Lou’s gallows humour has been giving me a lift recently, a tonic for these troubled times.
There’s just something very apt about his cast of characters ‘that just squeak by’, with no hope of salvation.
His marriage of rock’n’roll music with the language of Burroughs, Ginsberg, Chandler and Tennessee Williams also seems totally timeless, and it’s barely believable that we’re approaching seven years since his death.
The predictable critical narrative is that Reed had a dodgy 1980s, not releasing a decent album until New York.
But I’d throw in ’82’s The Blue Mask and ’84’s New Sensations too; by my reckoning, his only dog of the decade is 1986’s Mistrial. He also seemed to develop, slowly leaving behind the drugs/booze and moving towards higher climes by ’89.
Here’s a selection of the good stuff, often featuring such quality players as Robert Quine, Fernando Sanders, Fred Maher and L Shankar. He put a lot out there, addressing jealousy, addiction, violence, ecological issues. A cliché though it may be, it’s hard to imagine anyone getting away with some of this these days.
Check out the playlist here and lyrics below. Keep calm and listen to Lou…
‘The Power Of Positive Drinking’ (1980)
Some like wine and some like hops
But what I really love is my scotch
It’s the power, the power of positive drinking
Some people ruin their drinks with ice
And then they ask you for advice
They tell you, I’ve never told anyone else before
They say, candy is dandy but liquor makes quipsters
And I don’t like mixers, sippers or sob sisters
You know, you have to be real careful where you sit down in a bar these days
And then some people drink to unleash their libidos
And other people drink to prop up their egos
It’s my burden, man
People say I have the kind of face you can trust
Some people say alcohol makes you less lucid
And I think that’s true if you’re kind of stupid
I’m not the kind that gets himself burned twice
And some say liquor kills the cells in your head
And for that matter so does getting out of bed
When I exit, I’ll go out gracefully, shot in my hand
The pow-pow-pow-pow-power of positive drinking
‘Average Guy’ (1982)
I ain’t no Christian or no born-again saint
I ain’t no cowboy or a Marxist DA
I ain’t no criminal or Reverend Cripple from the right
I am just your average guy, trying to do what’s right
I’m just your average guy, an average guy
I’m average looking and I’m average inside
I’m an average lover and I live in an average place
You wouldn’t know me if you met me face to face
I worry about money and taxes and such
I worry that my liver’s big and it hurts to the touch
I worry about my health and bowels
And the crimewaves in the street
I’m really just your average guy
Trying to stand on his own two feet
Average looks, average taste, average height, average waist
Average in everything I do
My temperature is 98.2
‘Turn To Me’ (1984)
If you gave up major vices
You’re between a hard place and a wall
And your car breaks down in traffic on the street
Remember, I’m the one who loves you
You can always give me a call
Turn to me, turn to me, turn to me
If you father is freebasing and your mother turning tricks
That’s still no reason that you should have a rip
Remember, I’m the one who loves you
You can always give me a call
Turn to me, turn to me, turn to me
When your teeth are ground down to the bone
And there’s nothing between your legs
And some friend died of something that you can’t pronounce
Remember, I’m the one who loves you
You can always give me a call
Turn to me, turn to me, turn to me
You can’t pay your rent
Your boss is an idiot
Your apartment has no heat
Your wife says maybe it’s time to have a child
Remember, I’m the one who loves you
You can always give me a call
Turn to me, turn to me, turn to me
When it’s all too much
You turn the TV set on and light a cigarette
Then a public service announcement comes creeping on
You see a lung corroding or a fatal heart attack
Turn to me, turn to me, turn to me
‘Doin’ The Things We Want To’ (1984)
The other night we went to see Sam’s play
Doin’ the things that we want to
It was very physical, it held you to the stage
Doin’ the things that he want to
The guy’s a cowboy from some rodeo
Doin’ the things that we want to
The girl had once loved him, but now she want to go
Doin’ the things that we want to
The man was bullish, the woman was a tease
Doin’ the things that we want to
They fought with their words, their bodies and their deeds
Doin’ the things that we want to
When they finished fighting, they excited the stage
Doin’ the things that we want to
I was firmly struck by the way they had behaved
Doin’ the things that we want to …
It reminds me of the movies Marty made about New York
Doin’ the things that we want to
Those frank and brutal movies that are so brilliant
Doin’ the things that we want to
‘Fool For Love’ meet ‘The Raging Bull’
Doin’ the things that we want to
They’re very inspirational, I love the things they do
Doin’ the things that we want to
There’s not much you hear on the radio today
Doin’ the things that we want to
But you still can see a movie or a play
Doin’ the things that we want to
Here’s to Travis Bickle and here’s to Johnny Boy
Doin’ the things that we want to
Growing up in the mean streets of New York
Doin’ the things that we want to
I wrote this song ’cause I’d like to shake your hand
Doin’ the things that we want to
In a way you guys are the best friends I ever had
Doin’ the things that we want to
We’ve briefly looked at crap cover versions 
movingtheriver.com 