking up" songs.
503
00:38:16,085 --> 00:38:18,546
And they would sell them at woolworths.
504
00:38:22,592 --> 00:38:23,802
He had a vision.
505
00:38:23,885 --> 00:38:27,722
He was talented beyond his talent,
if you understand what I mean.
506
00:38:28,264 --> 00:38:31,226
He can't sing, he can't play,
507
00:38:31,309 --> 00:38:35,772
but everything he does in that
crackly voice of his resonated with me.
508
00:38:36,356 --> 00:38:40,610
With Lou, we were gonna Blaze a trail,
which eventually he did do.
509
00:38:43,696 --> 00:38:45,865
Tony had got an invitation
to a party.
510
00:38:45,949 --> 00:38:48,701
And we went up there, and this guy
comes up to us and said, "hey.
511
00:38:48,785 --> 00:38:50,119
You guys look very commercial.
512
00:38:50,203 --> 00:38:51,923
Would you like to come
and promote a record?
513
00:38:51,955 --> 00:38:54,082
Now, come out to long island city."
514
00:38:54,165 --> 00:38:59,254
And it was pickwick records, and
their songwriter at the time was Lou Reed.
515
00:39:01,714 --> 00:39:05,718
When I met Lou,
there was a lot of eyeballing going on.
516
00:39:06,636 --> 00:39:09,764
So we had coffee, and I had my viola.
517
00:39:09,848 --> 00:39:12,392
J“ oh, one more time, yeah j“
518
00:39:13,351 --> 00:39:15,562
I was still playing
sort of classical viola
519
00:39:15,645 --> 00:39:19,023
with this heavy vibrato and really
sounded, like, really classical
520
00:39:19,107 --> 00:39:20,733
and good and all of that,
521
00:39:20,817 --> 00:39:25,530
and Lou said,
"shit. I knew you had an edge on me."
522
00:39:27,532 --> 00:39:29,659
J“ everybody get down on your face now j“
523
00:39:29,742 --> 00:39:31,411
j“ are you ready, yeah? J“
524
00:39:31,494 --> 00:39:34,247
I wanted to do
a writing session with them.
525
00:39:34,330 --> 00:39:38,418
I kept saying to them
that we ought to write on the fly,
526
00:39:38,501 --> 00:39:40,587
which they all liked.
527
00:39:40,670 --> 00:39:43,673
And interestingly enough,
he was the key to that.
528
00:39:43,756 --> 00:39:48,928
He was a songwriter, and he started
to play the lick. And I loved it.
529
00:39:49,012 --> 00:39:53,600
And then immediately John
and all of them, they were with it.
530
00:39:53,683 --> 00:39:55,977
And that's where we did "the ostrich,"
531
00:39:56,060 --> 00:39:58,313
where many, many great producers
532
00:39:58,396 --> 00:40:02,400
like Warren Thompson of, uh,
Elektra records loved that.
533
00:40:02,483 --> 00:40:06,112
-J“ do the ostrich j“
-j“ whoa-whoa-whoa-whoa, yeah j“
534
00:40:06,195 --> 00:40:08,595
j“ you turn to the left
and then you feet upside your left j“
535
00:40:10,491 --> 00:40:11,534
You did great.
536
00:40:12,493 --> 00:40:15,079
The song had been written
on a guitar that was tuned to one note.
537
00:40:15,163 --> 00:40:19,959
There was tremendous noise from the guitar
and Lou doing tambourine and singing.
538
00:40:20,043 --> 00:40:22,003
And he was totally spontaneous.
539
00:40:22,086 --> 00:40:24,881
Exactly what you think of
when you think of guys in...
540
00:40:24,964 --> 00:40:27,884
In a garage doing stuff like that.
541
00:40:27,967 --> 00:40:29,427
And it was great.
542
00:40:29,510 --> 00:40:31,471
Yeah, I missed that in my childhood.
543
00:40:34,098 --> 00:40:37,352
Then we're on the same bill
with Shirley Ellis or...
544
00:40:37,435 --> 00:40:40,271
"Bo-Nana-bana fee-fo-fum."
You know that — that song?
545
00:40:40,355 --> 00:40:44,275
And the dj said, "yay! That's great.
Now we have this band here."
546
00:40:44,359 --> 00:40:46,903
He said, "it's the primitives
right from New York City
547
00:40:46,986 --> 00:40:49,197
with their latest hit song 'the ostrich."'
548
00:40:52,575 --> 00:40:58,289
I felt that this was like
an almost magical mistake.
549
00:40:58,373 --> 00:41:01,000
It was such a displacement.
550
00:41:01,084 --> 00:41:07,632
I never saw this as a vehicle
for my serious music efforts.
551
00:41:09,217 --> 00:41:13,513
At pickwick, I will tell you that he had
a tremendous track record
552
00:41:13,596 --> 00:41:17,892
of being high, of—of being sick,
553
00:41:17,976 --> 00:41:23,606
of falling down, of having me
have to rush him over to a hospital.
554
00:41:24,399 --> 00:41:27,652
Frankly,
that was one of the reasons why I,
555
00:41:27,735 --> 00:41:32,991
as much as I thought he was talented,
I wanted to end the relationship also.
556
00:41:33,074 --> 00:41:37,745
And Lou said, "they won't let me
record the songs I wanna do."
557
00:41:37,829 --> 00:41:40,707
And that was, like, red to a bull.
I said, "what?"
558
00:41:41,499 --> 00:41:44,085
And I said, "what are the songs
that you wanna pl —"
559
00:41:44,168 --> 00:41:45,962
and he showed me these other songs.
560
00:41:46,045 --> 00:41:49,298
I was writing about pain.
561
00:41:49,382 --> 00:41:52,385
And I was writing about things that hurt.
562
00:41:52,468 --> 00:41:57,056
And I was writing about reality as I
knew it, or friends of mine had known,
563
00:41:57,140 --> 00:41:59,892
or things I had seen, or heard, or...
564
00:41:59,976 --> 00:42:04,939
I was interested in communicating
to people who were on the outside.
565
00:42:05,023 --> 00:42:06,417
He said, "why won't they play?"
566
00:42:06,441 --> 00:42:08,276
Because people will complain
about these songs
567
00:42:08,359 --> 00:42:11,029
being about advocating the use of drugs.
568
00:42:11,112 --> 00:42:12,572
But they're not about drugs.
569
00:42:12,655 --> 00:42:16,868
They're about guys who are sick
and dissatisfied with their lives.
570
00:42:16,951 --> 00:42:18,536
Why don't we go do it ourselves?
571
00:42:18,619 --> 00:42:20,580
In 1964,
572
00:42:20,663 --> 00:42:25,543
that same apartment on ludlow, uh,
then it was now Cale and — and Reed.
573
00:42:25,626 --> 00:42:28,463
"I'm waiting for the man."
Words and music Lou Reed.
574
00:42:44,562 --> 00:42:47,940
It's useful for you
to be antagonistic
575
00:42:48,608 --> 00:42:51,652
because you — you define a position
576
00:42:51,736 --> 00:42:56,449
and you define the opposite position
and build something out of that.
577
00:42:57,700 --> 00:43:00,119
The thing that we understood where we were
578
00:43:00,203 --> 00:43:03,414
and how much disdain we had
for everything else, and it worked.
579
00:43:03,498 --> 00:43:06,709
J“ oh, pardon me, sir
nothing could be further from my mind j“
580
00:43:06,793 --> 00:43:08,812
j“ but I'm just waiting for a dear
dear friend of mine j“
581
00:43:08,836 --> 00:43:12,006
yeah, he was —
He was always saying, "shit, man.
582
00:43:12,090 --> 00:43:16,094
How the fuck did this happen? From wales?"
583
00:43:17,720 --> 00:43:21,182
He showed me the lyrics for "Venus
in furs" and "I'm waiting for the man,"
584
00:43:21,265 --> 00:43:25,061
and I thought these were really coherent,
well-crafted lyrics.
585
00:43:25,144 --> 00:43:30,441
But I said, "wait, the music is not
backing up what these lyrics are about."
586
00:43:30,525 --> 00:43:32,693
And I got very excited
and I think I got Lou excited
587
00:43:32,777 --> 00:43:34,403
about what the possibilities were.
588
00:43:35,446 --> 00:43:39,534
And we went through all sorts
of different calibrations
589
00:43:39,617 --> 00:43:43,830
of — of trios, quartets, whatever.
590
00:44:07,061 --> 00:44:09,230
J“ shiny, shiny... j“
591
00:44:09,313 --> 00:44:14,610
He was on a subway one day and he
met sterling with no shoes on in winter,
592
00:44:14,694 --> 00:44:17,029
and he hadn't seen him since Syracuse.
593
00:44:25,329 --> 00:44:28,541
Well, I'm sure he saw Lou
play with his band at Syracuse,
594
00:44:28,624 --> 00:44:30,209
and I'm sure he wanted in.
595
00:44:31,085 --> 00:44:33,129
I think he just wanted to do it.
He was ready.
596
00:44:33,212 --> 00:44:35,882
He'd been playing
since he was 15, taught himself.
597
00:44:35,965 --> 00:44:38,968
He was always
holding his guitar at parties,
598
00:44:39,051 --> 00:44:43,472
and that's what he wanted to do.
And... there was the chance.
599
00:44:44,182 --> 00:44:45,742
All of a sudden
we had a guitar player
600
00:44:45,766 --> 00:44:48,102
who really thought about his guitar solos.
601
00:44:48,186 --> 00:44:50,479
Lou and I would sit around,
and we'd improvise.
602
00:44:50,563 --> 00:44:53,149
And s-sterling would solo.
603
00:44:54,108 --> 00:44:57,904
You know, he played really good,
like, isley brothers guitar.
604
00:44:58,613 --> 00:45:02,033
He was very natural and — and gentle.
605
00:45:04,410 --> 00:45:10,583
The idea that you can combine r & b
and Wagner was around the corner.
606
00:45:19,759 --> 00:45:22,553
I was driving home
from class one day
607
00:45:22,637 --> 00:45:27,308
and "not fade away" came
on the radio, the stones version,
608
00:45:27,391 --> 00:45:32,146
and pulled off the road 'cause it was
just too exciting to just keep driving.
609
00:45:34,774 --> 00:45:36,776
They were looking for a drummer,
610
00:45:36,859 --> 00:45:39,862
and I said,
"well, Jim's sister plays the drums."
611
00:45:40,738 --> 00:45:42,490
And I drove Lou out to meet her.
612
00:45:44,283 --> 00:45:47,411
And Maureen was, um,
the sister of an old friend of mine,
613
00:45:47,495 --> 00:45:52,083
who also went to Syracuse
and who also was friends with Lou.
614
00:45:52,166 --> 00:45:57,171
And Maureen had been playing
with, uh, a girls' band in long island,
615
00:45:57,255 --> 00:45:58,714
and they broke up.
616
00:45:59,757 --> 00:46:02,260
So shejust, uh, came in to do, uh,
617
00:46:02,343 --> 00:46:04,262
I don't know,
just to do a little percussion,
618
00:46:04,345 --> 00:46:06,764
uh, and just fool around.
619
00:46:06,847 --> 00:46:09,058
I don't know. It was very, uh, casual.
620
00:46:11,143 --> 00:46:13,771
And when she'd come home
at night, like 5:00,
621
00:46:13,854 --> 00:46:15,439
she'd put on Bo diddley records
622
00:46:15,523 --> 00:46:17,942
and, like, play every night
from 5:00 to 12:00.
623
00:46:18,025 --> 00:46:20,653
And so we figured she'd be
the perfect drummer. And she was.
624
00:46:21,779 --> 00:46:24,907
It was fun, and I really was excited
625
00:46:24,991 --> 00:46:28,494
to have the opportunity
to play live with people.
626
00:46:28,577 --> 00:46:31,497
I'd never played with anybody before.
So that was fun.
627
00:46:35,084 --> 00:46:37,712
The way we could give Bob Dylan
a run for his money
628
00:46:37,795 --> 00:46:41,132
was to go out onstage and improvise
different songs every night.
629
00:46:41,215 --> 00:46:42,717
And Lou was expert at this.
630
00:46:42,800 --> 00:46:46,053
He could just improvise lyrics
at a drop of a hat about anything.
631
00:46:46,721 --> 00:46:50,308
He could come and sit down
with the guitar and I'd play the viola,
632
00:46:50,391 --> 00:46:52,018
and he would start a song.
633
00:46:54,145 --> 00:46:57,773
Up would pop a lyric
that was really unusual.
634
00:46:57,857 --> 00:47:01,902
Then it all would roll around
and we would — we would get something.
635
00:47:02,778 --> 00:47:06,699
You never knew when Lou or John
was gonna go off into nowhere land
636
00:47:06,782 --> 00:47:09,410
and be playing who-knows-what.
637
00:47:09,493 --> 00:47:11,579
I felt like my role was to be there
638
00:47:11,662 --> 00:47:14,665
so when they're ready to come back,
there it is.
639
00:47:15,374 --> 00:47:19,670
Lou, right next to me —
It was like a wall went up of sound.
640
00:47:21,756 --> 00:47:24,759
And I would watch his mouth to know
where we were in the song.
641
00:47:27,345 --> 00:47:29,430
I basically followed Lou.
642
00:47:30,806 --> 00:47:34,685
Apart from all the — the
well-crafted songs that he would write,
643
00:47:34,769 --> 00:47:37,104
this improvisation was what
I was interested in.
644
00:47:40,858 --> 00:47:44,487
Strongly influenced by coming directly
from the subconscious.
645
00:47:44,570 --> 00:47:48,324
And when I heard Lou's tales
of shock therapy,
646
00:47:49,116 --> 00:47:51,952
I kind of put it all together in my head.
647
00:47:54,955 --> 00:47:57,458
The way that struck a chord
mainly with the music
648
00:47:57,541 --> 00:48:00,628
was that the music was really dream music.
649
00:48:02,588 --> 00:48:06,759
And what I really liked in most of
the rock and roll that was going on
650
00:48:06,842 --> 00:48:09,428
was the repetitive nature of the riffs,
651
00:48:09,512 --> 00:48:12,139
and what was the one riff
that you could create
652
00:48:12,223 --> 00:48:17,353
that would exist and live happily
throughout the entire song.
653
00:48:18,270 --> 00:48:20,481
And drone was obviously one of them.
654
00:48:45,506 --> 00:48:47,842
When we formed the velvet underground
655
00:48:47,925 --> 00:48:52,471
I had some songs and having them
come to life like that, that was amazing.
656
00:48:53,681 --> 00:48:56,517
I mean, I was a guy playing in bar bands.
657
00:49:00,771 --> 00:49:02,731
In-in most collaborations,
658
00:49:02,815 --> 00:49:04,895
it's when you put two and two
together and get seven.
659
00:49:06,944 --> 00:49:10,406
That weirdness, it-it shouldn't have
existed in this space.
660
00:49:11,949 --> 00:49:15,077
And there was always a standard
that was kind of set
661
00:49:16,162 --> 00:49:20,166
for how to be elegant
and how to be brutal.
662
00:49:34,346 --> 00:49:39,477
J“ shiny, shiny, shiny boots of leather j“
663
00:49:41,061 --> 00:49:45,357
j“ whrp/ash gir/chi/d r'n the dark j“
664
00:49:47,651 --> 00:49:52,907
j“ comes r'n bells, your servant
don't forsake him j“
665
00:49:54,158 --> 00:49:58,871
j“ strrke, dear mistress
and cure his heart j“
666
00:50:10,799 --> 00:50:13,219
J“ I am tired j“
667
00:50:14,094 --> 00:50:15,888
j“ I am weary j“
668
00:50:17,223 --> 00:50:22,228
j“ lcou/d sleep for a thousand years j“
669
00:50:23,604 --> 00:50:29,068
j“ a thousand dreams that would awake me j“
670
00:50:30,152 --> 00:50:31,737
The drone fit in.
671
00:50:31,820 --> 00:50:33,739
As soon as "Venus in furs" hit, you know,
672
00:50:33,822 --> 00:50:37,326
I knew that we had a way
of doing something in rock and roll
673
00:50:37,409 --> 00:50:38,661
that nobody else had done.
674
00:50:41,080 --> 00:50:46,293
And all that was done with detuned guitars
that I was really proud of,
675
00:50:46,377 --> 00:50:48,128
because I'd say, "hey, Lou.
676
00:50:48,212 --> 00:50:50,881
Nobody's gonna be able to figure out
how the hell to do this."
677
00:50:52,049 --> 00:50:55,010
In some ways I was surprised
by the response in New York.
678
00:50:55,094 --> 00:50:58,013
I thought we did something
no one else did.
679
00:50:58,097 --> 00:51:01,892
J“ shr'n y leather r'n the dark j“
680
00:51:02,810 --> 00:51:07,022
I thought what we did was so brave
681
00:51:07,106 --> 00:51:10,401
that people would really
just be bowled over by it.
682
00:51:10,484 --> 00:51:16,198
J“ strrke, dear mistress
and cure his heart j“
683
00:51:16,282 --> 00:51:18,867
Cafe bizarre, very small thing.
684
00:51:19,493 --> 00:51:21,745
We were real excited
that they had this job.
685
00:51:22,580 --> 00:51:26,917
Not too many people there.
Nobody dancing. Very weird.
686
00:51:27,001 --> 00:51:29,461
Some had their backs to the crowd.
687
00:51:31,297 --> 00:51:33,924
They had this off-putting aura.
688
00:51:34,883 --> 00:51:37,845
You know, yikes, they were scary.
689
00:51:43,434 --> 00:51:47,479
Barbara rubin was one of these
elite downtown filmmakers
690
00:51:47,563 --> 00:51:50,357
who really knew Bob Dylan, knew Andy.
691
00:51:50,441 --> 00:51:53,652
She worked very hard
to put people together.
692
00:51:53,736 --> 00:51:57,156
She came into the factory and announced
there was a band downtown
693
00:51:57,239 --> 00:51:59,199
that they should really come and see.
694
00:52:00,534 --> 00:52:03,203
Suddenly,
many more people were in the club.
695
00:52:09,543 --> 00:52:12,463
Gerard was the diplomatic face
of the factory.
696
00:52:12,546 --> 00:52:14,590
And he came to me and said,
697
00:52:14,673 --> 00:52:17,593
"you guys are invited to come up
to the factory tomorrow afternoon."
698
00:52:27,061 --> 00:52:29,855
Barbara rubin brings them in,
they're all dressed in black...
699
00:52:31,565 --> 00:52:33,275
And they started playing.
700
00:52:36,445 --> 00:52:38,822
They played "heroin." We were like...
701
00:52:41,700 --> 00:52:43,911
Unbelievable. Just completely bowled over.
702
00:52:46,997 --> 00:52:52,169
The thing that was
so encouraging and inspiring
703
00:52:52,252 --> 00:52:56,256
when we got to the factory
was that it was all about work.
704
00:52:58,592 --> 00:53:01,029
Every day when I walked in there,
he was always there ahead of me,
705
00:53:01,053 --> 00:53:03,430
he'd always say,
"how many songs did you write?"
706
00:53:03,514 --> 00:53:06,558
"I wrote ten." And he said,
"oh, you're so lazy, you know.
707
00:53:06,642 --> 00:53:08,268
Why didn't you write 15?"
708
00:53:10,604 --> 00:53:12,898
People would come in,
people would go...
709
00:53:12,981 --> 00:53:15,651
Faces would come in
that you'd recognize, faces would go.
710
00:53:18,946 --> 00:53:21,073
And it was all commerce.
711
00:53:22,950 --> 00:53:26,954
J“ I don't know j“
712
00:53:30,332 --> 00:53:32,543
j“ just where I'm going j“
713
00:53:40,718 --> 00:53:43,137
J“ but/'m j“
714
00:53:45,222 --> 00:53:47,683
j“ gonna try j“
715
00:53:47,766 --> 00:53:51,770
j“ for the kingdom if / can j“
716
00:53:51,854 --> 00:53:55,357
j“ 'cause it makes
me feel like I'm a man j“
717
00:53:55,441 --> 00:53:58,444
j“ when / put a spike into my vein j“
718
00:53:59,027 --> 00:54:02,322
j“ and / tell you things
aren't quite the same j“
719
00:54:02,406 --> 00:54:05,409
j“ when I'm rushing on my run j“
720
00:54:05,492 --> 00:54:08,579
j“ and / feel just like Jesus'son j“
721
00:54:08,662 --> 00:54:11,915
j“ and / guess that I just don't know j“
722
00:54:11,999 --> 00:54:15,669
j“ and / guess that I just don't know j“
723
00:54:17,463 --> 00:54:19,757
Andy is a divinity.
724
00:54:19,840 --> 00:54:23,469
He's an extraplanetary being.
725
00:54:24,344 --> 00:54:27,931
He was like a father
always saying, "yes, yes, yes."
726
00:54:28,015 --> 00:54:33,645
That part of his character, that, I think,
made everybody come to the factory.
727
00:54:33,729 --> 00:54:35,272
They felt like home.
728
00:54:35,355 --> 00:54:37,941
J“ is when the blood begins to flow j“
729
00:54:38,025 --> 00:54:41,320
j“ when it shoots up the dropperis neck j“
730
00:54:41,403 --> 00:54:44,573
j“ when I'm closing r'n on death j“
731
00:54:51,455 --> 00:54:54,958
J“ you can't help me, not you guys j“
732
00:54:55,042 --> 00:54:57,836
j“ or all you sweet girls
with all your sweet talk j“
733
00:54:57,920 --> 00:54:59,421
I wanted to impress him.
734
00:55:01,006 --> 00:55:04,802
He was an audience.
I was desperate for an audience.
735
00:55:04,885 --> 00:55:07,721
All right. Just —
You don't have to do anything.
736
00:55:08,597 --> 00:55:10,057
Just what you're doing.
737
00:55:17,105 --> 00:55:18,106
That's it.
738
00:55:22,528 --> 00:55:23,987
There was no direction.
739
00:55:26,156 --> 00:55:27,241
J“ heroin j“
740
00:55:27,324 --> 00:55:28,992
warhol never made a sound,
741
00:55:29,076 --> 00:55:31,954
but his presence started the thunder
after a while,
742
00:55:32,037 --> 00:55:33,664
'cause he didn't make a sound.
743
00:55:33,747 --> 00:55:35,666
J“ be the death of me j“
744
00:55:35,749 --> 00:55:37,960
so you're propelled to do something.
745
00:55:44,842 --> 00:55:50,264
J“ heroin j“
746
00:55:51,890 --> 00:55:54,768
Look straight into the camera.
747
00:55:54,852 --> 00:55:58,272
Try not to move. Try not to blink.
748
00:56:00,440 --> 00:56:02,025
It was really scary.
749
00:56:02,109 --> 00:56:04,945
J“ and then I'm better off than dead j“
750
00:56:24,298 --> 00:56:27,801
J“ and thank god that I just don't care j“
751
00:56:27,885 --> 00:56:31,096
j“ and / guess that I just don't know j“
752
00:56:31,179 --> 00:56:34,641
j“ oh, and / guess
that I just don't know j“
753
00:56:43,191 --> 00:56:48,530
J“ heroin j“
754
00:56:50,657 --> 00:56:52,159
j“ be the death of me j“
755
00:56:52,242 --> 00:56:55,370
we're sponsoring a new band.
It's called the velvet underground.
756
00:56:55,871 --> 00:56:58,016
Well, since I don't really believe
in painting anymore,
757
00:56:58,040 --> 00:57:00,667
I thought it would be a nice way
of combining, uh...
758
00:57:00,751 --> 00:57:04,713
And we have this chance
to combine music and — and art
759
00:57:04,796 --> 00:57:07,883
and, uh, uh, films all together.
760
00:57:07,966 --> 00:57:10,969
And, um, we're sort of working on
kind of a...
761
00:57:11,053 --> 00:57:12,679
The biggest discotheque in the world.
762
00:57:37,454 --> 00:57:39,206
J“ I'm telling you j“
763
00:57:39,289 --> 00:57:43,126
And, uh, pretty much
everything in June, in the recent past...
764
00:57:44,044 --> 00:57:46,922
- —Is it on?
- The present shows, um...
765
00:57:49,341 --> 00:57:51,718
There's a lot of good things happening
766
00:57:51,802 --> 00:57:53,428
business wise.
767
00:57:53,512 --> 00:57:55,681
You've got the world coming up
in this position,
768
00:57:55,764 --> 00:57:59,393
and that's success and a great deal
of happiness to come.
769
00:57:59,476 --> 00:58:01,853
And the wheel of fortune which, uh,
770
00:58:01,937 --> 00:58:05,774
indicates more of your, um, ambitions
771
00:58:05,857 --> 00:58:09,611
and also very close friends,
people that are very close.
772
00:58:09,695 --> 00:58:13,156
Not much dissension going on,
you know, right now.
773
00:58:13,907 --> 00:58:16,660
You know,
no arguments and that type of thing.
774
00:58:16,743 --> 00:58:18,429
That's because we're not working now.
775
00:58:18,453 --> 00:58:20,247
It shows a, um...
776
00:58:27,671 --> 00:58:31,842
Career, business, um,
your profession, that type of thing
777
00:58:31,925 --> 00:58:35,178
shows a lot of competition always.
778
00:58:35,721 --> 00:58:38,807
There will always be a great deal
of competition...
779
00:58:42,352 --> 00:58:45,897
For the most part,
people who came to the factory
780
00:58:45,981 --> 00:58:48,150
came because the cameras were running.
781
00:58:48,233 --> 00:58:53,739
And they thought they could become famous,
they could become stars.
782
00:59:01,246 --> 00:59:03,832
A very promising outlook.
A lot of new insight.
783
00:59:03,915 --> 00:59:06,293
And a lot of new things happening.
784
00:59:06,376 --> 00:59:11,715
Some ideal of female beauty,
785
00:59:12,549 --> 00:59:17,220
and if you didn't measure up...
786
00:59:17,304 --> 00:59:19,890
And who ever could measure up?
787
00:59:19,973 --> 00:59:22,934
Um, that was very, very damaging.
788
00:59:24,644 --> 00:59:27,272
It was not a good place for women.
789
00:59:27,355 --> 00:59:32,069
Uh, and if you never can get past the fact
that what you were valued for
790
00:59:32,152 --> 00:59:33,987
is primarily your looks,
791
00:59:38,241 --> 00:59:40,827
then, you know.
792
00:59:43,789 --> 00:59:45,475
One day we were working
at the factory,
793
00:59:45,499 --> 00:59:48,835
and Gerard just came back from Europe.
794
00:59:48,919 --> 00:59:54,132
He had a 45-rpm single record,
and it was this strange voice...
795
00:59:54,216 --> 00:59:57,761
J“ that / care that you lo ve me j“
796
00:59:57,844 --> 01:00:00,472
j“ I'm not saying that / care j“
797
01:00:00,555 --> 01:00:05,060
j“ I'm not saying ill be there
when you want me j“
798
01:00:05,143 --> 01:00:07,521
She had been in la dolce vita.
799
01:00:07,604 --> 01:00:09,523
Anita Ekberg was the star,
800
01:00:09,606 --> 01:00:14,444
but Nico was like the clandestine face
in that movie that everybody saw
801
01:00:14,528 --> 01:00:16,613
because she's so hauntingly beautiful.
802
01:00:21,409 --> 01:00:23,995
Then eventually, Nico came to New York.
803
01:00:27,207 --> 01:00:31,503
Paul started, uh, getting interested
in Nico in a promotional way.
804
01:00:33,046 --> 01:00:38,760
Somehow, Paul started convincing Andy that
you can't have just a rock and roll group,
805
01:00:38,844 --> 01:00:43,431
because Lou's not that much
of a big looker guy or anything,
806
01:00:43,515 --> 01:00:46,977
you know, he doesn't have a great voice.
"You gotta have a beautiful girl in it."
807
01:00:52,941 --> 01:00:56,778
Lou had to be just about begged
by Andy to do it.
808
01:01:01,867 --> 01:01:04,703
J“ there she goes again j“
809
01:01:04,786 --> 01:01:07,622
I know it irritated them to death
in the beginning
810
01:01:07,706 --> 01:01:10,625
that she simply could not hold a pitch.
811
01:01:13,545 --> 01:01:18,175
I think it was John again who figured out
what to do with that voice.
812
01:01:22,179 --> 01:01:23,722
A lot of it was uncanny.
813
01:01:23,805 --> 01:01:25,950
In that — that she couldn't do this,
she couldn't do that,
814
01:01:25,974 --> 01:01:28,602
and then all of a sudden
she could do it all very well.
815
01:01:29,644 --> 01:01:31,188
I have to learn that.
816
01:01:40,280 --> 01:01:44,409
All of a sudden,
you realize the eye for — for publicity
817
01:01:44,492 --> 01:01:48,997
and the idea of this blonde iceberg
in the middle of the stage
818
01:01:49,080 --> 01:01:50,916
next to us all dressed in black.
819
01:01:51,499 --> 01:01:55,545
J“ ill be your mirror
reflect what you are j“
820
01:01:55,629 --> 01:01:57,130
j“ in case you don't know j“
821
01:01:57,214 --> 01:02:01,051
the three or four songs she sang
were perfect for her,
822
01:02:01,134 --> 01:02:04,095
and, uh, anyone else singing them,
it just doesn't work.
823
01:02:06,056 --> 01:02:08,975
She was always
very mysterious to us in the band.
824
01:02:09,059 --> 01:02:11,144
We were not widely traveled.
825
01:02:11,228 --> 01:02:13,939
We were not sophisticated,
except for John.
826
01:02:14,731 --> 01:02:16,441
Except that she could sing.
827
01:02:16,524 --> 01:02:20,946
She was not there
just simply to stand up and be beautiful.
828
01:02:21,029 --> 01:02:23,782
J“ please put down your hands j“
829
01:02:23,865 --> 01:02:26,618
j“ 'cause / see you j“
830
01:02:36,419 --> 01:02:40,840
Andy had wanted her
to sing inside a plexiglass box,
831
01:02:40,924 --> 01:02:42,717
and Nico wasn't having it.
832
01:02:43,468 --> 01:02:46,304
She was a serious musician,
and she wanted to sing these songs.
833
01:02:47,305 --> 01:02:50,141
The spectacle of her beauty
834
01:02:51,184 --> 01:02:55,063
I think was completely beside the point
for her.
835
01:02:55,146 --> 01:02:57,565
J“ so you won't be afraid j“
836
01:02:57,649 --> 01:03:01,653
j“ when you think the nrght
has seen your mind j“
837
01:03:02,320 --> 01:03:05,156
it might've been Andy's take on her,
you know,
838
01:03:05,240 --> 01:03:07,993
she's so remote, she's so unreachable.
839
01:03:08,076 --> 01:03:09,911
I don't think she wanted to be
super famous.
840
01:03:09,995 --> 01:03:13,790
I think she just wanted to make work
that was — that was, you know, good.
841
01:03:14,582 --> 01:03:15,750
J“ 'cause / see you j“
842
01:03:15,834 --> 01:03:18,461
when you're not famous,
you get compared to whoever.
843
01:03:18,545 --> 01:03:22,632
You know, so she would be compared
with mar — Marlene Dietrich or garbo.
844
01:03:23,133 --> 01:03:26,261
J“ ill be your mr'rror j“
-j“ reflect what you are j“
845
01:03:27,262 --> 01:03:29,848
j“ ill be your mr'rror j“
-j“ reflect what you are j“
846
01:03:29,931 --> 01:03:31,641
now they compare people to her.
847
01:03:31,725 --> 01:03:34,894
J“ ill be your mr'rror j“
-j“ reflect what you are j“
848
01:03:36,771 --> 01:03:38,189
We got something from them.
849
01:03:38,273 --> 01:03:42,319
We met Tom Wilson,
who did — produced Bob Dylan
850
01:03:42,402 --> 01:03:44,404
and we were getting somewhere.
851
01:03:44,487 --> 01:03:46,072
We could make a record.
852
01:03:46,156 --> 01:03:50,577
Norman dolph walked in,
gave $1,500 to Andy to make the record.
853
01:03:50,660 --> 01:03:53,371
Um, wow.
854
01:03:53,455 --> 01:03:54,831
We were chasing something.
855
01:03:59,627 --> 01:04:02,922
J“ I'm waiting for my man j“
856
01:04:07,302 --> 01:04:10,930
j“ twenty-six dollars r'n my hand j“
857
01:04:13,933 --> 01:04:17,854
j“ up to Lexington, 725 j“
858
01:04:17,937 --> 01:04:21,441
j“ feel sick and dirty
ll/lore dead than alive j“
859
01:04:22,150 --> 01:04:25,278
Andy was extraordinary,
and I — I honestly don't think
860
01:04:25,362 --> 01:04:27,947
these things could've occurred
without Andy.
861
01:04:28,031 --> 01:04:29,759
I don't know
if we would've gotten a contract
862
01:04:29,783 --> 01:04:32,786
if he hadn't said he'd do the cover.
Or if Nico wasn't so beautiful.
863
01:04:37,040 --> 01:04:41,252
J“ hey, white boy
you chasin' our women around? J“
864
01:04:44,631 --> 01:04:48,051
j“ oh, pardon me, sir
ltis furthest from my mind j“
865
01:04:49,177 --> 01:04:52,055
We rehearsed
for a — for a year for the banana album.
866
01:04:54,224 --> 01:04:55,975
Andy produced our first record
867
01:04:56,059 --> 01:04:59,354
in the sense that he was there
breathing in the studio.
868
01:04:59,437 --> 01:05:01,981
But he did more than just that.
869
01:05:02,065 --> 01:05:04,150
He made it possible for us
to make a record
870
01:05:04,234 --> 01:05:08,530
without anybody changing it or everything,
because Andy warhol was there.
871
01:05:11,116 --> 01:05:14,953
J“ PR shoes and a brg straw hat j“
872
01:05:15,036 --> 01:05:16,955
He understood exactly
what we were about
873
01:05:17,038 --> 01:05:22,210
and what our creative side was all about
and how best to bring that out.
874
01:05:23,044 --> 01:05:25,463
And he gave us a lot of support.
875
01:05:25,547 --> 01:05:27,382
J“ gotta wait j“
876
01:05:27,465 --> 01:05:31,052
j“ I'm waiting for my man j“
877
01:05:31,136 --> 01:05:34,681
Nico was in love with Lou.
Andy was in love with Lou.
878
01:05:35,473 --> 01:05:38,893
Boys and girls, men and women,
fell in love with him.
879
01:05:49,362 --> 01:05:52,740
I was already painting and drawing
and wanting to be understood,
880
01:05:52,824 --> 01:05:54,659
and was looking for a scene
881
01:05:54,742 --> 01:05:59,789
until a friend of mine brought over
their record when I was 15,
882
01:05:59,873 --> 01:06:02,834
and he wanted to trade it
'cause it wasn't his taste,
883
01:06:02,917 --> 01:06:06,212
and I had a fugs record
that I was willing to pass up.
884
01:06:06,296 --> 01:06:08,590
I loved the —
The Cadence of Lou Reed's voice.
885
01:06:08,673 --> 01:06:13,928
Uh, "PR shoes and a big straw hat."
886
01:06:14,012 --> 01:06:18,600
The — the...
887
01:06:18,683 --> 01:06:21,895
And then the Cale drone underneath it.
888
01:06:21,978 --> 01:06:25,064
You know, and that was it.
889
01:06:25,148 --> 01:06:27,734
I mean, you don't want this record?
This is for me.
890
01:06:27,817 --> 01:06:30,153
These people would under —
The first words out of my mouth
891
01:06:30,236 --> 01:06:32,906
might have been,
"these people would understand me."
892
01:06:35,325 --> 01:06:37,702
J“ heis got the works
gives you sweet taste j“
893
01:06:37,785 --> 01:06:39,537
there were elements of what Lou was doing
894
01:06:39,621 --> 01:06:44,334
that were just, uh, unavoidably right.
The nature of his lyric writing.
895
01:06:44,417 --> 01:06:49,589
Dylan had certainly brought a new kind of,
uh, intelligence to pop song writing.
896
01:06:49,672 --> 01:06:52,717
But then Lou had taken it
to the avant-garde
897
01:06:52,800 --> 01:06:56,554
and had its roots in, uh,
baudelaire and, uh, rimbaud and...
898
01:06:56,638 --> 01:06:59,474
But at that time,
it wasn't considered important.
899
01:07:04,646 --> 01:07:06,648
Not promoted.
900
01:07:06,731 --> 01:07:09,609
A lot of, uh, radio stations
wouldn't play our stuff.
901
01:07:09,692 --> 01:07:12,570
"Heroin" and, you know, they don't —
They wouldn't play them.
902
01:07:13,821 --> 01:07:15,740
But also mgm was not the...
903
01:07:15,823 --> 01:07:19,118
I think at that point, they had decided
that the mothers of invention
904
01:07:19,202 --> 01:07:22,872
were a better bet,
and they just didn't do much at all.
905
01:07:22,956 --> 01:07:25,750
Almost like they signed us
to sort of get us off the streets.
906
01:07:25,833 --> 01:07:28,586
J“ untrl tomorrow, but that's just
some other time j“
907
01:07:29,671 --> 01:07:33,174
j“ I'm waiting for my man j“
908
01:07:34,884 --> 01:07:36,302
j“ walk it home j“
909
01:07:44,227 --> 01:07:45,687
J“ oh, its all rrght j“
910
01:07:47,397 --> 01:07:49,190
We've all come here together.
911
01:07:49,274 --> 01:07:52,026
Andy warhol, poet Gerard malanga.
912
01:07:52,110 --> 01:07:54,487
Over there, if you move your camera,
ed Sanders
913
01:07:54,571 --> 01:07:56,698
of a rock and roll group called the fugs.
914
01:07:56,781 --> 01:08:00,577
Peter orlovsky, who is a poet
and who also sings Indian mantras.
915
01:08:00,660 --> 01:08:03,288
Oh, Jonas mekas takes movies,
which he's doing now.
916
01:08:05,415 --> 01:08:08,042
In the New York area alone,
917
01:08:08,126 --> 01:08:11,879
there were, like, 30, 40 different artists
918
01:08:11,963 --> 01:08:15,967
doing something that did not stick
to their own art,
919
01:08:16,050 --> 01:08:18,344
but, uh, included other arts.
920
01:08:20,763 --> 01:08:24,100
So we organized the first such festival,
921
01:08:24,183 --> 01:08:27,562
like a survey in, uh, uh,
what was happening
922
01:08:27,645 --> 01:08:31,816
in expanded arts and expanded cinema.
923
01:08:31,899 --> 01:08:35,528
That was in November, December '65.
924
01:08:35,612 --> 01:08:41,159
In '66, I rented a theater on 41st street
925
01:08:41,242 --> 01:08:44,537
in Times Square, and we continued there.
926
01:08:48,916 --> 01:08:53,755
That's where, uh, che/sea girls opened,
a lot of warhol movies.
927
01:09:02,889 --> 01:09:05,975
J“ teenage Mary said to uncle Dave j“
928
01:09:06,059 --> 01:09:09,479
j“ "/ sold my soul, must be sa ved" j“
929
01:09:09,562 --> 01:09:11,731
We decided we would do
a multimedia thing,
930
01:09:11,814 --> 01:09:16,069
and it ran for a few weeks, and it was
called "Andy warhol's up-tight."
931
01:09:16,653 --> 01:09:19,364
And it starred the velvet underground
and Gerard malanga
932
01:09:19,447 --> 01:09:22,659
and Mary woronov
doing the dancing and all.
933
01:09:22,742 --> 01:09:26,412
J“ run, run, run, run, run
gypsy death to you j“
934
01:09:26,496 --> 01:09:28,873
j“ tell you whatcha do j“
935
01:09:30,083 --> 01:09:32,168
To prepare for it, we did...
936
01:09:32,251 --> 01:09:34,629
Filmed the velvet underground and Nico
in the factory,
937
01:09:36,130 --> 01:09:38,883
which we then, as they performed live
938
01:09:38,966 --> 01:09:42,553
on the stage at the cinematheque,
projected on them.
939
01:09:42,637 --> 01:09:45,431
J“ went to sell her
soul, she wasn't hrgh j“
940
01:09:46,224 --> 01:09:48,351
j“ didn't know, thinks she could buy it j“
941
01:09:48,434 --> 01:09:52,939
somehow the, uh — the dom polski
on Saint Mark's place
942
01:09:53,022 --> 01:09:57,318
in — in the east village
became available as a space,
943
01:09:57,402 --> 01:09:59,529
and we took it over for a month,
944
01:09:59,612 --> 01:10:05,243
and expanded "Andy warhol's up-tight"
into the "exploding plastic inevitable."
945
01:10:08,413 --> 01:10:11,290
This used to be
the Polish national home.
946
01:10:11,374 --> 01:10:15,253
Now its the dom,
the center of east I/rl/age nrght/ife.
947
01:10:15,336 --> 01:10:18,339
Music by Nico and the velvet underground
948
01:10:18,423 --> 01:10:20,550
"the exploding plastic inevitable,"
949
01:10:20,633 --> 01:10:25,972
desrgned by pop-art industry Andy warhol
and starring his girl of the year.
950
01:10:26,055 --> 01:10:29,392
Her vocal style is, um, unusual.
951
01:10:33,396 --> 01:10:39,819
Andy has a group of rock
and rollers called the velvet underground
952
01:10:42,613 --> 01:10:47,410
his idea for a discotheque
is to take a dance hall,
953
01:10:47,493 --> 01:10:49,954
have his musicians play,
954
01:10:50,037 --> 01:10:52,582
show several movies all at the same time,
955
01:10:52,665 --> 01:10:57,211
have colored lrghts going
whrle people dance or watch.
956
01:10:57,295 --> 01:10:58,671
I/I/I/d.
957
01:11:06,345 --> 01:11:09,807
I became Nico's guitar player
for those shows she did at the dom.
958
01:11:09,891 --> 01:11:11,517
And I also did an opening set.
959
01:11:11,601 --> 01:11:15,396
I was not — I didn't have a record,
I was not an attraction of any kind.
960
01:11:15,480 --> 01:11:16,564
I just did a set.
961
01:11:19,650 --> 01:11:23,070
But, I mean, no one really got there
until Andy would get there.
962
01:11:24,113 --> 01:11:25,364
He was the attraction.
963
01:11:41,130 --> 01:11:44,425
For the balcony,
Andy used to place the projectors
964
01:11:44,509 --> 01:11:48,596
and various gels and colors and strobes.
965
01:11:52,391 --> 01:11:54,519
Since no one really knew
how to use lights,
966
01:11:54,602 --> 01:11:56,187
we let the audience use them.
967
01:11:56,270 --> 01:11:57,790
That's another reason
we didn't make money,
968
01:11:57,814 --> 01:12:00,459
they were always breaking these things,
or they would fall off the balcony,
969
01:12:00,483 --> 01:12:03,861
and Andy's technique was
something like, um...
970
01:12:03,945 --> 01:12:07,907
"Oh, who knows how to work the lights?
Oh, do you know how to work the lights?"
971
01:12:14,539 --> 01:12:16,999
People would watch his movies,
972
01:12:17,083 --> 01:12:19,544
but they couldn't watch 'em
'cause there's no story.
973
01:12:19,627 --> 01:12:23,339
So it's that weird place where,
"is it reality or story?"
974
01:12:23,422 --> 01:12:26,342
And we don't know. So they were hypnotic.
975
01:13:00,376 --> 01:13:03,588
Upstairs it was a scene
that developed.
976
01:13:03,671 --> 01:13:06,674
People like Walter cronkite
and Jackie Kennedy,
977
01:13:06,757 --> 01:13:10,761
and a lot of the socialites showed up
down there because of Andy
978
01:13:10,845 --> 01:13:16,142
and because of his connections
with the central park west art collectors.
979
01:13:16,225 --> 01:13:18,561
Incredible people came and danced.
980
01:13:18,644 --> 01:13:20,771
Uh, nureyev came and danced.
981
01:13:20,855 --> 01:13:24,025
The whole New York City ballet
used to come and dance.
982
01:13:42,293 --> 01:13:45,504
I don't think they ever formed
983
01:13:45,588 --> 01:13:49,300
so that they would be
a spectacular stage event.
984
01:13:49,383 --> 01:13:55,097
They formed because there was
this amazing musical thing
985
01:13:55,181 --> 01:13:58,643
that happened with Lou's songs.
986
01:14:00,102 --> 01:14:02,855
Barbara rubin, who discovered
them for the right reasons,
987
01:14:02,939 --> 01:14:07,360
is the one who started flashing
those fucking polka dots on them
988
01:14:07,443 --> 01:14:12,073
when they were playing,
as if they weren't enough to look at.
989
01:14:12,156 --> 01:14:15,618
I'd say, "Lou, you —
Why are they doing this to you?"
990
01:14:15,701 --> 01:14:18,454
And of course, he would shrug and say,
991
01:14:18,537 --> 01:14:22,625
"it's what Andy and Paul want,
and, you know, it's family."
992
01:14:23,417 --> 01:14:27,505
After we'd done about three weeks,
we went out on the tour.
993
01:14:40,351 --> 01:14:43,354
There were so many times
we'd play at some kind of art show,
994
01:14:43,437 --> 01:14:46,482
and they'd invited Andy and his...
995
01:14:46,565 --> 01:14:48,651
We're the exhibit, you know?
996
01:14:49,735 --> 01:14:52,989
They'd leave in droves,
these would be rich society people
997
01:14:53,072 --> 01:14:56,242
and — and artists and stuff,
and this was...
998
01:14:56,325 --> 01:14:59,328
They didn't wanna hear a band,
let alone what we were doing.
999
01:15:02,081 --> 01:15:04,291
I had seen the exploding
plastic inevitable show
1000
01:15:04,375 --> 01:15:07,169
with the velvet underground
in New York at the dom already.
1001
01:15:07,253 --> 01:15:09,338
But when I was here and heard
they were coming here
1002
01:15:09,422 --> 01:15:11,590
and in provincetown where I lived...
1003
01:15:11,674 --> 01:15:14,927
It was at the Chrysler museum.
It was booked as art.
1004
01:15:15,011 --> 01:15:17,930
It wasn't even packed, you know.
The town didn't get it.
1005
01:15:19,515 --> 01:15:22,435
I thought it was so bizarre, in a way,
to try to imagine them
1006
01:15:22,518 --> 01:15:24,812
coming at the height
of the hippie times and everything,
1007
01:15:24,895 --> 01:15:26,814
when they were so anti—hippie.
1008
01:15:36,490 --> 01:15:39,326
I know we made lots of fans
amongst those people,
1009
01:15:39,410 --> 01:15:42,621
but we used to joke around and say,
"well, how many people left?
1010
01:15:42,705 --> 01:15:44,999
Oh, about half.
Oh, we must have been good tonight."
1011
01:15:56,177 --> 01:15:58,721
It was not only noise,
1012
01:15:58,804 --> 01:16:03,350
but, um, the kind of music
you can hear when...
1013
01:16:03,434 --> 01:16:06,395
When it's a storm outside.
1014
01:16:23,871 --> 01:16:27,291
Paul then booked us into the west coast.
1015
01:16:32,046 --> 01:16:33,672
J“ Monday, Monday j“
1016
01:16:35,966 --> 01:16:38,302
j“ so good to me j“
1017
01:16:38,385 --> 01:16:40,280
Musically, the — the west coast
1018
01:16:40,304 --> 01:16:44,016
was an organized force that tried
to predominate in the pop scene.
1019
01:16:44,100 --> 01:16:46,393
J“ it was all / hoped it would be j“
1020
01:16:46,477 --> 01:16:49,313
I remember we were in our rent-a-car
coming back from the airport,
1021
01:16:49,396 --> 01:16:52,292
I turned on the radio and the first
song that came out was "Monday, Monday."
1022
01:16:52,316 --> 01:16:54,235
I said, "well, I don't — I don't know.
1023
01:16:54,318 --> 01:16:56,438
Uh, maybe we're not ready
for this sort of thing yet."
1024
01:17:00,282 --> 01:17:02,243
We came to Los Angeles,
1025
01:17:02,326 --> 01:17:04,829
and the first time we noticed
that we were different
1026
01:17:04,912 --> 01:17:08,874
was when we went to, you know,
the place, tropicana motel.
1027
01:17:10,000 --> 01:17:13,671
So we're all in black,
we're all completely covered up,
1028
01:17:13,754 --> 01:17:15,881
and we're all sitting around the pool.
1029
01:17:15,965 --> 01:17:18,467
I mean, It looked really stupid.
1030
01:17:18,968 --> 01:17:22,054
Except for Gerard.
Gerard was in back, fucking someone.
1031
01:17:31,981 --> 01:17:35,067
J“ Sunday morning j“
1032
01:17:36,318 --> 01:17:39,738
j“ brings the dawning j“
1033
01:17:41,115 --> 01:17:44,827
j“ its just a restless feeling j“
1034
01:17:45,578 --> 01:17:47,496
j“ bymyside j“
1035
01:17:47,580 --> 01:17:50,082
We'd never, um,
been to the west coast,
1036
01:17:50,166 --> 01:17:54,128
and it was odd the way it struck us
that everybody was very healthy.
1037
01:17:54,837 --> 01:17:58,966
And, uh, their idea of a light show
was to have a slide of Buddha on the wall.
1038
01:18:00,551 --> 01:18:03,929
When we came to California,
it was at the trip and they had a stage.
1039
01:18:04,013 --> 01:18:06,724
What do you put on a stage? Gerard and me.
1040
01:18:06,807 --> 01:18:12,271
We would do this performance
for more people to look at the velvets.
1041
01:18:12,354 --> 01:18:15,733
J“ there is always someone around you j“
1042
01:18:15,816 --> 01:18:18,319
j“ who wrl/ call j“
1043
01:18:19,361 --> 01:18:22,781
j“ its nothing at all j“
1044
01:18:24,408 --> 01:18:27,453
And they —
They snuck frank zappa on the bill,
1045
01:18:27,536 --> 01:18:30,831
and the mothers of invention,
and, uh, we despised them.
1046
01:18:30,915 --> 01:18:34,376
And we felt they were everything
the west coast was.
1047
01:18:35,419 --> 01:18:38,255
They were hippies. We hated hippies.
1048
01:18:38,339 --> 01:18:41,425
I mean, flower power,
you know, burning bras.
1049
01:18:41,508 --> 01:18:43,594
I mean, what the fuck is wrong with you?
1050
01:18:43,677 --> 01:18:46,805
This "love, peace" crap, we hated that.
Get real.
1051
01:18:47,431 --> 01:18:50,476
And... Free love and, uh,
1052
01:18:50,559 --> 01:18:54,396
"everybody's wonderful and I love
everybody. Aren't I wonderful?"
1053
01:18:54,480 --> 01:18:56,190
Everybody wants to have a peaceful world
1054
01:18:56,273 --> 01:18:59,109
and not get — get, uh,
shot in the head or something,
1055
01:18:59,193 --> 01:19:02,363
but you cannot change minds
by handing a flower
1056
01:19:02,446 --> 01:19:04,323
to some bozo who wants to shoot ya.
1057
01:19:05,157 --> 01:19:06,533
They should have been...
1058
01:19:07,826 --> 01:19:10,829
Helping homeless people or — do something.
1059
01:19:10,913 --> 01:19:15,251
Do something about it. Don't walk around,
uh, with your flowers in your hair.
1060
01:19:17,419 --> 01:19:21,882
That was kind of an avoidance
of how important danger was
1061
01:19:21,966 --> 01:19:23,926
and how, you know,
if you're off in that world
1062
01:19:24,009 --> 01:19:26,929
you don't — you don't recognize danger
for the value it has.
1063
01:19:28,555 --> 01:19:30,391
The human race was fucked up...
1064
01:19:31,100 --> 01:19:35,437
And they were getting fucked
by society.
1065
01:19:35,521 --> 01:19:38,524
So you don't get depressed
and fall over because of it.
1066
01:19:38,607 --> 01:19:41,277
You become, uh, strong
1067
01:19:41,360 --> 01:19:44,613
and you become anti a lot of things
that other people aren't anti.
1068
01:19:44,697 --> 01:19:45,990
So you're not...
1069
01:19:46,073 --> 01:19:49,034
And that's sort of, uh, the place
where the artist comes in
1070
01:19:49,118 --> 01:19:51,870
because he's not with society.
1071
01:19:52,788 --> 01:19:53,914
He's different.
1072
01:19:59,169 --> 01:20:03,424
It's almost impossible to describe
the feeling of being in a rock dance,
1073
01:20:03,507 --> 01:20:07,011
and maybe that's why so many
young people flock here every weekend
1074
01:20:07,094 --> 01:20:10,389
to see what bill Graham
and Fillmore west is all about.
1075
01:20:10,472 --> 01:20:12,575
People are generally
very nice here. There's a joie.
1076
01:20:12,599 --> 01:20:16,478
There's a certain esprit
which doesn't exist in the other cities,
1077
01:20:16,562 --> 01:20:18,522
which — New York, Chicago, Detroit,
1078
01:20:18,605 --> 01:20:21,900
where everything is pretty nails—y,
you know, tar.
1079
01:20:21,984 --> 01:20:23,652
Boy, he hated us.
1080
01:20:23,736 --> 01:20:25,946
When we were going onstage,
1081
01:20:26,822 --> 01:20:29,867
he was standing there, and he said,
"I hope you fuckers bomb."
1082
01:20:31,243 --> 01:20:33,996
And well, why did you ask for —
Why did you book us?
1083
01:20:34,079 --> 01:20:37,875
I think he was reallyjealous
and pissed off
1084
01:20:37,958 --> 01:20:41,295
'cause he has claimed to have
the first multimedia,
1085
01:20:41,378 --> 01:20:46,550
and it was pitiful compared to what
Andy had put together. It really was.
1086
01:20:46,633 --> 01:20:49,553
And we get reviewed.
1087
01:20:49,636 --> 01:20:53,766
"They should be buried,
the velvet underground,
1088
01:20:53,849 --> 01:20:55,351
buried underground deep."
1089
01:20:55,434 --> 01:20:58,437
That's what what's-her-name said,
uh, Cher.
1090
01:20:58,520 --> 01:21:01,648
And we go back to New York, and we go —
Ready to go back to the dom.
1091
01:21:01,732 --> 01:21:04,693
And, nope, we can't go back
to the dom. "Why?"
1092
01:21:04,777 --> 01:21:09,073
Well, he sold the lease
to, uh — to ai Grossman,
1093
01:21:09,156 --> 01:21:14,078
who's Dylan's manager, and Dylan
had renamed it the — the balloon farm.
1094
01:21:14,787 --> 01:21:17,581
And, um... we were out.
1095
01:21:19,875 --> 01:21:21,418
J“ here she comes now j“
1096
01:21:23,128 --> 01:21:24,880
j“ shes gone, gone, gone j“
1097
01:21:26,340 --> 01:21:28,258
j“ ready, ready, ready, ready, ready j“
1098
01:21:28,342 --> 01:21:30,904
And the second album came around,
and that was when you saw
1099
01:21:30,928 --> 01:21:33,138
the effects of what being on the road did.
1100
01:21:33,222 --> 01:21:35,599
Uh, and all the aggro.
And it — and it really...
1101
01:21:35,682 --> 01:21:39,228
Probably the aggro reflected everything
that was going on in the band.
1102
01:21:40,104 --> 01:21:42,356
It was getting really
more and more difficult for us
1103
01:21:42,439 --> 01:21:44,775
to, uh — to operate together.
1104
01:21:45,317 --> 01:21:48,278
-J“ lknow that she is long dead and gone j“
-j“ heard her call my name j“
1105
01:21:48,362 --> 01:21:51,532
-j“ strll, it ain't the same j“
-j“ heard her call my name j“
1106
01:21:51,615 --> 01:21:54,910
j“ oh, when / wake up in this morning
mama j“
1107
01:21:54,993 --> 01:21:58,747
-j“ / heard her call my name j“
-j“ heard her call my name j“
1108
01:22:00,416 --> 01:22:04,044
Probably the speediest album
that there was. Really cranked up.
1109
01:22:04,128 --> 01:22:06,004
The engineer left.
1110
01:22:06,088 --> 01:22:09,049
One of the engineers said,
"I don't have to listen to this.
1111
01:22:09,133 --> 01:22:12,761
I'll put it in record and I'm leaving.
When you're done, come and get me."
1112
01:22:23,355 --> 01:22:27,025
-J“ white lrght j“
—j“ white lrght goinj messin' up my mind j“
1113
01:22:27,109 --> 01:22:28,944
-j“ white lrght j“
-j“ and don't you know j“
1114
01:22:29,027 --> 01:22:31,697
-j“ its gonna make me go blind j“
-j“ white heat j“
1115
01:22:31,780 --> 01:22:34,741
j“ aw, white heat
it tickle me down to my toes j“
1116
01:22:34,825 --> 01:22:36,618
-j“ white lrght j“
-j“ oh, have mercy j“
1117
01:22:36,702 --> 01:22:38,537
j“ whrle lha ve it, goodness knows j“
1118
01:22:38,620 --> 01:22:41,123
All the songs
that were on the second album,
1119
01:22:41,206 --> 01:22:44,126
it was all off the cuff
and — and aggressive.
1120
01:22:44,918 --> 01:22:47,880
I mean, that's — that's —
That's straight amphetamine.
1121
01:22:47,963 --> 01:22:50,674
J“ aw, white heat
it tickle me down to my toes j“
1122
01:22:51,258 --> 01:22:52,858
nobody was really talking to each other.
1123
01:22:53,510 --> 01:22:57,347
You know, everybody kept
pushing their faders up.
1124
01:22:57,431 --> 01:23:00,017
And, uh, so it got louder
andlouderandlouden
1125
01:23:00,100 --> 01:23:04,646
"well, who — who's the loudest now?"
You know, it was just child games.
1126
01:23:08,025 --> 01:23:10,611
If we don't improvise,
we're gonna drive each other crazy.
1127
01:23:10,694 --> 01:23:13,530
Well, as it turned out,
we drive each other crazy anyway.
1128
01:23:13,614 --> 01:23:16,825
But improvisation helped on the road
1129
01:23:16,909 --> 01:23:20,621
when you just got off
playing the song over and over and over.
1130
01:23:21,663 --> 01:23:23,790
Cooperation was — was breaking down.
1131
01:23:24,500 --> 01:23:27,419
J“ white lrght mo ved in me
through my brain j“
1132
01:23:27,503 --> 01:23:29,630
-j“ white lrght j“
—j“ white lrght goin' j“
1133
01:23:29,713 --> 01:23:32,174
-j“ makin' you go insane j“
-j“ white heat j“
1134
01:23:32,257 --> 01:23:35,761
j“ aw, white heat
it tickles me down to my toes j“
1135
01:23:35,844 --> 01:23:38,722
j“ white lrght, lsaid now
goodness knows j“
1136
01:23:38,805 --> 01:23:43,018
We never intended that now
it's the velvet underground and Nico.
1137
01:23:43,101 --> 01:23:46,688
That — it was just a — that was
in our minds a temporary thing.
1138
01:24:01,995 --> 01:24:05,374
J“ hereis room 546 j“
1139
01:24:06,124 --> 01:24:09,336
j“ ltis enough to make you sick j“
1140
01:24:10,671 --> 01:24:13,966
j“ brigid is all wrapped up r'n forl j“
1141
01:24:14,049 --> 01:24:16,927
j“ you wonder if j“
1142
01:24:18,303 --> 01:24:21,682
Nico did everything
that we asked her to do in the band,
1143
01:24:22,307 --> 01:24:25,143
and, um — but I — I think
that in her heart of hearts
1144
01:24:25,227 --> 01:24:27,604
there was something else
that was really pulling her.
1145
01:24:30,482 --> 01:24:33,735
She would always be sitting down
writing lyrics, writing poetry.
1146
01:24:35,112 --> 01:24:40,200
There was — there was always something
drawing her away from collective work.
1147
01:24:43,829 --> 01:24:45,289
She was a wanderer.
1148
01:24:45,372 --> 01:24:50,669
She wandered into the situation,
and then she just quietly wandered off.
1149
01:24:53,422 --> 01:24:56,800
J“ magic marker row j“
1150
01:24:56,883 --> 01:24:59,886
j“ you wonder just j“
1151
01:25:01,513 --> 01:25:05,058
j“ how hrgh they go j“
1152
01:25:06,685 --> 01:25:08,770
j“ here they come now j“
1153
01:25:08,854 --> 01:25:11,732
And then it — after all of that,
1154
01:25:11,815 --> 01:25:14,818
Lou suddenly went crazy.
1155
01:25:17,195 --> 01:25:20,240
And then fired Andy and, um,
1156
01:25:21,074 --> 01:25:22,534
and Andy called him a rat.
1157
01:25:37,966 --> 01:25:40,886
The whole thing was done
behind closed doors.
1158
01:25:40,969 --> 01:25:42,929
I mean, I had no idea
that Lou had fired Andy.
1159
01:25:44,765 --> 01:25:47,559
People thought Andy warhol
was the lead guitarist,
1160
01:25:47,643 --> 01:25:53,440
and that made life a little difficult when
we left the, uh — our great Shepherd.
1161
01:25:55,984 --> 01:25:57,402
[Gunshofl
1162
01:26:27,891 --> 01:26:29,369
So this is called "sister ray."
1163
01:26:31,937 --> 01:26:33,522
It's about some queens.
1164
01:26:35,399 --> 01:26:37,526
And one's called duck
and the other's called Sally.
1165
01:26:47,160 --> 01:26:50,205
J“ duck and Sally inside j“
1166
01:26:51,456 --> 01:26:54,126
j“ searching for the down prpe j“
1167
01:26:55,293 --> 01:26:58,130
j“ who 're staring at miss rayon j“
1168
01:26:59,673 --> 01:27:02,050
j“ who is licking up her prg pen j“
1169
01:27:03,885 --> 01:27:06,430
j“ I'm searching for my mainline j“
1170
01:27:08,223 --> 01:27:10,600
j“ / couldn't hit it side ways j“
1171
01:27:10,684 --> 01:27:14,396
Harvard professors,
fashion models from New York,
1172
01:27:15,063 --> 01:27:17,232
honest-to-god juvenile delinquents,
1173
01:27:17,315 --> 01:27:18,817
you know, bike gangs,
1174
01:27:20,902 --> 01:27:22,821
nerds like myself.
1175
01:27:25,532 --> 01:27:28,577
Grateful dead fans. A lot of people
were — were fans of both bands.
1176
01:27:36,668 --> 01:27:39,588
We started realizing
that we were getting a following.
1177
01:27:39,671 --> 01:27:42,841
And, um, of course that was nice,
1178
01:27:42,924 --> 01:27:46,470
especially in Boston,
because we played there so often.
1179
01:27:47,721 --> 01:27:50,515
I saw them
a total of about 60 or 70 times.
1180
01:27:51,600 --> 01:27:55,312
The reason I felt emotionally free
hearing it is I was hearing this music
1181
01:27:55,395 --> 01:27:57,606
that I realized sounded like nothing else.
1182
01:27:57,689 --> 01:28:00,317
They'd get into a certain sound
and then never again.
1183
01:28:00,400 --> 01:28:01,818
That was what was exciting.
1184
01:28:01,902 --> 01:28:03,904
J“ oh, do it, yeah, just lrke j“
1185
01:28:04,529 --> 01:28:06,531
j“ yeah, just like sister ray said j“
1186
01:28:07,199 --> 01:28:10,911
The sound, not only was it new,
but it was radically different.
1187
01:28:11,703 --> 01:28:16,750
It was this slow, mid-tempo or slow tempo
stuff that wasn't rock and roll.
1188
01:28:16,833 --> 01:28:19,753
It was these strange, strange melodies.
1189
01:28:21,797 --> 01:28:23,298
You could watch them play
1190
01:28:24,257 --> 01:28:26,527
and there would be overtones
that you couldn't account for.
1191
01:28:26,551 --> 01:28:27,969
You could see with, you know...
1192
01:28:29,930 --> 01:28:32,140
Then you'd hear a lead —
A fuzz lead over that.
1193
01:28:33,266 --> 01:28:35,018
Something — and you'd hear the bass line.
1194
01:28:37,771 --> 01:28:40,232
But there'd be
these other sounds in the room,
1195
01:28:40,315 --> 01:28:42,526
and you could look at everyone
and you were just...
1196
01:28:42,609 --> 01:28:44,569
Where is it coming from?
1197
01:28:44,653 --> 01:28:47,030
It was this group sound.
1198
01:28:59,417 --> 01:29:02,921
Typical would be a long version
of "sister ray"
1199
01:29:03,004 --> 01:29:05,215
and the five seconds aftennards.
1200
01:29:06,508 --> 01:29:10,220
The five seconds aftennards tells you
a lot about what it was like to see them.
1201
01:29:10,303 --> 01:29:12,183
So all of a sudden, you know,
they'd be going...
1202
01:29:14,307 --> 01:29:19,604
Then all the different keyboard parts.
J“ da, na, na, na, na, na, na, na, na j“
1203
01:29:19,688 --> 01:29:22,440
then all these different things.
The drums.
1204
01:29:22,524 --> 01:29:23,608
And all of a sudden...
1205
01:29:25,151 --> 01:29:27,654
And it would stop like that,
and the audience
1206
01:29:27,737 --> 01:29:31,408
would be dead silent for one...
1207
01:29:35,537 --> 01:29:39,124
Five, and then they'd applaud.
1208
01:29:40,375 --> 01:29:44,296
They, the velvet underground,
had hypnotized them one more time.
1209
01:29:47,173 --> 01:29:49,801
Here I am at the Boston tea party,
1210
01:29:49,885 --> 01:29:51,685
and the velvet underground
has got their amps.
1211
01:29:51,720 --> 01:29:54,890
They are already starting to set up.
I just watched them tune up.
1212
01:29:55,473 --> 01:29:56,808
I would ask questions.
1213
01:29:56,892 --> 01:30:00,437
I'd say, "how come you use just
the fuzz tone on that passage? Why?"
1214
01:30:00,520 --> 01:30:01,813
And like, "and that sound?"
1215
01:30:01,897 --> 01:30:05,567
And he'd say, "that sound,
young man, is many things."
1216
01:30:07,235 --> 01:30:11,239
And sterling Morrison was the one
who taught me how to play guitar.
1217
01:30:11,323 --> 01:30:14,868
The freedom of it made me feel
less tied to high school,
1218
01:30:14,951 --> 01:30:18,121
less tied to any conventions
that other music had
1219
01:30:18,204 --> 01:30:20,749
and helped me figure out
how to make my own music.
1220
01:30:21,374 --> 01:30:24,461
This is what they were like.
They were generous.
1221
01:30:24,544 --> 01:30:28,924
They were certainly generous with me.
They let me open a show for them once.
1222
01:30:29,007 --> 01:30:32,469
And so when there was tensions
between people in the band,
1223
01:30:33,219 --> 01:30:35,180
I was allowed to hang around.
1224
01:30:35,263 --> 01:30:37,182
They knew I wasn't gonna say anything.
1225
01:30:38,016 --> 01:30:41,102
But, yeah, you could feel
some — some tension.
1226
01:30:41,186 --> 01:30:44,606
But I was very shocked
when it was so extreme
1227
01:30:44,689 --> 01:30:48,026
that, uh, John Cale
wasn't in the band anymore.
1228
01:30:54,366 --> 01:30:57,202
There were
often sparks, you know, the three guys.
1229
01:30:57,285 --> 01:31:02,332
In fact, you know, I could hardly go
to a rehearsal, it was just so stressful.
1230
01:31:02,415 --> 01:31:05,627
They might have been arguing
about the music itself.
1231
01:31:05,710 --> 01:31:08,797
Or Lou could just be being peevish,
1232
01:31:08,880 --> 01:31:12,884
or maybe too much in charge,
telling other people what to do.
1233
01:31:14,052 --> 01:31:15,595
That was just always there.
1234
01:31:15,679 --> 01:31:18,723
Lou going for it, uh, being on top.
1235
01:31:25,897 --> 01:31:27,899
I really didn't know how to please him.
1236
01:31:28,650 --> 01:31:32,320
I mean, there was nothing
that I could do that, uh...
1237
01:31:32,946 --> 01:31:36,533
You'd try and be nice,
he'd hate you more. He was, um...
1238
01:31:39,202 --> 01:31:42,747
And trying to suggest something,
he'd just dismiss it.
1239
01:31:43,832 --> 01:31:45,458
He's a tortured person.
1240
01:31:46,918 --> 01:31:50,171
Although I have to say, John Cale,
he could really go off.
1241
01:31:50,255 --> 01:31:53,633
He just makes it so unpleasant
to be near him
1242
01:31:54,634 --> 01:31:56,136
if he doesn't feel good.
1243
01:31:56,219 --> 01:31:57,345
And he was dark.
1244
01:32:00,056 --> 01:32:03,560
The thing that we understood
where we were, where everything else was,
1245
01:32:03,643 --> 01:32:06,146
and how much disdain we had
for everything else.
1246
01:32:06,855 --> 01:32:10,066
You know, in the end, unfortunately,
1247
01:32:10,150 --> 01:32:13,153
it became each of us.
1248
01:32:13,903 --> 01:32:17,157
I think there came a point
when you just said, "hell with it.
1249
01:32:17,240 --> 01:32:20,994
We're not solving our problems here
by acting like this.
1250
01:32:21,077 --> 01:32:25,040
And nobody's out there
to help us to straighten it out."
1251
01:32:25,123 --> 01:32:28,835
And we'd never let anybody tell us
what to do.
1252
01:32:30,378 --> 01:32:34,924
If all those drugs hadn't been around, we
would have all been pushing for something.
1253
01:32:35,800 --> 01:32:38,678
Uh, it was the time
to really back off for a minute...
1254
01:32:40,055 --> 01:32:41,556
Because the trust was gone.
1255
01:32:43,099 --> 01:32:45,060
Maybe Lou gotjealous.
1256
01:32:45,143 --> 01:32:47,187
I would attribute it
to something like that.
1257
01:32:49,064 --> 01:32:53,985
Lou made a, uh — an ultimatum
that either he or John would have to go.
1258
01:32:54,069 --> 01:32:57,697
He called sterling and I, and we met him
at a coffee shop or something,
1259
01:32:57,781 --> 01:32:59,282
and he told us this.
1260
01:32:59,365 --> 01:33:01,325
You know, he just couldn't work
with John anymore,
1261
01:33:01,367 --> 01:33:04,662
and we could either
stay with him or go with John.
1262
01:33:06,247 --> 01:33:10,794
I got a visit from sterling,
and he said, "I've just come from Lou."
1263
01:33:10,877 --> 01:33:12,921
And I said, "yeah,
we gotta start rehearsing.
1264
01:33:13,004 --> 01:33:14,690
We're going to Cleveland on —
On the weekend."
1265
01:33:14,714 --> 01:33:18,093
He said, "well, no."
He said, "we are, yes. You're not."
1266
01:33:18,968 --> 01:33:20,279
And I said, "what are you talking about?"
1267
01:33:20,303 --> 01:33:24,057
He said, "well, Lou's sent me over here
to tell you that, um,
1268
01:33:24,140 --> 01:33:27,227
he told the rest of us that if John goes,
idontgofi
1269
01:33:27,977 --> 01:33:29,020
and that was it.
1270
01:33:29,646 --> 01:33:31,648
And — and there was that moment again,
1271
01:33:31,731 --> 01:33:35,527
that f-flash of wondering
what the hell's gonna happen next.
1272
01:33:38,321 --> 01:33:41,449
Ithoughl
"well, I better get on to production."
1273
01:33:46,246 --> 01:33:49,833
It was really devastating
to me, because by this point,
1274
01:33:49,916 --> 01:33:52,669
this band helped me understand life.
1275
01:33:52,752 --> 01:33:56,881
Like, the sounds they were making
helped me build a dreamscape.
1276
01:33:56,965 --> 01:33:59,175
Their tone colors — this was...
1277
01:34:00,385 --> 01:34:03,555
I mean, to me this was being — like
being in the presence of Michelangelo.
1278
01:34:08,101 --> 01:34:12,689
Lou really, really wanted
to c — get some success going.
1279
01:34:12,772 --> 01:34:14,149
You know, real success.
1280
01:34:15,400 --> 01:34:21,072
Maybe he wanted to make it less, uh,
avant-garde, or whatever the word is.
1281
01:34:23,491 --> 01:34:24,993
You know, more normal.
1282
01:34:27,036 --> 01:34:28,621
Here we go. Rolling on one.
1283
01:34:52,187 --> 01:34:54,355
J“ she is over by the corner j“
1284
01:34:54,439 --> 01:34:57,108
Doug yule came in, uh,
from what I remember,
1285
01:34:57,192 --> 01:34:59,485
gallantly learning many songs
very quickly.
1286
01:35:00,111 --> 01:35:05,450
And he in himself
was a very exacting and serious musician.
1287
01:35:05,533 --> 01:35:09,120
And, uh, with his own harmonic sense,
which brought something different.
1288
01:35:11,331 --> 01:35:13,124
I think the difference was profound.
1289
01:35:13,875 --> 01:35:15,543
I think we were still a good band,
1290
01:35:15,627 --> 01:35:19,505
and Doug had his own things
to bring to the band,
1291
01:35:19,589 --> 01:35:21,883
but no one could replace Cale.
1292
01:35:21,966 --> 01:35:24,552
J“ don't you know something?
She sent 'em rrght back j“
1293
01:35:24,636 --> 01:35:26,095
r all fight j“
1294
01:35:28,890 --> 01:35:30,683
Good evening.
1295
01:35:30,767 --> 01:35:32,977
We're your local velvet underground,
1296
01:35:33,061 --> 01:35:35,688
and we're glad to see you.
1297
01:35:38,441 --> 01:35:39,776
Thank you.
1298
01:35:39,859 --> 01:35:43,696
And we're, uh, particularly glad
that people could find a — a little time
1299
01:35:43,780 --> 01:35:46,449
to come out and just have some fun
to some rock and roll.
1300
01:35:50,078 --> 01:35:51,496
They were playing really quiet.
1301
01:35:51,579 --> 01:35:53,539
They'd started playing much quieter
at this point.
1302
01:36:00,588 --> 01:36:03,341
J“ sometrmes lfee/ so happy j“
1303
01:36:06,344 --> 01:36:08,930
j“ sometrmes lfee/ so sad j“
1304
01:36:12,058 --> 01:36:14,644
j“ sometrmes lfee/ so happy j“
1305
01:36:16,104 --> 01:36:19,983
j“ but mostly you just make me mad j“
1306
01:36:22,360 --> 01:36:25,780
j“ baby, you just make me mad j“
1307
01:36:29,826 --> 01:36:34,831
j“ linger on j“
1308
01:36:34,914 --> 01:36:38,001
j“ your pale blue eyes j“
1309
01:36:41,462 --> 01:36:46,467
j“ linger on j“
1310
01:36:46,551 --> 01:36:49,804
j“ your pale blue eyes j“
1311
01:36:49,887 --> 01:36:53,182
There was a certain theory
behind it, and that was of space.
1312
01:36:53,266 --> 01:36:54,976
Like, all the songs were very spacey.
1313
01:36:55,059 --> 01:36:58,354
Like, you know, we didn't put things in,
we took things out,
1314
01:36:58,438 --> 01:37:01,107
which is kind of the reverse
of the way everybody else works.
1315
01:37:01,190 --> 01:37:05,361
Like, you know, we never add instruments,
we don't bring people in for sessions.
1316
01:37:05,445 --> 01:37:10,283
We don't — we don't basically do anything
that we can't reproduce onstage.
1317
01:37:21,502 --> 01:37:26,799
The, uh, third album, the
gray album, uh, we were playing in la,
1318
01:37:26,883 --> 01:37:30,428
and Steve said, uh, you know,
"we're — there's a change of plans.
1319
01:37:30,511 --> 01:37:32,591
We're gonna stay over an extra week
and do an album."
1320
01:37:34,098 --> 01:37:39,520
J“ candy says j“
1321
01:37:39,604 --> 01:37:44,817
j“ "I've come to hate my body j“
1322
01:37:45,568 --> 01:37:49,447
j“ and all that it requires... j“
1323
01:37:49,530 --> 01:37:51,824
"Candy says"
has its own kind of tension.
1324
01:37:51,908 --> 01:37:55,078
You know, it's about somebody saying,
uh, "I've come to hate my body
1325
01:37:55,161 --> 01:37:57,038
and all it requires in this world."
1326
01:37:57,121 --> 01:37:59,540
And with all that little pretty music
going on, you know,
1327
01:37:59,624 --> 01:38:01,935
and you start figuring, you know,
"what — what is that all about?"
1328
01:38:01,959 --> 01:38:05,004
And then the whole rest of
the third album is just about that.
1329
01:38:05,713 --> 01:38:08,383
J“ over my shoulder j“
1330
01:38:08,466 --> 01:38:10,802
j“ what do you think I'd see j“
1331
01:38:10,885 --> 01:38:14,430
I didn't know I was going to sing
that song until we were doing the vocals,
1332
01:38:14,514 --> 01:38:17,201
and he sang one, and he came back in
and said, "why don't you sing one?
1333
01:38:17,225 --> 01:38:21,062
You know, it's fun to not always sing.
It's fun to kick back and, you know,
1334
01:38:21,145 --> 01:38:23,523
play the guitar and just not have
to be the lead voice."
1335
01:38:24,107 --> 01:38:27,235
This is a song that, uh,
I originally had figured on
1336
01:38:27,318 --> 01:38:31,239
featuring myself doing it with a,
you know, spotlight and a gold lame dress.
1337
01:38:31,322 --> 01:38:35,243
But then I figured, "well, I don't know
if they're ready to accept that."
1338
01:38:35,868 --> 01:38:37,870
So, we — we got old Maureen out
1339
01:38:37,954 --> 01:38:40,623
and we figured they'll believe her
where they wouldn't believe me.
1340
01:38:40,706 --> 01:38:42,667
This'll be our last song
for this set.
1341
01:38:42,750 --> 01:38:44,460
It's called "after hours."
1342
01:38:44,544 --> 01:38:47,755
J“ if you close the door j“
1343
01:38:49,006 --> 01:38:52,635
j“ the nrght could last fore ver j“
1344
01:38:52,718 --> 01:38:56,097
j“ leave the sunshine out j“
1345
01:38:57,181 --> 01:38:59,725
j“ and say hello to never j“
1346
01:38:59,809 --> 01:39:01,811
I was scared to death.
1347
01:39:01,894 --> 01:39:07,608
I'd never sang anything, and I was
really like, "I — I can't do this, and —"
1348
01:39:07,692 --> 01:39:10,361
in fact,
we had to send sterling out of the room
1349
01:39:10,445 --> 01:39:12,488
because he was laughing at me.
1350
01:39:14,282 --> 01:39:16,576
J“ I'd never have to see the day again j“
1351
01:39:16,659 --> 01:39:21,289
I told Lou, "I don't wanna sing it live
unless someone requests it,"
1352
01:39:21,372 --> 01:39:24,125
'cause I was hoping
no one would ever request it.
1353
01:39:24,917 --> 01:39:28,379
And, like, two shows later,
we were in Texas
1354
01:39:28,463 --> 01:39:30,756
and someone requested it,
and I got through it, so...
1355
01:39:30,840 --> 01:39:33,009
J“ and drink a toast to never j“
1356
01:39:33,092 --> 01:39:34,862
When they did play
the Boston tea party,
1357
01:39:34,886 --> 01:39:36,637
and Maureen would come out and sing,
1358
01:39:36,721 --> 01:39:40,016
people who weren't even fans
of the band much that night,
1359
01:39:40,099 --> 01:39:42,852
juvenile delinquents who just said,
"who are these guys?
1360
01:39:42,935 --> 01:39:46,022
There's no Jimmy page guitar solo here,
what is this crap?"
1361
01:39:46,105 --> 01:39:49,567
All of a sudden, when, you know,
Maureen Tucker would come out,
1362
01:39:49,650 --> 01:39:54,197
you know, and would just come out,
just go, "if you close the door,"
1363
01:39:54,280 --> 01:39:57,492
and everybody — she'd get everybody.
1364
01:39:57,575 --> 01:39:59,535
Thank you.
1365
01:40:14,091 --> 01:40:16,761
J“ Jenny said
when she was just five years old j“
1366
01:40:16,844 --> 01:40:19,680
j“ there was nothing happening at all j“
1367
01:40:23,226 --> 01:40:25,895
j“ every trme she puts on the radio j“
1368
01:40:25,978 --> 01:40:29,273
j“ there was nothing going down at all j“
1369
01:40:29,357 --> 01:40:30,775
j“ not at all j“
1370
01:40:32,360 --> 01:40:35,112
j“ then one fine morning she puts on
a New York station j“
1371
01:40:35,196 --> 01:40:37,865
j“ you know, she don't belie ve
what she heard at all j“
1372
01:40:41,202 --> 01:40:43,788
j“ she started shaking
to that flne, flne music j“
1373
01:40:43,871 --> 01:40:47,458
j“ you know her life was saved
by rock and roll j“
1374
01:40:49,335 --> 01:40:52,505
j“ despite all the amputation j“
1375
01:40:52,588 --> 01:40:56,384
j“ you know you could just go out
and dance to the rock and roll station j“
1376
01:40:56,467 --> 01:40:59,554
-j“ and it was all rrght j“
-j“ it was all rrght j“
1377
01:40:59,637 --> 01:41:03,933
-j“ hey, baby, you knowit was all rrght j“
-j“ it was all rrght j“
1378
01:41:19,448 --> 01:41:21,993
J“ ere Jenny said
when she was just about five years old j“
1379
01:41:22,076 --> 01:41:25,496
j“ hey, you know
there is nothing happening at all j“
1380
01:41:25,580 --> 01:41:29,625
Any one thing I could do over again
would be to refuse to do loaded
1381
01:41:29,709 --> 01:41:31,544
until Maureen was, you know, able to play.
1382
01:41:32,795 --> 01:41:37,258
Loaded was recorded in,
uh, April, I believe, of '70.
1383
01:41:37,341 --> 01:41:40,303
And I was pregnant and too fat
to reach the drums,
1384
01:41:40,386 --> 01:41:41,721
so I couldn't play.
1385
01:41:42,847 --> 01:41:45,325
I was disappointed, 'cause there was
a number of songs on there
1386
01:41:45,349 --> 01:41:48,019
that I think really required me.
1387
01:41:48,102 --> 01:41:49,520
It was a big difference.
1388
01:41:53,232 --> 01:41:55,818
You know, Maureen wasn't in it,
um, sterling was...
1389
01:41:55,901 --> 01:41:59,322
He stopped coming after a while.
I play a lot of guitar on loaded
1390
01:41:59,405 --> 01:42:01,174
you know, it must have been
very frustrating for him
1391
01:42:01,198 --> 01:42:03,409
to just sit in the control room for hours,
you know,
1392
01:42:03,492 --> 01:42:07,079
while some little part was,
you know, thrashed out.
1393
01:42:07,788 --> 01:42:11,792
I knew that they were making records,
I knew that — I never met Doug.
1394
01:42:12,501 --> 01:42:14,045
I don't...
1395
01:42:14,128 --> 01:42:18,257
But whatever it was,
it wasn't my business anymore.
1396
01:42:18,341 --> 01:42:20,092
And Lou made it clear
it wasn't my business.
1397
01:42:21,969 --> 01:42:25,014
They were unique
in the very beginning.
1398
01:42:25,097 --> 01:42:29,310
Every member was an equal contributor
in their own right, you know.
1399
01:42:29,393 --> 01:42:31,562
But now they were like
a regular rock and roll band,
1400
01:42:31,646 --> 01:42:35,650
and — and they had a brilliant,
creative person totally in charge.
1401
01:42:35,733 --> 01:42:38,319
And Lou had tons of pop songs.
1402
01:42:39,445 --> 01:42:43,157
And Lou started to find his own voice.
1403
01:42:45,284 --> 01:42:49,288
Pop dissolved high culture.
That's what Lou brought in.
1404
01:42:49,372 --> 01:42:51,707
That came bubbling out of long island,
1405
01:42:51,791 --> 01:42:55,836
melting the crystalline structure,
which was just what we had had in mind.
1406
01:42:59,173 --> 01:43:01,634
J“ standing on the corner j“
1407
01:43:03,844 --> 01:43:06,472
j“ suitcase r'n my hand j“
1408
01:43:07,264 --> 01:43:10,685
j“ Jack is in his corset
Jane is r'n her vest j“
1409
01:43:12,269 --> 01:43:14,605
j“ and me, I'm r'n a rock and roll band j“
1410
01:43:15,564 --> 01:43:16,649
j“ huh! J“
1411
01:43:18,067 --> 01:43:20,444
j“ riding r'n a stutz bearcat, jrm j“
1412
01:43:21,570 --> 01:43:24,865
j“ you know, those were different times j“
1413
01:43:26,659 --> 01:43:29,495
j“ oh, all the poets
they studied rules of verse j“
1414
01:43:29,578 --> 01:43:33,249
j“ and those ladies
they rolled their eyes j“
1415
01:43:36,168 --> 01:43:40,172
j“ sweet Jane j“
1416
01:43:40,965 --> 01:43:45,302
j“ sweet Jane oh-oh j“
1417
01:43:45,386 --> 01:43:48,639
j“ sweet Jane j“
1418
01:43:48,723 --> 01:43:51,851
I just think it's fantastic that
we can play this stuff in public.
1419
01:43:51,934 --> 01:43:54,812
I mean, you know, it really turns me on
that it turns them on.
1420
01:43:54,895 --> 01:43:57,189
J“ and Jane, she is a clerk j“
1421
01:43:57,273 --> 01:43:59,859
We don't have any point to prove
or any ax to grind,
1422
01:43:59,942 --> 01:44:03,112
or, uh, just anything
to tell anybody else.
1423
01:44:03,195 --> 01:44:06,031
J“ and when
when they come home fl'om work j“
1424
01:44:08,576 --> 01:44:10,369
He knew he was talented.
1425
01:44:10,453 --> 01:44:15,082
He knew he — he was a great
guitar player and a great songwriter.
1426
01:44:16,041 --> 01:44:20,504
And we weren't getting anywhere
as far as what he hoped to achieve.
1427
01:44:21,756 --> 01:44:24,675
And, damn it...
When is this gonna happen?
1428
01:44:25,885 --> 01:44:29,180
J“ but anyone who ever had a heart j“
1429
01:44:29,805 --> 01:44:34,185
j“ oh, they wouldn't turn around
and break it j“
1430
01:44:35,060 --> 01:44:38,397
j“ and anyone who ever played a part j“
1431
01:44:38,481 --> 01:44:42,777
j“ oh, they wouldn't turn around
and hate it j“
1432
01:44:44,487 --> 01:44:48,407
j“ sweet Jane oh, whoa j“
1433
01:44:49,033 --> 01:44:52,161
j“ sweet Jane j“
1434
01:44:58,793 --> 01:45:00,920
Then came the show at Max's.
1435
01:45:03,506 --> 01:45:04,924
He just ground to a halt.
1436
01:45:07,676 --> 01:45:10,221
J“ here comes the ocean j“
1437
01:45:10,888 --> 01:45:16,227
j“ and the waves down by the sea j“
1438
01:45:16,310 --> 01:45:18,521
To think that this is after five years,
1439
01:45:18,604 --> 01:45:25,110
they're playing upstairs at Max's
with a way shrunken band.
1440
01:45:25,194 --> 01:45:29,323
J“ and the waves, where have they been? J“
1441
01:45:33,953 --> 01:45:37,206
He was growling,
just barely getting through it.
1442
01:45:37,289 --> 01:45:39,208
Really not having any fun.
1443
01:45:39,291 --> 01:45:43,838
J“ it could just drive me crazy j“
1444
01:45:43,921 --> 01:45:45,899
I'd kind of decided to go back to school.
1445
01:45:45,923 --> 01:45:49,927
Uh, get away
from all of that sort of thing.
1446
01:45:51,679 --> 01:45:53,448
He just didn't wanna tell us, I think.
1447
01:45:53,472 --> 01:45:57,560
Uh, he didn't run away, but when he told
us was as we walked in the airport.
1448
01:45:57,643 --> 01:45:59,854
He finally said, "I'm not going."
1449
01:46:02,106 --> 01:46:05,109
And he did tell me
the reason he did that
1450
01:46:05,192 --> 01:46:07,152
was he was afraid
they'd talk him out of it.
1451
01:46:07,945 --> 01:46:10,030
Moe would cry. No.
1452
01:46:11,574 --> 01:46:15,411
Moe said it was like being
stabbed in the heart by him.
1453
01:46:15,494 --> 01:46:18,414
J“ ...Ofthe/andj“
1454
01:46:18,497 --> 01:46:25,462
j“ that has been down by the sea j“
1455
01:46:26,672 --> 01:46:31,552
I had gone to see them at Max's,
and the set was over,
1456
01:46:31,635 --> 01:46:35,014
and Lou came and walked towards the exit.
1457
01:46:35,097 --> 01:46:37,516
I said, "oh, Lou."
He just kept walking really fast.
1458
01:46:39,393 --> 01:46:42,605
And then someone said,
"he just quit the band."
1459
01:46:42,688 --> 01:46:45,357
J“ down by the sea j“
1460
01:46:46,609 --> 01:46:49,862
he just quit. That's it.
That's — he — it's over.
1461
01:46:52,239 --> 01:46:58,704
J“ here comes the ocean and the waves j“
1462
01:46:58,787 --> 01:47:01,749
j“ down by the shore j“
1463
01:47:05,586 --> 01:47:09,298
j“ here comes the ocean j“
1464
01:47:09,381 --> 01:47:12,051
j“ and the waves... j“
1465
01:47:12,134 --> 01:47:15,346
After he left the band, he went
and stayed at his parents' house
1466
01:47:15,429 --> 01:47:17,056
for a year and a half or something.
1467
01:47:17,806 --> 01:47:21,936
He was trying to get it together,
I guess, his brains.
1468
01:47:22,519 --> 01:47:25,582
- There'd been, like, uh, a real...
- Problem with management.
1469
01:47:25,606 --> 01:47:27,524
I went off to lick my wounds.
1470
01:47:27,608 --> 01:47:29,777
My mother had told me
when I was in school, she said,
1471
01:47:29,860 --> 01:47:33,489
"you should take typing so you have
a profession to fall back on."
1472
01:47:33,572 --> 01:47:38,494
J“ I am a lazy son
lne ver get things done j“
1473
01:47:38,577 --> 01:47:43,207
j“ made up mostly of water j“
1474
01:47:43,290 --> 01:47:45,876
j“ and here j“
1475
01:47:45,960 --> 01:47:49,004
j“ come the waves j“
1476
01:47:52,257 --> 01:47:55,135
j“ down by the shore j“
1477
01:47:55,219 --> 01:47:57,805
They had shined so brightly
1478
01:47:57,888 --> 01:48:02,977
that no space could contain
that amount of light being put out.
1479
01:48:11,110 --> 01:48:14,989
You need physics
to describe that band at its height.
1480
01:48:15,072 --> 01:48:18,075
J“ here come the waves j“
1481
01:48:21,161 --> 01:48:25,499
it had entropy within it.
1482
01:48:26,583 --> 01:48:30,587
J“ here come the waves j“
1483
01:48:39,763 --> 01:48:43,308
J“ here come the waves j“
1484
01:49:15,424 --> 01:49:21,472
J“ here come the waves j“
1485
01:49:25,934 --> 01:49:31,940
j“ here come the waves j“
1486
01:49:36,236 --> 01:49:41,200
j“ here come the waves j“
1487
01:49:49,416 --> 01:49:51,668
Hello? Yeah.
1488
01:49:52,211 --> 01:49:53,295
It's Barbara.
1489
01:49:56,090 --> 01:49:58,008
Hmm. Hey, is anything happening?
1490
01:49:58,926 --> 01:50:00,052
Oh, great.
1491
01:50:00,803 --> 01:50:06,058
Oh, don't be silly. Just get something
over here quick.
1492
01:50:06,141 --> 01:50:07,267
I'll talk to you later.
1493
01:50:11,021 --> 01:50:12,701
Do you like the way the colors go in that?
1494
01:50:12,773 --> 01:50:14,250
- —Mm.
- They're very strange.
1495
01:50:14,274 --> 01:50:16,193
They're photo — photographs or...
1496
01:50:16,276 --> 01:50:18,505
- No, they're — they're paintings.
- —They look nice.
1497
01:50:18,529 --> 01:50:20,697
But there's one
of the velvet underground in there.
1498
01:50:20,781 --> 01:50:22,658
- —Oh.
- Isn't that amazing?
1499
01:50:22,741 --> 01:50:24,952
That is amazing. Oh.
1500
01:50:25,661 --> 01:50:26,954
Who's this one person?
1501
01:50:27,037 --> 01:50:28,677
- That's sterling.
- —oh, sterling.
1502
01:50:29,331 --> 01:50:31,792
Oh, I missed that one. Oh.
1503
01:50:31,875 --> 01:50:33,061
Do you still see any of them?
1504
01:50:33,085 --> 01:50:36,964
Yeah, I saw, uh, Maureen last week.
1505
01:50:37,548 --> 01:50:39,550
Yeah,
she's a computer programmer now.
1506
01:50:39,633 --> 01:50:41,528
- Yeah. She works in a factory.
- What do...
1507
01:50:41,552 --> 01:50:42,904
- In more than one sense.
- —Really?
1508
01:50:42,928 --> 01:50:43,929
Hmm.
1509
01:50:44,596 --> 01:50:46,807
IBM. She's got a kid.
1510
01:50:46,890 --> 01:50:49,518
You still in contact with John?
John Cale?
1511
01:50:50,144 --> 01:50:52,479
Yeah, I heard from him the other day.
1512
01:50:52,563 --> 01:50:55,440
What is he — what is —
He's still writing, of course, but...
1513
01:50:55,524 --> 01:50:58,026
He — he's working
for island records and, uh...
1514
01:50:58,902 --> 01:51:00,902
Oh, he's with island?
Oh. I didn't realize...
1515
01:51:00,946 --> 01:51:03,198
He was with Warner brothers,
now he's with island.
1516
01:51:13,876 --> 01:51:15,711
It took us a while to get here.
1517
01:51:19,214 --> 01:51:23,635
J“ I don't know j“
1518
01:51:23,719 --> 01:51:26,138
J“ just where I'm going j“
1519
01:51:29,683 --> 01:51:33,687
j“ but I'm going to try j“
1520
01:51:33,770 --> 01:51:35,898
j“ for the kingdom if / can j“
1521
01:51:36,899 --> 01:51:41,403
j“ 'cause it makes
me feel like I'm a man j“
1522
01:51:42,154 --> 01:51:46,200
j“ when / put a spike into my vein j“
1523
01:51:46,867 --> 01:51:50,913
j“ oh, lte/I you
things aren't quite the same j“
1524
01:51:51,872 --> 01:51:55,417
j“ when I'm rushing on my run j“
1525
01:51:56,460 --> 01:51:59,796
j“ and / feel just like Jesus'son j“
1526
01:52:00,839 --> 01:52:04,051
j“ and / guess I just don't know j“
1527
01:52:04,927 --> 01:52:07,888
j“ and / guess that I just don't know j“
1528
01:52:18,607 --> 01:52:20,317
J'lj'
1529
01:52:23,195 --> 01:52:24,905
j“ don't know j“
1530
01:52:27,157 --> 01:52:30,327
j“ we decided a couple of things j“
1531
01:52:38,961 --> 01:52:40,921
J“but/j“
1532
01:52:43,715 --> 01:52:45,717
j“ know that I'm j“
1533
01:52:47,344 --> 01:52:50,555
j“ gonna try and negate my life j“
1534
01:52:50,639 --> 01:52:54,810
j“ 'cause when the blood begins to flow j“
1535
01:52:55,769 --> 01:52:58,981
j“ when it shoots up the dropperis neck j“
1536
01:52:59,773 --> 01:53:02,859
j“ when I'm closing r'n on death j“
1537
01:53:14,871 --> 01:53:16,873
J“ you can't help me j“
1538
01:53:16,957 --> 01:53:19,960
j“ not you guys
or all you sweet pretty girls j“
1539
01:53:20,043 --> 01:53:22,129
j“ with all your sweet pretty talk j“
1540
01:53:22,754 --> 01:53:25,924
j“ you can all go take a walk j“
1541
01:53:26,591 --> 01:53:29,720
j“ and / guess I just don't know j“
1542
01:53:30,595 --> 01:53:33,765
j“ and / guess that I just don't know j“
1543
01:53:43,942 --> 01:53:45,527
J'lj'
1544
01:53:48,071 --> 01:53:49,990
j“ wish that j“
1545
01:53:52,159 --> 01:53:55,162
j“ / was born a thousand years ago j“
1546
01:54:04,546 --> 01:54:06,089
J“and/j“
1547
01:54:09,134 --> 01:54:10,844
j“ wish that j“
1548
01:54:13,013 --> 01:54:16,391
j“ I'd sarled the darkened seas j“
1549
01:54:17,476 --> 01:54:21,104
j“ on a great, brg c/rpper shrp j“
1550
01:54:22,314 --> 01:54:26,443
j“ goin'from this land here to that j“
1551
01:54:27,277 --> 01:54:31,114
j“ put on a sailors suit and cap j“
1552
01:54:49,591 --> 01:54:53,804
J“ away from the brg cities j“
1553
01:54:53,887 --> 01:54:57,015
j“ where a man cannot be free j“
1554
01:54:57,099 --> 01:55:00,727
j“ of all of the evrl in this town j“
1555
01:55:00,811 --> 01:55:04,398
j“ and of hrmse/f and those around j“
1556
01:55:04,481 --> 01:55:08,026
j“ oh, and / guess
I just don't know j“
1557
01:55:08,110 --> 01:55:12,114
j“ oh, and / guess
that I just don't know j“
1558
01:55:51,945 --> 01:55:58,660
J“ and what costume
shall the poor girl wear j“
1559
01:56:01,496 --> 01:56:06,543
j“ to all tomorrows parties? J“
1560
01:56:09,254 --> 01:56:15,552
j“ a hand-me-down dress
from who-knows-where j“
1561
01:56:18,430 --> 01:56:23,560
j“ to all tomorrows parties j“
1562
01:56:26,229 --> 01:56:31,359
j“ and where wrl/ she go
and what shall she do j“
1563
01:56:31,443 --> 01:56:35,697
j“ when midnrght comes around? J“
1564
01:56:39,075 --> 01:56:45,290
j“ she 'i/ turn once more
to sundays clown j“
1565
01:56:48,251 --> 01:56:52,923
j“ and cry behind the door j“
1566
01:57:33,880 --> 01:57:40,387
J“ and what costume shall
the poor girl wear j“
1567
01:57:43,473 --> 01:57:48,353
j“ to all tomorrows parties? J“
1568
01:57:51,022 --> 01:57:57,237
j“ why, srlks and linens
of yesterdays gowns j“
1569
01:58:00,282 --> 01:58:05,287
j“ to all tomorrows parties? J“
1570
01:58:07,872 --> 01:58:13,086
j“ and what will she do
with Thursdays rags j“
1571
01:58:13,169 --> 01:58:17,299
j“ when Monday comes around? J“
1572
01:58:20,760 --> 01:58:26,891
j“ she 'i/ turn once more
to sundays clown j“
1573
01:58:29,811 --> 01:58:34,566
j“ and cry behind the door j“
1574
01:59:33,083 --> 01:59:39,506
J“ and what costume shall
the poor girl wear j“
1575
01:59:42,467 --> 01:59:47,639
j“ to all tomorrows parties? J“
1576
01:59:50,016 --> 01:59:56,064
j“ for Thursdays chrld is sundays clown j“
1577
01:59:58,900 --> 02:00:03,947
j“ for whom none wrl/ go mourning j“
1578
02:00:06,574 --> 02:00:11,496
j“ a blackened shroud
a hand-me-down gown j“
1579
02:00:11,579 --> 02:00:16,459
j“ of rags and silks, a costume j“
1580
02:00:19,379 --> 02:00:21,631
j“ fit for one j“
1581
02:00:21,715 --> 02:00:27,178
j“ who sits and cries j“
1582
02:00:28,012 --> 02:00:33,560
j“ for all tomorrows parties j“
128986
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