Living in a now-legendary tenement building on the Lower East Side filled with filmmakers and artists and radical thinkers, Cale began experimenting with drones, atonality, sonic textures, and an expansive use of time. Luckily he met John Cale, a young Welsh musician schooled in classical music who fell in with an extremely avant-garde circle upon coming to Manhattan. (Reed’s sister, in a current interview, doesn’t exactly stand by that decision, but does defend her parents a bit with some “it was the times” prevarication.) Reed quit Long Island for Manhattan with the hopes of becoming a rock star, and ended up working as a songwriter for a discount record company, scratching out “sound-a-likes” and curiosities like “ The Ostrich.” But inside was a dark poet yearning to get out. The place was New York City and the time was the ’60s just before they became “the ’60s.” The key players were Reed, a miserable suburban kid whose Jewish parents attempted to have the “homosexual tendencies” zapped out of him via electroshock treatment. But the group, led by the late Lou Reed (born Lewis Allan Reed, originally Rabinowitz) was not just an example of “right place, right time,” they helped create the place and time. The singer had a range of about three notes, the musicianship wasn’t particularly nuanced, and while the lyrics were certainly transgressive, they drew their power from blunt force more than wit. Now, let’s be clear: they aren’t the best band. The case has been abundantly clear since the mid-1960s, and if you haven’t been paying attention, there’s a spectacular new documentary from director Todd Haynes eager to show you the light - interestingly called “The Velvet Underground,” and out on October 15 on Apple TV+. Maybe some Israeli tech startup can devise a gizmo that can scientifically prove this statement to be true, but until that day comes you’ll simply have to accept what I say. One such example is this: The Velvet Underground is the coolest rock band there ever was. The Velvet Underground never reach huge commercial success in the 1960s, but their songs have endured, including "Walk on the Wild Side" and "Perfect Day".NEW YORK - I’m all about subjectivity when assessing art, but there are some things you just have to lay down as fact. Frontman Reed died in 2013 at the age of 71. The filmmaker, known for "Far from Heaven" and "Carol", spoke to close members of some of the band's stars. "That had a lot to do with the other, all the other arts that were going on in New York City at the time that surrounded this band and from which this band really sprung and came to life." "I had some basic concepts from the beginning about how this could be unique, how we could try to make it something close to as unique as the band was itself and the music was itself," Haynes said. Rather than attempting to lift a lid on the ins and outs of the band's personal lives, Haynes said he was more projecting a glimpse of a special time in New York when artists from different walks of life came together. The film is not competing for prizes at the world's biggest film festival, but was screened at the event, which is back after a year's hiatus due to the coronavirus pandemic. In his first documentary, Haynes worked with hours of unseen footage shared by singer and guitarist Lou Reed's widow and reels of the band shot by artist Warhol, plunging viewers into intimate moments between the musicians. The director had explored the world of music before but in feature films, including with 2007 Bob Dylan biopic "I'm Not There" in which six actors played the songwriter. DOWNLOAD FILM THE VELVET UNDERGROUND FOR FREERegister now for FREE unlimited access to Register
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