Vaclav Havel

I am beyond saddened at the loss of my dear friend and inspirational leader Pres. Havel. A man’s man. A leader, thinker speaker writer and so brave. And funny and great. This is a terrible loss for this world and certainly for me personally. I will try to remember every last word and mental picture of this great great man who was necessary more than ever in a world gone mad. I would so much have loved to bring him up to date on Occupy. I admired him before all others. A true hero in a world bereft.

Sadly,
Lou Reed

Lou & Cyndi Lauper on stage together for the True Color Fund

On Sunday, December 4th 2011 Lou joined Cyndi Lauper on stage in front of a sold out crowd at New York’s Beacon Theater as part of her “Home for the Holidays” show.

Proceeds from the event went to benefit Cyndi’s True Colors Fund. We encourage you to check out the True Colors Fund website HERE.

(posted by Shane)

Lou reading and signing The Raven @ BookCourt (Brooklyn, NY)

Lou will be doing a reading of his book The Raven followed by a Q&A and a signing at BookCourt in Brooklyn, NY. See all the details below.

Date: December 12, 2011
Time: 7pm
Admission: FREE!
Address: BookCourt
163 Court Street
Brooklyn, NY 11201
Phone: 718 875 3677
Website: www.bookcourt.org

(posted by Shane)

Video for The View to premier on IFC.com on Saturday December 3 at 10 AM EST

The Darren Aronofsky – directed video for “The View,” from Lou Reed and Metallica’s album Lulu, will premiere this Saturday, December 3rd at 10 AM on IFC.com and will be promoted on the IFC Television Network. Although the original plan was to shoot a performance video of “Iced Honey,” when everyone got together, it became obvious “The View” was the way to go.

“The first time I heard ‘The View’ I was stunned,” said Darren Aronofsky. “I had never heard anything like it. Half was all Lou. The other half all metallica. It was a marriage that on the surface made no sense, but the fusion changed the way I thought about both artists and morphed into something completely fresh and new. I couldn’t stop listening to it. Lou’s crushing lyrics, and the band’s incredible licks. It’s so original and that’s why I wanted to work on it.”

“I am very excited about working with Darren Aronofsky on our powerful video ‘The View’,” said Lou Reed. “I feel Darren understood the power and range of the emotions fueled by the fire of METALLICA. His strength and spirit are on display in every frame and I think he has caught the anger, rage and anguish at the bottom of the soul of real rock. A literate man for a literate song. As exciting as the music and that’s a big compliment. Possibly the best video ever made. Black and white filmic noir”.

“To have a song like ‘The View’ visualized through the eyes and magic touch of Darren Aronofsky is beyond my wildest dream,” said Metallica’s Lars Ulrich. “The marriage between images, music, and words in this video is indescribably thrilling and I am so next level psyched to be involved in a project that brings together the creative minds of Darren Aronofsky, Lou Reed . . . and The ‘Tallica”

A collaboration between Reed and Metallica, Lulu includes a set of extended songs inspired by German expressionist Frank Wedekind’s early 20th century plays Earth Spirit and Pandora’s Box, and were a rewrite of Edgar Allan Poe’s, The Raven, which emerged as a graphic novel on Fantagraphics Press. Rolling Stone has called Lulu “one of the season’s hottest albums,” while the New York Times called it “a set of wrenching, astonishingly profane songs. Beneath Mr. Reed’s searing vocals, Metallica’s serrated guitars and drums churn like a torture device.” ARTISTdirect dubbed Lulu “the ultimate 21st century rock opera,” while CBS Sunday Morning called it “a testament to brains AND brawn.”

(posted by Shane)

Lou Speaks Out At Occupy Wall Street

Click here to see the video.

(posted by Shane)

Lou & Metallica perform White Light/White Heat on 1Live (Cologne, Germany)

(posted by Shane)

Lou & Metallica performing Junior Dad on 1Live (Cologne, Germany)

(posted by Shane)

Lou & Metallica performing Dragon on 1Live (Cologne, Germany)

(posted by Shane)