The Velvet Underground & Nico

okk...

Yet another "I do not doubt this is a 5/5 for influence and legacy, but it's like a 2.5/5 at best to actually listen to".

Guess you had to be there?

Track 1. Sunday Morning

By putting out their albums they might have implicitly given permission to others to create things that were further from the scope of what had been traditional Western music at the time, but let's be clear, while the song arrangements and instrumental performances are okay, with occasional moments of inspiration, the execution of the vocals (whether Reed or Nico) is somewhere between bad and horrendous and the choice of lyrical subject matter is worse. I'm not a fan of lyrics that were not written to be honest, and are instead just written to be eye-raising and salacious for no other purpose than to titillate. In those scenarios, I would prefer no lyrics at all. A bit too much form over function. The kind of album where you go, okay, this is where we came from, but thankfully everything got way, way better after this. I would imagine any covers of these songs would be instantly better than the originals by miles. I get it, you need albums that push that limits to understand when you have pushed past the limit and why boundaries were there in the first place.

It's okay

This was quite boring

Chill typ

I want to like these guys, and try to like them, but just not so much. Too odd, subdued and moody for me.

Não é do meu gosto.

sunday morning

Some nice. But most of them are horrible

Di solito non mi dispiace, ma oggi proprio non potevo ascoltarlo

The shitty breathiness of the vocals is only surpassed by the general malaise it instills.

Gosh this album is abrasively white. I only like "European Son", cool punk soundtrack movie vibe.

2.5 - Meh

This is one of those albums I am supposed to love but just don't. Dark and moody and just not my jam.

A little too psychedelic for my taste

la verdad que sin mas

I can see how this was influential. For a 1967 album, it's got a bit of a punch, and a more interesting sound than what you would get in albums like The Beatles from the same era. That being said, being interesting doesn't make it good. Plus, it felt like they weren't yet willing to truly go all in in their interesting sounds. Overall, this sounds like an influential but unenjoyable album.

I enjoy velvet underground. I like Lou reeds voice. I could have lived without heroine, I did not enjoy that song.

The worst parts of the 70s

Honestly this is we have the white album at home.

kind of boring

no lo terminé de escuchar, me sentí obligada a escucharlo. La instrumental me copa, pero el chabon no me transmite mucho. igual siento q para la época fue un gran álbum, personalmente hoy en día no conecto

What about this band is worth listening to?

Definitely not my choice of music but it wasn’t what I was expecting of “The Velvet Underground”; I was expecting rock or something more grunge-y. Favorite song of the album is The Black Angel’s Death Song and Venus in Furs but I didn’t genuinely like any of them. Maybe I’m just too young to appreciate the cultural significance of this album.

Venus in furs aside this didn’t really do loads for me. I appreciate it was very ahead of its time but If this is proto-punk it’s also proto-great songs. Lou reed has his…magic moments… but IMO isn’t this one of them

Boring.

Not sure why this is so influential, kinda boring

The kind of album that is only good way after the fact, after everyone's chewed on the musical concepts for a decade or so and started to do the same thing and cover the good songs on the album, just better. Def could have done with the noise outro

idk man. Letras profundas y una queja social notable pero la instrumental me ha enganchado -0

Heh

The Velvet Underground two days in a row... This might make me biased. But music is biased already, I guess. I'm sorry, this was boring at times and noisy at different times. I will not be coming back to this.

Maybe I just don't get it. Also, not a fan of Lou Reed's voice. My favorite part of this album is the Warhol cover.

Discordant at times, never very listenable. Not a fan.

I wanted to like it, but didn’t

Sorry, but the only influence this can be attributed to is that it allows artists to pass instrumental noise off as art, other than just noise. Just reads as unpolished/trashy, not because it’s an artistic choice, but because it was born out of a lack of talent, motivation, or even just understanding of any level of the recording process. I’ll give it credit for its tackling of “dark” subject matter sonically for the late 60s, but its sound doesn’t do anything to elevate it. People conveniently forget when discussing the importance of this album that there were far more interesting counter-cultural artists across all different mediums at the same time, who actually use formalist talent to portray said touchy subject matter…

Это хотя бы можно слышать

Hmm, very unique. Kinda weird.

Not my cup of tea… 😐

pas mauvais mais ya des bruits latents à la longue c'est désagréable à écouter

I'm probably uncultured for this but man I didn't like this at all.

Couple of decent tracks. Not really my bag

Not bad not great, Heroin was good

this was my first time listening to this album all the way through; i appreciate it's value and the huge impact on the music scene as a whole, but it left little to no impact on me. i appreciated the lyrics the most, but i do feel the album is a touch overrated. i can't give it more than a 2, because the majority of songs i just did not enjoy at all. also fuck that racist cunt nico. ft: heroin lft: i'll be your mirror, european son

Loved the track Heroin but not not much else

Didn’t really enjoy this overall even though i liked a few songs on their own, the production sounded bad to me and their weren’t many melodies that caught my ear

Hat mich nicht geholt, vll falscher Moment falsche Zeit falscher Ort

I will never be as high as it presumably required to start digging this kind of music. “This album inspired this and that”? Ok, but everything inspired by them greatly surpassed the inspirer. Cultural significance (if any) alone doesn’t make something a must have to listen.

Really did not like this, and couldn’t even finish it. Maybe for a different mood, but not for general listening. The guitar tones really don’t do it for me and the scratchiness of the whole album is off-putting. If it was influential, so sorry lol

Не оценил. Хорошего для себя ничего не нашёл. Есть пара затяжных раздражающих песен.

i feel like this album as a whole is not my thing rn. Sunday Morning tho, or honestly any song abt Sunday is high on the list for me, even more if it sounds so dreamy.

I get why this album was such a big deal, and so far ahead of it's time. It covers topics that were just simply not talked about (at least publicly) in 1967. From drug use, to prostitution, to even S&M... the pearl clutchers must have been screaming "but what about the children!!!". However, it's musically meh for me. There are a few tracks that stand out a bit but I think it could have been so much better. Call it blasphemy, but other than the lyrical content I really don't see what the big deal is about. But maybe that is the big deal, simply that these topics were starting to make it out of the seedy bars and hushed undertones of people's living rooms.

Great start. Need to look into the genre but yeah i think this might lead me to follow the path. T'was good. Some not my style some really good. I think i liked the slow paced ones more than the others. Anyway a good start. Rating: 2/5 Best Song: Heroin, I'll be your mirror

Off the bat impression: it fucking sucks. It’s a dissonant mess. I can get the impression of better albums that came after. I can see the influence, but this thing is a total dud. Great way to start this journey.

muy buenas letras pero musicalmente no me gusta mucho. Heroin fue mi favorita, me gusta que cuando habla sobre inyectarse la velocidad del tema aumente

ouais pas mal rien de fou c'est country quoi

okay last track is terrible to listen to. It almost burst my eardrums

if it were a bunny it would be bad actually it would be bad whatever animal

Good but not for me, i knew a few songs of the band that i think are really good, although this wasn't my tasting but i do think it’s very interesting and i really liked two songs from it

First the bad stuff: Most of the songs were so monotonous that you could skip the entire centre section for instance and not have missed anything. The songs and especially the lyrics were nicely written but the vocals kind of ruined everything. Nico???? Wtf was that? The actual singer sounds like an angel compared to her Jesus Christ. The vocals are seriously such a shame because the melodies are so nice and in combination with the lyrics some of the songs could be genuinely beautiful. Now the good stuff: I liked the sound of the instruments and how most of the songs told somewhat of a story. My fav songs are Heroin and Sunday Morning. I think I’ll Be Your Mirror would be such a good song if it weren’t for the terrible vocals. Overall, it’s a nice album and I think it’ll grow on me.

I have friends who love this album. However, nope. Not for me.

Overall, I hated it There's something in this album that just grinds my gears and it's present in every song. I really liked Venus in Furs, but even that song just has something that feels off to me.

Don’t like Lou Reed’s voice. Reminds me a bit of Dylan. Jackie would be mad. Again.

Sounded like a more rocky bob Dylan at times which was good but I cant seem to get this album to click for me.

Lou reed. Its fine. Not really my thing. Nico voice is interesting Venus in furs is good. S&M Its more poetic than audibly interesting to me. Some songs are good. I appreciate it for what it was in the time it was made. Artistic and experimental. Last song was a slog. European son

some of the songs are phenomenal, but too many are a fucking slog

I was looking forward to this as I’ve never listened to this whole album but obviously know it’s iconic. Totally disappointed. Couple of great tracks (eg Sunday Morning), but the rest is that self indulgent swirly 70s dirge.

a collection of a few good tracks and a lot of STINKERS. crazy how such a well respected album like this is so hit or miss.

Tiene canciones buenas, al principio me sonaba como la música que suelo escuchar, pero luego me di cuenta de que se hacía muy repetitiva, y las canciones de más de 5 minutos sonaban estridentes, hasta el punto de que cuando terminaban sentía como cuando apagas el extractor de aire de la cocina

So here's the thing - it's always important to have context with historically important music. I've never listened to this album, but I know about it, and know of its influence. That being said, I think it's also important to review an album while stripping away that context. Take it on face value. So that being said, this album isn't very good. I'm not saying it wasn't completely original at the time. But being original doesn't make it great. The songs need to be good. And these aren't.

Tätä levyä oli kivempi kuunnella mitä edellistä arvioitavaa Samettista Maanalaista. Laulaja on parempi ja biisit eivät ole niin samaa höttöä. Kivaa kikkailua välillä. Tosin levyn ehtoopuolella alkaa kikkailu menemään oman maun yli, jopa tekotaiteellisen puolelle. Astetta parempi velvetti, mutta ei kuitenkaan herätä mitään himoja kuuntelemaan uudestaan.

jel treba da me bole usi od ovoga? kao, ozbiljno me zanima. ali ok pesma se zove heroin - ako je heroin ista kao ova pesma sad jos manje imam potrebe da to probam nego ranije, a vec mi je zelja bila nepostojeca, hvala velvet underground! ovo je zvanicno previse avangardno za moj ukus, ja se izvinjavam sto nisam vise kul, ali ovo stvarno nije napravljeno za uzitak obicnog gradjanina kao sto sam ja. mozda da je bolje izmiksano lakse bi se slusalo, jer ima puno skicanja instrumenata, ne znam koliko je to namerno, a uopste mi nije mnogo pojacan zvuk. ali dobrooo 1967., ill give it a pass... ova poslednja pesma je gitarska verzija of just hooting and hollering. gotovo je thank god. mozda sam ja samo lose raspolozena, ali ovaj album je bas smoriooo. najbolji delovi su tamo gde je zenski vokal. ovo ostalo... yawn

not really feeling the first song ngl...this is definitely some white people music. it sounds groovy, hip turning type of music but its very much white. is this nigga gay? Descendant and pianos on the back of the second song. third song isnt bad. fourth song is very interesting, i like the violens there really making the song for me, this sounds very raw, old westesn, fok . firth is cool but the guitar has some weird screeching to it, its kinda throwing me off. bth the beginning of this album feels and sounds very different from halfway through the album. all tomorrows sound native, like first nations made the song. i dont like herion, i know what it was trying to do but no. is there she goes about a prosititute...? ngl this is trying be experimental but it's not really landing for me. im one the last song and bru... the fuck is going my nigga LOL , niggas just making noise. niche music final boss.... and why is this 7 min long???? overall i didnt really like the album.

Art piece. I have this album. Collectable. To say it is experimental is generous.

Highlights: Sunday Morning, Venus in Furs, All Tomorrow's Parties The record didn't stand out too much to my ear. It was a bit too simple and the vocals sounded like they were recorded on a shitty microphone. Although All Tomorrow's Parties was a highlight I much prefer later cover versions of the song from Japan and Ferry. I liked the droney sound of Venus in Furs. I get that the record was influential at the time, but it didn't sound all that special to me.

Cool cover, lukewarm music

I tried to like this, but I didn't get a lot out of it. The more conventional dimension of the music is kinda boring to me, and the more experimental dimension is painful rather than intriguing/engaging. I know the album is very influential and ahead of its time, but it doesn't really speak to me.

Too Andy Warhol for me

Få fine sange, meget støj og spinkle instrumenter oven i hinanden, alt for kaotisk til tider, ikke min smag

I’ve listened to a few art rock albums from this period and this one was by far the worst. Whoever put this on the list was right. Everyone needs to hear how Lou Reed ruined an otherwise alright album. The first few tracks were either pretty good or forgettable. Then, Run Run Run came on and Lou Reed showed his fraudulent hand. That guitar solo made me mad and physically cringe. Then I started listening to what Reed was saying. His lyrics are definitely creative but the content is so disgusting and aggravating. There She Goes Again made me want to yell. I can’t believe this is a top album for people. Maybe they ignore the bulk of the tracks.

Nah

🥇all tomorrows parties 🥈i’m waiting for the man 🥉heroin HM: there she goes again

The album is pleasant enough but I didn't love any of the songs, they were at most all ok to me

screeching... 3/10

A few tracks I liked but I wasn’t a particular fan of the style

I can see why this was considered influential for its time but it feels like a sloppy version compared to albums that take inspiration and make this sound better. I am always torn when I don’t enjoy an “influential” album. I understand the influence doesn’t equal being widely enjoyed but I do find that I still expect to enjoy it and unfortunately this time I really didn’t….

Sounds like if Timothee Chalamet made an album with the meters in red while doing his Bob Dylan voice. Prefer their Self Titled

I’ve always been intrigued by the banana sticker, but I’ve never actually heard any of these songs. Anywhere. Ever. One of the most influential albums of all time and I’ve never heard any of these songs anywhere? I think this is because this music isn’t very good, but the banana sticker fucking rules. Great idea, Andy!

Maybe I just don’t appreciate artsy music You can go on and on about how influential this album is but at the end of the day I listen to music because it sounds good, and I really don’t think Velvet Underground try. There’s parts in the second half that make me want to pick up my headphones and throw them far away There’s some interesting poetic lyrics but that alone isn’t enough to save the album for me. Once again no real standouts I might have to give this one another listen because I’ve gotta be missing something

I did it again… Man, I need to start saving my reviews. I write an essays worth of things to talk about only to come back and have it nothing. Anyways, this is one of those albums I’ve heard a lot about, but just never got the chance to actually give it a listen and I get that this was probably ahead of its time in the '60s (it's certainly strange compared to whatever the Beatles were cooking up at the time) But my personal ratings don't give any points for influence or historical significance. Purely based on my own taste, this was so-so, with some tracks veering towards actively bad while a few were strangely good, especially Sunday Morning and Heroin. The album is like an open mic night in a beatnik neighborhood. Most tracks are just Lou Reed talking at you with music playing in the background more than any real singing happening. Not my cup of tea for sure. It was worth a listen, but I probably won’t listen to it again 2/5.

Simple, repetitive melodies. The production sounds very dated, with the vocal tracks and some instruments getting distorted at multiple points. Sunday Morning and Femme Fatale are both good though.

Obviously one of the most influential albums of all time, and you can really hear it. I don't really like it that much tho. Some songs are fine, I won't be coming back to this often, at least not for now

Favourite tracks: femme fatale and there she goes again

Not a huge fan of this album. Does not live up to the fame of the cover at all. Specific rating - 2.5 Fav song -there she goes again Least fav- European son

sunday morning - immediately not optimistic that this album will be for me. found this one a bit boring i’m waiting for the man - intro music sounds better than the last one. i could see myself liking this one. background music sounds a bit like when a broken stereo is too loud. maybe not going to add to the playlist but a lot more promising than the last one. would give it another chance in the future femme fatale - already not hopeful from beginning. can they sing? i don’t like this one. at least it’s short. would maybe be better if it was more upbeat? venus in furs - beginning sounds cool. i don’t think i’m gonna like it. i definitely don’t like it. they just never switch up the beat or anything, same background noise the whole way through, different lyrics sung to the same tune, and neither of these things are good enough to stay the same the whole way run run run - okay i’m hopeful i’ll like it. i think i do. that bit hurts my ears there was no need. hmm maybe i dont, or at least not enough to add it to the playlist. still hurting my ears. definitely not the worst one so far all tomorrow’s parties - it’s a longer one. oh god. i definitely am not gonna like this. drums in the background are kinda giving soldiers marching and beating their drums. glad it’s over heroin - another longer one, hoping it’s better than the last one. i don’t get what makes a song a rock song. ooh it’s speeding up i like it. definitely my favourite so far i really like it when it starts building up and speeding up. careful i can almost hear the lyrics. promising but sometimes a bit too screechy there she goes again - i quite like this one. also a good one. i could listen to this again. not much to say i liked it i’ll be your mirror - a short one. who is this one singing i haven’t liked any of them “singing”. a bit boring. wouldn’t listen to it again by choice the black angel’s death song - title makes me scared for it. i quite like it so far though. why are they making a strange noise. it’s not as bad as i thought it would be. they keep making strange noises with their mouth european son - last one and it’s long. i like the intro. oh it’s just sound what’s happening there were like ten lyrics. the sound is overwhelming what is happening i don’t like it this is what i imagine it sounds like in someone’s head when they do cocaine. i can’t wait for it to be over but i’ve made it this far i’m not skipping. final thoughts: i think some of them were okay but i can’t tell if i’m just trying to convince myself they were okay, but i’ll listen to them more. the music was sometimes too loud and screechy and crackly so i couldn’t really hear the lyrics. favourite: heroin

Its not that good. I was hoping for interesting songs but they didn't even exactly sound like music? Some were boring, some felt like a chore to listen to honestly. Who likes to listen to this on a daily basis and why? I don't get why its so overrated

I had to listen to this before, and the second time didn't change my opinion. I have no idea why this is so much praised. Lou Reed and his heroin trips' outpour are as bad as Nico's awful German accent.

Turejau didelius lukescius, bet overall kazkaip ne man, kelios dainos visai nieko. Heroin galejo but zrr gera daina, bet irgi kazkaip nlb. Favorites: "ill be your mirror", "there she goes again" ir "im waiting for the man"

A few good songs, but not their finest hour. Not a fan of the more transgressive elements. “Loaded” is better.

It was my first album in this style and as so it wasnt to my usual liking. But I did like some aspekts of it for example the variety of sounds and the attempt to try out diffrent ideas without making it as exrsvagant as possible. So although some of the songs like the instrumentl one werent my stil it was a good album and Sunday mornings, there she goes again and all tomorrows patry grew on me.

Music for people that prefer Canada Dry over Vernors.

Not bad but not noteworthy.

I honestly don’t get it. It’s just kind of neutral and pleasant, with no point of view. What’s the appeal?

not really for me.

Idk honestly I spaced out

I know that this album is beloved and aclaimed, but I just can't hear it. It ranges from boring to bad, and rarely ever sounds good. I've heard that it was highly influential and spawned many different genres (punk, grunge, shoegaze, etc) but I honestly don't really like those genres either. Idk. It's cool that Andy Warhol sponsored this album, and the first track was kind of nice (reminded me a bit of KEITH - 98.6) but that's about all that I can say. Favorite Track: Sunday Morning

wtf first half was listenable and kinda good but the second half is the opposite

• Before listening, I don't think I know any Velvet Underground songs, but this album art is iconic, and Lou Reed obviously has a long legacy of his own. • I'm Waiting for the Man feels reminiscent of Bob Dylan. I like the bass line, especially in the chorus and the end of the song • So far, I'm enjoying the more straightforward rock songs like Run Run Run a lot more than songs like Venus in Furs • I really dislike some of the songs on this album, I'll Be Your Mirror is probably my least favourite so far • European Son quickly took the crown for my least favourite song • Overall, I was not a big fan of the album. A lot of it just felt like noise, and the few songs I didn't mind still weren't good enough to salvage the rest of the album. Favourite song: Run Run Run

Okay so many thoughts. First I was disappointed when I saw this was my album of the day because I tried listening 10 years ago and hated it. So naturally I went to the reviews which seemed to echo that feeling. I lold at some of the reviews. But as taste buds change with age so does music appreciation. It was honestly pretty good. Better than last time for sure. Not better than tribe so giving a 2

So I typically love 60s music and even other TVG songs, but this album wasn’t for me. I respect the grunge, rock, alt type vibe but idk I wasn’t really into from beginning to end. I like Run Run Run tho. 3/10

Damn beatniks - No standouts

Meh3

1. Sunday Morning 2. Heroin 3. There She Goes Again I appreciate this is an important album for music in general seeing as it’s so experimental, however i’m rating this based on objectively how does it sound. It’s not something I would just put on and listen to. Note that all the noise in Heroin made me anxious and was not nice to listen to but i did like that it was so different to everything else on the album and in fact songs in general. I think one of the reasons I don’t like it is because the lead singer has the same type of drawn out American voice that annoys me - Bob Dylan/ Dire Straits type thing.

Shouty nails on chalk board

Leider anstrengend 2/6

I wanted to like it more

First impression is the Sunday Morning vocals sound like a bad Dylan impression. Does Venus in Furs reference a little BDSM action? Gotta give it to the song writer, the lyrics are imaginative. Listened before? N Saved some tracks? N Favorite tracks? N/A ⭐⭐ I can neither hate nor like this entry Favorite tracks?

Very monotonous and anticlimactic Hate the deadpan voice and speaking tone. Production is very tinny and hollow

Not my favorite at all, 1 or 2 good songs

not my style. would be nice for background music you’re not paying attention to.

Sounded like an Album on acid having a stroke didn't gel with the harshness of the sound

There she goes again é a top 1 do álbum, instrumentais absurdos e estranhamente me lembrou músicas indianas. Passa uma vibe bem Beatles 6/10.

My head hurts I can’t with this album

hey, this was a vibe. not really my vibe, but not bad at all! 70s new york art scene, sure.

Very interesting indeed. Was very surprised to see that I had listened to one of the songs already. Loved the mix of sounds throughout the whole album.

Lou Reed is pretty cool isn’t he?

The cover is better than the music.

BYD, München, Deutschland. Gar nicht mal so gut.

I realise this is a classic but it doesn't float my boat at all. There's two or three lofi toe tappers in there and I imagine it's quite trippy if you're wasted on something. But the weak vocals, the reliance on some kind of germanic cool, and the poorly tuned jangly guitars mostly just irritate me

Sehr unruhig, dreckig, bunt, New York City Style. Nicht mein Geschmack

Still can’t get myself to like this, 2/5

I can see that it was very influential, and I liked it in places. "Sunday Morning", the opening track, probably my favorite. Some of it though, unlistenable. 2/5.

Instrumental finde ich das teilweise gut. Die Vocals gehen für mich gar nicht. Nico finde ich stellenweise passabel, aber mit dem Gesang von Lou Red kann ich wirklich nichts anfangen.

3/10

Not a fan

4/10 I would skip it if it came on

Favorite tracks: Run Run Run, Sunday Morning, Venus In Furs Nico has one of the most annoying voices I've heard in a long time, and she definitely brought this album down quite a bit for me.

Interesting style & themes, but a little too amelodic and all over the place for it to really be enjoyable for me.

Listened to this before and I didn't like it. I still don't like it. 2

I really did not like the droning noises over most tracks. Should have called the album "Tinnitus"

It's a classic, but I don't love it, it doesn't speak to me. I don't want to listen to Nico or Lou Reed. Has its moments, the dissonances in Venus In Furs. Heroin. Not going to turn it off, but not going to seek it out.

C’est l’autre côté pour ouvrir la banane loser

Well, Lou Reed starts to sound the same all the time...

Lou Reeds voice is no bueno and you can just tell these guys were the worst to hang out with

Not worthy of the hype it gets, the songwriting itself on most songs isn't terrible, but lou reed is kind of a douche and Nico does not have a good voice at all.

18/1001 So I finally listened to the album with the iconic banana on the cover. I probably need to be in a different state to get why this is highly regarded by many.

Warhol’s visual art is much more compelling than this

I think I'm starting to realize I hate this genre

no me encantan

Experimentellt, sure. Banbrytande för sin tid, sure. Fett ass dock! :D

5/10

j’ai pas trop accroché

Original album is a 2. Deluxe tracks are a 3. A historical cultural experience at the time I'm sure, but all hype and no lasting value. Like Warhol, it is emblematic of other things that were also going on so you could happily take this out of the cannon without the progression of culture being affected. It's legacy casts a shadow on pop music where people insist on rehashing this nonsense in order to attract attention and fade away, just like VU. Being critical, It's the sound of being a vain, over educated, unskilled, privileged NY moron with too much time on your hands. Young, dumb and full of smack...

I'd believe that this was Iggy Pop if I encountered this in the wild

Okay.

Some very good tunes mixed with some clunkers. Nico can’t sing, which makes some tunes hard to listen to. A 2.

A palatable listen - I can see why people like this but I don't think it's necessarily for me. I like the droning in the background that seems to be omnipresent. And I like how the voice seems intentionally unpolished. Loses points because it lacks musical complexity, and a lot of the songs sound similar. Best song: Heroin

Такое себе… Начало вроде ничего, но чем дальше, тем музыка бредовее. 5 из 10.

Yeah. Another The Velvet Underground album, and the feeling stays the same: I did not understand it, and it is not my style. "I guess you'd have to be there" in album form. It was the catalyst for a lot of other bands and genres, but still feels too raw for me. And the lyrics and topics of the songs are not for me, I cannot relate in any way. Gets minus one star for being so overhyped, idk...

Can't say I get it, whatever "it" is supposed to be.

Meh. A little Bob Dylan-esque. Not terrible but not something I would play again.

Oh man, I thought i generally liked the Velvet Underground. But I guess I never gave this as close a listen as I should have. Comes off pretentious, melodramatic, and kinda lazy. There are some nice melodies and smooth vocals, but there’s a sense of desperation that comes off as… immature.

4.5/10

Pre listen: I don't think I will like , have avoided due to vocal so far Post listen: Vocal was OK, like Rodriguez and see it's influnce on contemporary acts like foxxygen. I think at the time it would have been more exciting/ground breaking but to me it's a little dull. I gather they liked heroine from the lyrics

I didn't care for this. Sounded a little too much like Bob Dylan.

Let’s get the good qualities of this album out of the way first. Much respect to a band that actually plays instruments and can give you a real Rock & Roll sound. It’s refreshing to listen to music being “made” and not just synthesized, as a lot of music is presented today. Despite being almost 60 years old, the rock sound still comes through strong and true and I can see how this band/album may have influenced others that followed it. So I’ll recognize that there is talent hiding within this band. Now that I’ve said that, the album is like an open mic night in a beatnik neighborhood. Most tracks are just Lou Reed talking at you with music playing in the background more than any real singing happening. Not my cup of tea for sure. It was worth a listen, but it’s a one-and-done for me.

Anyone who says they love this album is lying. It was made to be hated. It’s noise rock, anti-music, built to be destroyed. It’s music about people on drugs searching for more drugs and Lou Reed and I … we don’t do the same drugs. I’ll never be high enough to get this album. But I like bananas, so there you go.

A bit too many guitar screeches for my taste

All tomorrow’s parties was my favorite! That one I could listen to again more than once. But somehow did not feel the same about most of the songs. Many of them made me just wish it was over sooner.

Not my thing

Mid, just noise. Really loved two songs though

Overall weird genre amalgamation that I just couldn't get along with. 2 stars is a generous rating, but there are a few songs of value. I have a feeling it's going to rate well on this site for some reason though... - Lovely opening song. Very gentle and sweet - 2nd song is a weird Bob Dylan Punk mix. 2 chords and dense lyrics. Annoying

personally. they are ok, must be missing something, sound ok but wouldn't seek this out

Critics have been hyping this album forever as one of the most important in music history. I guess to really get why, you would have to put yourself back in 1967. But I don’t want to get this approach on this album, because I know that the lyrics only gave it its groundbreaking dimension. If I just play it as it is, the innovation doesn’t exactly jump out at me and it is quite an average album. “I’m Waiting for the Man” does give a glimpse of how Lou Reed will sound on Transformer, sure, but aside from that, I’m not blown away. Honestly, I prefer their third album, which we already listened to in this challenge, and definitely some of Lou Reed’s solo work.

I already tried to enjoy this album a few times. This was another failed attempt.

Не моё совершенно. Культовость осознаю, но мимо

Still better than Kanye West.

- hmm i’m not sure i like the vibe of this music but i think that it’s not bad, quite hoppy at times - there she goes is or i’ll be your mirror probably the best song out of the album imo

I liked the first couple of songs (femme fatale is my favourite i think) but i didn’t love the screechy clangy stuff that started to appear later in the album 😭 i know that this band and album are very significant in music history…makes me feel bad that i’m not rating it higher but i just didn’t enjoy it that much 🫣 honestly maybe im the problem and i need to listen to more rock and experimental stuff

Didn't really enjoy this one. Between what I think were intentionally discordant sounds and what I think of as sort of stereotypical (probably because of this album) late 60s rock, there just wasn't much here I really enjoyed. It feels like an album that's Art with a capital A, at the expense of being an actual enjoyable listen.

Very interesting, not as good as the last velvet underground album I listened to. 5.1/10

Wow. I just finished mushy banana music album. This doesn't speak to me in any way. My brain feels like it just came off a trip, if I knew what that felt like. I can get how it was important at the time, but I'm not a fan of the hipster poet music.

Standout Songs: I'm Waiting For The Man There She Goes Again

I definitely like some songs and some aspects of this album but is not really for me 2/5

some of the songs were ok, but most of them were kind of boring to me. i’m just not a lou reed guy.

I think 🤔 the point of the album and the band themselves are to be as subversive as possible. It definitely makes that attempt. Lou Reed has his best performance vocals until Transformer. But Nico… oof. Musically too Dylanesque without the folky credibility. Here’s the thing. I just simply don’t enjoy the VU. They just make me cringe. It’s a lot like Andy Warhol’s art. Mostly conceptual, and groundbreaking by bringing the subversive stuff up from the underground. Without being able to cite any example, there’s a lot of stuff from the underground that is well executed and thought through. VU are a little too spontaneous and sloppy for me to clearly see the concept. But according to Wikipedia all rock is essentially transgressive. So they do succeed at making rock music. I s’pose. 100% influential. Very risky. Not all bad. I get the experiment. It just freaks me out that this all gets so much love. 🤷‍♀️

It's really just OK with some forays into plain annoying. Cannot quite understand how this is groundbreaking, "seminal", and influential. Some of the songs sound a bit like 60's hippy-ish folk-laden tunes - Sunday Morning, All Tomorrow's Parties, I'll Be Your Mirror for example. "Heroin" is grating. The jangly guitars are good, but the drone in the background throughout annoys and whoever told Lou Reed he should be a singer was obviously riding the horse themselves. The end is a screechy mess. European Son is horrendous. I love a good instrumental jam... and even when folks go out on musical tangents and come back, kind of jazz-like. But this sounds like some children that picked up instruments with no training and just banged some shit out. Femme Fatal is well written and poorly sung. I've heard a few (apparent) covers of it, and it's a fine enough song. I actually had to doublecheck to see if these guys wrote it. I thought it was an older song. So, points for this one! Here's how I think this could be called influential - If I was 20 and I heard this, I might think, "If they can put this out there and make it big, then I sure as hell sure can!" Not influential as in, "One day I aspire to be that," but more like "Shit, I can do better than that, right now!"

This rating may make some people angry, but that is okay and they will get over it. I think this is quite possibly the most overrated album to ever be released. There are two good songs on the project and a lot of non directional fluff. I understand that albums this raw weren't really around at this time, but just because something is unique does not make it any better as a project. The first person to wipe standing up also thought that he was changing the world and yet he was entirely wrong about the correct way to clean his ass. 3/10

Boring and weird. I dont care what anyone says. Heroin is the best song on the album by far

Not for me.

60-tals flum. Två ok låtar: Sunday Morning, There She Goes Again. Relevant när den kom, men inte längre. Hamnar väl på listan främst utifrån hur många som säger sig ha inspirerats av skivan. Snarare ett museiföremål en ett levande musikaliskt verk.

I am as disappointed now as I was eager yesterday to dive into some best-of Velvet Underground. This was like listening to a smash-cut of the absolute roughest Bob Dylan scatting. Heroin secures the 2.

Cool instrumentals yet again but the vocals are not the greatest, recording quality also doesn't help with that. Some pretty cool uses of some cool effects and instruments tho.

Was not my vibe for music

I know I’m supposed to like this and it’s influential but I didn’t like it.

I’m not a huge fan of this one, kind of discordant noise for the instrumentation and the vocals/lyrics didn’t do much for me. 1.5 rounded up to 2 stars I guess.

De la bonne musique de sieste Les bruits de grincement de métal sont agressants There She Goes Again c’est juste There She Goes the The La’s mais en pire. I swear y’a des accords or something qui se ressemblent À cause du potentiel de sieste quand il n’y a pas de bruits agressants et des bruits agressants quand il n’y a pas de potentiel de sieste, je pense que je vais lui donner un 2/5: Not for me

meh…

Not their best

Velvet underground just isn’t for me. Nothing catches my interest

Some good interspersed with some average or poor ones. Rather indulgent.

I appreciate that it has had a world of influence but I'd rather listen to those than this. Similar to Dylan in that covers are so better than the original.

Excruciating

European Son is my favorite I guess, teeth vibes at the end which was fun. Just not my kind of vocals at all. Kinda sad I’m giving this the same rating as Shleep ☹️

The state fair arrives at a lower Manhattan drug den. All very of its time. Not my thing.

I've just never understood the hype behind this album. Maybe I'm not stoned enough to appreciate it.

I went from "oh nice, an album that I haven't listened to but have heard good things about" to "what the heck is even this" pretty quickly.

Few good ones

I hate this album (but love this band). Impossible to listen to. 2 stars.

2,25

point5.

Meh

Not a fan, but sometimes the vibe was good.

Very just boring as all other 60s generic bands

I get that it was influential, but it’s still a little too artsy for me.

The only reason this album is on any list is because Andy Warhol produced it and created cool cover art, there I said it. It sounds like noise. So much screeching. There's a reason it wasn't well received commercially at the time, and why pretentious nerds keep putting it on lists today.

no es mucho mi estilo, pero algunas canciones me gustaron pero hasta ahí jajaj. le daría tipo 4/10 capaz

Ah the famous banana album, never bothered listening to this, and I'm kinda glad I waited until 1001 assigned this one. This definitely didn't meet or exceed my expectations. When a monumental album is referenced just on its cover you expect something grandiose and with fanfare, but this was really underwhelming. Influence aside and also listening to this in the modern age, I'd give this a 2 at best, its not unlistenable, and I didn't hate it...that much. Enjoyed the first half, disliked the second half of just noise and experimental sounds.

wish I appreciated them more, I know how influential etc but just don't (ever) listen to them.

Ikke min type musikk. Langt mellom gode melodilinjer. Monotont og dystert. Kan forstå at albumet har vært banebrytende og inspirerende, men ikke noe jeg kommer til å sette på igjen.

Not for me. I liked the song Heroin though.

I know this is a cornerstone album of modern music, but it overall failed to impress me much. A lot has been made of Andy Warhol's involvement in the production of the album as well, but even that element doesn't seem very strong to me. It's mostly fine, but some high-pitched noise on a few tracks made for an unpleasant listening experience, I feel I have to deduct a star for that. Maybe I was overhyped on this one.

Yeah I like this one a lot

Ok

Notes: - Sounds like Bob Dylan lyrically and The Rolling Stones musically - Sloppy solos that could be more melodic and less “technical” Favorite Songs: - Heroin - There She Goes Again Least Favorite Songs: - The Black Angels Death Song Rating: 2/5

The album is pretty decent, but it's not varied enough for me. I can listen to it for a while, but a whole album in that style is too much for me.

Really varied, not one specific theme, didn't like anything in particular

Not for me

Not a bad album. just not to my tastes

Fine, not my thing, wouldn't listen to it again. The more songs that were more bluegrassy with the fiddle were better than the others.

Very experimental, sometimes like an early Joy Division album.

i have tried so many times with this album and I just can't

Awful, easily the worst thing on here since Throbbing Gristle. What a mess, every song sounds like a demo and they should have stayed that way.

I could not care less about this album. I think giving it a two is about all I can muster

Very repetitive, same looping instrumentals. Some very tinny sounding instruments as well that hurt my ears at points. Last song was horrible

Pretty alright album, not really what I was expecting from "Undead Underwood" but it was alright as background music. There were a few songs that were pretty different from each other, so the album was a bit all over the place but overall not too bad.

Okay but songs blend together almost immediately

I wasn't looking forward to this one, even though I knew it would be on the list. I have already had to listen to a Nico album that was insufferable. I'm going to quote myself from my review of a Lou Reed album though, because it rings true here as well. "Proof that you don't need a great voice or a heap of talent to make it. You just need to be one of the first on the bandwagon so everyone thinks that you're a visionary"

Boring

Already heard this in 2024. Not impressed. Two

Still not a lou reed enjoyer

It's like some dudes heard The Beatles & Bob Dylan and thought "we could do that", but then realized they weren't that talented. Some of the stuff works, other times it feels like the guitar player just goes off on his own. It's really weird to go from a song that is kind of punk, weird, experimental, to some 60s pop rock with shitty harmonies/background vocals. I really don't understand the addition of Nico. She's got like 3 songs, that don't really fit into the other stuff. It wasn't like she had a particularly good voice or anything either.

Kändes flummigt

I get that the Velvet Underground had a huge impact on the music industry, but they just don't sound very good. Still without a doubt The Velvet Underground's best album. Unfortunately, that's mostly because Nico is a much, much better singer than Lou Reed.

Sound like bing bong pngggg qushhh

Not my jam

Thought I would enjoy it more but found most of the album to just drone on. The songs start off ok but end up just being the same progression throughout, not very dynamic. I may have to come back to this one later.

Maybe I've heard this album too many times, not bad! Only has a few bangers though. My rating would be higher if i was rating Sunday Morning or Femme Fatale. I give it a true 2.5.

Not really my vibe tbh…

Found this one at the pawn shop in high school, didn’t like it then, don’t like it now.

I might like it a teensy bit more, but still doesn't do much of anything for me

Horrendously overrated. Venus in Furs was a high point though.

Wa-a-ay too emo sounding for me. 2/5

That sure was a lot of sounds

Too much weird noises for my taste 4/10

Fairly simplistic school-band standard songs. Not helped by listening on headphones as the mix isn't great so there is a lot of singing in one ear and guitar in the other. My assumption is that this album is on the 1001 list because they were an influencial band. However as a standalone album, although interesting, it's something I won't be listening to again.

I don't know, this just didn't do it for me. I didn't like most of the album, but the songs that I thought were pretty good were Heroin, The Black Angel's Death Song, Tomorrow's Parties, and I'll Be Your Mirror. I might listen to more Nico, I liked her singing.

crazy that this was as influential as it is unlistenable. "can't listen to this sober" ok that's because it's bad. every album is better on drugs, that's why people like drugs.

Kind of slow and meandering in a way that didn't work for me. I liked the sound of the driving instruments in Venus in Furs, but not enough to add it I don't think. Femme Fatale isn't bad either, but more vocally than from the instruments. 2/5 stars.

Some of the songs were really fun and had good beat. There were a couple songs where it sounded a little monotone or the singer had a flat tone that was weird, like in “Venus is furs” A lot of good variety. I’m pretty sure that this guy was very high when writing and singing half the songs.

Don't really enjoy the album. The background music feels like screeching for most songs. Otherwise, most of the songs are just plain boring. The loud pointless background noises bring the album from a mediocre 3 to an awful 2.

Best Song: Heroin. Cacophonous in a nice way. I liked the repeated crescendos and the sort of descent into shrieking madness towards the end. Worst Song: Run Run Run. I found the chorus really annoying. And somehow, each time it came around, the whole band seemed unprepared for it. Overall: Mostly a sort of monotonous dull drone, with occasional sparks of something more distinct. Not something I can imagine returning to.

Wanted to like it but just couldn’t get into it

Brian Eno said in 1982 that while this album only sold approximately 30,000 copies in its first five years, "everyone who bought one of those 30,000 copies started a band". May be true, but I'll say the influence is much bigger and better than the original product. I know this is one of the greatest ever, but man I would just rather listen to so many more OTHER albums than this. The way my ears are uncomfortable is not in the way I would prefer. "There She Goes Again" is about the only song I can say I enjoyed, but not much. The strings paired with the guitars and, wind instruments? are such a strange combination. Does it need a remaster, no. It needs an ALTERNATE remix, that's a "bad" thing to say, but I think it would make the album more accessible for younger audiences.

Not a fan tbh. Not an easy listen. Maybe another time

I don't know how I feel... weird mixed feelings but look wouldn't recommend.

started good with Sunday Morning. started losing interest after that. when it turned into beat poetry, it lost me. yet another 2/5

Heroin was an interesting song but otherwise the album was way too hippy-dippy for my liking. Felt like it was smelling it's own farts but maybe that's just my dislike for hippie culture

This is my second attempt at getting into this album. While I enjoy some of the more experimental moments on this album, I find myself really getting bored at most of the stereotypical hippie drum circle vibes.

Ooooooh. Tricky one this isn't it? Definitely feels like one of those albums that snooty muso-types throw at you for "you're not trying hard enough" if you say you don't like. As if effort was something to be admired when listening to music. Almost got 3 stars because of the stunning "Venus in Furs" but I had to take it away again for the total mess that is "European Son"

Not a fan. Tough listen.

wow! i did not like this that much! femme fatale is pretty good but other than that… i remember i tried to listen to this album when i was 14 because i thought this was a mother mother album. it was not and i was severely disappointed. my disappointment remains.

Pre-listening thoughts: I HATE YOU VELVET UNDERGROUND AND LOU REED LEAVE ME ALONE PLEASE. As excited as I am that we’re finally done with The Velvet Underground all before album 150, Lou Reed still has one solo album left in our generator and Nico has her album too. So bleh. Post/during listening thoughts: god I cannot express how much Lou Reed is not for me. Singing is a generous word for him. Nico’s songs are okay. Sometimes the instrumentation is very droll and sometimes it’s screechy. But this is not as bad as White Light/White Heat. It’s just boring. 4/10 DID I NEED TO HEAR THIS BEFORE I DIE: no velvet underground are my opps Fav tracks: Sunday Morning Least fav tracks: anything where Lou Reed is lead vocals and whatever the hell European Son was

This was okay to have on in the background but the vocals were a bit of a drag to listen to, and it isn't really my kinda thing. A shame casuse this is such an iconic album with a lot of reputation surrounding it but not one I was too fussed about

What to say about this album? It's importance is not lost on me, and there's no mistaking it's influence on later music across several genres. But that doesn't make it any more enjoyable to listen to from my perspective. I don't like Nico's voice, so the only tracks that I enjoyed at all were the ones with Reed on vocals. At least a couple of the tracks are potential belters, but my enthusiasm for them soon waned when the screeching feedback kicked in. For me, this album is not quite a three star effort, so two is all it gets.

The album that launched 10,000 bands. I assume for the same reason so many punk bands were inspired by the Sec Pistols. When people heard it they figured they could make an album at least as good. That’s not really the sign of a great album or even a compliment. I hear great bands and I think, “I could never do that. I’m amazed anyone could.” If I think, ”shoot, I could do that,” it’s not really that impressive of art. That said, some songs are better, maybe ok for a garage band or even a local bar band, but nothing terribly great. I do enjoy Sunday Morning, though.

I'm about a year in at this point and I don't think it's an exaggeration to say that these albums come up just about once a week. The nerds among us will try to say that there is something very small that they were the first ones to ever do, and they might be right, but in the grand scheme of music, especially from this decade, it doesn't do much to me to stand out. The annoying screeching that was unique...annoying...but unique.

I recognize I'm in the minority who honestly can't stand VU and their songwriting + production quality/style. I acknowledge they are/were hugely influential, but I just cannot connect with it in any conceivable way. Clearly, I'm not the target listener for this type of music... I would not recommend ingesting this music if you're depressed or have a drug problem - it's only gonna put you in an even darker place.

I want to like this so bad. I kept thinking “the next one will be good”.

I was apprehensive going in to this one after seeing it described on Wikipedia as being a commercial flop at the time of release due to its "abrasive, unconventional sound and controversial lyrics". As it happened it was just a pretty average rock and roll/psychedelic album which wasn't particularly avant-garde to my 2024 ear. I get that this was probably ahead of its time in the '60s (it's certainly abrasive and unconventional compared to what the Beatles were putting out at the time, for example). But my personal ratings don't award any marks for influence or historical significance. Purely based on my own taste, this was so-so, with some tracks veering towards actively bad while none particularly inspired me

No me ha gustao mucho la verdad

For chrissakes, Nico’s voice makes me wanna perpetuate violence and I’m pretty sure that’s not a good thing. This album was better than I expected but still tremendously in enjoyable. Two stars for two very enthusiastic thumbs down!

Kinda alternates between songs I really like and songs I'm not high enough to appreciate

I really want to like Lou Reed, who is mentioned consistently among those who moved rock music forward. But the idea of listening to anything on the back half of the album depresses me.

The longer “European Son” dragged on, the closer this album got to 1-star.

Classic, works as a background music for me.

I like Sunday Morning! Overall not many songs I'd revisit. I've listened to this a few times before and it still doesn't really hit for me.

Typical VU. Not for me.

Fav songs: Heroin Im waiting for the man Over ehhhhh 2 stars

I like some of it. But I can’t stand Nico’s voice if she wasn’t on it I’d give it a higher rating

Han die Band vorher ned kennt. S Album esch experimentel und spannend gsii zum lose. Paar Songs send mer den aber au bitzli zu experimentell gsii und au sehr astrengend zum zuelose. Ben na hin und her grisse was ech für en bewertig söll abgeh. Fende aber ned das es sich mega hed chönne vo andere "alte rock albene" darum geb ech obwohl ech das genre na gern zum erste mal nur 2 Sternli. Felecht hättis am ne andere tag 3 geh aber das esch hald so wenn s mäntig-album besch.

Late 1960’s beatniks. The original pretentious hipsters who thought they were far cooler and more important than anyone else. Slow, uninspired, vaguely folky counter culture tunes. I guess it’s art-rock? Lots of weird instrumentation and noise, but I never found it to be used tastefully or even appropriately. I think the involvement of Andy Warhol is distinctly evident on this album. I’m more interested in the songs lead by Lou Reed than I am of Nico, but neither did much for me. Venus in furs is fine, but I’ve heard covers I like much more. I struggle to find a lot to say about this album honestly. 2*… whatever

This is in many ways a “great” album - ahead of its time and certainly very influential. But I don’t think it’s a “good” album. It’s shrieking and dissonant and musically it goes back and forth between trite guitar riffs and unlistenable noise. Lou Reed’s voice is annoying as hell and so are his lyrics. We get it dude, you do drugs. This album’s saving grace is Nico’s vocals, which are so strange and beautiful. There are also some interesting textures on some tracks. Overall, I find this irritating and will not listen again. Also, I don’t like Andy Warhol. 4/10

Self-indulgent 60s Art Rock. That Nico was allowed to sing on this album doesn't raise it's appeal, to put it mildly. 2/5

Schlechtes Lowfi. Nico ist alleine besser.

I thought this was supposed to be some great album...

Yeah, the famous songs are fine aren't they, but generally very bland.

First time listening to The Velvet Underground. Not very memorable. Probably won't come back.