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Watch Animated Lou Reed Call the Doors ‘Stupid,’ Recall ‘Savage Reaction’ to Velvet Underground

Lou Reed

PBS has gone ahead and animated a 1987 interview that Joe Smith conducted with Lou Reed, and it serves as a detailed reminder of the Velvet Underground frontman’s, uh, cantankerous personality. Drawn to portray the late avant-rock pioneer telling tales of chasing off college kids on his porch with his shotgun, the clip has Reed calling the Doors “stupid” and the Beatles “garbage.” Reed, too, offers insightful observations regarding the public’s initial resistance to the group’s 1967 release, The Velvet Underground & Nico: “I write a song called ‘Heroin’ and you would’ve thought that I’d murdered the Pope or something.” Watch the video above.