"New York" by Lou Reed

Celebrating the 35th anniversary of this late-80s gem.

Hello! 😊👋

Welcome to a new edition of the Daily Music Picks newsletter!

Today’s music pick sees MJ Hiemstra return to break down a Lou Reed masterpiece on its 35th anniversary. While you’re at it, check out his online portfolio on your device of choice.

Genre: Rock, Alternative

Label: Sire

Release Date: January 10, 1989

Vibe: 😮😮

“I didn’t come up with the title. My wife Sylvia came up with the title. She said, ‘Why don’t you just call it New York? That’s what it’s about,’ and I said, ‘Right, that’s what it’s about.’”

- Lou Reed

When I talk to people about music—which is often—one thing I always mention is that when listening to an older album, we can never experience it the way those who listened to it at the time did. Most of us will never know what it was like to hear Jimi Hendrix in the 60s or Pink Floyd in the 70s. For those born just a bit behind, you’ll never know the experience of hearing Joy Division in the context of the time or Rage Against the Machine at the moment they were needed most. 

On the other hand, if you want to know what New York was like in the mid-90s, Lou Reed has gifted us with a Smithsonian-worthy artifact that will tell you in a way that will make you feel as though you’d actually been there while it was happening. He’ll guide you through the streets of NYC to find true love amongst the chaos, crack dealers, and racial segregation. Lou laments the loss of friends in Halloween Parade, giving us a view of a bittersweet Pride Parade and saying, “It’s a different feeling I have today/Especially when I know you’ve gone away.” 

In Dirty Boulevard, we find young Pedro living in a hotel with his nine brothers and sisters, and a father who beats him when he’s too tired to beg. The landlord is squeezing the family for money and laughs so hard at them that “he pisses his pants.” “Give me your hungry, your tired, your poor, I’ll piss on ‘em. That’s what the statue of bigotry says,” Lou says before juxtaposing the scene with one of the glamorous movie stars arriving at the Lincoln Center while little Pedro wishes he could “fly, fly away.” 

Reed pulls no punches when it’s time to take world leaders to task, calling out Jesse Jackson, the Pope, Farrakhan, Rudy Guiliani, and much more. This is done with a sparse musical background featuring two guitars and a bass. The percussion is, for the most part, just a high hat or a kick drum. He even enlists former Velvet Underground drummer Moe Tucker to appear on two tracks to bang out the rhythm in the sparse, open style that made Reed’s first band famous.

In the liner notes, Reed suggests listening to the entire album all at once, as you would watch a movie. I suggest doing the same, but sitting in front of your Wikipedia station while you do that so you can explore the time and place along with Lou. There’s never been a better tour guide, and there’s never been a safer way to visit.