The singer Lou Reed believed no one could imitate: “My stuff’s the same”
More so than most, Lou Reed was an artist who always strived for originality. Even during his early years, performing with doo-wop groups in high school, Reed always seemed to favour the weird and wonderful side of the music world. Of course, the songwriter would later become a defining figure of the alternative by forming The Velvet Underground alongside John Cale, a band that would forever change the timeline of rock and roll. Even outside of his own discography, Reed had certain standards to uphold within his listening habits.
During his childhood, growing up in New York, Reed was quickly drawn to the vibrant musical world, finding particular interest in the revolutionary new world of rock and roll, as well as jazz and R&B. Of course, Reed was not alone in these influences, with countless young people across the world finding their musical calling in the early rock of artists like Elvis Presley, Little Richard and Chuck Berry. The future Velvet Underground lyricist, however, was endlessly individualistic, always favouring those artists with truly unique voices or performance styles.
Inevitably, as the rock and roll scene became more widespread and popular, a series of pretenders to the throne began to gain traction. Pretty soon, the American music scene was awash with various rip-offs and plagiarists, piggybacking off of the success of earlier artists. Truthfully, the same could be said for Reed’s work later down the line, with the tracks he created with The Underground or during his early solo career endlessly imitated by a deluge of unoriginal alternative rock outfits.
Expectedly, though, Reed has always had a unique ability to see through this sheen of originality, striving to find the truly original voices in music. By all accounts, it took a lot to impress Lou Reed, but the songwriter consistently held an appreciation for those artists who played by their own rules without a care for mainstream expectations of them. That attitude likely goes a long way toward explaining Reed’s own career, which was often noted for seemingly strange artistic choices and an openly confrontational attitude towards critics.
Speaking to SPIN back in 2008, the ‘Perfect Day’ singer reflected on his own career and motives, saying, “I’m part of the first generation that wants to still do original material and not tour around as an oldies act,” likely referring to the original material Reed continued to create even in the short space of time before his death in 2013. According to the songwriter, there are few other artists who could pull that off, but Chuck Berry is certainly one of them.
“You know, Chuck Berry is still out there playing,” Reed said, “No one can play his music like he does. My stuff’s the same way.” While comparing oneself to such an important icon of rock and roll is somewhat egotistical, and it is difficult to draw definite parallels between ‘Johnny B. Goode’ and ‘Venus In Furs’, nobody can deny the representative originality of Berry and Reed.
It sounds as if Reed took pride in how difficult it is to imitate or replicate his own discography, continuing, “Someone will say, ‘Have you heard that so-and-so sounds like you?’ Why? Because they sing out of key?” According to the songwriter, it is this attribute which links him to the distinctive sounds of Chuck Berry’s pioneering rock ‘n’ roll.
