Planned Presentations, Valedictions Lou Reed

[tcpip]

The coming week is looking very busy indeed; next Sunday I am convening The Philosophy Forum with Adam Ford speaking on transhumanist philosophy, which will be the last formal session of the year. I have been approached by people at St.Michael's to run a programme next year on philosophy, so we shall see how that eventuates - certainly after convening the forum at the Unitarians for seven years there's enough material. On Tuesday will be making what is almost an annual address to the Melbourne Atheist Society on The Pragmatic Limits of Scientism in New Atheism, which is a title only confrontational to those atheist entrapped in a positivistic mindset (conveniently have just finished Habermas' Between Facts and Norms). On Wednesday will be speaking at Linux Users of Victoria on MMORPGs and Linux which will include both a historical journey, along with plenty on technical design.

I'm feeling somewhat affected by the death of Lou Reed (was rather delighted by the compilation of painful interviews). Although I was a big fan of his music (solo and The Velvet Underground) in my 'teens, it has been a number of years since I've paid him much attention. But let's face it, he was a true rock legend; artistic, insightful, passionate, cynical, poetic - there just isn't enough adjectives, and it showed on the enormous influence that he and VU had on the rise of alternative music over the past four decades. I struggle to pick a favourite from his wide repertoire; I'm Waiting for the Man, Heroin, All Tomorrow's Parties, Sad Song, Perfect Day, Satellite of Love, Walk on the Wild Side, The Blue Mask - there is just so much to choose from. Yes, it is no surprise that a hard drinking, heavy drug-taking rock star has died. It's "a triumph of modern medicine" as he put it, that he made it to 71. But I still find that the world is a poorer place without him.

Comments

Lou Reed

[cheshirenoir]

I feel sorry also for Laurie Anderson, who had been married to Lou since 2008.
(they had apparently been living in a de-facto for a long time. She apparently lured him back to her apartment by promising to show him her recording studio)

Re: Lou Reed

[tcpip]

I been wondering how Laurie has been taking it. Lou was a somewhat older than her and seriously looking a lot worse for wear, so she must have known.

But seriously good story about the wiles of Laurie. She's all class. I mean really, how to pick up Lou Reed? "Come and see my recording studio". Perfect.

[tcpip.livejournal.com]

Christopher Pyne, when you die I'm going to dig up your corpse, rip your head off, and shit down your neck.

http://junkee.com/christopher-pyne-is-not-a-fan-of-this-so-called-lou-reed/22414

[mr-figgy.livejournal.com]

Side-Line Magazine also did a terrible thing with their obit. At 1:02 PM EDT/Toronto time they still haven't fixed the typo in the headline which portends a crappy article in general.

[tcpip.livejournal.com]

Wow, they really are deserving of number 2 from the painful interviews, aren't they?

I mean, I can understand an attempt to "get their own back" from the music press, which of course Reed loathed. By such a ham-fisted attempt? That calls Rolling Stones' coverage a "scoop"?

I am almost tempted to call Poe's Law on this one. Nobody can report that badly, can they?

[tully-monster.livejournal.com]

Christopher Pyne does sound like an asshole, but as a child of the 70s I'd never listened to Lou Reed either. My mother was a classically-trained musician, and I listened to a lot of...Tchaikovsky and Dvorak.

All that said, Reed sounds like the kind of guy who didn't suffer fools gladly. Some of those journalists asked the most idiotic questions. I'd bite their heads off, too.

[tcpip.livejournal.com]

As a child I listened to Lou Reed, but didn't realise it at the time :)

If Pyne is going to condemn the ABC and Lou Reed because he was a "heroin addict" and "transgressional" (by which he means his Reed's sexual orientation of course) and then suggest that Dvořák or Tchaikovsky should be celebrated instead then perhaps he might want to look at a little closer into stories of their own lives.

Or maybe we can just enjoy the great music instead.

[anfalicious.livejournal.com]

I'm waiting for the man had totally slipped my mind!

[tcpip.livejournal.com]

And "Venus in Furs" slipped mine! :)

[anfalicious.livejournal.com]

I'm taking a year 8 English class that's doing poetry, so now we're listening to Lou Reed (just a selection ;) )

[tcpip.livejournal.com]

Year 8! Oh, if only my school days were so upfront with the wild side of the human spirit.

Mind you, we did get Wilfred Owen..

[anfalicious.livejournal.com]

I get in trouble with The Man from time to time, totally worth it though.

[tcpip.livejournal.com]

I suspect you're going to be the anarchist teacher that the current students are going to remember fondly. :)

[anfalicious.livejournal.com]

I had a few of them at high school (including the head of the RE department at a Catholic school who was a Buddhist); I've modelled my style on them.

[tcpip.livejournal.com]

And if there's one student in your classes that goes on to become a teacher...

[anfalicious.livejournal.com]

Or hell, even a parent.

[tcpip.livejournal.com]

.... your work will be more than worth it.