In the late ’60s, touring dates on the West Coast turned out the most challenging. “The Velvet Underground had hypnotised them!”. The founder of Modern Lovers Jonathan Richman recalls how bewitching the live shows were – it would take five seconds for the audience to start applauding. Featuring interviews with long-term fans, the documentary celebrates the groundbreaking quality of the Velvet Underground.
In the future, this ringing otherwordly aura would become a primary source of inspiration for shoegaze bands.Įxperimental minimalism of La Monte Young and aforementioned composers, an extravaganza of art movements such as Fluxus and eventually Warhol’s The Factory studio, dystopian poetry of Allen Ginsberg, austere cityscapes of New York – all these elements fed into the concept. A professionally trained musician and visionary, Cale became the major contributor to the Velvet Underground drone sound.
New the velvet underground movie tv#
The archival episode of the TV show I’ve Got A Secret features introvert-ish twenty-year-old John Cale, talking about his experience of performing an 18-hour piece by Eric Satie. Although it is not easy to put events of the life of someone as controversial as Lou Reed in a cohesive narrative, Haynes seems to have achieved the goal.ĭespite that the characters and their stories are known far beyond the circle of fans, the cultural context adds missing pieces to the already existing puzzle. The footage showing a young Lou Reed is displayed alongside bits and pieces from 1950s newsreels and family photo archives. The visual technique also serves to open a capsule of time and reveal deeper aspects of the band’s personalities. Relying on a minimalist split-screen mode, Todd Haynes pays homage to Warhol’s experimental films such as Chelsea Girls. One of his most critically acclaimed films is I’m Not There, a biopic inspired by the life of Bob Dylan. Needless to say, Haynes had been no stranger to music-related films before he started working on The Velvet Underground story, although his portfolio lists subjects and demonstrates visual elements that are more conventional than avantgarde.
Planned for release on Apple TV+, the visually captivating documentary is a work by Todd Haynes. The venerable band, though for some members sadly posthumously, gets another burst of exposure on the television. Godfathers of every garage band that ever was.” In a review of the reunion concert film, planned for broadcast on Channel 4, Arena’s Mark Edwards summed up the essence of the Velvet Underground in an exhaustive formula: “Godfathers of Punk. The band reformed after nearly twenty-three years and their return was celebrated in the press. A new documentary by Todd Haynes tells the story of the dark stylists – The Velvet Underground.īy 1993, the Velvet Underground had transformed from a cult collective to a cultural phenomenon synonymous with proto-everything.
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