It's 1986, and Lou Reed's period of creative stagnation continues, and just like in the previous album “New Sensations”, the old Lou “makes do” as he can with simple and catchy compositions, trying to dress them with bright sounds and guitars (all his own, this time) that are both gritty and clear, even if the absence of Robert Quine, the guitarist who had significantly embellished the previous three albums, is felt quite heavily.
The songs are there, perhaps even more than in “New Sensations”, although it should be noted that there are a couple of really awful things, the terrible “The Original Wrapper”, with drum machines and sounds almost like a pinball machine (can you imagine something further from Lou Reed’s musical sensibility?), and “No Money Down”, which was accompanied by a parody video where Lou Reed’s mannequin was torn apart by I can't quite remember what, again with a ridiculous electronic drum and plasticized guitars, aarrgh!
But for the rest, you can safely go along, even if at some points, Lou Reed dresses the songs in an ‘80s sound that doesn’t belong to him (this is certainly the case with the two pieces mentioned above), finding himself a bit out of place.
Good pieces, as I said, there are still some, starting with some simple typically Lou Reed rock, for example “Mama’s Got A Lover” and “I Remember You”, two circular songs, with a guitar riff repeated from start to finish, in short, the typical songs with one or two chords at most, made nonetheless in what I believe is a very intelligent manner.
Among other things worth noting are also a couple of languid and sweet ballads like “Don’t Hurt A Woman” and “Tell It To Your Heart”, surely dedicated to his then wife Sylvia Morales, with a very romantic and passionate interpretation.
Then the invective and harsh criticism of modern society, which will be one of the main protagonists of the fantastic “New York” three years later, begins to emerge. Here there’s a piece, “Video Violence”, which is a violent throw against the television garbage that was already reigning at that time (even here in Italy, of course!) and which, however, willing or not, conditioned our lives. A track that will prove to be a forerunner of what Lou Reed will see a few years later.
In conclusion, another album that, far from being a masterpiece, nonetheless did not overshadow the enormous capabilities and potential of a Lou Reed, perhaps a bit of a “rocker in slippers” (as someone defined him at that time), but still far from being retired (also quoting the critics of the time here).
What can you do if the critics of the '80s preferred to praise Duran Duran and Sigue Sigue Sputnik?
Tracklist Lyrics and Videos
05 Video Violence (05:36)
The currents rage deep inside us
This is the age of video violence
The currents rage so deep inside us
This is the age of video violence
Up in the morning, drinking his coffee
Turns on the TV to some slasher movie
Cartoon-like women, tied up and sweaty
Painting and screaming, thank you, have a nice day
The currents rage, the dawn's upon us
This is the age of video violence
The current rage so deep inside us
This is the age of video violence
Na-na-na, na-na-na
Na-na-na, na-na-na
His heart is pounding he switches the channel
looking for something other than rape or murder
Or beatings or torture but except for Walt Disney
It's a twisted alliance, this age of video violence
The currents rage, the dawn's upon us
This is the age of video violence
The current rage so deep inside us
This is the age of video violence
Down at his job, his boss sits there screaming
If he loses his job, then life loses its meaning
His son is in high school, there's nothing he's learning
He sits by the TV, watching Corvettes exploding, 'cause
The currents rage, the dawn's upon us
This is the age of video violence
The current rage so deep inside us
This is the age of video violence
Na-na-na, na-na-na
Na-na-na, na-na-na
Down at a bar some woman is topless
she's acned and scarred, her hair is a mess
While he shoves 5 dollars down her exotic panties
the video jukebox is, ah, playing Madonna
While just down the block at some local theater
they're grabbing their crotches at the 13th beheading
As the dead rise to live, the live sink to die
the currents are deep and raging inside
The currents rage so deep inside us
This is the age of video violence
No age of reason is landing upon us
This is the age of video violence
Na-na-na, na-na-na
Na-na-na, na-na-na
Na-na-na, na-na-na
Na-na-na, na-na-na
Our good working stiff looks a whore in the eye
ties her to a bed while he beats her back bloody and then back -
At home, drinking more instant coffee
Calls some red-neck evangelist that he's seen on TV and says
The currents rage, the dawn's upon us
This is the age of video violence
The current rage so deep inside us
This is the age of video violence
The currents rage so deep down inside us
This is the age of video violence
No age of reason is landing upon us
This is the age of video violence
Na-na-na, na-na-na
Na-na-na, na-na-na
Na-na-na, na-na-na
Na-na-na, na-na-na
Na-na-na, na-na-na
Na-na-na, na-na-na
Na-na-na, na-na-na
Na-na-na, na-na-na
Na-na-na, na-na-na
Na-na-na, na-na-na
Na-na-na, na-na-na
Na-na-na, na-na-na
06 Spit It Out (03:40)
If there's rage inside you so you cannot think, spit it out
If you get so angry that you cannot speak, spit it out
Talk to him or her or it
And tell them where they can put it
Spit it out, spit it out
You got to talk to him or her or it
And take aim with your mouth and spit
Spit it out, spit it out
If you get worked over at your job, spit it out
If a taxi almost runs you down, spit it out
You got to take aim with your mouth and speak
And give it to them right between the teeth
Spit it out, spit it out
Talk to him or her or it
And take aim with your mouth and spit
Spit it out, spit it out
Spit it out
Hey, hey, hey
If you're patient and you have the time, spit it out
Wait till they're on the decline, spit it out
The Chinese say you meet the hard with the soft
The Yin with the Yang, the down with the up, oh
Spit it out, spit it out
You got to grab that dumb he, she or it
And give it to them right between the teeth
Spit it out, spit it out
Spit it out, babe, spit it out
Hey
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