Lou Reed

I was driving back from the movies feeling pretty good. I had just seen Gravity and it was entertaining. When I get home, I began the ritual of entering the house, I took off my shoes, emptied my pockets, and opened my computer. I logged onto Facebook and Twitter like any normal person. I look at my feeds and saw something about Lou Reed. And then another. And then another. I can't remember whose post I saw first or whose I saw last. It was just a blur of denial. After reading post after post, I came to the realization that Lou Reed was dead. I couldn't believe it. The legend was dead. Any fleeting ideas of feeling "pretty good" for the rest of the afternoon were gone the moment I read the first headline. I didn't know what to do. I had to work to do, but I couldn't bring myself to do it. I legitimately felt like I had a friend pass on. I was on the verge of tears. I mustered enough energy to grab for my vinyl and put "Heroin" on (I'm listening to the song right now as I write this). I slowly fell into a state of melancholy. I had finally accepted that one of the greatest musicians of all time had passed on, but just barely.

I don't remember the first time I heard the Velvet Underground, but it doesn't really matter. The first time I listened to alternative music I heard the Velvet Underground. Practically every band that I like that came after the Velvet Underground says the band was an influence (and pretty much anyone who didn't is either lying or hasn't realized it yet). Everyone knows how much of an impact they were, but I think people forget just how damn good they were of a band. Their music is frankly incredible. It's had incredible staying power and still sounds amazing and different today. After creating four of the best albums of all time, Lou Reed could have just quit and quietly died through substance abuse, but he didn't. He made more than twenty solo records. While I'm not a fan of his solo stuff, I can see it's appeal and it's incredible that he continued making revolutionary music for his entire life. Most people know Lou Reed as the "Walk On Wild Side" guy, but he means so much more to me than that. The Velvet Underground's music changed the way I look at the evolution of music and makes up the base of most of the music I like. It's also some of the best music ever created.

I don't know what I'm going to do when the other two die.

Lou, I just want to thank you. Thank you for the music that inspires me and makes me feel good, bad, sad, happy, and everything in between. Thank you for creating punk, post-punk, noise, indie, alternative, shoegaze, alternative, hell, even rap (according to some). Thank you for being part of the scenes you created and not really becoming old in my eyes. Thank you for being the amazing person that you were, I wish I could have met you. Thank you for the awesome vocals on "Some Kind of Nature", the song wouldn't been have as amazing without you. Thank you for staying around for the 71 years that you did. Thank you for basically creating my passion. I don't honestly know what I would do without music. My life everyday "is saved by rock n' roll." Thank you Lou, rest in peace.

This came up as I was finishing writing this and

I knew I had to add it. I guess it's fitting he 

died on a Sunday. RIP Lou. I'll miss you