September 4, 2008

Something Else #19: Velvet Underground

Ever wonder what it would have been like to sit inside Lou Reed's guitar amplifier during a Velvet Underground show? The infamous "Guitar Amp Tape" from March 15, 1969 gives you a good idea.

That night's VU set at the Boston Tea Party was recorded by a fan either directly in front of Reed's amp or actually plugged into it. Vocals and bass are barely audible. It's a guitar onslaught -- crude, frenzied, gnarled, chaotic.

Back in the 1990s, I bought a cassette version of this -- dubbed onto a Maxell XLII tape -- at Adult Crash in the East Village for $8.98. The notes on the front card call this "the blow-out of blow-outs ... a fantastic ride through the guts of the band on a wild night".

I believe the files here are a copy of the 2006 Japanese remaster.
01. I Can't Stand It            5:49
02. Candy Says 4:25
03. I'm Waiting For The Man 7:04
04. Ferryboat Bill 4:36
05. I'm Set Free 4:52
06. What Goes On 7:37
07. White Light/White Heat 7:37
08. Beginning To See The Light 5:35
09. Jesus 3:28
10. Heroin 8:20
11. Sister Ray 26:27
(Parts A and B. mp3/224 kbps; personal use only; do not trade. There is glitch in track 05 at 3:32-3:43, which is present on all versions of this tape.)

***

More glorious guitar noise: Robert Quine absolutely shreds Matthew Sweet's "Girlfriend" and Iggy and the Stooges crash through "TV Eye" from 1970.

15 comments:

nixon33 said...

YEAH!!!!!!!!!!
FUCK YEAH!!!!!!!!!!!!
MOTHERFUCK YEAH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
IVE GO THE TIME TIME

nixon33 said...

THANK YOU ALLAN!!!!!!!!!

said...

"The Joy of Sox"
:-)

allan said...

Posted 1:02
Comment at 1:05

You been waitin' around all day for this, hitting refresh every 20 seconds?!!?

...

Kidney Stone Update:
Saw the urologist this morning. I have not had any pain since Saturday and nothing showed up on a couple of x-rays, so he thinks I passed the stone without knowing it. Which is great.

You know what is also great? That I went to the emergency room, was seen and put in a bed within minutes, had attentive, timely care over several hours by people who understood that someone in pain needs painkillers, had a CT scan, was able to see a specialist five days later (and was given pain meds to take in case of further discomfort before then), had two x-rays taken, was given instructions to get some more blood and urine tests, and all it will cost me is the $6 for parking I paid this morning.

Also, I'm going for my second overnight sleep study tonight. My first one was in July and it turns out I do have obstructive sleep apnea. I will be trying out a C-PAP machine tonight. (I'll post about this later, but cannot recall if I mentioned it at all.) Cost for the two sleepovers: $0.

I like my tax dollars being used in this manner!

Tony said...

Glad you're feeling well, Allan - I hadn't logged in here since Friday and had no idea you were even ill. But it's definitely good news. Hope the sleep apnea tests go well; that's no laughing matter. And I'm glad you managed to get in a dig at us American citizens with our Paleolithic health care system. :p

On the post's subject, I vacillated on the Velvet Underground for a while, before settling them in the "I only like a few of their songs" camp. I've never been impressed by the debut, but am okay with their later albums, which (to me, at least) sound a lot more polished and well-written, without the overwhelming halo the debut has surrounding them. Paradoxically, I can listen to "Sister Ray" all day - kind of like how I'm lukewarm on the Grateful Dead, yet will always give an ear to a '72 version of "Playin' In The Band".

efd said...

Allan, good to see the news about the kidney stone - here's hoping that's the end of it. And good luck with the sleep situation as well.

allan said...

I hadn't logged in here since Friday and had no idea you were even ill.

It started up Saturday morning!

I've never been impressed by the debut, but am okay with their later albums

I wish I could listen to the debut with 1967 ears (or any older album in the context in which it was first heard).

allan said...

I had forgotten that Quine was a VU-addict and taped a lot of their shows. He also toured with Lou in the 80s.

That Letterman clip is great. He's back in the shadows, oozing coolness ...

nick said...


I wish I could listen to the debut with 1967 ears (or any older album in the context in which it was first heard).


definitely so. I try to do that, but being such a young'un I've got a lot of musical/social history to negate.

Went out to grab lunch this afternoon, blaring Hawkwind's Space Ritual. so freakin' great. came back to work, watched the two videos (loving the voice over on the iggy) and got in a conversation about 1970, Hawkwind, Sabbath, Pink Floyd, Stooges, VU, 13th Floor Elevators.... it goes on and on, but as amazing as that stuff is now, trying to contextualize it and freshen up the ears is quite the task.

Thanks! (and good to hear you've been pain-free since Sat. I've been curious, but hadn't asked).

JFett said...

Wow. I've had three significant health issues in my life - kidney stones, sleep apnea, and a heart attack. I really hope you only have to deal with the first two.

I know you've probably gotten tons of advice, but here's some more anyway. My urologist told me that there were many ways to reduce kidney stones and he's read about all of them. His conclusion is to just drink more water. So I drink 32 oz of water every morning and 32 oz every afternoon and I haven't had a stone since. This is in addition to all the other stuff I drink (coffee, soda, beer).

I do sleep with a CPAP and have for the last 7 years or so. It took a very short time to get used to (really just a few days), but I sleep so much better now. It has really given me a significant energy boost. I hope you have the same results.

As far as the heart goes, well, just stay healthy my friend.

P.S. L-girl – thanks for the great dog pictures on wmtc the other day. They were great!

allan said...

Stones: Doc definitely mentioned drinking a lot of water.

C-PAP: I look forward to waking up in the morning and feeling refreshed. I cannot remember the last time that happened. I know I have not always felt so tired all day, but it's been many years.

nixon33 said...

HAWKWIND ARE GREAT, I DONT ALIKE ALL THE STUFF BUT SOME OF IT IS GREAT. ESPECIALLY THAT LEMMY WAS IN THE FUCKING BAND EARLY ON.
'SILVER MACHINE' (OBVIOUSLY) AND 'MASTER OF THE UNIVERSE' ARE THE SHIT.
SPACEMEN 3 STARTED UP WHERE THE STOOGES AND HAWKWIND LEFT OFF.
ANYONE LIKE LOOP? ONE OF MY FAVORITE BANDS, IF NOT THE FAVORITE.

nixon33 said...

of course my fucking INTERNET IS SLOW AS A CUNT TODAY> MOTEHR FUCKER, its gonna take me a while to d/l this shite.

laura k said...

P.S. L-girl – thanks for the great dog pictures on wmtc the other day. They were great!

Thank you Jeff!! So glad you enjoyed them.

nick said...

whoop whoop! Nix mentions Spacemen 3 and Loop!

I am a big Sp3head. I like loop quite a bit, but I've never had the connection I had w/ them that I had with Sp3. I thought about Sp3 a lot today while listening to the Stooges and Hawkwind.

Are you familiar with the email list "droneon"? It's a shadow of its former self, but it started 'round '93 as a spacemen 3 oriented list, but generally covers all that is droney and good. Amazing that I've been on it for 15 years. If you like those, Nix, definitely check out the official JoS band, the Decembe Sound.