‘Rattling in my head’: Lou Reed’s all-time favourite New York anthems
Music is as essential to the cultural fabric of New York City as pizza, extortionate rent prices, and the constant potential for violence. Ever since the economic boom of the 1920s, when skyscrapers began to dominate the skyline of Manhattan, New York has become an unparalleled haven for artists in America. Having fostered everything from jazz to punk to hip-hop, the city has seen more than its fair share of iconic musicians and artists traipsing across its concrete sidewalks, but few can boast the same lasting impact on New York music as Lou Reed.
Born in Brooklyn and raised in Freeport, Lou Reed has always had the infallible spirit of New York coursing through his veins. Even as the blossoming young songwriter aged, he never left his beloved city for too long, enrolling in college at New York University before relocating to Syracuse University after a particularly turbulent period in his adolescent life. From there, Reed immediately set about contributing to the city’s already rich and productive music scene.
As we all now know, Reed did much more than contribute to New York’s music scene during the 1960s; he more or less defined it. Forming The Velvet Underground alongside John Cale in 1965, Reed’s trailblazing songwriting and experimental nature forged an entirely new path for artists both in New York and around the globe. His work with the Underground made Reed one of the most important songwriters alternative music has ever witnessed, and that inherent quality continued on into his subsequent solo career.
Throughout his time as a songwriter, both with The Velvet Underground and in a solo capacity, Reed consistently used his homeland of New York as a muse. “I’m not leaving New York. And neither is anyone else. We’re here,” Reed once declared. “We are quintessential Americans – we’re not only American, but New York-American.” He even went as far as to dedicate an entire record, 1989’s New York, to his adoration of the city.
To his credit, Reed always tried to keep on top of New York’s emerging artists and genres, even before his involvement in The Velvet Underground. It almost goes without saying that his band helped to inspire the punk explosion that captivated venues like CBGBs or Max’s Kansas City in NYC, but the songwriter also held a healthy appreciation for the city’s rich history as a haven for jazz, soul, and R&B artists.
So, while one might expect Reed’s favourite New York-based anthems to be dominated by his subversive contemporaries – the likes of Television, Patti Smith, or even The Ramones – the reality is much more mellow. Shortly before his death in 2013, the songwriter conviened with Helsinki Music Club to construct a list of the 100 greatest songs of all time, of which many originate from his beloved home city.
A notable inclusion on the list is The Excellents’ ‘Coney Island Baby’, a song that Reed adored so much that he chose to borrow the title for his 1975 solo album. In defiance of expectations, the list is largely devoid of any punk rock influences, although 1960s grassroots rock is featured in the form of The Youngbloods and The Left Banke.
For the most part, Reed’s favourites come in the form of old-school soul, R&B, and doo-wop artists like Lilian Leach or Jackie and the Starlites. In fact, the only New York entry on the list to be released after 1970 comes from Reed’s former Velvet Underground bandmate, Moe Tucker.
New York City provided constant inspiration to Reed as a songwriter, but the artists who populated the city prior to his arrival on the scene appear to have been just as essential in the musician’s development. Today, there are still countless artists across the five boroughs following in the footsteps of Lou Reed, continuing on the unparalleled artistic legacy of the East Coast city.
Lou Reed’s favourite New York anthems:
- The Excellents – ‘Coney Island Baby’
- Lillian Leach and the Mellows – ‘Smoke From Your Cigarette’
- The Youngbloods – ‘Sunlight’
- The Left Banke – ‘Walk Away Renee’
- The Left Banke – ‘Pretty Ballerina’
- Jackie and the Starlites – ‘Valerie’
- The Cadillacs – ‘Gloria’
- Moe Tucker – ‘Spam Again’
- The Chiffons – ‘He’s So Fine’
