We knew this day would come. In fact, given Lou’s history, the fact that he persisted into the 21st century at all must be considered a minor miracle. Still — a world with Lou Reed in it was a more interesting world, and one we shall not see again.
Lou will not be forgotten, of course. I haven’t sat down and done the hard math on this, but I would guesstimate that of the 100 greatest songs ever written, Lou is responsible for about a dozen. If he had been hit by a bus (or ODed) after The Velvet Underground and Nico came out in 1967, he still would have had a profound impact on rock’n’roll history. As it is his influence is incalculable. So, to hell with calculations. Let’s look back instead at the immortal words of Dr. Thompson, always a comfort at times like these:
[He] was one of God’s own prototypes — a high-powered mutant of some kind who was never even considered for mass production. He was too weird to live and too rare to die — and as far as I’m concerned, that’s just about all that needs to be said about him right now….
He will not be missed — except perhaps in Fat City, where every light in town went dim when we heard he’d finally cashed his check.
Bit of a surreal experience this weekend: I caught the Napa, CA stop on Peter Murphy’s “Mr. Moonlight” tour, where he is playing Bauhaus songs without the assistance of any other members of Bauhaus.
I had strong reservations about this whole concept, but in the end the chance to see Mr. M belting out the classics was just too much to resist. The venue was the charming but somewhat seedy Uptown Theatre, and the crowd was a select group of 65 or so hardy souls, mostly us geezers, but with a handful of younger folks scattered in.
The beginning of the show was not auspicious; “King Volcano” and “Kingdom’s Coming,” two quieter numbers, were marred by technical problems, with Murphy gesticulating irritably to offstage figures. The band members appeared to have an average age of about 19, and the guitar player was brand new, having just learned the repertoire. He had a good haircut, but I did not envy him trying to fill Daniel Ash’s shoes. (Truly, the shoes that no man would want to wear.) (more…)
That is what it should say, on large red signs posted 100 yards in every direction from the Companion Animal Foundation in the Humboldt hamlet of Sunny Brae.
From the outside, the storefront looks like any regular thrift shop, littered with loose clothes and books. But make your way past this innocent facade to the back and you will find yourself facing the mortal peril of the Kitten Room.
Which is just that, a room full of kittens up for adoption. I find it hard to believe that this kind of thing is allowed to go on unregulated. It’s like having a free public crack house down the street. “I’ll just look at the crack,” you tell yourself. “Maybe I’ll smoke a little. But I’m definitely not taking any home with me.”
So far no kittens have wormed their evil way into my household, but that could change at any moment. Deep breath. One day at a time, isn’t that what they say?
