“The Velvet Underground” gives introductory background on core collaborators Reed and Cale, details their meeting - the former was raw volatile, and the latter comes off as quiet and musically accomplished - and works its way through the group’s six most productive years, 1964-70. The Late and Great: Lou Reed (Courtesy Photo) It diligently and compellingly works through the band’s collaborations with Andy Warhol and singer/actress Nico, Cale’s departure and the band’s disintegration when it failed to meet Reed’s desired level of commercial success. We see Cale and drummer Moe Tucker we only hear Reed and guitarist Sterling Morrison’s voices, both of whom have passed. Friends, contemporaries, relatives and industry types are interviewed you’ll recognize John Waters, Jackson Browne and Jonathan Richman. So the film isn’t wholly challenging, only mostly so, and definitely less so for aficionados who still drop the hi-fi needle on their copy of “The Velvet Underground and Nico.” In fact, you’ll be grateful for Richman, who cuts the pretension by describing the Velvet Underground’s appeal in enthusiastic and relatable terms.Īlso entertaining are descriptions of the band’s black-cloud arrival on the West Coast - inspiring a negative review by none other than Cher herself - and Tucker’s amusingly virulent dismissal of the peace-and-love hippie movement. Those folks also will intuit the subtext, hearing the band’s influence on punk and New Wave and noise rock and indie rock and lo-fi and Nick Cave and Swans and Sonic Youth and Joy Division and U2 and Talking Heads and Sunn 0))), and, and, and. The Velvet Underground inspired a cottage industry of musical artists who popped in the ’70s and ’80s and even more so in the ’90s. VIDEO: “The Velvet Underground” (Official Trailer) Wikipedia will give you the complete dry story of the band, but this is the slippery-wet version, the one that aims for the nebulous heart of a true artistic movement, delivering the vibe, the sauce, the juice, the air, the atmosphere. John Serba is a veteran film and rock critic, formerly of and The Grand Rapids Press, and an “unapologetic metalhead.A central notion of Todd Haynes’ new documentary on The Velvet Underground is the concept of extended time, which appears to encapsulate the narrative of a band we often find it difficult to have a consensus on by juxtaposing immediacy and endurance.
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