Showing posts with label Andy Warhol. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Andy Warhol. Show all posts
Thursday, June 7, 2007
"WHO THE HELL IS LOU REED !!!???"
"Can You Believe This Type of Response?"
This is the question poised to me from my aunt who grew up in the ... 60's of all things. I was born in the 60's but I never knew who Lou was until much later. As a kid all I knew was Playschool and Top Cat.
Warhol and the Velvets would enter my life much later.
LOU REED AND THE VELVET UNDERGROUND was where it was at as far as I was concerned. It defined a period of art. It also described a time when..... the entire art world was about to crack open and explode its vision all across the universe. Not that its a big deal but that is a far more significant achievement than anything dribbled out of the mouths of mealy singers like the Offspring and ... so many other forgettable crappy bands.
This deliberate stand off between what was accepted and what wasn't was apparent in their sound. Even a few years ago Lou was interviewed about his latest music session on KCRW. He was making music out of a mop handle and a rubber strap -- this was his minimalist instrument. And I thought it was significant enough to mention. Lou did too.
This stuff really did define a period even if it was right or wrong. I think there was a time when early Pink Floyd did this type of "happening" entertainment as well. I liked what the VU biographer said when the street trash, junkies, pop journalists, film makers, and art critics all got together for these events. I don't expect much wisdom to tumble out of the mouths of these junkies but you have to admit that it was interesting.
THE MUSIC MISSION GETS LOST
Today we got professional Wrestling. WHATS THE DIFFERENCE? Its one mans dirt for anothers really. There are a lot of miserable routes available today in which one can entertain ones self. However, they do not have a considerable amount of street quality to them. This stuff made sense because it used a very unique sort of street sensibility.
Confrontation is what made this band interesting. It made a lot of people interesting back in the day. It made Lenny Bruce interesting. It made the Sex Pistols interesting. It made Dice interesting. It made a lot of people interesting. There was a significant amount of destruction centering around these individuals and some people connected to these pop icons died due to their own chaotic direction. I don't suggest that dying for art is a worthy or noble aspiration. But this type of thinking has racked up a very different type of life.
And it continues to fascinate.....
Cantu posted this on June 6, 2007 at 6: 30 PM
Wednesday, December 13, 2006
THE VELVET UNDERGROUND - THE LIVE EVENT
Seeing authentic footage from the, "Exploding Plastic Inevitable" tour is about as likely as seeing a flying saucer. Yet, for the purists here it is. This is some footage, minus sound, that encaptures the brain frenized event.
Lou Reed and Warhol went on this cross country trip. Judging from the posters that I found online they had some sort of budget to play with. This tour made a stop at Hill Auditorium in Ann Arbor, MI. It was billed as, "An Evening With Andy Warhol" and if you ask any aging hipster who remained on college campus after all these years they will tell you they were there or knew someone who was there. But I lived on that campus and we had a ton of cool things come in to play for an audience of maybe 20 - 40 tops.... sometimes an audience of 6. So filling up the entire Hill, which seats about 10,000+ is highly unlikely.
This was a very obscure tour. I only found out about it in the history books. This "famous" tour never makes any VH1 countdown of MUST SEE SHOWS. You will most likely find out about it through reading about Warhol or Lou Reed. Occassionally it will pop up in a art magazine.
Why write about a video from YouTube that has only 6 views? WELL FIRST OF ALL IT IS RARE to find any footage at all. It is very interesting too to see this thing unfold. It was a night of Velvet Underground music, dancing, psychedlic lights and film super imposed over the entire stage. For 1965. THIS WAS IT. This was about as high tech as it gets. The effect is still pretty encouraging and exciting.
The video picks up at the end with more flashing lights. This was the in place to be. It is a recreation of the year 1965. That was the year that Warhol realy broke big to the public.
Its worth a glance.
Lou Reed and Warhol went on this cross country trip. Judging from the posters that I found online they had some sort of budget to play with. This tour made a stop at Hill Auditorium in Ann Arbor, MI. It was billed as, "An Evening With Andy Warhol" and if you ask any aging hipster who remained on college campus after all these years they will tell you they were there or knew someone who was there. But I lived on that campus and we had a ton of cool things come in to play for an audience of maybe 20 - 40 tops.... sometimes an audience of 6. So filling up the entire Hill, which seats about 10,000+ is highly unlikely.
This was a very obscure tour. I only found out about it in the history books. This "famous" tour never makes any VH1 countdown of MUST SEE SHOWS. You will most likely find out about it through reading about Warhol or Lou Reed. Occassionally it will pop up in a art magazine.
Why write about a video from YouTube that has only 6 views? WELL FIRST OF ALL IT IS RARE to find any footage at all. It is very interesting too to see this thing unfold. It was a night of Velvet Underground music, dancing, psychedlic lights and film super imposed over the entire stage. For 1965. THIS WAS IT. This was about as high tech as it gets. The effect is still pretty encouraging and exciting.
The video picks up at the end with more flashing lights. This was the in place to be. It is a recreation of the year 1965. That was the year that Warhol realy broke big to the public.
Its worth a glance.
Wednesday, December 6, 2006
Edie Sedgwick --???? What Does She Have To Do With Rock Music?
Okay... okay, so Edie Sedgwick isn't rock and roll...... She couldn't even hold a guitar much less a heroin needle. So why after all these years after her death are people like me still fascinated with her?
That whole period of Edie and The Warhol Scene continues to fascinate a lot of people because it was so destructive. It was unique too of course but people died during this strange and glorious period from excesses -- drugs for one. The more people danced closer to Warhol's flame they perished.... eventually, one way or the other. Some just lost their sanity - they were the lucky ones.
This song, "If You Close The Door" was actually a Velvet Underground song. And this montage is really kind of haunting. It bothered me for days after I saw it. I think its because I read all about Edie's history and all of her problems. This music is fitting and she is singing it to make matters more disturbing.
I found myself walking the streets of Union Square and Soho at night thinking about the Warhol Scene. I told myself I would eventually get over it. I obsessed over it and tried to crack the chemistry of why this period of history affected so many people since.
It's haunting. This video carries a bit of sadness to it. I want to reach back in time and help this poor woman. But she was not a victim. She destroyed herself willingly. The Velvet Underground painted real pictures in their lyrical landscape and brought that time period to life.
This video is worth watching. But don't let it get you down.
=====================================================
Ted Cantu is the creator of FASCUBE, The Ann Arbor Artists Co-op, MobileCast and half a dozen more off the wall inventions, innovations and notables worth mentioning. He resides in Walled Lake, MI.. and answers to the name Ted Cantu, Oddly Enough.
That whole period of Edie and The Warhol Scene continues to fascinate a lot of people because it was so destructive. It was unique too of course but people died during this strange and glorious period from excesses -- drugs for one. The more people danced closer to Warhol's flame they perished.... eventually, one way or the other. Some just lost their sanity - they were the lucky ones.
This song, "If You Close The Door" was actually a Velvet Underground song. And this montage is really kind of haunting. It bothered me for days after I saw it. I think its because I read all about Edie's history and all of her problems. This music is fitting and she is singing it to make matters more disturbing.
I found myself walking the streets of Union Square and Soho at night thinking about the Warhol Scene. I told myself I would eventually get over it. I obsessed over it and tried to crack the chemistry of why this period of history affected so many people since.
It's haunting. This video carries a bit of sadness to it. I want to reach back in time and help this poor woman. But she was not a victim. She destroyed herself willingly. The Velvet Underground painted real pictures in their lyrical landscape and brought that time period to life.
This video is worth watching. But don't let it get you down.
=====================================================
Ted Cantu is the creator of FASCUBE, The Ann Arbor Artists Co-op, MobileCast and half a dozen more off the wall inventions, innovations and notables worth mentioning. He resides in Walled Lake, MI.. and answers to the name Ted Cantu, Oddly Enough.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
