Let Us Now Praise Famous Lou and Lester
Satellite of Love - Lou Reed (Blast from the Past Tuesday)
Some of you may be wondering why I started writing music reviews in the first place. The answer I usually give is the many, many Beatles books I read when first entrenched in my fab four phase, the hours spent consuming opinions on them and their music sparking my drive to put my own out there. However, there is one influence that got me like no other, someone whose rich, casual, and unafraid writing freaked me out enough to get the wheels in my head really spinning. I am, of course, referring to none other than Lester Bangs, who I like to think of as the agitated uncle-figure of music journalism. Lester Bangs is one of the most engaging critics I’ve ever read, someone who could take down a song or lift up a band in the most creative manner, scribbling down reviews that read like manifestos by a madman yet somehow perfectly captured the essence of what was being covered. I’ve read countless of Bangs’ articles, and while I enjoy them all, I always find myself going back to his encounters with Lou Reed.
Lester loved Lou. He didn’t hesitate to praise his music (except the Metal Machine type…yikes) and his person. That’s why I found myself fascinated with the profiles Bangs wrote of him — one where Lou is totally gone in a chemically-induced haze, and one where Lester turns the tables and becomes increasingly more drunk throughout the interview. The jabs and one-liners that they trade make for pieces that are a real time-suck, ones that you can’t help but consume due to the reality show-esque drama of it all. Reading those essays piqued my curiosity about this Lou Reed character, and that’s what led me to listen to Transformer for the first time at the ripe old age of 13. And what a great turn of events that was!!
While I hold Transformer as a whole close to my heart, the song I always go back to will forever be “Satellite of Love”. A gentle tune with mish-mosh lyrics, “Satellite of Love” is yet another example of my Track 7 phenomenon (that being that track 7s are often my favorite from any album). I am quite sure that the first reason why this song struck me was the Bowie backing vocals, as I’ll always be able to recognize his voice from a mile away. In fact, this song feels influenced by the fun, whimsical bits of Hunky Dory, which happens to be my favorite Bowie album of them all.
Reed’s voice is not strong, though it never really was. I always liked that about his music, as it gives this rough around the edges sort of feeling to accompany the tough persona he was trying out at the time. It always sounded to me like he was speaking rather than singing, that he almost sounded bored of the lyrics, rolling his eyes as he nearly shouted into the microphone. The backing balances this abrasiveness out, with measured “bom-bom-boms” punctuating the chorus with a delightfully floating, femme tone. The outro of the song has several elements to it, but none can quite beat the snap-wait-clap repeat that keeps the beat in a fresh new way, the perfect accompaniment to the “oooWOOOs” by Bowie that signal the satellite is floating right back into space.
The Lou Reed of “Satellite of Love” is not the Lou Reed of Lester Bangs’ essays. It’s funny to compare the two, as they seem totally different. Here’s Reed singing about Mars, cars, and love, and then there’s Reed having a shouting-match with a volatile music critic. But hey, ain’t that the magic of real rock journalism?
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Man, I love Transformer. And I agree with you re the similarities with Hunky Dory (my fav Bowie album, too). Mick Ronson brought so much to both albums as well as everyone else.