Music Blog

A Walk On The Wild Side

Nancy's Notes 🖊️♬

My only excuse for what you’re about to read is that I have a lousy head cold, a cough and a sore throat which have thrown me off my game. I know the Mixed Music Bag prompt letters for December are X, Y and Z. However, in my Delsym Cough Syrup-induced stupor, I thought the letters were U, V and W. I spent too much time working on this post and I don’t have the energy or desire to start over. I could have ditched it and skipped this week all together but I think it’s a pretty good write so I decided to keep it as is. Today’s post is brought to you by the letter V.

“The first Velvet Underground album only sold 10,000 copies,
but everyone who bought it formed a band!” –
Brian Eno, musical artist and producer

The Velvet Underground is one of the 20th century’s most influential bands, even though nobody paid attention to them back when they were making records in the 1960s. The original lineup made only four albums but they helped shape the course that punk, art and indie rock took in the years to come.

Their debut album, 1967’s The Velvet Underground & Nico, includes songs about drug addicts, hookers and transvestites; its 1968 follow-up, White Light/White Heat, is even darker. For their last two albums, a 1969 self-titled LP and 1970’s Loaded, the band headed in a more pastoral and folksy direction, even managing a pair of classic songs in “Sweet Jane” and “Rock & Roll”. All these years later, their influence is still being felt.

In 1964, the same year the Beatles first appeared on the Ed Sullivan Show to sing “I Want to Hold Your Hand“, a 22-year-old songwriter by the name of Lou Reed was introduced to the classical musician John Cale. Within a year the two decided to form a band; they named themselves The Velvet Underground after a pornographic novel.

Following a year of playing abstract, highly experimental avant-garde rock and roll to unreceptive, often hostile crowds at small underground East Village nightclubs, the Velvets big break came. Pop artist Andy Warhol was pursuing experimental multimedia projects and, after seeing the Velvets perform, realized they were the rock band he needed to complete his act. Known as the “Exploding Plastic Inevitable” (“EPI”), the extravaganza incorporated psychedelic light shows, exotic whip dancers and short films made by Warhol, all of which occurred on stage while the Velvets played their original music. Warhol had found a muse, and the Velvets had found a promoter.

In the spring of 1966, Warhol funded the Velvet Underground’s first of four studio albums. His only stipulation was they add the striking German model and singer, Nico, to the band. With her sultry but somewhat monotone voice, Nico’s musical contribution was more as novelty than a genuine artistic addition to the group. But more importantly, Warhol knew that her look added an undeniable sexual .… therefore marketable .… dimension to the scruffy Velvets in their beatnik apparel and omnipresent shades.

Although Warhol was the catalyst to their success, the Velvets music was entirely their own conception. Hailed as one of the most significant experimental, avant-garde rock and roll groups in history, The Velvet Underground’s music combined the poetic lyrics of Lou Reed with multiple layers of feedback at deafening volume, white noise, droning violins and dreamy, yet purely rock and roll melodies.

In addition to their musical experimentation, the Velvet Underground was also ground-breaking lyrically. While bands on the West Coast were singing idealistic songs about peace and love, the Velvets were singing realistic songs about heroin, sexual kinkiness, and the edgier side of life on the wild side … the streets of New York City.

The Velvet Underground’s music remains as a landmark in the evolution of alternative music; however, despite its great artistic success and lasting influence, the group realized very little commercial success and only remained together until 1970, when Lou Reed left to pursue a solo career.

While few people doubt the greatness of “Sweet Jane”, no one can quite figure out what it means. The lyrics, at times, seem to be a literal story about three real characters. However, as the song progresses, it delves into something much darker and more symbolic. Fans have long tried to take the song apart, theorizing that it’s about drugs, the rock n’ roll lifestyle, or a criticism of societal expectations. 

The characters Jack and Jane are old-fashioned, older, a middle class banker and a clerk – not youthful bohemians. And they’re sure not in a rock and roll band like Lou Reed. He would be the first to say that feelings outweigh true meaning .… that the meaning of “Sweet Jane” isn’t as important as the emotions the song evokes. It’s a reminder to enjoy life, not take things at face value, and to have empathy for others.

In 2021, Rolling Stone ranked “Sweet Jane” #294 on its list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. The Velvet Underground was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 1996.

This is “Sweet Jane” by The Velvet Underground

And this is a later live version:

Mixed Music Bag 2024 – week 50 – I heard it on the grape Vines.

Big thanks to Glyn Wilton for hosting Mixed Music Bag every week. Please be sure to follow the link and check out Glyn’s site.

Thanks for joining me today and spinning some tunes.

See you on the flip side. 😎

NAR©2024

All text, graphics and videos are copyright for Nancy ~ The Sicilian Storyteller, Nancy (The Sicilian Storyteller), The Sicilian Storyteller, The Elephant’s Trunk, and The Rhythm Section and are not to be used without permission. NAR©2017-present.

49 thoughts on “A Walk On The Wild Side”

  1. The don’t make bands like that any more!

    A valiant effort Nancy, considering your current state of unwellness, I hope things get better soon. In the meantime I’ll sit well away from my screen to prevent myself from becoming infected!

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    1. You’re wise to keep your distance, Keith. I’m incredibly stuffed up today, drinking lots of tea and plenty of chicken soup. Fortunately, I have nowhere to go for the next couple of days so I can rest up.

      You’re so right about the Velvets. I was stoked to feature them and I’m glad you enjoyed my piece.

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  3. Sending you healing vibes, Nancy. Did you test for Covid? Sounds very similar to the crap I was feeling a month ago…

    I love the research you do on these babies. And there is no such thing as a mistake so, you were meant to write about them!

    Love this song.

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    Reply

    1. Covid tests neg. It’s just a cold/cough. This happens to me around the holidays when my resistance is down, for whatever reason. Bill got some good chicken soup from the deli. Have tea and Vicks, Advil. Just need to wait it out.

      Thanks for such high praise! I love your comment about no such thing as a mistake! 😂

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  6. It took me a while to really get into The Velvet Underground but i’m glad I did, eventually. Great ‘Sweet Jane’ live track Nancy. I hope you feel better soon. I got it wrong this week myself. Next one will definitely be X,Y and Z.

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  8. Before the Grateful Dead changed their name, they were the Worlocks, and two other bands had the same name, ZZ Top and the Velvet Underground. The Grateful Dead have a song called Truckin’, where they discuss Sweet Jane.

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  11. I love this band and song. Two bands that remind me of them in terms of public perception were Big Star and The Replacements….both were the best bands you never heard….and I would say the same thing to The VU.

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      1. Sorry to hear that, hope you’ll soon be back at 💯%

        I love the Cowboy Junkies, and especially Margo Timmins! Their recorded version of this is superb but the live version takes it to another level. There’s a video from the same concert of them playing Neil Young’s ‘Helpless,’ which is also incredible.

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  13. Beware of the cough syrup side effects, it makes for some strange writing. A weird band at the time, but now a classic. I had one of their albums but must have loaned it to someone back in the day. Get well soon, and try some chicken soup and mustard plaster or Vicks, those old remedies really work well.

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      1. My late grandmother was a full blooded Cherokee raised on the Indian nation in Oklahoma. She swore on many remedies that would either cure you or make you wish you were dead. Mustard plasters, tonics, horse liniments, a chicken leg on a leather strap. Things like that. She was a medical shaman and no one in her family was ever ill if she was around. You are on the right path.

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        1. As far as I know I’m all Sicilian without a drop of Cherokee in me. I have very fond memories of my Great Aunt Chesaria who was the medical shaman in my childhood neighborhood. Aunt Chesaria would swoop in on those who were sick and begin her ritual. First she would close the drapes in the patient’s room. She would then proceed to draw a birdcage in ink on the patient’s earlobes; the door to these cages would be left in the open position to allow the evil spirits to escape. Last, she would place a lit tea candle on the chest of the patient meant to attract and capture the evil spirits. Turning off the lights in the room, Aunt Chesaria would usher everyone out. She would close the door and sit by the patient while he/she slept, chanting prayers for the sick.

          I know a bit about these things of which you speak.

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