History Music / TheVelvetUnderground

** Their first album? Yeah, covered entirely by Music/{{Beck}} and a lot of musicians, who dedicated an entire day, and posted everything in Beck's website and Website/YouTube.

** ''Music/TheVelvetUndergroundAndNico'' showcased an eclectic mix of PsychedelicRock, Drone Music, [[AvantGardeMusic Avant-Garde]], ProtoPunk, and even FolkMusic that influenced {{Krautrock}}, PunkRock, NoisePop, NoiseRock, {{Shoegaze}}, DreamPop, and PostRock.

* [[GirlInABox Guy in a Box]]: "The Gift" shows us why it's a bad idea.

** ''Music/WhiteLightWhiteHeat'' took the noise and avant-garde elements UpToEleven, with noise freakouts like the title track and "I Heard Her Call My Name", surreal narratives like "The Gift" and "Lady Godiva's Operation", the epic "Sister Ray" which combines both elements with a ProtoPunk riff, and just to mess with listeners, "Here She Comes Now", a light folk song with LoopedLyrics.

** ''Music/Squeeze1973'', for what it's worth, was the result of manager Steve Sesnick kicking out Lou Reed and Sterling Morrison (John Cale had already left after White Light/White Heat, and Moe Tucker wasn't present on Loaded due to her pregnancy) and effectively forcing Doug Yule to make a glorified solo record and release under the Velvet Underground name. Sonically, it takes the commercial sound of Loaded UpToEleven, while lyrically it swaps out Lou Reeds cynical, poetic lyrics in favor of lyrics that sound like every other mainstream rock from TheSeventies. [[{{Understatement}} The record remains controversial among fans]], [[CanonDiscontinuity and the band pretends it doesn't exist]].

Creator/AndyWarhol was hired as manager and producer; at his insistence German singer/model Christa "Music/{{Nico}}" Päffgen joined the band on several songs. Thanks to his patronage, the band received a contract with Verve Records and entered the studio in 1966 to record. Their debut album, ''Music/TheVelvetUndergroundAndNico'', was released in March 1967; it contained several now-classic songs such as "Heroin", "All Tomorrow's Parties", "Venus in Furs", "Sunday Morning", "Femme Fatale", "I'll Be Your Mirror", and "I'm Waiting for the Man". It had a muted commercial reception and few people paid attention initially despite rigorous touring, [[VindicatedByHistory but is now highly regarded among critics and fans]].

Cale eventually left, and was replaced by bassist Doug Yule. In reaction to this and the theft of the band's amplifiers, ''Music/{{The Velvet Underground|Album}}'' from 1969 (which was released by Creator/MGMRecords, Verve's corporate parent) was a more subdued, reflective affair. Its style is most noticeable in the folky "Pale Blue Eyes" and "After Hours". Despite favourable critical reception, it was their first album to not enter the Billboard 200 (the previous ones managed the meager showings of #171 and #199). They toured throughout 1969 and continued writing material, most of which was shelved after disputes with Verve but eventually released on ''VU'' and ''Another View''.

Cale eventually left, and was replaced by bassist Doug Yule. In reaction to this and the theft of the band's amplifiers, ''Music/{{The Velvet Underground|Album}}'' from 1969 was a more subdued, reflective affair. Its style is most noticeable in the folky "Pale Blue Eyes" and "After Hours". Despite favourable critical reception, it was their first album to not enter the Billboard 200 (the previous ones managed the meager showings of #171 and #199). They toured throughout 1969 and continued writing material, most of which was shelved after disputes with Verve but eventually released on ''VU'' and ''Another View''.

The Velvets were kicked off Verve in 1969 by a new president who wanted to purge controversial acts from the label ([[Music/FrankZappa Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention]] were another victim). They signed with Cotillion Records, a sublabel of Creator/{{Atlantic|Records}}, who requested less controversial material and an album "loaded with hits". The result was ''Music/{{Loaded}}'', their swan song. Despite strong material and, indeed, some hits, the band dissolved during production when Reed left the band in August 1970.

-->'''Lou Reed''': The engineer said, "I don't have to ''listen'' to this. I'll put it in record, and then I'm ''leaving''. When you're done, come get me."

[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/velvet_underground_1969_album_3925.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:350: ''I don't know just what it's all about. Put on your red pajamas and find out.'']]

''The Velvet Underground'' is the eponymous third studio album by the Music/VelvetUnderground, released in 1969. It is their first album without founding member Music/JohnCale, who chose to leave the band after ''Music/WhiteLightWhiteHeat'' from the previous year due to CreativeDifferences with frontman Music/LouReed; it is also their last studio album to feature Maureen Tucker, as due to her pregnancy, she was unable to appear on ''Music/{{Loaded}}'' from the following year. This album is the first featuring Cale's replacement Doug Yule, who would take over the band in the future.

With his main rival within the band now gone, Reed was able to make his own ideas and tastes more dominant. The result was a less AvantGardeMusic sound compared to their previous two albums ''Music/TheVelvetUndergroundAndNico'' from 1967 and ''Music/WhiteLightWhiteHeat''. Most of the songs are straightforward rock songs such as "Candy Says", "What Goes On" and "Pale Blue Eyes", which remained audience favourites over the years.

!! Tracklist:

[[AC: Side One]]

# "Candy Says" (4:04)
# "What Goes On" (4:55)
# "Some Kinda Love" (4:03)
# "Pale Blue Eyes" (5:41)
# "Jesus" (3:24)

[[AC: Side Two]]

# "Beginning to See the Light" (4:41)
# "I'm Set Free" (4:08)
# "That's the Story of My Life" (1:59)
# "The Murder Mystery" (8:55)
# "After Hours" (2:07)

!!Principal Members:

* Sterling Morrison - guitar, backing and co-lead vocals
* Music/LouReed - lead vocals, guitar, piano
* Maureen Tucker - drums, percussion, backing and lead vocals
* Doug Yule - bass, backing and lead vocals, organ

! '''''Linger on your pale blue tropes''''':
* AlliterativeTitle: "The '''M'''urder '''M'''ystery".
* AntiLoveSong: "Pale Blue Eyes"
-->''But mostly you just make me mad\\
Baby, you just make me mad\\
Linger on, your pale blue eyes''
* AvantGardeMusic: "The Murder Mystery" is the sole track that fits this genre.
* BlackAndWhiteMorality: A huge theme on the album. In "That's the Story of My Life" the difference between wrong and right is said to be "dead". In "Beginning to See the Light" Reed asks: "Here comes two of you, which one will you choose? One is black, one is blue. Don't know just what to do?" and in "Jesus" he asks Jesus to help him.
* BoringButPractical: "Some Kinda Love"
-->''I heard what you said\\
Marguerita told Tom\\
And, of course, you're a bore\\
But at that you're not charm-less\\
For a bore is a straight line\\
That finds a wealth in division\\
And some kinds of love\\
Are mistaken for vision''
* ContinuityNod: "Candy Says" would receive a CallBack with "Caroline Says Part II" on ''Music/{{Berlin}}'' by Music/LouReed.
* CountingToThree: Tucker does this at the start of "After Hours".
* CoverVersion: [[Music/RoxyMusic Bryan Ferry]] covered "What Goes On", which also interpolated "Beginning to See the Light", for 1976's ''The Bride Stripped Bare''.
* TheCynic:
** "I'm Set Free"
--->''And now I'm set free\\
I'm set free\\
I'm set free to find a new illusion''
** "That's the Story of My Life"
--->''That's the story of my life\\
That's the difference between wrong and right\\
But Billy said, both those words are dead\\
That's the story of my life.''
* DeliberatelyMonochrome: The album cover is in black and white.
* DespairEventHorizon: "After Hours"
-->''All the people are dancing\\
And they're having such fun\\
I wish it could happen to me''
* DownerEnding: "After Hours" is a pretty dark ending to the album.
* EpicRocking: The 8:55 "The Murder Mystery".
* EpiphanyTherapy: "Beginning to See the Light".
--> ''Yeah, I'm beginning to see the light''
* FaceOnTheCover: This was the first album to feature the band members on the cover. Features a hilariously clean-cut Lou Reed.
* GodIsLoveSongs: "Jesus", a song where Reed asks the Messiah for salvation.
** Complicating the matter is that, well, Reed was Jewish. This has led to a number of conflicting interpretations.
* GratuitousPanning: "The Murder Mystery", which has different vocals from different band members in each channel. Reed would later call this a failed experiment.
* HairOfTheDog: "Beginning to See the Light":
--> ''Wine in the morning, and some breakfast at night''
* InnocentBlueEyes: {{Subverted|Trope}} in "Pale Blue Eyes". The mellow and soothing music leads one to think that this trope is in play, and from the lyrics you can tell that the narrator ''wants'' to believe this -- but he can't, because the relationship can't last, because she's cheating on her husband with him.
* LighterAndSofter: Compared to their last two albums this record is much more minimalist and intimate. The only real AvantGardeMusic track is "The Murder Mystery".
* LyricalDissonance: Despite the incredibly dissonant lyrics, "After Hours" has a jaunty melody with an innocent vocal delivery from Tucker.
* AMindIsATerribleThingToRead:
** "Candy Says"
--->''Candy says: "I'd like to know completely\\
What others so discreetly talk about''
** "What Goes On"
--->''What goes on in your mind?''
* MinisculeRocking: The 1:59 "That's the Story of My Life" and 2:07 "After Hours".
* MythologyGag: The album cover is a deliberate nod to the cover of ''Music/WhiteLightWhiteHeat'' immediately before it, featuring the band name in the exact same font and a similar position, again against a black backdrop, but with a photograph of the band in place of the skull tattoo.
* NewSoundAlbum: Compared to their earlier albums they are almost unrecognizable, save for "The Murder Mystery".
* NonAppearingTitle: The album title does not appear in any of the lyrics.
* OneDialogueTwoConversations: "The Murder Mystery" features all four band members' voices. During the verses, Lou Reed and Sterling Morrison each recite different verses of poetry simultaneously, with each track panning strictly to the left and right. For the choruses, Maureen Tucker and Doug Yule sing different lyrics and melodies at the same time, also separated left and right.
* OneManSong: "Jesus".
* OneWomanSong: "Candy Says".
* PerishingAltRockVoice: The {{Trope Codifier}}s at work. Notably, Reed's voice is even more perishing here than it usually is; a listener could be forgiven for thinking Yule sings lead vocals on tracks like "I'm Set Free" and "That's the Story of My Life".
* ProperlyParanoid: "Candy Says"
-->''Candy says: "I'd like to know completely\\
What others so discreetly talk about"''.
* RealLifeWritesThePlot: "Candy Says" was about Creator/AndyWarhol model Candy Darling, who would later be referenced again in Reed's song "Walk on the Wild Side" from ''Music/{{Transformer}}''.
* SelfTitledAlbum: ''The Velvet Underground''.
* ShoutOut:
** An instrumental version of "Pale Blue Eyes" was used in ''Film/TheDivingBellAndTheButterfly''.
** "Some Kinda Love" inspired the Music/{{dEUS}} song "What We Talk About (When We Talk About Love)" from ''Music/PocketRevolution'' (2005).
** The distorted organ sound heard at the end of Music/TalkingHeads' "Music/OnceInALifetime" from the ''Music/RemainInLight'' album (1980) was inspired by "What Goes On".
** "The Murder Mystery" references Music/TheBeachBoys' [[Music/PetSounds "Caroline, No"]].
** "Candy Says" was written with Andy Warhol protégé Candy Darling in mind.
* SpokenWordInMusic: "The Murder Mystery" alternates Lou Reed and Sterling Morrison speaking in one channel with Doug Yule and Moe Tucker singing in the other.
* StepUpToTheMicrophone: Drummer Maureen "Moe" Tucker sings lead vocals on "After Hours". Bass player Doug Yule performs the lead vocals on "Candy Says" and co-lead vocals on the choruses of "Jesus". All four band members perform lead vocals on "The Murder Mystery" (Morrison and Reed during the verses, which are spoken-word; Yule and Tucker during the choruses, which are sung). This is Morrison's only lead vocal credit on a Velvet Underground album, though he did provide backing vocals quite often.
* SurprisinglyGentleSong:
** "After Hours", much thanks to Maureen "Moe" Tucker's vocal delivery. Reed admitted that he gave it to her on purpose because if he'd sung it, it wouldn't have sounded as innocent.
** Around two-thirds of the album qualified by the band's standards at the time. There are a few rockers such as "What Goes On", "Beginning to See the Light", and "The Murder Mystery", but by the standards of a band known for experiments like the viola freakout of "The Black Angel's Death Song" and the seventeen-and-a-half-minute noise jam "Sister Ray", the meditative ballads that make up the majority of this album were a major sonic departure.
* WordSaladLyrics:
** "The Murder Mystery" consists mostly of a series of nonsensical words and phrases, most of them spoken by different people at the same time.
** Many lyrics are difficult to decipher at first. This is lampshaded in "Some Kinda Love":
--->''I don't know just what it's all about\\
Put on your red pyjamas and find out''

* AMindIsATerribleThingToRead:
** "Candy Says"
--> ''Candy says: "I'd like to know completely''
--> ''What others so discreetly talk about''.
** "What Goes On"
--> ''What goes on in your mind?''

--> ''But mostly you just make me mad''
--> ''Baby, you just make me mad''
--> ''Linger on, your pale blue eyes''

--> ''I heard what you said''
--> ''Marguerita told Tom''
--> ''And, of course, you're a bore''
--> ''But at that you're not charm-less''
--> ''For a bore is a straight line''
--> ''That finds a wealth in division''
--> ''And some kinds of love''
--> ''Are mistaken for vision''

--> ''And now I'm set free''
--> ''I'm set free''
--> ''I'm set free to find a new illusion''

--> ''That's the story of my life''
--> ''That's the difference between wrong and right''
--> ''But Billy said, both those words are dead''
--> ''That's the story of my life.''

--> ''All the people are dancing''
--> ''And they're having such fun''
--> ''I wish it could happen to me''

* InnocentBlueEyes: {{Subverted|Trope}} in "Pale Blue Eyes". The mellow and soothing music leads one to think that this trope is in play, and from the lyrics you can tell that the narrator ''wants'' to believe this--but he can't, because the relationship can't last, because she's cheating on her husband with him.

--> ''Candy says: "I'd like to know completely''
--> ''What others so discreetly talk about''.

* SurprisinglyGentleSong: "After Hours", much thanks to Maureen "Moe" Tucker's vocal delivery. Reed admitted that he gave it to her on purpose because if he'd sung it, it wouldn't have sounded as innocent.

** Many lyrics are difficult to decipher at first. This is lampshaded in "Some Kinda Love"
--> ''I don't know just what it's all about.''
--> ''Put on your red pyjamas and find out.''

The album was listed at #316 in Magazine/RollingStone's ''Music/RollingStone500GreatestAlbumsOfAllTime''.

** The distorted organ sound heard at the end of Music/TalkingHeads' "Once in a Lifetime" from the ''Music/RemainInLight'' album (1980) was inspired by "What Goes On".

* {{Transgender}}: "Candy Says" was written with Andy Warhol protégé Candy Darling in mind.

* CoverVersion: [[Music/RoxyMusic Bryan Ferry]] covered "What Goes On", which also interpolated "Beginning to See the Light" for 1976's ''The Bride Stripped Bare''.

* InnocentBlueEyes: {{Subverted|Trope}} in "Pale Blue Eyes". The mellow and soothing music leads one to think that this trope is in play, and from the lyrics you can tell that the narrator ''wants'' to believe this--but he can't, because the relationship can't last, because [[YourCheatingHeart she's cheating on her husband with him]].

* StepUpToTheMicrophone: Drummer Maureen "Moe" Tucker sings "After Hours" and provides backing vocals on "The Murder Mystery". Bass player Doug Yule performs the lead vocals on "Candy Says".