Mix Tape of the Day: March 2, 2015 - The Best of Lou Reed

After listening to as much Velvet Underground as humanly possible in one day, I've settled on the following as my personal favorites.

1. Sunday Morning - The Velvet Underground (1967) For an album born out of the Andy Warhol heyday, the first release by the Velvet Undergound begins quite innocently.  Of course, the saccharine melody and lyrics serve to hide an unsettling paranoia brought on by fame and support.

2. Venus in Furs - The Velvet Underground (1967) Admittedly, it took me a while to warm up to this one.  Something about those odd string instruments was off-putting to me.  But they've grown on me.  A perfect song for any trip.

3. Heroin - The Velvet Underground (1967) This one was a lot more welcoming and enjoyable.  I'm a sucker for songs that start slow and quiet and build in intensity over time.  And this one really captures that experience as it mimics a heartbeat affected by the highs and lows of...the highs and lows.

4. Stephanie Says - The Velvet Underground (1968) Thanks, Wes Anderson, for using this Velvet Underground rarity in The Royal Tenenbaums.  It's wonderfully twee.

5. Here She Comes Now - The Velvet Underground (1968) This was the standout track for me on White Light/White Heat.  Apparently no one knows what it's about.  Clearly it's about a dryad.

6. Pale Blue Eyes - The Velvet Underground (1969) Yeah...yeah...

7. After Hours - The Velvet Underground (1969) Ah, what a great treat to have at the end of the album.  I always like it when bands let the drummers have a go at a song.

8. Sweet Jane - The Velvet Underground (1970) Before beginning my foray into the Velvet Underground, this was the only song of theirs I knew.  I assume a lot of people have had similar experiences.  I kind of expected all of their songs to sound like this as a result, but I'm kind of glad that it was a unique track in their library.

9. Rock & Roll - The Velvet Underground (1970) I wonder what life was like before rock and roll... It sounds miserable.

10. I Found a Reason - The Velvet Underground (1970) Aww...

11. Satellite of Love - Lou Reed (1972) We'll finish off the mix with Lou Reed's best solo songs, all of which happen to come from Transformer.  First up, Lou Reed, being a huge MST3K fan decided to pen this song to replace the theme for the '90s cult show.  I think I'm reading this Wikipedia article correctly.

12. Perfect Day - Lou Reed (1972) Fun Fact! Originally, I was going to call this blog "Perfect Day" and keep account of what would constitute a "perfect day."  Part of those perfect days would be these mixes, and then I realized that I wanted music to be the focus.  But had I not done that, this song would have to be played every day.

13. Walk on the Wild Side - Lou Reed (1972) This is the big Lou Reed song and I really feel that he is at his top form for this one.  It seems like it should be very raucous and obnoxious, lyrically.  But it's sweet, which makes taking a walk on the wild side all the more enticing.