I remember when this first came out. Even Lou Reed's biggest shill, Lester Bangs at CREEM Magazine, was forced to slam this as the product of a meth-ravaged mind. The double album was four sides of indistinguishable feedback. Even though Lou dutifully listed every one of the two dozen devices he used, it still sounded like a rush hour NYC traffic jam. I would play it after SPOILER band practice when everyone was too drunk to protest. It was something you would play at full blast when your neighbor's party got too loud. It was like Andre the Giant cutting the cheese when he wanted to evacuate an elevator car.
For 21st century musicians, it defined the Velvet Underground's frequent forays into white noise. Yet one does not have to risk blowing their speakers or eardrums in creating feedback. Running this through a speaker does the trick. And why not? Rap and hip-hop artists play OPM on their tracks more than one could imagine. And if the ASCAP people come running, well...what cut did you rip off? Which part of the feedback was not original? Can you define exactly which sequence was plagiarized?
And if this isn't your artistic cup of tea, give it as a gift to the neighborhood meth head. He'll dance at your wedding for it.
Love Lou. This recording isnโt for everyone- a few years ago listened to this walking around Manhattan- I liked it I agree it can be hard to listen to it all the way through ๐๐๐ฝ