Lou Reed Playlist

Lisa Says (specifically the version from the 1969 live album)
Coney Island Baby
Fistfull of Love
Oh Sweet Nuthin'
I'll Be Your Mirror (live with vocals by Lou)
Candy Says
Sad Song
Caroline Says II
Walk on the Wild Side
I'm Waiting For The Man
Love Makes You Feel
Vicious
Satellite of Love
I Can't Stand It
Hold On
Venus in Furs
Dirty Blvd.
All Tomorrow's Parties
Heroin
Femme Fatale
Perfect Day
Make Up
Sunday Morning
There She Goes Again
Pale Blue Eyes
Berlin
Ocean
This Magic Moment
How Do You Think It Feels
Sweet Jane

There are few artists I can think of who have written so many gloriously rich, inspiring, heartbreaking, and timeless songs. Lou Reed was most certainly one of them. As a teenager when I first heard the live version of Lisa Says I felt an instant connection to the author. That song became as close to me as my skin. It was 1995 and I only recently became free from the prison of high school, from constant put-downs and incessantly feeling shameful and embarrassed to be seen with myself. I was applying for a job at the Blockbuster Music in the next town over and they had a catalog on a stand where you could look up songs. I wondered to myself if anyone had ever written a song about a girl named Lisa. I found one by an old band called The Velvet Underground. Cool band name, I remember thinking. I went to the CDs and found the 1969: The Velvet Underground Live album which had Lisa Says on it. I went to the DJ booth and had them play it for me. I immediately felt a connection that I would not have had should I have selected any other version of this song. I started to look up more about this band and buy books about the members. Lou always came across as so kind and genuine. I liked knowing that he was once in a relationship with a transgender woman and that he wrote songs about women and gave them a voice that no other man had ever done. He was the sort of man I wanted to grow up and make my own. Someone who embodied so many characteristics that were atypical to the everyday man. I just loved him so much for that. He was an artist and a gift and he is missed beyond measure.