Here’s a thought:  every single rock musician of the last 35 years owes something to Lou Reed. Along with Bruce Springsteen, Neil Young, and Bob Dylan, he completely revolutionized the concept of the songwriter during the late 20th century. The Velvet Underground, Reed’s band with John Cale, ranks with the Beatles, The Rolling Stones, and Pink Floyd as the most influential bands in rock history. Reed’s musical children are common styles today: grunge, punk, noise rock, etc. He had one of the most distinctive voices and lyrical palettes of the 70s and 80s. And his legacy lives on, even after his death on October 27 at age 71.

Reed’s musical legacy begins with The Velvet Underground. Formed in New York City in 1965, The Velvet Underground were a group of musicians who were some of the first rockers to embrace the avant-garde. Maureen Tucker, the drummer, would use mallets as drumsticks, and she played standing up. Reed had also asked her to play with a sideways bass drum to create a unique rhythmic sound. Their first album, The Velvet Underground & Nico, is an LP that truly expresses the term “art rock,” led by Reed’s unique guitar style and John Cale on viola, bass, and piano. Atmospheric pieces like “Sunday Morning” and “Femme Fatale” are mixed in with the more abrasive and avant-garde “Heroin” and “European Son.” The album was a triumph.  Although it was not a commercial success, it has been recognized by critics and fans alike as a seminal album. One of the most widespread anecdotes in rock music, attributed to Brian Eno, is that only one hundred people initially bought the Velvet Underground’s first album, and today each one of them is a rock musician.

The Velvet Underground’s second album, White Light/White Heat, is where Reed’s musical genius was truly exposed. The use of guitar feedback and noise was unheard-of in rock music before this album was recorded. Reed’s use of spoken word in “The Gift” was hypnotic, yet fun. The dissonant jams of “Lady Godiva’s Operation” and the album’s masterpiece, “Sister Ray,”used dissonance fifteen years before the emergence of noise rock. The cacophonies of these tunes are tremendous – frenetic, psychedelic, and distorted. The album stands today as one of the great achievements of rock and roll.

After the Velvet Underground broke up in 1973, Reed had already began a promising solo career with the albums “Transformer” and “Berlin.” These albums displayed a more down-tempo style, similar to David Bowie, who was a friend of Reed. But the songs of the 70s still contained the psychedelic overtones of The Velvet Underground. What was most memorable about Lou Reed’s music, however, was his voice. His rough, dry vocals made his solo career extremely significant. His vulgar lyrics touched on taboo subjects with sexual and drug-related themes. Over the course of two decades, Reed made music that embodied a whole generation of urban life, and he should be remembered for it.

Reed was famous not only as a musician, but because he pushed people’s buttons with his music. “I’m an artist and that means I can be as egotistical as I want to be,” he said, ignoring any criticism journalists levy. This attitude shined on two infamous Lou Reed albums, Metal Machine Music from 1975 and the more recent album, Lulu, a collaboration with Metallica. The former album contains four long pieces of screeching guitar feedback, designed to hurt your ears. A Rolling Stone reviewer said listening to the album was “one of the better feats of endurance in my life.”  Most people would call the music “just noise,” but Reed essentially predated industrial music by a decade. This LP proved to be massively influential on the harsher styles of music that developed in the last three decades.

Lulu is almost meant to be taken as a joke. The mere announcement that Lou Reed was doing an album with Metallica pissed off Metallica fans and Reed fans alike. After “The View” was released on YouTube, it seemed everyone’s worst fears had been confirmed, Reed’s strange spoken-word delivery combining with Metallica’s fidgeting, stagnating riffs. But Reed basked in the hatred, commenting, “Who cares? I’m essentially in this for the fun of it.” That statement alone defines the attitude of a legend, a man who changed music on his own terms. And even an album like Lulu was a triumph to some people, with its anathematic riffing and mysterious lyrics. Lou Reed was a true pioneer, a man who should not be remembered by his commercial appeal or by his record sales numbers, but for his impact on music that will last forever. Rest in peace, Lou.  And thank you.