This video amuses me greatly because in June of 1988 Lou came to my high school in NYC and spoke to an english class. Me and a couple of my VU/Reed fan friends talked our way into the session and it was pretty brutal. The students were given printed lyrics of a few songs, "The Day JFK Died," The Gun" and one or two others. The kids were clueless, asked really stupid questions, and Lou was really frustrated. But his frustration was hysterical to watch. When one girl asked him why "all" of his songs were about violence, he calmly asked her which songs she was referring to again and again until she had to admit that she really didn't know any of his songs. When asked by another student if he could speak louder because people in the back couldn't hear him, his response was, "This is the way I talk - If you can't hear me, come up and sit closer." LOFL. Classic. I got my hall pass signed by him.
I was a huge teenage fan of his back then, and while I saw him from New Sensations tour forward til then, I cannot imagine how friggin cool that would be to see him there... and know his friggin music! That is the same issue he had with this asshole 'journalist'... "Do your homework or don't bother me with an interview if you don't know my work!!!" (Admittedly my friend worked for the venue he played here during the 80's, and he was an asshole to everyone in the venue's prep staff. It is a product of the 80's and his lack of recognition then. Valid.)
I think Lou really meant it when he said "you're the exception." As in, "you are of an ilk far too kind and real to be in this cut throat business of backstabbers and shilled sycophants..."
Just the fact that he repeated that phrase in the end proves it. I haven´t seen all that many interviews with Lou, but those I have seen has been killed off. When it´s done it´s done. He doesn´t add anything unless he has to. In this case though he repeats what he said before. A kind gesture.
This is the nicest i've ever seen Lou Reed. He's actually amused here. When the nice young man (clearly way out of his depth) says he has no more questions before his time is up Lou realises the pompous self importance of the artist has been checkmated completely by accident. It's actually a lovely moment. "Was it my answers?" Yes I'm leaving now. Brilliant!
Any Interviewer (even amature) does research before hand about subject. Most important if you know nothing. It's insulting & disrespectful to person your meeting to be stupid.
pooginmouse exactly . Iou seemed fairly polite an friendly an concerned with trying to make the young lad feel better i think its just a case of missunderstanding .. the guy acting like he been assaulted . He way too sensitive to even be alive ..let alone be a journalist .. lou had a bit of banter going on but the nervous lad took it all to heart .. which i lou werent expecting an when he realised the lad was upset u can tell they was a genuine shock an concern .. the lad shoulda took 5 an gone back in an carried on ..he was lucky to be interviewing lou ... i think my 5year old son cudda done a better job tbh ..
@A C I preefer his "moronic pseudo rockstar's ugly face" , which is a true one and doesent wear any masks, than a fake plastic motown celebrity. At least this one has a soul (I cant believe I have to even remark that as something outsatanding but hey, thank that to 24 hour celebrity media bullshit)
Lou always reminded me of my grandmother. Stern, a bit intimidating, but with a slight smile beneath. He was trying to make the kid feel good at the end.
Lou seemed genuinely concerned about the interviewers feelings when in the end he says "I said you're the exception". This kid should be honored that Lou cared even that much! I think Lou cut him some slack because of his age and could see that the English language was a challenge for him. I'm glad I saw this because it shows Lou's human side. When he realized this interviewer was totally clueless, he let his guard down. Sure, he was a bit condescending, but who wouldn't be? as these questions were so general, they could've been asked of anyone. So Lou got bored and turned the tables around, but he also showed compassion as he schooled the kid and his organization for being there and basically wasting his time with silly irrelevant questions. In all fairness to the interviewer, I don't think he's complaining about Lou Reed, but just pointing out the mistakes he made as a budding journalist being unprepared and unable to rescue himself from an embarrassing train-wreck of an interview. I hope he is better now.
***** - i agree, the interviewer wasn't being disrespected by Lou, and Lou just had to be blunt because the questions were sort of naive… the interviewer took it wrongly, because he hadn't known enough about Lou beforehand. he should change the title of this interview to something plain, like 'An uncertain interview with Lou Reed', more fitting.
Preliminimal Yes, the title should be changed, but I think it's misleading on purpose so people watch it thinking Lou is the "Lowest form of life" and something in the video will show this. Really, it should be titled "Who Lou Reed feels is the lowest form of life", but this title would not get as many views. Oh well,.... sensationalism.
***** -- Yes. the interviewer was nervous, sensitive to the responses and the questions were not thought out ahead very well... so it is understandable how maybe he felt Lou was overly aggressive. I think this video can teach everyone a lesson on self-composure, indirectly, that is what i get out of it
There is a famous live album in which no expense was spared to make Lou Reed seem to be the rock'n roller that he never was. If money and dishonesty were no issue for Lou, then why not script the clowns and reports too? Listen guy, there never was a single interview where journalists genuinely fawned over their (male) interviewee like a pack of saps. You are speaking of fake interviews and deception. Lou Reed never took it up the wazoo and he never used intravenous drugs. Lou Reed is a fraudster who destroyed the fabric of society with illusions and broom handles up your a$$, unless you knew that. Oh, and some of the musicians, writers, and sound guys he worked with, or that somehow were persuaded to work with him, were very good. That is sure. I think Lou Reed is just a record label executive's shalom bro.
I honestly think Lou Reed was incredibly nice to someone who came to interview him without even knowing who he was. And to whoever sent him there. I mean, you get 30 minutes to interview Lou Reed and you don't know what to ask. And Lou is smiling all through the interview. He's not even mad at all. He's just astonished that this could be happening!
This wasn't that bad at all. He was a young, inexperienced awestruck kid dealing with a jaded superstar that has a beef with journalists and rightfully so. His lack of english skills didn't help. Reed actually did like this kid but he also ate him for breakfast. If you want to see some painful interviews then watch most Nick Cave interviews or anything with Iggy Pop circa 1980 for some pretty brutal stuff.
That may be the most respectful and pleasant I have ever seen Lou in an interview. I don't see this as being tragic ordeal for anyone put the interviewer for not knowing more about his subject. Lou could have crushed that guys ego into making him quit his job if he wanted to but he didn't. I think he was even trying to give him encouragement a couple of times.Cool post.
+BassToTheFaceMan Feeling a similar thing. Perhaps he noticed how the guy was just a rookie sent into something simply a step too high for his own good. Being constructive beats being destructive in the longer term, and the interviewer was still young, no lost cause journalist like Lou might've encountered earlier.
I agree. One has to know his work before you interview him!!! And if you're a fan... I am surprised he or she does not have mastery of that music knowledge! (Or at least a keen sense of inquiry with basic knowledge!)
This interviewer misinterpreted the interview. I think Lou was asking him questions because it was clear the interviewer was uncomfortable and was trying to be more conversational. Being part Swedish myself, I know that some Swedes are notoriously sensitive people, and this guy is clearly very sensitive. Nothing wrong with that, but: Sensitive Swede with an old school guy from NYC....you get where I'm going. Misinterpretation.
More conversational? Lou was a razor blade. Maybe the interviewer was nervous and so was Lou, disagreements happen but when you have Lou Fucking Reed in froint of you... I mean that must be a scary fucking thing. If you jhave someone in front of you who is inexperience and has a job to do, you make company with tenderness and understanding, that applies even to LR. There are better ways. If you think an interviewer is the lowest form of life, then why THE FUCK ARE YOU GIVING AN INTERVIEW IN THE FIRST PLACE?
I believe Lou was having a ball with this "Kid"...I think he was most comfortable when things were very uncomfortable...He liked the tension. I believe most artists are this way. They worry when things are too easy. Being difficult comes with the job. BTW, I don't think he was being particularly difficult here. He had a rep for being far worse. I think he knew right off that the kid was new to this, and he actually liked him.
@@fernandobocadillos Because he liked to say things like that and because the british journalists ARE scum. Everybody knows that. He explicitly states that the interviewer is the exception and ok. But he is just a kid, who shouldn't have taken the job in the first place. This is as embarrasing as when Swedish television invited Johnny Thunders to play live at their tv show. I mean, who the hell books a junky, who can't play because he is too strung out, to play at a dinner show, only because they know that he is some kind of a name in Rock n' roll. Either they got a great sense of humor at their HQ or their planners and researcher are completely clueless. I seriously don't think this happens because of the great sense of humor at SVT, sooo....
Lou - (with mock accent) Obviously I think Sweden it is very beautiful, and I love it very much. Interviewer - Why do you love Sweden? Lou - I love Sweden because it is very beautiful. Journalism at its best!
I think what he was trying to convey is that he likes what he sees but he really didn’t know sweden at the time. He went on to ask the journalist how he finds Sweden. But then he discovers that the journalist isn’t quick to answer and so they talk about other places he’s seen
Lou Reed looks like a perfect gentleman , in an awkward situation. The young man and he are doing the best with what they each had to work with. Reed seems like a regular human, better than most. Thanks for the memory.
Being unprepared is fine and a so called legend can play off of it because it creates tension and controversy. And tension and controversy means more eyes and ears and money. If an interviewer knows everything about the artist it comes across as a sappy fan boy who is groveling the entire time. Both styles of interview are needed.
In my opinion this journalist deserves the utmost respect for not letting this rot forever in some closet but to have the guts to publish it and reflect about what happened. And I really love Lou Reed... it´s a precious document of sheer kindness and humanity.
I really enjoyed this. It was interesting to watch Lou's demeanor change with his impression of your character. Your commentary was a skillful guide on this beautifully awkward tour.
How is this so "catastrophic"? Reed was actually really nice to the guy. Even when he was messing with him, there was a warmth and friendliness to it. I've seen catastrophic Lou Reed interviews and this ain't one of them. Journalist dude needs (or needed) to toughen up a little bit.
No, he didn't take the interview seriously enough. He was utterly unprepared, and ill-equipped to intrigue Lou with any real questioning about his current projects at the time.
6 років тому+2
That's the point of the film. He didn't realize he had Lou Reed unmasked.
Obviously, and for years it's been a pet peeve of Lou's (and many other celebrities) when interviewers don't even do the most basic homework for questions or direction. The interviewers usually insult Lou by this unprofessionalism and I have heard about since the early 80's... but it doesn't excuse the offenders; rather it justifes Lou's contempt. I have seen great interviews on Dutch TV that show what a wonderful guest he can be. Just understand your subject??
At 3:58 the reporter should've said, "Instead he meets a 22 year old guy who knows NOTHING at all!" It's amazing how bad and just foolish the questions he asks are. It's hard to watch! No matter where you go, it seems the media and its *reporters are all the same; they all ask stupid questions* which they either already know the answer to, could easily look-up or research the answer, or just shouldn't ask the question(s) in the first place.
I guess I'd heard of Lou Reed profiled in a lot of ways but "hilarious" was never one of them. Overall if you read the literature on Lou Reed you'd have the impression he was a somewhat "difficult" "disagreeable" and not terribly "lovable" man. {I don't know what other conclusion one could come too.} Again, I quote Mick Jagger from an interview, "A lot of artists can be quite difficult. That's fairly common." Question, "how well is that tolerated in the industry Mick?"........."Depends on how hot you are at a given moment. If you are hot it is well tolerated. If you aren't then not so well tolerated."
It is all a put-on by Lou since the 60's.. His face for the world of inquisitors. Laurie Anderson would have never stayed with him so long if it wasn't. (In fact she states he was the sweetest man on the planet!) Most writers (and posters here as well) have no idea of what they are talking about. Magazines are most concerned with hype and drama. He gave them that, only in the way they did not expect. His artistry is untouchable. Very few musicians have same influence over the past 50 years. Millions of bands owe a lot to Lou and the Velvets...
I'd never seen one of his interviews before. I had expected him to be Andrew Dice Clay, but that's not the case. He's extremely dry and doesn't like to B.S. Seems like he was a blast to be around if you were friends. If I was him, being interviewed constantly by stammering idiots for decades, I'd be a little stand-offish too.
It's a great interview. It's an interview in which you really get to know the human being behind the popstar. You can see he really likes this guy who is not really a professional, but just a very shy young man who wants to try to do this interview. It's almost romantic, the interaction between the two, and the sympathy Lou Reed shows to this boy
Lou was being very nice to him. I honestly don't know what the issue is. He realized the kid was nervous and a novice and he was trying. He also has a dry sense of humor and being nervous the interviewer didn't pick up on it. It actually was going very well. He wasn't giving perfunctory answers. It wasn't his job to make the interviewer comfortable but he tries to engage him to do that.
It is unfortunate that an interviewer was intimidated and ended the conversation half way through. Lou regretted the awkward communication early on with him and even tried to find topics that he’d share with. Behind his tough demeanor, there is always sensitive and delicate personality that made Lou Reed a complex and interesting character.
Lou was a secular saint. One cannot write songs like Romeo Had Juliet and Coney Island Baby without having a big soft spot for humanity. He just didn't like pompous, arrogant people and took them down whenever he could.
The content of the video doesn't quite match the title. Lou is being really cool, the journalist guy just didn't have the experience to deal with a star like Lou.
Lou Reed interviews his 22 yo unprepared Swedish interviewer Lou could be cantankerous, but this dialogue has more meaning and insight into the persona of Lou Reed in a few minutes than most "professional" interviews
Okay this to me was a clear example of the language and cultural barrier being a problem. Because the interviewer's English isn't very good, and he maybe doesn't understand American deadpan humor, he's only getting Lou Reed's tone (Lou Reed is always going to be deadpan), not his content. He also doesn't know what to do about Reed having more to say than expected because he just has a list of questions to adhere to. He doesn't know how to follow up to Reed's off the cuff remarks and he's asking unnecessary follow-up questions because he's nervous and not understanding the language well. Reed was actually very patient with him and probably could even see that he wasn't like the typical manipulative journalists he despises. BTW he is so right about English journalists. They were manipulative assholes.
By the standards of usual Lou Reed interviews, it went pretty well actually. At least he asked about Lou's work instead of his lifestyle, which never goes down well.
This was sooo damn sweet. Lou does like you! You were just young, but its clear he was trying to help you along, was very patient, even teasing a little. I loved every bit of this. Thanks you 😘 This is how we learn eh?
Musicians perform onstage and have practiced to perfect THAT creativity. Interviews are just a chance to bullshit and interviewers should be ready to accept ANY attitude since it's the musician's chance to vent, relax, & share as much as they CHOOSE. They aren't obligated to give some long, elaborated, sophisticated, well-thought out answers because, after all, they are not in school anymore for God sakes! They are OUT OF THE BOX while the interviewer has to maintain the protocol INSIDE society's premeditated BOX!
This is the best thing I have watched in ages. It shows that Lou Reed was the real deal, someone able to be genuine at the right time. All my respect to his soul. This is a great lesson in how to go about in life.
I love Lou's poker face whenever he is being interviewed..his facial expressions are priceless but he is definitely giving this guy a very warm interview for Lou he even got a few laughs out of him...He is the best
The interviewer must have a huge insecurity problem. He's asking these weird, largely trivial questions, and Lou's responding respectfully and is being fairly nice. This doesn't come close to some of his other interviews, especially in the 70's. And to be fair to Mr. Reed, a lot of the time he went off on journalists was when they were asking him completely unnecessary or personal questions.
This "Interviewer" might be in the wrong profession and I agree with the many people who say that Lou is being kind here. He WAS BEING about as Kind as he EVER Gets - he could be Brutal, Absolutely Brutal. He strived to be the best 'Lou Reed' he could possibly be, he expected those around him to be the best they could be. And I feel it's obvious that Lou took a genuine 'shine' to this particular Interviewer, I think Lou actually liked this guy and probably mostly for his honesty and his humanity.
Mick Jagger {who didn't like Lou Reed at all} was asked once about The Factory and the Warhol scene in New York and all that {Jagger went there a few times in the mid 60's when the Stones were in town.} Jagger {who was ALWAYS very careful about what he said in interviews........picked his words carefully} said {and I paraphrase} "they were a very negative group of people. A very dark vision of life. I wasn't attracted to that at all.".................You know early on that there were problems for the Velvet Underground because no one thought Lou Reed could be the "front" guy. Why? He was just fundamentally and unpleasant, anti social person. The audience didn't like him {and he didn't like them.}.......................This guy {the interviewer} wanted to "get out of there from the very beginning" because of the vibe Lou Reed gave off. Don't believe me? Do some background. Heck, even the people who liked Lou Reed said he was fundamentally a difficult and not a particularly likable guy. Lou Reed kicked Jon Cale out of the band {Velvet Underground.} Lou didn't tell Jon. I believe either Sterling or the female in the band told Jon. In the next fifty years Lou NEVER told Jon why he had him kicked out of the band. He never, ever explained it or even talked about it in any interview {he would say, "that's personal."}.............YOU start a band with someone. You make 3 albums. You lived with this guy in an apartment for a year. One day the guy comes to work and is told he is out of the band. No explanation. No nothing. You're out. For the next fifty years you don't reveal to anyone why you had the guy kicked out of the band. You don't think that's a little anti-social? What would you call it?
It's essentially a non event, but I like that it shows Lou's playful side. Lou is a Sharp Wiley customer and for any in the know it's plain to see that he is toying with the young guy in a delicate, cheeky, fashion likely trying to glean some entertainment value from this drab redundant moment. I mean, he was being nice, FFS, lol. All of life's worst have failed to make a dent in this man, and whether you love or loathe his music, he has made a life of it far beyond his Used by date. Respect!
Whoever sent this young man,with limited English who sounds like he knew nothing of Lou Reed,into this interview must have needed his head read.I thought that Lou Reed himself was very generous,he could have really tore into the interviewer if he had wished.He choose not too.
two kwool people. Lou was magnanimous, as he probably was most of the time. That journalist should be proud. He was himself, maybe naive, but Lou Reed showed his respect and calm. What a dude!
Anyone who's ever seen/read an interview with Lou Reed knows that he _always_ answered like that. Short and with a sarcastic tone. You couldn't expect anything else.
Most Svedes I know speak much better English, I don't think this guy understands Lou's NYC sense of humor, or even the direct NY style of interacting with people.
I think Lou was perfectly fine. he was being interviewed by a total amateur who had no iodea of what to ask and hadn't done ay prep work. Had to laugh at a few points. I'd have loved to spend 30 mins with Lou Reed - Legend!
Lou Reed was real. Most people can't handle honesty, and that was all that Lou was. He hated journalists, he said so many times, so he would just screw around with them to purposely throw them off their game. RIP Lou.
"REAL" lmfao. Lou's jerkin your chain and you can't even see it. It was all a performance to create controversy and have more eyes and ears tune in. Nobody listens to people when they give nice pleasant little interviews that no one talks about a day later.
I don't think it was that bad. He just hates interviews but I think he actually cut you some slack, he probably guessed you were inexperienced. I have read about and seen him absolutely shredding journalists, this was nothing.
I don't think he was useless, just nervous. You can hear how he slowly crumbles as the interview progresses and yet he manages to bring out a softer side to Lou than you'd expect.
This was really great in such an unexpected way. It kind of felt like, at the end there, Lou was ready to just chat. I don't think there's ever been another interview where that was the case.
Actually, it was bloody brilliant not knowing anything about Lou and walking into an interview with him. Look at all his other interviews with fan boys. He's still cold and obtuse. It was his shtick. In this interview, the joke was on Lou in many ways. The guy knew nothing and Lou tried to create even more controversy by him not being a groveling fan boy. At the end, a wry smile developed on Lou expressing, "Well shit, that was different. This might get me more eyes and ears than the other interviews." I enjoy both styles of interviews. One where the interviewer knows a lot, and one where they are a bit clueless and unprepared. At the end of the day the artist, has to size up the audience (the interviewer in this case) and perform.
People, try to understand that the poor guy hardly speaks any english and he is IN FRONT of LOU REED ... unprepared and panicky, just that, poor fellow. Lou more or less tolerates and shows some sympathy . Also, never forget one little detail which was very important to justify Lou Reed´s behaviour in most interviews : He had Heps C which I do too - longterm that causes high levels of intolerance, rage even , depression , melancholy ... all of which might just justify his sarcasm, disrespect at times (even if unconscious, it was there) ...basically his reputation to be a "difficult" person to interview is definitely related to that fact ... keep in mind I have been living with this bullshit for decades too and I´m also moody ,sarcastic, arrogant , lack of empathy ... list goes on
Glowing Red Brain Odd, all my mates and people I meet in the streets who have attempted that exact same cure told me they gave up less than 2 weeks into it ... some even less. The side effects they described to me completely put me off that approach - I mean, when I have a guy telling me that all of a sudden he QUIT his 80ml Methadone habit cause he thought that perhaps that along with Interferon/Riba combo was what was causing the complete unbearable symptoms he was feeling. From 80ml to 0 in a few days cause you feel so sick from the side effects of a medication? NO THANKS! This is what probably lead Lou to let it go that far ,cause his genotype caused him these horrible side effects I hear about ... dunno. You are the 2nd person who is positive about this line of treatment. Good to hear, cause this will not come out by itself and one of these days I´ll be ending up like Lou with the regret that I didn´t even had the guts to try it by myself and then ...judge , one way or the other. Thanks a lot for the support, mate ...cause ,trust me it is support , amongst all these negative people who instill a "paralyzing" fear of treatment in me .
Glowing Red Brain Exactly what I´m waiting. call me paranoid but I´m just very suspicious of this new treatment which allegedly gets you rid of a virus I´ve had for over 20 ( I think) ,overnight, so to speak - reports of people being free from the virus in a few weeks, like 6 weeks and baaaang!!! - cured ... being the old sewer rat druggie who has watched Methadone and buprenorphine being passed as life savers and all of a sudden I see friends ODing on that stuff ( done) or simply finding it 10xs more difficult to quit (both) than H itself ... dunno, I simply learnt my lessons along the way : "No pain - No gain" (in short) seems the right , most reasonable approaches. All my cures were cold turkey to a certain point. Hurtful but a woman, by yourside, change of scenary etc ... 2 weeks tops will get you rid of any habit no matter how massive - on the other hand, quitting Bupre (Subutex) to me has been nothing short of my worst nightmare, like a full blown H withdrawal at its peak but indefinitely. No signs of improvement, zer0 - Nil . Haha, this is why I´m gambling in here with my health and waiting to see how these people who did the treatment now will be in ,say, 1 and 1/2 years, something like that. Once that "guinea pig" intuition vanishes I´ll be there 1st thing in the morning at the clinic. Fucking great fun/discovery as teens and what this bullshit escalates into once you let it take hold .Fuck regrets , lived a great life but this Heps C thing is starting to fuck with my joints, motivation, memory, skills in general , intellect and even physical chances, small little things like muscles where they were not quite like what I see now ... strange marks , have no sex life but that has always been reversible ...empathy has been robbed of me almost completely ... of course I´m depression incarnated hahaha ... yeah man, moaning about this and that and no action - typical junkie bullshit ... one of these days with these yellow pages of symptoms I´m talking to my GP and just get on with it. Just pray he will not make me quit these bloody Subutex & benzos as a fucking pre-requisite to enter treatment ... hahhaha, I´ll keep you informed ... oh man ...so sorry about the bullshit Holmes post ...hate blogspotting it up , my apologies for putting up with it.
Glowing Red Brain You are spot on ! It is time to move on. Feeling stagnated, not really ...well , that too, yeah ... but ,more like deteriorating ...great advice ...I´m being so careless that you just reminded me that I can´t even remember when my last liver related appointment was - I know I did blood tests, a fibroscan ...on another occasion they opted for a biopsy (denied treatment at the time cause I was on Bupre and the cunt was, you could see it clearly in his body language , one of those drug addict = hospital waste. That´s what was on his face as he declined me on the basis that I was still an addict (which I was , since bupre/benzos ...you know) ... this was YEARS ago ... yeah mate ...definitely time to roll or fold. Again thanks, always cathartic to talk to people who have been through it ALL as opposed to bloody theorists . Take care!
Glowing Red Brain Mate ... speak of "biopsy" : both the doc and her assistant (fresh out of school) were feminine and pretty niiiice ... was having a great time, like being at some caffe on the pull or something ... next thing she takes out an ink pen and draws a circle somewhere near my nipple ...man ... as soon as I saw THAT needle and I made the association ... "I´m fucked ,I´m fucked ,I´m fucked ...fuck !". After that , the needle sticking in and pulled out immediately felt like a quite intense inner shock ...hard to explain that sort of pain - IT HURTS basically ... mate, next thing she turns to me with a smirk on her face ... "Oh, we have to try it again cause I just missed it" ... now you know what to expect ... at least you are aware that pain is pretty INTENSE but lasts seconds (if that) ... ...Welcome to our Southern european ways by the way. What you typed above could easily be me typing the experiences I had in Portugal - incredibly similar ... in the UK I had 3 different tests for fibrosis and general state of the organ - none of them invasive (oh sorry! So used to needles that it almost did not occurr to me that a bloodtest goes under "invasive") - Drs. there in England told me ,while doing the fibroscan (years ago) that the biopsy method was both a dangerous way of assesssing your organ´s state but also a pretty obsolete one (only used in critical cases) ... 3rd test was basically entering some device for them to check for damage somehow. And another thing, maybe it was a question of luck but the english Docs were incredibly professional/nice ,to the point they´d simplify what they were doing so you could kind of understand the procedure - felt no prejudices there. Peace, mate (thought you were english all this time, your english is pretty fucking good btw)
Glowing Red Brain Yeah,brv ...never in a million years I´d guess you were italian or southern european by the matter ...all of which, lets be honest could give 2 shits about learning any languages or at least both the Spanish and the french I know speak the most hilarious broken english ever. We all have a few and a good laugh over this. They too find it hilarious ,of course. Fucking hell, man, that is some salad toss in there ... you must also think that "your week beats everybody else´s year" too while in Australia with all that Crystal Meth everywhere I hear edit: fucking looking at the album and do not get the quote right , fuck´s sake hahah
Yeah, it is rare Lou Reed would be nice to an interviewer. I don't see any "Lowest form of life" here. Quite the opposite. "Scared to fly" and rather than be nasty Lou Reed chuckles in good humour and agrees saying "Good reason"
'You don't have to answer if you don't want to." "Ooh, thank you very much." :-))))) And i think tha inteviewer didn't understand when he asked is he leaving because of 'his answer', referring on 'i hate journalists'. Thou, this is great!
i m a big lou reed fan, 48 years old.. i decided to watch some lou reed interviews, what i never did... and the first five interviews i saw, the interviewers where not in contact and honest towards him, like having a real conversation... than I saw your interview, and I though, hey that s the first interviewer who is himself and normally reacting on him and i though, Hey Lou finally likes being interviewd, as he in the end, also said.... he meant it Keep on doing the good work en being yourself, good interviewer, person
There's a lot people you could interview w/o knowing anything about them - but LR wasn't one of them. You actually only need ONE good question for an interview. The rest will follow naturally if you listen. Interviewing is actually about listening, not talking. Lou was being quite charming and drily witty here. Better luck next time. At least you learned something.
Great interview. Remember, Lou has had to say the same answers a billion times over the years. It's just what it is. Boring to him. The interviewer really should have put his head to it though and got involved with more challenging questions. Really crap on his part even though e was young, he should have had more intriguing questions and fallbacks for Lou.
"I like the BIG SLEEP!" - "What is it about?" DUUUDE! :)))) - LOL - :)))) BUT: It's gettin better: "It's about New York." - Oh, Do you love New York?" - "Yes!" OMG! :)
Isn't it a little bit disrespectful to not have a clue about an artist like this when you interview him. I mean you could at least read up on what he's been doing lately. A good rule of thumb should probably be not to have any 20 year old's interview anyone that anyone wants to know anything about.. Quite funny anyways. I liked how he kind of warmed up to the guy a little bit, because everyone knows that journalists have had a much worse time with Lou Reed than this before.
This video amuses me greatly because in June of 1988 Lou came to my high school in NYC and spoke to an english class. Me and a couple of my VU/Reed fan friends talked our way into the session and it was pretty brutal. The students were given printed lyrics of a few songs, "The Day JFK Died," The Gun" and one or two others. The kids were clueless, asked really stupid questions, and Lou was really frustrated. But his frustration was hysterical to watch. When one girl asked him why "all" of his songs were about violence, he calmly asked her which songs she was referring to again and again until she had to admit that she really didn't know any of his songs. When asked by another student if he could speak louder because people in the back couldn't hear him, his response was, "This is the way I talk - If you can't hear me, come up and sit closer." LOFL. Classic. I got my hall pass signed by him.
amazing story you are lucky to have gone to highschool in NY
I was a huge teenage fan of his back then, and while I saw him from New Sensations tour forward til then, I cannot imagine how friggin cool that would be to see him there... and know his friggin music! That is the same issue he had with this asshole 'journalist'... "Do your homework or don't bother me with an interview if you don't know my work!!!" (Admittedly my friend worked for the venue he played here during the 80's, and he was an asshole to everyone in the venue's prep staff. It is a product of the 80's and his lack of recognition then. Valid.)
Good story. Congrats.
Nice dude! Very cool story.
What a jerk this lou reed is
I think Lou really meant it when he said "you're the exception."
As in, "you are of an ilk far too kind and real to be in this cut throat business of backstabbers and shilled sycophants..."
Just the fact that he repeated that phrase in the end proves it. I haven´t seen all that many interviews with Lou, but those I have seen has been killed off. When it´s done it´s done. He doesn´t add anything unless he has to. In this case though he repeats what he said before. A kind gesture.
This is the nicest i've ever seen Lou Reed. He's actually amused here. When the nice young man (clearly way out of his depth) says he has no more questions before his time is up Lou realises the pompous self importance of the artist has been checkmated completely by accident. It's actually a lovely moment. "Was it my answers?" Yes I'm leaving now. Brilliant!
The interviewer shows something about the endearingness of vulnerability
Lou was too cool for school, but not a complete ogre!
Any Interviewer (even amature) does research before hand about subject. Most important if you know nothing. It's insulting & disrespectful to person your meeting to be stupid.
@@lowe-quay-shush
*amateur
*beforehand
*you're
People who live in glass houses shouldn't throw stones.
he's been much nicer than this.
Poor guy is so scared and intimidated he did not realize Lou was being nice to him. Liked him in a way I suspect
pooginmouse exactly . Iou seemed fairly polite an friendly an concerned with trying to make the young lad feel better i think its just a case of missunderstanding .. the guy acting like he been assaulted . He way too sensitive to even be alive ..let alone be a journalist .. lou had a bit of banter going on but the nervous lad took it all to heart .. which i lou werent expecting an when he realised the lad was upset u can tell they was a genuine shock an concern .. the lad shoulda took 5 an gone back in an carried on ..he was lucky to be interviewing lou ... i think my 5year old son cudda done a better job tbh ..
@A C I preefer his "moronic pseudo rockstar's ugly face" , which is a true one and doesent wear any masks, than a fake plastic motown celebrity. At least this one has a soul (I cant believe I have to even remark that as something outsatanding but hey, thank that to 24 hour celebrity media bullshit)
the interviewer needs to get a new career if he ''scared''.
@@stevefranke6541 if you're not scared of interviewing lou reed, you didn't interview lou reed
He was so nice to him, that was pretty endearing for a Lou Reed interview.
Lou laughing, "But Nicholas" is more real and human than "Waves of Fear" and "The Kids" put together. God bless this man.
Nicholas getting Lou to drop his guard is honestly very impressive for a guy who characterized himself as a dumb 22 year old
Lou always reminded me of my grandmother. Stern, a bit intimidating, but with a slight smile beneath. He was trying to make the kid feel good at the end.
JoDee Purkeypile lol really that's hilarious
He reminds me a lot of my grandmother too haha, just an old school Jewish New York sense of humor I think
Dude same here
Your grandmother sounds like an awesome lady. Respect your grandmother.
My Mexican grandmother is the same
it could have been a lot worse mate... he was respectful that you were nervous
Lou seemed genuinely concerned about the interviewers feelings when in the end he says "I said you're the exception". This kid should be honored that Lou cared even that much! I think Lou cut him some slack because of his age and could see that the English language was a challenge for him. I'm glad I saw this because it shows Lou's human side. When he realized this interviewer was totally clueless, he let his guard down. Sure, he was a bit condescending, but who wouldn't be? as these questions were so general, they could've been asked of anyone. So Lou got bored and turned the tables around, but he also showed compassion as he schooled the kid and his organization for being there and basically wasting his time with silly irrelevant questions. In all fairness to the interviewer, I don't think he's complaining about Lou Reed, but just pointing out the mistakes he made as a budding journalist being unprepared and unable to rescue himself from an embarrassing train-wreck of an interview. I hope he is better now.
***** Agree. He was as near to nice as he could be. I was expecting much worse.
***** - i agree, the interviewer wasn't being disrespected by Lou, and Lou just had to be blunt because the questions were sort of naive… the interviewer took it wrongly, because he hadn't known enough about Lou beforehand. he should change the title of this interview to something plain, like 'An uncertain interview with Lou Reed', more fitting.
Preliminimal Yes, the title should be changed, but I think it's misleading on purpose so people watch it thinking Lou is the "Lowest form of life" and something in the video will show this. Really, it should be titled "Who Lou Reed feels is the lowest form of life", but this title would not get as many views. Oh well,.... sensationalism.
***** -- Yes. the interviewer was nervous, sensitive to the responses and the questions were not thought out ahead very well... so it is understandable how maybe he felt Lou was overly aggressive. I think this video can teach everyone a lesson on self-composure, indirectly, that is what i get out of it
No, he really is just a pretentious, condescending curmudgeon. All his interviews are like this.
One of the best interviews ever. I've watched it 10 times and still don't get bored. This is ...human interaction. That's it
There's a notorious interview he did with a bunch of dumb Australian journos in the 70s, it's on utube, he's being comparatively sweet here.
There's actually 2 such interviews. Both on UA-cam. V funny.
With that stupid ass blonde hair?
@@bluebird28tl well he heard blondes had more fun, so he tried lady Clairol. Gosh helooked like Milo Yiannopoulos then
There is a famous live album in which no expense was spared to make Lou Reed seem to be the rock'n roller that he never was. If money and dishonesty were no issue for Lou, then why not script the clowns and reports too?
Listen guy, there never was a single interview where journalists genuinely fawned over their (male) interviewee like a pack of saps. You are speaking of fake interviews and deception.
Lou Reed never took it up the wazoo and he never used intravenous drugs. Lou Reed is a fraudster who destroyed the fabric of society with illusions and broom handles up your a$$, unless you knew that.
Oh, and some of the musicians, writers, and sound guys he worked with, or that somehow were persuaded to work with him, were very good. That is sure. I think Lou Reed is just a record label executive's shalom bro.
oh yeah, the aussie interview is up. Comments disabled.
I honestly think Lou Reed was incredibly nice to someone who came to interview him without even knowing who he was. And to whoever sent him there. I mean, you get 30 minutes to interview Lou Reed and you don't know what to ask. And Lou is smiling all through the interview. He's not even mad at all. He's just astonished that this could be happening!
Everything you said was correct I miss Lou Reed
Yeah I think Lou was really aware of the situation and was really just messing with the guy.
It’s actually quite precious and funny. We now have a record of a more spontaneous Lou!
I agréé !
Bonjour de France les amis ✌😉👍🇫🇷
Quite often when I've had a bad day i watch this...it makes me laugh...and reminds me to be more direct...i would have loved to hang out with Lou....
This wasn't that bad at all. He was a young, inexperienced awestruck kid dealing with a jaded superstar that has a beef with journalists and rightfully so. His lack of english skills didn't help. Reed actually did like this kid but he also ate him for breakfast.
If you want to see some painful interviews then watch most Nick Cave interviews or anything with Iggy Pop circa 1980 for some pretty brutal stuff.
Yet sweet with the kids, as you see. Calling pigs as pigs that they are.
Lou could have eaten him alive. He was being congenial. I feel for Lou. God bless him.....I would have chewed him up and spit him OUT.
@@stecklein7 no you wouldn't have.
It's funny how Lou starts interviewing the journalist.
not unusual
@@andrewholburn3094
der
der
der
der
der
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He does that a lot.
How interesting, what a lucky guy to be the only journalist lou didn't despise.
That may be the most respectful and pleasant I have ever seen Lou in an interview. I don't see this as being tragic ordeal for anyone put the interviewer for not knowing more about his subject. Lou could have crushed that guys ego into making him quit his job if he wanted to but he didn't. I think he was even trying to give him encouragement a couple of times.Cool post.
+BassToTheFaceMan Feeling a similar thing. Perhaps he noticed how the guy was just a rookie sent into something simply a step too high for his own good. Being constructive beats being destructive in the longer term, and the interviewer was still young, no lost cause journalist like Lou might've encountered earlier.
Being constructive beats being destructive in the long term, what a fantastic philosophical comment, well done.
Sorry, longer.
I agree. One has to know his work before you interview him!!! And if you're a fan... I am surprised he or she does not have mastery of that music knowledge! (Or at least a keen sense of inquiry with basic knowledge!)
Probably because he got tired of people asking him the same questions. Then, when he was asking the questions, he brightened up.
This interviewer misinterpreted the interview. I think Lou was asking him questions because it was clear the interviewer was uncomfortable and was trying to be more conversational. Being part Swedish myself, I know that some Swedes are notoriously sensitive people, and this guy is clearly very sensitive. Nothing wrong with that, but: Sensitive Swede with an old school guy from NYC....you get where I'm going. Misinterpretation.
More conversational? Lou was a razor blade. Maybe the interviewer was nervous and so was Lou, disagreements happen but when you have Lou Fucking Reed in froint of you... I mean that must be a scary fucking thing. If you jhave someone in front of you who is inexperience and has a job to do, you make company with tenderness and understanding, that applies even to LR. There are better ways. If you think an interviewer is the lowest form of life, then why THE FUCK ARE YOU GIVING AN INTERVIEW IN THE FIRST PLACE?
I believe Lou was having a ball with this "Kid"...I think he was most comfortable when things were very uncomfortable...He liked the tension. I believe most artists are this way. They worry when things are too easy. Being difficult comes with the job. BTW, I don't think he was being particularly difficult here. He had a rep for being far worse. I think he knew right off that the kid was new to this, and he actually liked him.
@@fernandobocadillos Because he liked to say things like that and because the british journalists ARE scum. Everybody knows that. He explicitly states that the interviewer is the exception and ok. But he is just a kid, who shouldn't have taken the job in the first place. This is as embarrasing as when Swedish television invited Johnny Thunders to play live at their tv show. I mean, who the hell books a junky, who can't play because he is too strung out, to play at a dinner show, only because they know that he is some kind of a name in Rock n' roll. Either they got a great sense of humor at their HQ or their planners and researcher are completely clueless. I seriously don't think this happens because of the great sense of humor at SVT, sooo....
NY attitude and sarcasm at it's finest... he was actually being REALLY gentle with this kid
I’m from Nebraska, and I second this 💯
Lou - (with mock accent) Obviously I think Sweden it is very beautiful, and I love it very much.
Interviewer - Why do you love Sweden?
Lou - I love Sweden because it is very beautiful.
Journalism at its best!
Yup. The lowest form of life (-:
I think what he was trying to convey is that he likes what he sees but he really didn’t know sweden at the time. He went on to ask the journalist how he finds Sweden. But then he discovers that the journalist isn’t quick to answer and so they talk about other places he’s seen
A C i got some news for you hes fuckin dead bro it doesn’t matter because now all that stands is his art
interviewer doesn't have a clue.
interviewers commentary is basically him talking about how clueless and anxious he is over the interview
Lou Reed looks like a perfect gentleman , in an awkward situation. The young man and he are doing the best with what they each had to work with. Reed seems like a regular human, better than most. Thanks for the memory.
This should be shown to all media students, well done for showing it.
Being unprepared is fine and a so called legend can play off of it because it creates tension and controversy. And tension and controversy means more eyes and ears and money.
If an interviewer knows everything about the artist it comes across as a sappy fan boy who is groveling the entire time.
Both styles of interview are needed.
8:51 "But Niklas....." = legendary moment
he's so embarassed in his place it's almost a joke for him
LMAO
That was hilarious when he waved goodbye it sounded like the Interviewer jumped😂😂😂😂😂
I feel like we saw the real Lou Reed in this chaotic episode. Loved it.
Funnily enough I'd say is what makes this interview if not the best, one of the best!
Lmao "so big you can't remember their name" holy shit
To be fair, Mary Quant is pretty forgettable these days...
Except in IQ tests.
Damn what up baby?
I think Lou's being LOVELY to this poor kid!
In my opinion this journalist deserves the utmost respect for not letting this rot forever in some closet but to have the guts to publish it and reflect about what happened. And I really love Lou Reed... it´s a precious document of sheer kindness and humanity.
Lou is goofing on this poor guy but he's not that bad. I've seen Lou behave a lot worse.
I really enjoyed this. It was interesting to watch Lou's demeanor change with his impression of your character. Your commentary was a skillful guide on this beautifully awkward tour.
How is this so "catastrophic"? Reed was actually really nice to the guy. Even when he was messing with him, there was a warmth and friendliness to it. I've seen catastrophic Lou Reed interviews and this ain't one of them. Journalist dude needs (or needed) to toughen up a little bit.
This journalist is taking this way to serious.
Ha! Exactly. It's Lou fuckin' Reed!
No, he didn't take the interview seriously enough. He was utterly unprepared, and ill-equipped to intrigue Lou with any real questioning about his current projects at the time.
That's the point of the film. He didn't realize he had Lou Reed unmasked.
Obviously, and for years it's been a pet peeve of Lou's (and many other celebrities) when interviewers don't even do the most basic homework for questions or direction. The interviewers usually insult Lou by this unprofessionalism and I have heard about since the early 80's... but it doesn't excuse the offenders; rather it justifes Lou's contempt. I have seen great interviews on Dutch TV that show what a wonderful guest he can be. Just understand your subject??
if he was serious he would have done research@@hopedaniels4912
At 3:58 the reporter should've said, "Instead he meets a 22 year old guy who knows NOTHING at all!"
It's amazing how bad and just foolish the questions he asks are. It's hard to watch! No matter where you go, it seems the media and its *reporters are all the same; they all ask stupid questions* which they either already know the answer to, could easily look-up or research the answer, or just shouldn't ask the question(s) in the first place.
This made me love lou reed even more!
I love Lou Reed... he is hilarious
+Ted Cantu This truly is
kentucy9999 lou reed was overrated self centered ego maniac. his signing was very limited his guitar playing was mediocre to say the least.
Good point !
I guess I'd heard of Lou Reed profiled in a lot of ways but "hilarious" was never one of them. Overall if you read the literature on Lou Reed you'd have the impression he was a somewhat "difficult" "disagreeable" and not terribly "lovable" man. {I don't know what other conclusion one could come too.} Again, I quote Mick Jagger from an interview, "A lot of artists can be quite difficult. That's fairly common." Question, "how well is that tolerated in the industry Mick?"........."Depends on how hot you are at a given moment. If you are hot it is well tolerated. If you aren't then not so well tolerated."
It is all a put-on by Lou since the 60's.. His face for the world of inquisitors. Laurie Anderson would have never stayed with him so long if it wasn't. (In fact she states he was the sweetest man on the planet!) Most writers (and posters here as well) have no idea of what they are talking about. Magazines are most concerned with hype and drama. He gave them that, only in the way they did not expect. His artistry is untouchable. Very few musicians have same influence over the past 50 years. Millions of bands owe a lot to Lou and the Velvets...
"I'll be your mirror, reflect what you are in case you don't know"
stand around by the window where the light is, she's my best friend
I'd never seen one of his interviews before. I had expected him to be Andrew Dice Clay, but that's not the case. He's extremely dry and doesn't like to B.S. Seems like he was a blast to be around if you were friends.
If I was him, being interviewed constantly by stammering idiots for decades, I'd be a little stand-offish too.
It's a great interview. It's an interview in which you really get to know the human being behind the popstar. You can see he really likes this guy who is not really a professional, but just a very shy young man who wants to try to do this interview. It's almost romantic, the interaction between the two, and the sympathy Lou Reed shows to this boy
He wanted his Swedish meatballs.
Sympathy? Perhaps this was the only time mr reed tried to be normally courteous.
Lou was being very nice to him. I honestly don't know what the issue is. He realized the kid was nervous and a novice and he was trying. He also has a dry sense of humor and being nervous the interviewer didn't pick up on it. It actually was going very well. He wasn't giving perfunctory answers. It wasn't his job to make the interviewer comfortable but he tries to engage him to do that.
"You don't have to answer if you don't want to"
OH god thank you!
It is unfortunate that an interviewer was intimidated and ended the conversation half way through. Lou regretted the awkward communication early on with him and even tried to find topics that he’d share with. Behind his tough demeanor, there is always sensitive and delicate personality that made Lou Reed a complex and interesting character.
Lou was a secular saint. One cannot write songs like Romeo Had Juliet and Coney Island Baby without having a big soft spot for humanity. He just didn't like pompous, arrogant people and took them down whenever he could.
The content of the video doesn't quite match the title. Lou is being really cool, the journalist guy just didn't have the experience to deal with a star like Lou.
Lou Reed interviews his 22 yo unprepared Swedish interviewer
Lou could be cantankerous, but this dialogue has more meaning and insight into the persona of Lou Reed in a few minutes than most "professional" interviews
Okay this to me was a clear example of the language and cultural barrier being a problem. Because the interviewer's English isn't very good, and he maybe doesn't understand American deadpan humor, he's only getting Lou Reed's tone (Lou Reed is always going to be deadpan), not his content. He also doesn't know what to do about Reed having more to say than expected because he just has a list of questions to adhere to. He doesn't know how to follow up to Reed's off the cuff remarks and he's asking unnecessary follow-up questions because he's nervous and not understanding the language well. Reed was actually very patient with him and probably could even see that he wasn't like the typical manipulative journalists he despises. BTW he is so right about English journalists. They were manipulative assholes.
By the standards of usual Lou Reed interviews, it went pretty well actually. At least he asked about Lou's work instead of his lifestyle, which never goes down well.
This was sooo damn sweet. Lou does like you! You were just young, but its clear he was trying to help you along, was very patient, even teasing a little. I loved every bit of this. Thanks you 😘
This is how we learn eh?
Musicians perform onstage and have practiced to perfect THAT creativity. Interviews are just a chance to bullshit and interviewers should be ready to accept ANY attitude since it's the musician's chance to vent, relax, & share as much as they CHOOSE. They aren't obligated to give some long, elaborated, sophisticated, well-thought out answers because, after all, they are not in school anymore for God sakes! They are OUT OF THE BOX while the interviewer has to maintain the protocol INSIDE society's premeditated BOX!
This is the best thing I have watched in ages. It shows that Lou Reed was the real deal, someone able to be genuine at the right time. All my respect to his soul. This is a great lesson in how to go about in life.
A talentless dickhead…….famous for being famous…..
He asked stupid questions, he should have asked questions about Andy Warhol, The Velvet Underground, Metal Machine Music etc.
If he did, then he would have gotten the same response Lou gave to other journalists he didn't like.
I love Lou's poker face whenever he is being interviewed..his facial expressions are priceless but he is definitely giving this guy a very warm interview for Lou he even got a few laughs out of him...He is the best
The interviewer must have a huge insecurity problem. He's asking these weird, largely trivial questions, and Lou's responding respectfully and is being fairly nice. This doesn't come close to some of his other interviews, especially in the 70's. And to be fair to Mr. Reed, a lot of the time he went off on journalists was when they were asking him completely unnecessary or personal questions.
I don't get the title of this video. I am seeing a man of wit being interviewed by a nitwit. He was quite gracious, actually.
I could never understand why he was so rude to journalists. They were doing their job. That's part of the game when you're famous
Cos they ask inane, boring questions. All of them do. Wouldn't you go stir crazy?
Still he's not different than others. Had to show some respect @@nihilisticbarbie
"Lou has no time for incompetence - no matter who you are" - Mo Tucker
This "Interviewer" might be in the wrong profession and I agree with the many people who say that Lou is being kind here. He WAS BEING about as Kind as he EVER Gets - he could be Brutal, Absolutely Brutal. He strived to be the best 'Lou Reed' he could possibly be, he expected those around him to be the best they could be.
And I feel it's obvious that Lou took a genuine 'shine' to this particular Interviewer, I think Lou actually liked this guy and probably mostly for his honesty and his humanity.
Don't feel bad, Lester Bangs had the same experience with Lou...
And Lester was complete jackass too. He wanted Lou to be a certain persona, and was so distraught that he wasn't anymore. Fuck Lester. He was a hack.
Mick Jagger {who didn't like Lou Reed at all} was asked once about The Factory and the Warhol scene in New York and all that {Jagger went there a few times in the mid 60's when the Stones were in town.} Jagger {who was ALWAYS very careful about what he said in interviews........picked his words carefully} said {and I paraphrase} "they were a very negative group of people. A very dark vision of life. I wasn't attracted to that at all.".................You know early on that there were problems for the Velvet Underground because no one thought Lou Reed could be the "front" guy. Why? He was just fundamentally and unpleasant, anti social person. The audience didn't like him {and he didn't like them.}.......................This guy {the interviewer} wanted to "get out of there from the very beginning" because of the vibe Lou Reed gave off. Don't believe me? Do some background. Heck, even the people who liked Lou Reed said he was fundamentally a difficult and not a particularly likable guy. Lou Reed kicked Jon Cale out of the band {Velvet Underground.} Lou didn't tell Jon. I believe either Sterling or the female in the band told Jon. In the next fifty years Lou NEVER told Jon why he had him kicked out of the band. He never, ever explained it or even talked about it in any interview {he would say, "that's personal."}.............YOU start a band with someone. You make 3 albums. You lived with this guy in an apartment for a year. One day the guy comes to work and is told he is out of the band. No explanation. No nothing. You're out. For the next fifty years you don't reveal to anyone why you had the guy kicked out of the band. You don't think that's a little anti-social? What would you call it?
It's essentially a non event, but I like that it shows Lou's playful side. Lou is a Sharp Wiley customer and for any in the know it's plain to see that he is toying with the young guy in a delicate, cheeky, fashion likely trying to glean some entertainment value from this drab redundant moment. I mean, he was being nice, FFS, lol. All of life's worst have failed to make a dent in this man, and whether you love or loathe his music, he has made a life of it far beyond his Used by date. Respect!
Whoever sent this young man,with limited English who sounds like he knew nothing of Lou Reed,into this interview must have needed his head read.I thought that Lou Reed himself was very generous,he could have really tore into the interviewer if he had wished.He choose not too.
two kwool people. Lou was magnanimous, as he probably was most of the time. That journalist should be proud. He was himself, maybe naive, but Lou Reed showed his respect and calm. What a dude!
Anyone who's ever seen/read an interview with Lou Reed knows that he _always_ answered like that. Short and with a sarcastic tone. You couldn't expect anything else.
Most Svedes I know speak much better English, I don't think this guy understands Lou's NYC sense of humor, or even the direct NY style of interacting with people.
Lou is being totally forthcoming and generous with his responses. This interviewer is a bit too sensitive.
I think Lou was perfectly fine. he was being interviewed by a total amateur who had no iodea of what to ask and hadn't done ay prep work. Had to laugh at a few points. I'd have loved to spend 30 mins with Lou Reed - Legend!
Not if you were introduced to him as a journalist.
This is hilarious. A good example of Lou's humour. I have a Swedish nephew. His children gets this!
Lou Reed was real. Most people can't handle honesty, and that was all that Lou was. He hated journalists, he said so many times, so he would just screw around with them to purposely throw them off their game. RIP Lou.
"REAL" lmfao. Lou's jerkin your chain and you can't even see it.
It was all a performance to create controversy and have more eyes and ears tune in.
Nobody listens to people when they give nice pleasant little interviews that no one talks about a day later.
Big Jerk, this Lou Reed
Not really a catastrophic interview. Just a pretty boring one. Reed tried his best to make it interesting.
ho hum predictable really ~ Reed was obviously a damaged individual who live a very self protective life when he probably didn't have to....
What an honor, to be interviewed by Lou Reed I mean.
A perfect example of somebody taking themselves and life around them too seriously. I love Lou
I don't think it was that bad. He just hates interviews but I think he actually cut you some slack, he probably guessed you were inexperienced. I have read about and seen him absolutely shredding journalists, this was nothing.
Lou: "I did a play called timerocker, do you know that".... Interviewer: " No".... Ooooooo.
Lou's actually surprisingly gentle with this poor useless guy
definitely...and he makes a great interview out of it. I bet it was Lou's favorite out of that whole day.
I don't think he was useless, just nervous. You can hear how he slowly crumbles as the interview progresses and yet he manages to bring out a softer side to Lou than you'd expect.
Yeah , if that was 74 or 75 , he'd probably have fucked with him waaaaay worse .
The interviewer was wasting his time with a 1-hit wonder from 40 years before.
the interviewer is WAY BELOW useless.
This was really great in such an unexpected way. It kind of felt like, at the end there, Lou was ready to just chat. I don't think there's ever been another interview where that was the case.
Lou never suffered fools well.
I'd say he was both charitable and in possession of some humour during this interview.
Amazing brillant genius. He was charming ...
Oh I see, this is Lou Reed AND the Lowest Form of Life
Don't interview someone without doing your research
Actually, it was bloody brilliant not knowing anything about Lou and walking into an interview with him. Look at all his other interviews with fan boys. He's still cold and obtuse. It was his shtick.
In this interview, the joke was on Lou in many ways. The guy knew nothing and Lou tried to create even more controversy by him not being a groveling fan boy. At the end, a wry smile developed on Lou expressing, "Well shit, that was different. This might get me more eyes and ears than the other interviews."
I enjoy both styles of interviews. One where the interviewer knows a lot, and one where they are a bit clueless and unprepared. At the end of the day the artist, has to size up the audience (the interviewer in this case) and perform.
This is not the first or last time Lou ate an interviewer for lunch LOL.
People, try to understand that the poor guy hardly speaks any english and he is IN FRONT of LOU REED ... unprepared and panicky, just that, poor fellow. Lou more or less tolerates and shows some sympathy . Also, never forget one little detail which was very important to justify Lou Reed´s behaviour in most interviews : He had Heps C which I do too - longterm that causes high levels of intolerance, rage even , depression , melancholy ... all of which might just justify his sarcasm, disrespect at times (even if unconscious, it was there) ...basically his reputation to be a "difficult" person to interview is definitely related to that fact ... keep in mind I have been living with this bullshit for decades too and I´m also moody ,sarcastic, arrogant , lack of empathy ... list goes on
Glowing Red Brain Odd, all my mates and people I meet in the streets who have attempted that exact same cure told me they gave up less than 2 weeks into it ... some even less. The side effects they described to me completely put me off that approach - I mean, when I have a guy telling me that all of a sudden he QUIT his 80ml Methadone habit cause he thought that perhaps that along with Interferon/Riba combo was what was causing the complete unbearable symptoms he was feeling. From 80ml to 0 in a few days cause you feel so sick from the side effects of a medication? NO THANKS! This is what probably lead Lou to let it go that far ,cause his genotype caused him these horrible side effects I hear about ... dunno. You are the 2nd person who is positive about this line of treatment. Good to hear, cause this will not come out by itself and one of these days I´ll be ending up like Lou with the regret that I didn´t even had the guts to try it by myself and then ...judge , one way or the other. Thanks a lot for the support, mate ...cause ,trust me it is support , amongst all these negative people who instill a "paralyzing" fear of treatment in me .
Glowing Red Brain Exactly what I´m waiting. call me paranoid but I´m just very suspicious of this new treatment which allegedly gets you rid of a virus I´ve had for over 20 ( I think) ,overnight, so to speak - reports of people being free from the virus in a few weeks, like 6 weeks and baaaang!!! - cured ... being the old sewer rat druggie who has watched Methadone and buprenorphine being passed as life savers and all of a sudden I see friends ODing on that stuff ( done) or simply finding it 10xs more difficult to quit (both) than H itself ... dunno, I simply learnt my lessons along the way : "No pain - No gain" (in short) seems the right , most reasonable approaches. All my cures were cold turkey to a certain point. Hurtful but a woman, by yourside, change of scenary etc ... 2 weeks tops will get you rid of any habit no matter how massive - on the other hand, quitting Bupre (Subutex) to me has been nothing short of my worst nightmare, like a full blown H withdrawal at its peak but indefinitely. No signs of improvement, zer0 - Nil . Haha, this is why I´m gambling in here with my health and waiting to see how these people who did the treatment now will be in ,say, 1 and 1/2 years, something like that. Once that "guinea pig" intuition vanishes I´ll be there 1st thing in the morning at the clinic.
Fucking great fun/discovery as teens and what this bullshit escalates into once you let it take hold .Fuck regrets , lived a great life but this Heps C thing is starting to fuck with my joints, motivation, memory, skills in general , intellect and even physical chances, small little things like muscles where they were not quite like what I see now ... strange marks , have no sex life but that has always been reversible ...empathy has been robbed of me almost completely ... of course I´m depression incarnated hahaha ... yeah man, moaning about this and that and no action - typical junkie bullshit ... one of these days with these yellow pages of symptoms I´m talking to my GP and just get on with it. Just pray he will not make me quit these bloody Subutex & benzos as a fucking pre-requisite to enter treatment ... hahhaha, I´ll keep you informed ... oh man ...so sorry about the bullshit Holmes post ...hate blogspotting it up , my apologies for putting up with it.
Glowing Red Brain You are spot on ! It is time to move on. Feeling stagnated, not really ...well , that too, yeah ... but ,more like deteriorating ...great advice ...I´m being so careless that you just reminded me that I can´t even remember when my last liver related appointment was - I know I did blood tests, a fibroscan ...on another occasion they opted for a biopsy (denied treatment at the time cause I was on Bupre and the cunt was, you could see it clearly in his body language , one of those drug addict = hospital waste. That´s what was on his face as he declined me on the basis that I was still an addict (which I was , since bupre/benzos ...you know) ... this was YEARS ago ... yeah mate ...definitely time to roll or fold. Again thanks, always cathartic to talk to people who have been through it ALL as opposed to bloody theorists . Take care!
Glowing Red Brain Mate ... speak of "biopsy" : both the doc and her assistant (fresh out of school) were feminine and pretty niiiice ... was having a great time, like being at some caffe on the pull or something ... next thing she takes out an ink pen and draws a circle somewhere near my nipple
...man ... as soon as I saw THAT needle and I made the association ... "I´m fucked ,I´m fucked ,I´m fucked ...fuck !".
After that , the needle sticking in and pulled out immediately felt like a quite intense inner shock ...hard to explain that sort of pain - IT HURTS basically ... mate, next thing she turns to me with a smirk on her face ... "Oh, we have to try it again cause I just missed it" ... now you know what to expect ... at least you are aware that pain is pretty INTENSE but lasts seconds (if that) ...
...Welcome to our Southern european ways by the way.
What you typed above could easily be me typing the experiences I had in Portugal - incredibly similar ... in the UK I had 3 different tests for fibrosis and general state of the organ - none of them invasive (oh sorry! So used to needles that it almost did not occurr to me that a bloodtest goes under "invasive") - Drs. there in England told me ,while doing the fibroscan (years ago) that the biopsy method was both a dangerous way of assesssing your organ´s state but also a pretty obsolete one (only used in critical cases) ... 3rd test was basically entering some device for them to check for damage somehow. And another thing, maybe it was a question of luck but the english Docs were incredibly professional/nice ,to the point they´d simplify what they were doing so you could kind of understand the procedure - felt no prejudices there. Peace, mate (thought you were english all this time, your english is pretty fucking good btw)
Glowing Red Brain Yeah,brv ...never in a million years I´d guess you were italian or southern european by the matter ...all of which, lets be honest could give 2 shits about learning any languages or at least both the Spanish and the french I know speak the most hilarious broken english ever. We all have a few and a good laugh over this. They too find it hilarious ,of course.
Fucking hell, man, that is some salad toss in there ... you must also think that "your week beats everybody else´s year" too while in Australia with all that Crystal Meth everywhere I hear
edit: fucking looking at the album and do not get the quote right , fuck´s sake hahah
Just imagine Nardwuar interviewing him.
Interesting, I guess? 🤷♀️. An interview with a guy who interviewed a guy...
Hahahahahaha. This is classic NYC attitude vs Swedish attitude. What a contrast.
What a nice interwiev
Yeah, it is rare Lou Reed would be nice to an interviewer. I don't see any "Lowest form of life" here. Quite the opposite. "Scared to fly" and rather than be nasty Lou Reed chuckles in good humour and agrees saying "Good reason"
At the end Lou seems genuinely hurt in the fact that he hurt the guy’s feelings
'You don't have to answer if you don't want to."
"Ooh, thank you very much." :-)))))
And i think tha inteviewer didn't understand when he asked is he leaving because of 'his answer', referring on 'i hate journalists'.
Thou, this is great!
i m a big lou reed fan, 48 years old.. i decided to watch some lou reed interviews, what i never did... and the first five interviews i saw, the interviewers where not in contact and honest towards him, like having a real conversation... than I saw your interview, and I though, hey that s the first interviewer who is himself and normally reacting on him and i though, Hey Lou finally likes being interviewd, as he in the end, also said.... he meant it Keep on doing the good work en being yourself, good interviewer, person
This is not catastrophic at all. Good footage though. Dry sense of humour...a bit condescending, which is good news. Long life. Immortal Lou.
I think marketing and advertising are right up there with journalists as the lowest forms of life. In this guy's defense he's simply an incompetent.
That interview was really great! Lou actually opened up slightly. Well done!
6:17 his reaction.
8:49 "but Nikolas." Lol
I feel so sorry for the interviewer.
How do you write rock music down.
Don't ask me...
I'm not, it was a rhetorical question. lol
There's a lot people you could interview w/o knowing anything about them - but LR wasn't one of them. You actually only need ONE good question for an interview. The rest will follow naturally if you listen. Interviewing is actually about listening, not talking. Lou was being quite charming and drily witty here. Better luck next time. At least you learned something.
he is a man of few words and fewer outward emotions!
Hes pretty nice to this dude actually. Watch his others. This is tame.
Great interview. Remember, Lou has had to say the same answers a billion times over the years. It's just what it is. Boring to him. The interviewer really should have put his head to it though and got involved with more challenging questions. Really crap on his part even though e was young, he should have had more intriguing questions and fallbacks for Lou.
"I like the BIG SLEEP!" - "What is it about?" DUUUDE! :)))) - LOL - :)))) BUT: It's gettin better: "It's about New York." - Oh, Do you love New York?" - "Yes!" OMG! :)
He’s just a New Yorker that’s how they act
Ugh... I would have LOVED to have interviewed Lou! I actually KNOW about Lou!
I lived in Austin TX and loved the scene a great deal but Reed is spot on with "journalist".
Sure, he is a bit spicy in the hips.
Isn't it a little bit disrespectful to not have a clue about an artist like this when you interview him. I mean you could at least read up on what he's been doing lately. A good rule of thumb should probably be not to have any 20 year old's interview anyone that anyone wants to know anything about..
Quite funny anyways. I liked how he kind of warmed up to the guy a little bit, because everyone knows that journalists have had a much worse time with Lou Reed than this before.
"You don't have any more questions? But Nicholas..." LOOOOOL