occasional dream, twelve

I have, at best, mixed feelings about Lou Reed.  I recognize his ‘importance’ and yada yada yada, but there’s something about the guy that puts me off.  It’s the pretentiousness, the orneriness the arrogance, the unpleasantness.  You’re a rich rock star, Lou.  You get paid to play rock ‘n roll to fans who admire what you do and just wanna know a little bit about what goes on in your head.  Why you gotta be such a dick? Are you really that unhappy and/or self-important?  I guess sometimes that’s what makes the artist an artist. It’s a personality type that’s hard for me to warm to, but then again I’m not an artist so maybe I simply don’t understand.  I don’t need to love the people who make the music I listen to as people, necessarily, but in Reed’s case his repellent qualities come across in enough of his music that I tend to approach his stuff with my guard up…  Having said all this, Reed has had his share of great moments.  I love the Velvet Underground and will periodically play the title track on Coney Island Baby and a few tracks on Street Hassle, Blue Mask, New York…  If a good Lou Reed song pops up randomly on my iPod, I’ll usually take the time to listen to it.  He made a lot of music with the late Robert Quine, a guitarist I’ve always admired, so he’s definitely got good taste.  …But Transformer, released in late 1972, is in a class by itself.  It’s a record that sends my imagination soaring.  This is probably because I’m a Bowie freak and I like to imagine what it must’ve been like in the studio with Bowie and Ronson. Their production work is first rate and played no small part in eliciting some of the best performances of Reed’s career.  Andy’s Chest, a much tamer version of which Reed had previously recorded with the V.U., is my favorite track on Transformer.  Ronno’s trash guitar is mischievous and oh-so-satisfying.  And then there’s Bowie’s backing vocals. They’re hard not to notice.  That’s the thing about Bowie and backing vocals.  He definitely wants you to know he’s there.  Nobody ever said the guy wasn’t a total diva…