Looking back on the musicians we lost in 2013, Lou Reed’s name stands out. Reed’s former Velvet Underground bandmates Maureen “Moe” Tucker and Doug Yule remembered him in a BBC documentary over the weekend (U.K. readers can watch it here). And now, several weeks after Reed’s passing on October 27 at age 71, Tucker has written a 1,000-word tribute to the man.
Published in the The Observer, the piece reflects on meeting Lou, working with him, and how it feels to know we’ve lost him. “He didn’t suffer fools gladly,” Tucker wrote. “That’s just the way he was, but he was also incredibly encouraging and generous. He was a good friend through everything. We had this brother-sister type relationship in the group, and it lasted long after the group split.” Check out the full text here.
Tucker, who went on to put out some noteworthy ramshackle-pop solo efforts (including 1982’s Playin’ Possum and 1989’s Life in Exile After Abdication), has mostly stayed out of the limelight since her VU years. A couple of days after Reed’s death, she reminisced about him to The Daily Beast, saying, “Lou and I had a special friendship.”
In other VU news, the band’s White Light/White Heat turned 45 this year. A triple-disc “Super Deluxe Edition” of SPIN’s No. 1 alternative album of the 1960s came out last week via Universal. Burger Records and Universal have also jointly released The Velvet Underground — White Light/White Heat Tribute Album. Stream covers by Natural Child, the Memories, Mozes and the Firstborn,Curtis Harding, Mr. Elevator & the Brain Hotel, and Gap Dream.
SPIN’s coverage of Lou Reed and his legacy:
Goodbye, Lou Reed: New Yorkers Lovingly Celebrate His Life and Music
Lou Reed, R.I.P.: Hear His Legacy in 15 Tracks
Lou Reed: A Critical Discography
The SPIN Interview: Lou Reed
Lou Reed’s New York City: The Velvets’ Stomping Grounds, Today
Five Great Rap Songs That Sample Lou Reed or the Velvet Underground
Toesucker Blues: Robert Christgau’s Farewell Salute to Lou Reed
Dave Hickey on Lou Reed: ‘We Have Lost the Master of the Mundane and the Malicious’
The Little Giant: John Cameron Mitchell Remembers His Neighbor, Lou Reed
The Top 100 Alternative Albums of the 1960s
