Lou Reed walked on the wild side

Lou Reed, legendary rock musician and friend and colleague of Andy Warhol, John Cale, and Delmore Schwartz, is dead at age 71. While his work with Velvet Underground was initially not widely popular (although more popular than one supposes), the group was undeniably influential. Reed’s later solo work included both mainstream successes such as his top 40 hit “Walk on the Wild Side” and avant garde precursors of noise rock such as Metal Machine Music.

Later we’ll offer a more substantial appreciation of Reed’s contributions to rock.

For now here’s one of his most iconic songs: