Between thought and expression lies a lifetime

Listening to The Velvet Underground sort of makes me want to drive over to the East Side, make a score, and then drive to a abandoned strip mall parking lot and nod off to the drone of “Loaded.”

Not that I have much experience with this.

With the exception of course of listening to “Loaded” on repeat ad nauseum.

But that’s the effect of some music. To this day, “Astral Weeks” makes me want to put the album on, lie down on my couch and have this ethereal daydream before falling asleep. Sort of a dream before a dream. And I can think of no higher compliment for a piece of art.

My experiences growing up were far different than what Lou Reed and company are referring to in most of their work. For me, “Waiting for my Man,” was more likely to refer to the one of my friends showing up with pizza and cheesesteaks from Mileto’s Sub Shop. Still, the sordid underbelly portrayed within the grooves (this music was meant for vinyl) of the Velvet’s output was and remains so very appealing.

But my Methodist rearing somehow kept my literally visiting this world, so I sampled it in my head in my small town. And I still do.

Of course, the Velvets wrote about much more than sex and drugs as they tried to make sense of the Universal Truths and being young in New York during the tumult of the 60s.

Back to “Loaded:” Any album with “Sweet Jane,” “Rock and Roll,” “New Age” and “Oh! Sweet Nuthin'” is seminal.

To say nothing of “Head Held High,” with the immortal “do the dog” line at 1:44 – one of my favorite moments in all of rock and roll.

Funny, I've been trying to "do the dog" for some 43 years with little or no success.