The Velvet Underground & Nico were not immediately popular, in fact they were called “Disgusting” and “Terrible”. The music was folk inspired, with a spectrum of rock and dissonance. They were met with disdain, and heavy criticism.
Lou Reed and John Cale both frowned upon conforming, and would rather break away and write music the world was not ready for than adhere to what people recognized as rock. They were purposefully evocative, and frequented less savory social circles. They attacked the meaning of rock, and attempted to push it to the very boundaries it had expanded itself. Lou Reed lent the initially shocking and barrier-defining lyrics, and Cale supplied the the haunting vocals that composed multiple tracks over their history.
Andy Warhol, a pop producer supported and produced The Velvet Underground after having lost his interest and faith in painting. He wholly supported them, and was a part of the entire process of production. He found their music to be fresh, edgy, and unknown, which are arguably properties that Andy Warhol was best known for. Andy Warhol acted as the catalyst to The Velvet’s success in the long run.
The Velvet’s music was dark, and brooding. It rejected the proper way of the world and brought to light the lives of the underworld (or people who lived day to day lives). Being produced and promoted by Andy Warhol injected them with an essence of the pop scene, adding to their image a mystifying airy attitude that confounded early listeners. The style of music, and lyrical progressions went on to influence the punk generation, taking wholly from the Velvet’s total disregard for what was considered the building blocks of music.
As a listener, I find Velvet’s music rather enjoyable. It reminds me of many bands that I enjoy such as Violent Femmes. The music is accessible, haunting and discordant sometimes but that is also enjoyable. As a professional, I found the recordings to be masterfully done, able to pick out the entire assembly with ease. The vocals laid over the musical tracks like a cherry on an ice cream cone. The sound is crisp, muddy rarely and over all an enjoyable experience.
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Your post on The Velvet Underground and Nico was very well written. I can tell you understood the information you read. I agreed with the bands you have compared The Velvet Underground and Nico too.The way you explained their music and the darkness of it was very agreeable. I like how you explained where all of their ideas came from and how the darkness was evened out by the inspiration of the pop music brought to them by their producer Andy Warhol. I understand where you are coming from when you say the music was rarely muddy but the times it was muddy it was for a reason and it made the sound they were looking for. The muddiness came from the hardware they were using and their subs, it did not come from them personally playing and i think that is what you meant by that. I really enjoyed reading your blog. Thank you.