History Music / VelvetUnderground

Groundbreaking independent rock band from TheSixties famous for their pioneering and influencing various subgenres such as NoiseRock, experimental rock, art rock, AlternativeRock (hell, they were pretty much ''the'' [[UrExample first alt-rock band]]) and PunkRock. Also famous for their loudness and the nihilism of their material.

!!Iiiiiiiii'm waiting for my man, 60 tropes in my hand:

The '''Velvet Underground''' were formed in 1964 by dissatisfied Long Island songwriter Music/LouReed and [[UsefulNotes/{{Wales}} Welshman]] Music/JohnCale, who was studying classical music in the USA. Reed was the main guitarist and songwriter, while Cale played keyboards and viola. Sterling Morrison joined at the same time, assuming guitar and bass duties. After a period with Angus [=MacLise=], the line-up was rounded out by drummer Maureen Tucker, who played with no cymbals and used a very simplistic, tribal style.

* ProgressiveRock: Even though the band is usually thought of as an UrExample of PunkRock, the band's classical influence (thanks to Music/JohnCale) and Reed's poetic lyrics also anticipated prog.

* SexDrugsAndRockAndRoll: ''They're the Velvet Underground''.
* ShaggyDogStory: "The Gift" (guy mails himself to girlfriend, gets killed), "Sister Ray" (huge debauched party, someone gets shot), "Lady Godiva's Operation" (transsexual goes to have some operation, gets a botched lobotomy from a sloppy doctor and dies).

* [[SurprisinglyGentleSong Surprisingly Gentle Album]]: ''The Velvet Underground'', ''Loaded'' and ''Squeeze''.

Creator/AndyWarhol was hired as manager and producer; at his insistence German singer 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" and "I'm Waiting For The Man". It had a muted commercial reception and few people paid attention initially despite rigorous touring, [[VindicatedByHistory but it's now highly regarded among critics and fans]].

* '''Angus [=MacLise=]''' - drums, percussion, bongos, tabla (1964-65, 1966, died 1979)

* DownerEnding: In perhaps one of the saddest ends to a band ever, their final album ''Music/SqueezeAlbum'' had no founding members play on it and received terrible recognition from most critics and fans alike.

* ThreeChordsAndTheTruth: They're ''legendary'' for it. They did throw in things besides guitars, but at least on their first two albums, it was all guitar-bass-drums-viola.
** And organ, and glockenspiel, and tambourine, and piano, and...

* WhiteDwarfStarlet: The "fat, blonde actress" in "New Age."

* '''Music/JohnCale''' - bass, backing and lead vocals, viola, piano, celesta, organ, keyboard, sound effects (1964–1968, 1990, 1992–1993, 1996)
* '''Angus [=MacLise=]''' - drums, percussion, bongos, tabla (1964-1965, 1966, died 1979)
* '''Sterling Morrison''' - guitar, bass, backing and lead vocals, sound effects (1964–1971, 1990, 1992–1993, died 1995)
* Walter Powers - bass, vocals (1970–1971)
* '''Music/LouReed''' - lead vocals, guitar, piano (1964–1970, 1990, 1992–1993, 1996, died 2013)
* Maureen Tucker - drums, percussion, backing and lead vocals (1965–1971, 1992–1993, 1996)
* Doug Yule - lead vocals, bass, organ, keyboard, guitar, drums, percussion (1968–1973)

Creator/AndyWarhol was hired as manager and producer; at his insistence German singer 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", "Femme Fatale" and "I'm Waiting For The Man". It had a muted commercial reception and few people paid attention initially despite rigorous touring, [[VindicatedByHistory but it's now highly regarded among critics and fans]].

Yule attempted to continue the band, but it was over by 1973. The one resulting album, ''Music/Squeeze1973'', is usually [[CanonDiscontinuity written out of the band's canon]].

* 1973 - ''Music/Squeeze1973''

* CanonDiscontinuity: Nobody acknowledges ''Music/Squeeze1973'', despite [[http://bobchaos.com/squeeze/squeeze1.html some defenders]]. To be fair, it's basically a Doug Yule solo album since only he, [[Music/DeepPurple Ian Paice]] and a few session musicians played on it, and the only reason it's even ''in'' the VU discography is because of their manager Steve Sesnick.

* LighterAndSofter: ''Music/TheVelvetUnderground'', ''Music/{{Loaded}}'', ''Music/Squeeze1973''.

Yule attempted to continue the band, but it was over by 1973. The one resulting album, ''Music/SqueezeAlbum'', is usually [[CanonDiscontinuity written out of the band's canon]].

* 1973 - ''Music/SqueezeAlbum''

* CanonDiscontinuity: Nobody acknowledges ''Music/SqueezeAlbum'', despite [[http://bobchaos.com/squeeze/squeeze1.html some defenders]]. To be fair, it's basically a Doug Yule solo album since only he, [[Music/DeepPurple Ian Paice]] and a few session musicians played on it, and the only reason it's even ''in'' the VU discography is because of their manager Steve Sesnick.

* LighterAndSofter: ''Music/TheVelvetUnderground'', ''Music/{{Loaded}}'', ''Music/SqueezeAlbum''.

'''The Velvet Underground''' were formed in 1964 by dissatisfied Long Island songwriter Music/LouReed and [[UsefulNotes/{{Wales}} Welshman]] Music/JohnCale, who was studying classical music in the USA. Reed was the main guitarist and songwriter, while Cale played keyboards and viola. Sterling Morrison joined at the same time, assuming guitar and bass duties. After a period with Angus [=MacLise=], the line-up was rounded out by drummer Maureen Tucker, who played with no cymbals and used a very simplistic, tribal style.

* MisogynySong: "There She Goes Again". May be a {{deconstruction}} since it's based around jealousy, an emotion Lou Reed is on record as considering "a destructive, horrible emotion" ("The Gift" and "Satellite Of Love" also deconstruct jealousy).

'''Velvet Underground''' were formed in 1964 by dissatisfied Long Island songwriter Music/LouReed and [[UsefulNotes/{{Wales}} Welshman]] Music/JohnCale, who was studying classical music in the USA. Reed was the main guitarist and songwriter, while Cale played keyboards and viola. Sterling Morrison joined at the same time, assuming guitar and bass duties. After a period with Angus [=MacLise=], the line-up was rounded out by drummer Maureen Tucker, who played with no cymbals and used a very simplistic, tribal style.

* CallBack: The use of the phrase "time-time" used several times in "Sister Ray" makes a cameo in "Cool It Down".

* MinimalisticCoverArt: All their albums. ''VU&N'' has an Creator/AndyWarhol-drawn banana on the cover (on the original vinyl you could peel it away, which explains the title of their box-set ''Peel Slowly and See''), ''WL/WH'' is a blacker-than-black cover with white text and a faintly embossed picture of a tattoo, ''Music/TheVelvetUnderground'' is just a picture of the band, ''Loaded'' depicts a subway station with pink smoke emerging from it, ''VU'' is a picture of [[VisualPun a VU meter]] and ''Another View'' is another picture of the band.
* MisogynySong: "There She Goes Again". May be a {{deconstruction}} since it's based around jealousy, an emotion Lou Reed is on record as considering "a destructive, horrible emotion" ("The Gift" and "Satellite Of Love" also de-construct jealousy).

Yule attempted to continue the band, but it was over by 1973. The one resulting album, ''Music/{{Squeeze1973}}'', is usually [[CanonDiscontinuity written out of the band's canon]].

* 1973 - ''Music/{{Squeeze1973}}''

* CanonDiscontinuity: Nobody acknowledges ''[[Music/{{Squeeze1973}} Squeeze]]'', despite [[http://bobchaos.com/squeeze/squeeze1.html some defenders]]. To be fair, it's basically a Doug Yule solo album since only he, [[Music/DeepPurple Ian Paice]] and a few session musicians played on it, and the only reason it's even ''in'' the VU discography is because of their manager Steve Sesnick.

** "Waiting for the Man" is a concert favourite of Music/DavidBowie, and frequently makes appearances in his shows. Interestingly, he first heard it when his manager brought back an early acetate copy of ''Music/TheVelvetUndergroundAndNico'' before it was released. So when a young Bowie started playing it live with his band, not only was he the first person to cover the Velvets, he was the first person to do it ''before the Velvets even got their record out''. There's got to be some kind of special achievement for that.

* DownerEnding: In perhaps one of the saddest ends to a band ever, their final album ''Music/{{Squeeze1973}}'' had no founding members play on it and received terrible recognition from most critics and fans alike.

* LighterAndSofter: ''Music/TheVelvetUnderground'', ''Music/{{Loaded}}'', ''Music/{{Squeeze1973}}''.

'''The Velvet Underground''' were formed in 1964 by dissatisfied Long Island songwriter Music/LouReed and [[UsefulNotes/{{Wales}} Welshman]] Music/JohnCale, who was studying classical music in the USA. Reed was the main guitarist and songwriter, while Cale played keyboards and viola. Sterling Morrison joined at the same time, assuming guitar and bass duties. After a period with Angus [=MacLise=], the lineup was rounded out by drummer Maureen Tucker, who played with no cymbals and used a very simplistic, tribal style.

The Velvets broke off the relationship with Warhol and Nico rather quickly. In this period their live shows started to contain more pronounced improvisation and harsh, loud material. Their second album ''[[Music/WhiteLightWhiteHeat White Light/White Heat]]'' (1968) continued in this direction, as evidenced by the title track and the 17-minute "Sister Ray". By this time, the band members were tired of having no recognition, and tensions were growing between Reed's traditionalism and Cale's experimental, abrasive tendencies.

Cale eventually left, and was replaced by bassist Doug Yule. In reaction to this and the theft of the band's amplifiers, ''Music/TheVelvetUnderground'' (1969) was a more subdued, reflective affair. Its style is most noticeable in the folky "Pale Blue Eyes" and "After Hours". Despite favorable 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 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.

Yule attempted to continue the band, but it was over by 1973. The one resulting album, ''[[Music/{{Squeeze1973}} Squeeze]]'', is usually [[CanonDiscontinuity written out of the band's canon]].

* '''Music/JohnCale''' - bass, backing/lead vocals, viola, piano, celesta, organ, keyboard, sound effects (1964–68, 1990, 1992–93, 1996)
* '''Angus Maclise''' - drums, percussion, bongos (1964, 1966, died 1979)
* '''Sterling Morrison''' - guitar, bass, backing/lead vocals, sound effects (1964–71, 1990, 1992–93, died 1995)
* Walter Powers - bass, vocals (1970–71)
* '''Music/LouReed''' - lead vocals, guitar, piano (1964–70, 1990, 1992–93, 1996, died 2013)
* Maureen Tucker - drums, percussion, backing/lead vocals (1964–71, 1992–93, 1996)
* Doug Yule - bass, backing/lead vocals, organ, keyboard, guitar, drums, percussion (1968–73)

* 1968 - ''[[Music/WhiteLightWhiteHeat White Light/White Heat]]''

* 1973 - ''[[Music/{{Squeeze1973}} Squeeze]]''

* BlackComedy: ''Music/WhiteLightWhiteHeat'' is famous for showing the band's twisted sense of humor, as shown in "The Gift", "Lady Godiva's Operation" and "Sister Ray".

* CallBack: The use of the phrase "time-time" used several times in "Sister Ray" makes a cameo in "Cool It Down"

* TheChanteuse: How Warhol named Nico to avoid the band from thinking that he was actually adding a female front singer to the group. (Which he, in a sense, did.)

* DarkerAndEdgier: ''Music/TheVelvetUndergroundAndNico'', ''Music/WhiteLightWhiteHeat''

* DownerEnding: In perhaps one of the saddest ends to a band ever, their final album ''[[Music/{{Squeeze1973}} Squeeze]]'' had no founding members play on it and received terrible recognition from most critics and fans alike.

* HeavyMeta: "Rock and Roll"

* InvincibleClassicCar: The Stutz [=Bearcat=] in "Sweet Jane"
* LighterAndSofter: ''Music/TheVelvetUnderground'', ''Music/{{Loaded}}''
* LiteraryAllusionTitle: "Venus in Furs". The band's name itself is taken from a book about, fittingly enough, the sexual subculture of TheSixties.
* LyricalDissonance: "The Gift", "Lady Godiva's Operation", "Sister Ray", "Who Loves the Sun".

* MinimalisticCoverArt: All their albums. ''VU&N'' has an Creator/AndyWarhol-drawn banana on the cover (on the original vinyl you could peel it away, which explains the title of their boxset ''Peel Slowly and See''), ''WL/WH'' is a blacker-than-black cover with white text and a faintly embossed picture of a tattoo, ''Music/TheVelvetUnderground'' is just a picture of the band, ''Loaded'' depicts a subway station with pink smoke emerging from it, ''VU'' is a picture of [[VisualPun a VU meter]] and ''Another View'' is another picture of the band.
* MisogynySong: "There She Goes Again". May be a {{deconstruction}} since it's based around jealousy, an emotion Lou Reed is on record as considering "a destructive, horrible emotion" ("The Gift" and "Satellite of Love" also deconstruct jealousy).

* MyFriendsAndZoidberg: ''The Velvet Underground and Nico''.
* MythologyGag: As pointed out above, the title of the box set ''Peel Slowly and See''.

* ObligatoryBondageSong: [[TropeMaker More or less invented it]] with "Venus in Furs."
* ObsessionSong: Several entries deal with the negative consequences of jealousy, most directly "The Gift", but also "Satellite of Love" (later remade by Reed in his solo career) and "There She Goes Again". There's an interview with Reed in which he expounds at length on how destructive an emotion he finds jealousy to be, as if the song itself didn't already make it obvious.

** Averted with "Sister Ray":.

* SelfTitledAlbum: Two of them, in fact--''Music/TheVelvetUndergroundAndNico'' (their debut, with [[MyFriendsAndZoidberg their guest singer's name tacked on at the end]]) and ''Music/TheVelvetUnderground'' (their more subdued third studio album)

* SillyLoveSongs: Yeah, they have one. "I Found a Reason", to be precise. "I Love You" could qualify, too, although it's hard to tell how sincere Reed is being.

* TheSomethingSong: "Black Angel's Death Song"

* SpokenWordInMusic: "The Gift", "The Murder Mystery", arguably bits of "I Found a Reason".

* [[SurprisinglyGentleSong Surprisingly Gentle Album]]: ''The Velvet Underground'' and ''Loaded''.
* TakeThat: The "Evil Mothers" who'll tell you that "Everything is just dirt" in "Sweet Jane" may have been referencing The Mothers of Invention, whose leader Music/FrankZappa was regarded by Lou Reed as a rival.[[note]]For his part, Zappa didn't consider Reed to be a rival; he had no time for the Velvets' drug use and didn't think much of their records, but he admired Reed's songwriting, especially "All Tomorrow's Parties".[[/note]]

* TwistEnding: "The Gift"

* WordSaladLyrics. "The Black Angel's Death Song" and "The Murder Mystery"

* '''Music/JohnCale''' - bass, backing and lead vocals, viola, piano, celesta, organ, keyboard, sound effects (1964-68, 1990, 1992-93, 1996)

* '''Sterling Morrison''' - guitar, bass, backing and lead vocals, sound effects (1964-71, 1990, 1992-93, died 1995)
* Walter Powers - bass, vocals (1970-71)
* '''Music/LouReed''' - lead vocals, guitar, piano (1964-1970, 1990, 1992-93, 1996, died 2013)
* Maureen Tucker - drums, percussion, backing and lead vocals (1964-71, 1992-93, 1996)
* Doug Yule - bass, lead vocals, organ, keyboard, guitar, drums, percussion (1968-73)

'''Velvet Underground''' were formed in 1965 by dissatisfied Long Island songwriter Music/LouReed and [[UsefulNotes/{{Wales}} Welshman]] Music/JohnCale, who was studying classical music in the USA. Reed was the main guitarist and songwriter, while Cale played keyboards and viola. Sterling Morrison joined at the same time, assuming guitar and bass duties. After a period with Angus [=MacLise=], the lineup was rounded out by drummer Maureen Tucker, who played with no cymbals and used a very simplistic, tribal style.

* '''Music/JohnCale''' - bass, backing and lead vocals, viola, piano, celesta, organ, keyboard, sound effects (1965-1968, 1992-1993, 1996)
* '''Angus Maclise''' - drums, percussion, bongos (1965, 1966, died 1979)
* '''Sterling Morrison''' - guitar, bass, backing and lead vocals, sound effects (1965-1971, 1992-1993, died 1995)
* Walter Powers - bass, vocals (1970-1971)
* '''Music/LouReed''' - lead vocals, guitar, piano (1965-1970, 1992-1993, 1996, died 2013)
* Maureen Tucker - drums, percussion, backing and lead vocals (1965-1971, 1992-1993, 1996)
* Doug Yule - bass, lead vocals, organ, keyboard, guitar, drums, percussion (1968-1973)

* BreakupBreakout: After Lou Reed quit the band, he went on to a solo career which was much more commercially successful than anything the VU did. John Cale has also had an impressive solo career.

* CoverVersion: None by themselves, but the Velvets have been frequently covered by AlternativeRock bands like Music/JoyDivision, Music/{{Nirvana}}, Galaxie 500, Music/TheRunaways and others. ,Music/DavidBowie also got in on the act by covering "White Light/White Heat". Earlier, Music/TheYardbirds covered "I'm Waiting For The Man" in their live shows during the band's final months.

* DarkerAndEdgier: ''The Velvet Underground and Nico'', ''White Light/White Heat''

** Other super-long live tracks include "Melody Laughter" (complete version is half an hour), "The Nothing Song" (nearly twenty-eight minutes), and "Chic Mystique" (over twenty-six minutes). These probably aren't the only ones, but all of these, as well as "Sweet Sister Ray", can be found on a [[KeepCirculatingTheTapes bootleg box]] entitled ''Caught Between the Twisted Stars''. ("Melody Laughter" and "The Nothing Song" also appear on the 45th anniversary edition of ''Music/TheVelvetUndergroundAndNico''). Another lengthy song performed live, which in this case is actually a song, is "Follow the Leader", which in at least one version is over seventeen minutes long (again, see ''The Quine Tapes''). Many other songs would also be extended dramatically when performed live; for example, "White Light/White Heat" is under three minutes long in the studio version, but live recordings exist that exceed ten minutes in length (yet again, see ''The Quine Tapes'' for an example).

* LighterAndSofter: ''The Velvet Underground'', ''Loaded''
* LiteraryAllusionTitle: "Venus in Furs". The band's name itself is taken from a book about, appropriately enough, the sexual subculture of TheSixties.

* BreakupBreakout: After Lou Reed quit the band, he went on a solo career which was much more commercially successful than anything the VU did.

* TakeThat: The "Evil Mothers" who'll tell you that "Everything is just dirt" in "Sweet Jane" may have been referencing The Mothers of Invention, who's leader, the notoriously cynical and cantankerous Music/FrankZappa, had a significant rivalry with Lou Reed.

* CanonDiscontinuity: Nobody acknowledges ''[[Music/Squeeze1973 Squeeze]]'', despite [[http://bobchaos.com/squeeze/squeeze1.html some defenders]]. To be fair, it's basically a Doug Yule solo album since only he, [[Music/DeepPurple Ian Paice]] and a few session musicians played on it, and the only reason it's even ''in'' the VU discography is because of their manager Steve Sesnick.

* DownerEnding: In perhaps one of the saddest ends to a band ever, their final album ''[[Music/Squeeze1973 Squeeze]]'' had no founding members play on it and received terrible recognition from most critics and fans alike.

Yule attempted to continue the band, but it was over by 1973. The one resulting album, ''[[Music/Squeeze1973 Squeeze]]'', is usually [[CanonDiscontinuity written out of the band's canon]].

* 1973 - ''[[Music/Squeeze1973 Squeeze]]''

Creator/AndyWarhol was hired as manager and producer; at his insistence German singer 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", "Femme Fatale" and "I'm Waiting for the Man". It had a muted commercial reception and few people paid attention initially despite rigorous touring, [[VindicatedByHistory but it's now highly regarded among critics and fans]].

The Velvets broke off the relationship with Warhol and Nico rather quickly. In this period their live shows started to contain more pronounced improvisation and harsh, loud material. Their second album ''White Light/White Heat'' (1968) continued in this direction, as evidenced by the title track and the 17-minute "Sister Ray". By this time, the band members were tired of having no recognition, and tensions were growing between Reed's traditionalism and Cale's experimental, abrasive tendencies.

Yule attempted to continue the band, but it was over by 1973. The one resulting album, ''Squeeze'', is usually [[CanonDiscontinuity written out of the band's canon]].

* DownerEnding: In perhaps one of the saddest ends to a band ever, their final album ''[[Music/Squeeze1973 Squeeze]]'' had no founding members play on it and received terrible recognition from critics and fans alike.

The Velvet Underground were formed in 1965 by dissatisfied Long Island songwriter Music/LouReed and [[UsefulNotes/{{Wales}} Welshman]] Music/JohnCale, who was studying classical music in the USA. Reed was the main guitarist and songwriter, while Cale played keyboards and viola. Sterling Morrison joined at the same time, assuming guitar and bass duties. After a period with Angus [=MacLise=], the lineup was rounded out by drummer Maureen Tucker, who played with no cymbals and used a very simplistic, tribal style.

* 1973 - ''Squeeze''

* CanonDiscontinuity: Nobody acknowledges ''Squeeze'', despite [[http://bobchaos.com/squeeze/squeeze1.html some (misguided?) defenders]]. To be fair, it's basically a Doug Yule solo album since only he and [[Music/DeepPurple Ian Paice]] played on it, and the only reason it's even ''in'' the VU discography is because of their manager Steve Sesnick.

* DownerEnding: In perhaps one of the saddest ends to a band ever, their final album ''[[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Squeeze_(The_Velvet_Underground_album) Squeeze]]'' had no original members play on it and received terrible recognition from critics and fans alike.

-->--'''"Rock and Roll"'''

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 Atlantic Records, who requested less controversial material and an album "loaded with hits". The result was ''Loaded'', their swan song. Despite strong material and, indeed, some hits, the band dissolved during production when Reed left the band in August 1970.

* 1970 - ''Loaded''

The Velvets broke off the relationship with Warhol and Nico rather quickly. In this period their live shows started to contain more pronounced improvisation and harsh, loud material. Their second album ''White Light/White Heat'' continued in this direction, as evidenced by the title track and the 17-minute "Sister Ray". By this time, the band members were tired of having no recognition, and tensions were growing between Reed's traditionalism and Cale's experimental, abrasive tendencies.

Cale eventually left, and was replaced by bassist Doug Yule. In reaction to this and the theft of the band's amplifiers, ''The Velvet Underground'' was a more subdued, reflective affair. Its style is most noticeable in the folky "Pale Blue Eyes" and "After Hours". Despite favorable 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''.

* 1969 - ''The Velvet Underground''

* BlackComedy: ''White Light/White Heat'' is famous for showing the band's twisted sense of humor, as shown in "The Gift", "Lady Godiva's Operation" and "Sister Ray".

** "Waiting for the Man" is a concert favourite of Music/DavidBowie, and frequently makes appearances in his shows. Interestingly, he first heard it when his manager brought back an early acetate copy of ''The Velvet Underground and Nico'' before it was released. So when a young Bowie started playing it live with his band, not only was he the first person to cover the Velvets, he was the first person to do it ''before the Velvets even got their record out''. There's got to be some kind of special achievement for that.

* MinimalisticCoverArt: All their albums. ''VU&N'' has an Creator/AndyWarhol-drawn banana on the cover (on the original vinyl you could peel it away, which explains the title of their boxset ''Peel Slowly and See''), ''WL/WH'' is a blacker-than-black cover with white text and a faintly embossed picture of a tattoo, ''Velvet Underground'' is just a picture of the band, ''Loaded'' depicts a subway station with pink smoke emerging from it, ''VU'' is a picture of [[VisualPun a VU meter]] and ''Another View'' is another picture of the band.

* SelfTitledAlbum: Two of them, in fact--''The Velvet Underground and Nico'' (their debut, with [[MyFriendsAndZoidberg their guest singer's name tacked on at the end]]) and ''The Velvet Underground'' (their more subdued third studio album)

---> "And when you kissed Robert Mitchum\\

* TakeThat: The "Evil Mothers" who'll tell you that "Everything is just dirt" in "Sweet Jane" may have been referencing The Mothers of Invention, who's leader, the notoriously cynical and cantankerous FrankZappa, had a significant rivalry with Lou Reed.

Groundbreaking independent rock band from TheSixties famous for their pioneering and influencing various subgenres such as NoiseRock, experimental rock, art rock, AlternativeRock (hell, they were pretty much ''the'' [[UrExample first alt-rock band]]) and Music/PunkRock. Also famous for their loudness and the nihilism of their material.