#424: The Velvet Underground - The Velvet Underground (1969)

Emily: Zack has every artist on this list categorized so we can arrive at some semblance of balance as we work our way through. The Velvet Underground is labeled as "experimental," a subset of rock that can vary wildly in its tone and general enjoyability. That moniker made sense for The Velvet Underground & Nico, an experimental album and earlier foray by the band that I rather enjoyed when we listened to it a few years ago. However, the category doesn't fit at all for this later self-titled album. I found the music to be remarkable in its simplicity, a sweet yet melancholy collection of ballads that veer toward the folk end of folk-rock. It's a supremely unexpected step for a band known for the unexpected, and it's a step that I rather enjoyed.
Favorite Tracks: Pale Blue Eyes; What Goes On; Candy Says

Zack: Before this album, we’ve listened to one of the three Velvet Underground albums (Velvet Underground & Nico) and one of the two Lou Reed albums (Berlin). In addition, I did a pretty serious binge of Lou Reed’s other albums after he died a few years back, which led me to a pretty strong appreciation of tracks like this. I’ve kind of stayed away from anything Velvet Underground/Lou Reed since then. Not intentionally, but there is just so much music out in the world, plus podcasts, movies, TV, and other things to preoccupy time. You look up one day and realize it’s been like 2-3 years since you’ve listened to a band. Happens to the best of us. Anyway, Velvet Underground, the album, was pretty good. A bit more folksy than I was expecting, especially since it came only two years after the more experimental and psychedelic & Nico. But the artists behind Velvet Underground all strike me as people who always wanted to try new things, so the abrupt change in style didn’t catch me that off guard. It was good, but I think I would prefer either & Nico or Berlin to this album.

Favorite Tracks: Pale Blue Eyes; That’s the Story of My Life; Jesus

#248: Antony and the Johnsons - I Am a Bird Now (2005)

Emily: From the photo that makes up I Am a Bird Now's album cover, one could assume that they were in for something dark, depressing, and/or weird. The hospital bed, the sad girl with dark lipstick, the name of the file on Wikipedia including the word "deathbed" - it all points to that. In this case, however, you just can't judge an album by its cover art. I Am a Bird Now, while not exactly upbeat, is neither dark nor depressing nor weird. It's a collection of simple songs full of emotion and personal connections. Antony Hegarty, the lead singer, clearly pours his heart into his work. This shows in the lyrics and music, but it comes through most strongly in the way he sings. The result is a beautiful album that will stay with you, just waiting to be listened to again and again.

Favorite Tracks: You Are My Sister; Fistful of Love; My Lady Story

Zack: The first person to tell me about Antony and the Johnsons was my freshman year suitemate. He hyped it to me in the spring of 2010 because he was excited about their fourth album coming out the following fall in light of their third album, which he had fallen in love with the previous year. Considering his other big recommendation for me was G. Love and the Special Sauce, whose debut album I still enjoy years after we first listened to it for blog-related purposes (BRP), I probably should have heeded it back then. I Am a Bird Now, while not one of the two albums he had such a passion or high expectations for, is just very sweet sounding. It sort of reminded me of Nick Drake, not in tone (definitely not in tone, at all), because of their mutual simplicity. While Antony Hegarty was able to form a complete band and bring in a who’s-who of guest musicians – Lou Reed, Rufus Wainwright, Devendra Banhart and (surprisingly) Boy George! – there’s no denying that the driving force of each song is Hegarty’s piano work and his singing. Even when he cedes some control of the song over to one of these legendary or, at the very least, exceptionally talented musicians, it’s still very clear that each and every song is his creation.

Favorite Tracks: Fistful of Love; My Lady Story; You Are My Sister

#133: Lou Reed - Berlin (1973)

Emily: Usually I like to do a little research on the albums we listen to as we’re listening. However, my Internet was down for a while, so I didn’t get to do that with Lou Reed – and I’m glad it worked out that way. You see, Berlin is a concept album about a doomed relationship, drugs, and depression. Did I know that before I pressed play? Of course not. All I knew was that Lou Reed was the frontman of the Velvet Underground, and that Zack liked the album. As I listened, I picked up on Reed’s lyricism and storytelling. It’s a mix of upbeat and melancholy in both the music and lyrics. With all its ups and downs, I saw it as a reflection of life, which could’ve been way off the mark. Now that I’ve read a little bit about the album, however, I think Lou Reed and I were on the same page. Berlin takes on a universal idea and brings it to a personal level, telling the story of one family that could ring true to almost anyone.

Favorite Tracks: Caroline Says II; How Do You Think It Feels; Men of Good Fortune

Zack: When Berlin originally was released, it received almost universal criticism. Now, it’s universal acclaim. The truth is somewhere in between. It’s a brilliant concept (a star-crossed couple much like Romeo and Juliet who are doomed by drugs and depression rather than the less fun type of family feud and coma-inducing elixirs or as I call them, comixers) that is executed with reasonable success. Despite a sort of high-brow feel that continues the Shakespeare-reminiscent vibe, there is nothing particularly extraordinary about the instrumentation or material that sticks out upon a cursory listen. Usually, with an album such as this, I usually get the feeling that multiple listens are required to truly appreciate what’s going on. I didn’t get that feeling here. I pretty much understood what was going on and I liked it enough. Still, I’m not about to anoint it as a masterpiece or anything. As previously mentioned, the strongest thing Berlin has going for it is its conceptual design. It tells a beautiful story. It just tells it is a sort of conventional way, which wasn’t really what I was expecting from Lou Reed. 

Favorite Tracks: Sad Song; How Do You Think It Feels; The Kids

#98: The Velvet Underground - The Velvet Underground & Nico (1967)

Emily: Even though I had never listened to the Velvet Underground before today, I had one connection set in my head about the band, and that connection was to Andy Warhol. I didn’t know the music, but I knew the banana. Perhaps one of Warhol’s best-known works, the original cover of Velvet Underground & Nico features a banana stylized with the faces of the band. It’s no ordinary drawing, however. This picture peels away to reveal, what else, but a naked banana. I’m sure it wasn’t meant this way, but this cover art reflects how I listened to this album. Not knowing what to expect, I approached this album with an open mind. I enjoyed the first few tracks but didn’t really delve too much into their meaning. However, as I progressed through the album, I became a much more active listener – as if a layer were peeling away. Although clearly I couldn’t detect every nuance of the music and every detail of the lyrics, the meaning and emotion was there for me. Unlike a banana, however, I’m sure there are more layers that I haven’t discovered to the Velvet Underground – and I look forward to exploring them.

Favorite Tracks: I’m Waiting for the Man; Femme Fatale; Heroin

Zack: According to Wikipedia, The Velvet Underground invented edgy music. While I have my doubts as to the truthiness (shout-out to Colbert, of course) of that statement, an emotion accompanied by my surprise that Microsoft Word didn’t even flinch at my use of the word “truthiness,” I can see where they would get that idea. Even just a cursory listen of this album creates the impression that there was some darkness in them there lyrics. Sometimes, it’s a line about making someone kiss your leather boots that sticks out. Other times, it’s the repeated references to heroin in a song arranged to mimic the mind of a speed junkie in a song titled with levels of subtlety comparable to that of Perez Hilton (hint: the song title begins with the letter “H” and ends with “eroin”). That song, mind you, is absolutely superb. The way it accelerates to simulate the rush of injection and then decelerates as if that fix is wearing off is sheer brilliance. While I would definitely point to Heroine as the high point of the album (pun definitely intended) there is no low point to speak of. Every song, whether sung by Nico or Lou Reed, is a beautiful composition. Even Sunday Morning, a song specifically written to be a radio-friendly single, is surprisingly good, despite the contrast with the rest of the harsher, more experimental tracks. The Velvet Underground & Nico is often pointed to as one of the greatest and most influential albums of all time, and one that every single person should definitely listen to before they kick the bucket.
Favorite Tracks: Heroin; Venus is Furs; European Son