As with a few other artists featured here on FNJ, there really isn't much my meager writing abilities can add to the legacy of the Velvet Underground. There have been numerous books, articles, and blog posts written about one of the most influential bands in the history of rock and roll, but keep in mind that the band released a total of five albums, never had even the slightest sniff of commercial success, went through numerous incarnations in their, more or less, eight year (1964-1972) career, and they were still considered the #19 greatest band of all time in Rolling Stone's list of the "100 Greatest Artists of All Time" (and is proof that Rolling Stone isn't always wrong...). They did reunite a time of two in the nineties, and the last time they played together was at their induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1996. Sadly, of the band's four core members--Lou Reed, John Cale, Sterling Morrison, and Maureen Tucker--only Cale and Tucker are still with us.
Lou Reed originally wrote "Heroin" in 1964 while he worked as a songwriter for a record company, which, surprisingly enough, wasn't interested in a song about shooting narcotics into one's veins. The song was worked on for a few years before being released on the Velvet Underground's debut album, The Velvet Underground & Nico in 1967. Needless to say, there weren't a lot of radio stations playing a song about shooting narcotics into one's veins in 1967, so there'll be no call outs for the Billboard Hot 100 this week. The album would go on to sell approximately 30,000 copies, never getting higher than #198 (kind of weak bullet?) on the Billboard 200, but would end up at #13 on Rolling Stone's "500 Greatest Albums of All Time." A reminder that time can often be kind....
As noted above, there isn't much I can add to the song's legacy any more than I can to the band's legacy, but in taking the time over the past several days to listen to it again and again, I couldn't help but notice (as one who followed Reed's career from the early 80's onward), how much the guitar sound that Reed uses in "Heroin" would remain with him throughout his career. I was surprised how much I hadn't noticed Maureen Tucker's drumming in the song (one can't help but be overwhelmed by Reed's deadpan vocals, the jangly guitars, and Cale's screaming electric viola) before, and how essential it is to the song's greatness. Listen closely (and whether it was conscious or not, I've never read) you'll hear how much it sounds like a heartbeat, rushing up and down, one would suppose, as a heroin user's would. I'm not a fan of the drug culture, and I'd rather do a swan dive from the Golden Gate Bridge than stick a needle full of heroin into my veins, but the song, and the Velvet Underground's interpretation of it, is one of the most powerful musical listening experiences I've ever had. I don't know that rock and roll ever has really risen to be an art form in the way literature or film have, but "Heroin" is about as close as any rock and roll song has ever come.
Lyric Sheet: "I don't know just where I'm going/But I'm going to try for the kingdom, if I can/Cause it makes me feel like I'm a man/When I put a spike into my vein..."
Enjoy:
Fuck Donald Trump,
emaycee
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