The Velvet Underground & Nico

Hailing from New York City, The Velvet Underground was the most influential rock band of the 60’s, and playing together for only four years from 1966 to 1970. They were one of the first rock groups to experiment heavily by incorporating avant-garde influences. Their sound was dark, noisy, very raw, and difficult to listen to at times, and their lyrical content consisted of overt descriptions of topics such as drug abuse, prostitution, sadism and masochism, and sexual deviancy. The Velvet Underground would later influence many artists in the punk, noise rock, and alternative genres.

The primary songwriters in The Velvet Underground were singer-guitarist Lou Reed, and avant-garde Welsh musician, composer-singer John Cale. John Cale took up his musician studies at The Bernstein Scholarship, and was influenced greatly by his work with La Monte Young, John Cage, and the early Fluxus movement. Much of the The Velvet Underground’s sound was conceived by John Cale, who stressed the experimental qualities of the band, and thought his sensibilities meshed well with Lou Reed’s, who experimented with alternate tunings. Through Reed’s experimentation of alternate tunings, he invented the “Ostrich Tuning,” which consists of all strings being tuned to the same note. The method was utilized on the songs “Venus in Furs” and “All Tomorrow’s Parties.”

The Velvet Underground were supported, promoted, and produced by American painter, printmaker, and filmaker Andy Warhol. Andy Warhol’s goal for The Velvet Underground was to combine three elements such as music, art, and films. However, his only real participation in the album's production was providing funding for studio time.

One of the characteristics of The Velvet Underground & Nico album that set it apart from other popular recordings of the mid-60s was the pairing of art and pop music due in part to their relationship with Andy Warhol, their mentor/manager. Another characteristic would be their lyrical content, which were dark and poetic, yet simplistic; talking about drug abuse, prostitution, sadism and masochism, and sexual deviancy.

As an industry professional, I can understand how their music was popular amongst the anti-pop culture, but as a listener, The Velvet Underground & Nico is a bit off the wall and discordant for my taste. The guitars were way out of tune, the vocals sound very lazy and monotonous, the performance sounded “loose” at times, and the music overall is just too noisy and rackety, in my opinion.