VU article in new issue of Ugly Things

[iaredatsun]

(Clears throat)

The 12 page article is actually about the paperback books that provided the group their name. The research is fascinating and reveals (among other things) that the original author was on federal trial for his reportage. Great contemporaneous visuals too. If that endorsement's insufficient, Pamela Anderson gets thanked for helping with the archival digging.

I can't believe that anybody on this forum wouldn't find it riveting. If your Ugly Things subscription has unaccountably lapsed, I would order a copy pronto.

Thank-you for the insight. Seems worth ordering, now we have a better idea about the article.

[DavidH]

I'm stunned that anyone here imagined that either Phil or Ugly Things magazine would have wasted time reprinting an anecdote that we've all heard for thirty + years.

[simonm]

wow, hard to please!
'appy xmas to you too! :/
did you read it yet?

[iaredatsun]

I'm stunned that anyone here imagined that either Phil or Ugly Things magazine would have wasted time reprinting an anecdote that we've all heard for thirty + years.

Given that the well-known anecdote would take all of 3 lines to repeat, I think people here assumed there was probably more to it than that. But as Phil himself was being pretty tight-lipped about the article AND that the magazine itself had publicised it as being about where the band got their name, I think it would be fair to say that no one knew quite what to think.

[peppergomez]

I'm stunned that anyone here imagined that either Phil or Ugly Things magazine would have wasted time reprinting an anecdote that we've all heard for thirty + years.

doesn't take much to stun you, I guess?

[Sheila Klein]

I have no idea what anecdote you're referring to. And I'm not being tight-lipped, it's just that I poured my soul into the research and the writing of the article, and don't feel like giving away its salient features simply for the asking. I was also hoping that maybe one person here might read it without my prompting, and report back on whether they found it worth their investment or not, which would in turn inform the others.

What I will say is that the article is about the background of the 1963 paperback book The Velvet Underground and its author, and of the 1968 sequel The Velvet Underground Revisited and its author. If that's of interest to you, you'll want to read the article. It's also a thoughtful meditation on the phrase velvet underground, and if that phrase resonates with you you'll want to read the article.

If it interests you that the author of the book the group got its name from was indicted on federal obscenity charges related to that book, you'll want to read the article. If you've ever been curious to know whether the author of The Velvet Underground was aware that its title had been adopted by an important rock group from New York, you'll want to read the article. If you're interested in the iconic design of the book's cover, which has been adopted for countless reuses around the world, you'll want to read the article.

Those interested only in the VU's music will find little of value in it, but I know that many of us have grown curious over the years about these other aspects. I've followed my curiosity to discover the information I relate in the article, and all anyone else has to do is read it.

--Phil

[iaredatsun]

I've ordered it from RT, UK since that post above. But the initial description (something like 'how the VU got their name') was not enough incentive for me to part with whjat seemed like a lot of cash to order from the states.

Thanks to 'i am the table' and Phil for since giving us a little more to go on. It does sound interesting.

[threechordwonder]

I have no idea what anecdote you're referring to.

Phil, the anecdote that has caused so much angst is the one that says the band took its name from the book which Tony Conrad found on the street, but there is a variant that says Reed and Cale found the book in Conrad's old apartment. Then again there's another anecdote that says Reed and Cale found Sterling on the street with no shoes on, so it's hard to know what to believe.

[Sheila Klein]

The anecdote that has caused so much angst is the one that says the band took its name from the book which Tony Conrad found on the street, but there is a variant that says Reed and Cale found the book in Conrad's old apartment.

I'm not sure why that's a "variant" -- can't both be true?

[threechordwonder]

The anecdote that has caused so much angst is the one that says the band took its name from the book which Tony Conrad found on the street, but there is a variant that says Reed and Cale found the book in Conrad's old apartment.

I'm not sure why that's a "variant" -- can't both be true?

Yes, they could both be true, and I had the same thought myself, but I have never seen the story documented that way.