EBOOK
About
The definitive oral history of “The Velvet Underground”, one of the most influential bands of all time, with contributions from remaining members, contemporaneous musicians, critics, filmmakers, and DJs, from New York Times bestselling author Dylan Jones.
Rebellion always starts somewhere, and in the music world of the transgressive teen, there is nowhere to look but The Velvet Underground. In the '60s, The Velvets crystallized the idea of the bohemian, urban, narcissistic art school gang, a stylistic idea that evolved in the rarefied environs of Andy Warhol's Factory.
The first major American rock group with a male and female line-up, The Velvets never smiled in photographs and wore sunglasses indoors, inventing the archetype that would be copied by everyone from Sid Vicious to Bobby Gillespie, Chrissie Hynde, Bono, Kim Gordan, and Fall Out Boy. They were avant-garde nihilists, writing about drug abuse, prostitution, paranoia, and sado-masochistic sex at a time when the rest of the world was singing about peace and love.
In that sense they invented punk. And then some.
With contributions from Lou Reed, John Cale, Mo Tucker, Andy Warhol, Graydon Carter, Nico, David Bowie, Diane von Furstenberg, and more, music journalist Dylan Jones breaks down the band's whirlwind of subversion and, in a narrative rich in drama and detail, proves why The Velvets remain the original kings and queens of edge.
Rebellion always starts somewhere, and in the music world of the transgressive teen, there is nowhere to look but The Velvet Underground. In the '60s, The Velvets crystallized the idea of the bohemian, urban, narcissistic art school gang, a stylistic idea that evolved in the rarefied environs of Andy Warhol's Factory.
The first major American rock group with a male and female line-up, The Velvets never smiled in photographs and wore sunglasses indoors, inventing the archetype that would be copied by everyone from Sid Vicious to Bobby Gillespie, Chrissie Hynde, Bono, Kim Gordan, and Fall Out Boy. They were avant-garde nihilists, writing about drug abuse, prostitution, paranoia, and sado-masochistic sex at a time when the rest of the world was singing about peace and love.
In that sense they invented punk. And then some.
With contributions from Lou Reed, John Cale, Mo Tucker, Andy Warhol, Graydon Carter, Nico, David Bowie, Diane von Furstenberg, and more, music journalist Dylan Jones breaks down the band's whirlwind of subversion and, in a narrative rich in drama and detail, proves why The Velvets remain the original kings and queens of edge.