Archive for the ‘Generation 1’ Category
Lou Reed’s “Heroin”
By the 1960s and 70s, drugs had found a home in the music industry. While many were disgusted by the immorality and illegality of substances, others embraced them. California was giving birth to acts such as the Grateful Dead, the Doors, Hendrix, and others, who won people over with their aura of openness and evolution. LSD, ecstasy, and other various drugs had become the tools and the fuel necessary to appreciate the sounds of the new generation.
While California was trippin’ in the sun, New York City was being exposed to a different musical revelation, a darker, more obscure sound. The Velvet Underground was adopted into the music scene around 1965, and underground they were. Lou Reed, the band’s lead singer and guitarist was perceived by the public much like that of a drug; the fascination listeners attained overpowered his ambiguous manner. And Reed was nothing short of a junkie, as was portrayed in his 1967 piece, “Heroin”.
“Heroin, be the death of me
Heroin, its my wife and its my life
Because a mainer to my vein
Leads to a center in my head
And then I’m better off dead”
While many acts were glorifying the greatness of drugs, Reed exposed the transcending pain that was derived from them. He went beyond describing the want for escape, and truly captured the dying need for relief that lives inside those experiencing this type of self-destruction. Living the life of a rock star, and feeling the pain of addict, Reed inserted a true human touch into his art.
