314 - The Velvet Underground - (eponymous)

While not as much of a sonic assault as their previous two albums, The Velvet Underground is no less dark, dispassionate, or edgy than the previous releases. Why the change in sound? Was it the theft of their amps before going into the studio? Was it the departure of John Cale and his more avant garde tendencies?

There are times that the album sounds like an excellently recorded collection of songs recorded by the band at home. Many of the songs sound more like a group of people sitting around a little room jamming together. The most elaborate song is the nearly 9 minute track - "The Murder Mystery." While it has the same feel as the other songs, for a good part of it, there are two competing stories being told (at the same time) that both seem to support and yet creates tension with any sense of melody in the "verses." Every time I listened to this track, more and more of the inspiration for some of REM's songs became clear. In the REM/VU equation, Mike Mills = Maureen Tucker.

About 22 years ago, I was introduced to the debut album of the Violent Femmes. As a big fan of the diversity of Top 40 radio, I was blown away with how a song can check off a bunch of pop song traits and yet be subversive and not "pop." The Velvet Underground did the same thing a couple of decades before I discovered the Femmes. This is music that could easily be Top 40...if only the door would crack wide enough open to let it in. Tell me how the sweetness of "After Hours" is disqualified from mainstream success?

Songs I knew I liked: "After Hours"

Songs I didn't know but now like: "Candy Says," "Jesus," and "The Murder Mystery"

Songs I can go the rest of my life without hearing again: None