Between Thought and Expression: Selected Lyrics of Lou Reed

by Lou Reed

Book Overview

Lou Reed's lyrics have established themselves in the memory of music fans. This book is Reed's own selection, from Velvet Underground classics to his recent solo triumph New York and his collaboration... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1562829238
• ISBN13: 9781562829230
• Release Date: January 1993
• Publisher: Hyperion Books
• Length: 192 Pages
• Weight: 0.60 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 5.4" x 8.3"

Customer Reviews

Nostalgic and Raw!

My mother bought this book for me when I was a teenager and I was going through hell. Without this book, I don't know what I would have done, it helped me to heal so much. Unfortunately, one of my ex-roommates ended up stealing it. I am getting ready to buy a new copy, now that I have finally found it!

DIVERSE & PROVOCATIVE

It's remarkable how well Reed's lyrics work as poetry. The lyrics encompass his work from 1965 to 1990, from "I'll Be Your Mirror" (Velvets) to "A Dream" from the Songs For Drella album. Many are illuminated with notes, eg. "PR shoes" in I'm Waiting For The Man refers to *"puerto rican fence climbers", All Tomorrow's Parties, *"This was Andy's favorite song", Candy's Song (with a short biographical note on Candy), Pale Blue Eyes (written for someone whose eyes were hazel), How Do You Think It Feels ("By speed I mean injectable liquid Methedrine") and so forth. Many lyrics are from albums panned by the critics (Legendary Hearts, The Bells, Sally Can't Dance, Mistrial, Growing Up In Public). There is one poem from a literary magazine: The Slide, from Unmuzzled Ox. Then there are the interviews with Vaclav Havel and with Hubert Selby. The Bells ends the book, in Reed's own words: "... it remains my favorite to this day." The discography/index lists all the lyrics and the albums on which they appear. The hardcover edition has a classy black & gold dust jacket. This book is essential for all Lou Reed fans, for pleasure reading and as a reference.

Five stars is not enough for this book...

I've been a Lou Reed fan for about a year now. This book has a lot to do with it. When I heard one of his songs, I thought it was just so beautiful. A person I care about very much let me borrow this book, and told me to read it since I loved that song so much. This book really touched my heart, and I read it the whole thing in one day. I've never read more achingly beautiful poems and lyrics in all my life. No other person has Lou's gift for writing lyrics. This is a wonderful book that made me see life in a totally different way. Anyone who doesn't own this book should buy it now. You have to read it yourself to know what I'm talking about.