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Waiting for the man
A biography and critical assessment of Lou Reed as rock star, icon and street poet. Since his days as Andy Warhol's protege performing with the Velvet Underground, Lou Reed has established himself as one of the most creative and startlingly original performers ever to pick up a microphone. An acutely perceptive writer, he has gone from extremes of anti-establishment subversion to supporting worthy causes like Amnesty International and Greenpeace. The story of this transformation and his extraordinary life is included in this book.
336 pages, Hardcover
First published September 16, 2014
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
November 13, 2013
For decades, I was a devoted fan of Lou Reed, and even idolized him in my youth. So when he recently passed away, I went into a state of mourning...but I also wanted to celebrate and revisit the inspirational life of IMO the greatest rock&troll singer/songwriter of all time. I found this book to be incredibly well-researched, with detailed analysis of just about every Lou Reed song and performance up to the 1990's.
because there is so much myth, legend, and contradictions in the life of Lou Reed, exploring his life primarily through his music/lyrics, and relating his continuous evolution as an artist to the verifiable activities and struggles he went through was the best approach to understanding what Lou Reed was about. Of course, interpreting the meanings behind the music (and the things that have been reported about him over the years) requires much subjective analysis, but the author is pretty thorough in presenting an assortment of perspectives and includes many contrasting reviews, interviews, etc. along with his own analysis of Lou's work.
It is important to note that this book was published years before Lou died, so was obviously not an opportunist attempt to cash in on his death. Lou was already a legend before he died. Fortunately for me, I was very familiar with most of Lou's recordings, and had seen him perform live on many occasions over the years, so I had a solid frame of reference to appreciate the author's detailed analysis of the songs and performances over his long, prolific career. of course, I didn't agree with everything the author wrote (he offered knowledgeable opinions over the most nuanced of details in some cases) but his perspectives brought great insight to one of the few heroes I've ever allowed myself to have during my life. my only hope is that he updates the book to cover Lou's later years, and death. Lou was a productive and under-appreciated great American artist almost up to the day he died.
A truly excellent account of Lou Reed; perhaps the most complex and influential underground artist of our time.
because there is so much myth, legend, and contradictions in the life of Lou Reed, exploring his life primarily through his music/lyrics, and relating his continuous evolution as an artist to the verifiable activities and struggles he went through was the best approach to understanding what Lou Reed was about. Of course, interpreting the meanings behind the music (and the things that have been reported about him over the years) requires much subjective analysis, but the author is pretty thorough in presenting an assortment of perspectives and includes many contrasting reviews, interviews, etc. along with his own analysis of Lou's work.
It is important to note that this book was published years before Lou died, so was obviously not an opportunist attempt to cash in on his death. Lou was already a legend before he died. Fortunately for me, I was very familiar with most of Lou's recordings, and had seen him perform live on many occasions over the years, so I had a solid frame of reference to appreciate the author's detailed analysis of the songs and performances over his long, prolific career. of course, I didn't agree with everything the author wrote (he offered knowledgeable opinions over the most nuanced of details in some cases) but his perspectives brought great insight to one of the few heroes I've ever allowed myself to have during my life. my only hope is that he updates the book to cover Lou's later years, and death. Lou was a productive and under-appreciated great American artist almost up to the day he died.
A truly excellent account of Lou Reed; perhaps the most complex and influential underground artist of our time.
December 10, 2018
The first section of the book, the part most salutary to Reed is marred by the seeming endless repetition of certain phrases - I could go the rest of my life without encountering the word "modality" or the phrase "punkish menace" again. The writing becomes much better in the latter half of the book, which focusses on Reed's artistic stumbling blocks, his pretension, and his analyzes his inability to accept where his true strengths as an artist lay, forever reaching for an incongruous and antiquated concept of literary value. It is here that the author Jeremy Reed (no relation) writes clearest and most affectingly. He is clearly a fan, but does not shy away from Lou Reed's often brutal misogyny or maniacal behavior, and offers as fair an evaluation of his career and personal life as he deserves. I really love a lot of Lou Reed's music, but boy, what a wanker.
November 17, 2014
I found the writing in this biography of the famous musician very dense / repetitive (it read like an academic paper) which was disappointing, as I’m a fan of the singer.
November 16, 2019
Reading this book I quickly got very annoyed at the style of writing. It seems the writer are trying too hard to use all possible adjectives the dictionary has to offer and use them as much as possible. Sometimes he stumbles in the adjectives and end up with sentences were the meaning is lost. He is apparently a poet, and maybe his style works in poetry, but it does not work here. There's also lots of needless repetitions in the book which makes one wonder if there was an editor involved at all.
The books seems to be based only on old interviews with Lou and friends, and nothing new seems to surface. There's a few direct mistakes as well. Strangely enough only a few pages are spent on Transformer and Berlin (his best solo albums imo) and much more on albums like New York and Set the Twilight Reeling. There is a lot of focus on Lou's lyrics, which of course is interesting, but it would be interesting to hear more about the music (and his various bandmates) and not to forget the life of the man. I guess Lou got very private about his personal life after 1980 or so and since no one who knows him at all are interviewed for this book maybe this shouldn't come as a surprise.
Also it seems Jeremy Reed hasn't realized the one most important thing about the Velvet Underground is the high quality of their music. It's not the content matter of the lyrics, or the Warhol connection, or Lou's literary ambitions, it's the fucking music stupid.
All in all I would recommend getting another biography on Lou (I've only read the one by Victor Bockris and that was 25 years ago but it was a lot better than this one)
The books seems to be based only on old interviews with Lou and friends, and nothing new seems to surface. There's a few direct mistakes as well. Strangely enough only a few pages are spent on Transformer and Berlin (his best solo albums imo) and much more on albums like New York and Set the Twilight Reeling. There is a lot of focus on Lou's lyrics, which of course is interesting, but it would be interesting to hear more about the music (and his various bandmates) and not to forget the life of the man. I guess Lou got very private about his personal life after 1980 or so and since no one who knows him at all are interviewed for this book maybe this shouldn't come as a surprise.
Also it seems Jeremy Reed hasn't realized the one most important thing about the Velvet Underground is the high quality of their music. It's not the content matter of the lyrics, or the Warhol connection, or Lou's literary ambitions, it's the fucking music stupid.
All in all I would recommend getting another biography on Lou (I've only read the one by Victor Bockris and that was 25 years ago but it was a lot better than this one)
June 14, 2019
I don't have the most recent version unfortunately, so this was all up until mid 90s only. The first half of the book reads a bit like a fan's journal, but J Reed kinda undoes all that in the second part. So it was weird, to read on one hand this account of Lou Reed as an idol, and then for Jeremy to dismantle that over the latter part of the book. The second part of the book was certainly more interesting and insightful. The stuff on Warhol and the factory period made me feel very nostalgic for a time I have never lived.
This is not an autobiography about Lous drug use, violent outbursts, sexual appetites etc. Its very much about the music, less about the man. I would have given it five stars for a touch more about the man. (I kept waiting for the man...)
This is not an autobiography about Lous drug use, violent outbursts, sexual appetites etc. Its very much about the music, less about the man. I would have given it five stars for a touch more about the man. (I kept waiting for the man...)
April 7, 2020
Waiting for the Man was interesting, and I enjoyed reading it, and although Jeremy Reed had the musical knowledge to write about the works as well as the man, by the end I was irritated by how much he clearly disliked Lou Reed. Maybe he had a bad encounter with him, but it would have been an even better book if he had been a little kinder to his subject.
October 7, 2015
Updated after Lou Reed's death to include the last 20 years of his life,and a bio for bio's sake that heavy indulges in chemical and sexual digresses. Still an interesting read,although warning bells resound w/ geographical missteps like "Max's Kansas City, a counter-culture hangout in Times Square," and the quoting of unnamed sources described as "according to a third-party friend," which makes one question the validity of the whole.
August 27, 2015
Get a new editor and fix your typos! Otherwise a fascinating, well researched and pleasantly organized. Long live the legend of Lou
April 20, 2021
A look at a musician who was enigma in many ways .I always thought he was the musician who was New York City.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews